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Explorers to the island of Mauritius discovered the flightless dodo in the 1600s. Utahns were introduced to The Dodo Restaurant in 1981 in the space that is now Café Trio at 680 E. 900 South, in Salt Lake City. Throughout its nearly 30 years in business, it has changed locations a few times, eventually landing in 2009 at what was most recently L'Avenue Bistro, just north of Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City.
On two recent visits, the place was packed. After tasting the food from the lunch and dinner menus, I'm perplexed. The place is crazy-noisy and the food — with the exception of a few menu items — isn't that great. But the surroundings are inviting, the menus are concise and the prices are reasonable.
Take the smoked turkey sandwich with a side of barbecue sauce. Back in 2004, when The Tribune reviewed the restaurant, the ever-popular sandwich cost $7.95; today's price is $8.99. Soup has inched up from $2.95 a cup to $3.29, and a bowl is only 4 cents more than it was six years ago. The lunch menu caps out at $10.99, while dinner entrées average around $15.
Lunchtime at The Dodo feels like a "churn-and-burn" affair. Servers rush by with trays laden with kitchy handled skillets carrying sandwiches in a half-dozen forms, including that turkey sandwich and a French dip sandwich special ($8.99) with tepid, though tender roast beef, and once-melted-but-resolidified Swiss cheese. The accompanying au jus was as cool as the Swiss but the cream of asparagus soup warmed things up.
On another visit, cream of mushroom soup held appetizing, meaty slices of mushroom but herbs overpowered it, while too much rosemary and disintegrated noodles ruined the creamy chicken noodle soup. A kid's plateful of cheese tortellini and penne pasta ($5.99) with Alfredo sauce (or garlic butter) was also woefully overcooked.
Beyond sandwiches, there are six salads and an equal number of entrées to choose from, including a respectable house salad ($6.99, $8.99), with chopped romaine and parmesan cheese, which can be had with or without slivered almonds and bacon tossed in a lemon-garlic vinaigrette.
Casual salads and sandwiches also appear on the dinner menu, along with a dozen main-course options.
In addition to the turkey sandwich, the restaurant is known for its desserts, made expertly for eons by Pastry Chef Ramon Montelongo, and an appetizer of artichoke pie ($6.99), a combination of marinated artichoke hearts, cheddar cheese, onions and garlic that's baked and served in a wedge with a lemon-spiked mayonnaise and store-bought crackers. Our slice was cold: warm with the mayo on the side and baguette slices or toast points would have done wonders for this dish. Another starter, two roasted tomato polenta cakes ($7.99), didn't taste much like anything, save for the corniness of the polenta.
An order of a half-rack of house-smoked baby-back ribs ($16.99), though fall-off-the-bone tender, lacked seasoning and tasted as if it had just met a cold smear of barbecue sauce just prior to being served. The ribs arrived with a huge dollop of very well-crafted creamy roasted garlic mashed potatoes and nothing else. Mashers also sided a tough filet mignon ($23.99), along with an unseasoned medley of broccoli, cauliflower and yellow and green squashes.
Chicken enchiladas ($14.99) had myriad issues. The shredded chicken tucked in flour tortillas was mealy, the accompanying black beans and cilantro rice were dry, and a garnish of guacamole looked unappealing and tasted nothing like guacamole. Portion size was an issue with the beef stroganoff ($13.99), which was big enough for a famished Grizzly Adams. The creamy mass sported tons of mushrooms, beef pieces and what seemed like a pound or two of fettuccine.
Shrimp "margarita" pasta ($16.99) sounded intriguing, but a garnish of coolish diced tomatoes and avocados was a weird contrast to the angel-hair pasta tossed with a spicy sauce of tequila, onions, garlic and cream encircled by tender shrimp.
No fewer than six desserts (all $6.99) are listed daily on the blackboard. Over the course of two visits, I sampled the lemon chess tart, key lime pie, caramel coconut coffee cake, banana cream cheese cake, caramel apple crumb pie, almond chocolate mousse cake and the signature Tollhouse pie. With its 3-inch browned meringue topping and tart filling, the key lime pie was my favorite.
As for service, on one visit our waitperson was very professional and accommodating, though on the other, our server lacked the basics of service, including clearing plates, filling water glasses and replacing silverware as needed.
So, you're probably saying, the pasta's overcooked. So what? The beef stroganoff could feed a family of four. Big deal. The sides of rice and beans on the chicken enchilada are drier than all get-out from a heat lamp. Who cares?
The kitchen and waitstaff should care. The Dodo has the reasonable prices and warm environs. It should want to make great food to match.
I want to like The Dodo, I really do. But the quality of the food and service needs improvement and the noise problem should be addressed. I don't want this Sugar House neighborhood restaurant to become a thing of the past, like its flightless namesake.
The Tribune covers the cost of all meals at reviewed restaurants. Star ratings are based on a minimum of two visits. Ratings are updated continually based on at least one revisit. There is no connection between reviews and advertising. —
Hhj
The Dodo Restaurant
Food • Hhj
Mood • HH
Service • HH
Noise • bbbb
After hopping around from location to location, The Dodo has found a home in Sugar House. Its reasonable prices and inviting surroundings are two reasons to go, although the restaurant should aspire to improve many of its dishes and service. Notables include the house salad, turkey sandwich with barbecue sauce and key lime pie.
Location • 1355 E. 2100 South, Salt Lake City; 801-486-2473
Online • http://www.thedodo.net
Hours • Monday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. (brunch 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.)
Children's menu • Yes
Prices • $$
Liquor • Full bar
Corkage • $7
Reservations • No
Takeout • Yes
Wheelchair access • Yes
Outdoor dining • Yes
On-site parking • Yes
Credit cards • All major