Dining at Temple Square, Salt Lake City

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Originally uploaded by martin_kalfatovic

Dining at Temple Square: The Garden and Nauvoo Cafe

The curious spot that is Salt Lake City features a wide range of dining options. From wine bars (yes, even in Utah!) to great Nepali food. However, the visitor to SLC, especially those following in the footsteps of Mark Twain, must sample some of the spots located in historic Temple Square and run by the Latter Day Saints (Mormon) church.

The Joseph Smith Building, formerly a grant, western-style hotel, now hosts many church offices and functions as well as a collection of restaurants. Just around the corner, in a house owned by Brigham Young, is the Lion House Pantry.

On this trip, I was able to sample to of the four: The Garden Restaurant and the Nauvoo Cafe. I missed The Lion House Pantry (featuring homestyle breakfast, lunch and dinner) and The Roof (a gourmet dinner buffet).

So, let's start with dinner at The Garden Restaurant. The first thing you notice about the restaurant is the amazing view. Located on the 10th (rooftop) floor, it commands a fabulous view of the Mormon Temple and the shimmering of the Great Salt Lake in the distance. The view (especially at sunset) through the floor the ceiling windows is almost enough to take your mind off the powerful smell of chlorine from the various pools and fountains that are in the restaurant!

For the food, well, let me first say how annoyed was I didn't order the speciality appetizer, Fried Dill pickles: "Quartered, lightly Battered and Quick-Fried to a Golden Brown. Garnished with Celery and Carrot Sticks and served with Thousand Island and Ranch Dipping Sauces." I wasn't that hungry, and just got a side salad, but the pickles sound great!

For an entree, I went with the French Dip (you know me!), here called the "Beef Dipper". Served with carmalized onions and sweet peppers and a side of au jus (plus fries) it was a nice, but not spectacular sandwich. My wife went with the grilled salmon (which was excellent) and my daughter, the kids' ravioli (which were deemed "best ever").

For beverages, well, no wine or beer of course, so ...

Service was pleasant, but our server had an uncanny resemblance to Phoebe (from Friends) both in looks and style, which was fun and didn't distract from the meal.

I would give The Garden a higher rating, if not for that darned chlorine smell!



The Nauvoo Cafe (named after the side of a Mormon massacre in Illinois), located on the ground floor of the Smith Building (and opening on to outdoor seating with yet another great view of the Mormon Temple) is a perfect spot for a quick, inexpensive lunch. With a selection of soups, salads, and hot and cold sandwiches.

I went with one of the premium sandwiches; with choices of "carved before your eyes" options of ham, sirloin, roasted turkey, and, my choice, Coca-Cola Porkloin. After your meat is carved, it passes along to be put on bread, and then a little conveyor belt where it runs under a heater (those of you familiar with Pot Belly Sandwiches will know what I mean - see picture above). Final stop, dressing up with a choice of relishes and sauces. The porkloin was juicy and tender, the outdoor dining, wonderful. Highly recommended!

The Garden Restaurant
Meal: Dinner
Rating: **
Date Visited: 29 July 2009
Address: 15 East South Temple, 10th Floor, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150
Website: http://www.diningattemplesquare.com/garden.html

Nauvoo Cafe
Meal: Lunch
Rating: ****
Date Visited: 31 July 2009
Address: 15 East South Temple, Main Floor, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150
Website: http://www.diningattemplesquare.com/nauvoo.html

French Dippin' in Metro DC

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Originally uploaded by martin_kalfatovic

Rhodeside Grill and Elephant & Castle

Yes, even more than you wanted to know about French Dips. After my marvelous dippin' trip in Minneapolis, when an out of town colleague suggested lunch at Elephant & Castle, I already knew that I was going to have the French Dip (aka Beef Dip) which I'd had there once before on an earlier visit.

To keep the Dip theme, I'm adding another local Washington area Dip review, from Arlington-based, Rhodeside Grill.

For those of you who missed the previous post, here are some of my criteria for a goood

What makes a good French Dip? 1) A nice, thick, chewy roll that can soak up the au jus; 2) thin-sliced, extra lean beef, tender and well done; 3) a deeply flavorful au jus, accented in some way (pepper, garlic) that compliments the beef flavor; 4) a nice side (pickle, slaw, fries).

Dip One: Rhodeside Grill
I'm starting this post with my dip experience at Rhodeside Grill. Located near my house, Rhodeside Grill is a fairly regular dining spot. For the past few visits there, I've been sticking with their French Dip sandwich.

Rhodeside has been in this same location on Wilson Blvd. for a number of years now (replacing a Chinese restaurant as I recall). Among the highlights of the decor are some lovely murals of local scenes in Arlington by noted artist Thomas Mullaney. There's also a vibrant bar scene and a few outdoor seats for when weather permits.

One slight bad memory of the Rhodeside Grill was from 2007 when I tripped over the handicap ramp on the way to the restroom and sprained my ankle (I had to be taken out by ambulance! Quite exciting!).

Overall the food is pretty good. The French Dip is nice (pictured above), meat sliced just right, good roll, tasty dip, and served with some nice slaw on the side. A nice, servicable dip!

Rhodeside Grill
Meal: Dinner
Rating: ***
Date: 18 September 2008
Address: 1836 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA 22201
Website: http://rhodesidegrill.homestead.com/

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Dip Two: Elephant & Castle
Well, how to put it? I know, let's start with the place and then get to the Dip.

Elephant & Castle is a chain (started in Toronto) of faux British pubs. Those of you familiar with a British pub will realize soon after stepping inside, the faux part.

Located in what had been a TGI Friday's for many years, the Washington Elephant & Castle is located in a prominent spot on Pennsylvannia Ave. and popular for both lunch and dinner with local office workers as well as tourists. In addition to a pretty large dinning area, there is a large bar, popular with the after-work crowd.

On this lunch occaison, the restaurant was pretty full, both indoors and on the outside area. Our group of five was seated after a brief wait (though it took a long time for the host to actually appear).

Service was excellent with a bottomless glass of ice tea regularly refilled.

But what about the Dip? Well, sad to say, it was not very good. The problems? The beef was cut much too thick and was a bit gristly and fatty. The dip itself was bland to just salty liquid. I selected the side-salad option (over fries - no slaw option) which was fine. On the plus side, accompanied by a nice large pickle.

So, am I missing some culinary distinction between the "French" and "Beef" dip? Does "Beef" mean thick cut beef and more fat? If so, viva la France!

Elephant & Castle
Meal: Lunch
Rating: *
Date: 16 April 2009
Address: 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20004
Website: http://www.elephantcastle.com/

Rick's Steaks: the Philly Cheese Steak!

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Originally uploaded by martin_kalfatovic

Something controversial! What's the BEST Philly cheese steak!?!?!

I have my own preference, which, sadly, can't be found anymore. My uncle John ran a dinner outside of Allentown, PA for many years and made, the best Philly cheese steak. The secret was a special sauce - sadly, I never got the recipe - that was poured over the steak.

So, back to what is possible. Do you do provolone? Whiz? Some other cheese? Well, my personal preference is for provolone. On this day, I had my cheese steak at Rick's Steaks in the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. I went with the steak and provolone. I added peppers and pickles. Very tasty!

Meal: lunch
Rating: ***** of 5
Date: 13 Jan 2008
Address: 1 N 12th St, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Website: http://www.rickssteaks.com/

Fuzio Universal Pasta: Lunch

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Originally uploaded by martin_kalfatovic

Fuzio Universal Pasta is a small chain (locations in the California, Nevada, and Missouri (one of these things is not like the other!).

I visited the Fuzio location on Chestnut St. in San Francisco. It was well after the lunch rush and my party had the full attention of the wait staff.

I had the soup/sandwich combo and selected the ginger carrot soup and Italian club. The soup was quite good, but a little heavy on the ginger (in case you're not a big ginger fan - but then why would you order this in the first place?). The Italian club was on grilled focaccia with chicken, salami, bacon, and cheese. Just the right seasonings (Caesar dressing) topped it off.

A tasty meal for a good price.

Dish: carrot ginger soup and Italian club grilled sandwich, "light tropical" ice tea
Meal: lunch
Rating: *** of 5
Date: 16 Jan 2008
Address: 3100 Webster, San Francisco, CA 94123
Website: http://www.fuzio.com/