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Title: Bring a Good Newspaper
Author: Patrick Hurban
Date: Oct. 27, 1993

Lamb's Restaurant
169 South Main Street
364-7166
***1/2

There are no other restaurants in Salt Lake City with as much history behind them as Lamb's. It won't be long before they start celebrating their first century here, which is a truly remarkable feat. With spacious dining rooms, where the power-brokers go to break their fasts, Lamb's is definitely one of the best places in town to people-watch. But I go there for the counter service, which hearkens back to a bygone era we would do well to cherish.

Lamb's has an expansive menu covering all the bases from breakfast to soup to sandwiches to steak to seafood. After a tiring morning of helping a friend move into a new apartment, we trundled on over to Lamb's to sit at the counter and eat some genuine diner food. It took us longer than usual to make our choices because a lot of things were sounding good to our hungry tummies. My partner finally succumbed to the temptation of the Chicken-Fried Steak ($5.95) Luncheon, which included whipped potatoes, vegetables, soup, and bread & butter. I was suddenly seized by an acute craving for corned beef, so I went with the Reuben Sandwich ($4.95) with fries ($.95) and a bowl of soup ($1.65).

While we waited for our soups, we soaked in the beautiful surroundings. Lamb's is special, if only because you are sitting in the midst of tremendous history. This place has been open since the early 1900s, and from the looks of things, the restaurant motto must be, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." There is a lovely and intricate wainscoting that roughly circumnavigates the interior, and next to the door is a coat rack that people actually leave hats and coats on, something unusual in this day and age. Lesser restaurants of this vintage might seem a bit moldy, but Lamb's manages to be fresh and nostalgic simultaneously, sort of like a Steely Dan song.

The soups were both hearty, good, and rich. One was English Beef Broth and Barley that was not unlike Scotch Broth, and the other was Vegetable Beef. Both were well-flavored and warming, and had a nice touch with them—instead of the humdrum saltines, we got a basket of assorted crackers and breadsticks that was a nice change from the usual. Our coffee cups, in the same distinctive china pattern as all the other dinnerware, were always kept warm by our attentive waitress.

The entrees arrived matter-of-factly, and both were competently prepared; nothing to jump up and down about, but good, nonetheless. The Reuben, sliced corned beef with sauerkraut and dressing on grilled rye bread, was hot through and through, which demonstrates some care in the kitchen. I've had many a Reuben elsewhere that was cold and soggy in the middle. The chicken-fried steak barely resembled what I've seen elsewhere. Instead of the usual white, pasty, country gravy, Lamb's version is an almost vivid yellow that tasted different from what we expected, but in a good way. The fries were late in coming, but there is something about Lamb's that makes you not mind that sort of thing as much as you might in another restaurant.

Lamb's is a consistently competent restaurant that literally reeks of atmosphere. It feels just as historic as it is, and remains about the best place that I know of to disappear for a couple of hours with a New York Times (or whatever your favorite newspaper is).

Open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m., Lamb's accepts cash, major credit cards, and your personal check.