Janean P.'s Profile

I'm a long-time fan of Rubio's. When I first started dating my significant other Rubio's was 'our' place. I've never had a bad experience at this eatery. The employees are always friendly, the service prompt, the salsa fresh and plentiful. I can say this for every Rubio's I have visited in Salt Lake City, however, the patio of the Sugarhouse Rubio's really sets it apart as my favorite. Few fast food franchises have such a nice outdoor place to eat. The Hidden Hollow creek runs by with plenty of trees and umbrellas for shade. I've seen children playing by the water, dogs lounging on the grass, and occasionally ducks by the creek. It's like a little nature preserve in the middle of a strip mall.

This review is specifically about Dr. Lorraine Szczesny (pronounced 'sez-ny').

Dr. Szczesny was recommended to me by two co-workers (one a supervisor) years ago and when my insurance changed and I could finally see her, I was very happy. Compassionate and friendly, she is the most approachable doctor I have had. Although her schedule is always full, she will take the time to catch up on my personal life as well as my health. In this way she serves the whole person, not merely the body.

Last year I had an infection at the base of my big toenail that would not respond to antibiotics. Dr. Smith was recommended to me by my primary care physician. He was the 3rd doctor (2nd podiatrist) to recommend removing my toenail. I finally agreed. The numbing shots were the worst part. Once my toe was adequately numbed he proceeded to remove the nail painlessly. It was over in a matter of minutes. Then he took a scraping of the nail bed (the infection had been at the base of the nail) announcing that there didn't appear to be any infection now. (The culture confirmed that assessment.) This left me wondering if maybe I hadn't needed to have the nail removed after all. Now it's been over a year and the nail is still slowly growing back. It has come in thick and ingrown. I went back to Dr. Smith and he wanted to chop of both sides and kill the root at those points. Since it didn't even hurt at that time I asked "What if we just let it grow and see what happens?" He said that might work so that is the course I'm taking now.

He's a good podiatrist who seems to know his stuff, but like the other podiatrist I saw, he seems a little eager to perform procedures why may or may not be warranted.

My own experience was of salesmen who, if not exactly lie, tend to withhold pertinent pieces of information. This would make for a tedious tale, but my brother's experience (buying a certified used car) is more amusing. He's kindly given me permission to quote him, as follows.
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My salesman told me that the previous owner was an old lady. That the car had never been driven hard. I told him that was cliche. He insisted.
In the trunk I found the court documents for the previous owner who was a young man who had drug problems and had his license revoked and was looking at prison time.

There were also two nice towels. I have enjoyed the towels.

They then told me about their 122 point safety inspection that each car goes through. My car, once I drove home with it and took it to the mechanic, had no oil in the engine.

Also the front ball joint was dead and had to be replaced immediately.

And did they warrant any of this? No. I tried talking to them and had a terrible time.
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I've had some good meals at Em's and when I realized they had a patio and served Sunday brunch, it didn't take long for me to invite some friends and go try it out. This time, however, things didn't go as smoothly as they have in the past. I decided to live tweet my experience.

12:05: We arrived just 5 minutes after our reserved time.

12:10 Some creative umbrella placement allowed my group not to be broiled alive on the sunny patio.

12:20 Waitress apologized for being 'frazzled' and took our order. I was disappointed to learn that they were out of crepes.

12:57 Decided to take a photo and tweeted "Em's patio is not as shady as I'd like." Someone at the table finally grabbed a waiter and asked if they could get a 2nd round of mimosas only to be told that the restaurant had run out of champagne. We all drank water.

1:21 Tweeted: "You know you've been waiting too long when someone decides to put ice on the centerpieces." The little plants in their pots were completely dry and one looked like it was dying. We might not have noticed if we'd had food in front of us.

1:24 Tweeted: "You know you've been waiting too long when you have to move the umbrella with the sun." AND it was getting really hot.

1:25 Tweeted: "You know you've been waiting too long when everyone pulls out their phone to play Words." As food continued not to arrive, phones came out in the place of plates. There's no such thing as boredom in the 21st century.

1:29: Tweeted: "Finally. $10 worth of smoked salmon benedict which took an hour and a half to come."

The table fell silent as all 7 of us wolfed down our food. What took 1 1/2 hours to prepare, took about 5 minutes to consume. A bus boy explained that the kitchen had gotten slammed which delayed our orders but we left wondering why ours were the only orders affected. We'd watched people arrive after us and get their food at reasonable times. We were the last to leave the restaurant that afternoon.

Written in the persona of our waiter:

I knew they were trouble the minute they walked in: four women, seated at the dark drafty corner booth. They told me their fifth wasn't coming so I took my time taking their order. When one of them asked for her dressing on the side I asked 'which side?' and she laughed. Later I sent one of the waitresses over with two salads but she didn't get that joke. She sent one of them back. Too impatient to wait for me to pour their wine, I made sure they didn't get a water refill. Unfortunately, there was that extra place setting that hadn't been removed. I think they drank out of that water cup. Animals. Later I went out of my way to refill their glasses - even the two who said they didn't want any more wine.  I overheard them saying the food wasn't very good. As if the menu can ever be as good in winter when the garden isn't growing. One of them had the gall to criticize the house-made tiramisu saying it had too much amaretto poured on it. As if you can ever have too much amaretto. I hope they pondered the error of their ways while waiting for their check. I made sure they were the last customers to leave that night.

You might think that one of Salt Lake City's oldest restaurants could stop trying and just sit on its laurels. Sadly, you'd be right. Recently I had the misfortune of going here for a Mother's Day breakfast. It was... unimpressive. The best thing about Lamb's is the decor which hasn't changed since 1939. Upon entering the restaurant you may be struck by the rich dark wood of the dining booths and wainscoting, the subdued lighting from high ceilings. It feels like grandma's house and the cooking is not unlike grandma's cooking.... if she were senile.

While ordering from the menu, my mom asked our waitress if the mushrooms on the mushroom omelet were fresh because, she explained, "It makes a difference." The waitress assured us that she was pretty sure they were fresh. She even supposedly investigated this point in the kitchen and then came back to repeat that they were fresh mushrooms. What arrived on my plate was the most lackluster omelet I've ever eaten. It was as if someone had cooked a couple of eggs in a pan, then dumped on a can of mushrooms, folded the egg patty in half and gave up. No cheese. (The waitress explained later that you have to request cheese and it costs an addition $.65). The hash browns were undercooked and mostly cold. The coffee, which at first seemed fine, got worse with each refill. My friend's water glass was empty until she pointed it out to the waitress.

I guess this confirms the old saying "you get what you pay for." Our group of seven ate for under $60.

This is a guest review by a friend.

I've eaten here twice. If you want a sandwich that you could easily make at home, (luncheon meat, leftovers...) but get to pay for, this is the place. The second time I figured 'what kind of place can ruin breakfast?' I found out. The "house made" corned beef hash basically looked like someone had chewed up corned beef luncheon meat and then spit it out on undercooked hash browns.

However, the service was fast and friendly and the coffee was not bad which is worth one star.

As she took our order, the owner explained that everything is made from scratch when it's ordered. Nothing is made in advance which is why it takes longer for the food to arrive but she assured us it would be worth the wait.

It was.

After half an hour of sitting and waiting I was becoming noticeably impatient. I don't deal well with low blood sugar and I hadn't eaten much all day. Finally, our first appetizer arrived: Spring rolls (the fresh cold kind). Although one at our table said she liked more veggies in her spring rolls, I had no such complaint.  I loved the thin, stringy noodles that filled them almost to bursting, with bean sprouts and carrots adding color and crunch, and a mint leaf in the wrapping adding its subtly sharp flavor. The peanut sauce was the best I've tasted with larger chunks of peanuts in it than usual.

Chai lattes arrived next: Big mugs with whipped cream and cinnamon on top. This was the best chai I have ever had. With the first taste of this rich hot beverage the wait was forgiven.

Lettuce wraps next: Messy but absolutely delicious with such a variety of veggies to put in them: Cucumbers, tomatoes, green onion, mint and cilantro, as well as the bean sprouts, carrots, noodles and a flavorful meat that could stand on its own deliciousness.

I ordered the chicken coconut milk soup which I was assured was not spicy. Unfortunately, it wasn't sweet, either.  I should have paid more attention to the word "sour" in the description. It was still really good and a huge serving which will make at least 2 more meals.

The best thing about the Tea Rose is that they use absolutely no MSG. The owner herself has an intolerance to it so she doesn't allow it in any of the food. Any. I can eat everything there with no worries about having a migraine later. FANTASTIC.

I wish I'd had room to try the famous home-made ice cream but that will have to wait for the next visit.

A good day is when I can look back and see only small mistakes left in my wake. The more time I spend with family the bigger my mistakes seem to get. Thank goodness today I had three mistake-free hours spent with friends at Cafe Madrid. I remember eating here once about eleven years ago. Since then new owners and a new philosophy have altered this tiny restaurant and I believe it's an improvement.

My party ordered entirely from the extensive tapas section of the menu and every dish was perfection. Some favorites of the table were the calamari, the mushroom and bacon, the sausage with fig sauce (chosen as best sauce by the table), bacon wrapped shrimp, asparagus salad, stuffed peppers. Really, everything we ordered was fantastic.

We were celebrating a birthday. I won't give away what they do for birthdays but I will say that it is something I've never seen before at any restaurant anywhere.

The tiramisu is exceptional.

Eight people dined, 4 bottles opened, and with tip included, the bill split seven ways (to pay for the birthday girl) we each only paid $43. I thought that was more than reasonable.

Corkage $12.