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.