Restaurants in South Jordan

As its name suggests, NY Pizza Patrol specializes in Big Apple–style slices. Each of the four locations slings 8-inch to 18-inch pizzas, ranging from the classic meat lover's pie to the boundary-breaking spicy Marshall masala layered with a foundation of Indian garam-masala sauce. The menu supplements the traditional hand-helds with calzones, heroes, pastas, and other specialties, each of which pair well with cold brews, bottomless fountain sodas, and milk, which grows healthy bones when poured on teeth-planted top soil.

"A lot of our recipes come from family," explains owner Adam Wheaton. "Alicia's cheesecake is my wife's sister's, our italian stuffed mushrooms come from an aunt, my wife's mom…has probably put her hands or ideas into everything we serve." Working from these recipes and others, the chefs grill up steaks, broil lobster tails, and make tortilla chips, crab cakes, and barbecue sauces in-house. Additionally, they help to accommodate restricted diets by forging a number of dishes devoid of gluten and chicken thighs that show too much skin.

This commitment to family is a recurring theme for the steak house. When the Wheaton family's daughter, Madeline, was diagnosed with severe epilepsy at age 3, doctors said the condition would steadily worsen over time and would likely claim her life in her teens. To say she proved medical professionals wrong is an understatement—she has only demonstrated improvement since then and continues to exceed expectations. The Wheatons, of course, wholeheartedly rallied behind their daughter, naming the family's restaurant after her and partnering with local charities to help raise awareness of and fight against epilepsy.

The cooks at Thai Basil take diners on a culinary tour of Southeast Asia, bringing them the traditional flavors of Thailand, Vietnam, and China. Fluffy mounds of jasmine rice soak up the bright red and yellow sauces of thai curry dishes, and vietnamese pho beef noodle soup steams nearby. In the vegetarian section of the menu, fulfilling stir-fry options such as Buddha Delight—fresh veggies with tofu, soy chicken, or soy beef ($10.99)—bounce off the page with the verve of a child who's eaten too many pixy stix.

Modern Asian decor rich with reds and yellows sets a proper backdrop for travel-seeking taste buds, illuminating them with crimson pendant lighting and surrounding them with ornate room dividers. A friendly, attentive wait staff makes guests feel as though they are snuggled in first class, where water refills are limitless and peanuts are only rationed within reason.

Each crowned by a small flame, circular oil lamps create the warm, low lighting and romantic atmosphere of Little Basil Thai Cuisine, bathing the chef's upscale renditions of Thai staples in their soft glow. Curries and stir-fries employ a whirlwind of vegetables and the diner's choice of poultry, beef, tofu, or vegetarian duck. The restaurant's wide range of beers, wines, and sake complement artfully plated specialty dishes such as striped bass and duck panang curry. Traditional desserts, such as fried bananas, compete for sweet teeth's attention with flights of ice cream, which plate three separate flavors side by side so diners can sample each and decide which one deserves the metaphorical cherry on top.

As Basil’s doors flung open in 2009, the Columbus Dispatch reported on the owner's inspiration: his mother Judy Ruanphae’s string of successful Thai restaurants—beginning with Thai Village in Chicago’s Wicker Park—that she ran with her husband while her son Rhome was growing up. Rhome borrowed his mother’s culinary mastery for Basil, which teleports taste buds to the jungles of Thailand with a menu of authentic southeast-Asian cuisine. Chefs gather rice or egg noodles to lay the foundation for many entrees, such as specialty kee mow, a soft or crispy maelstrom of rice noodles with thai basil, tomatoes, and bell peppers. The pla radprick invites forks to spear a whole fried tilapia adorned with sweet-and-sour garlic sauce and cilantro. The menu also features a rainbow of curry dishes, soups, done-up salads, and appetizers to keep ravenous diners from eating their napkins. The seasoned confines of a former antique shop welcome diners to Basil, decked out with bare brick and a retro advertisement for ice painted on the back wall. As a glittering chandelier casts light on colorful curries, wine-dark panels of varnished wood gaze at diners from the wall, and exposed lengths of ductwork add a neoindustrial aesthetic without the overkill of steam-powered dessert trays or austere Orwellian maitre d's.

Burgundy booths and dark-clothed tables give Sweet Basil Thai House's spacious dining room an alluring mystique, which sets the scene for the artful plating of classic Thai dishes presented by native-born chefs. Their specialties run from favorites such as pad thai and pineapple fried rice to red-curry duck, which they roast to crisp before simmering it with pineapple and vegetables. While these dishes are prepared, the wait staff moves about the tables, dropping off glasses of Thai iced tea and fresh coconut juice or willing corks to leap from bottles of wine that diners brought with them.