Cafe Trang
307 W. 200 South, Salt Lake City ; 801-539-1638
(see
map)
This mostly Vietnamese restaurant, with locations in Clearfield, West Valley City and Draper, tries to do Pan-Asian with mixed results.
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| Kid-friendly |
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Cuisine: Vietnamese, Thai
Price: $$
Hours: M-Th, 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.; F-S, 11:30a.m.-10 p.m.; Su, noon-9:30 p.m.
Liquor: --
Reservations: Accepted
Accepts:    
Website: http://www.cafetrangutah.com
Recommended Dishes: Black bean green beans, garlic catfish, fondue with vinegar or grill.
May 16, 2007
Cafe Trang offers a vast tour of Asia
By Mary Brown Malouf
I can't remember another dinner during which ordering a dish necessitated rearranging the restaurant furniture, but as soon as we'd asked for the nuong vi, nhung dam "fondue with vinegar or grill" ($13.95) at Cafe Trang, our server called for backup.
While we sipped Tsing Tao and pinot grigio, the duo dragged over a third table to add a few more square feet to our six-top table. In a matter of a few disruptive minutes, they had lugged over and ignited a kind of tabletop camp stove and a tiered tower of ingredients -- cilantro, carrot slivers, cucumber, sprouts, basil, ginger, translucent rice-paper pancakes and raw slices of beef so thin they looked pink instead of red. Once the griddle was hot, it was up to the diners to cook, wrap, roll and dip our own creations in the vinegary-sweet dip sauce.
As a reviewer, over the years I have come up with a few private maxims: Don't trust a restaurant named after a food. For example, I am suspicious of a Mexican restaurant called, say, Enchilada's. Avoid restaurants dedicated to a principle instead of your palate (raw foodism, for example). One of my rules is, don't order dishes you have to cook yourself. I have never been a fondue or pupu tray enthusiast.
However, I am always open to breaking rules and the sort-of spring rolls I made at Cafe Trang were wonderful, if I do say so myself. I was able to adjust the proportion of ginger to beef to greens to my own taste and I preferred my more loosely wrapped bundle to the compacted vermicelli pillows often served.
We were checking out the newest Cafe Trang, which has moved into the late, lamented Xiao Li's digs. The dining room is less austere than it was -- a large shrine and colorful art break up the space into cozier areas, more conducive to relaxed conversation. I enjoyed Xiao Li and ate some excellent Chinese food there, but the atmosphere had a formality that inspired you to sit up straight and lower your voice.
Cafe Trang has a more convivial atmosphere, but maybe that was just our table. Shared tabletop cooking -- like any cooperative kitchen effort -- requires a lot of talk. ("Uh-oh." "Is that my piece of beef you just dropped in the fire?" "I can't separate these pancakes from each other -- they're sticking." "Uh-oh.") Not highbrow talk, but talk.
Cafe Trang's move into the cool side of town has inspired some culinary sprucing up from its original funkier concepts in Draper, Park City, Holladay and even the original downtown location. The backbone of the menu is Vietnamese clay pots, sugarcane shrimp, etc. -- but so many sections have been added featuring Chinese (Szechuan chicken, $10.95) and Thai dishes (pad Thai, $11.95) that it's hard to label Cafe Trang as anything but pan-Asian -- a term that covers so much territory it's barely meaningful. It's like lumping North, Central and South America together under the term "Pan-American." It worked for an airline, but it's silly for a culinary theme.
As if to prove the menu's geographical inclusiveness, there is a Mongolian option for beef ($9.95) or tofu ($9.95) and several dishes labeled, vaguely, "Malaysian," and there are many dishes with no particular provenance -- fried rice, for example. The section titled "Desperate Curry" lists Massamun, red, green and Panaeng versions ($10.95) plus pineapple ($12.95) with your choice of beef or chicken. For the same price, you can get a vegetarian version (these are labeled "Thai" instead of "Desperate") and for an extra $4, you can have salmon as your protein instead.
Cafe Trang is truly trying to be all things to all diners -- you can even order that classic of faux Chinese cooking, chow mein ($8.95 for vegetarian or carnivorous versions).
In addition to our shared do-it-yourself entree, we ordered long beans; here they go by the Dr. Seuss-ish name "Black Bean Green Bean." Coiled, oiled and crunchy, they had a spicy kick following the green taste ($8.95).
Our teenager boldly ordered garlic catfish ($13.95) and was surprised when the whole fish arrived on his plate, eyeball and all. Crunchy-crusted on the outside and smoking white clean meat on the inside, with just enough spicy garlic sauce to keep things interesting, the fish was a better dish than the green version of Desperate Curry, which was only an adequate rendition.
You probably have gathered that despite all the categories and countries mentioned on the pages-long menu, the real decision when dining at Trang is a lifestyle choice -- vegetarian or carnivore. For the rising number of vegetarians and vegans, Cafe Trang is a treasure trove. There are two dozen vegetarian/vegan dishes listed on the menu and many more that can be vegetarian. But be sure to ask; some dishes are made with meat and poultry stocks. In a time when more are eschewing meat, it's great to know a reliable place where a mixed group can eat without one faction feeling like a martyr to the other.
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.
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