Quick, name a regional specialty for northern Utah?

Okay, besides skiing and beautiful vistas of the Wasatch Mountains. Chances are, the culinary peaks of the Salt Lake Valley elude most of us. In fact, talk to most people, and Salt Lake comes off as a cultural and culinary wasteland. Maybe that’s why coming across an example of American fast food greatness in Utah felt and tasted so good.

Crown Burger, a loosely banded mini-chain with 6 locations in and around Salt Lake City, is a Hungrymag type of place. It has the basics of any fast food joint, but with a Greek-lean. Souvlaki and gyros dot the menu, and are a testament to the Greek-owned lineage of many of Salt Lake’s famous burger joints. Most of the menu is solid, certainly with some processed foods, and the gyros are simply pre-frozen Kronos brand. So what’s the big deal? The real gem of the menu: the namesake burger, a char-grilled patty served with melted American cheese and shredded lettuce on a sesame seed bun… AND about a 1/3 lb. of white-streaked, roundly-spiced pastrami.

Together, this formed a sandwich worthy of a spot in the great pantheon of ingredient combinations… the pastrami adding the jaw-drop-factor to an otherwise decent but unassuming burger patty. Aesthetically it looks like a work of modern architecture, with jutting leafs of pastrami and flowing melting orange cheese evoking Frank Gehry-esque movement, the buns the solid foundation. Tasted, it evokes both a backyard BBQ and a New York deli. The pastrami is actually very good - hand sliced at some Crown locations (each franchise is owned by separate owners, with some leeway on the menu), spicy and with enough fat that you’ll wonder if this many calories should be available on one bun.

Add a side of Crown Burger fries and fry-sauce (another Utah specialty, based on a simple ketchup-mayo mixture), and this calorie laden meal may only be fit for the active outdoorsmen among us (as most inhabitants of Salt Lake City seemed to be skiers or bikers). Or, of course, those of us who simply can’t pass up the culinary fast food greatness of Utah’s tastiest contribution to this country- the Pastrami Burger.

Crown Burger Locations:

377 E 200 S, Salt Lake City, 84111 - (801) 532-1155
3190 Highland Dr, Salt Lake City, 84106 - (801) 467-6633