January 11, 2012

Landmark Grill offers hearty breakfast, lunches

By Heather L. King

Special to The Tribune

Cottonwood Heights • Landmark Grill’s owner Sam Petrogeorge has turned an end-unit strip mall location into a friendly neighborhood diner serving breakfast and lunch seven days a week. Framed posters of the Sydney Opera House, Niagara Falls, Delicate Arch and other landmarks have, since it opened in July, enhanced the atmosphere of this otherwise ordinary location.

Landmark Grill’s breakfast menu offers traditional options such as eggs, a variety of omelets, breakfast meats and pancakes, English muffins and toast.

The a la carte fruit plate, which one morning included bananas, plump raspberries, watermelon and surprisingly ripe and perfect strawberries (in December!) was a steal for $1.50.

Landmark’s sausage and bacon are high-quality products and come with just about every breakfast entrée or as a side for $2.99. Less-appealing processed ham is also available.

If you don’t want to eat your classic breakfast foods with a fork, try the Landmark breakfast sandwich ($6.49) served on grilled sourdough with scrambled eggs, a generous serving of melted cheddar cheese and a choice of ham, bacon or sausage, as well as a side of hash browns.

I’m frankly a little confused by the “hash browns” served with breakfast. While I expected either nuggets or shreds of potato, what I got were actually fantastic and fresh made, thin-sliced potato chips. After breakfast, I was excited to try lunch and get the hash brown chips again with my burger or sandwich but instead was served unremarkable french fries.

Standout items at Landmark are really the burgers (up to $6.79). Big and juicy, they’re made with a generous patty of ground beef and a multitude of toppings, including mushrooms, bacon, cheese and the local Greek favorite, pastrami. They’re accompanied by the aforementioned french fries, a side salad or cup of soup. The daily soup choice on one visit was vegetable beef with hearty amounts of beef chunks, potatoes, carrots, peas and tomatoes in a beefy-but-thin broth.

My hands-down favorite were the lamb sliders ($8.29), which offer a great combination of flavors. Two well-seasoned lamb burgers are made in-house and topped with feta cheese and cool tzatziki (or cucumber yogurt) sauce.

A hefty selection of hot and cold sandwiches, melts and generously sized entrée salads ($6-9) round out the lunch menu.

For the kids, there are eight choices for both meals for $4.49, which includes a small drink.

Desserts ($2.95) are featured on the special board and range from root beer floats to baklava pie — think baklava filling surrounded by pie shells instead of phyllo.

With just one server on duty, service was a bit slow to get started but clipped along nicely once begun.

At Landmark Grill, prices are right with nothing on the menu more than $9, and friendly service that makes you want to support this local family-owned operation instead of the chain diners just down the road.

Tribune's rating system

Overall rating

1 star Good

2 stars Very good

3 stars Excellent

4 stars Extraordinary

Entree price

$ Entree under $10

$$ $10-$18

$$$ $18-$25

$$$$ Above $25

Restaurant Noise

1 bell Quiet (under 65 decibles)

2 bells Can talk easily (65-70)

3 bells Talking somewhat difficult (70-75)

4 bells Raised voices (75-80)

A bomb Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)

The Tribune covers the cost of all meals at reviewed restaurants. Star ratings are based on a minimum of two visits. Ratings are updated continually based on at least one revisit. There is no connection between reviews and advertising.