Cedars of Lebanon

Cedars of Lebanon
152 E. 200S
Salt lake City UT
801-364-4096

A middle-eastern restaurant in down town Salt Lake offering lamb, beef, chicken and vegetarian dishes. Seating is at tables, booths and they have a private room with floor seating and you can arrange for private parties. This was my first time and my son’s second time and I looked forward to trying out the dishes.
Persian rugs adorn the walls and highly polished wooden floors give you the impression and feel of the Middle East. Sadly we dinned on Sunday and therefore missed the belly dancers who perform on Friday and Saturday only. The lunch menu offers American sandwiches, ham, pastrami, roast beef and the like. Also featured are Middle Eastern delights such as Kafta Kebab (ground beef mixed with parsley, onion and spices, charbroiled and served on pita bread0, Cheese Burek (layered filo dough with melted cheese, baked and served with rice and vegetables) to name a few. The dinner menu offers appetizers of Tabbouleh, Falafel, Humus Dip, and Baba Ghanouj as well as many others.
You can pick your main entrée individually or for two which is a cost saver; we picked the lamb and chicken kebab for two which is served with basmati rice. It was a difficult choice since they offer such delicacies as lamb tagine (a slow-cooking lamb stew in a curry sauce flavored with a blend of aromatic spices such as turmeric, cumin, ginger, cardamom and cinnamon) or Pastilla (a Moroccan dish of chicken in a special sauce with spices and folded on filo dough). To start off our dining adventure we picked a bugler dish with tomatoes and cumin served with pita bread which I found to be extremely tasty.
The kebabs are marinated and charbroiled and served atop the basmati rice, I found the beef to be succulent and moist but the chicken was a little dry or perhaps a bit over cooked but still very tasty. The combination of the kebabs pairs well with the aromatic basmati rice and assorted vegetables. The potions are ample for large eaters and they offer to go boxes for your left overs. We paid $29.95 for our dual serving which is slightly less than if ordered separately.
If you have never eaten Middle-Eastern food you owe it to yourself to try out The Cedars of Lebanon or if you are an experienced diner then you are in for a memorable time. Top off the meal with a nice glass of wine and a good dinner companion; nothing could be better.

Top of the World Restaurant

Top of the World Restaurant
Stratosphere Hotel and Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada

The Stratosphere Hotel and Casino is the tallest free standing observation tower in the United States. It is 1,149 feet tall. The Top of The World Restaurant, a rotating structure, is situated at 800 feet and boasts a 360 degree panoramic view of the metropolitan Las Vegas area. It makes a complete turn every 80 minutes. Diners ride a dual elevator to their destination at an astounding 1800 feet per second, or in simpler terms, 2-3 floors per second. Situated at the east end of the strip it’s the closest to the historic Fremont Street District.

Our reservations were for a table 0n the outside rim closest to the window and the view; one can also request the inner rim. The restaurant rotates so slowly you are unaware of its movement. An inner ring rotates clockwise with a cart showing samples of the lusciously decadent deserts offered. Once seated, we ordered a bottle of wine and sat back to take in the view and relax before ordering our entrees. The menu offers separate entrée ordering or you can opt for a tasting menu at a fixed price. We each ordered from the general menu so we could sample the various dishes.
You have several choices for salads and we chose Caesar’s all around; they had crisp greens, a lovely hint of anchovies and fresh grated cheese. I ordered the pheasant, Michael and Uncle Mark the rack of lamb, so I got to taste the lamb twice, goody for me. The pheasant was cooked to perfection with nice grill marks, it was moist and tender with a marvelous mild taste. The rack of lamb stole the show; it was tender, juicy with a mild taste absolutely a young scrumptious lamb.

You can order steaks, surf and turf, pork chops, free range chicken, duck breast, salmon, cod, prawns, lobster to name a few, there is something for everyone. Several savory sides such as Foire Gras tater tots with homemade ketchup, yam puree with brown butter and pan seared mushrooms with garlic to name a few. The menu’s change so you can experience something new each time you go. Items are ordered separately so you can eat as much or little as you like, serving sizes are adequate for a robust eater.

Prices are $15.00 to $40.00 for appetizers, salads around $12.00, entrees from $40.00 to $80.00 with sides at about $10.00. The tasting menu with selected wines runs around $130.00 per person. Reservations are required and business casual attire is required. We devoured our meals with gusto and finished our wine wishing we could linger longer. Sadly, a mandatory engagement beckoned us to depart; perhaps that was better or I would have tried one of those sumptuous desserts.

Sand Piper - Idaho Falls, ID

Sand Piper
Idaho Falls, Idaho
February 2, 2011

I have blogged Sandpiper in Pocatello several times and as my readers can attest, it is not my favorite place to dine. Yesterday was my oldest son’s birthday and as tradition goes, he got to pick where he wanted to eat. Yes you guessed it, Sandpiper! But this time not the Pocatello restaurant but the sister establishment located in Idaho Falls. A fifty two mile trip down the interstate, the historic district of Idaho Falls and the Sand Piper restaurant are situated alongside the Snake River. It looks exactly like the Pocatello building but that’s where the resemblance stops. Inside we were greeted by eager and friendly staff and quickly seated. Our table was by the window which normally would afford the diners a magnificent view of the river but in winter your view is that of a frozen river, still a fantastic vista.

Our waitress was friendly, informative and eager to please but not overdone, she allowed us ample time to peruse the menu and the wine list. Our pre dinner drinks ordered, we eagerly read over the menu. As soon as our menus were closed she appeared to take our order. Almost as soon as she left she reappeared with fresh hot bread and our salads. My youngest son ordered the Caesar salad and had strips of fresh anchovies; my garden salad was a mixture of greens both mild and peppery. We eagerly ate all of our salads and a second helping of bread.

Sand Piper was having a wine special, so we chose a Cabernet Shiraz blend from Australia which to our great pleasure was a superb pick. Aromatic, smooth it paired well with our entrée selections. My youngest had the rack of lamb, the birthday boy had a sirloin steak our guest had the battered shrimp and I picked the chicken Oscar. I had reservations about the entrée’s since the Pocatello menu offered the same choices but in children’s portions. To our enjoyment, when the dinners arrived we found them more than ample; in fact we all had to go boxes at the end.

The lamb was expertly grilled to the rare ordered, the shrimp cooked through but not overdone. The steak was charred to perfection and my Oscar was tender and the crab meat was the intact claw portions. The baked potatoes were of good size and the steamed vegetables done to a turn. We all thoroughly enjoyed our dinner and all attested we would have changed nothing. My youngest son tipped the waitress about his brother’s birthday and she soon appeared offering any dessert item free of charge. He ordered the chocolate turtle dessert, which was a thick and gooey deep chocolate brownie surrounded by scoops of vanilla ice cream and covered in thick dark chocolate sauce.

Reservations are suggested especially for the weekend. They have a separate bar and lounge section and there are steps, a ramp is available but since the lighting is dim caution is suggested. All tables, no booths, but all afford a view of the river and beltway. The prices range from $14.00 to $26.00 with daily specials. A full bar and an excellent wine list pair nicely with the menu items which range from sea food, pasta, beef and your usual salad assortments.