After a light lunch (and interesting beer) we checked in at the Residence Inn, SLC. This room was even bigger than the Provo location and things looked new. We then had a nice short nap. The staff here was quite friendly and nice. The location is right on 300 South aka West Broadway.
The Greek Orthodox Church is right across the street as is Pioneer Park.
The location was quite convenient. Our dinner destination was just a half mile walk down the street. A couple of things we noticed right away.....there are tons of chain restaurants in SLC. And in spite of all the cars parked; the streets looked empty.
I had made dinner reservations at The Copper Onion. The menu looked perfect for us. Man, in spite of how the streets looked; this placed was packed to the gills. The dining room seemed on the hot and stuffy side, so since the weather was mild we asked if we could get a table on the patio. They only too happy to oblige.
Our server was a really gracious, friendly, and knowledgeable young man named Michael. He made the meal a seamless process except for the time they took our plates and silverware away then brought us our next course...leaving us stranded. But other than that, we enjoyed the service.
We started with the Wagyu Beef Tartar ($11).
Man, look at all that crostini. This didn't quite do it for us. The beef was too chewy, it was under seasoned...I really missed that velvety egg yolk which adds richness without interfering with the refreshing aspect of the beef, which the salsa rosa did. The arugula, fresh, crisp, not overly bitter, dressed simply was the best part of the dish.
The Escarole Salad ($10) looked quite sloppy.
The greens were really nice and crisp, but I wasn't a fan of the balsamic they used which was extremely sour, lacking the rounded balance, and touch of sweetness that we love in a balsamic vinegar.
The best item of the night was the Wagyu Roasted Bone Marrow ($18).
Man, that marrow was awesome....simply prepared, rich, smoky, with a touch of salt which was provided on the side. The Missus made sure to have every single little morsel.
Luckily, we made sure to keep the salt provided for the bone marrow. We needed it for the Griddled Duck ($23).
Funny thing; several items seemed in need of salt...which led the missus to say, "hey, this is SALT Lake City, right?" The duck, with a light sprinkle of salt tasted fine. It was cooked a nice medium rare. It was cut a bit too thick. also, the plating seemed a bit dated and ponderous. That red stuff you see on the butternut squash puree is actually duck blood......I don't think the duck rested long enough after prep. Loved the upland cress, peppery and refreshing. The Portobello was totally under-seasoned and the gills hadn't been cleaned, so it left a huge black blotch in the orange-blood tinged, plate.
The Missus did love Her order of Beets ($4), though.
The service here was excellent. The food however, seemed a bit uneven to us; in terms of flavor, presentation, and finesse. Still, I'm glad we tried the place.
The Copper Onion
111 E Broadway
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
After dinner, the Missus decided we needed to burn off that bone marrow so we walked all the way to Trolley Square, then back to the Residence Inn.
We passed the modern looking public library and the City and County Building along the way back.
Man, so this was Saturday night, huh? We finally passed a couple of groups of people as we walked up South Main Street. As we got close to the hotel, we stopped by Squatters Craft Beer, which was packed in spite of the empty streets (strange, I know) and picked up a couple of bottles to try as a nightcap.
The Squatters Bumper Crop Honey Ale was fine, nice head, hints of citrus and honey (of course). The Wasatch Evolution Amber Ale is pretty blah.....
Still, the weather was nice...we kept the windows open all night and the Missus sure slept well!
Tomorrow, we'd have one last chance for a good meal in SLC before heading to the airport. Would we find it?
Stay Tuned!
funny how they do beef tartare in the U.S. without the raw egg and here in Japan they do raw eggs but don't do raw beef...
Posted by: kat | Saturday, 18 April 2015 at 12:34 AM
Interesting observation Kat!
Posted by: Kirk | Saturday, 18 April 2015 at 04:49 PM