Unique Cultural Restaurants in Salt Lake City: Part 4
You might not expect to find many culinary adventures in Salt Lake City, but this often overlooked town has more variety to offer than you might think.
Fortunately, we don't have to venture to the far reaches of the world to explore interesting foods even when living in Utah.
You just have to look in the right places. Fortunately, I have done that for you.
Join me on my journey to find new-to-me foods while, more importantly, supporting local businesses that make our community beautiful and diverse.
Support local businesses!
NAMASH SWAHILI CUISINE - EAST AFRICA
It's been too long since I have visited this little restaurant. We loved the service and the atmosphere in addition to the delicious food.
The broiled fish was fresh, flaky and flavorful. We also enjoy the beans and chapati. The beans are stewed in coconut milk and chapati is a whole wheat flat bread cooked on a skillet.
We also like the fried plantains, though they are very rich and better shared among three or four people.
Pay a visit to this hidden gem for some great food!
This might be my new favorite Mexican restaurant in Salt Lake, though it's a close call between this and La Casa Del Tamal. We like it even better than Red Iguana partly because it's less expensive.
The quality is great and there are plenty of vegetarian and vegan options.
A couple favorite dishes of ours are the Birria Tacos and the Baja Fish Tacos. I like the Birria Enchiladas too but the Mango Enmoladas are even better.
We also got Carlos' Macho Nachos without sour cream and they were so good.
The only two items we weren't impressed with were the rice and beans. They're not bad at all, just mediocre compared to everything else we have eaten here.
The horchata is the best I've ever had! And the Habanero lemonade and the Mojito lemonade are both delicious, though I think I would like them even better as limeade.
The flan here is great too! I'd like to try the tres leches cake next time to see how it compares to other restaurants.
This restaurant is small in a cozy way and always busy but we have never had to wait more than 10 or 15 minutes. It's perfectly clean, including the bathrooms.
Be aware that parking is limited but we haven't had too much difficulty finding a spot.
SAUCE BOSS SOUTHERN KITCHEN - AMERICAN SOUTH
I didn't expect to enjoy the food here as much as I did.
Everything was delightful and great quality. The service was great and the restaurant is notably clean.
The servings are huge and two plates were enough to feed my husband and I as well as our two young kids. Also, this place is notably family friendly.
All the food is made to order and well worth the wait.
The fried chicken surprised me a little because you can get it anywhere, right? No. This might be the best fried chicken I've ever had.
We also got the blackened catfish, collard greens, spiced corn, black eyed peas, fries, and mac & cheese. It was all exceptional. The cornbread was the best I've had too and topped with browned butter.
We also enjoyed the House Red Drink.
And it was inspiring to read Chef Julius' life story and what led him to open this restaurant.
An aquintance from Peru recommended this place and we loved it!
We ordered the Jalea Mixta and the white fish was perfect, so flaky and tender. Whatever they bread the seafood with is delicious. It also came with calamari, shrimp and oysters. The oysters weren't great but everything else was.
We also liked the Lomo Saltado (get it with white rice) and Peruvian rotisserie chicken. The spices and herbs they use makes this chicken taste incredible.
And you need to try the Chicha Morada!
I love this drink! Half of the other customers were sipping it so I just had to try it. It's made with red corn so I expected it to taste kind of like the red corn tea I've had in South Korea. But this tasted more fruity with cinnamon. It's so refreshing!
We want to go again to try the ceviche and a small macuya.
This is one of my favorite places to go out for breakfast. They've got comfort food but it's not typical or boring.
We like the Scandnavian Breakfast and Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon. I also recommend the waffles with lingonberries. If you haven't lingonberries, you're missing out. I've heard them described as "what cranberries wish they were" and I agree.
Finn's also serves Swedish Princess Cake which I just love, and they have Jule Kake in December!
The wait time is never too long at all, even on a Saturday morning. And all the windows fill the restaurant with a comfortable, natural light.
MANOLI'S - GREECE
This small plate restaurant serves incredible Greek fusion food.
The lamb riblets with chimichurri are amazing. And the patates are nice and crispy. I also loved the crispy halloumi with fried pearl onions and a rhubarb sauce. The charred octopus was crisp on the outside, tender on the inside, and had a great flavor.
The only food here that I thought were just okay were the dolmades. We like them better at Mazza.
Manoli's is more expensive than other places on this list, but worth the occasional splurge.
THE SALTY PINEAPPLE - HAWAII
The restaurant is always clean and I like the smaller hole-in-the-wall type feel compared to Hawaiin restaurant chains. It's definitely better than Mo' Bettah's and Rumbi's.
I like this place a little better than Kokonut Island Grill too, though the prices are similar.
The Pineapple Jalapeño Chicken is just so good and the coconut shrimp is better than shrimp at Kokonut.
They make Mango Otai and serve some impressive desserts like their giant pineapple split.
Their burgers were not as good as their plates though the fries were delicious. If you want to try the Volcano Burger or Spicy Katsu sandwich, ask for plain cabbage instead of slaw because it's made with an excessive amount of mayonnaise. We also added a some Sriracha on our sandwiches.
Their Guava cake is good but, if I remember right, I like the Lava cake at Kokonut a little better.
I wouldn't recommend the Musubi. I usually like it, but I'm used to the rice and spam being slightly crispy. This musubi is wrapped in plastic which makes it a little less appetizing.
I love that they serve Dole Whip here too. And I wouldn like to try their Loco Moco sometime.
I've already shared a Thai restaurant in this series, but Thai Land has changed their menu in recent years and Tuk Tuk's is my new favorite.
We have loved every dish we have tried here!
I recommend the Thai Pumpkin Curry, Pineapple Curry Fried Rice, and Panang Curry with Salmon. We get level 3 spicy most of the time and it's perfect for us, though we like spicy.
The Tom Ka and chicken wings are great to share too. The chicken wings kind of resemble Korean fried chicken!
Mango sticky rice is one of my favorite desserts ever and it's especially good at Tuk Tuk's.
Next time, I would like to try their Drunken Noodles, Papaya Salad, and Lychee lemonade.
Which of these restaurants are you most interested in?
Which great restaurants have I not tried yet in the Salt Lake area?
As always, please share your thoughts and recommendations in the comments.
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