Scott @ 3:51 pm
“Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red plate. . .” Try Dee’s and The Blue Plate.
I want to talk about food. Specifically the type of food that my good friend calls, “Slutty food,” the type of food that is not trying to dress up nice or be called by fancy names. No, this is the food that strongly appeals to our most basic and primal desires—big fat food in big fat portions. You know, it’s the same type of food that Grams and Gramps used to serve before they both died at an early age from congestive heart failure. Here are two Salt Lake City original restaurants that I’ve been known to frequent which serve this delicious yet sometimes promiscuous food.
- Dee’s Family Restaurant. Dee’s is not one of those places that will give you vegan, vegetarian, or other healthy alternatives. No, this is the place where “healthy alternative” means a cup of canned fruit cocktail in light syrup or ordering the apple pie instead of the chocolate crème pie because at least there is fruit in the apple pie. Dee’s is the type of restaurant where your waitress usually knows most of her customers by name, doesn’t look at her order slip when she writes, and can calculate her tip by how many times she calls you either “hon” or “darlin’” during your visit. I overheard my waitress say that she’d been waiting tables at Dees for 31 years! In case you didn’t get that, she’s been at Dee’s since Gerald Ford was president, only 2 years after the Vietnam War. If I’m in the mood for Dee’s I don’t mess around. I go straight for the Lumberjack Breakfast. The Lumberjack Breakfast is more of a phenomenon than a meal. It comes with three eggs, two sausage patties, two strips of
bacon, hash browns, three huge buttermilk pancakes, and a hefty dose of heart burn. I ordered all this (they throw the heart burn in for free) plus an orange juice to wash it all down for under $10. Apparently the prices haven’t changed much since 1977. Perhaps Dee’s might consider creating a coffee creamer that uses Pepto Bismol as its main ingredient. There’s even a YouTube video featuring Dee’s, sort of boring but the kid is cute. The video does ends with a shot of the waitress of 31 years in the background serving food probably her 4,809,335th table. Reviews. Map.
- The Blue Plate Diner. The “Blue Plate” as locals call it is simply a pleasure to visit. The circa 1950’s décor hits home with a live juke box playing Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash, and more Elvis paraphernalia than Graceland. Unlike other locals haunts, The Blue Plate also serves health-conscious food . . .but in a slutty-food kinda way. The Blue Plate menu unapologetically lists their solid-foods staples like their 1/3 lb. hamburger, Buffalo Burger, and Blue Burger, next to their soy, vegan, and garden burgers. There are many other vegan substitutes on the menu, which don’t substitute healthy for flavor. Breakfast is served all day. My favorite is their Traditional Blue Plate Benedict, eggs served over English muffins, Canadian bacon, and hollandaise sauce. I add a couple of pancakes on the side. I’m getting hungry as I think about this. Reviews. Map
Bon appetite! Or should I say, “Come ‘n git it!”
Jake @ 8:01 am
Footage from Snowbird’s closing weekend! A big THANKS to everyone that was involved with this season.
Two Flavors
Medium-Res YouTube Version
High-Res Download
http://www.jakecast.com/helmetcast/helmetCast5.m4v
What an awesome way to end the season! Pond skimming, slush skiing, and chutes defined by bushes. Doesn’t get much better than that!
Kendall @ 2:29 pm
When people mention Utah and mountain biking in the same breath it’s either associated or quickly followed by a “Moab” or “Gooseberry Mesa” or even “Park City single track”. My guess is that locals to Salt Lake are snickering given that the riding here has improved dramatically in the past few years. Old trails that were abandoned have been resurrected while new trails are popping up all around.
Groups like WAFTA (Wasatch Area Freeride Trails Association) and others are out shaking hands with land owners, public and private, and more so are out digging and moving dirt to help shape the future of Salt Lake area mountain biking trails. (more…)
Kendall @ 11:07 am
People think we’re strange here in Utah. Heck (preferred Utah word), people think we’re strange in the United States. I mean, who are we kidding, were wierd.
Alas, we are who we are. A mix of a hundred cultures, with all sorts of different quirks and cultural differences. To that end the Travel Channel has a series called “Lawrence of America” where Lawrence travels the U.S. learning different trades and traditions. In the upcoming episode, to air this coming Monday June 30th, features Lawrence in Park City, Utah learning about the winter Olympic sports and giving them a try. You can see a piece of the episode on the Travel Channel’s Lawrence page, click the video screen just right of center. In this clip, you get a look at what ski athletes do for summer training. (more…)
Kendall @ 3:49 pm
Thanks in part to my wife who lived in Italy for a time, and in part to my love of good food, when it comes to eating Italian I’m somewhat picky. Like most of you I want the real thing. It was with anticipation that my good friend Jules Lambert who runs the local company PROBAR, suggested we have lunch at his new favorite place - Settebello.
Located in the heart of downtown eating at what I like to call the new “hotbed of eats” that is the area surrounding the corner of 2nd west and 3rd south, Settebello is fast gaining the attention of Salt Lakers and visitors alike. It’s not hard to gather attention when you win Best New Restaurant of 2008 by Salt Lake Magazine Dining Guide. It also doesn’t hurt to have great neighbors in Acme, Buca, Red Rock and PF Chang to name a few. (more…)
Jake @ 9:06 am
Date: June 13-15, 2008
Location: Alta/Snowbird, UT
New Snow: 0″
Featuring: Me (Jake Kirshner), Daryn Edmunds, Carston Oliver, Ben Wheeler, Molly Baker
…and episode 4 is up. Going to goggle-strap mount this weekend in an effort to reduce the jitter in HC5. See you this weekend, Snowbird is saying this will be the last weekend of operations so book your tickets and don’t miss it!
Low Res YouTube Version:
High-Res Version: http://www.jakecast.com/helmetcast/helmetCast4.m4v
Jake
Kendall @ 11:27 am
Best known for it’s locally brewed beer with award winning flavors like Provo Girl Pilsner and Full Suspension Ale, Squatters wouldn’t have been my first guess for finding what I think could be one of Salt Lake’s best salads.
But there I was last Thursday evening on a particularly pleasant summer night downtown at Squatters on the patio for a reception. After looking over the menu I asked the server which of the salads was her favorite. “The Spinach Blackened Tilapia is quite popular,” she replied. On the recommendation I gave it a go and was very glad that I did.
Not familiar with Tilapia, she mentioned that it is Tuna. To be correct, (more…)
