Did you say Siegfried?

Synopsis

I really enjoyed the carrot cake and the Wienerschnitzel at Siegfried's Deli.  The employees were a bit brisk, but helpful.  Not only is the food worth going back for, but the imported goods store is a great boon as well.

Review

A friend of mine and I decided it was time to give Siegfried's Deli a try.  I went up for the food; he went because he's a fan of Get Smart and had to eat here just for the name's sake.

Upon arriving I was surprised to see an imported goods store as well.  They don't just sell cooked German food, but also imported chocolate, cookies, and several other things.  The place to order and the deli counter is but a small corner of the entire place; the rest is made up of tables and shelves.

I've always wanted to try Wienerschnitzel, and here was my chance.   My mouth watered as they put the Wienerschnitzel in the frier; it looked very good.  However, I wasn't too impressed with the sides. I decided to go with the Hot Potato salad (since many users on Urbanspoon enjoyed it) and Spaetzle; for dessert I ordered a slice of carrot cake.  The Wienerschnitzel was as good as I thought it would be with some lemon juice on top of it.  The Spaetzle and Hot Potato Salad were a little tough to swallow.  The Spaetzle looks like spaghetti with gravy and tasted about the same whereas the Hot Potato Salad  was a bit bitter and not what I was expecting.  However, the carrot cake was very good.  Granted, it's more of a European design than an American, but I enjoyed it.  And my friend really liked his German Chocolate cake (that was the only thing he completely ate).


All in all I was very pleased to find this location.  This is definitely something on my places to visit in downtown Salt Lake.  After finishing the meal, I purchased a few other chocolate items and brought them to my parents who lived in Germany and Austria for 11/2 - 2 years.  Both are eager to try this little slice of Germany once they have a chance.

Cost and Big John Rating

$8.49 = Wienerschnitzel and two sides
Service = 8
Quality = 8
Taste = 7
Ambiance = 8
Price Rating = 8.5
Big John Rating = 7.8

Notable URLs

Siegfried's Website
Siegfried's Menu

Moochie's Meatballs and Real Cheese steaks

Synopsis

Amazing Philly Cheese steaks, good prices, and a great location makes Moochie's Meatballs & More! a winner.

Review

I saw this place on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri and couldn't resist trying it out.  After all, I'm always in the mood for a good Philly Cheese steak and apparently this is the place to get one.

Knowing that this place tends to draw a crowd, I thought I'd get here at about 2pm after the lunch crowd had died out to see if I couldn't come at a slow time of day.  Unfortunately, it was still fairly busy even at 2, and when I left at 2:30 it hadn't slowed down.  The seven tables inside filled up quickly and rotated slowly, but they also have outdoor seating as well.  Although they have but one cash register (which is typical in the Philly Cheese steak places I've been to and is a necessity with the square footage), they also had an extra person taking orders while the other one both took orders and worked the register.  This really helped speed up the amount of time people were in line and made what would have been a long wait very manageable.

Right after my John Hancock made it to the credit card receipt, they called my name and my order was ready.  If I was in a position to order to go, I would have done so since the place was crowded; however, it didn't take long before a table opened up.  After pulling off the brown wrapping paper and aluminum foil covering my Philly, I dug right in.  I was a little surprised and, perhaps, disappointed when I felt a harder bun covering my Cheese steak rather than the softer one I was used to at other locations.  I was also skeptical about the American cheese rather than my typical Cheese wiz order.  However, that's probably why I'm a critic and not a chef.  Although the outside crust was hard, the inside was as soft as I like.  The crust didn't detract from the sandwich at all but really added to it since it added extra texture that combined well with the rest.  As for the American cheese, it was creamy, blended well with the rest of the meat, and as I ate the sandwich I didn't miss my Cheese wiz at all.  Part of the secret to their great sandwich is that they put the cheese on top of the meat while it's cooking which allows that cheese to melt and blend with the meat whereas at other times it's placed on top as an after thought and doesn't always blend well.  All this included with their tender rib eye and longer strips of well cooked onions makes this a winning combination.

I really enjoyed the Philly and look forward to then next time I visit Moochie's Meatballs and More.  Now that I've had my usual Philly and know the quality that comes from here, I'll have to try something with their marinara sauce (which also looks great and makes my mouth water thinking about it).  And, of course, I'll have to dig into a meatball or two.

Cost and Big John Rating

$9.49 = 12' Philly Cheese steak

Ambiance = 9

Taste = 9

Quality = 9

Service = 9

Price Rating = 8.6

Big John Rating = 8.9

Notable URLs

Moochie's Meatballs & More! Website

Menu

Diners, Drive-ins and Dives Youtube video:

Pad Thai Siam and the Massaman Curry Lunch Special

Synopsis

The Massaman Curry at Pad Thai Siam was very good because of the larger chunks of vegetables and chicken.  The service could use improvement (a common theme in Thai Restaurants), but overall I was very pleased with the experience.

Review

Being a fan of Thai Chili Gardens, I really enjoy this place as well.  The inside is well furnished with Thai decor and a complimentary fish tank greets the guests in their waiting area.  Even though it's Pad Thai Siam and owned by a new owner, the decor is the same as the old Thai Chili Gardens but the menu is very different.

One thing we pleasantly noticed was the addition of a lunch menu.  For some members of the crew the previous lunch prices were a little steep, but this new menu will allow us to eat here more frequently.  Not seeing my usual on the menu, I went with my second usual -- the Massaman curry.


With the lunch special ordered, the slow business day allowed for quick service and we soon had our appetizer (which comes with the lunch special) consisting of wonton soup and an egg roll.  I think this wonton soup is the best I've had!  The meat was full of flavor and I like the fish sauce included in it, the wrap wasn't doughy or overdone but done just right, and the broth was good as well.


Before our soup was finished, out came the curry.  Although it was a lunch special, I was impressed with the portion size.  When I left, I didn't feel like stopping by a dollar menu somewhere.  Their Massaman includes avocado as well as the typical potatoes, cashews, onions, and chicken.  It was good to see the avocado in there, but it wasn't something I really noticed.  The potato chunks were larger than I expected and were perhaps a little undercooked but not too bad.  Everything else about it was excellent; the chicken tasted great as well as the onion slices and cashews.  I really enjoyed it.


Overall I thought the food was excellent.  The service, for the most part was pretty good; however, my biggest complaint is that we never had a refill on our drinks.  For me, refills are critical when it comes to good service and not having refills is costly.  However, overall I was pleased with the experience and grateful there was a satisfying lunch menu.  Next time I'll get the rest of the lunch crew to come.

Cost and Big John Rating

$6.95 = Massaman Curry Lunch Special
Ambiance = 8
Service = 6
Quality = 9
Taste = 9
Price Rating = 9.1
Big John Rating = 8.0

Notable URLs
Pad Thai Siam
Facebook Wall

Spicy Thai and the Lunch Special

Synopsis

The food and price were good, but the service leaves something to be desired.

Review

One of the lunch crew decided to give this place a try.  He was coming back from a tough morning on the slopes and due to its relative proximity to Provo Canyon (and the fact that we haven't eaten here yet) asked us to come on by.  Although it is a bit further than we typically go (and we needed to pass several Thai restaurants to get here), we agreed.


Upon entering, I was amazed at how small it was.  Most Thai places in Utah County are small; this seems a bit smaller than most but not bad.  Just a little while later the server came, showed us our seats, and we were ready to order.


The special today was the red curry, but it can be substituted for Mussaman.  The fresh roll was quite good and the peanut sauce added to the flavor.  Although the soup shown here is the coconut, I ordered the sweet and sour which was switched on someone's plate.  The sweet and sour wasn't what I typically would expect.  The soup itself was mostly a clear color instead of the brown I've normally had.  There were also large helpings / slices of vegetables and chicken which went very well with the broth.  I thought it was unique and quite tasty; something I'll remember the next time I come.


The Mussaman was a typical Mussaman and tasted similar to most that I've had (which was what I was looking for in the curry).  Overall I thought the food was excellent.  Because it was a lunch special, the portion sizes were smaller than I would normally prefer with Thai food, but this is typical for a Thai lunch special (and it's fairly priced as well).  My biggest (and really only complaint) was the service.  The meal came out fairly quickly, but we didn't get our napkins or silverware until the meal was halfway through and our glasses were empty for most of it.  It could be that the person who helped us was new; however, everything else was pretty good.  Next time I'm in the area looking for Thai, I'll stop on by.

Cost and Big John Rating

$7.99 = Lunch Special (Mussaman Curry, spring roll, and soup)
Service = 6
Ambiance = 8
Quality = 8
Taste = 8
Price Rating = 8.0
Big John Rating = 7.5

Notable URLs

Disappointed at Asian Panda

Synopsis

At Asian Panda, the chicken was dry, the meat had little flavor, and although the service was great out of the 8 of us, 7 will not go back.

Review

The lunch crew saw that a new Asian restaurant had opened up on 8th North.  Because we enjoy Asian food, we decided to give this one a try.  Unfortunately, we were very disappointed.

The interior looked great and the server was very prompt at taking our order and getting us accommodated with drinks.  Because we came during their grand opening, they had several specials for lunch and we decided to take the buy one get one half off deal and I went with the Kung Pao Beef, brown rice, and wonton soup.


The soup came out fairly quickly.  I thought that the wonton was very good -- perhaps a little doughy but not that bad.  Just a little bit after finishing, out came my order.  Excited by the soup, I dug right in.  I was quite disappointed.  I spent most of my meal chewing on the gristle from my meat.  I thought that the vegetables that went with the meal were very good and I probably would have enjoyed the meal if that was all I had, but I didn't care for the beef at all.  Not only did I spend most of the meal time chewing on gristle, but the meal itself had little flavor.


Whilst chewing on the gristle, a friend of mine took a piece of my meat and offered me some of his orange chicken.  Thinking that I couldn't go wrong with my favorite (I rarely if ever order the Kung Pao Beef, but decided to order it because it's one of their most requested dishes), I took up my friend's offer and grabbed a piece of his orange chicken.  I think that was probably the driest chicken I've had in a long time.  Plus I didn't get the taste of citrus that I normally love with the orange chicken -- there wasn't anything orange about this chicken, including the taste and color.  This is the first time I've ever gone wrong with my favorite meal.


All in all, the service and cost were the only two good parts of the meal.  If it was just me, that would be one thing.  However, 8 of us were there and only one person liked his meal.  The rest of us aren't going back.  The price is excellent for Asian food, but the food just isn't worth the price.  Next time I crave Chinese food, I'll probably end up at Panda express before I think of coming here.

Cost and Big John Rating

$6.75 = Kung Pao Beef
Taste = 4
Quality = 5
Ambiance = 8
Service = 8
Price Rating = 5.4
Big John Rating = 6.2

Notable URLs
Asian Panda Website
Asian Panda Menu

A Butch Cassidy Burger from Broiler Express

Synopsis
If you want good food and great service but don't want to wait in a long line, Broiler Express is the place for you.


Review
I was amazed to see that this place has finally opened.  Who would have known?  It's been an empty building for so long that I wouldn't believe it was open except for the fact that someone I trusted ate there.


Although open, it's still very vacant inside.  There were four other customers in there which, from what I've been told, was actually quite busy for this location.  Since no one else was in line, I stood up to the register and placed my order.  The Butch Cassidy burger is one of their most popular ones and once I heard it included swiss cheese I decided to go for it.


I'm not one for a western burger.  I like the idea of an onion ring on a burger; I'm not such a fan of barbecue sauce on a burger.  In spite of that bias, though, I did enjoy this one.  The processed swiss cheese is something I rather enjoy and the onion ring fit nicely.  On some western burgers the onion ring can get in the way, sometimes it's so large that it pretty much is the burger and not an accessory to it.  But on the Butch Cassidy burger, it belongs.


The onion rings in general were excellent.  These onion rings are more onion than they are batter.  Deep fried to a golden brown, they have surprisingly little grease.  The container had little if any grease left on it after they were eaten.  Of course, my hands had some; you can't expect to eat onion rings without any grease, but they are close to the least greasy ones I've had.  The fry sauce was pretty good as well.  I look forward to ordering them the next time I come.


Perhaps its because there isn't a lot of customers, but the service was very good as well.  On the way out the door the person who took my order asked me how I liked my burger, and the person bringing it out offered to get me fry sauce and / or ketchup from the condiment bar that I overlooked on the way over.  This is some of the best service I've had at a fast food place.  Because of the service and the good food, I'm looking forward to my next visit.


Cost and Big John Rating
$5.76 = Large Butch Cassidy Burger Combo includes Butch Cassidy Burger, Onion Rings, and a Large Drink.
Service = 9
Ambiance = 8
Quality = 8
Taste = 8
Price Rating = 8.3
Big John Rating = 8.6


Notable URLs

The Steak Sandwich at La Jolla Groves

Synopsis
The service was, for the most part, very good and the Sourdough Steak Sandwich was tasty as well.  However, the cost was a little too steep for my taste.  It seems that most everything had its pros and cons, but the sandwich was good.


Review
The Riverwoods is a place that the lunch crew does not like to frequent.  For starters, we prefer places with parking.  I have mixed emotions about the changes made to their main street (now main walkway); I really like the change but parking was already a difficult experience beforehand and now it's crossed the line to atrocious.  However, road rage does seem to build up an appetite and the Riverwoods definitely has that cure, but if you're new to the area I would recommend coming early just to get a spot at all -- much less a good one.  You'll thank me later.

The main entry way into La Jolla Groves

Now that my rant about the parking and the general location is out of the way, on to the review of La Jolla Groves.  It was a bit difficult to find because there wasn't a big sign outside the entry way or above the front door indicating where it was like there are on the other establishments in the area (or just in general).  There was a metal stand with the words "La Jolla Groves" written on a piece of paper pointing the way for us to go, but I almost ended up in their bakery section simply because the name was written on the door.  Luckily, though, we did find the location and a parking spot before we starved.   But finding it wasn't as easy as one would expect.


Upon entering the restaurant, the first thing we noticed was the fragrance of the flowers near the entryway.  The rustic theme of the area faded quickly into a lemon grove after walking past the stone archway.  I heard they had a cheese steak here and I was looking forward to try it, but I was slightly disappointed to see that it's a Sourdough Steak Sandwich and not an actual cheese steak.  However, I'm one who likes sourdough and decided that was the way to go.  And it was a good decision.


The Sourdough Steak Sandwich comes with sourdough bread, grilled marinated steak, cheese, grilled onions, some kind of dressing, lettuce, and tomato.  It also included a side salad with a balsamic vinaigrette.  The sourdough bread was a very mild sourdough. It took me a while when eating the sandwich to remember what kind of bread came with it (which is very ironic considering that's the reason why I ordered it).  I do like sourdough bread but not at the expense of the sandwich. I thought that the different tastes blended well and complimented each other.  The steak was well cooked and tender, the cheese wasn't very noticeable but it was there, and the hint of spread accented the sandwich.  Surprisingly, though, I really liked the lettuce and tomato.  Most of the time they get overlooked, but this time they stood out perhaps because they were the only vegetables on the sandwich.


For dessert I had a lemon cake.  I was expecting a cake wedge, instead I got a round cake with crystalized sugar topping.  This was a tough dish to eat mainly because I had a tough time bringing myself to break the netting.  However, it was pretty good.  At first I thought the taste of lemon was just right.  I really enjoy lemon cake and I like the lemon to stand out and make itself known.  There should be no question when tasting a crumb that it is a lemon cake.  At first I found the lemon taste to be quite adequate but it seemed to deteriorate as I ate my way through the cake.  It was good, and I would probably buy it again just for the plating, but it wasn't as strong as I would like.


Although I did like the taste of the food, I didn't like the portion sizes.  I almost stopped at Del Taco on the way back for one or two $0.99 burritos to finish the job, but settled on a drink run instead.  I have mixed emotions with the service as well.  I think they have one person there who does nothing but top off glasses and he did a great job of keeping it filled.  I never reached for an empty glass.  However, I did order a Diet Coke along with the water which never showed up.  I wasn't charged for it, but I really would have liked it.  Overall I thought it was mostly good.  The service was good but not great, the sandwich was great but not filling, the price is steep, the decor grand, and the odds of a return trip probable.  I will return to impress a date (and combine it with a movie to get popcorn that will hopefully fill me up) but not for an informal trip with the lunch crew.  The crew likes good food at a low price and this just misses the price mark.

Cost and Big John Rating
$9.49 = Sourdough Steak Sandwich
$6 = Lemon Cake
7 = Service
9 = Ambiance
9 = Taste
9 = Quality
7.3 = Price Rating
8.0 = Big John Rating


Notable URLs
La Jolla Groves
Shops at the Redwoods