CLOSED: Wild Mustang Grill & Bakery sports Murphey brand
A Skyfire southwestern salad with marinated grilled chicken at Wild Mustang Grill and Bakery in Orem on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald
A Wagonmaster's full slab of ribs at Wild Mustang Grill and Bakery in Orem on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald
A fire roasted barbecue chicken with new potatoes and green beans at Wild Mustang Grill and Bakery in Orem on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald
Hillbilly nachos at Wild Mustang Grill and Bakery in Orem on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald
A Wagonmaster's full slab of ribs at Wild Mustang Grill and Bakery in Orem on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald
First things first: You don’t have to come down from Y(ellow) Mountain, traverse a dark, flat land or ride in on a pony named Wildfire to enjoy great service and a fine meal at the new Wild Mustang Grill & Bakery, the new Michael Martin Murphey restaurant in Orem.
A healthy appetite and a hankering for many Western and American favorites, however, is a prerequisite.
Wild Mustang G&B took over the building that previously housed McGrath’s Fish House just off the I-15, University Parkway interchange. The restaurant is pretty large, with several dining room areas, some which featured large flat-screen TVs and some without. We were led to a comfortable booth in one side area and began perusing the menu.
Our waitress was extremely cheerful and friendly — and made several suggestions as it related to menu specialties. She also brought us a complimentary basket of fresh rolls and honey butter, and brought a second basket when the first one quickly disappeared. Needless to say, we liked her a lot.
There were many appetizer options that caught our eye, from Heartland Artichoke Hearts to Baked Spinach Artichoke Dip and Cowboy’s Best Calamari to Bacon-Wrapped and Grilled Jalapeños. In the end, we opted for the Firestarter Fried Cheese — similar to mozzarella sticks, except that they are round. You can choose between mozzarella or pepperjack cheese. The dish comes with sides of ranch dressing and smoky tomato sauce — which was helpful as the Fried Cheese didn’t have quite as much flavor as we anticipated, leaving us to wonder if maybe we should have tried it with pepperjack instead.
When my wife expressed that opinion to our waitress, who eagerly sought our input, our server shortly thereafter brought us a complimentary order of delicious Wild West Wings, which she knew had been the second appetizer option we’d almost ordered. Did we mention how much we loved our server?
For entrees, we sampled the SkyFire Southwestern Salad, the Stuffed Atlantic Salmon and a Meat Lovers Pizza. How’s that for variety? In fact, if variety is what you seek, you can’t go wrong with the Wild Mustang brand. In addition to what we’ve already mentioned, the menu offers a wide array of BBQ (ribs, brisket, pork, etc.), steaks, chicken dishes, sandwiches, burgers, pasta and a kids section to boot.
We only ordered a half portion of the salad, but it was so huge we wondered what a full-size order would have looked like. The salad came piled high in a pyramid shape. It featured Romaine lettuce, pico de gallo, tortilla strips, black beans, roasted corn, avocado, grilled chicken and Cojita cheese on a corn tostada. It was served with a creamy cilantro lime dressing that was divine. Salads are a definite highlight at Wild Mustang.
The Stuffed Atlantic Salmon was also a revelation. The salmon was stuffed with spinach and artichoke, and featured a crust of bread crumbs. It was all topped with a lemon butter sauce. Very tasty.
The pizza was excellent, featuring a somewhat thin crust, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, bacon and Canadian bacon.
We loved the regular french fries, and the sweet potato fries were similar to others in the area. And we also enjoyed a cup of Tomato Basil Soup.
We washed everything down with an in-house draft root beer in a wide, chilled mug. We can seldom resist this option, and are glad we didn’t.
Be sure to save some room for dessert. Wild Mustang features myriad flavors of Croshaw’s Gourmet Pies, based out of St. George. Having previously covered Coach Greg Croshaw’s Dixie College Rebels football team back in the late 1980s and early ’90s when he first opened his pie business with a partner, the highly touted Sour Cream Lemon brought back some mighty sweet memories.
Wild Mustang is a bit pricier than most restaurants in the area, but worth the added expense. We would love to return, and will not need a hoot-owl howling at our window for six nights in a row to take the hint.
Where: 1250 S. 860 West, Orem
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, closed Sunday
Prices: $5.99-$24.99, family feast option $58.99
Info: (801) 226-9067, www.facebook.com/mustangbakery