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I booked a condo between Gateway Mall and City Creek

For those who want expensive fancy dinning experience that's actually good, try Cafe Madrid on Highland and something like 60th South. Another good expensive restaurant is Mia Sicilia also on Highland, and 45th South.
 
Never tried it. Maybe I'll try it today if I decide to take a couple of hours lunch break.

Ill be curious to see what you think. I have actually only got the Pho once there, I usually get other stuff. Pho is good to me but not usually my favorite.
 
Tell me another city that has population under 200,000 in the USA that has better food. SLC does not compete with real big cities but they are way ahead of other cities their own size. Having been to most major US cities I would rank it in the top 20. They have good diversity in food as well.

There is good food in SLC. It's no NYC or L.A. or Chicago, and not even like those cities' little brothers. But there is good food in SLC.

I've been unimpressed with nearly every big name restaurant and plenty of the smaller local ones.

The best mexican food place in SLC is Chunga's. I used to love the one in Provo and was sad when they went out of business and very happy to discover their original restaurant in SLC is still up and running. I saw one of their trucks driving and followed it back to the restaurant. I guess I could have googled their address but following them back to delicious food seemed like a more exciting story. Plus they were so happy when I told them what I was doing they gave me a free lunch.

That's a cool story, but like almost all other Mexican food in this area, Chunga's sucks.

It's hard to mess up Mexican, but somehow Chunga's does, Chubby's does, La Frontera does, and Lorento's does.
 
I've been unimpressed with nearly every big name restaurant and plenty of the smaller local ones.



That's a cool story, but like almost all other Mexican food in this area, Chunga's sucks.

It's hard to mess up Mexican, but somehow Chunga's does, Chubby's does, La Frontera does, and Lorento's does.

Lol, your negativity is on point. Where are these cities SLC size that are better? Are you impressed by any food anywhere? Is there anything you are impressed by?

Chungas is very good. Although if you are expecting a certain type of Mexican food you might be let down. Chungas is mexico city/ central Mexico inner city style Mexican food. A lot of people like the rural home cooking style Mexican food. I find that style to be okay but much more bland. They do great Taco Al Pastor as well as having some unique and good salsas. They also do really good vegetarian options. There is a good reason there is a good size crowd at this place and that a lot of people there do not speak English.

The only other Mexican restaurant in Utah that I felt was close, although different styles was El Azteca in Provo. They shut down about 6 months ago though. There is one in Orem but it is a different owner and no where near as good as the Provo one was. Some of the taco trucks are pretty good as well such as Toro Taco.
 
Lol, your negativity is on point. Where are these cities SLC size that are better? Are you impressed by any food anywhere? Is there anything you are impressed by?

Ne need to get sensitive or aggressive because I don't care for your precious Chungas or most SLC cuisine. I did give several examples that I do like, it's just that I prefer standardized quality restaurants to the varying junk most SLC joints put out. Consistency is a restaurant staple and most these small joints in SLC are so up-and-down that they are not worth frequenting.

Next point: I can get good al pastor virtually anywhere. However, I did recommended Chungas to Colton in his doner kabab thread https://jazzfanz.com/showthread.php?14019-Doner-kebabs-in-Utah&p=464927&viewfull=1#post464927
 
All right heading to La Cai. I hope I'm not disappointed.
 
Sawadee is another good place, great Thai food.

Pkm would probably like Voltaire's osteria as well.

My favorite thing at oh mai is the ribeye vermicelli bowl. One of the best dishes in Utah. Like siro said though, the pho at oh mai sucks. The ban mi and noodle bowls are amazing. Like best I've ever had. And I lived in Asia for a while.
 
All of Salt Lake County is about 1 million but that is a very large area. I guess SLC metro is 1 million but that is still a pretty small compared to most major metros, 48th in the USA. But most metros are a little more dense than the very spread out Salt lake metro.

I would put Honolulu on the list of places with better food that are around the same size.

Odd to me but I just checked and Salt Lake City metro is only 2X bigger than Provo Metro.

The area of Salt Lake County is inflated by the natural areas that surround us. I think that our wide roads and huge blocks make it seem more spread out than it is.

Population density map of SL county-https://www.city-data.com/county/Salt_Lake_County-UT.html#mapOSM?mapOSM[zl]=10&mapOSM[c1]=40.66806&mapOSM[c2]=-111.90831&mapOSM=blocks3&mapOSM[fs]=false

I always considered the SLC metro area to include Provo and Ogden. I'm probably wrong, though.

They are part of our combined statistical area but not our metropolitan statistical area. It really depends on what you're talking about. The area served by a sports team you would look at the CSA, a restaurant the MSA.
 
Finished my pho special at la cai (tripe, tendon, brisket, meatballs and steak). The broth, which is the most important thing, was just okay. I've given up on finding amazing broth in SLC. The ingredients were fresh and tasty, but unfortunately, it suffers from trying to fancy up the dish. The fat on the brisket was trimmed to a minimum, the meatballs were a bit bland, and there was only a single piece of tendon. The chili oil was hot and flavorful.

The whole thing was fine. Another solid, but unexceptional, pho joint in SLC. 7/10.

Next time I come here I'll try something different.
 
Ne need to get sensitive or aggressive because I don't care for your precious Chungas or most SLC cuisine. I did give several examples that I do like, it's just that I prefer standardized quality restaurants to the varying junk most SLC joints put out. Consistency is a restaurant staple and most these small joints in SLC are so up-and-down that they are not worth frequenting.

Next point: I can get good al pastor virtually anywhere. However, I did recommended Chungas to Colton in his doner kabab thread https://jazzfanz.com/showthread.php?14019-Doner-kebabs-in-Utah&p=464927&viewfull=1#post464927

Neither sensitive nor aggressive. Just curious what places you do like, your obviously pretty negative about most things on here, I assumed it was your shtick.

I guess I am quite the opposite. I find national chain restaurants bland food and boring. There are very few I actually like and almost always avoid them especially when out of town.
 
Neither sensitive nor aggressive. Just curious what places you do like, your obviously pretty negative about most things on here, I assumed it was your shtick.

I guess I am quite the opposite. I find national chain restaurants bland food and boring. There are very few I actually like and almost always avoid them especially when out of town.

Makes no sense to me. I mean, they are national chains for a reason. They provide a quality product at a price that people appreciate.

I do get the boring definition of bland. I get bored with the same ol same ol. If you want something interesting, next time you're in Orem try La Carreta's Peruvian restaurant. The place smells faintly of rotten eggs, and it's very basic food, but having bisteck marinated in grapefruit juice is unique. I've found the rest of their dishes interestingly different as well.
 
Finished my pho special at la cai (tripe, tendon, brisket, meatballs and steak). The broth, which is the most important thing, was just okay. I've given up on finding amazing broth in SLC. The ingredients were fresh and tasty, but unfortunately, it suffers from trying to fancy up the dish. The fat on the brisket was trimmed to a minimum, the meatballs were a bit bland, and there was only a single piece of tendon. The chili oil was hot and flavorful.

The whole thing was fine. Another solid, but unexceptional, pho joint in SLC. 7/10.

Next time I come here I'll try something different.

So what's the secret to a pho good broth? I've been thinking about making some pho but I'm not bad *** like GF by making my own stock. I've found a mixture of beef and chicken broth to be sufficient for most things such as french onion soup.
 
So what's the secret to a pho good broth? I've been thinking about making some pho but I'm not bad *** like GF by making my own stock. I've found a mixture of beef and chicken broth to be sufficient for most things such as french onion soup.

pho broth has some sweetness to it. The recipes I've seen recommended rock candy. There is also clove, anise, coriander, cardamon, fennel and cinnamon. Along with some onion.

You want it to be very aromatic and with a deep rich savory beef goodness. Bone broth is really good for it because of how rich it is. But regardless, pho broth is almost always beef based.
 
pho broth has some sweetness to it. The recipes I've seen recommended rock candy. There is also clove, anise, coriander, cardamon, fennel and cinnamon. Along with some onion.

You want it to be very aromatic and with a deep rich savory beef goodness. Bone broth is really good for it because of how rich it is. But regardless, pho broth is almost always beef based.

Love me some bone broth. Specially ox bone soup. Yum.
 
Makes no sense to me. I mean, they are national chains for a reason. They provide a quality product at a price that people appreciate.

I do get the boring definition of bland. I get bored with the same ol same ol. If you want something interesting, next time you're in Orem try La Carreta's Peruvian restaurant. The place smells faintly of rotten eggs, and it's very basic food, but having bisteck marinated in grapefruit juice is unique. I've found the rest of their dishes interestingly different as well.

I have eaten at La Carreta's quite a few times. I really liked them at their old location when they were smaller. Once they got bigger I felt like they focused less on quality but are still pretty good. They need a liquor license as well, unless they have got one since the last time I was there. I personally (even if not drinking at my meal) try to only eat at places that have a liquor license or are trying to get one, especially in Utah county.

National chains are chains because of marketing and brand recognition. They also strive to be consistent which is important to some people to be traveling and go to restaurants they know what they are getting. Best tasting food is not a trademark of national chains. That is why McDonalds is not the best burger in the world. Utahn's do seem to love them since traditionally we have not got a lot of them in due to the liquor license restriction and lack of liquor purchasing in general, although the floodgates have opened lately. I do really like Yardhouse national chain. Moslty because they have a crazy good beer selection from micro breweries all around the US including Utah, the food is fine and a decent selection which is all I ask of a national chain.
 
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Love me some bone broth. Specially ox bone soup. Yum.

My typical broth is made from ~18lbs beef shin bones, 4lbs ox tail, a few pounds beef spare ribs. Start by putting quartered onion on a screen directly over a gas burner to get a good char and roasting the bones until they have some nice roasted color. Add to stock pot and cover with cold water. Add about a cup of chinese black vinegar and a handful of whole black tellicherry pepercorns. Simmer for about 48 hrs, skimming and saving the rendered fat along the way. I use the rendered fat (tallow) for cooking.
 
My typical broth is made from ~18lbs beef shin bones, 4lbs ox tail, a few pounds beef spare ribs. Start by putting quartered onion on a screen directly over a gas burner to get a good char and roasting the bones until they have some nice roasted color. Add to stock pot and cover with cold water. Add about a cup of chinese black vinegar and a handful of whole black tellicherry pepercorns. Simmer for about 48 hrs, skimming and saving the rendered fat along the way. I use the rendered fat (tallow) for cooking.

Sounds delicious. Can I have some next poker game?
 
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