rmg wrote:
> I just spent 7 days in Salt Lake City in a hotel right next to the Temple.
> Pretty country, nice people.
>
> It was not easy to grab good cheap food there though, probalby because we
> were downtown. The restaurant attached to our hotel served what seemed like
> truck stop food - although I'm picky being from the San Francisco Bay Area.
> By day 3 I was having biscuits and gravy for breakfast and I was always
> really happy to see watermelon on their buffet. Salads were iceberg lettuce
> and sugary dressing.
>
> I did find one good place, the Red Rock Brewing Company. Good weak beer and
> excellent pizza and onion rings, and their coleslaw and salads were good and
> green.
>
> All in all though I came home feeling overfed and malnourished.

<Cry of joy!> And all this time, I thought it was just me!!

I'm in Salt Lake City. I've been here for years. It may be the most
food-challenged zone on the planet.

Restaurant food preparation here is abysmal, across the board. I don't
know what forces shaped the overall tastes and sensibilities here, but
they not only accept terrible flavor, texture and appearance, but herald
it as fabulous!

And the price vs quality issue was not due to your being in the downtown
area. It's like that wherever you go.

The tone of the food here (unless its one of those ubiquitous Tex-Mex
supersonically spiced to the point of pain melanges) tends to be bland
and sweet. I remember my first trips to the restaurants here, small
local places as well as the chains. In one, I ordered a fettuccine
Alfredo and was put off by the gooey pasta and sugary sauce. It was so
disgusting, I not only refused to eat it but refused to pay for it,
while all around me folks were chowing down and effusing about how
wonderful it all was. Over time, I have found that it is the same way
all over this area, from one end of the state to the other.

General Conference just ended. Were you here for that?


>
> RE COOKING: I also tried chicken fried steak for the very first time while
> in SLC. A battered slab of chopped beef with white biscuit gravy all over
> it. What's good about chicken fried steak? And if you think there is
> something good about it and have made it, could you post a recipe? Thanks.

When it's well made, it's great!