The Wild Zucchini
From the creators of Café Rio comes the exciting Wild Zucchini Grill in American Fork, Utah. My latest visit was a fulfillment of a vow to come back again after my first time there. The Wild Zucchini is a relatively new restaurant officially opening its doors last October. As with many upstarts there is a lot of buzz and excitement and the newness hasn’t rubbed off them yet.
From the time you walk in the door you are greeted with freshness. Tall glass greenhouses have shelves of fresh herbs that deliver a sweet aroma. Baskets of fresh vegetables as well as more herbs colorfully decorate the cooking station.
You are also hit with a wall of noise as you step inside. The room is simply decorated and there isn’t enough material to soak up all the noise if you were looking for a place of peace and quiet. What this does add though is a sense of excitement listening to the buzz of people enjoying themselves.
The dining room is spacious and well lit. There is a very unique glass chandelier with swirling glass and bright colors tastefully displayed above you. The furniture is made from rich dark wood that gives a rustic touch to the room. The décor is sparse and only featured on one wall. I expected to see art and artifacts prominently displayed, but I think the intention was to focus on freshness. The brightly lit array of fresh dark green herbs that I kept glancing at and the aroma that they put off more than made up for what could have been on the walls.
The focal point of the restaurant is the cook station. If you are a Café Rio connoisseur you will immediately recognize the rotating tortilla grill now being used to cook flatbread. The serving station is less-cafeteria like and very classy. The counter is made of beautiful white marble that houses stainless steel serving trays. There are no black plastic tupperwareish tubs tightly packed together here. The chefs and servers are neatly dressed in white or bright red chef coats and matching skull caps. You briefly forget that you are in a fast food Italian grill.
The staff was very cheerful and extremely helpful. They were more than willing to give suggestions and help you feel welcome. One of the chefs would regularly come out and check on the guests and inquire about their food. The dining area was also kept very clean by a gentleman who kept the tables clear and the floors swept.
The menu is what I like most about the Wild Zucchini Grill. The menu can be so simple it’s confusing at first, but it really is easy once you get the hang of it. The menu consist of just four choices: a hand stretched pizza, chopped salad bowl, pasta bowl and a piadina or Italian flatbread sandwich/wrap. From those four choices the combinations can become almost endless.
Next in line you would select a grill item. The price of the entrée is determined by what grill choice you make, which again adds to the simplicity that I really like. Your grill items are rosemary chicken ($6.95), house Italian sausage ($6.95), pulled pork ($6.95), American Kobe beef ($8.95), grilled shrimp ($7.95) or a vegetarian ($6.95) mix of your choosing. You then have a choice of several sauces or salad dressings made with the beautiful fresh herbs that you see when you walk in.
Finally you can finish your order off with a large choice of complimentary toppings ranging from cheeses, bacon crumbles, vegetables and a little crunch from the likes of pumpkin seeds. There are also some interesting items like marinated artichoke hearts, mozzarella balls and pickled peppers. It is wonderful to see that it wasn’t just the regular salad bar items for such a unique place.
From there you have a few options left namely appetizers, dessert and beverages. The only disappointment that might come to some is the beverage selection. The uniqueness dies when it comes to the drinks. Only a small selection of Wild “Z” Italian sodas ordered at the counter along with the regular old Coke choices. Even the presentation is lacking. I’m not sure if another soda machine was out on a break or something. But the solitary soda machine on the long counter could have used a plant or something as company. A Coca Cola Freestyle machine would have been a much better choice in offering choices and adding style to rival the meal (Wilson).
The presentation of the food is what you would expect from company cousin, except instead of a tin pan they place your order in a paper bowl kind of like a short chicken bucket. I can look past this though. This is not a fancy sit-down restaurant where a waiter sees on your every need. It is a trendy fast-paced place that fills that order well.
I selected the pasta bowl. Keeping things simple you only get one choice of pasta, angel hair. I had the birkshire pulled pork as my grill item sauced up with alfredo. For my toppings I added parmesan cheese bacon crumbles and pumpkin seeds.
I was impressed with the amount of food that you get for the price, under $10 with tax and a drink. The food was well prepared and had a wonderful flavor. There was nothing shock and awe about it. I was hungry and it tasted really good. The pasta was cooked perfectly and the chef prepared my meal with the right amount of house-made sauce. I appreciated his suggestion to add the pumpkin seeds, they added a nice nutty flavor and a crunch to my meal. While I chose to be conservative for my topping choices, it is nice to know that you have some control over your meal’s awesomeness. For some strange reason they gave me a tortilla as a side I guess as some tie to Café Rio, but a welcome addition.
The Wild Zucchini Grill is an excellent choice for a quick flavorful meal. The ability to customize your meal should please the pickiest to adventurous. The simplicity of the ordering process adds to the experience. While the atmosphere is busy and loud I found the visit a pleasant experience. As I said after I went the first time, I will definitely be going back to visit the Wild Zucchini Grill again.
Works Cited
Wilson, Zachary. “Coca-Cola’s 100-Flavor Interactive Freestyle Soda Fountain in Action.”
Fastcompany.com. Fast Company & Inc Mansueto Ventures LLC. 21 July 2009. Web. 28
Mar. 2014
From the creators of Café Rio comes the exciting Wild Zucchini Grill in American Fork, Utah. My latest visit was a fulfillment of a vow to come back again after my first time there. The Wild Zucchini is a relatively new restaurant officially opening its doors last October. As with many upstarts there is a lot of buzz and excitement and the newness hasn’t rubbed off them yet.
From the time you walk in the door you are greeted with freshness. Tall glass greenhouses have shelves of fresh herbs that deliver a sweet aroma. Baskets of fresh vegetables as well as more herbs colorfully decorate the cooking station.
You are also hit with a wall of noise as you step inside. The room is simply decorated and there isn’t enough material to soak up all the noise if you were looking for a place of peace and quiet. What this does add though is a sense of excitement listening to the buzz of people enjoying themselves.
The dining room is spacious and well lit. There is a very unique glass chandelier with swirling glass and bright colors tastefully displayed above you. The furniture is made from rich dark wood that gives a rustic touch to the room. The décor is sparse and only featured on one wall. I expected to see art and artifacts prominently displayed, but I think the intention was to focus on freshness. The brightly lit array of fresh dark green herbs that I kept glancing at and the aroma that they put off more than made up for what could have been on the walls.
The focal point of the restaurant is the cook station. If you are a Café Rio connoisseur you will immediately recognize the rotating tortilla grill now being used to cook flatbread. The serving station is less-cafeteria like and very classy. The counter is made of beautiful white marble that houses stainless steel serving trays. There are no black plastic tupperwareish tubs tightly packed together here. The chefs and servers are neatly dressed in white or bright red chef coats and matching skull caps. You briefly forget that you are in a fast food Italian grill.
The staff was very cheerful and extremely helpful. They were more than willing to give suggestions and help you feel welcome. One of the chefs would regularly come out and check on the guests and inquire about their food. The dining area was also kept very clean by a gentleman who kept the tables clear and the floors swept.
The menu is what I like most about the Wild Zucchini Grill. The menu can be so simple it’s confusing at first, but it really is easy once you get the hang of it. The menu consist of just four choices: a hand stretched pizza, chopped salad bowl, pasta bowl and a piadina or Italian flatbread sandwich/wrap. From those four choices the combinations can become almost endless.
Next in line you would select a grill item. The price of the entrée is determined by what grill choice you make, which again adds to the simplicity that I really like. Your grill items are rosemary chicken ($6.95), house Italian sausage ($6.95), pulled pork ($6.95), American Kobe beef ($8.95), grilled shrimp ($7.95) or a vegetarian ($6.95) mix of your choosing. You then have a choice of several sauces or salad dressings made with the beautiful fresh herbs that you see when you walk in.
Finally you can finish your order off with a large choice of complimentary toppings ranging from cheeses, bacon crumbles, vegetables and a little crunch from the likes of pumpkin seeds. There are also some interesting items like marinated artichoke hearts, mozzarella balls and pickled peppers. It is wonderful to see that it wasn’t just the regular salad bar items for such a unique place.
From there you have a few options left namely appetizers, dessert and beverages. The only disappointment that might come to some is the beverage selection. The uniqueness dies when it comes to the drinks. Only a small selection of Wild “Z” Italian sodas ordered at the counter along with the regular old Coke choices. Even the presentation is lacking. I’m not sure if another soda machine was out on a break or something. But the solitary soda machine on the long counter could have used a plant or something as company. A Coca Cola Freestyle machine would have been a much better choice in offering choices and adding style to rival the meal (Wilson).
The presentation of the food is what you would expect from company cousin, except instead of a tin pan they place your order in a paper bowl kind of like a short chicken bucket. I can look past this though. This is not a fancy sit-down restaurant where a waiter sees on your every need. It is a trendy fast-paced place that fills that order well.
I selected the pasta bowl. Keeping things simple you only get one choice of pasta, angel hair. I had the birkshire pulled pork as my grill item sauced up with alfredo. For my toppings I added parmesan cheese bacon crumbles and pumpkin seeds.
I was impressed with the amount of food that you get for the price, under $10 with tax and a drink. The food was well prepared and had a wonderful flavor. There was nothing shock and awe about it. I was hungry and it tasted really good. The pasta was cooked perfectly and the chef prepared my meal with the right amount of house-made sauce. I appreciated his suggestion to add the pumpkin seeds, they added a nice nutty flavor and a crunch to my meal. While I chose to be conservative for my topping choices, it is nice to know that you have some control over your meal’s awesomeness. For some strange reason they gave me a tortilla as a side I guess as some tie to Café Rio, but a welcome addition.
The Wild Zucchini Grill is an excellent choice for a quick flavorful meal. The ability to customize your meal should please the pickiest to adventurous. The simplicity of the ordering process adds to the experience. While the atmosphere is busy and loud I found the visit a pleasant experience. As I said after I went the first time, I will definitely be going back to visit the Wild Zucchini Grill again.
Works Cited
Wilson, Zachary. “Coca-Cola’s 100-Flavor Interactive Freestyle Soda Fountain in Action.”
Fastcompany.com. Fast Company & Inc Mansueto Ventures LLC. 21 July 2009. Web. 28
Mar. 2014