Baxter’s American restaurant review follow-up

THIS RESTAURANT HAS NOW CLOSED

It seems everyone else in the local media is covering Baxter’s American at the moment. We felt left out, so decided to run a quick follow-up review of our own. Our first visit to Baxter’s American was back in March, you can read that here.

After that initial visit we couldn’t wait to come back. Just recently we had the perfect excuse to head back down, one of our favourite bands was playing in the attached venue, The Depot. On this visit we opted to share a bottle of wine with the meal. The Baxter’s wine list is not super-extensive, so it was with a little disappointment that our first selection was unavailable. Instead we went with the Wild Horse Pinot Noir ($55.00), not too bad at a touch over 2X markup:

We started the meal by sharing an order of the Grilled Vegetables with Hummus and Pita ($7.25):

The grilled vegetables were a little limp by the time they reached our table, yet the hummus and pita were both good. The Ceviche from our last visit was far superior.

Wendi took full advantage of the almost build-it-yourself-style menu. She chose a Small Caesar Salad ($5.25) with Salmon ($5.95) and side of Risotto ($4.00):

Whilst there isn’t a great amount one can say about a simple salad, Wendi did note that the Salmon was well cooked. She proclaimed the risotto wonderful, better than her previous SLC favourite over at Bambara.

After my last visit I also wanted to try something new, so I selected the Lemon-Garlic Roasted Chicken (pan gravy, house fries) ($19.75):

The portion was surprisingly large, featuring half a chicken. The chicken was cooked expertly, perfectly moist and juicy. The ‘pan gravy’ was also pleasingly rich. The dish was completed with asparagus and squash. Personally I thought either the squash or asparagus could be dropped. The accompanying fries were presented on the side in a rather cute mini-fryer basket:

Rather than just a whimsical serving presentation, this actually benefited the fries. The separation from the pan gravy kept the fries deliciously crisp throughout. I thought this was an excellently executed dish, just ever so on the large side. At any rate, I could not finish every last bite.

Baxter’s has received fairly unanimous praise from everyone in the Salt Lake media of late, we ourselves are also big fans as you may have noticed. It is certainly true there are still niggles to be worked out, not every dish is a home run. However, service is charming, the space is exceedingly comfortable and the the menu seems to be evolving at a healthy pace.

Worthy of further note are the lunch and Sunday brunch options, all aggressively priced. A set three course lunch comes in at $9.95, whilst all but two of the six Benedict selections for brunch come in at under $9. The brunch menu in particular seems to be one of Salt Lake’s remaining dining “secrets” of sorts. I read of someone visiting as recently as 2-3 weeks back, and having no problems walking in and being seated straight away at noon for Brunch. Given SLC’s seeming love for Sunday Brunch, such a feat would be impossible at a gamut of local eateries.

I should also note that Baxter’s American have recently made some updates for their “summer menu”. Amongst these are an extended “small plates and things to share” menu featuring intriguing options such as Sliders, Potato Lollys and Smoky BBQ Meatballs. Next time you are down town we heartily recommend you check these guys out.

Baxter’s American is located at 400 W South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84180