Our Lips Aren't Sealed 

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Boredom. You’ve eaten everything. There’s no food in the house, and you’ve been to every restaurant Salt Lake City has to offer. Maybe you’ll have to eat your hand.

But hold on, you have another option—secret menus. Thankfully, many local restaurants often offer a secret stash of delicious off-menu items, typically reserved for regulars. Since we’re all busy people, here’s a quick list of some of the city’s tastiest secret menu items:

Piper Down
They call it the Miss Steak vegan Philly. Basically, it’s a cheesesteak with a meaty portobello mushroom where the meat’s supposed to be. It comes with green pepper, onion and tomato sauce, all nestled in a tasty French roll. It’s only $7, and it comes with fries. 1492 S. State, 801-468-1492, PiperDownPub.com

The Pie Pizzeria
It didn’t surprise me that this place has an entire online secret menu. If you look closely, you’ll spot a couple of items you won’t see on the in-store menu, like the Thai Pie (peanut sauce, chicken, carrots, onions, basil, cilantro, sesame seeds and mozzarella) starting at $11.99, and the Vesuvius calzone (essentially, a massive pocket of spaghetti & meatballs) for $7.99. 1320 E. 200 South, Salt Lake City, 801-582-5700, ThePie.com

Moochies Meatballs & More
It’s no secret that Moochies consistently serves up some killer Italian, and this year it’s stepped it up with a tasty little six-piece fried ravioli plate for just $2.99. Word on the street is that this dish was conceived at this year’s Utah State Fair, so you know it’s gonna be good. 232 E. 800 South, 801-596-1350, MoochiesMeatballs.com

Crown Burger
If you ask nicely, the cooks in the back will whip up a toasted turkey sandwich on a French roll with melted Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato and grilled onions. Hopefully, your eating game is strong, because this is a pretty big sandwich, and it’s only a measly $5.80. 377 E. 200 South, Salt Lake City, 801-532-1155, Crown-Burgers.com

O’Falafel
Over the past couple of years, a lot of college students have moved from the Middle East to the Salt Lake City area, and O’Falafel owner Mustafa Khader takes care of them by serving up lamb shank mansaf, the national dish of Jordan. For $14.99, patrons can get tender lamb served atop rice and pine nuts with your choice of okra or string beans. Or have it prepared “maqluba,” meaning the dish is flipped upside down. 790 E. 2100 South, Salt Lake City, 801-487-7747, OFalafelEtc.com

Curry in a Hurry
The thing I love about Indian food is you’re always guaranteed a ginormous pile of grub. But sometimes you need just a mini pile of grub to get you through your hunger pangs. Curry in a Hurry offers up a snack called the chana samosa. For $4.50, you get two samosas and hearty glob of garbanzo beans topped off with a dab of chutney. It’s a salty, savory mini-meal. 2020 S. State, Salt Lake City, 801-467-4137

Chabaar Beyond Thai
It’s not like the menu at Chabaar doesn’t already have off-the-beaten-track Thai specialties. The chicken curry potpie won a Best of Utah award, for example. But here’s a secret off-menu treat that will not disappoint: eggplant stir-fry with chicken. Imagine the most thin and delicate pieces of fried chicken added to a vegetable stir-fry that includes thin slices of Thai eggplant, red and green peppers and basil. 87 W. 7200 South, Midvale, 801-566-5100, Chabaar.com

Taco Time
The best thing about Mexican food is that it tastes great in every form and combination. Over at Taco Time, you can get a taco burger for $1.99. A perfect synergy of America and Mexico, the taco burger is exactly what it sounds like: a heap of taco meat with lettuce and tomato wedged in between two burger buns. City Weekly’s digital editor, Bill Frost, swears by ’em. Multiple locations, TacoTime.com

The Green Pig Pub
The Green Pig takes a classic bar staple up a notch. If you like spicy, ask for the hottie hot wings. For $11, you can test your limits with 12 wings soaked in a Buffalo sauce that’s infused with roasted habaneros, ghost-pepper powder, roasted peppers and a touch of honey, served with a side of refreshing blue cheese. 31 E. 400 South, 801-532-7441, TheGreenPigPub.com

Ho Ho Gourmet
OK, this is a bit of a cheat since this dish is actually on the menu, albeit the Chinese menu. Not too many non-Chinese patrons think to request a Chinese menu. These are dishes that native Chinese folks crave, dishes that remind them of home. That’s why they seem to have a table full of goodness and you’re stuck with sweet & sour pork. The challenge is that the menus are written in Chinese and/or have very feeble English translations. So, just take our word for it and order the melt-in-your-mouth rockfish. 1504 S. State, Salt Lake City, 801-487-7700

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