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1465 S State St
Salt Lake City, UT 84115
(801) 487-3900

Korea House Restaurant  

Category: Korean

5.0 star rating
1/25/2012 1 Check-in Here
So Korean food is a bit of a recent discovery for me. I'm not sure how I got this far in life without it, but after my sister took me to her favorite spot in Austin, I am now officially a fan. This revelation, of course, brought a certain dilemma: where can I find tasty and delicious Korean food in SLC?

Apparently, it's Korea House. See, in a sort of coincidence, my boyfriend was invited to eat here some days ago for some sort of work function and he came back raving, saying our Korean food problem had already been solved! So quickly, too! He brought me there for lunch one day the next week so we'd know for sure.

On this occasion, I ordered the short ribs and Alan ordered the Jap-chae. Our waitress gave us plates so we could share the dishes. Between the perfectly barbequed beef, the savory and delicious noodles, and the wide variety of tasty side dishes, I was set.

Now, I couldn't tell you if this is a good representation of authentic Korean food or just some watered down Americanized version. All I know is that I thought it was super good, and I'll be back on many occasions.

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454 E 300 S
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
(801) 746-4441

Faustina  

Category: Italian

5.0 star rating
Update - 1/22/2012 2 Check-ins Here
You guys, Faustina totally has brunch on the weekends now. They started the first week in January. And it makes perfect sense, because for awhile now it's seemed odd to me that Faustina didn't do brunch, because it seems like just the place for it.

But it's here, and my boyfriend and I decided to check it out today and it's everything I hoped for and maybe more. The mimosas are delicious (and only $3!), and come in a variety of flavors (but not blood orange, sadly). I went with the standard orange, but I will have to try others on future visits. I'll also have to come here in the future with more people, because they also will give you a bottle of champagne and a carafe of orange juice so you can make your own mimosas if you so desire.

And the food is representative of the awesomeness you'd expect from Faustina. It's a pretty small menu, but it has everything you need. I again went old school with the Faustina breakfast which is your basic eggs, bacon, potatoes, toast madness. Everything was fresh and delicious, and I was especially impressed with the wonderfully nutty, panini pressed wheat bread. Alan went with the Faustina scramble which had scrambled eggs (of course), lamb sausage, grilled onions, and a variety of roasted peppers. It was delightful.

Service was great, the atmosphere is always wonderful. The only sad part of the whole thing was that it was winter, so we couldn't enjoy brunch on their glorious patio. Now I really can't wait for spring.

Faustina, you've outdone yourself.

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1 Previous Review: Hide »

  • 5.0 star rating
    4/12/2009

    I don't know if the restaurant has made changes in the past year or something, but I think I was way more impressed with the place than the other reviewers.

    I always passed by this place on the way home from work, and my boyfriend frequently told me that he enjoyed it when he went there last. Finally, on one rainy Saturday, we decided to treat ourselves to this place. At 6pm, we were able to get a table right away, though it slowly filled up during our meal.

    The first thing I noticed was the atmosphere, which was cozy but modern. I felt good in the space; that's the best way I can describe it. We started with wine and the calamari appetizer. It wasn't a mind-blowing recipe, but well executed. Great flavors, and the accompanying sauce was a nice touch.

    Next, I had the Caesar salad and my boyfriend had the shrimp bisque. I should have ordered what he had because it was awesome, very well presented, but my salad was tasty as well.

    The entrees were, of course, the best part. I ordered the lamb chops, which were among the most tender I ever had. They were served with some wonderfully creamy mashed potatoes and shallots. My boyfriend had the scallops with angel hair pasta and asiago  cheese. Considering he is a big fan of both cheese and scallops, he greatly appreciated the combination.

    Considering the huge dessert menu, we had a to try something. We ended up with the tiramisu, which was appropriately light and fluffy, and didn't taste overly coffee-esque like this dessert can.

    I think the service made the dinner. Fredrik, our server, was excellent. Attentive without being pushy.

    I'll definitely be going back, especially since it's walking distance from my apartment.

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2203 Hancock Dr
Austin, TX 78756
(512) 454-1980

Jorge's Restaurant  

Category: Mexican
Neighborhood: Rosedale

4.0 star rating
1/16/2012
I made my way to Jorge's for the first time when I was down in Austin visiting family recently. My sister and her husband are regulars here and often talk fondly of Tex-Mex Friday. So a big group of us came in for lunch and enjoyed some fine patio weather.

The food is standard, above average Tex-Mex. I got a bit o' tortilla soup along with the Mitsy Special. The soup was a good rendition, on the mild side, but still flavorful. I loved the Mitsy Special because I love Hatch chiles, and I was very pleased to see them all over this menu. Others ordered enchiladas, tacos, taco salads, combination plates, etc. Nobody had any complaints.

Service was very good, especially considering the size of our parties. Food was a bit on the pricey side, but it's all good. I'd love to come back again.

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2015 Manor Rd
Austin, TX 78722
(512) 482-0300

Vivo  

Categories: Tex-Mex, Nightlife

4.0 star rating
1/16/2012
I have many fond memories of Vivo from over the years. My sister has lived in Austin for awhile, and this is a spot we often go to when I'm visiting, at least when the weather's nice.

You can't beat the patio here. Really. If it's a nice day and I'm hungry, there's few places I'd rather be. The food is always solid, and the service is always good. The food is maybe a bit pricey for what you get, but I'll pay extra for that patio.

Oh yes, the patio. I think they could serve me horrible food and I'd still go back, thinking it was good.

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1658 W 9000 S
West Jordan, UT 84088
(801) 565-0055

The Village Baker  

Categories: Pizza, Sandwiches

5.0 star rating
1/16/2012 1 Check-in Here
I finally got to try some goods from the Village Baker over the weekend. I'd heard so many good things about this spot from my boyfriend and his family, so I was excited that they'd chosen it as the take out place for lunch one Saturday.

We ordered ahead because we had a large order, so things were ready when we arrived. We ordered a couple of bowls of the chicken noodles soup, one combination pizza, and an assortment of sandwiches: pastrami, roast beef, egg salad and, of course, the chicken salad that I'd heard so much about.

Everything was delicious. As others have said, the bread really makes the sandwiches here. You can tell that it's fresh. The wheat was probably my favorite of the bunch. The egg salad was probably my favorite sandwich (because it always is), followed by the chicken salad. Really, though, everything was super good. The chicken noodle had nicely firm noodles, a tasty broth, and generous portions of chicken. The pizza was solid is well.

It was what they said it would be, and so I will be returning many times.

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10901 N Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78753
(512) 339-0234

Korean Grill  

Category: Korean

5.0 star rating
1/11/2012 1 Check-in Here
After much raving from my sister and brother-in-law, my boyfriend and I were finally able to eat at Korean Girl with them on a recent trip to Austin. Let's just say that it definitely lived up to my inflated expectations.

Now, I can't say that I'm an expert on Korean food. In fact, I think I've only had it one or two other times (that's one area where SLC is lacking). So I don't have a lot to compare this place to, but I do know that everything we ate was delicious. My boyfriend and I shared their big sampler plate (which has an awesome name that I can't remember right now). It had pork, beef, and chicken bugogi along with some spicy squid dish. The chicken was probably my favorite, followed closely by the pork, but it was all super tasty.

There were side dishes, side dishes, and more side dishes. I can't remember all the side dishes we got, but they certainly hook you up there. And there wasn't a bad one in the bunch.

Service was exceptional. This place is definitely family run, and they take pride in the food and everything about the place. It shows. Prices for all our dishes were more than fair.

I'm just sad that Korean Grill isn't by my house.

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2606 Guadalupe St
Austin, TX 78705
(512) 477-5717

Kerbey Lane Cafe  

Categories: Tex-Mex, Breakfast & Brunch, Diners, American (Traditional)
Neighborhoods: The Drag, West Campus, University of Texas

3.0 star rating
1/11/2012 1 Check-in Here
On my various visits to Austin, I've found myself at Kerbey Lane several times. I've always enjoyed it, but have never been blown away.

I appreciate that they have a large menu that hits a lot of areas of cuisine and they try to throw on some stuff off the beaten path. The ingredients are fresh, I can dig that. However, I always get the feeling that they're spread too thin. Maybe if they focused a little bit or scaled things down, something would wow me.

The same thing goes for the service. The servers always seem very nice, but give off the vibe that they have just a few too many tables, or that they'd really rather not be dealing with my group of nine New Yorkers right now.

Don't get me wrong, Kerbey Lane is definitely good. I just feel that for the price I should be getting just a little bit more if they want to be exceptional.

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5804 N I H 35
Austin, TX 78723
(512) 458-2531

Amaya's Taco Village  

Categories: Mexican, Tex-Mex

4.0 star rating
1/11/2012 1 Check-in Here
I found myself here around brunch time on Sunday while visiting Austin recently. I was accompanied by just about my entire family, and they seemed to have no problem accommodating the large group.

The food is solid but not outstanding Tex-Mex. As the name would imply, tacos (breakfast or otherwise) are the highlight here: fresh tortillas, piled high with tasty meat and eggs or whatever you want. I also had a chicken caldo that was decent: a good vegetable-based broth, but with flavorless chicken breast instead of a chicken quarter or some other usual caldo awesomeness.

Service was excellent. Prices were fair. Everyone was happy.

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10901 N Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78753
(512) 835-8889

First Chinese Barbecue  

Categories: Chinese, Barbeque

5.0 star rating
1/11/2012 1 Check-in Here
Whenever I'm in Austin, it's usually with a large mass of family members. That means we need a place with tasty food that can handle large groups. First Chinese Barbeque fits the bill nicely.

They have lots of big round tables with lazy susans. We'll order a variety of stuff and do it all family style-like. We've never had a bad dish. Some highlights: the BBQ duck, wonton soup, and beef with flat noodles. Services is perfunctory but always good, prices are super cheap for what you get, and they are unphased by a large group of loud New Yorkers infiltrating their establishment.

That works for me.

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3600 Presidential Blvd
Austin, TX 78719

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport  

Categories: Airports, Parking

4.0 star rating
1/11/2012 2 Check-ins Here
Ooh, the Austin airport. It's so very...Austin.

This is probably the only airport you'll go to where you get off the plane and are greeted by the soothing sounds of Stevie Ray Vaughan or some other extremely Austin artist over the loudspeaker. There's lots of delightful local food, no generic chain food or sketchy random places you've never heard of. There's never been live music when I'm here, but I'm sure it's awesome.

I mean, sure, it's an airport. The security line is always longer than it needs to be and going through security is always a drag. All concessions are still airport priced (you know what I'm talking about). But in the realm of airports, the Austin airport is easily one of the most tolerable.

And that's the highest recommendation you'll get for an airport.

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Review votes:
653 Useful, 273 Funny, and 421 Cool

Location

Salt Lake City, UT

Yelping Since

May 2008

Things I Love

meteorology, my job, my cats, my band, eating outside, mexican food, cajun food, pho, sushi, seafood, tasty tasty organ meats, white wine, star trek the next generation, dexter, dallas mavericks, fantasy sports, live music

Find Me In

The downtown area, usually.

My Hometown

Dallas, TX

My Blog Or Website

http://www.twitter.com...

When I'm Not Yelping...

I forecast the weather and play the drums (not at the same time).

Why You Should Read My Reviews

I like food. A lot.

My Second Favorite Website

http://kimjongillookin.../

The Last Great Book I Read

Moneyball

My First Concert

Dave Matthews Band

My Favorite Movie

Being John Malkovich

My Last Meal On Earth

Chicken soup. Fo realz.

Don't Tell Anyone Else But...

I like to listen to Linkin Park when I'm on the elliptical machine.

Most Recent Discovery

Evol bowls.

Current Crush

You.