Mr. Grill @ Sub Zero rocks intriguing combos in Spanish Fork
The Scone Burger is pictured Tuesday, March 28, 2017, at Mr. Grill @ Sub Zero in Spanish Fork. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
Lime raspberry ice cream with raspberries and marshmallow cream drizzle in a waffle cup on pictured Tuesday, March 28, 2017, at Mr. Grill @ Sub Zero in Spanish Fork. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
The Philly Cheesesteak Scone is pictured Tuesday, March 28, 2017, at Mr. Grill @ Sub Zero in Spanish Fork. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
The New York Steak Dinner is pictured Tuesday, March 28, 2017, at Mr. Grill @ Sub Zero in Spanish Fork. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
Ron Spann makes lime raspberry ice cream with raspberries Tuesday, March 28, 2017, at Mr. Grill @ Sub Zero.
The Black Bean Veggie Scone Burger is pictured Tuesday, March 28, 2017, at Mr. Grill @ Sub Zero in Spanish Fork. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
A large order of fries with white and pink fry sauce is pictured Tuesday, March 28, 2017, at Mr. Grill at Sub Zero in Spanish Fork. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
The Philly Cheesesteak Scone is pictured Tuesday, March 28, 2017, at Mr. Grill @ Sub Zero in Spanish Fork. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
The Scone Burger is pictured Tuesday, March 28, 2017, at Mr. Grill @ Sub Zero.
Ron Spann makes lime raspberry ice cream with raspberries Tuesday, March 28, 2017, at Mr. Grill at Sub Zero.
The New York Steak Dinner is pictured Tuesday, March 28, 2017, at Mr. Grill @ Sub Zero in Spanish Fork. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
The Black Bean Veggie Burger is pictured Tuesday, March 28, 2017, at Mr. Grill @ Sub Zero. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
Our family was heading to St. George late last week for a little sun and recreation, and so we decided to scout out any potential unique dining opportunities in the southern end of Utah County that we could visit en route to our destination.
We made a small list of possibilities, but settled on Mr. Grill @ Sub Zero in Spanish Fork. That decision proved to be a home run.
What really caught our eye initially about Mr. Grill was the mention of a Scone Burger. Talk about something out of the ordinary. We were immediately sold about giving this restaurant a try.
Located not far off the freeway in Spanish Fork, we found Mr. Grill @ Sub Zero in a little strip mall sandwiched between a Jimmy John’s and a Papa Murphy’s. We asked the friendly woman behind the counter about the somewhat odd combination of a largely burgers and American food joint with a specialty ice cream shop. She told us this location began solely as a Sub Zero yogurt and ice cream shop about five years ago, but then added the Mr. Grill portion of the establishment about three and a half years ago.
It was the idea of scones masquerading as buns that originally drew us into the restaurant in the first place — but just to be certain, we asked if you could order items on regular buns as well, you know, just in case someone wanted to.
“You can get a regular bun,” the server said with a knowing smile, “but it’s not as good.”
That testimonial was good enough to convince us, and we went hog wild on the scone option. Not only did we order the official Scone Burger, but also the Philly Cheesesteak Scone and the Scone Grilled Chicken. (Just missing the cut was a Bratwurst on a scone bun. Maybe on the next visit!)
It took us a while to get our food — as we were waiting for our order a large group of people stopped in for some ice cream, which as it turns out, is quite a production to prepare. That no doubt delayed our order as there were initially no other workers at the time, but the freezing-ice-cream-by-using-liquid-nitrogen show turned out to be visually fascinating. And we were in no hurry.
Eventually our food arrived and we all dug in.
My two biggest causes of trepidation when it came to the scone buns was that they might be a little too sweet when paired with a burger and more, and that maybe they might not totally hold up in consistency once all the condiments and ingredients were put in place. Both of those initial fears proved to be unfounded.
OK, the Philly Cheesesteak Scone did prove to be a bit on the messy side, but that was more due to the delicious combination of grilled steak, onions and peppers than the hoagie-style scone. When she brought some additional items to our table, the server seemed concerned that I hadn’t immediately dived into the cheesesteak.
“Don’t you like it?” she asked, somewhat surprised.
I assured her that I’d simply been busy sampling portions of everyone else’s food first, before turning full attention to my own order. She returned with a plastic fork and knife and said that I would probably find them handy when I started in on the cheesesteak. She was right.
The Scone Burger and Scone Grilled Chicken were also delicious. In addition to the regular add ons — onions, lettuce, tomatoes — you can pile on some extra embellishments (such as an extra patty, bacon, cheddar cheese, pepper cheese, grilled onions, chili and pineapple relish) for varying nominal fees.
Another of Mr. Grill’s big calling cards are the French fries. We found them to be outstanding, and especially so when dipped in the house fry sauce.
Apparently, we barely missed out on sampling a pair of new specialty menu items at Mr. Grill. Just last weekend the restaurant debuted a Grilled Salmon Burger (also available on a scone bun) and a New York Steak Dinner. The latter is only available on Fridays after 5 p.m. and all day Saturday. The steak dinner — with the meat ordered fresh from Springville and never frozen — was reported to be a big hit on its opening weekend. We’ll definitely have to give that a try on a future visit.
Of course, you don’t get a much more perfect conclusion to a great meal than specialty ice cream with toppings and mix-ins of your choosing. We wholeheartedly indulged in our own Sub Zero ice cream options. Patrons can order pre-conceived house combinations or create their own. We all opted for the latter. In so doing, you first choose your base (premium ice cream, custard, lowfat, nondairy, yogurt or soy/rice) and then an unlimited number of flavors. The third step is choosing one mix-in (these are your candy bar or cookie selections), with additional choices available for 50 cents each.
Watching the ice cream being made is almost as much fun as eating it. Once the liquid nitrogen is applied, the counter almost went full rock concert — with clouds of cool fog emanating from the main attraction and wafting over an enchanted audience.
If you’re looking for a somewhat different dining and dessert experience in south Utah County, we definitely recommend Mr. Grill @ Sub Zero.
MR. GRILL @ SUB ZERO
Where: 788 N. 800 East, Spanish Fork
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Prices: Entrees from $3.24 to $8.99
Info: (801) 798-7159, subzeroicecream.com/spanishfork/