The Dodo

The Dodo restaurant is famous for its amazing desserts. When I heard that they actually serve brunch, I was really excited. Kelly called the restaurant and found out they served Eggs Benedict, and since I'd racewalked 7.4 miles and was ready for some serious chow, we headed straight over. 

Our courteous waiter brought me a hot cup of their rich, flavorful coffee. Upon surveying the menu, Kelly noticed that in addition to traditional Eggs Benedict, they also serve Eggs Benedict with crab. We've tried to compare straight up Eggs Benedict, but Kelly just couldn't resist this offering. Market Street Grill offers a crab cake version, but this was just crab meat, even better in Kelly's opinion.

Some complimentary and very delicious bran muffins with blueberries arrived at our table, and shortly afterward our breakfast came. After taking one bite of the sauce, Kelly says, “This is the BEST Eggs Benedict I have EVER had!” and “It’s so good I could take a bath in this sauce”. The consistency of the sauce is exactly right – not too runny, and not too thick. The lemon flavor is tart and tangy without being overpowering, and it tastes light and fresh, with the perfect blend of butter and lemon and egg yolk. The muffin is not soggy at all, thin and quite tasty, though it could have been toasted just a bit more. Kelly was so glad she'd opted for crab instead of Canadian bacon, as it was incredible. The crab meat was served on top of the muffin and under the beautifully cooked-to-order eggs and sauce. It’s worth noting that this was the first restaurant where they asked how Kelly wanted her eggs poached, and then delivered exactly what she wanted. After eating her first egg she said, “It’s so good I’m speechless. Market Street, you had better watch out!” It’s all about the sauce, remember? And Kelly joked that this sauce was a 20 (out of 10). 

She ate every last drop of the sauce out of the side dish. It was THAT good.

Oh, and the best part of eating breakfast at the Dodo? You can still get dessert there, even in the morning. We shared the Chocolate Almond Mousse Cake and still had some to take home, too :). 

Ranking? Tied with Market Street Grill at 10/10 Leggs!

1355 E 2100 S 
Salt Lake City, UT

(801) 486-2473

Fiddler's Elbow

Fiddler's Elbow is a bar located in SugarHouse. They happen to serve breakfast there, and to my great delight, I was carded when we walked in the door. I enjoyed that feeling for about 30 seconds, until I realized that because it's a bar, here in Utah they are required to card everyone. Dangit. Here I thought maybe they actually thought I needed to be carded.

Though our booth was comfortable and the service was friendly and prompt, the building was cold. I needed my coffee just to try and stay warm! 

We ordered, and soon our breakfast arrived. As usual, Kelly went straight for her side of sauce to try it out. She was shocked! The sauce was very bizarre; it tasted kind of fruity and sweet. We're not sure what was in it, but after trying that we thought this might be a problem. However, with the egg and muffin it wasn't as fruity or sweet and tasted a lot better. The rest of the dish was delightful: the muffin was perfect. It wasn't soggy, it was beautifully toasted and so good – how it’s supposed to be. The bacon was perfectly sliced and the perfect thicknes, and seared a bit so it was really crunchy too. The egg is cooked just right – a little bit hard like Kelly likes it, but still runny. Though the sauce was odd and fruity, it was very light and fluffy and not too heavy. The net result was that it was quite satisfying as a whole. We considered giving it a 7, but the sauce was just a little too weird, and so we decided it is 6 leggs out of 10. With all the other superior alternatives in town (Market Street, Ruth's Diner, and Eggs in the City), we doubt we'll be back here.

Black Bear Diner

The Black Bear Diner has a homey feel, and large portions of comfort food. We had a few people recommend it enthusiastically, and hey, if you've just burned 2000 calories racewalking 20 miles, you can probably afford to eat one of their breakfasts. Judging from the clientele, most eat it without racewalking. 

We were really hungry and eagerly anticipated the arrival of the food. Turns out we shouldn't have. There was not even one redeeming feature to this Eggs Benedict. The sauce - and it's all about the sauce - was way too thick and lumpy, and the egg yolks had actually curdled a bit. And the taste? Salty, bland, and tasted oddly like chicken broth. It was almost like gravy rather than Hollandaise. Frankly, Kelly thought it quite disgusting. To make matters worse, the muffin was undercooked and the meat was extremely salty. The final insult was the egg, which was overcooked with a hard yolk. Kelly should have sent it back for that, but honestly, that would have been a waste of time, because even if the egg would have been properly cooked, the rest of the dish was inedible anyway. 

Despite being ravenous, Kelly just couldn't stomach her breakfast. I shared half of my omelet (which was decent) with her and gave her the accompanying biscuit, which was surprisingly delicious. 

When the waitress came to ask how our breakfast is, Kelly couldn't bring herself to tell her how awful it was. We had a good laugh over that. We decided that besides the biscuits, the only thing good about this place was the quantity of food, which was honestly so excessive that even a couple of racewalkers have no business consuming all of it.

We would never eat here again. Kelly said she wouldn't come back even for something else, and that it had put a bad taste in her mouth.

1/10 leggs. 

Address: 1966 E 9400 S, Sandy, UT 84093

Phone:(801) 571-7026

Two mini-reviews

It's been a while since our last post, but we have been eating lots of Eggs Benedict!

Here are two mini-reviews from last summer - mini mostly because we didn't take a whole lot of notes at the time. We took a few photos and wrote a few sentences, which will have to suffice.

First we tried Finn’s, a neighborhood restaurant in SugarHouse. They are well-known and a local favorite for their Scandinavian specialties, such as Jule Kake French Toast. 

Though the other dishes at Finn's are quite tasty, the Eggs Benedict was a little disappointing. The English muffin was a bit soggy, and though the egg and bacon were well-prepared, the sauce was just OK. And, it's all about the sauce, right? Finn's sauce was too thick and not very flavorful, lacking the lemony tang we love in Hollandaise. 

We rate the Eggs Benedict at Finn's at 6 leggs out of 10.

But… you should still go there, because you really want to eat their marzipan cake and eclairs (at left)! YUM!

Finn's is located at 1624 S 1100 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84105. (801_ 467-4000. 

Millcreek Café

We were hoping for great things from this well-reputed local establishment, but their Eggs Benedict let us down. The muffin was unredeemably soggy and sauce was bland. Sadly, it just wasn't that good. The hash browns were tasty, but we won't be going back. 

5/10 leggs.

3084 E 3300 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84109

(801) 485-1134

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

Market Street Grill

Leggs Benedict has been getting antsy. We needed to eat some good Hollandaise sauce, and we needed it fast. Racewalkers are not good at sitting around waiting!

Yesterday (April 20) was the Salt Lake Half Marathon, and half of Leggs Benedict (Tammy) was competing while the other half (Kelly) spectated. It was pouring rain, and by the time we walked to Kelly's car, drove to my house for a change of clothes, and drove to the restaurant, it was 10:30am. Translation: we were both starving, and Kelly was drooling over the possibility of a fantastic Hollandaise sauce.

 I won't make you wait any longer for the verdict: the Hollandaise sauce at Market Street Grill (48W Market St. #250, 801-322-4668) was incredible. It was just what we've been searching for, and even more. Creamy with a refreshing lemon taste up front, it wasn't overly buttery. It was smooth and had the perfect consistency and ended with a little surprise that the red flecks in the sauce hinted at - a bit of a spicy kick! Not too strong, mind you, but the cayenne and Tabasco (we asked and they told us) that flavored the sauce gave it just the right finish. Wow!

Now we know it's all about the sauce, but as we saw last week, a soggy muffin can ruin everything very quickly. So how about the rest of the dish? Well, it was about as good as it gets. The muffin was toasted to perfection and held up well in the dish, not soggy but rather the consummate foundation for the entree. The bacon was sliced to the ideal thickness and it and the eggs were cooked exactly right. Smothered in the fabulous Hollandaise sauce, this dish had it all.

Best of all, since Market Street Grill specializes in seafood, this dish comes in several varieties that tempted Kelly's taste buds. She ordered the regular Eggs Benedict this time for comparison purposes, but she is extremely eager to try the seafood versions, especially the crab cake Eggs Benedict. They also offer Eggs Benedict with salmon, trout, and snow crab. This is enough to make my mouth water, and I don't even like poached eggs!

I have never seen Kelly eat this fast. Ever. It was impressive. She literally inhaled the entire dish, and sopped up every last bit of Hollandaise sauce with the Market Street potatoes. Oh, and at $7.99 it was the least expensive one we've tried yet. We can't wait to go back.

Our rating: 10/10 leggs! 

Here's the breakfast menu if you are interested.

The Blue Plate Diner

Our hopes were quite high for the Blue Plate Diner. I (Tammy) had been there before with a group from work, and everyone had really enjoyed their entrees. Kelly had read some fabulous reviews online in addition to seeing it on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on TV.

We loved everything about the Blue Plate Diner, except for the Eggs Benedict. Tammy's entree was great, the home fries were super, the coffee was tasty and hot, and the service was prompt and friendly. But alas! In this blog, it's all about the food, especially the sauce. And therein lies the problem.

The sauce was creamy and of the correct consistency, but it was a lot like the sauce at Eggs in the City: too buttery, and not enough lemon. We might be wondering if it is possible to please us, were it not for the fact that I made some Hollandaise sauce myself a few weeks ago for Easter, and we both thought that it was delicious and lemony. We know the perfect sauce is out there somewhere. we just have to keep looking.

To make matters worse, though the eggs were cooked perfectly and the Canadian bacon was sliced just right, the English muffin was soggy. OK, not just soggy. Sopping wet and reminiscent of a bruised peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Kelly loves Eggs Benedict, yet she could not finish this one, because it just wasn't that good.

We give this one a measly 5/10 leggs.

Sigh. We are disappointed, but the right one is out there. We know it is somewhere in our city! If you know a good place for us to try, please let us know. Meanwhile, this Saturday we're going to Market Street downtown and hoping for better luck there.

The Blue Plate Diner
2041 S 21st E  Salt Lake City, UT 84108
(801) 463-1151

Eggs in the City

Now for what you've been waiting for...drum roll...our first review!

We have been excited about this restaurant visit all week, and we know that you, our soon-to-be-loyal readers, have been as well. I mean, you've probably spent your whole week drooling in anticipation, right?

Kelly and I both wanted to visit Eggs in the City. I'd driven by it numerous times and it looked intriguing, while she'd found out about it via the wonders of Google.

Our reviews are all about the food. No worrying about lace doilies, fine linen, attentive service, or kitschy decor. We like to eat, and we (well, Kelly!) want good Eggs Benedict (Tammy will be content with a taste of fabulous Hollandaise sauce).

You don't have all day to read, nor I to write, so let's get straight to the point.

It's all about the sauce, remember?

The Hollandaise sauce had a lovely and perfectly creamy consistency. It looked perfect, with tiny specks of parsley and a sunny yellow color. But would it pass the taste test? Sadly, no. It was far too buttery for both of us, and the hint of lemon juice was disappointingly miniscule. We missed the tangy fresh lemon flavor that is required of a great Hollandaise sauce.

The rest of the dish was, quite simply, amazing. The eggs were cooked wonderfully, poached nice and firm but with the yolks runny. The Canadian bacon was sliced to the ideal thickness and seared on the grill but not tough or overcooked. Toasted just the right amount, the English muffin tasted homemade and very buttery (perhaps that was a bit much with the buttery sauce?). To top it all off, the optional slices of avocado were a lovely feature, bringing the dish almost to perfection. Except for the sauce.

Kelly raved about this dish, saying "I'd definitely eat this again!". We wanted to give it a better rating, because everything was just right except the sauce. Unfortunately, it's all about the sauce. Too buttery. Not enough lemon.

Our rating: 8 out of 10 leggs
I wanted to put a cool graphic here of 10 legs with 8 shaded in, but I was too clueless, so you'll have to use your imagination.

Eggs in the City
1675 E 1300 S  Salt Lake City, UT 84105
(801) 581-0809