Ruth's Diner Part II

For my first blog post I reviewed Ruth's Diner up Emigration canyon in SLC.  I focused on the fantastic dinner menu and experience at the diner and only briefly mentioned that they are famous for breakfast.  I am here to repent.  Their breakfast is so delicious that I might have to recommend eating there twice in one day, especially if you make the drive up from Provo.  Here are the highlights:

Your meal always starts with hot biscuits served with butter and sweet/tart raspberry jam.  The biscuits alone could make a meal.  But please, do yourself a favor and order.  May I suggest...

The pulled pork eggs Benedict.  Wow.  This is a dish unlike any I have tried, especially for breakfast.  You start with two pieces of green chile and cheese cornbread, top that with generous portions of pulled pork, follow that woth a perfectly poached egg, finished off with creamy, tangy hollandaise sauce.  The mixture of the smoky BBQ sauce and the rich hollandaise is incredible.  Seriously, if there weren't so many menu options I would get this every time.

Or you could go with the pecan cinnamon roll French toast.  Simply divine.  Two cinnamon rolls dipped in the custard and fried to perfection.  With every unravelling piece of the roll, this dish gets better and better.  They top it off with a lemon cream cheese mixture and hot maple syrup.  It doesn't get any better if you're looking for a sweet start to your day.

You have gotta try this place!  It is worth the drive, trust me.

HERE is the link to Ruth's website, complete with directions and complete menu.

Cheers! 

Lone Star Taqueria

This past weekend, my wife and I were invited by a good friend--who has a great food blog of her own: Patti Cakes--to go to Lone Star Taqueria.  She said, "We want to take you to eat there so that you can write about it on your blog later."  Well, I would hate to disappoint, so here I am.


It is my goal to try each of the 7 joints from the Salt Lake City area which have been featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives before my time is through here in Utah.  Lone Star Taqueria was the 3rd which I have tried--along with Ruth's Diner and Moochie's Meatballs--leaving me with visits to Pat's Barbecue, The Blue Plate Diner, The Red Iguana, and the Burger Bar (in Roy, UT) before I can leave Utah fat and happy when I graduate.


Lone Star Taqueria sticks out like a sore thumb in southern Salt Lake.  It looks like a mix of a Texas ranch and a beach house in California... and the SMELL!  I mean that in a good way.  They are using so much fresh fish that it smells like they ship in a daily dose of sea breeze straight from the California coast.  Speaking of the fish... the fish-of-the-day tacos are off the chain.  They are not your typical deep fried filets that so many of us are used to, but these grilled fish tacos are so good that I didn't miss the crispy crust that the batter-and-fry method produces--and I like just about anything deep fried.  The fresh fish is topped off simply with shredded cabbage, tomato, and cilantro and served with a bit of creamy dressing that brings it all together.  Amazing.

Along with the fish taco I ordered a taco with carne adovada: marinated, spicy pork.  This taco was great as well, with just enough spice to make your tongue tingle.  It was one of the dishes featured on DDD when Guy stopped by to check it out.  Check out the clip below to get a glimpse into how it's made.

The last thing that I loved about this place was the bucket of lime wedges near the soda fountain.  There is nothing better than an ice-cold Coke with a few squirts of lime juice to top it off.  It is a small touch, I know, but it just makes the meal that much better.  Once again, this place proves that you don't have to spend a arm and a pierna to get a good meal, especially here in Utah.  Want a $20 dollar date?  Go to Lone Star Taqueria, hit up the Red Box on the way home, and you'll still have money for the piggy bank at the end of the night.

To find out more about this place, click HERE to go to their website.  Been there yourself?  Tell me about your experience in the comments below.

Cheers!

El Taco Riendo

So after dabbling in some delicious French pastry which, although scrumptious, is a little pricy, I am back to cheap undiscovered eats.  Next time you are craving Mexican food, don't turn to Taco Bell, Del Taco, or even Rancheritos.  Instead, head south on Universtiy Ave. til you get to the shining silver diner that used to be Wingers, but now has been converted into a little piece of Mexico.


El Taco Riendo is not a sit-down, look-at-the-menu restaurant, but it still incorporates some of those elements.  After ordering at the register, you find a seat and wait for your food to be delivered to you, but unlike many fast food style restaurants, the waitress promptly brings you a basket of steaming chips and fresh salsa.  You can also take a few moments before your food arrives to get some small plastic cups full of the many salsas offered at the salsa bar.  I really loved the creamy avocado salsa that was a mix of salsa and guacamole.

 I ordered a gordita, which is nothing like the gorditas Taco Bell has to offer.  If you haven't tried a real gordita before (like me until I tried this one), it is like a thick fried tortilla which is cut in half and stuffed with any variety of things.  The gorditas at El Taco Riendo come with two types of cheese--one that melts and another that stays crumbly--and your choice of meat.  I chose the carne asada and was not disappointed.  Top that off with some fresh cilantro, onions, guacamole, and a squeeze of lime and you are in business.  You've gotta give this a try.

 My wife went with the quesadilla, which also comes with your choice of meat.  At the suggestion of the lady at the register, we went with the pork al pastor.  Al pastor is pork prepared with a sweet and slightly spicy marinade and finished off with pineapple along with onions and garlic.  The huge tortilla was the best flour tortilla that either of us had ever tried.  So, match a tasty tortilla with gooey cheese and savory pork and we had a can't miss plate on our hands.  We would definitely order both of these items again, although the tacos, nachos, and tortas looked worthy of an order as well.

El Taco Riendo is the perfect place for a casual night of dining.  I'd take this place over Los Hermanos or any other Mexican restaurant in a heartbeat.  Best of all, my wife and I got out of there with full stomachs and a full wallet: we only spent $10.58 between the two of us.  Check them out:

El Taco Riendo

465 S. University Ave

(801) 373-1266

Buen Provecho!

El Mexsal

If you are feeling like branching out to not only a new restaurant but also to a new international cuisine, head down Freedom Boulevard in Provo and try some pupusas at Mexsal.  What are pupusas, you might ask?  Well, they are these:

To put it simply, it is a tortilla stuffed with beans, cheese, and pork in any combination.  They are served steaming hot with curtido--lightly pickled cabbage with onion, cucumber, and carrot--and tomato salsa.

I served my mission in El Salvador and pupusas are by far the most popular food in the country.  The best thing about them is that they typically cost only 25 or 35 cents a piece, so you can get stuffed for about a dollar or a dollar twenty.  Now in the States, a pupusa from a small restaurant like Mexsal will cost you about $1.20, but still, for under 4 bucks you can get three of these bad boys and leave more than full--trust me... I'm a big boy but after three of these, I 'm down for the count.

Mexsal has the best pupusas I have tried since being back in the U.S..  They also feature several other traditional Salvadorean dishes, and a full menu of Mexican plates.  The restaurant also gives each table a basket of chips with a delicious house-made salsa.  I'm not gonna lie to you, I have only tried the pupusas and one bite of a friend's enchiladas, but I trust that the other dishes are solid as well.

Try this place.  You won't be sorry.  Click HERE for the address and phone number.

Cheers!