Visiting Salt Lake City? Stop by the Red Butte Cafe!
Written: Oct 06 '07
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Pros: Great fresh food, Southwest entrees with a twist; Incredible desserts...
Cons: You're in for a wait on weekends...still, it's better than Chili's!
The Bottom Line: One of the best casual dining restaurants in Salt Lake City is also one of the least expensive...
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| JediKermit's Full Review: Red Butte Cafe |
There's a saying that some people eat to live, and others live to eat. I'm one of the former. I could (and have) eat gruel three times a day made out of paper chunks and wood glue, and I'd be satisfied. My wife, on the other hand, knows how to appreciate food. If you're going to eat, eat something delicious. There are only a few times that I recognize what it's like to be my wife...when food is so good, it makes you realize that most of what you eat is really substandard--good for the calories, but not much else.
I recognize that every time we go to one of our favorite restaurants in Salt Lake City, the Red Butte Cafe. Located just outside downtown and just south of the University of Utah, the Red Butte Cafe is easy to find, and hard to forget. It's conveniently located for ski resorts, conventioneers, and other visitors to the area, and is a great example of how fresh food and friendly service can transform a meal.
We've probably been to Red Butte Cafe twenty times over the last ten years, and I'd been there several times before that on dates. I'm happy to report that the service and the quality of the food is as good as it's ever been, and the prices are still as reasonable as ever. It's a wonderful alternative to chains like Chili's or Applebee's, and manages to summon a charming atmosphere without all that junk on the walls.
The servers are dressed casually--polo-style shirts and shorts are the summer "uniform," and in all the times we've been there, I don't think we've ever had a bad experience with the staff. Some servers are more on top of things than others of course, but never a bad experience. The seating is casual, and you can sit either inside or out on the patio. Even though the cafe is adjacent to a busy road on one side and a large parking lot on the other, it's on the second floor of a building, so the patio still manages to feel secluded. We usually eat inside, however. It's a large dining room, bisected by the desserts counter and kitchen; there's not much privacy, but there's enough ambience that it's a pleasant place for friends or a date.
The hardest decision to make is if you want a sandwich or a more substantial entree. Most of the meals have a definite southwest flavor, with chiles, peppers, and beans finding their way into most of the meals or their sides. I'm a casual fan of southwest food; my wife's more fanatic about it.
I've had at least six of their sandwiches, and each was delicious. They're served with their amazing pasta salad and some potato chips, but we usually upgrade and add their French Onion soup. I'll admit that the soup took some getting used to, but now it's an indispensible part of every meal we have at Red Butte. My favorite of their sandwiches is probably the Southwest Chicken Breast; the heat of the pepper combines so well with the Jack cheese that I forget that I'm not really a cheese guy. The portions are large--too large, in fact, because you'll want to save room for dessert. More on that in a bit.
The entrees are mostly various takes on different Mexican foods...tacos, enchiladas, and fajitas are all delicious, and we've had enough of all of them to know. My personal favorite is the Orange-Chile Marinated Chicken Tacos. I'm relatively new to liking certain flavor combinations--sweet and sour have never really gone together for me, but I'm learning to appreciate it more. The Orange-Chile is like a delicious, hot, sweet, spicy train wreck in my mouth. Train wreck in a good way. Like...everything I've eaten in the last week was just a waste of my taste buds, because this--this my friends, is why God invented taste buds. It isn't for Lucky Charms. It isn't even for fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies. It's for Orange-Chile Marinated Chicken Tacos. That's the only reason we have them, and if you don't make it to Red Butte, I weep for you and your tongue. The other things are good too; I got the Chicken Enchiladas the first three or four times I came to Red Butte (before I got more adventurous) and every time I just should have ordered the two-enchilada version. The sides of succotash and black beans are good enough that you'll want to save room for them, and they're the perfect complement to the enchiladas.
Honestly, I've never ordered one of the green salads, although my wife gets one about every other time we go there. Her favorites have been the Smoked Turkey & Cheese Tortellini, and the Southwest Grilled Chicken Breast with Spicy Citrus Vinaigrette. In fact, she's tried making the latter at home, and it's good--but she says we still need to keep going back to Red Butte so she can order it again (and again)(and again) to perfect her version.
The desserts are a must. If you eat too much and you're too full for a dessert, pay for one anyway, take it with you, and enjoy it in the morning. These desserts make Red Butte one of the best, if not the best, bakery/desserteur (I'm sure there's a culinary word for this that I don't know) in town. When I was living in Germany, there were bakeries and other shops that would specialize in desserts, and more than anything, that's what the dessert counter at Red Butte reminds me of. They're in a long glass case, and look too pretty--too artfully decorated--to eat. But you really should. I'm not a chocoholic by any means. I like chocolate, but I wouldn't necessarily cross the street for it. Red Butte takes chocolate, and turns it into the nigh-orgasmic experience that we all know it really should be. This isn't a square of Hershey's. It's not even a chunk of Dove. This is chocolate at its best. And my toes are curling just thinking about it.
The cakes and tarts are very European-inspired, and even though five dollars might seem like a lot for one piece of cake, they're rich enough and delightful enough that you'll regret it if you don't buy at least one slice. The best of the best is the Orange Chocolate Mousse Cake--another example of the ways that Red Butte combines flavors in unexpected ways. The tanginess of the orange comes through the sweetness of the chocolate, and the bitterness of the chocolate tempers the aroma of the orange. It's what the makers of those stupid chocolate oranges are really going for at Christmastime. You know how good the first bite of one of those is, and how tired you are of them by the last bite? Well, this is the goodness of that first bite, multiplied by a bajillion. And it just gets better with each bite. (Seriously. My toes are curling.)
If you're in the Salt Lake City area, take the time to come by the Red Butte Cafe. The service is friendly, the prices are good, but it's the food that will rock your world. And, knowing Salt Lake City, it might just be the rocking-est thing about our town.
I wouldn't normally include the full menu in a restaurant review, but we've been there so often, and ordered so many different items on the menu, that I couldn't bear to leave anything out. These are the prices and menu as of October 2007; they do rotate items on and off the menu about every two years, and always have seasonal specials that aren't listed below. For those specials, contact the restaurant at 801-581-9498.
MENU
SANDWICHES
Served with choice of house pasta salad, green salad, or fresh fruit; You can upgrade for an additional fee to 1/2 pasta salad and either French Onion soup or the soup of the day.
Cold sandwiches are served either on sourdough, whole wheat or rye bread. Half sandwich: $6.75 Full sandwich: $7.95
Turkey & Avocado
Pub Club
Rare Roast Beef & Swiss
Vegetarian - Pepper Jack, avocado, sprouts, tomato
Hot sandwiches are served either on whole wheat or a cheese & onion bun.
Southwest Chicken Breast with marinated onion, poblano pepper, tomato, lettuce and pepper jack $8.25
Portabello with Fresh Mozzarella with carmelized onion, roasted pepper, tomato, lettuce, and basil aioli $8.25
Roast Beef with Ancho Au Jus and Lime Marinated Onions served on baguette with Pepper Jack $8.25
Herb Marinated Top Sirloid Served Open Face on Focaccia with Crimini, carmelized onion, Gorgonzola, and Basil Aioli $8.50
Cajun Cornmeal Breaded Catfish with grilled onions, jalapeno mayo $8.50
Chicken or Pulled Buffalo in Chipotle BBQ sauce $7.95
Bacon Burger with Swiss, lettuce and tomato $7.75
Mexi Burger with pepper relish, Pepper Jack, tomato, lettuce, and guacamole $7.95
SOUP & SALAD COMBOS
French Onion or Soup of the Day $3.95
French Onion or Soup of the Day Combos with small green salad, fresh fruit, or house pasta $5.95
With half pasta of the day $7.50
TACOS
Tacos are served with red rice, black beans, corn & romaine salad with New Mexico chile vinaigrette $8.50
Beer Battered Fish with jalapeno remoulade, roasted salsa, cabbage
Carne Asada with guacamole, tomatillo salsa
Orange-Chile Marinated Chicken with guacamole, tomatillo salsa
Southwest Grilled Veggies with guacamole, tomatillo salsa
FAJITAS
Served with red rice, black beans, field greens & grilled tomato salad $8.50
Chicken or Steak Fajitas with Guacamole and Two Salsas
ENCHILADAS
With Southwestern Succotash, Black Beans with Chipotle Crema
Choice of Beef, Chicken, Cheese or Veggie
One $6.95 Two $7.95 Three $8.95
SOUTHWEST SPECIALS
Braised Chicken with Mole Ranchero
Queso Fesca Enchiladas & Southwest vegetable salad $9.95
Chile Relleno with Fresh Corn and Ranchero & Jack Cheese
with red chile sauce, guacamole, black bean enchiladas, Southwest vegetable salad $8.95
QUICHE
Bacon, Swiss, Mushroom, Zucchini & Leeks Quiche with Red Bell Pepper Coulis
with choice of fresh fruit or green salad $7.95
GREEN SALADS
Grilled Red Trout with Sundried Tomato Pesto Vinaigrette
Lentils, tomatoes, cukes, green beans, red bells, pine nuts $9.50
Smoked Turkey & Cheese Tortellini
Cukes, bacon, avocado, corn salsa, egg, tomato $7.75
Asian Grilled Chicken Breast with Peanut Dressing & Cilantro
Snow peas, Asian slaw, red bells, water chestnut, peanuts, baby corn $7.95
Southwest Grilled Chicken Breast with Spicy Citrus Vinaigrette
Tomato, guacamole, pepitas, jicama, corn & black bean salsa
APPETIZERS
Chips & Salsa
Spicy Roasted Tomato or Fresca $3.95
Crab & CornCakes
with Roasted Chile Salsa $6.95
Goat Cheese & Herbed Crostinis
with Charred Roma-Basalmic Vinaigrette $5.50
Crab, Italian Sausage or Chicken Quesadilla
with sour cream, tomato salsa $5.25
Spicy Peanut Shrimp & Crispy Wonton
with Citrus Sesame Sauce $6.95
DESSERTS
Three Layer Chocolate Cake with raspberries and whipped chocolate ganache icing $3.95
Carrot Cake two layers of carrot-pineapple cake withraisins and walnuts with a cream cheese frosting $4.25
Bourbon Pecan Pie a rich, deep dish Southern style pecan pie $4.25
European Cheesecake custard-like vanilla and sour cream cheesecake with a graham cracker crust, laced with dark chocolate $4.25
Fresh Fruit Tart shortdough tart shell filled with vanilla pastry cream and topped with seasonal fresh fruit $4.25
Turtle Cheesecake studded with chunks of chocolate and candied pecans $4.25
White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake $4.25
Chocolate Decadence rich flourless chocolate cake covered in a bittersweet chocolate glaze with toasted almonds $4.50
Chocolate Aztec Tart truffle-like chocolate fillingina graham walnut crust dusted with cocoa and cinnamon $4.50
Season Fruit Poppyseed Cake three layers of cake with fresh fruit covered in a cream cheese frosting $4.50
Chocolate Caramel Turtle Cake chocolate cake layered with caramel and pecans topped with chocolate mousse $4.75
Orange Chocolate Mousse Cake chocolate cake with layers of chocolate and orange mousse $4.75
Hazelnut Coffee Marjolaine layers of chocolate cake, coffee buttercream and hazelnut dacquoise topped with chocolate ganache and tosted hazelnut crumbs $4.95
RED BUTTE CAFE
1412 Foothill Drive
Salt Lake City, Utah
801-581-9498
Open seven days per week 11:30 AM - midnight
A Delicious #30 in CopeSullivan’s Fifty Reviews By Halloween Write-Off.
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations Everything on the menu is delicious, but make sure you save room for their world class desserts!
Best Suited For: Trendy Crowd
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JediKermit
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Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
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