i heart nyc

Em's (part 2)

271 N. Center Street | Salt Lake City, UT | 801 596 0566

Web www.emsrestaurant.com

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I decided to come back to Em's for a second meal tonight after last nights good dinner. There is a different staff here tonight so no one will remember the drunkin' state I was in last night (only kidding).

It's another quiet night here with about 5 parties in the bistro. Em's has about 15 tables so it's a small and personal restaurant. There is also an outdoor patio in case you like dining al fresco. It's 8pm right now and 95 degrees so I think I stay in the air conditioned interior along with the "A" list clientele that seems to dine here.

Tonight, I see a lot of people are having the halibut special which is in a butter sauce with root vegetables. I would have loved to try it but I fear eating fish so far away from an ocean. Although I do keep hearing people say how good it is.

I really wanted to order a nice salad tonight since they have a good variety of which many have apples, pears and blue cheese. Yummy. I like anything with apples and blue cheese. Instead of the salad I ordered the goat cheese stuffed figs wrapped with prosciutto ($8). If you remember, I missed having that last night because they ran out. I am here earlier tonight so it's available. Now I can leave Utah satisfied.

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The starter included 2 figs which were served warm a top a small bed of arugula. It was all dotted with some balsamic vinegar. One slight mistake I made to my description above, the figs were stuffed with blue cheese, not goat cheese. I think the blue cheese was a bit strong and overwhelmed the flavor of the fig. It was good anyway, but a bit small. I think I would have liked to eat about 5 of those figs.

After my starter they brought me a small mixed green salad topped with shaved Parmesan. I asked my server, "what's that for?", he replied, "a palate cleanser". That's odd I didn't get a "palate cleanser" last night.

Tonight for my entree I picked the pork chop which was marinated and grilled with an very unique apricot BBQ type sauce (not tomato based) which was very tangy and flavorful. I would say there was apricot, honey, onion and smokey bacon in the sauce. It's hard to describe the flavor. It wasn't sweet but was smokey and tangy. I think the smoke flavor came from the bacon. It was served with a side of mashed potatoes and roasted carrots which were sliced as thin as a dime. Emily seems to like thinly roasted vegetables because last night my entree came with pencil thin roasted asparagus. ($18)

For dessert I ordered the chocolate pudding cake ($6) which is a warm chocolate cake baked when ordered. It takes about 10 minutes and I hoped it would be worth the wait.

The pudding cake was you basic molten chocolate cake which I will say was good but zzzzzzz. Unoriginal. It was just the little cake topped with 2 fresh cherries. I think it could have used a dollop of whipped cream or a nice scoop of Hagen Daas. I think Em needs a pastry chef...

Tonight bill total was $44.15 and that included a glass of Pinot Noir ($8) and a cuppa cawfee ($1.50). Not bad for a "4 heart" meal.

The food here is somewhat hearty and homey comfort food but made with a unique flair. I have to say this is now one of my favorite restaurants I've been to this year. Who would have thought I'd find this in Salt Lake City?

Could this be a reason to return?

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Em's (Salt Lake City)

271 N. Center Street | Salt Lake City, UT | 801 596 0566

Web www.emsrestaurant.com

 

click to enlarge

Em's is a cute little bistro tucked away in a upscale neighborhood near the capital building. It was a little hard to find since this neighborhood is so residential I didn't expect to find a restaurant here. Em's seems to be in a old store or former market. It was recommended to me from Beau at basicjuice.com.

The interior of Em's is decorated very simply with modern art, schoolhouse lamps and tables dressed with crisp white tablecloths. It's Wednesday night at 8:30 and they aren't too busy at all.

The menu has a wide variety of modern American and French selections with dishes such as halibut, rib eye steaks, cassoulet, interesting pork dishes and rack of lamb.

Starters are in the $7-9 range and entrees are in the $15 range. This seems very reasonable considering the atmosphere and unique offering on the menu. Em's also offers a daily specials menu which has a selection of at least 3 items in each category.

I was a bit let down by the "by the glass" wine list which consisted of a lot of run of the mill wines that could be found in any wine shop. On the positive side, they were all decent selections such a Big House Red, Kris Pinot Grigio and Coppola Claret. The wines by the bottle were all pretty decent also. You have to remember that Utah is a semi-dry state and I believe wine is controlled by the government. What does the government care about a good boutique wine from France?

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My starter was a bit unique. It was a Moroccan dish which was a paste made from walnut, red pepper and cumin topped with a slice of apple on a toasted crostini, delicious. ($9). My first choice for a starter was a fig stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped with prosciutto, but since it was a special, they had already run out.

For my entree I ordered the rib eye steak which was topped with a onion confit and blue cheese and served with roast red baby potatoes and pencil thin asparagus ($19).  Wow! That's a good dish and the steak was huge, tender and cooked perfectly medium rare. I ate my meal with the "Big House Red" which was a decent wine and a deal at $5 a glass!

Zagat gave service here a marginal rating and I expected the worst but I found the service to be attentive. My waiter was very helpful in assisting me with my selections and making sure I was satisfied. Every time he brought a dish he asked, "Is that to your liking? If not I can get you something else". That's good service. 

For dessert I ordered the special which is a rustic black cherry tart with white chocolate ice cream. ($6) How fabulous is that?  Well it wasn't. I found it to be "floury" and bland. It's a shame because I love cherries. I had a lot of nerve and when the waiter asked me what I thought I told him it was "disgusting". Oooops, that's the wine talking (but it wasn't good). He apologized but offered no solution.

One thing that was obvious about Em's is  the people here are a far cry from other people I have seen around Salt Lake. It's a more like I'm in a small neighborhood of San Francisco, than Salt Lake City.

Overall I would give Em's 4 hearts, minus the horrid dessert which I really wish could have been better.  One minor complaint is that the bistro was a bit too dark and could have use some candles at the table or brighter lighting. Why is it that I always feel like I am eating in the dark?

Total bill which included 2 glasses of red wine and a cuppa cawfee was $48.96. I was surprised that after I expressed my disgust with the dessert that it wasn't removed from the bill.

For a nice dining experience, I highly recommend visiting Em's if your travels take you to Salt Lake City. I doubt you'd regret it.

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