The small-town cafe, formerly a fixture in our country's landscape, is quickly becoming a vanishing breed. Fortunately there are still a few left that flourish and continue to serve their communities. Sill's Cafe is located halfway between Salt Lake City and Ogden, Utah, having served the small town of Layton for over 50 years.
As I approached the cafe at breakfast time I noticed that there were plenty of cars and pickup trucks in the parking lot, one of the key signs of a potentially promising Roadfood stop. Entering Sill's, I had the option to be seated in the dining area or at the counter. I decided to sit at the counter and observed the friendly and familiar banter between the busy waitresses and those seated around me, another favorable sign: regulars frequent the restaurant.
I ordered one of the house specials, the S-O-S, a hearty meal of creamed sausage gravy served over fresh-cut hash browns. The meal comes with eggs, thick-cut bacon, and a choice of toast or a scone. The scone is unlike any scone that you're likely to find at a coffee house. These scones, which are deep-fried, drenched in honey, and slathered with butter, are unique to Utah and its Mormon heritage. The scones at Sill's are extraordinarily large, dense and doughy, yet undeniably decadent and delicious.
If the large, hearty portions of food at Sill's Cafe reflect those that were served to Utah's Mormon pioneers, it's no wonder that they had the energy to successfully migrate cross-country, challenging the harsh conditions that they encountered.
One last note: Sill's will be moving up the street within the next few months, to make way for a new interchange off the highway. However, this small move should not hinder five decades of tradition.
