Dining on Excellence: The Metropolitan in Salt Lake City
May 29th 2010 Posted by derek in Long Winded
2 Comments 
In a word: EXCELLENT. If you need to know more (why would you? just go there already!) Read More.
(Warning: this is being posted in the “Long Winded” category… you might want to print this one out and read it over the next few days 
Excellence in dining is, in my estimation, something rarely achieved. There is _always_ something to be improved upon: service, decor, cleanliness, flavor, seasoning, cooking, presentation, etc. But in looking back at our dining experience at one of Salt Lake City’s most critically acclaimed restaurants I am left at a loss for something to nitpick about (and for those that don’t know me: that’s a big deal!). The meal that I’m about to relate is truly one of the best I have ever eaten.
This particular evening was extremely windy in SLC. Windy enough that we took at cab three blocks from our hotel to the restaurant in order to keep the grit out of our teeth. Rushing through the doorway of the Metropolitan to escape the wind we were immediately struck with the decor. It is modern and simplistic but very refined, easily the best looking restaurant we’ve visited in the SLC area. The mix of concrete, steel and wood is done in great taste. Nothing overdone or pompous, but definitely “designed” from the floor to the ceiling.
The maître d’ greeted us warmly and immediately seated us in a secluded portion of the restaurant. ”Secluded”, in this case, is a euphemism for “empty”. We were dining at 6:30PM, which isn’t late, but is also not so early as to expect an almost empty restaurant. At this point, despite the well appointed interior, I was starting to think we had made a mistake.
Our waiter came over immediately, taking our drink orders and explaining a bit about the menu. Shortly after he came back with our drinks another server appeared with an amuse-bouche consisting of a glazed corn fritter. The fritter was tasty, doing the job a good amuse-bouche should: warming up our taste-buds. However, I was still having lingering doubts.
As soon as the amuse-bouche was cleared (which happened immediately after they had been consumed) another server appeared with bread. This is really where the evening began to take off. We had multiple choices of fresh baked bread. Amanda chose something dull (I don’t quite remember, might have just been a wheat bread) but I thought I had heard the bread bearer mention something about “pretzel” bread. I inquired further and was shown what you can see in the picture below:
It appeared to be a round ball of pretzel dough. Intrigued, I immediately said I would take one! Biting into the perfectly cooked dough was an experience of flavor and texture. I don’t know how such an unassuming (there were no visible seasonings) could pack so much flavor. This isn’t up-front, slam you in the face flavor, rather it is subtle as all the perfectly balanced ingredients hit your taste-buds. What is truly delightful is the bit of salt on top of the bread: it is well proportioned, not so much as to overpower the bread, but enough to provide a bit of a kick at just the right time. Throughout the course of the evening Amanda and I consumed several more of these lumps of heaven! How can I go on like this about the bread? I suppose you’ll just have to try it yourself to understand!
An idea for the chef: an awesome appetizer would pair that bread with a bit of mild fondue. Pretzels and cheese have always gone well together, but in this case I think it would be explosive!
Ok – enough about the bread! By this time we had received our crab cake appetizer. The crab cake was served with jicima lime slaw and spicy remoulade. The remoulade was especially good: the spiciness of the sauce setting the tone for what was to come later. I actually don’t typically eat crab cakes, as Amanda likes them much more than I do, but in this case I gobbled them up. The crab was very well cooked and obviously very fresh. Now this dinner is starting to roll…
By this time more patrons had entered the restaurant. I wouldn’t say it was filling up, but people were streaming in. This did absolutely nothing to diminish the level of service we were receiving. As soon as the last bite of crab cake was off the plate they were immediately taken away along with any silverware that had been touched, everything replace anew.
After a short wait (that seemed to take forever because we had started to anticipate how good the main course could be) our entrees appeared. Amanda had ordered the Niman Ranch Poussin with new potatoes and asparagus. As soon as the plate was down it was obvious that it had been masterfully prepared. The herb cheese crust on the chicken had been PERFECTLY cooked, providing a crunchy exterior that sealed in extra flavor. The new potatoes and asparagus were similarly perfect.
The flavors of this dish were stunning. The herbs and cheese on the chicken combined with the sauce infused with smoky lardons made for a whirlwind of complementary flavor. Each component had a delicate balance of seasonings, with nothing feeling out of place. The chicken was juicy and full of flavor. An absolutely perfect dish. Thinking about it, even now, is making my stomach growl and my mouth water…
As if one perfect dish weren’t enough, I received the following:
Although it may look tame a beast lies within. This is lamb tenderloin (which, not only have I never had before, but I’ve never see on a menu) on a corn cake / mash (it might have been a polenta, but it had whole kernels of corn in it) and topped with a salad. But the real star of the show is the jerk spiced ju surrounding the tower of food. It turns out that this is one of the spiciest things I have eaten in the northwest United States!
Let’s talk about the lamb before I get back to the sauce. The lamb was cooked _perfectly_. I always worry about getting lamb because chefs tend to under cook it. Yes, I like lamb on the rarer side of things, but I don’t want it to be mushy or cold. This lamb was tender while still being “cooked” just enough that it didn’t have any rare texture to it. I wish I could have saved a piece of it to hand to waiters in the future when they ask me how I want my lamb!
The corn mash was good although it’s main purpose seemed to be in providing a spice dampener to help you deal with the ju! Getting back to that ju, yes it was hot, but it also had wonderful flavor. I just needed to dip the tip of a piece of lamb into it in order to get a rush of flavor that went perfectly with the seasonings on the outside of the lamb. If you like jerk flavorings at all you should DEFINITELY order this dish!
Last up is dessert and this is the only place where we weren’t completely blown away. Amanda selected a soufflé with chocolate sauce while I ordered up something called an “Almond Joy” (after the candy-bar of course). The soufflé was good, puffy and cooked perfectly. The chocolate sauce that went with it didn’t seem to pack enough punch. Note that I don’t know why Amanda is giving me that look in that photo… I think she was worried about how large the soufflé was! That wasn’t a problem though because it was so perfectly airy.
My dessert was just bizarre. I still don’t exactly know what it was. Note that bizarre doesn’t mean it was bad! It tasted good (although it didn’t live up to the standard of the rest of the meal). The real star on my dessert plate though, was the small amount of sorbet that accompanied the chocolate covered dessert. The sorbet was packed with flavor (maybe passion fruit?) and was a nice counterpoint to the sweetness of the main desert.
The last surprise of the evening came while we were paying for our meal. No, not the amount on the check! The surprise was a couple of shortbread cookies compliments of the chef. The simple cookies were a perfect way to end the meal. One last taste before we headed out the door.
Everything from beginning to end made this the perfect dining experience. Of course the food was EXCELLENT… but beyond that every single thing including the service and the decor were spot on. Even the bathrooms were excellent, with ultra-soft hand towels to dry your hands with. Not a single detail has been overlooked at The Metropolitan and that did not go unnoticed by this reviewer.
If you are visiting or live in Salt Lake City you owe it to yourself to pay The Metropolitan a visit. You won’t be disappointed!
Vitals:
Name: Metropolitan
Address: 173 West Broadway, Salt Lake City, Utah
Phone: 801-364-3472
Website: http://www.themetropolitan.com
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[...] review: A review of The Metropolitan by ‘A Couple Of Foodies’ is our featured review in this edition of the review round-up. [...]
So sorry to report, I hate giving critical marks. Our visit to the M was disappointing. We arrived, on time, with a reservation, and half the restaurant filled, and were told to wait for our table until it was prepared. Weird, not sure why, restaurant wasn’t full, but OK so far. We are seated, drink orders are taken, my drink arrived garnished with a floating fly. Again, OK, these things happen (if the server isn’t looking), but again, next course. We ask for one of the specials for an appetizer and are denied, only eight left and we are not ordering the tasting menu, OK, but a little disappointed. Main course arrives, the boyfriend’s is a hit (he ordered the steak) but mine, the pork chop, is the most expensive on the menu, comes equipped with a slaw and ‘mustard jus’. The mustard jus is the reduction of the meat juices with a few mustard seeds thrown in. Sorry, but the dish was mediocre at best. End story, my eating experience at the M ($175 dollars later) was mediocre at best and completely not memorable. I would not advise eating here for a special occasion. It felt like they are barely slipping by with mediocrity. Too much great food to be had to compromise. Sorry again, but this a reflection of my honesty.