Review 2

01.25.07

Emmigration Grill
Salt Lake City, Utah

I am not a giant fan of grills. Every meal is the same; a disappointing burger, some fries, a coke, maybe some chips and a pickle. So when my father mentioned going to the Emmigration Grill (which, by the way, is in the middle of a popular grocery store), I was none too excited. I constantly avoided it; excusing myself by saying I “wasn’t in the mood for a burger”. One day after school, I complain that I am hungry, my normal bait for going to lunch. My father wants to go to the grill, so I finally give in, thinking “what the heck”.
When we arrive, the atmosphere was… smoky. Apparently, someone had burned a burger and the window wasn’t open. I can barely inhale, until someone yells,” Open a window!” The window is opened, and normal breathing is restored. With my newly obtained eyesight, I observe the simple, aluminum chairs and white walls. Nothing special… but that’s not the point of grills.
I glance down at the menu. Bar food. Some appetizers include nachos, quesadillas, and other “let’s get excited about nothing” dishes. I move onto the main section. This grill fell prey to what many others had; overextension. Apparently, the burger was no longer satisfactory for today’s eater. The menu now had items such as teriyaki chicken, calzones, pizza, and ribs. What’s next, mango salsa? Anyway, I glance around, trying to find a normal burger. I see buffalo burgers, garlic burgers, burgers named after presidents, but no standard cheeseburger. I order the closest thing, a burger with pickes, tomatoes, lettuce, beef, cheese, and garlic aioli (this is where it could go oh so very wrong).
When the food arrived at my table, I must admit I was very worried about the aioli. Aioli is originally a Spanish condiment created by whipping eggs and slowly adding oil. The tedious process can take up to several hours, and I doubted the Emmigration Grill had been slaving away with the whisk. Anyway, the burger looked good enough, and as I took my first bite it tasted that way too. But one thing was wrong; the aioli had no taste. It’s almost as if they whipped it with water instead of oil, and the texture looked the like it too. Figuring it wasn’t doing any harm, I continued eating the burger, only to notice that the lettuce: meat ratio was slightly off. I felt like I was eating a veggie burger at times, wanting less lettuce and more beef.
Overall, however, it was a good burger. Maybe even a very good burger. Usually, when I leave a restaurant I don’t like, I want more. But when I came out of the Emmigration Grill, I wanted less. I still am searching for a grill that goes back to its roots; a normal burger and a coke. I feel that people have been recently been moving towards ethnic foods as a way of “culturing themselves”. I am all for this, but in the process they seem to have lost sight of good old American cuisine. When more restaurants start realizing this, maybe I’ll start going to grills more often.
Emmigration Market: 4/10