Porcupine Pub & Grille

The Porcupine Grille

PORCUPINE PUB & GRILLE
3698 EAST FORT UNION BLVD
SLC, UT 84121
PH: 801.942.5555

Now for years the Porcupine Pub & Grille has sat outside the mouth of the Cottonwood canyons as the gateway to some of the best snow on earth. Many hungry skiers have quenched their thirst with a mug of suds and fed their hunger with a burger or two. This was my third visit to this establishment – and I have to say – the first two were so much better than this one.

I find that there are so many reasons to like this place – however, if I had to drill it down to one word to why I keep coming back is the ‘ambiance’. We were in the upper seating area, and as I tilted my head upwards to see out of the roof skylight – what did I see? That’s right – the tip of the Wasatch Mountains! I can only imagine this place in the winter – during the height of ski season. Many people will at least enjoy the suds.

Now on to today’s visit. WOW! The waitress Kathleen – was a trip! Right off the bat, you could tell she was from the upper mid-west, thrown right off the truck from Fargo – don’t ya know? I had to stop from laughing as, I didn’t expect her to come with that forceful of a presentation of the ‘Lovely “MOOOOOOOSE” cake. I think we were pitched that 3 times during the service, with the same bit of enthusiasm as the first.

I was having a business lunch with one of the staffing agencies in which I work with in my day job (yes – amazing as it is – this is website doesn’t quite pay the bills ). We were talking about some candidates for the open positions at my office.

I ordered the ‘TEQUILA LIME CHICKEN’ for $9.99 off their lunch menu – and as described – I think I am getting something really gourmet:

Sautéed chicken, red onions, red bell peppers, jalapeno, garlic, celery, tequila-ginger-lime sauce, scallions, cilantro & cashews. Served over your choice of linguine or jasmine rice.

WOW again – and for the 2nd time in the meal – it wasn’t a WOW for the good reasons. For some reason, I felt that I would be getting something – well, at least Southwestern inspired. The dish itself gave me with the cashews to be something Asian – southwestern fusion gone seriously wrong.

It appeared that the jalapenos were breaded in a corn-breaded mixture as much of the veggies were and it gave this mealy texture. The ‘sauce’ that was promised to be this explosion of tequila-ginger and lime turned out to be a watery substance that gently gave the dish moisture to the noodles – however, gave zero taste.

The chicken was cut up into bite size pieces and also covered with this corn-breaded mixture – and with all the water in the dish – you would think that the chicken would be moist? Ya – not so much. It was this chalky taste – that I couldn’t wash away with industrial doses of Coke products.

It will be a while before I return to the Porcupine Pub & Grille to order off the lunch menu – and longer time before Kathleen gets to be my waitress – well come to think of it – that was the funnest part of the dining experience. Bring it on Kathleen – lets hear you pitch that “MOOOOOOOOSE” cake one more time.

Tagged as: cottonwood, grill, porcupine, pub, ski, urbanspoon