MacCool's (Ogden, UT)

MacCool's is an appropriate name for this locally-owned restaurant because they're.....well, very cool.  Or is it not cool for me to say that?  Maybe I'm trying too hard to sound like I'm cooler than I am.   Maybe I need to admit that I can't pull off something like that.

I digress.....on to the burger!

The Fried Cheese Burger

The menu says that the The Fried Cheese Burger is made with a half-pound certified angus patty, which is then topped with fried aged Irish cheddar cheese and a smokey tomato vinaigrette.  The cost on the day we dined there was $10.99.  

Do you see that thick slice of oozy, gooey, coated-in-panko-bread-crumbs slice of fried cheese?  It looks almost too beautiful to eat.  Almost.

Guest blogger E.H. ordered this burger.  He could only say "mmmmmm" while eating it, but we did manage to get this quote from him after he'd finished this burger: "It was a straight-up delicious burger topped with fried cheesy goodness.  A heart attack on a plate."  He ordered a side salad to go with it, "to be heart smart," he said......with sarcasm, of course!

There was no smoky tomato vinaigrette, as teased on the menu, but E.H. didn't mind because he considers himself more of a purist when it comes to food.  E.H. ordered his burger medium.

We all really enjoyed the atmosphere at MacCool's.  It was busy, but not noisy.  It's a great place for a business lunch.  Our server, Bethany, was especially helpful and friendly.  The owner stopped by a few times to see how we were doing.

So back to the cool thing, if you don't mind indulging me and my desire to wear out that play on words, here are some of the things about MacCool's that I think are especially cool:

• They are locally owned and operated. There are four locations in Utah (Ogden, Layton, Salt Lake City, and South Jordan).
• They use high-quality ingredients.
• They use locally-sourced ingredients (e.g. Snake River Farms)
• They are friendly to those of us who suffer from food allergies.  While they don't have a dedicated allergy menu, they'll happily tell you what's in an item and modify it in a way to avoid your particular allergen.
• They partner with other locally owned companies (like Five Wives Vodka, Underground, Beehive Cheese, etc.) to create special dining nights that have prix fixe menus highlighting the item they are featuring.  Each course is made with the featured item.  
• They celebrate St. Patrick's Day on the 17th of every month.........they call it St. Practice Day.
• They often feature live musicians.
• They have a weekend brunch.
• They have yummy food.

Other than burgers, my favorite items on the MacCool's menu include Finn Skins, Bangers and Mash, Hummus and Pita, the Red Beet Salad, the Hot Turkey Sandwich, the Kobe Beef Hot Dog, and the Fish and Chips.  They also have traditional Irish fare, like Boxty's and Shepherd's Pie.

www.maccoolsrestaurant.com

Nate's East Coast Grill (Ogden, UT)

Nate's East Coast Grill specializes in cheesesteak sandwiches but they also have burgers.  There is a lot to like about Nate's East Coast Grill, especially the following:

• It's locally owned and family-run.
• The hand cut, homemade, deliciously crispy fries.
• They are kind to those of us who suffer from food allergies and were willing to check ingredient labels.
• The food is tasty!
• Even though the focus is on cheesesteaks and burgers, they also have vegetarian options.

The bleu cheese burger.

Here's a close-up, so you can get a better look.

For more information on Nate's East Coast Grill, visit their website:
http://nateseastcoastgrill.com

Mikado (Bountiful, UT)

One of my favorite things about Mikado is that you can get burgers and sushi!  I love sushi -- but my husband doesn't -- so it is the perfect place for both of us to enjoy something we like.  They also have a very good happy hour (or early bird specials, whatever you want to call it).  Mikado is one of my favorite treats.

Here is the burger my husband ordered on this trip:

Look at all that sauce!

For more information on Mikado's two locations in Utah, visit their website:

http://watkinsrg.com/Mikado_Japanese_Sushi.html

Or, view my other Mikado burger post on this very blog:

http://mylunchclub.blogspot.com/2012/12/mikado-bountiful-utah.html

The Wicked Spoon Buffet at The Cosmopolitan (Las Vegas)

I have found my new favorite buffet in Las Vegas!  It's the Wicked Spoon at The Cosmopolitan.  Why is it my new favorite?  Two reasons: amazing food and everything is portioned out into little containers.

Besides being super cute, the little containers help ease my worries about buffets being germ-y places.  I mean, come on, we've all seen someone picking up food at a buffet using their fingers instead of the tongs, right?  Well Wicked Spoon has all but eliminated that unfortunate part of buffets!  And, because they've pre-portioned most everything into small servings, it's easy to not overeat and to be able to sample a little bit of everything.  And seriously, who doesn't love something in miniature form?

And did I mention the food was tasty?  Well it is.  It's not your run-of-the-mill, mass-produced food.  It is gourmet in every sense of the word.  They have the staples -- like salads, carved meats, and crab legs, -- but they also have unique things, like bone marrow (I didn't try it, but my nephew did and he said it wasn't bad).

Those of us who suffer from food allergies are somewhat on our own here to figure out what is safe.  If you ask enough people, I found that they have papers printed up behind the food stations that state the ingredients, but it takes a bit of work to find someone who knows where they are.  One of my favorite food allergy stories happened at this restaurant and the conversation went something like this:

Me: I'm allergic to eggs.  Do you know if this dessert has eggs in it?
Employee: No, it doesn't; it's dairy free.
Me: I asked about eggs, not dairy.
Employee: I know.  It's dairy free so you're good.
Me: Eggs don't come from cows.
This dialogue is followed by an awkward silence; after which, I just walk away.

I swear I'll never tire of that story......

Anyway, I loved this place so much I ate here for dinner and then went back for breakfast the next day.  It was that good.

On to the photos:

The mini burger in front is made of wild boar.  One of the two dishes in the background is shepherd's pie made with beef tongue.  I can't remember what the third dish is.  When I say gourmet, I mean it...I believe this is the first appearance of wild boar on this here burger blog.

Now, I know this is a burger blog but I want to show you other photos, too.  Because I'm obsessed with the miniature portions and I hope you will be as well.

California roll, dumplings in the little silver container, and steamed rice in a mini box.

A little fry basket of fried chicken, a little sauce pan of maple-glazed squash, another mini burger (although I don't remember what it was made of, maybe chicken of some sort), and a small sauce pan of au gratin potatoes.

All the little fry baskets and sauce pans lined up on the buffet line, safely behind a sneeze bar.  See how easy it is to keep it germ free?  No need for tongs, you just pick up an item by the handle.

More squash and au gratin potatoes in the back.  In the front is house-made sausage and a cold beet salad.

Fancy desserts.

Seriously, could the portions be any smaller?  They are the perfect size to sample everything.  And if you find something you love, you just get more than one serving.

All the different Chinese foods lined up.  In the background, you can see a plated dish of what's inside the boxes.  There were noodles, dumplings,  Kung Pao chicken, rice dishes, etc.

A sampling from the dessert station.  We shared this plate at the table. 

And for breakfast the next day, a little pan of scrambled eggs and one biscuit with gravy in a little bowl.

Even the milk came in a little container that looked like it's regular-sized counterpart.

For more information on The Wicked Spoon, visit the Cosmopolitan's website:
http://www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com/taste/restaurant-collection.aspx

The Kitchen (Oxnard, CA)

When I found myself in Oxnard, California, looking for a place for dinner, I turned to my Food Network app on my iPhone.  This app lets you know which restaurants are near you that have been featured on Food Network.  It's a handy app when I don't know an area or which restaurants might be good.

From my list of choices, I selected The Kitchen, which had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives with Guy Fieri.  Guy had the lamb burger and gave it rave reviews.

The restaurant is located in the historic district of Oxnard and the area looked like it was fun and trendy.

We had two burgers at The Kitchen and both were delicious!  I didn't eat the bun on my build-your-own-burger because it had an egg wash (stupid food allergies anyway) but my husband kept reaching across the table and breaking off hunks of it to eat like a roll because he said it was very delicious.  He ended up eating the entire thing, bite-by-bite, right in front of my jealous eyes.  Sigh.

My nephew had the classic Kitchen Burger but elected to omit the bleu cheese.  I really thought we had a lot in common until I learned he didn't like bleu cheese on his burgers....that is my absolute favorite cheese for a burger (see exhibits one through one bazillion on this very blog)!  I suppose we'll keep him, despite his questionable distaste for bleu cheese.

The Kitchen Burger (minus the bleu cheese) for $12.95.

The Build-Your-Own Burger with fresh California avocado and bacon for $7.95 (bacon and avocado were an extra $1.95 each).

For more information, visit The Kitchen's website:
http://thekitchenona.com

Peaks at Summit Hotel in Big Sky Resort (Bozeman, MT)

There are many restaurant choices at the Big Sky Resort but we chose one called Peaks, because we liked the way it looked as we walked by.  Sometimes, the choice is as simple as that.

I had my burger served bunless because the buns were not egg-free.  The beef was a very high-quality Wagyu sourced locally so it actually might have been better that I enjoyed it plain because I really got to taste the pure deliciousness of the meat, rather than all the condiments and bun that normally go with a burger.

The Montana Wagyu Beef Burger for $13.95

For more information on the many dining choices at Big Sky Resort, including Peaks at the Summit, visit their website:

http://www.bigskyresort.com/Activities/Dining-Shopping/index.asp

Ted's Montana Grill (Bozeman, MT)

While in Bozeman, we asked some local friends for a recommendation for dinner and they gave us the names of three restaurants.  Of those three, we settled on Ted's Montana Grill.  You know, because if it's good enough for Ted Turner, it's probably good enough me.  Turns out my friend Ted (we're friends now, because I ate at his restaurant) serves a pretty good burger.

Everything was perfect but we did have one minor allergy-related incident.  They offer many different choices for their hamburger buns so I asked the server which one was egg-free.  She told me to get a certain type of bread, so that's what I ordered.  Someone from the kitchen delivered our food to the table, not our server.  We were hungry so we dove right in to the burgers.  A few minutes later, when the server came back to see if our food was alright, the first words out of her mouth were, "Oh no, that's not the right bun!"  Shear panic sets in on my part.  I'm out of town, I don't know where the hospital is, I worry about what I'm going to do next.  Obviously I stop eating and the server goes to check the ingredients for the bun that I had been served.  She comes back a few moments later with the manager to assure me that the bun I was served was safe and didn't contain any eggs.  Needless to say, my appetite for bread was ruined that evening and I couldn't bring myself to finish the bun regardless of what they said.  Despite a good five minutes of panic, I'd still recommend the place.  And both the manager and the server apologized profusely.  I finished my burger with a knife and fork (sans bun) and it was delicious.  

Enough about me, you're here for burgers, aren't you?  So let's get to the photos.  And this time, you get more than burgers, because I really liked all of the food I had during this meal (well except that pesky bun) so I wanted to share all of my photos with you.

At Ted's you can choose between a beef or a bison patty and as previously mentioned, you have your choice of different types of breads as well.

Blue Creek Burger

The Blue Creek Burger is named after one of Ted's ranches and comes with bleu cheese (go figure, bleu and blue) and bacon.

The Avalon Burger

The Avalon Burger has melted Gruyere cheese, a little bit of bleu cheese, bacon,  caramelized onions, roasted garlic aioli, and baby arugula lettuce.

Baked potato soup for an appetizer.

They brought out this little bowl of house-made pickles when we first sat down.   They were yummy but they definitely had some kick.

Our change was given to us in $2 bills, which I found to be pretty darn fun.  I liked it so much, I had to take a photo of it.  I wonder if they have a stash of $2 bills in the back for everybody's change or if we just lucked out that night.

For more information on my friend Ted's restaurant, visit their website:
http://www.tedsmontanagrill.com/menu_burgers.html

Z's Steak and Chop Haus at the Zermatt Resort (Midway, UT)

Z's is a true culinary delight, nestled in small-town Midway, Utah!

Our "bread bowl" consisted of slices of homemade sourdough bread, compound butters, and little pretzels shaped like the letter Z.  Those pretzels had everything I love: monograms, themes, salt, you-name-it.  I could just eat that stuff up -- literally and figuratively. 

Z Chop Haus Cheeseburger and Fries for $18.

Zoomed in on the yummy bun.

Look how it's just dripping with crispy onion straws.

Z's also has a Sunday Brunch that I'd like to try one day.....

For more information on the restaurants at the Zermatt Resort, including Z's Steak and Chop Haus, visit their website:

http://www.zermattresort.com/utah-dining-and-restaurants/z-chop-haus