In the trendy neighborhood of 9th and 9th (my favorite neighborhood in SLC) is East Liberty Tap House, a hip restaurant cooking up everything from burgers to fish tacos. My husband and I dropped by on a warm Tuesday afternoon and sat outside on the patio to enjoy the sunshine and watch the parade of pups walking by every few minutes. We got some water and chatted while they sent our orders to the kitchen.
Soon, two trays were set in front of us: one with the classic Tap House Burger, and the other holding the Sloppy Lamb, both piled high with seasoned hand-cut fries. We breathed them in and savored the scents before digging in.
Of course, we tried the fries first, and were immediately blown away. Flavored with garlic and parmesan cheese, they were cooked to crispy perfection and the homemade peppercorn aioli rounded them out with precision. We probably could have eaten a whole meal of these alone, but we also had sandwiches to attend to.
The Tap House Burger is a classic burger: American cheese, grilled onions, pickle, ketchup, and more of the signature peppercorn aioli. What the menu doesn’t tell you is that they make their pickles in-house and they are seriously to die for. Both my husband and I were obsessed with them and we even fawned to the waitress about how much we liked them. I would go back for this burger again and again just for those delicious pickles.
As for the Sloppy Lamb, it’s a sandwich piled with ground lamb & beef and seasoned with honey, rosemary, and a chevre spread. It was just as yummy as the burger, but in it’s own way. I had forgotten how strong lamb is so I was pleasantly surprised with the bold flavor and I’m a huge sloppy joe fan, so you really can’t go wrong.
Can’t wait until my next visit to 9th and 9th so I can try some more dishes and get some more of those house-made pickles!
East Liberty Tap House ( 850 E 900 S, Salt Lake City // 801.441.2845)
