As far as I can tell, the chefs at Saltimbocca don't skimp a bit on the ingredients in the Italian dishes they serve: milk-white fresh mozzarella, sour-and-fruity balsamic vinaigrette, fresh-made sauces, richly satisfying desserts.
The mystery is this: with such excellently prepared food, how can the prices be so darn low?
Heck if I know how they do it. I suppose it could be the pared-down space at one end of a Sugar House strip mall. The surroundings are all casual simplicity with deep-red walls, golden lighting, huge photos of Italy and clean-lined furnishings.
The service is pretty deluxe, however. Though we ordered at the counter, a friendly and enthusiastic server brought our food to us, along with such niceties as vinegar and oil, extra plates and napkins, and even a can of apple juice for our 1-year-old boy, on the house.
I suppose, really, that I don't have to know how this homegrown restaurant works its magic. All I have to do is enjoy, and I surely did that on the recent weeknight that we shared a family dinner there.
We started with the pan-fried mozzarella, tender slices of fresh cheese fried in crumbs until lightly crispy, and the bruschetta trio. I highly recommend these small toast rounds topped with, in turn, fresh-and-light Roma tomatoes and basil; earthy house-made pesto with whole, golden-roasted cloves of garlic; and, my favorite, balsamic vinegar drizzled over sweet, deeply flavored roasted red peppers. This is the perfect appetizer: It wakes your palate right up and primes it for what's next.
Our meals mostly lived up to the great beginning. My husband had the chicken Parmesan, a high-quality, well-seasoned breast baked with marinara and fresh mozzarella, with a generous serving of spaghetti on the side. The breast itself was overcooked, making the outside a bit too crunchy, but the inside remained moist and flavorful.
On our server's recommendation, I had the pesto ravioli, a plateful of plumped-up pasta rounds filled with four cheeses, and topped with basil pesto sauce and sun-dried tomatoes. It's one of the richer vegetarian dishes I've ever eaten, and I had to take half of it home for lunch the next day (lucky me).
Our kids enjoyed their meals, too, because Saltimbocca doesn't pander to the tots. Their food was real food: the same pasta that graced my husband's plate, cheesy ravioli with tangy marinara and a crisp, buttery ham-and-mozzarella panini that had me wishing I'd paid more attention to the sandwich side of the menu. The panini came with a small, simple salad, dressed with sour, peppery vinaigrette that I was more than happy to finish off for my daughter when she got full.
For dessert, I enjoyed the house-made tiramisu, which is gloppy and decadent and full of espresso, but the star of the course was the Italian chocolate pudding, rightly described on the menu as "incredibly rich." This whipped cream-topped combination of two chocolates is creamy, melting and bittersweet. As we shared it, we all wished for a goblet of our own — and at under $3 a serving, we could have had it. Such is the joy of a visit to Saltimbocca.
Appetizers 95 cents-$4.95, salads $1.95-$6.25, pastas $4.95-$6.95, panini $6.95, entrees $6.95-$9, desserts $1.95-$3.95, kids' meals $3.95.
Rating: ***
Where: 790 E. 2100 South
Hours: Monday-Wednesday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
Thursday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Closed Sunday
Payment: Major credit cards accepted
Phone: 466-4066
Wheelchair access: Easy
Stacey Kratz is a freelance writer who reviews restaurants for the Deseret Morning News. E-mail: skratz@desnews.com