Kim W.
Yelp
I am a dreamer.
The issue with that is I can imagine the perfect scenario and then be let down.
Like the first time I put on leggings. I had imagined looking athletic and cool. I ended up looking like freshly stuffed sausage.
Or the time I tried baby bangs imagining I'd be adorable and sexy, but ended up looking like Andy Warhol.
A week ago I was driving from the SLC airport and passed Sweet Lake Biscuits and Limeade. There were tons of people waiting for a table. Literally, spilling out into the lawn where a cornhole board was set up. I thought to myself, they must have some good food and it seems like a fun place.
I looked it up on Yelp and the food pictures were stunning. The next morning I tried to get in, but the wait was too long. Fast-forward to now, the end of my trip, which I carefully arranged so that I could go to Sweet Lake for a late lunch. I figured if I went at 2 o'clock, it wouldn't be very busy. It wasn't. Perfect.
I had all week to imagine how delicious this was going to be. Plus, I'm a sucker for a good limeade.
I got in fast but took about 10 minutes to clean off my table. No big deal, I was excited because I had dreamt about how wonderful this was going to be.
I ordered the Biscuit Benedict and added the Cubano Meat. It came with a side of red quinoa and potato hash. I also ordered a cucumber mint limeade, as recommended by the server.
My food arrived quick. It looked good on the plate, everything I had envisioned. I started with the hash.
Nope. Mushy - and no flavor. Zip, zilch. After another bite I loaded it with salt and ketchup. Which is a sad thing to do to any food. I took 2 more bites and quit.
The poached eggs on the Benedict were perfection. There was a large slice of tomato that didn't need to be there. It added nothing. The Cubano meat was killer. Soft tender pot roast, but no extraordinary flavor. The hollandaise sauce looked beautiful, but had no flavor - zip- zilch.
A few bites in and my Limeade finally arrived ( there were approx 3 other tables, it was not busy). I was informed that they had run out of that kind of limeade and they had to make a fresh batch. I had put the order in for my drink long before my food came so I don't understand why that took so long but, that's not my main issue. The drink was stunning. Crowned with large sprig of mint that sat beside a lime wedge. The glass was rimmed with sugar and I could see sexy little lime zest floating in the glass. Yes, I said sexy.
I was so ready for my first sip. I had imagined it all week. What I expected was a tart lime flavor, with a mellow cucumber flavor beneath it, curbing the tartness of the lime,, and in the background that lovely, fragrant mint dancing on my tongue.
What I got was a watery cucumber flavor with a little lime in the background and a hint of mint. I didn't finish it. I drank about half, it was still refreshing. But what a bummer.
The concept of this place is stellar. So stellar that I'm going to tell a friend of mine who likes to start trendy food places in the Midwest. We would never copy- but the idea is a good springboard.
Feel free to flip through the pictures on the Sweet Lake Biscuit and Limeade Yelp page. They're beautiful. But remember they're just pictures. They're good to look at, but what matters is taste and with that said I'm not popping back in anytime soon when I come to Salt Lake City.
Just my imagination, running away with me.
Just my imagination running away with me.