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A Sunday morning brunch with sizzling bacon, steaming eggs and a bloody Mary can make a believer out of almost anyone.
Poplar Street Pub has been a favorite Sunday morning dining spot for more than two years, thanks to its casual atmosphere and affordable menu.
Executive chef Matt Ricca serves an all-you-can-eat brunch buffet for $9 (from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.), which includes made-to-order omelets, fresh-baked breads and pastries, chicken fried steak, homemade biscuits with country gravy, chile verde and even potstickers.
The potstickers were an accidental addition. Ricca said he had extras one Sunday and on a whim put them on the buffet. Now "I couldn't stop doing them because people love them so much," he said.
The brunch menu stays largely the same, although Ricca also likes to add new items or consider requests. "I try to do either a new pastry or a new cinnamon roll or a new kind of bread each Sunday," he said. On Sunday, July 15, the buffet table will include raspberry, cinnamon apple and blueberry Belgian crepes topped with whipped cream. "Anything people want, if they ask me, I will try to work it in," he said.
Fred Jenkins has been a regular customer at Sunday brunch since it began about two years ago. He comes for the omelets, the biscuits and the chile verde, but also for the atmosphere.
"They're really into being consistent and even when it's slow, they're still putting out good food and good prices," Jenkins said.
Aubrey Erekson and Kenny Barteaux were enjoying their first time at a recent Sunday brunch. "I am doing low carbs, so the omelet is really great," said Erekson, who ordered her eggs filled with ham, bacon, cheese and spinach. Barteaux said smothering his eggs and tortillas with the chile verde was "pretty bomb."
Besides the breakfast buffet, customers at Poplar Street Sunday brunch can order salads and sandwiches off the regular menu. The bar recently started its champion burger series, which includes four kinds of hamburgers made with two 7-ounce patties.
One must-try is the Epic Burger, made with beer from Salt Lake City's Epic brewery. "We reduce some of it down into a caramel sauce to make a barbecue sauce," Ricca said.
Besides brunch, Poplar offers pool tables, video games and a large patio with an outdoor bar, a perfect place to congregate on a Sunday morning.
Poplar Street Pub
This downtown bar offers a popular Sunday brunch buffet.
When • Sundays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Where • 242 S. 200 West, Salt Lake City; 801-532-2715
Cost • $9 for all-you-can-eat brunch; no cover charge.
Upcoming events • Live music featuring Pete Witcher, Saturday, July 13, at 9:45 p.m.; Sunday brunch beginning at 11 a.m.; and karaoke on Monday, July 16, beginning at 9 p.m.