Ruth's Diner

THE place to go to breakfast around Salt Lake, as evidenced by the sometimes hour wait on weekends. If you've been there you know the wait is worth it however. I love this place. The setting, just up Emigration Canyon, is beautiful. Inside feels like an old dining car and outside is about the best patio dining anywhere, including the live music that can so often be heard. Ruth's recently got renovated and while I don't really like the new, modern look of the outside I am reserving judgement until I see the rest of it (I was only driving by). Plus, I'm sure a place so old needs a bit of a facelift every now and then.

But if the setting is what draws people initially, the food is what keeps them coming back. And though I have heard rumors of tasty fare on the lunch and dinner menus, this is first and foremost a breakfast place. And oh what a breakfast place this is. The first thing you need to know about are the biscuits. Huge and delicious, these homemade staples come with every meal, which means it is impossbile to have a bad meal here. One will almost certainly fill you up, but you will want more. Then the rest of the menu. My personal favorite, which cannot always be found on the menu, is the crab cake benedict, which is made with real lump crab and is simply exquisite. Benedicts are one of the specialties at Ruth's also coming in Salmon, Pulled Pork, Florentine, and Traditional varieties. The rest of the menu runs the gamut from a healthier section called "The Lighter Side" to old-time favorites like biscuits and gravy and numerous eggs-and-meat dishes, to rare finds such as Red Trout and Eggs or the Chinese Chicken omelette. Rest assured though that not only can anyone find something they like on the varietous menu, but that it will most likely bring back wonderful memories of comfort food at mom's. Especially if mom lives in the mountains!