Fat Fish

Fat Fish

1980 3500 S, West Valley City, UT 84119

TL;DR 

- Price: $20+

- Flavor: Japanese, Light

- Filling?: Depends

- Parking: Pretty good

Before I begin, I must apologize for this review. It is a bit scattered and wordy. I was very tired when I wrote it.

The wait to be seated and to get our orders in was a bit long. Perhaps their emphasis is largely on the existing customers before the newcomers. It was reasonably busy so I think I can excuse this.

I came with a few people, so this review is going to be a little bit longer.

Edamame is fairly standard. Simple and good. No complaints here. 

The Calamari was excellent! The sweet chili sauce is really good. The other white and orange sauce has the creamyness I like. The two sauces are like a yin and yang of delight. The fried onions and jalapeños were a nice touch as well.

The options are fairly numerous. I am a superfreak for sashimi so you know that I'm all over the Large Sashimi (12 pieces of 4 types of fish for $14, what a deal!!).

Also went with the Daizee (tuna, tempura shrimp, ono, lime, salmon, cucumber and onion).

The sashimi looked beautiful. It comes with a sweet sauce. The sauce tasted interesting but overall it was a bit distracting from the flavors of the fish. By the way, you can either choose which fish you want or go with Chef's Choice.

The Chef chose escolar, tuna, yellowtail, albacore.

The escolar is very light. The cucumber slices that came with the escolar may actually overpower it. I'm a fan, without the cucumber.

The tuna seemed a little old compared to other restaurants. It was presented in a delightful fashion. The flavor was a little lacking.

The yellowtail is very good. The morsels are delectable. This was the star of the dish. In hindsight, I would've been perfectly happy with 9 pieces of yellowtail and 3 pieces of escolar, hah.

The albacore seemed a little old, too. It didn't have the fresh snapback to it I expect from sashimi.

The Daizee sauce is savory. Almost to the point of overpowering the rest of the roll. The power of the fish is a little lacking after the taste of their sauce hit me! Though they provide extra sauce on the side, I probably wouldn't do any more dipping because it's overwhelms the fish.

Jalapeño bomb is spicy (of course). The spicy kick was excellent. It comes with a creamy sauce similar to the sauce from the Calamari (hard to tell if they're the same). A reasonable appetizer choice, but I would go with the Calamari first, if you had to choose one.

The Philly is very subtle and light. I did not like the overabundance of sesame seeds. I felt as though I couldn't really taste the fish inside.

The Red Dragon is very nice. The spicy kick is really solid. Easily gets my appetite going.

Second Source Account: Dragon Balls are awesome.

Third Source Account: too much chili sauce. I like cleaner rolls more, I felt theirs were a bit too busy. The Philly without the Chili sauce was really good, particularly with the sesame and the cucumber. The chili sauce overdid it, though.

Fourth Source Account: Dinero was so good. Dragonfly was really good, and particularly interesting because all of a sudden you get a jalapeño kick and then a second kick but of lime. Really liked the cream cheese in the rolls.

We decided to finish the meal off with Mochi Ice Cream!

I opted for the strawberry, chocolate, and cookies and cream.

Strawberry: harder than the others on my plate. The mochi exterior was a little tough.

Chocolate: soft texture. Flavor was really good. Probably my favorite of the bunch.

Cookies and cream: pretty solid flavor, texture was better than the strawberry but slightly worse than the chocolate.

(friend provided a sample) Mango: mild tang was pretty good.

Second Source: green tea is awesome. The texture was great. It was mildly sweet as opposed to the others.

Third Source: green tea is amazing. Very refreshing.

The Mochi ice cream is a great way to finish off a meal of sushi. The fact that you can choose three in a order for $6 is really cool. 

I must apologize for the scattered nature of this entry. It was a bit of a tiring weekend and all of my fatigue from the last several days of celebrations caught up to me during this meal. Fat Fish is a reasonable choice, particularly with respect to sashimi cost. However, it won't dethrone my favorites with regards to the flavors and freshness.

Pleiku

Pleiku

264 Main Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84101

TL;DR 

- Price: $10 - $15

- Flavor: Vietnamese/Asian

- Filling?: Yes

- Parking: Downtown, would probably have to park and walk a bit

Very cool location downtown with a dark, romantic atmosphere. Sleek and trendy menus, utensils, and plates.

The list of drinks is pretty good. The sapporo Boba tea sounds excellent.

XO noodles!!! A lot of places either don't have it or list it on the menu but cannot produce it when asked.

XO noodles are exactly what I expected. Piping hot noodles, bold flavors. Wonderful option to share. I'm not a huge fan of the cup of sauce. It tasted good, but you don't get the XO noodle flavor. It covers instead of complements the XO noodles. 

Words of warning to the uninitiated but adventurous: its texture is akin to a chow fun, and make sure you're comfortable with sharing with your dining compatriots as the noodles don't have clear lines of demarcation (germophobes probably should get their own or separate the portions early).

Combination pho was recommended. I always put bean sprouts in my pho for that crisp snap in each bite. The broth is a bit lighter than I'm accustomed to. I am tempted to add Sriracha. The meatball has a tremendous flavor to it. I usually like the rare and well done beef most in a bowl of pho but the meatball annihilated them both.

I love XO noodles so there's a clear and present bias here. Their pho is reasonably priced (around $8 or $9), especially for a dinner downtown. The flavor is lighter than I'd like, so I would likely choose a different main entree. Good nighttime option downtown!

Omar's Rawtopia

Omar's Rawtopia

2148 E Highland Dr, Salt Lake City, UT 84106

TL;DR 

- Price: $15+

- Flavor: Vegan

- Filling?: Depends!

- Parking: Pretty good

There is parking on the street, additional parking if you turn in from the street, and various lots/garage nearby.

Omar's Rawtopia is a pretty cozy place. It smells very earthy. I felt like I was neglecting the Vegan crowd a bit with my selections, so today was a step in that direction. 

I was recommended the Mango Smoothie (drink of the day). Very fresh! I like how they state that everything is made "with Love" in the menu. The drink is pretty clear about that.

The idea of a vegan sushi roll was very intriguing to me. I went with the Spicy Curried Seaweed Roll.

Firstly, the dish looks wonderful. They don't skimp on decor. Without the sauce, there's huge emphasis on the fresh taste and the crunch of the vegetables and nuts. The sauce is where it's at, though. The curry isn't as spicy as I traditionally am used to, but I really admired the ginger presence. My only complaint here is the portion size to price. However, I may be judging this on a vegan scale rather than a sushi scale: $15 for a specialty sushi roll isn't too excessive, right?

Omar's Rawtopia is a pretty cool vegan place. I do have higher expectations for sushi, but I will return to try their Raw Burger, about which I've heard great things.

Passion Flour Patisserie

Passion Flour Patisserie

165 900 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84111

TL;DR 

- Price: Less than $10

- Flavor: Bakery (Vegan, GMO-free)

- Filling?: Snack/Dessert

- Parking: Reasonable

New place, opened up in June. Very cute place. There seems to be additional rear parking, which is good because the street parking is minimal.

They are vegan friendly and gmo-free, which is super cool. The cashier also mentioned that they have gluten-free goods, so you may want to ask which ones will suit your needs there.

Speaking of minimal, the entire place is designed in a very clean manner. Pastries on the right, croissants on the left.

The staff is extremely friendly. Very helpful with regards to everything and very patient about the new free rewards system.

Their chocolate macaron was sweet but not excessive. I chose a fairly basic flavor to get a firm grasp on their style without being biased by the flavor. The feet are enormous. The mark of a good macaron lies in its feet and overall texture, but is there anything about the feet being too big? Nonetheless, it was very light and airy, which was what I was looking for. The only problem was deciding where exactly to begin because of the enormity of it.

I chose the chocolate lavender because there was a little label that said it was recommended by one of the staff (presumably, it would be a little strange to have a random person recommend something in such a professional manner). I love how they emphasize the flavors rather than piling on sweetness. The chocolate and lavender work beautifully together, and there are actually blueberries inside the dessert, a wonderful surprise! The cake is moist, not dry at all!

They provide free water, always a bonus when you're not in the right mood for coffee (or if you need to get that gallon quota).

I really like this place. It was fairly quiet when I arrived. Just stop, get a cup of coffee and a delectable vegan chocolate lavender, and throw your worries to the wind.

Gracie's

Gracie's

326 West Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101

TL;DR 

- Price: $15+ (with beverage)

- Flavor: Bar food AND Sophisticated American

- Filling?: Yes

- Parking: Reasonable

Parking in the lot is not free. Park on the street if you want to save $6.

Firstly, the building is enormous. I can see why so many people recommended it to me as a weekend bar destination. Pretty chill environment. Nice patio. I was compelled to just go upstairs and yell to the stars.

A Second Source recommended the Seafood Mac and Cheese, Chicken Marsala and Kobe burger, with the first being the best. Onward with the carb overload!

My picture does not do it justice. The lighting is that of a bar, so it's hard to see the maximum beauty of the dish without ordering it in person.

They provided a tiny but incredibly crisp piece of bread. Think bread like a hot d'oeuvre, but crunchy like a crouton. Nice little bite to get the taste buds going.

It smelled divine and tasted extremely cheesy. There's so much shrimp! Holy cow! I would have to work to get a shrimp-less bite. Their shrimp has that wonderfully succulent snap when you bite into it. The lump crab is great, but is a little overshadowed by the shrimp. Had I not come in after delaying my dinner for so long, I would have required a box. It is very filling.

Gracie's is a very nice late-night hotspot. I imagine it would be very busy on a Friday or Saturday night. The food was very surprising: I usually expect just burgers and beer from a bar. The Gastropub shines through with their dinner options such as the Seafood Mac and Cheese and the Ribeye Filet (next time).

Finns

Finns

1624 S 1100 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84105

TL;DR 

- Price: $10 - 17 (with beverage)

- Flavor: Scandinavian

- Filling?: Yes, but not excessively so

- Parking: Reasonable

It was very busy. It looks like people park in the nearby neighborhood when the lot is full. So that's an option, I suppose.

Not to throw too much shade, but the exterior is not indicative of the interior at all. It looks like an old diner from the outside. It looks very clean and bright inside.

Green drink - spinach, celery, parsley, cucumber.

The cucumber and celery are the primary flavors here. Very refreshing. I feel like all my poor diet choices today will be justified. It's a bit spendy for a beverage (a little over $4), but healthy choices usually are, right? I enjoyed it, but that last gulp is a powerful one (as the bits that have settled make their last stand).

I really appreciate the use of the fresh flower in the middle of the table. Nice touch.

I ordered the Scandinavian Breakfast with wheat bread and eggs over easy. The Wheat bread was very soft, riddled with onions (maybe pass on this if you're not into onions or on a date).

The salmon is moist. A little fishy but that is easily remedied by the lemon and the tartar sauce. Large portion! They certainly don't skimp here.

The hash browns are crisp and very flavorful. I felt like I didn't need to apply any hot sauce nor ketchup to these, which was surprising.

Second Source Account:

Catch of the day: Grilled Large Scallops with Spinach, Mix Peppers on a tomato cream ginger sauce with gazpacho

The gazpacho was very fresh, the taste was almost to the tune of a salsa. The avocado is the best part. There's shrimp! But it lacked the snap I expect from shrimp. The shrimp was probably soaking in the gazpacho for a while to impart the flavor.

The scallops are very light. Great for health conscious. The sauce doesn't drown out the fresh flavor of the scallops either.

Second Source Account End.

Their jam is wonderful. It's sweet and sour in a delightful way. Strawberries seemed very fresh. The tang is very scintillating to the appetite. I thought I was too full to finish the toast but the jam made it easy.

I really enjoyed my experience at Finns. The Scandinavian flair they have is wonderful. I really did not expect such a large piece of salmon when I ordered the breakfast. Great deal. I want to return to try their Chicken and Waffles, which sounded really good (Finn's Fried Chicken, Norwegian Waffles, served with Lingonberries, Sour Cream, Maple Syrup and Butter).