We drove through Salt Lake City to a dodgy part of town known as the Central 9th Business District until we stumbled across this stand-alone restaurant. It is quite large and located in a little green house once known as the original Jade Room though I'm not quite sure what that was.
It looked more like a diner inside with old-fashioned black vinyl booths and a bar with diner-style stools. The decor was otherwise quite plain. The server immediately brought us some lukewarm water sans the ice cubes. I was not in the mood for an alcoholic drink so instead I ordered the housemade hibiscus soda. I found it to be very tart so the agave nectar they gave me on the side helped.
The menu is very extensive with small plates, salads, raw foods, sandwiches, pastas, entrees, and desserts. We started with a couple of appetizers. I went with the Mushroom Escargot, which was made of thinly sliced, roasted shiitake mushrooms simmered in herbs, red wine, and balsamic vinegar. When combined with the carrot butter pate on the French bread crostini, this dish was excellent. Warm roasted mushrooms with a hearty carrot pate on fresh bread is a great way to start a meal.
We also ordered the Pesto Bruschetta. Another great 7 grain bread topped with basil walnut pesto, tomatoes, rice mozzarella, and almond parmesan. I loved this appetizer.
For my entree, I ordered the Nut Burger made of cashews, almonds, and garbanzo beans. Perhaps I wasn't prepared for how big this burger was, but it was too much for me to eat. The 7 grain roll had an avocado spread on it that had very little taste as did the burger. The bread was way too thick and the burger was way too plain. All in all, I gave this one a thumbs down.
The salad was just lettuce and carrots with a runny tahini dressing so nothing special here either.
My friend got the Mushroom Stroganoff with linguini noodles. While the pasta was tasty, the name was deceiving as we were expecting a thick stroganoff-like sauce. Instead, there was a thin sauce with lots of mushrooms and a lemon aftertaste. It was good, but not what we were expecting.
So, all in all, I would say this restaurant is probably hit or miss depending upon what you order. Our appetizers were really good. The entrees not so much. And the drink wasn't that flavorful either. The prices are pretty cheap with my burger only being $7 and the pasta only $8. The service wasn't that great either. If you are going to only be in SLC for a day, this isn't the restaurant I'd recommend you go to, but if you are there for a week, definitely check it out. The menu is extensive and other items are likely to be better than the entrees we ordered.
Sage's Cafe
234 West 900 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
(801) 322-3790
That is sad to hear that you did not like this restaurant. My husband and I used to frequent Sages when it was downtown Salt Lake and their was fantastic. I was planning on dropping in on my next visit although I have been at this Sages years ago I preferred the atmosphere and food at the downtown location which, sadly, is now gone.
ReplyDeleteI had a pretty disappointing experience at Sage's too, when we went for their all-you-can-eat vegan pizza buffet. They get an A for effort at a good price (the presentation was fun, as they came around to all tables with the pizzas as they came out, and unlimited salad was included). A few slices were good, but nothing that made me want to go back. There are far, far better options for fantastic, innovative vegan food in Salt Lake City. Sage's was one of the first vegan restaurants to open in 1999, and while they may have been cutting edge then, it sadly seems like they haven't changed their menu much since then.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the context!
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