Dining Out: Zest 'n' Zing

People often ask me how I find places to review for this column, and here are my methods:

I get press releases from restaurants. I get recommendations from readers (these are my favorite, so keep 'em coming!). Or, I drive by, see a place and come back later.

But it was coupons that got me to Zest 'n' Zing, a fun little place that opened recently in Cottonwood Heights.

I imagine many of you are paying a little more attention to discounts these days, and they're easy to come by for this restaurant: each of the menus available at the cash register contains a "buy one entree, get one for half off" coupon.

It's an economical way to try a place that's already pretty economical to begin with: nothing on the menu is more than $10. And based on our experience on a recent weeknight, you'll enjoy your meal.

I was charmed, on parking outside the storefront of Zest 'n' Zing, to see a display case at the window showing off plates of many of the restaurant's menu items. I've seen this in Europe, and I've heard of it in Asia. But it's not too common around here, and it gave the place a unique vibe.

The interior, too, is unusual: a cross between a very modern waiting room and a zen garden, with its deliberately placed money plants, dark-wood walls, spare but evocative art and those funky tables where the chairs have 90-degree backs that align with the four corners instead of the four sides (don't worry: they're surprisingly comfortable to sit in).

The food interested me. The menu is small, but it covers everything from Philly steak sandwiches to chicken cordon bleu and beef teriyaki.

The specials, two meals per day, expand the range even further to include rolled beef paupiettes, Korean chapchae noodles and beer-battered fish and chips.

Can they pull it off? Well, that depends. If you're looking for pure and authentic minestrone with ditalini pasta, you'll be disappointed.

However, if you're interested in a super-fresh, nicely flavored riff on minestrone that includes lots of chunky veggies, kidney beans, a tangy broth and (of all things) spaghetti noodles, you'll like what you have at Zest 'n' Zing.

That's where this place finds its breadth: finding the places where the world's cuisines intersect — noodles, thin-sliced beef, rice, chicken, savory sauces — and applying those commonalities to a lot of foods. The result is more fusion than individually authentic dishes, but I liked it.

Besides the minestrone, we had a too-mild and chicken-free chicken noodle soup, teriyaki chicken bowls and a daily special, the roast pork loin dinner.