The Pagoda

In the Avenues neighborhood of Salt Lake is a delicious Japanese restaurant that has been around so long it's almost an institution. Rachel and I first ate here a few years ago. The location can make parking a challenge but, once inside, it's worth the hassle.

The Pagoda was recently sold, interior renovated and the menu updated. Thankfully the deliciousness of the food did not change. We found this out two weeks ago when Ruby was with Rachel's Sister so we had a chance to go to a quiet dinner.

I am normally a pretty frugal person. I save money, wear my clothes until they are hanging by a thread (partially it's because I dislike shopping), and shop in bulk. That is until I go to a restaurant and see the appetizers, entrees, and desserts. I love the food and the experience. It's worth the money.

For appetizers we got a Fire Cracker Sushi Roll and Edamame. The "Fire" in Fire Cracker was a little too much for Rachel but I enjoyed it. For dinner she went with the Vegetable Tempura Sushi Roll and the Vegas Roll. The Sushi was good. From what I understand it has been a recent addition to the menu selection. It's hard to beat the sushi at Happy Sumo but it will do. She even let me eat all the ginger, which I love.

Fire Cracker Roll

I ordered the Chicken Teriyaki and Shrimp Tempura. It was a lot of food and was great. Always good to have leftovers for breakfast (no joke). The chicken was good but the tempura was great; everything tempura: shrimp, carrots, sweet potatoes, zucchini, onions was delicious.

Chicken Teriyaki and Shrimp Tempura

The atmosphere was wonderful. I am glad we got there right at 5:00pm when they open. There aren't a lot of tables and by 6:00pm the place was full. It's the type of place where you could enjoy a long quiet dinner. There was even a "secret room" at the top of the stairs. A large dinner party kept disappearing up there. I mentioned to Rachel that this is likely where the $10,000 poker games happen. Sounds tempting.

Until I am invited to the poker game, I will stay in the dining room and enjoy the delicious food.

Happy Eating.

P.S. For those of you who enjoyed my Sugarhouse BBQ Post, I went there again this evening with Rachel. She had never been there and loved it. The dinner experience is a little different from lunch. At dinner you are seated and waited on; lunch you go through a line. Same great food however. Tonight for me it was a half rack of Memphis style ribs. I added plenty of the mustard based sauce. Delicious! Ruby also loved dancing to the live music.