Dining out: UFood Grill

I couldn't help but compare UFood Grill, the Salt Lake Valley's newest "healthy fast food" eatery, to McDonald's.

There's a "Mickey D's" across the street from UFood in this busy commercial area of Draper, and the contrast is fun to observe.

McDonald's, the biggest fast-food chain in the world, is a popular (and easy) target when things such as obesity, corporate mega-farms and public health are being discussed.

UFood sets itself up as the antidote to all that, serving a self-consciously healthful menu that caters to everyone from foodies to people with celiac disease. There are no fryers in the place, and this small Massachusetts-based chain uses all-natural ingredients, "lower-fat" cheese, whole-grain bread and hormone- and antibiotic-free meat.

And yet, UFood is following in the footsteps of McDonald's in some ways. For one thing, the chain is trying to make its products appealing to as wide a customer base as possible. The menu is full of trendy terms: chipotle, barbecue, fire-roasted, Thai, bruschetta, Caesar. And there's a lot to choose from: burgers and sandwiches, wraps and smoothies, breakfast burritos and chili.

There are even fries or, as they're called here, UnFries, which are lightly oiled and then oven-baked. I wasn't too excited about trying them; the contrast between the crispy deep-fried decadence of places like McDonald's was just too great on the other occasions I've tried this kind of "fries."

But these were surprisingly good, savory and gently crisped, with browned skins and tender centers. Also surprising were the kids' chicken fingers, high-quality white meat crumb-breaded and baked in an oven. They, too, were crunchy outside and better than nearly all the fast-food chicken nuggets I've tasted — and believe me, with four kids I've tasted a lot.

One of my daughters had a grilled cheese sandwich, lightly grilled whole-grain bread with oozy American cheese, while the other had a cup of the dark, delicious three-bean chili, which was amazingly hearty considering it contained no meat. I'd like to try it on a hot dog, but maybe that would be defeating the purpose.

My husband, a reluctant participant in this outing, had the barbecue beef and broccoli wrap, which featured tender sirloin tips, broccoli, whole-grain brown rice and intense barbecue sauce wrapped in a tortilla. The rice was tender and mellow, a nice setting for the meat, veggies and sauce. He had a side of nicely seasoned black beans that was nearly as good as the chili.

I tried the "U Choose 2" option, in which diners can choose two half-sized portions of soup, sandwiches or salad from the regular menu.