Eggs in the City
1675 E. 1300 South, Salt Lake City ; 801-581-0809
(see
map)
It's no wonder this hip breakfast and lunch place is so popular. Spot-on, cordial and obliging service.
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Cuisine: American, Cafe
Price: $
Hours: Open daily, 7 a.m.-2 p.m.
Liquor: None
Reservations: Not accepted/necessary
Accepts:    
Recommended Dishes: Huevos rancheros, French toast, omelets and pancakes.
Dining update: Eggs in the City stands the taste of time
By Lesli J. Neilson
This 4-year-old breakfast and lunch place is as hip as they come. Old glass-paned garage doors from the restaurant's past as a garage/gas station open up onto a pergola'd patio. Also, earth-toned walls receive other eclectic decorative touches such as a real bicycle and black and white memorabilia photographs.
As for the food, it is hip as well.
Excited to try the corned beef and hash that was on the menu when The Tribune visited in 2004, I was sad to see it missing. Instead, one of the most popular items is the huevos rancheros ($8.99). After tasting it, I understand why. Two eggs any style you like are doused with red ranchero sauce atop corn tortillas -- wheat and flour are also available -- breakfast potatoes, deliciously seasoned black beans, pico de gallo and sour cream. A little kicky chile verde on the side only elevates the already great dish.
Skillets ($8.99) also are a good way to go. The Greek version combines potatoes, spinach, peppers, onions, feta, cheddar and avocado with two eggs. There are also meat-lovers and Mexican variations.
Choose any three ingredients to put in a fluffy and moist three-egg omelet ($7.75). Pancakes are equally airy and stacks vary from one to three ($2.25-$5.25; add $3 for fruit and nuts).
A special salmon Benedict ($10.25) piles salmon, spinach, tomato and a perfectly poached egg atop an English muffin. It is obvious the kitchen knows how to cook its eggs.
French toast ($2.25-$6.75; add $3 for fruit and nuts) was out of sight. The most incredibly flavored sourdough bread came with delectably crispy edges. For an extra 95 cents, be sure to order real maple syrup. My only quibble was that the syrup was not warm.
Lunch offerings consist of salads (half, $4.50-$5.95; full, $6.50-$8.75), sandwiches ($5.59-$10.50) and burgers ($6.25-$7.75). Notables include the Cobb salad, pot roast and beef philly sandwiches.
Service is spot-on, cordial and obliging. I sure hope Eggs in the City will be around for 30 years like Carl's Cafe.
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.
August 6, 2004
By Nancy Hobbs
Sunny-side-up, over-easy or scrambled: At Salt Lake City's new Eggs in the City, you can have it any way you want. Since the small cafe opened its doors last month, diners have been scurrying to see the latest incarnation of what began long ago as a gas station, and has seen several makeovers and renovations through the years. Now painted yellow on the outside -- not as bright as yolks, but more mustardy -- with a trendy black and mustard interior that offers a combination of booths, freestanding tables and bar seats lining the windows, it's as small as ever, but modern and comfortable.
The half-dozen umbrella-topped tables on a small, new patio expands the dining space as long as the weather is warm, and right now, that seems the most popular place to be. And seeing as this is the place "where the local yolkels eat," according to the menu, it's not surprising to see a fair number of diners walking to breakfast, or even to have dog-walking passers-by come table-side to chat with friends they see dining on the patio.
The Eggs in the City menu isn't huge, but it has an impressive array of morning classics, including eggs (of course) in three-egg omelets prepared "eggsactly" as you like; traditional and eggs-cellent eggs Benedict; Irish porridge served with caramelized brown sugar, walnuts and bananas; corned-beef hash and eggs; and cheese blintzes, filled with a cottage cheese mixture and topped with a luscious strawberry compote.
The omelet and eggs Benedict are the most expensive items on the breakfast menu, but at $7, are still very reasonable.
Pancakes also are on the menu, and so is the hefty breakfast burrito, filled with scrambled eggs and cheese, and garnished with sour cream and salsa. For an extra $2 (for a total of $6.50), get it smothered with the meaty chile verde that is served at lunch as the house soup. (New restaurants are always tweaking menus for the first couple of months. In the first revision, due out soon, the top-selling "smothered burrito" will get its own mention and higher billing, according to co-owner Roger Harrison.)
Then there's the "Mr. Big," a meal of three eggs, the house's Canadian potatoes (bite-size, diced potatoes, nicely seasoned and fried on the grill), the diner's choice of meat, and toast. For those of us who questioned whether the diner's name was a spin on TV's "Sex in the City," this dish's name makes the connection seem obvious. Co-owner Heather Harrison seemed somewhat hesitant in acknowledging the link, however, and said there is little if anything else at the restaurant to further the association.
Breakfast is served all day, and appears to be the major focus. Lunch service begins at 11 a.m., and includes a half-dozen sandwiches (none including eggs, unless you count the mayonnaise) and several salads generous enough to call a meal. (Half sizes are available.) The kids also have several appealing options here, from a cheese quesadilla or grilled-cheese sandwich to PB or a hamburger, all including a drink, chips and a "treat," and priced at $4.75.
You won't find specialty coffee drinks here; thus far, it's limited to fresh-brewed coffee and hot or iced brewed tea. Given the limited space, and servers that are bustling as quickly as they can to deliver meals and keep mugs filled, the kitchen may be hard-pressed to do more.
Servers and the kitchen do a nice job of accommodating customers' special requests, even welcoming "high maintenance orders."
"We're trying to cater to whatever people want," said Roger Harrison. Even if it means pulling hash browns out of the freezer for a pint-sized diner who likes her potatoes shredded, and then bathed in ketchup.
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