Butterfly

Butterfly has wings.

J is not a breakfast person. As much as he loves food, he'd sooner wait until lunchtime for a nibble than subject himself to eggs, pancakes and the like. As a result we seldom do brunch, unless we can find a menu where the lunch to eggs ratio is at least 3:1.

Enter Butterfly, Salt Lake City's only private club that serves up specialties like duck confit spring rolls before noon and provides a venue for artists like Chris Isaak to croon at night. Butterfly offers a mean Sunday brunch that makes both of us happy.

Butterfly's original restaurant is in San Francisco; first nestled in the mission district, the bay area location now calls the embarcadero home. (A third location in San Bruno, Calif. is in the works for fall 2006.) The cuisine is Asian-inspired and delectable.

Butterfly Salt Lake City starts Sundays off right: mimosas or bloody marys are just $2 each. Cheaper than their cup of drip coffee, which will actually run you a hefty $3. (Quite frankly, I'd rather treat myself to a latte if I am going to throw down that kind of cash.) From the Peanut Butter and Nutella Monte Cristo with House Made Berry Jelly & Fresh Berries ($7) to the Ponzu Grilled Hanger Steak with Portobello Mushroom & Sweet Pea Stir Fry, Cabernet Jus De Veau, and Fries ($12), Butterfly's brunch menu is diverse yet reasonable. (With the exception of that drip coffee.)

The "private club" aspect to Butterfly is just one of those things that makes living in Utah interesting. Since Butterfly serves a full range of hard liquor and also has a concert venue, one must be a "member" in order to dine there. There are some options with that: a $5 temporary membership will get you access for three weeks, whereas an annual membership is $20. It's silly and a little irritating, but it's Utah's law, not Butterfly's, and the food is well worth the extra investment. (I did mention $2 mimosas and bloody marys, right?)

Another thing I like about Butterfly is that you can book a reservation on Open Table, the online reservations site that not only makes reservation-making painless, but also rewards you with points for each fulfilled reservation. The points can then be redeemed for gift cards to your favorite Open Table restaurants.

This morning we were looking for an excuse to skip the gym and brunch at Butterfly was just the thing. We logged on to Open Table, made the res, and within the hour we were dining on:

Edamame with sesame seeds - gratis

Mimosas - that's right, folks - $2


Snake River Farms Kobe Burger and fries - $10


Smoked Salmon Scramble - $10
with créme fraiche and tobiko caviar


butterfly at the depot
400 west south temple
salt lake city, utah
tel: 801.456.8999
Located in Gateway Bldg., across the street from the Delta Center
Open 11:30 am to 10:00 pm every day for lunch and dinner

- K

***Editor's Note: The SLC Butterfly has long since had its wings clipped. You can still check them out in San Fran, near the embarcadero.

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