Bombay House

The only real problem we had with Bombay House in West Jordan was getting there. We all used navigation apps to find it and were all led astray. We were directed to the Target parking lot at the southwest corner of the Jordan Landing shopping center. The restaurant is actually several yards to the east, sharing a building with PetSmart, Michael’s Arts & Crafts and the Sports Chalet.

There were seven of us for dinner after 6:30 on a Friday night. I expected our group would overwhelm the small strip-mall location, but we were seated almost instantly. Our orders were taken and delivered with the same punctuality, and our water glasses never ran dry. 

For starters we had vegetable samosa, onion bhaji, chicken pakora, and a vegetable pakora, which came with a spicy mint sauce and a fruity tamarind sauce. We could easily have made a meal of these, but since they’re all deep fried it’s probably well that we didn’t. 


We ordered chicken tikka masala, chettinad lamb, chicken curry and a mixed vegetable curry. We also had garlic naan and aloo partha, even though the entrées arrived with plenty of white rice. Each dish was prepared exactly as spicy or as mild as we specified, so there were no unpleasant surprises.

We saw several intriguing afters on the menu: two unique Indian ice creams, a cardamom-flavored rice pudding studded with fruits and nuts, and gulab jamun, a pastry soaked in syrup and garnished with coconut. Sadly, we were just too full to consider any of these. We’ll have to go back again, skip the dinner and just have dessert!

Lone Star Taqueria

Where do you go when you're hungry, bored, and feeling a little broke? The Lone Star Taqueria at 2265 Fort Union Blvd in Salt Lake City. This little taqueria (pronounced "talk-WHERE-ee-ah" by my GPS) is craaaaaaaaazy busy, but its ok. They know how to handle the traffic and their popularity is completely warranted.

The Atmosphere 5/5

I was worried as we drove up to the restaurant. The drive-through was lined out to the street and every single parking stall was taken. Oddly, I'd never even heard of the place and it seemed the whole town had the same great idea. There ended up being one single, solitary, parallel-parking spot available at the back of the tiny building, sandwiched between the parade of hungry drivers and a foreboding concrete wall that had made its mark on many cars who had foolishly attempted to park there.

The inside of the eatery is sensory overload. Every square inch of the place is decorated with colorful quirks and just plain weird. Masks... with lizards for noses, for example. And, oh yeah. It smells like fish.

The Service 5/5

Despite the long line, it moved really fast and I was worried we'd be herded like the unsuspecting cattle that had eventually become the meat I was about to enjoy. Luckily, they handle their popularity like pros. Our order was taken by a hurried, but very helpful man who directed us toward the reason everybody comes to the joint: Fish Tacos. I do not eat fish under most circumstances, so I ordered the 1/2 size Carnitas Burrito and my friend ordered both the shrimp taco and a fish taco.

The Food 5/5

Our food arrived very quickly, giving us barely enough time to procure utensils and peruse the salsa bar. My burrito that claimed to be "1/2 size" was as big as my face. $6 well spent and very filling. It was heavenly. This is one of the few times I would direct you to let the food speak for itself as my description probably would not do it justice.

Conclusion

Even for the "fish-smell adverse" among us, this place is entirely worth the trip. Think ahead and either brave the drive-through or consider parking elsewhere. 

Royal India

I had been dying for Indian food for a while. There are actually quite a few good restaurants fairly close to where I live. We ended up going to Royal India at 10263 S 1300 E in Sandy, UT.

The Atmosphere 3/5

The restaurant finds itself in a strip mall in a fairly small single unit. Despite that, they've managed to cram twice as many tables as you'd expect into this tiny space. It makes you wonder how big the kitchen could be. They've decorated it nicely and the ambient cultural music is comforting. I would suggest going at an off-peak time. Once it gets busy in here, it's LOUD.

The Service 0/5

And now for the disappointment. :( I've had good experiences here before and I do take authentic Indian cuisine service with a grain of salt, but tonight's performance was unacceptably ridiculous. My wife and I were greeted by four seated employees, who sprang to attention. We were then given a small table for two and menus to look at. It hadn't been three minutes before a server arrived to take our order. She almost seemed annoyed that we weren't ready. We weren't offered drinks or specials. Feeling uncomfortable, we  hurriedly ordered the two most pedestrian items on the menu, Chicken Curry and Lamb Vindaloo. 

It gets worse. A friend of ours pleasantly surprised us and joined us at the table. The staff seemed panicked. I asked if we could be seated at a larger table and we were given a third chair. We requested a plate and silverware. This took them more than 10 minutes to produce AFTER our food had been delivered. There were tons of employees, many of whom came to the table, and yet our friend went unserved for the entire meal. He was given no menu and no chance to order any food for himself. Our water glasses stood empty for the majority of the evening.

The Food 5/5

At the very least, I can say I got what I came for. I don't crave Indian food often, but when I do, Vindaloo hits the spot. Perhaps it's impossible to get it wrong, but I can't remember ever having bad Vindaloo or Curry. We also ordered these lamb pastries, which we served with two sauces: fruity and minty. I really enjoyed these little things, but they were decadent. Had the friend not shown up to help us with them, I doubt I'd have finished.

Conclusion

Royal India is a convenient little Indian food restaurant that can usually seat your whole group without waiting. Lower your expectations on the consistency of the service and enjoy the authentic cuisine. Arguably though, with so many great Indian restaurants in the area, you might consider going elsewhere. 

Calypso's Cafe

What better way to spend an anniversary than at an aquarium? Thanks to a very generous mother-in-law and a fantastic Mother's Day gift, Matt and I used our annual passes to go visit the sharks, otters, and penguins. We also decided to get lunch at the in-house cafe. I was disappointed that they didn't take the potentially offensive opportunity to offer sea food of any kind :)

The Atmosphere 3/5

The cafe had a sort of nautical convenience store feel to it. There was nothing too flashy but the school of fake oceanic life strung from the ceiling did provide enough sub-par distraction to get us through almost the entire wait for our food. Almost.

The Service 5/5

I was actually pleasantly surprised and impressed with the service. Most restaurants of this caliber are run by high schoolers and college drop-outs who make it obvious that they are miserable being there. We were helped by a rather pleasant and helpful man who greeted us kindly. As he and his coworker prepared our food, they talked and laughed back and forth and appeared to genuinely enjoy what they were doing.

The Food 2/5

This smorgasbord of culinary brilliance kindly unburdened us of $15. On the left, we have Matt's selection: the Hot Italian. It consisted of spicy sausage, pepperoni, black olives, mozzarella, and roasted red peppers. He opted to get it in a combo meal, so he was also treated to a handful of greasy potato chips and an 8 oz cup of Sprite. In his words, the sandwich was having an identity crisis and, with each bite, would change its mind on whether it was an Italian sandwich or a Mediterranean one. Basically, too many flavors between two slices of Wonder Bread.

The sandwich on the right was the Pesto Chicken. It claimed to be made up of mozzarella, chicken breast and roasted red peppers with a pesto spread. I suppose technically the pre-formed meat patty could have once been the breast of a chicken, but the journey from cluck-cluck to Sysco's frozen meat selection was not a kind one. It was dry, tasteless and desperately needed the pesto to give it some life. This brings me to the most disappointing part of the meal: the pesto. If I had to guess, the recipe is 1 part canned pesto to 4 parts mustard. Personally, I'm of the opinion that mustard is a punishment sent from heaven for all the cruelty in the world. To add insult to injury, the sandwich came with pickles on the side.

Conclusion

In the end, the Calypso's Cafe did not disappoint because I didn't have terribly high expectations. We enjoyed our time together and left feeling like our hunger was satisfied. (You better believe I ate the $7 sandwich! Money doesn't grow on trees after all...) Had we decided to go with other items from the menu, their surprisingly low prices would've offset the disappointment I had from the meal. I suppose it was my own fault for going with the most expensive sandwich they had to offer.

I couldn't shake the feeling one might get when they compare Lagoon to Disneyland. One is fun and has good intentions, the other is heaven on Earth. I have not yet written off Calypso's however, because in about 6 months, the new, bigger, better aquarium will be open and will hopefully have more high-quality dining options available.

The Village Baker

My brother and I decided to have lunch at The Village Baker at 1658 W 9000 S, West Jordan, UT. I used to work in the area and have been to the restaurant a few times before, but not in a very long while.

They serve gourmet specialty pizzas and enormous sandwiches; but first and foremost, the Village Baker is a bakery.

The Atmosphere 3/5

The space inside the bakery is very small and quaint. They have breads and spreads and other things for sale around the room. The only downside to this is there is no place to eat. There are two benches in the room for those waiting for their orders, but not a single table in or even outside the restaurant. This forced us to retreat to a nearby park to enjoy the meal. The day was so windy and hot that it made the entire experience less pleasant and uncomfortable.

The Service 3/5

I found the staff to be very pleasant, but even though it was well between the meal rush times of lunch and dinner, they all seemed busy. I was helped by a young woman with no name tag who suggested that I order the turkey cranberry sandwich. (A phenomenal selection, I might add. More on that later.) She quickly rang me up and set me on my way without further discussion. My sandwich was readied quickly, my name was announced, and we left.

The Food 5/5

I LOVE THIS SANDWICH!!! Wow, it was amazing. Nothing can be held against this bakery on the quality of their food. The turkey was moist and flavorful, the bread was warm and tasty. They even managed to get the perfect amount of cranberry sauce. I also found the portion to be exactly what I was looking for. 

Conclusion

The Village Baker is very good at what they do, but their business model doesn't allow them to provide the level of service a guest should expect from a restaurant. If you think of this as a takeout bakery that creates dishes of culinary genius, you'll have a wonderful time.

Restaurant Review Template

Hello! I was bored one day and decided I'd like to join the rest of the internet with another restaurant reviewing blog.

I love to dine out and I'm sure you do too. I'd even love to hear about it. That's why I'm opening up this blog to anyone who'd like to contribute. Please use these general guidelines for your review.

Title of Restaurant

Casual description of the restaurant including links to its website (if available) and its address

Picture of exterior of the restaurant

The Atmosphere ranking out of 5 (ex. 2/5)

Description of the atmosphere of the restaurant

Picture of interior of the restaurant

The Service ranking out of 5 (ex. 2/5)

Description of the all of the service experienced

The Food ranking out of 5 (ex. 2/5)

Description of the food

Picture of the food as it was served

Conclusion

Concluding paragraph describing your reaction to the whole experience.