ETW: Silver Fork Lodge

Oh, where to begin on this one? Silver Fork Lodge is located up Big Cottonwood Canyon just before you get to Solitude on the south side of the road. I give you this preface so you can know it is located in one of the most beautiful places on earth – of which I have no pictures. Lame. I know, I’m sorry. Just know, that at least once a summer, we go up here for breakfast and sit on the patio in our jackets and watch the hummingbirds come in. This time, we were not disappointed. And in case you’re wondering, all four species of hummingbirds that come into Utah  – Broadtailed, Black-chinned, Rufous, and Calliope – came into their feeders the morning we went. I know this only because I’m married to a formerly avid birder (formerly since he now has a real job, three kids, and busy church responsibilities).

So, you now know, we love the location. On this particular occasion, we were celebrating, so after being seated we ordered two cinnamon rolls (not within the confines of a traditional plant-based diet, but so delicious, right?). We were told they were running late, but that they should be out of the oven by 9 (it was 8:50 – no biggie). We figured between these (they’re huge) and sharing our breakfasts, the kids would have plenty to eat.  The menu has few options for us plant eaters, but we know how to work around so I figured we’d be fine. I should have been warned when I saw the Sysco truck outside.

We were still waiting for our Cinnamon Rolls as we perused the menu, but our server came back and said – well, actually, those cinnamon rolls might be a little longer, but should be soon (there was a more specific excuse but I can’t remember exactly what it was now). Huh, well, I guess that’s okay. So we ordered the rest of our food. I ordered Guru Dave’s Power Spuds without dairy and add extra vegetables (easy – the omelets had a huge variety of veggies, they could easily choose some of them to add to it). Matt ordered the Huevos Rancheros without dairy with extra veggies and with scrambled eggs for the kids.

When our server brought out our food, we were then informed that the cinnamon rolls would not be coming since nobody took them out of the freezer the night before. Great, awesome, my kids are starving and we have some scrambled eggs to tide them over? So we ordered some pancakes that took 20 minutes from ordering and my kids complained the whole time – super-celebratory, right (part of my very veggie birthday)? And the verdict on the food?

My “Spuds” were passable – oily Sysco hashbrowns with NO extra veggies and some of the scariest looking onions and mushrooms I’ve ever seen.  And there was just enough food to be a side dish, clearly not enough food to call them a meal, especially without more veggies. We’re still trying to figure out what sort of a Guru Dave is. Matt’s Rancheros were essentially just beans and potatoes with some salsa – no extra veggies. I know, I know, we’re so demanding.

The pancakes were pretty good, but totally insufficient for myself (still hungry, thanks) and my now starving children who waited forever to eat – tables turned over more than once in the time we waited (we had to keep them from eating the jam packets). When we finally finished eating, our server gave us the last and final excuse, that her manager had been planning on making the cinnamon rolls himself, but it got too busy so he decided against it. Really?

Happy birthday to me. I’m still torn – I love the hummingbirds that come in,the cool fresh air, but next time we might just bring our own food and order some juice.