Yummy Utah

The Pie Pizzeria (Ogden)

2009-04-10T14:59:00.001-07:00

The Pie Pizzeria
42 & Harrison Blvd
Ogden, UT 84403
(801) 627-1920

Food (Quality, Quantity, Menu):
Huge, piled-on pizza. It's good pizza in big proportions. Dine in, take it out, or have it delivered.

Service:
Dude, we're college kids serving college kids. Really though, it was really fun to go back to The Pie and remember our college days. Our last visit was filled with reminiscing.

Ambiance/Atmosphere:
Can't you read the writing on the walls? No really - there's writing on the walls. People write their names on the exposed brick. The walls are also adorned with paraphernalia from the neighboring university (in Ogden - Weber State University, in Salt Lake - The University of Utah)

Overall:

Additional Resources:

The Pie's Website
Yelp
Friends Eat
Yahoo Travel
CitySearch

The Greenery

2009-04-10T14:36:00.000-07:00

The Greenery
1875 Valley Dr (at the mouth of Ogden Canyon)
Ogden, UT 84401

Food (Quality, Quantity, Menu):
Delicious food. Large quantity - My "side backed potato" was the biggest potato I'd ever seen! I think the food is proportionate to the serving sizes (maybe even the food outweighs the money a little bit). It's the only, THE ONLY place to get a big yummy Mormon Muffin. YUM!

Service:
The waitstaff is very friendly.

Ambiance/Atmosphere:
Cute and quaint. It is surrounded by the MANY Rainbow Gardens Gift Shops. It's fun to look around.

Overall:
I am always impressed when I eat at The Greenery, and I always leave with a feeling of "I will come back again".

Additional Resources:

Rainbow Gardens' Site
The New York Times Review of The Greenery
Fodors Review
Ogden Valley Business Association

Santa Monica Pizza Company

2009-04-10T14:34:00.000-07:00

Santa Monica Pizza Company
2432 W. Antelope Dr. Syracuse, UT 84075
Phone: (801) 773-2777

Food (Quality, Quantity, Menu):
They served different creative varieties of pizza. "The upside down Italian", "The Tie Dye", "The Cathedral Fire"... Check out their menu. We got the buffet, and we had PLENTY of food to eat.

Service:
We ate at their $5.99 lunch buffet. The food came around to us! We had breadsticks, pasta and pizza brought right to our table.

Ambiance/Atmosphere:
It's very laid back and chill. I was out with friends and we had lots of kids with us, and the waitress were so great interacting with the children. Very family friendly.

Overall:
As food goes, it's not my favorite pizza, but I would go back and enjoy the laid back family friendly atmosphere.

Additional Resources:
Santa Monica Pizza Company's Website
Dine Utah
"The Syracuse Neighbor" local article

Nevoles Pizzeria

2008-10-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

Nevoles Pizzeria
51 East 114th South
Sandy, UT 84092
Phone: (801) 571-5744

Food (Quality, Quantity, Menu):
Delicious New York style pizza. HUGE pizza. The sausage chunks were the size of ping pong balls.

Service:
Friendly service. They know what they're doing. From talking with our waiter we could tell he sincerely liked his job.

Ambiance/Atmosphere:
I don't know if it's just a Friday night thing, but there was a live guitarist. And he was good.

Apparently they've only been in their corner restaurant for a few months. They are locally owned, but they used to be more "hole in the wall" than they are now. They just moved a couple of doors down. The owner moved across country and some loyal customers bought it. I hear the old place used have an old school cash register and a real "homey" feel to it. The new place is really nice, with a mural of New York on the wall, NICE, clear televisions, football helmets on the wall, and XM Radio (for when there's not somebody playing live music) . It was a packed house, and I got the idea it's packed quite often.

Overall:

Additional Reviews:

Hungry Bear Pizza Buffet

2008-10-10T12:36:00.000-07:00

Hungry Bear Pizza Buffet
1074 W Hill Field Rd
Layton, UT 84041
(801) 543-3322

Food (Quality, Quantity, Menu):
Pizza of all kinds! Even dessert pizza. Salad and some pasta, too. It's a good place to take a group. Everyone (almost) likes pizza, and here, everyone can get what they want and how much they want for not too much money.

Service:
Serve yourself at the buffet.

Ambiance/Atmosphere:
Bears everywhere. Cute decor. It reminds me of Bear Lake.

Overall:

Additional Reviews:
Open List
City Search Review
Trip Advisor
Yahoo Review

Ramblin Roads Family Restraunt

2008-10-04T13:40:00.000-07:00

Ramblin Roads
49 E 200 S
Clearfield, UT 84015
(801) 525-5255

Food (Quality, Quantity, Menu):
Breakfast, breakfast, breakfast! There were so many choices for breakfast foods! But it was dinner time, so I ordered something off the dinner menu. The spinach dip is DELICIOUS. Popeye would be proud. When ordering, my husband said his Mom's clam chowder is the only clam chowder he likes... Well, he found another one comparable to his Mom's.

Service:
Everyone was very friendly. Our waitress was young, I bet she was still in high school. She was very nice. She wanted to be helpful and answer our questions. To everything we asked about she said "oh yeah, that one's real good".

Ambiance/Atmosphere:
It's spacious. The booths themselves could seat giants. It's nice to not be squished.

Overall:

Additional Reviews:

Ally's Pizza

2008-10-03T12:48:00.001-07:00

Ally's Pizza
258 W 1800 N
Clearfield, UT 84015

Food (Quality, Quantity, Menu):
Pizza! Fresh, made to order. They have yummy garlic rolls too. Way better than Pizza Hut, Domino's... you know who.

Service:
Drive-up or delivery only. The local teens who work there seem to enjoy their job.

Ambiance/Atmosphere:
It's an old house that's been converted to a pizza shop. Can't get more "mom & pop" or "hole in the wall" than that. Awesome, if you ask me.

Overall:

Additional Reviews:
Yahoo Travel
My Travel Guide
City Search

Ottavio's

2008-10-03T12:09:00.001-07:00

Ottavio's
77 E Center St
Provo, UT 84606
(801) 377-9555
www.ottavios.com

Food (Quality, Quantity, Menu):
Italian food. Similar to the Olive Garden, only, made with love.

Service:
Very polite and attentive waitstaff. We actually had an incident (which I will not detail here), but we were taken care of. The host, the waitress and the owners showed much concern.

Ambiance/Atmosphere:
You feel like you've just walked into Italy! The gorgeous murals surround the entire place. I hear there are accordion players on busy evenings.

Overall:
I'm not overly raving about it, but I would go again. I am quite impressed with their website.

Additional Reviews:
Utah Valley.org
City Search
Trip Advisor
Yahoo Travel
Yelp Review

Sill's Cafe

2008-09-24T10:18:00.000-07:00

Sill's Cafe
281 S Main St
Layton, UT 84041
(801) 544-7438

Well, after a tour of closed restaurants (Galaxy Diner, La Koncinita Cafe, ...) [see previous posts], we ended up at Sill's Cafe in Layton. They are across the street from Doug & Emmy's. Story has it that the two places are related, that there was a family fued, and one is a branch off from the other, but I don't know which is which.

Food (Quality, Quantity, Menu):
Wow, not much to choose from. Would you like a hamburger? They have those. But you'll have to pay more if you want fries (instead of chips), or if you want cheese or bacon. There wasn't anything special about the hamburger. It was tasty, it was done. There was no special sauce, no frills or fireworks, it was just a hamburger.

Service:
One stressed out waitress. She never asked us how we were. It seemed to be an inconvenience that she had to serve us. The table we sat at was a mess. She never wiped it off.

Ambiance/Atmosphere:
We walked in, and besides two other partons, it was pretty much empty. It doesn't look like they've put money into rennovations since the place was built. Lights were missing their glass fixtures, electrical outlets didn't have covers. And it was freezing cold.

Overall:
If I had a choice of the two related-but-fueding family restraunts, I'd go to Doug & Emmy's over Sill's Cafe.

Additional Reviews:
Deseret News Article
CitySearch Review
Yelp Reviews
Insider Pages
Epic Trip

Zoggers

2008-09-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

Zoggers
1130 E Hwy 193
Layton, UT 84040
(801) 771-5200

We wanted ot go to Zoggers for a hamburger, but WHERE IS IT?! So, after this very eventful night (you can see all the restaurants that were closed in the previous posts), we ended up at Sill's Cafe.

*I just looked it up, and the address is:
1142 E Highway 193
Layton, UT 84040
(801) 771-5200

(Urbanspoon had the wrong address listed...it should be updated soon.)

We'll have to try it another day.

Slow-Joe's Backyard BBQ

2008-09-21T09:57:00.000-07:00

Slow-Joe's Backyard BBQ

1842 W 300 N
West Point, UT 84015
(801) 463-4884

This address can't be right. It took us right to a house in a residential neighborhood.

I found this address. We may have to search for it another day...
1842 S. 300 West
Utah
801-463-4884

Galaxy Diner [closed]

2008-09-21T09:49:00.000-07:00

Galaxy Diner
4250 Harrison Blvd
Ogden, UT 84403

This closed years ago. It used to be my high school hang out. They would give us free food all the time. That's probably why it closed down. Too bad though, it was a 50's themed diner. Last I heard it was Tasty's Donuts.

La Koncinita Cafe [closed]

2008-09-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

La Koncinita Cafe

246 E 200 S
Clearfield, UT 84015
(801) 728-9064

La Koncinita Cafe has closed, but there is another in it's place. It looks to be a Pilipino food place, but the new cafe appeared to be closed for the weekend.

Rustler Grill

2008-09-19T15:08:00.001-07:00

Rustler Grill
10392 S Jordan Gtwy
South Jordan, UT 84095

*** We made a SPECIAL TRIP (about an hour) JUST to get a baked potato from Rustler's. I was so SAD to see the sign on their door saying they were closed for renovation. Well, I hope they open up again soon! Unfortunately, some business associates who work nearby say the sign has been up for a while.... :(

Food (Quality, Quantity, Menu):
THE biggest and THE BEST baked potato this side of the Mississippi. Huge portions.

Service:
Get your food buffet style and seat yourself.

Ambiance/Atmosphere:
Country/cowboy theme going on. There are TVs.

Overall:
I'll say it again, I am SO SAD I didn't get my Rustler's baked potato!!!!
They only get 4 stars, because they were closed. But if they were open and I'd gotten my 'tato, they surely would have received 5 stars.
Additional Reviews:

Star Cafe

2008-09-19T15:08:00.000-07:00

Star Cafe
1540 S State St
Clearfield, UT 84015

Food (Quality, Quantity, Menu):
Lots of choices. But if you go in the evening, they may run out. I got the last mashed potato available that night. It was tasty, yum. The food was priced well.

Service:
Warm & friendly. Like coming back home.

Ambiance/Atmosphere:
Honestly, a little scary. I was eyeing the chair, hoping it wouldn't fall apart when I sat in it.

Overall:
It's been around a while. You can tell they have their regulars.

Additional Reviews:
City Search

La Ferrovia Ristorante

2008-09-16T08:47:00.000-07:00

La Ferrovia Ristorante
234 25th Street
Ogden, UT 84401
801-394-8628
http://www.laferrovia.com/

Food (Quality, Quantity, Menu):
It's about as Italian as you can get, without going to Italy. We shared the "Tour of Italy for Two". The white sauce outdoes the Olive Garden. Oh yeah, it was that good. I have actually been dreaming about it - I had to go to another restaurant and get something with white sauce because I was craving La Ferrovia; but the place we went just didn't cut it. We're going to HAVE to go back to La Ferrovia and get something with the white sauce. The chicken parmigiana & the calzones were good, but they didn't fancy my mouth as much as that delicious white sauce.

After looking at their website, I am curious about the gnocci. The site says "Call us about to be added to the gnocci list and we will call you when this dish is available". Hmmm... first, I wonder what gnocci is; and second, I wonder how good it must be that you have to be put on a list to get it! (*gnocci - handmade potato dumplings in tomato sauce)

Side note,*everything on the menu is available to go. They also cater.

Service:
Warm & friendly. We did have to wait just a little bit longer for the food... but the disclaimer right on the menu says something to the effect of "preparing good food takes time, so be patient". Actually, it was nice to have a warning so we weren't sitting with empty tummies, wondering when the food would come. And the wait for the food didn't seem too long. After seeing the disclaimer I thought we were going to have to camp out, but it really wasn't thaaaaaat long.

Ambiance/Atmosphere:
La Ferrovia is located on Ogden's charming Historic 25th Street. This place was more "hole in the wall", or "mom & pop-ish" than I expected. There are hand painted murals of Italy on the open-face brick walls.

Overall:

Additional Reviews:
Deseret News Review
Insider Pages

The Athenian

2008-09-08T10:02:00.000-07:00

The Athenian
252 25th Street
Ogden,UT 84404
(801) 621-4911

Food (Quality, Quantity, Menu):
Since this weekend was the Salt Lake City Greek Festival, we thought we'd go out for Greek food (without the crowd of the festival. In fact, we went the other direction, to Historic 25th Street in Ogden). We had to ask what some of the things on the menu were; since it's all Greek to me! (Sorry, couldn't resist a little pun). When you're looking for 'Your-os', make sure you look at 'Gyros'. I had lemon chicken & potatoes, my husband had meat kabobs. Tasty! Unfortunately, we didn't have room left in our tummies to try the baklava; we may need to make another trip!

Service:
Very nice waitress. The owners stopped by our table check on us. They had a steady stream of people.

Ambiance/Atmosphere:
Cafe ambiance, you know? Yeah. You're sitting close to your neighbors. You could jump in on their conversation, if it wasn't considered rude.

When we took Ogden's Haunted Tour last October, The Athenian was one of the places we stopped to hear about their ghosts. So, I asked John (assumidly the owner) about the ghosts and the door in the floor (near the front entrance) when he stopped by our table. He said there are ghosts that live upstairs and ghosts in the basement. Then we went on with our meal. As we were wrapping up the evening I swear I felt a tug and a shake on my pant leg. I looked down, thinking my pants were caught on the chair. Nope. Nothing. I wholeheartedly think ghosts. So, when you go to the Athenian, ask about the ghosts, then wait for them to remind you they're there. Oo0o0o0oooo00o.

Overall:

Additional Reviews:
SL Weekly Review
Other Greek Food Places in Utah (Greek Cuisine. com)

Doug and Emmy's (for breakfast)

2008-09-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

Doug & Emmy's
200 S Main St
Layton, UT‎
(801) 544-7607
http://dougandemmys.com/ (needs to be updated)

Food (Quality, Quantity, Menu):
The breakfast menu items are named after loyal customers. Don't get Dale and Dell confused, they're different dishes. Yes, the scones and the thick bacon were delicious.

Service:
Fast! This was our second time here, and again, the waitress seemed rushed. But today there were so many people in the place, I can see why she seemed that way! She forgot to bring out drinks. When she remembered, she brought them out in such a rushed havoc that I thought she was going to trip and spill them all over the place.

Ambiance/Atmosphere:
By the amount of people that were there in the morning, it's definitely a popular breakfast spot! Everyone was hustle-bustling around in a flurried frenzy.

Overall:
It's family owned and family friendly. It was tasty. While the food wasn't the over-the-top absolutely spectacular breakfast I'd heard raves about (it was good, but seemed pretty normal), I'd go again, especially since I don't have to cook!

Additional Reviews:
SL Weekly

Hi-Hat Diner

2008-08-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

Hi Hat Diner

1147 N Main St
Clearfield, UT 84015

(801) 779-0410

Food (Quality, Quantity, Menu, Price):
I had big delicious waffles! The bacon was nice and crispy. Reasonably priced.

Service:
Only one waitress and she seemed overwhelmed.

Ambience/Atmosphere:
Going for a 1950s theme. Posters of Marilyn Monroe and Jimmy Hendrix on the wall.

Overall:
Would go back.

Additional Reviews:

Manuel's El Burrito (Clearfield)

2008-08-26T15:58:00.001-07:00

Manuel's El Burrito
1145 South State
Clearfield, UT
801-773-7579
http://www.el-burrito.com/

Food (Quality, Quantity, Menu, Price):
Good price on good authentic Mexican food. Popular options are the buffet and the sizzling fajitas. Yum!

Service:
Friendly servers. The food comes pretty quickly.

Ambience/Atmosphere:
There's a lot of energy at El Burrito. People buzzing back and forth, busy servers, laughing and talking.

Overall:
Muy Bueno! Have been and will go back again.

Additional reviews here:
Take their Customer Survey (and get free coupons, "burrito bucks"!)
Yahoo.com Reviews
Yahoo Loca l Reviews
Review on Merchantcircle.com

Gabor Brothers Main Street Grill & Pizza

2008-08-18T15:06:00.000-07:00

Gabor Brothers Main Street Grill
197 N Main St
Layton, UT
(801) 544-4344
http://gaborbrothers.com/

Food (Quality, Quantity, Menu, Price):
Vaired menu with burgers, pasta, subs, pizza and don't forget dessert! While the price was in the upper medium range, the huge portions and the deliciousness of the food make up for any extra on the cost. One lady had a meatball as big as my head! We ordered the Alfredo pizza... it was soooooooooo good! (Yes, 10 o's good!) So good that when we got to the car and realized we'd forgotten our leftovers I actually felt physically sad.

Service:
All employees were very friendly. It was slow; but worth the wait! The waitress was so nice about it too. She kept apologizing for being slow. We said it was okay, but she felt bad. The people next to us were getting irritated for the wait; but did they think they were at McDonald's drive thru? Sit down and expect a wait. Enjoy the time to catch up with your dinner partner(s). The yummy house salad and huge breadsticks, with dipping sauces, made the wait less painful. We almost left our leftovers, but the waitress chased us to our car to make sure we took it home. Wasn't that nice? And I was glad!

Ambience/Atmosphere:
It's very casual and laid back. Take time out of your day to enjoy some good food. There aren't many seats in this restaurant. The tables are close together... it's "cozy", if you will. I don't know what they're going to do as this place gains popularity. My favorite seat was the two-seater that looks out to the sidewalk. How quaint! My observation is that this place is someone's dream. Someone is very proud to have this business and has made it their baby.

Overall:
Absolutely, we would go again!

Additional reviews here:
Yahoo Reviews
Yelp Review

Doug & Emmy's Family Restaurant & Cafe

2008-08-18T15:05:00.000-07:00

Doug & Emmy's
200 S Main St
Layton, UT‎
(801) 544-7607
http://dougandemmys.com/ (needs to be updated)

Food (Quality, Quantity, Menu):
I've heard they have the best breakfast. Apparently we came at the wrong time (dinner). I ordered a French Dip sandwich that was just like any ol' French Dip. Don't get me wrong, it was good - but not like the raving reviews I'd heard of this place.

Service:
Fast! Although, the waitress seemed rushed. Maybe too fast, if she's feeling rushed.

Ambiance/Atmosphere:
It was a little warm because the kitchen only had what looked a swamp cooler. The dining room had what looked to be some "regulars" seated at the tables. And, yes it is a family restaurant, but it seemed like it just wasn't in it's glory days anymore. It felt a little worn out.

Overall:
I didn't see what the big deal was all about when people say "oh! you haaaaaave to eat at Doug & Emmy's!". I did. And it was okay.

What I did find interesting was the juxtoposition of old and new. It was fun to be in the old building, looking out at the new high speed train paused at the stop directly behind the restaurant.

We would go again. We have to try the famed breakfast menu.

Additional Reviews:
Lots of review on Trip Advisor.com
Yelp.com Reviews

Moore's Family Restaurant (Ogden)

2008-08-18T15:04:00.000-07:00

Moore's Family Restaurant
3558 Wall Ave
Ogden, UT 84401
(801) 393-4924

We dined at dinnertime, but ordered breakfast.

Food (Quality, Quantity, Menu):
Breakfast, lunch & dinner. The portions were huge! The pancakes were bigger than my head! And it was affordable.

Service:
Nicest hometown waitress in town. The food came out quick, didn't have to wait too long.

Ambience/Atmosphere:
Ya feel like yer family at Moore's Family Restaurant.

Overall:
Yes, we would go again!
Additional reviews here:
Yahoo Review

Yummy Utah

2008-08-18T11:59:00.001-07:00

Once a week my husband and I like to try new places to eat. We have lovingly endeared these places as "hole in the wall" restaurants. They are hard to find! In looking for locally owned places to eat I turned to the internet and came up empty handed. While out to eat at one of these "Mom & Pop" places we came up with the idea of keeping track of our eating out adventures, possibly giving these places more exposure, while also reminding us of our journey.

One of the great things about the internet is that it's a two-way mode of communication. Please leave restaurant suggestions and we'll add them to the list! If you've been somewhere, what do you think of it?

We are just doing this for fun.

*FYI, The stars range from 1-5*