Left Fork Grill: where gourmet meets cafe.

• Author: Sasich, Chris
• Position: READERS' CHOICE

Salt Lake City -- Pies cool on a rack behind the counter, and regulars are greeted by name with a warm familiarity reminiscent of classic sitcoms. It's with this easygoing atmosphere that LEFT FORK GRILL serves up homemade breakfast favorites.

"It's almost like the Cheers of diners," said Jeff Masten, owner and chef. "Everybody knows everybody. They know the servers. It's kind of a relaxed atmosphere. A lot of the customers know each other now and they sit next to each other at the counter."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Masten was a chef at Market Street Grill for eight and a half years before becoming a partner and chef at Red Rock Brewing Company, but when it came time for him to set out on his own, he spent a year looking for a location that he would tailor his restaurant to.

"I was going to make a restaurant depending on the location," he said. "This place became available, and at the time it was a diner that was basically open Monday through Friday, six in the morning until two o'clock."

Left Fork Grill's popularity soon had Masten expanding the hours and then the days. Now the diner is open every day but Christmas Day. After the first year and half, Left Fork was reviewed in a newspaper--and accidentally pushed Masten's little diner to the limit.

"I got up early that morning, looked online and read [the review]," said Masten. "It was just gleaming. At this time for us, a busy lunch rush was like 90 covers or 100 covers. Well that day we doubled our business, and we've never been back since. That sounds great, but I had three servers all together. Now I run five every day, so it was really hard. We survived it, but it was a huge challenge."

Left Fork Grill's food is what keeps...