Em's
271 N. Center St., Salt Lake City ; 801-596-0566
(see
map)
A quiet stalwart in Salt Lake's dining scene, the Capitol Hill eatery thrives on simple, seasonal flavors and a cozy vibe.
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Cuisine: American, European
Price: $$$
Hours: T-F, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; W-Su, 5:30-9 p.m.; Su, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Liquor: Beer & wine
Corkage: $ 10
Reservations: Accepted
Accepts:    
Website: http://www.emsrestaurant.com
Recommended Dishes: Pork entrées, brie salad, pecan bread pudding.
Sept. 16, 2009
Em's offers a sure cure for palate fatigue
By Vanessa Chang
I've developed a case of palate fatigue, or "P.F." for short. What exactly is it? I describe it as the sensation you get around the holidays after a series of large, festive meals or the obligatory eating done around social gatherings and in the name of merrymaking. As the summer ends, there have been enough birthday celebrations, wedding receptions and Weber-christening barbecues to completely numb the taste buds.
So, when those of us with a good case of P.F. encounter a plate of apparently exotic but anonymous-tasting meat drizzled with unnecessary flourishes and a huge side dish of ego, we want to wave our white napkins in the air and cry "uncle." It makes you long for dry toast and tea.
But the reprieve doesn't have to be so austere. Summer is merciful in its bounty -- and the clear, bright juices of tomatoes, peaches and all the other cornucopian lot recalibrate the senses.
Em's is one restaurant that's keenly aware of the restorative -- and addictive -- effects of a cold cucumber soup ($5), stirred with just the right amount of fresh dill and yogurt to distinguish it from the thicker tzatziki sauce. Chef-owner Emily Gassmann has done the seasonal cooking thing long before it became cool to know a fingerling from a fava. Her restaurant has been a quiet stalwart in Salt Lake City's dining scene, thanks to a fair share of loyal customers.
Diners, that is, who relish peaceful Sunday brunches of smoked salmon Benedict with dill crème fraîche and fried apples ($9) on the grapevined patio or inside the former Center Street Market building.
They like the neighborhood feel of Em's locale, tucked between the eclectic row of houses and condos on tree-lined streets of Salt Lake City's Capitol Hill area.
Mostly, of course, they come for the food. Lunch, Sunday brunch or dinner, simplicity is the mantra. And especially now when Utah's harvest season is in full swing, expect abundant dinner menu options.
I can't say the same for the house wine list, but at least you can bring your own bargain bottle. Food-wise, there's the standard menu with Em's classics, such as the goat cheese tamales starter ($7) and another full page of specials where I think Gassmann's skills shine.
Salads from both pages feature exceptionally tender and buttery greens. The flavors of every ingredient in an unctuous phyllo-crusted brie salad ($9) and a colorful baby beet and orange salad ($9) were precise and clear and neither were drenched in dressing.
Such simplicity is a boon for the P.F.-afflicted diners. But it can be difficult for a kitchen, since there is no trickery to mask mistakes. It's hard to veil the careless plopping of blue cheese or the gray searing of an otherwise delicious rib-eye steak ($21). Or instead of striking a chord, the flavors can be muted and monotone, the way a well-made spinach and ricotta ravioli played out on the plate.
Service, too, can be careless in the form of steak knives or water glasses requiring a better scrubbing. But tableside, it's generally friendly and there's no lip service when you mention the crusty utensil. Along with the ambience, the service is a casual affair. Sometimes it's efficient and unobtrusive. Sometimes it's an exercise in dealing with impatience. Despite these hiccups, Em's fans return.
Summer's influence saturated the starters. "Creamed corn" normally rings of canned food drudgery, but the kitchen turns out freshly cut kernels into a milky sweet bed for large, tender, well-seasoned seared scallops ($10). The contrast between salty and sweet delighted scallop lovers, like me, while the scallop skeptics greedily grazed on the corn.
Ricotta cheese added lightness to a gnocchi appetizer ($9). The fluffy pillows literally melted in the mouth, a bit like cotton candy, leaving the fragrant basil pesto coating each dumpling. On the regular menu, ricotta along with mozzarella cheese softly bound layers of Yukon gold potatoes, squash and other sliced farmers market vegetables in a potato lasagna ($13) that wowed my vegetarian friends and my meat-loving self.
Which isn't to say meat entrées are any less spectacular. If you imagine the difference between a powdery shade of lavender versus that of a shiny bulbous eggplant, you get the contrast in depth and luster between Em's goat cheese and pine nut-stuffed chicken breast ($16) and a pan-roasted duck breast (cooked medium-rare) whose earthiness was a great match for the dried cherry sauce and the nuttier texture of a wild rice pancake.
The pan-roasted halibut ($22) stole my table's attention. The luxuriously creamy mashed potatoes and long waxy Romano beans that appeared with other entrées seemed oddly more at home with the white fish. The flesh flaked delicately away from itself with the tines of a fork. The vegetables added textural contrast. And the softly wrinkled olive oil-poached tomatoes gently coaxed the acidity needed to harmonize all the flavors.
Palate fatigue? What palate fatigue?
Tribune's rating system
Overall rating
1 star Good
2 stars Very good
3 stars Excellent
4 stars Extraordinary
Entree price
$ Entree under $10
$$ $10-$18
$$$ $18-$25
$$$$ Above $25
Restaurant Noise
1 bell Quiet (under 65 decibles)
2 bells Can talk easily (65-70)
3 bells Talking somewhat difficult (70-75)
4 bells Raised voices (75-80)
A bomb Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)
The Tribune covers the cost of all meals at reviewed restaurants. Star ratings are based on a minimum of two visits. Ratings are updated continually based on at least one revisit. There is no connection between reviews and advertising.
May 19, 2006
Enticing views and entrees at Em's
By Lesli J. Neilson
With an outdoor patio that oversees the valley and looks particularly alluring for lunch, Sunday brunch or dinner, 3-year-old Em's continues to successfully offer a refreshingly short, seasonal menu.
Toast points (actually extra crisp baguette slices) with country pâté ($9) had me eagerly awaiting chunky, but what arrived, a creamy, delicate, aspic-topped concoction made from duck, exceeded any previous expectation. A sea scallop appetizer special ($10) consisted of two of the most mahogany-colored scallops I have seen, served atop wilted spinach and drizzled with sesame vinaigrette. Miraculously, the scallops were perfectly cooked on the inside, the centers just reaching opaqueness.
Two tantalizing tamales ($7.50 with black beans for lunch, $7 as an appetizer at dinner) filled with goat cheese and served with zippy chipotle-cream sauce have thankfully remained on the menu since The Tribune's 2003 visit. The fluffiness of the corn-based masa harina made me giddy, although personally, I would have liked a bit more tangy filling as a counterpoint to the sweetness of the masa.
That giddiness stretched into the entrées. A Parmesan-encrusted halibut special ($22), resting on seriously creamy mashed potatoes, was moist and flaky. Bold flavors also characterized other dishes. Pungent blue cheese and caramelized onions dotted an in-vogue, medium-rare rib-eye ($21) while heavenly jalapeño jelly carried a plate of a rustic -- read unfrenched -- and barely pink mini rack of lamb ($18). Sadly, the four chops came with a broken, undersalted, potato-shallot custard. Sweet maple-mustard-bacon barbecue sauce and carrots overpowered a juicy, bone-in pork chop ($18).
Sixteen of the 31 wines listed on the wine menu are available by the glass, making it easy to pair wine with each course. Most bottles are in the $20 to $40 range. Cocktails and after-dinner drinks also are available.
Service was unobtrusive, knowledgeable and attuned to our relaxed pace.
Dessert offerings include raspberry crème brûlée ($5), chocolate pudding cake ($6), sour cream poundcake ($6) and a chocolate chunk brownie with homemade ice cream ($6). Particularly delicious was a tres leches cake with fresh strawberries special ($6).
Finding the restaurant can be a bit tricky; it is on Center Street in the renovated Center Street Market. Seek it out: Em's deserves its loyal following.
Tribune's rating system
Overall rating
1 star Good
2 stars Very good
3 stars Excellent
4 stars Extraordinary
Entree price
$ Entree under $10
$$ $10-$18
$$$ $18-$25
$$$$ Above $25
Restaurant Noise
1 bell Quiet (under 65 decibles)
2 bells Can talk easily (65-70)
3 bells Talking somewhat difficult (70-75)
4 bells Raised voices (75-80)
A bomb Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)
The Tribune covers the cost of all meals at reviewed restaurants. Star ratings are based on a minimum of two visits. Ratings are updated continually based on at least one revisit. There is no connection between reviews and advertising.
May 2, 2003
By Nancy Hobbs
Emily Gassmann and Jennifer Jensen no doubt would have loved uncorking a bottle of bubbly for dinner guests in celebration of their new liquor license at Em's Restaurant last week. But after waiting months to secure the permit, there was no way they would bend any rules that might put it in jeopardy. In fact, the owners (and chefs) of Em's, which moved recently from downtown Salt Lake City to the Capitol Hill neighborhood, have walked on eggshells trying to appease state liquor commissioners while simultaneously trying to appease customers who wanted a beer or glass of wine with lunch or dinner.
The liquor dilemma has plagued Gassman since she opened her first restaurant on the corner of Pierpont Avenue and 400 West more than four years ago with the intention of serving wine with dinner.
"Nobody knew I was 25 feet too close to Pioneer Park" until her request for a liquor license was denied, said Gassmann.
Now, in the renovated Center Street Market that Gassmann bought with her former sous-chef, Jensen, they quickly are discovering that liquor makes a huge difference to the bottom line.
Em's has been open for lunch for a couple of months; it opened for dinner three weeks ago, taking reservations for the opening a couple of weeks before that. But when opening night came around and diners discovered that Em's request for a liquor license had not been approved, more than half the reservations canceled.
Two nights after Em's license was approved, the restaurant was so busy diners had to be turned away. And every table, without exception, has ordered wine with dinner, Gassman said.
The reason: Em's offers the kind of gourmet cuisine that begs for a wine pairing. Entrées such as the incredibly fresh and perfectly poached halibut topped with parmigiano reggiano, or salmon roulade stuffed with fresh leeks and served on a bed of creamy cabbage ($14), were delectable by themselves, but would be well-complemented by a glass of sauvignon blanc or pinot gris.
We also tried the red-wine braised short ribs with mashed potatoes, enjoyed to the last bite with luscious, dark gravy ($16).
The melding of wonderful, fresh flavors is Em's strong suit. We started with the day's flatbread appetizer: focaccia topped with sweet caramelized onions, artichoke hearts and melted havarti cheese ($5), and an incredibly creamy asparagus soup that was broth-based and pureed to richness.
The house dressing -- a common balsamic vinaigrette -- is uncommon in its extra sweetness, thanks to high-quality vinegar. Likewise, garnishing the salads with wide, freshly grated shards of premium parmesan makes even the house salad special. You can taste the extra care in such details.
Em's serves lunch six days a week, and the restaurant gets crowded. With summer almost upon us and patio furniture due to arrive any day, there will be more space for hungry diners -- and a need for more wait staff. Our lunch visit took quite a bit longer than anticipated, which won't do for business folk on limited lunch breaks. Our waiter apologized more than once for the delay and said the unusual backup was due to a particularly large take-out order.
Even so, our meals were wait-worthy. An order of goat-cheese tamales appeared looking like a gift. Who could imagine tamales could look so pretty, beautifully wrapped and even tied at the end with a bow made from the husk? The cheese was spiced with chile powder, and the chipotle-laced cream served on the side gave additional zip. At lunch, the tamales come on a bed of black beans ($7.50); at dinner they can be ordered, sans black beans, as an appetizer for $7.
Also delicious was a wild mushroom flan, akin to a crustless quiche, served with a salad of baby greens and the balsamic vinaigrette.
Em's desserts are a treat, from the raspberry crème brûlée ($5) to a chocolate pudding cake ($6) delivered warm from the oven and gooey inside. Homemade ice creams and sorbets are offered daily.
The Capitol Hill community already has embraced Em's, and the new patio, with its terrific view of the Oquirrh Mountains to the west, is sure to be draw even more diners. In light of that, reservations are recommended for dinner, and not a bad idea for lunch.
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