One of the challenges of being a food writer and restaurant critic is that it's not easy to keep track of all the really good independent eateries. Big-name restaurants with multi-million dollar budgets open every month with great hype and fanfare, but smaller places often get little attention beyond a Facebook page announcing their existence. [Note to restaurateurs: Becoming a Utah Bites sponsor is an effective and inexpensive way to get the word out about your business.]
One such facility is Our Kitchen Cafe Our Kitchen Cafe in North Salt Lake. Opened in October 2018, I only recently discovered this neighborhood gem, despite it being temporarily closed during the pandemic. If you haven't heard of Our Kitchen Cafe yet, I highly recommend you give it a try. It's a great little eatery.
I didn't catch the last name, but one of the excellent waiters at Our Kitchen Cafe told me that her aunt Bibiana owns the restaurant and that her family makes up most of the staff. It's a family business, and I've never seen a table sit empty for more than 30 seconds after a customer has left. The popular cafe is often packed with patrons (breakfast and lunch only), but orders are quick and always served with a smile.
Breakfast Burrito
Many of Our Kitchen Cafe's popular breakfast menu items have a delicious Hispanic twist, including chilaquiles ($11.99), huevos rancheros ($14.99), carne asada & eggs ($14.99), chorizo scramble ($10.99), breakfast empanadas ($10.99) and a hearty breakfast burrito ($10.99) filled with scrambled eggs, ham, sausage or bacon (choice of one), melted cheese and hash browns. For an additional $2, you can make your breakfast burrito topped with housemade chile verde or salsa rojo and avocado.
Denver Omelette with Hash Browns and Pancakes
Our Kitchen Cafe has a variety of omelets ($9.99 to $13.99), including Spanish, Meat Lover's, Philly Asada, California, Greek, chorizo, cheese, veggie, country (with sausage gravy) and the old-fashioned Denver omelet with peppers, onions, ham and cheddar cheese. All omelets are served with hash browns and pancakes or toast.
Classic Breakfast
Classic American-style breakfast options include the Classic Breakfast of two eggs and bacon, sausage or ham ($11.99), chicken fried steak ($14.99), Florentine Benedict ($11.99), corned beef hash ($12.49), biscuits and gravy ($10.99), breakfast sandwich ($9.99) and house Benedict ($13.29).
Gluten Free Pancakes
My wife was happy to see that they had gluten free pancakes – more thin crepes than traditional pancakes but very tasty. They also have gluten free waffles. My wife's pancakes were topped with fresh strawberries, bananas, blueberries and blackberries and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
waffle
Kitchen Cafe also offers fruit crepes ($9.99), Nutella crepes ($9.49) and dulce de leche crepes ($9.49), and for those with a sweet tooth, there are waffles dusted with powdered sugar ($8.99), French toast ($8.99), standard pancakes (three for $6.99 or six for $9.99) and banana pancakes (three for $7.99 or six for $10.99).
Grilled Ham and Cheese
Lunch is served until 2pm and includes carne asada quesadillas ($13.99), smothered carne asada burritos ($13.99), house nachos ($12.99), carne asada tacos ($9.99), avocado BLT ($9.99), bacon and egg ($12.99) burgers and a delicious grilled ham and cheese sandwich on sourdough bread with fries for just $8.99. I love the classic ham and cheese sandwich. No kimchi, no sriracha mayo, no aioli, just good grilled ham and cheese. You can add a bottle of Mexican Coca-Cola for $2.
With great service, a clean and bright atmosphere and decor, friendly staff and great diner type food, Our Kitchen Cafe is a place worth visiting for lunch or dinner – you'll want to make this your own Kitchen Cafe.
Photo by Ted Scheffler
Food Quote of the Week: “Cut the ham as if you were going to shave your friend's face.” – Henri Charpentier
