Eating Utah

Reservations? Recommended on the weekend.

Overview: Pine American Restaurant has a relaxing, romantic atmosphere with fabulous service, great food, and charming ambiance.

Total price for 2 (includes appetizers, entrees, drinks and tip): $90

Service: Rating:

Comments: The service has been absolutely wonderful every time I’ve been to Pine. We have always been seated quickly, even without reservations and the wait staff is extremely attentive. I have a huge pet peeve with servers that neglect empty drinks - servers at Pine usually are on top of it and are consistently refilling drinks.

Ambiance: Rating:

Comments: Pine has a modern, contemporary, and romantic feel with intimate sitting and a central fireplace. During the warmer months, outdoor seating is available on their patio which overlooks the river.

Food: Rating:

Best dish: Everything was great, but their grilled salmon with herb mashed potatoes wins. The salmon is grilled to perfection and their mashed potatoes have real tomatoes in it. Sounds bizarre, but it’s absolutely divine! Their best dessert is a to-die-for passion fruit cheesecake (seasonal). Pine also offers a full bar and happy hour.

Worst dish: I haven’t been disappointed by anything yet.

Other comments: My husband and I loved Pine so much, we had our wedding luncheon there, since there is a dining area upstairs that allows for private parties and gatherings. Again, the service was great and the food was impeccable. I have heard from others that the quality of the food is inconsistent; it’s fabulous one night, and not so much the next. Personally, I have never had an issue and would highly recommend Pine to anyone looking for something new to try.

Overall Rating:

Reservations? No

Overview: Village Baker is the quintessential American deli with unbelievably good food at an even better price.

Total price for 2: $15 tops, including drinks (and a cookie, if you’d like). Sandwiches are about $5 and for roughly $4, you can get a pizza slice, drink, and cookie.

Service: Rating:

Comments: Although the service isn’t necessarily bad, it is a bit limited since all the employees are high schoolers. As long as you don’t require them to say much more than “what can I get you” and “$10.65, please” and you spell out your name for them, you shouldn’t have any issues. The food is served relatively fast, within just a few minutes of ordering, unless ridiculously busy.

Ambiance: Rating:

Comments: The restaurant is tastefully decorated and has all the charm of a local mom and pop shop. Although there is plenty of space for some tables, it’s carry out only, which can make it inconvenient to eat there if you are not in the area anyways.

Food: Rating:

Best dish: Everything I’ve had has been great, but my hands-down favorites are the egg salad and chicken salad sandwiches. Try them on the honey white bread, a lightly sweet and soft bread that makes their sandwiches amazing. Other favorites include the turkey on sourdough and pizza by the slice. They also offer take and bake pizzas

Worst dish: I have yet to come across one.

Other comments: Their sandwiches and portions are generously sized, giving you the best bang for your buck. On the downside, Village Baker has yet to franchise and only has the one location on 9000 south.

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