Salt City Burger Co.

Address: 9176 South Village Shop Drive, Sandy, UT 84094. 801.495.4111.

Review: Salt City Burger Co. (Salt City) was a recommendation from a friend. Since I have a difficult time passing up a burger, I couldn't not try the place.

Salt City is a build your own burger kind of joint. You initially buy the meat and the bun, and then you can pay for add-ons (e.g., cheese, grilled onions, avocado, etc.) as you wish (or don't). This noted, you don't pay for standard burger items (e.g., lettuce, tomatoes, onions, etc.).

I order the bacon blue burger. It came with, you guessed it, blue cheese. And a tangy, mildly creamy blue cheese it was. It also came with bacon, but not in the form you're imagining. Instead of frying the bacon and putting it on top of the patty, Salt Lake minces the bacon and places it inside the patty. This technique has some interesting pros and cons. The primary pro is the bacon's fattiness imbues the patty with juiciness and smokiness. The real con is the bacon never gets crispy, so every so often you bite into large, relatively uncooked portions of bacon fat. I prefer my bacon crispy, so adding it to the patty was interesting, but ultimately not my thing.

I ended up loading my burger with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, and mayo. Notwithstanding my reservations about the bacon-inside-the-patty thing, the burger was good. Nothing particularly stunning about it, but it made me want to come back for more.

The fries on the other hand, did not. They were limp and unremarkable. The onions rings looked good; try those instead.

One last thing, my buddy ordered a peanut butter chocolate shake, from which I was allowed to partake. Awesome. Vivid peanut butter flavor. Good chocolateness as well. Creamy. Smooth. Very good.

So, Salt City gets some things right, some things not, and some things better than right. Certainly not the best burger place in SLC, but I'll be back.

Rating: 6/10 (5/10 is average).

Ruth's Diner

Address: 2100 Emigration Canyon, Salt Lake City, UT 84108. 801.582.5807.

Review: Ruth's is a (or is it "an"? I can't ever remember) historic restaurant located in Emigration Canyon a couple miles north of Salt Lake. You're reminded of Ruth's historic nature upon entering when you see the sign that says "Ruth's is the second oldest restaurant in Utah," and when you see the picture of Ruth (hint: she was old when the picture was taken eons ago, and she apparently like wearing moo moos while cooking). Of course, history means nothing when it comes to taste. For example, the oldest restaurant in Salt Lake is simply not good. So, how does Ruth's stack up when it comes to taste? Let's see.

The first item Ruth's treats you to is their biscuits.

I was duly impressed with this, the ultimate of farinaceous foods. These big, rustic biscuits possess a slight sweetness that made them good without any accompaniment. When you add complimentary butter and raspberry jam, the experience is enhanced. I will say, these biscuits are a little more bready than other biscuits (as in, they've been worked so more gluten develops), but that slight breadiness works perfectly well.

Post biscuits, I had me a pot roast sandwich, which came with thick-sliced pot roast, tomatoes, lettuce, and swiss cheese on a ciabatta roll.

Honestly, I ordered this sandwich because I don't particularly like pot roast or swiss cheese. I figured if Ruth's could make me like this sandwich, it was a pretty good joint. And like it I did. The pot roast is the star. It's nicely thick, not dry at all, and full of great pot roast flavor. Very impressive. The other elements give a necessary lightness to the sandwich, but they don't overtake the pot roast flavor. The bread is a bit softer than it should have been. A bit more heartiness would have complimented the meaty pot roast. In any case, this was a very nice sandwich.

(Note: the fries were just okay. In fact, they were a bit limp.)

My wife had the caprese sandwich.

It seems whenever this sandwich is on a menu, my wife orders it. According to her, this is one of the best she's had.

In all, a very enjoyable experience. Some elements could have been stronger, but the food was quite good. And, as I understand it, Ruth's breakfasts are better than its lunches and dinners. If that is indeed the case, I can't wait for breakfast.

Rating: 7/10 (5/10 is average) - subject to change after breakfasting.

Koko Kitchen

Address: 702 S 300 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84111. 801.364.4888.

Review: Koko Kitchen is located in exactly the spot you wouldn't expect a restaurant would be located. It's surrounded by houses and some apartment complexes. In fact, the place looks like an oddly misshaped house.

The first thing I noticed upon entering Koko was the clientele; they were mostly Asians. This gave me confidence, and I was not disappointed.

Since it was lunch, I tried a rice bowl with fried shrimp and veggies.

Simply put: it was good. The shrimp was freshly prepared and cooked well (i.e., it wasn't at all tough or dry). The veggies were plentiful and not overcooked, which meant they had a lot of flavor. The rice was white and sticky: exactly what you want in a dish like this.

Koko offers much more than simple lunch fare, and I can't wait to go back to sample more.

Rating: 7/10 (5/10 is average).

Bagels & Buns

Address: 2487 Grant Ave, Ogden, UT 84401. 801.394.7142.

Review: I'll make this quick 'cause there ain't much to discuss. I had a bagel (meh) sandwich with sliced beef (meh), tomatoes (meh), lettuce (meh), cream cheese (meh), and cheese (meh). Yep, you guessed it, it was all perfectly meh. Especially meh was the bagel. There was no toothiness present in a good bagel. Its taste was flat and bland, as was the sandwich as a whole.

Rating: 4/10 (5/10 is average).

Venezolano Restaurante Andinitas

Address: 4139 S 1785 W, Taylorsville, UT 84119. 801.966.9097.

Review: Let's get one thing straight upfront: when you're looking for Venezolano Restaurante Andinitas, look simply for Andinitas; it's what's on the sign.

There are relatively few times you go to a restaurant and find something that makes you think, "Holy crap. That's a brilliant idea." My experience at Andinitas was one of those times.

Andinitas is a Venezuelan restaurant with about eight tables. The menu is comprised of about the same six meats prepared in different ways. I had an arepa pabellon. Arepas are sandwiches that use fried or grilled corn cakes as the bread component.

The pabellon arepa was filled with shredded beef, fried sweet plantains, black beans, and cheese.

As with any sandwich, it all starts with the bread (or corn cake, as it were). This one was lighter than a ho cake (which is the closest comparison to an American food I can make), but not nearly as light as wheat bread. Its density helped it stand up well the the decidedly heavy filling. The shredded beef was tasty and juicy. The beans were okay, but didn't add a lot of flavor. The plantains added an unexpected sweetness. But what made this arepa was the avocado crema. It brought all the flavors together and lightened the arepa ever so slightly. Quite good.

And now, the main attraction: the patacon.

As you can see, a patacon is a sandwich that utilizes fried plantains instead of bread. This patacon came filled with ham, cheese, lettuce, avocado, onions, and tomatoes. This dish is the one I was referring to earlier. (You remember, the "holy crap" part above.) It's so simple, and yet so ingenuous. The fried plantains are sweet and work wondrously well with the ham. The lettuce adds a crispy component, and the vegetables add needed lightness and acid. Everything went together perfectly. Fried plantain sandwich!? Who'da thunk it? Anyway, I could have ordered another on the spot if my wife would have let me. But alas, I will have to wait for the next go 'round with the patacon, which will be soon.

Rating: 7.5/10 (5/10 is average).

P.S.: Mad props to SLC Cheap Eats for first reviewing Andinitas. Those guys find some good restaurants.

Tortillas de Mano

Address: Corner of 200 E and 300 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84111.

Review: The one thing I always find lacking in taco stands is the tortilla. It's never made by hand; instead, it comes from a plastic bag you can buy at Smith's. Now, I'm not sure about you, but if I want Smith's tortillas, I'll go to Smith's and buy them. A real, quality taco stand should make its own tortillas. And Tortillas de Mano is a real, quality taco stand.

We started our meal with a pair of tacos: chicken and carnitas.

The chicken was dry cooked and not braised or wet cooked, which seems to be a popular taco stand way of ensuring the chicken doesn't turn out dry. In any case, the chicken was slightly dry, but the seasoning added big flavor. The carnitas was juicy and tender. Slathered with the standard salsas, pico de gallo, onions, etc., both tacos were mighty good. Oh, and the tortilla: money. The hand-madeness factor really helps these tacos. Very good.

And then there was the torta, which is a big sandwich made with taco fillins. I had barbacoa on mine.

The procedure for making a torta is kind of interesting. First, they cut the bread in half and slathered on sour cream. They then fried the bread on the skillet, sour cream side down, while they prepared the meat. After adding the meat, you get to add your favorite toppings, and, voila, a torta is born. The bread was a little soft for my taste, but the flavors were money. Good stuff. And for $3, it's a screamin' deal. Honestly, this is a taco stand.

Rating: 7.5/10 (5/10 is average).

Taco Taco

Address: 2931 Washington Blvd, Ogden, Utah 84401. 801.393.6526.

Review: After a hearing in the Ogden District Court, I figured it was time to grab a bite. I happened upon Taco Taco and figured, "What the heck? Why not?"

First thing you notice when you walk in Taco Taco is it seem like a pretty standard little Mexican-food joint. Then you get the menu and realize they serve some pretty cool stuff. I was enamored by the platillo de lengua, which is, you guessed it, beef tongue served with green chiles.

Now, before you get all, "Really? Tongue? That's so gross," you have to try it. Tongue is actually a really nice meat. It contains a lot of intramuscular fat, which makes it juicy and tender if cooked correctly. And the tongue at Taco Taco was cooked correctly. The chiles added just the right amount of heat and flavor. The queso fresco is a nice touch on top of the beans, which otherwise would be lacking in flavor. I wish Taco Taco served hand-made corn tortillas (the ones you get are from a supermarket), because doing so would have set this meal over the top. As is is though, it was a pretty darn solid meal, and some of the best tongue I've ever had.

Rating: 7/10 (5/10 is average).