• Jeffrey David
• The Roots of Your Day Breakfast Plate.

You know the rushed feeling of going to the airport to catch a flight when time is short? There’s a fear of being left behind. How will you make the necessary adjustments?

I had the same feeling while driving to Roots Cafe at 7:30 a.m. on New Year’s Eve. What if they weren’t open? What if the place was full, and there was no table for me? But upon arrival, I found that they were open, and that only one table was being used. What a relief.

The first thing about this place is that you wonder if it’s a restaurant or juice bar; they do have fresh-pressed juices, smoothies and gourmet coffees. At Roots, the breakfast menu isn’t large, but I wish I could have tried it all—because everything looked phenomenal. I went with Roots of Your Day: farm-fresh eggs how you like them, house potatoes, choice of protein (applewood smoked bacon, pork sausage patty, cottage bacon or veggie sausage), choice of toast, English muffin or pancake. And not just any pancake: buttermilk, buckwheat or the pancake of the day (apple cinnamon during my visit).

The potatoes are rustic, crisp and cooked with onions for some aromatics; the two slices of thick-cut applewood-smoked bacon are delicious. But best of all was the pancakes, with my companion and I between us ordering one buttermilk and an apple cinnamon. The buttermilk somehow managed the impossible trick of being both fluffy and heavy; it was mouth-watering creation. The apple cinnamon pancake was so sweet and fresh that it could have also been dessert.

Opened in November 2011, Roots Cafe may just have one of the finest breakfasts around. The staff is incredibly attentive, knowledgeable and passionate. While wondering if I would get there was agony, enjoying the food and atmosphere was ecstasy.

ROOTS CAFE
3474 S. 2300 East, Salt Lake City
801-277-6499
RootsCafeSLC.com