Wild Grape Bistro

The Wild Grape Bistro is another restaurant Tammy has enjoyed a lot for dinner in the past, without being aware that they serve breakfast as well. When Kelly added it to the Leggs Benedict list, Tammy enthusiastically approved.

Now that we've visited a number of restaurants, it is interesting to note that in general restaurants have no problem getting the poached egg part just right. Admittedly, it's not tough to poach an egg, but in the midst of a breakfast rush it does seem possible to get that part wrong. The Canadian bacon part is also pretty straightforward, and most places got that right as well. The challenge appears to be getting the muffin just right (i.e. toasted well and not soggy, and a good quality muffin) and creating a delicious Hollandaise sauce.

The Wild Grape Bistro excelled at the Hollandaise Sauce. It was incredible. It had great consistency and flavor, and Kelly ate the side of sauce with a spoon because it was just THAT good. It ranked right up there with Market Street Grill's sauce, though it didn't have a kick at the finish. Still, Kelly would eat the sauce from either restaurant any day.

I know we've said "it's all about the sauce", but a soggy muffin can ruin even perfectly good sauce, as we've seen. The Wild Grape avoided this problem by serving their Eggs Benedict with a biscuit instead of a muffin. However, a biscuit was just wrong for the dish in Kelly's opinion. It can't have the lovely crunch of a wonderfully toasted muffin, and it was so filling that she wasn't able to eat the whole dish, which was disappointing to her. They also substituted Black Forest ham for the Canadian bacon, so if you are a purist (which Kelly is), then you are bound to be disappointed.

So even though the sauce was amazing, Kelly just "wasn't feeling it" overall. The rest of us loved our food - omelet with goat cheese (Tammy), French toast (Grace and Liz), and amazing hazelnut hot chocolate (Liz). We'd go back...but maybe not for the Eggs Benedict. I think Kelly might order a side of Hollandaise and eat it with a spoon though!

7/10 leggs

Ruth's Diner

Ruth's Diner is a Salt Lake City tradition. Seriously, the place has been around forever (since 1930), and with its lovely location in Emigration Canyon, it was a must-visit. Somehow, Tammy has lived here since 1999 but has never managed a visit, despite being quite a foodie. It's good that has changed, because our experience was wonderful.

Yeah, we promised this blog was all about the food, and it is. But the atmosphere at Ruth's was probably the loveliest we've experienced so far. Our booth in an old diner-style train car was comfortable and charming, and the service was attentive and prompt. Ruth's famous "mile-high" biscuits (the diner is approximately a mile above sea level) were delivered with our drinks (coffee for Tammy and hot chocolate and Coke for Kelly), and they were as good as we'd been led to expect.


But how was the sauce? OK, we'll get to the point already! The sauce was delicious, tying with Market Street Grill for the best-tasting sauce we'd had so far. It was perfectly lemony, and like Market Street, had a little bit of a kick to it. The only problem was that it was definitely a bit too thin and runny to be Kelly's perfect sauce. The rest of the dish was equally wonderful, with beautifully round eggs poached perfectly, homemade English muffin toasted exactly right, and tasty Canadian bacon of the correct thickness. Kelly ate every bit enthusiastically, sopping up all the sauce and licking her lips with delight. Yeah, we'll be back.


9/10 leggs

Citris Grill

Citris Grill was definitely on our list. Tammy has been there a lot for their very tasty lunches and dinners, and when Kelly suggested we try it, well, that settled it.

We were eagerly anticipating a wonderful feast. However, the Eggs Benedict didn't live up to our admittedly high expectations. As usual, when we are disappointed, the sauce is the problem. Remember? It's all about the sauce. Citris Grill's version was quite plain. It was missing something - too buttery, not lemony enough, and nothing special about it. Coupled with a soggy muffin, there wasn't much the great Canadian bacon and poached eggs could do to rescue this dish.

I (Tammy) would still go there again and again for their lunches and dinners, and even breakfast. I enjoyed my entree and so did the kids; however, we can't really recommend the Eggs Benedict.

5/10 leggs