Vertical Diner–Fresh Veggie Fare Accompanied by Delicious Music

I love The Vertical Diner. This is by far, one of my most favorite vegetarian restaurants in Salt Lake City. The Vertical Diner understands the reasons I try to eat organic and natural foods as much as possible. They are health conscious and earth friendly, which is important to me. However, even more important than that, in the end, is how the food tastes. And I can guarantee you that if you are a vegetarian eater (and even if you are a carnivore), your senses will not be disappointed.

Vertical Diner offers a wide variety of textures and fresh ingredients which makes it a bit more exciting than other vegetarian options in Salt Lake City. They cook up some of the best wheat meat I have had (also knows as seitan) and even their vegetables themselves appear to have more color and flavor than other places I have eaten. For example, I am not a big fan of carrots, cooked or raw. However, the carrots that come on the side of most sandwich dishes at Vertical Diner, are so amazingly savory, that I enjoy every bit.

On this occasion, I ordered the Avocado Sandwich with the carrots on the side as well as one of my favorite beers, Lev. Vertical Diner has a wide array of beers of the local variety, as well as some of my traditional favorites. They even boost several organic beers for your enjoyment. My good friend Sara got the “chicken” sandwich (wheat meat breaded like a chicken cutlet) with french fries, fry sauce, and also their vegan cheese sauce on the side. Both sandwiches came on our choice of their seven grain bread, which is basically to die for. Everything tastes like it just came from the garden and in addition, fills you right up and satisfies your hunger pains.

After a great dinner with a delightful beer, it was time for dessert. On this occasion we got two different selections: Shoofly Cake, a traditional Dutch crumb cake with real molasses and also the Hot Brownie Sundae with Peanut butter. Both were served with Soy Delicious ice cream. The Hot Brownie Sundae with PB was probably one for the most heavenly, lucious desserts that I have eaten in a long time. The rich chocolate and PB flavors were intense and went down perfect with the soy ice cream. The Shoofly Cake was ok. I found the cake to be a bit dry, and probably wouldn’t have cared for it much without the ice cream ala mode. I did enjoy the molasses flavor and the bitterness of the dessert–I just found the dryness to be a bit unappealing.

In addition to the lovely and healthy food we were consuming, we were also enjoying the music dazzlings of one of my favorite local bands, Highway 6. This band is made of a father/daughter duo, Tom and Heidi Nedreberg. Highway 6 writes and records original music written by both Heidi and Tom which bring soul and rock together in perfect harmony. They are also known to cover some of your favorite rock and roll hits–with a little bit of an edge or twist on the original. Heidi’s vocal talents are incredible and range from soft and high to raspy and low. Everything she sings she belts with heart and passion and you can tell in every performance. Vertical Diner doesn’t have a spacious venue, but the intimacy of this diner is perfect for the music of this local talent. The food and the music made for a perfect evening out.

I highly recommend that you try out this amazing place, even if you aren’t a vegetarian. I eat meat, but sometimes I really want something light, healthy, and filling. This is a great place to branch out and try some of the wonderful flavors that vegetarian fare can offer and in the meantime, check out some of the local music they get to play on their small stage. I promise the atmosphere, food quality, and entertainment won’t be a let down.