Layla Grill and Mezze

For the royal wedding we decided to celebrate in traditional fashion. So a Mediterranean grille was a natural choice. Wills and Kate would be proud. Layla has a modern, calming décor. Excellent service, lovely small plates and Middle Eastern signature entrees. We recommend a reservation. This place is small and cozy. Emphasis on small.

Sweetie: I needed to rev up with some caffeine and ordered Layla’s Special Coffee for $3. This is an iced Arabic coffee sweetened with condensed milk. They have real crushed ice at Layla and it comes with all cold drinks, including the coffee. (You crushed ice people know what I’m talking about.)

Spicy Girl: Ice smishe, tell us about your coffee.

Sweetie: The coffee was strong but not disgusting like Charbuck’s. The condensed milk cut into the strength. It provided a good jolt.

Spicy Girl: I liked your coffee but it was a little sweet for me. I’ll discuss my hard-core Turkish coffee when we get to dessert. But first, I should mention the wine list. They have a good selection, including some Lebanese wines. I ordered the Massaya Classic Red ($ 7). It was a good fruity selection. But anyway, I guess we should get to the food. The small plates all sound so appetizing, it is difficult to choose a starter. So, we chose three. We went with the vegetarian grape leaves for $6, the Mediterranean crab cakes for $6, and the baba ganouj (also vegetarian) for $6.

Sweetie: Your wine was delish. The grape leaves were gamey, except in a plant kind of way. The filling inside was warm and lemony and tasted like comfort food. The crab cakes were surprisingly meaty. For that price, you couldn’t make them at home. I’d never had baba ganouj. Thank God it wasn’t gross. It was like hummus but sweeter.

Spicy Girl: This was my second time trying the crab cakes at Layla. They were just as good this time – they are mostly crab with just enough bread, peppers, onions and celery to hold them together. Nicely seasoned with a house remoulade sauce. The grape leaves had just enough lemon and mint to give a nice flavor, but not over-powering. They were a little loosely wrapped, but tasted wonderful. If, like Sweetie, you are unfamiliar with baba ganouj, it is an egg plant-based dip, which has a slightly sweet flavor. It comes with your choice of warm pita bread, pita chips or fresh vegetables. We went with the standard pita bread.

Sweetie: For the main course I ordered Chicken Kabob ($8) with Layla’s Signature Fries ($4.) I was impressed. The Kabob was actually a wrap, instead of meat on a stick. The pita was warm and soft. The chicken was seasoned, cut and cooked perfectly. I love yogurt sauce and Layla didn’t disappoint me. Tomatoes were also stuffed inside the pita. I heart tomatoes. The fries were seasoned well and golden and crispy. The house Harissa Toum Aioli sauce, for all intents and purposes, was Utah-style fry sauce.

Spicy Girl: I thought your fries were amazing. I should have ordered some with my wrap. I thought the seasoning gave them a nice flavor. I also liked your chicken, but thought it was a tad bit dry. It was well seasoned though. It is hard to give chicken flavor. They succeeded. I ordered the falafel wrap for $7. The falafels were nice and crispy and flavorful, but there was a bit too much tahini sauce. My poor wrap fell apart and I had to eat it with a fork. Oh, Sweetie, I forgot to thank you for giving me your pepperoncini . Yum!

Sweetie: My pleasure. I wanted to comment on falafel in Spicy Girl’s wrap. I don’t think I’ve had it before. It tasted nutty but had the texture of beans. And my wrap fell apart, too. They need to learn from the Mexicans. I want my pitas buritto-style. Then the best part of the meal – dessert! I got the chocolate macadamia mousse with an Oreo crust ($7.) It was fluffy and creamy. Could have been more chocolately.

Spicy Girl: Holy cow Sweetie! How could you possibly make that more chocolately? It was very chocolatey. I went with a Turkish coffee ($2.50)… which is not for the meek of heart. This stuff is strong – served in a cup that about the size of a shot glass. Be careful, the bottom is thick and mucky so don’t gulp it down. For my dessert I went with the Bird’s Nest ($3) -- which is sort of like baklava, but different. It is a pastry shell with a sweet, pistachio based filling. The $3 gets you two small pastries so it was perfect to share with our special guest, SGBF.

SGBF: I ordered small plates for my main course. I got the clam chowder (soup of the day) for $4. It was not the usual thick consistency for New England clam chowder. It was refreshingly light. I liked it. I also ordered the fitayer spinach pie. Unusual because it was not fillo dough, it was more like a spinach-filled pot pie. It was filled with ample amounts of the spinach, Swiss chard and pine nut filling. And I got the crab cakes as well. They were tasty.

Spicy Girl: Thank you for sharing your food insights SGBF. Any last thoughts Sweetie?

Sweetie: No.

The total was $84 for three people. This was probably our favorite find so far. They are at 4751 S. Holladay Boulevard.

Check them out here.

Peep Show V

by Sweetie:

In our post-modern, "spiritual but not religious" society, Easter has traded in the trappings of bodily resurrection for chocolate eggs menacingly beckoning from every candy dish, threatening to ruin our figures and complexions.

And the creepy chocolate cross. And the jelly beans. And Peeps -- perhaps the most disgusting sugar and marshmallow confection ever manufactured, somehow we all know was created in a lab and not in some kindly grandmother's kitchen. I have a relative who was chief executive of a company that briefly owned licensing rights to Peeps and Pass egg dye. He never showed me how either was made. I have another relative who enjoys nuking his Peeps in the microwave before popping them into his mouth. I haven't seen that process, either.

In a laughing-at-while-laughing-with spirit, the Washington Post has centered Peeps in a competition called "Peep Show," for the past five years. Readers submit dioramas of Peeps in action -- waiting at an airport Transportation and Security Administration checkpoint, being attacked by Peep birds in a scene from the Alfred Hitchcock movie, and stalking like zombies.

Check it out here.

What are your favorites? I enjoyed the "Black Peep" diorama that referenced the "Black Swan" movie, "Peepie Sheen Receives his Daily Transfusion of Fresh Tiger Blood," the intricately created theft of Peep art at the Musee d'Art Moderne in Paris, and "The Very Hungry Catpeepillar."

Do you agree with what the Washington Post selected for first place? I thought it was too serious of a topic to recreate using Peeps as the media.

Flim Flan

by Sweetie

Each year on her birthday, my friend Abby – white bred Abby who recently discovered her family’s Lutheran background masked their Jewish identity– asks her office to give her a flan instead of a birthday cake.

(Always one to break with tradition, Abby also asks them to sing Tom Petty’s “Free Falling,” instead of the “Happy Birthday” song…)

I adore cake, abhor flan and was befuddled by Abby’s birthday request.

“Why would you do that?” I demanded to know.

Flan first touched my lips at age 10, when friends invited me to a Las Posadas game at Christmastime, during which children knock on neighborhood doors looking for room at the “inn” for the symbolic Mary and Joseph. The game ended when a home let us in. We headed to the basement for the customary party and ate flan.

“Do you like it?” one of my friend’s moms asked, after I had two bites of flan and put it down. My cheeks were puffed out with lemonade that my juvenile logic theorized would coat my mouth and dissolve the flan-tasting molecules.

I swallowed hard.

“It’s good,” I lied, trying to be a “good girl," like the one Tom Petty sings about.

“Muy mal,” is what I wanted to say.

The second, third and fifty-sixth times I had flan were a few years later in my own white bred home. My younger sister needed to bring Mexican food for a presentation in social studies class.

And for some reason, someone in my family decided that the food would be flan.

My busy mother discovered that Jell-O made instant flan, and she bought roughly 196 boxes at 49 cents a piece – in the 90s everything was cheap – and began whipping the crap up. I say “crap” not to be derogatory toward Hispanics but because flan in a box with gelatin is, from a technical standpoint, crap. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control have confirmed it.

On presentation day, my mom opened her refrigerator and removed all 196 dishes of flan-crap. They were such a hit at school that she returned with 195 of them. Since they took too much room in the fridge and Mom refused throw them out because “we don’t waste money and we don’t waste food in this house when there are starving children in Africa,” she shoved them in the freezer in the basement.

Several months later, my mom rediscovered the flan like archeologist on a dig. It had yellowed like old newspaper from its original cream color. Despite our ewws, we had to eat it each night until it was done. We called it “phlegm” because of its color and noises we made as we swallowed it.

Traumatized, almost two decades passed before I tried flan again.

Abby is something of a flan connoisseur. “There are numerous ways to make flan,” she said. “Some flan is spongy. Some is rich and creamy and has the same ingredients as crème brulee.”

“Hmmm,” I said. “I like rich and creamy. And I love crème brulee!”

“Then we’ll try some!” Abby said.

"Si," I agreed.

Then the pangs of paranoia arose: Am I a racist to suddenly be open to flan when it’s likened to French cuisine? Was I a racist child for hating flan? Are sensitive taste buds an excuse for a kid? What if I hate flan as an adult? Am I still racist – even if I love tamales and corn tortillas? Am I still racist – even if I side with immigrants in political issues?

The flan I tried that night was on the order of crème brulee. Of course, I loved it. Now, as I continue to wrestle with those questions, I’m going to try different flans. Even the spongy ones, which sound kind of gross. I was especially thrilled to learn that there is chocolate flan, which I plan to rename "chocoflan."

If you feel inclined, share your experiences with flan. Do you know where there's good flan along the Wasatch Front? And, most importantly, where can one get a chocoflan?

When in Paris...

... Don't try this restaurant, writes A.A. Gill for Vanity Fair.

This may very well be the funniest, most intelligent restaurant review Sweetie has read: http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2011/04/lami-louis-201104.

Fratelli Ristorante

We were excited to try this Italian eatery in Sandy, particularly after it earned props from City Weekly’s Best of Utah 2011. We loved the ambiance and modern décor. It is a great place to have a conversation. We didn't have to shout above the crowd. However, the food and service didn’t live up to the hype.

Spicy Girl: Starting out, I was very optimistic. The complimentary mixed bread served when we arrived was pretty good. There is olive oil and balsamic vinegar at the table to mix a dip, along with a pepper grinder.

Sweetie: I ordered a glass of the Gabbiano Chianti Riserva (Tuscany, 2003) for $6, which was not sweet. In fact it was bitter and dry. Disclaimer: I had never tried Chianti before. Fortunately, Spicy Girl graciously offered to switch wines. Hers was a Pinot noir called Latour Valmossine, (Burgandy, 2004) also $6.

Spicy Girl: I thought both wines were good. We are both fans of a good ensalada Caprese, so we decided to try the Baked Caprese Salad for $8. This dish is sort of like an over-priced bruschetta. It was baked buffalo mozzarella, Roma tomatoes and basil on top of crusty bread. I was a bit disappointed by the lack of flavor. I had to add some pepper to give it some taste. Also, it only came with three bruschetta. It would seem to make more sense to serve four.

Sweetie: Yeah, the price could have been more justified if there were four. I for once actually agree with you on the lack of flavor. It seemed to be missing something … I added balsamic vinegar to give it taste. I normally don’t like buffalo mozzarella because of the texture. Baked, however, its texture was firmer and less slimy. It was good. Why always "buffalo" before mozzarella? They don’t use that word in Italy.

Spicy Girl. Um. I don’t think there are buffalo in Italy. (Winks). Since there was nothing spicy on the menu, I decided to go for comfort food. The main courses come with soup or salad. I opted for the salad. It was a pretty good side salad. I liked the balsamic fennel dressing. However, I was a bit disappointed that the dressing wasn’t served on the side as requested. I went with the Gnocchi Di Gorgonzola, which is gnocchi (dumplings) with a gorgonzola cream sauce, spinach and walnuts for $13. The flavors mixed well but it was way too rich and heavy. I couldn’t finish my plate.

Sweetie: I thought the gnocchi was perfect. I could have eaten it all in one sitting. Because I had a big lunch, I opted for the Mixed Green Salad for $7. The best part about it were the beets. Beets are a vegetable this girl can handle, because they're sugary. However, because they're usually pickled in a can, they can taste tinny. The beats in my salad, I'm happy to say, did not. Otherwise, my salad was forgettable except for the Gorgonzola cheese, which I picked out. (I should have read the menu more closely). For some reason, I felt it was important to take a photo of the extracted bleu cheese. (See below.)

Spicy Girl: When it came time for dessert, things started to go downhill. I was eager to try the Café Fratelli, which is cappuccino with Godiva Dark liquor. However, I didn’t get to taste it because of some weird mix-up with the liquor bottles. Apparently there was Baileys in the Godiva bottle. Odd. Needless to say I decided to just order a plain old coffee.

Sweetie: I ordered the Chocobella for $6. It is chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, and ganache. Divine. It was rich and delish. The peanut-buttery blob on top, sadly, is not peanut butter. It's apricot. Thumbs down.

Spicy Girl: I thought the best part of the Chocobella was the apricot on top. It was way too rich for me. One bite was plenty. The worst part was that I needed to chase this overly sweet flavor with a sip of my coffee. This was a problem because I had no coffee. The coffee ($2) we both ordered did not arrive with our dessert. When the waitress brought the dessert, she said it would be just another minute. But we did not get coffee until after the dessert plate was taken away. I thought the waitress had forgotten.

Sweetie: It was Lavazza, the Folgers of Italy -- but like that country’s men, their coffee is also superior. About the service, it was inconsistent. The water was always quickly refilled, but the wait staff was AWOL when it came time for coffee.

Spicy Girl: That was strange. I like my coffee with dessert, not several minutes after. Also, it seemed like an eternity until the check came. I was beginning to wonder if our meal was free. Maybe we came on an off night, but I certainly hope this is not the best Italian in Utah.

Sweetie: It shouldn’t have been an off night: It was a Friday night.

Fratelli is at 9236 Village Shop Drive in Sandy. It is open for lunch and dinner every day except Sunday. Here’s a link to check them out.

Red Rock Brewery

Bias alert -- We love Red Rock Brewery. It’s one of our favorite brew pubs for dinner & beer. So, it was a natural choice when we were looking for a fresh way to do Sunday brunch.

Sweetie: I arrived, having thrown my unwashed hair in a bun and skipping makeup except for red lipstick. I was trying to fit in with all the women who I suspected would show up looking disheveled, having spent the night at their boyfriends’. Turns out, I assumed wrong. Most women looked like they had showered.

Spicy Girl: Wow, Sweetie, you sure put a lot of thought into your disheveled look. I guess I'm just naturally disheveled. The atmosphere at the Red Rock is always casual -- but it's definitely not a seedy dive.

Sweetie: I guess I spend too many Sunday mornings at lowbrow coffee shops and cafes.

Spicy Girl: Well, enough small talk. Let’s get down to the food.

Sweetie: We both ordered fresh-brewed coffee for $1.99. Of course, I added cream and sugar.

Spicy Girl: It was nice that the waitress brought us a fresh brew instead of old bottom-of-the pot mud. The waitress also kept us topped off throughout our breakfast. I decided to be a bit adventurous and order something unusual. I got the “Eggs in Purgatory” for $9.99. This dish was comprised of fried eggs served in Tuscan bread and topped with marinara. The menu said “spicy tomato sauce” but it was just your standard marina. Not even a smidgen of heat. But still an unexpectedly tasty combination, especially after adding a little spice with some Cholula (they also offer Tobasco).

Sweetie: No smidgen of heat? I had to suck down my water after a bite of your dish. I thought the marinara tasted like it had hot sauce mixed in. For my dish, I was craving the Classic Eggs Benedict for $9.99. The eggs were perfectly poached, the English muffins were crispy, the Canadian bacon was salty and the Hollandaise sauce was rich, but rich in a good way. They could have used less sauce, however.

Spicy Girl: I agree, the Hollandaise sauce was rich and creamy. But there was a bit too much of it. My breakfast also came with bacon, which was the thick slab kind -- nice and crispy. Both of our dishes also came with breakfast potatoes. They were very soft, almost a bit overcooked. But the flavoring was good for potatoes, and adding Cholula was a nice enhancement.

Sweetie: I didn’t like the potatoes. They were too soggy. I think the best breakfast potatoes in town are the Market Street potatoes, because they are perfectly flavored and crispy. Our dishes also came with orange slices. I wish there had been more citrus.

Spicy Girl: I’ve never tried the Market Street Potatoes. But you are giving me some ideas for our next outing … Oh, I almost forgot. We had a special guest with us, SGBF.

SGBF: I ordered the Smoked Turkey Sandwich for $8.49 and a side of the soup of the day, mushroom and leek for $2. I wasn’t very impressed. My soup was only lukewarm but was seasoned well and not overly salty. The portion was ample, with plenty of mushrooms. The leeks were cut julienne-style, which aided the visual presentation, but the stringy-ness made it difficult to eat. The sandwich was mostly bun, and the mayo was plain, not the gourmet stuff you’d expect for an $11.50 meal. I felt the value for the money would have been better if the soup were a $2 addition and not a $2 substitute for the other side options. And I was jealous, because I didn’t have coffee and the waitress was not as adept at filling my water glass as she was at filling the coffee mugs.

Spicy Girl: For the three of us, the bill came to $37 including tax, but before tip. If you like to imbibe with your brunch, there are $2 Bloody Mary and Mimosa specials on Saturdays.

Red Rock is downtown at 254 S. 200 West. There is also a Park City location and we are anxiously awaiting the new Fashion Place Mall location (supposedly opening this summer). They are open every day for lunch and dinner. The weekend brunch hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Check them out at www.redrockbrewing.com.

Our tribute to City Weekly

This blog entry is dedicated to City Weekly’s “Best of Utah.” We love City Weekly and we love that it gives us ideas for new restaurants to try. Yet, we think the ratings missed a few categories and we also think a few of our favorite gems were forgotten. Some of the restaurants listed here are our list for upcoming reviews. Let us know if you think we’ve left out any must-eat locations …

Here are our top forgotten categories:

Best Bathroom. Circle Lounge. Sweetie says: They've got awesome red rock sinks. I'd want one in my home -- assuming I were a homeowner and assuming I were rich.

Best Place to Have an Affair: Market Street Oyster Bar. Sweetie says: The oyster selection is fab. And the clam chowder is the creamiest I've ever tasted. But, let's be honest: You're not at the Oyster Bar for the food. You've chosen the OB to keep a low profile -- the black leather round booths, circa 1982, and the mirrors on the walls. You can grope your secretary while drinking highballs like JR Ewing!" Spicy Girl: Hey, I’m all for sultry affairs and cocktails, but please don’t make me eat an oyster!

Best restaurant decorated by ex-Disney Employees: The Cheesecake Factory.

Best Surly Service: Piper Down. Spicy Girl says: Piper Down is … Pub Quiz, Sunday Brunch, and a popular Irish pub to hang out at. But don’t expect friendly service. If you try to move a chair, the bar tender will chide you, if you order food, expect one person at the table to be waiting while everyone else is served. And, double-count your change if you pay with cash (yes, Spicy Girl was shorted here). Surly service aside, the food is surprisingly edible for pub food. But stick to beer or wine if you don’t want a watered down drink. Why do we keep coming back for the abuse? Maybe it’s Pub Quiz, or the fact that lots of people always seem to want to meet here. Sweetie: I think you are underrating the food. It’s delicious. Period. It’s also the only place in Utah where I’ve seen Poutine, the French-Canadian fries-with-gravy-and-cheese-curds dish.

Now, more seriously, here are few of our top eateries that really should have received a nod from the City Weekly's readers and staff. If you haven’t checked out these places yet, you should.  They are among our favorite local finds:

Sweetie’s Picks:

Best Cheese Fries: Training Table. The dipping sauce, a take on “fry sauce” by mixing barbecue sauce and mayonnaise together, is good with the fries. I’m not much of a burger person so I just get the salads, which are generous in portion.

Best Everything: The Dodo. I love the Dodo, especially the drinks and desserts. Tollhouse Pie, chocolate mousse, tortes – their desserts change each day. A drink tip: Order the Parley’s Steamer – which has steamed milk, Bailey’s, Kahlua and vodka, topped with whipped cream – but ask them to add coffee. Delish! Their green salads are also good, perfectly tossed with the house dressing and with chopped almonds.

Spicy Girl's Picks:

Best New Restaurant: Layla Grille & Mezze. This Mediterranean grill opened last August, and I think it rivals Mazza in its food and atmosphere. The small plates are exquisite – especially the Mediterranean Crab Cakes (yes, you heard me right Mediterranean crab cakes). And the best part is they actually take reservations. Yes, it is possible to get amazingly good Mediterranean in Salt Lake, without having to choose between eating at old-people time or waiting for an hour. If you don’t feel like making reservations, you can always sit in the bar area.

Best Asian Fusion: Rice. All I can say about this place is “yum!” I have never had anything that I didn’t enjoy there. I love the sushi happy hours (Monday to Wednesday, 4 to 10 p.m.) and also love their Asian dishes. I’d recommend one of the curries.

Best Takeout: My Thai. This place has amazing Thai food, and most of the dishes are under $10. This is a mom-and-pop with nice owners who will customize your order to your preferred level of spicy-ness. (They'll give you chili flakes on the side on request). The reason I’m listing this as best “take out” is that I usually get take out there. The atmosphere is a bit lacking for an eat-in experience and they do not have a liquor license (it’s small, in a strip mall). But lots of people must disagree on the eat-in experience as there are usually more than a few enjoying an eat-in experience. My favorite here is the red curry with tofu.