Restaurant Review

Joel Acosta started his first job at a restaurant in Washington when he was 18 years old. He soon worked his way up from dishwasher to head chef. Over the years, he developed a love for cooking and started creating his own recipes. He eventually became part owner of the Washington restaurant, where he remained for three years.

He then moved to Horseshoe Bend, Idaho, and opened his own place -- El Durango Mexican Restaurant. After six years in business, he and wife Rosalinda Acosta decided it was time to move the restaurant to a bigger city. They chose North Ogden and opened their doors at the end of March 2011.

In 1995, co-owners Barry Eldredge, Clayton Wyman, Homer Cutrubus and brother Phidia Cutrubus built the Ogden Comfort Suites and its accompanying restaurant, Cactus Reds.

Eldredge said he and Wyman both had experience in the hospitality industry before the four business partners decided to venture out on their own.

They hired a chef from the Lake Tahoe area to design a menu of Southwest cuisine, featuring several meat dishes, seafood, sandwiches, salads and hamburgers.

Since their hotel features Southwestern décor, they decided to theme the restaurant along the same lines. Eldredge said about half of their business comes from locals and the other half from hotel guests.

John and Kitty Pappas, husband and wife, opened Kitty Pappas Steak House in 1947, where they worked together in the kitchen creating flavorful steaks, hamburgers, sandwiches and desserts with their own recipes.

In 1962, John Pappas passed away, and since that time, Kitty has worked as the owner and cook for the restaurant.

She arrives at work at 5:30 a.m. to start baking the cakes she has become famous for -- including chocolate, blueberry, raspberry, butterscotch, chocolate mocha and coconut ($2.50 per slice).

The Dixon family -- parents Alauna and Mike, and their sons Greg, Mark and Michael -- have a shared love of golf. In November 2010, it seemed natural for them to purchase the 18-hole professional driving range in Washington Terrace, Horizon Golf Center, and the accompanying restaurant.

One of the first items of business was to change the name of the restaurant to Sarasota's casual dining and to revamp the menu to feature the family's own specialty recipes.

The most unique thing about the dining room is its breathtaking views, capitalized upon with giant windows and patio seating. When the weather gets warm, there are several water features on the grounds, and the Dixons plan to add a wedding gazebo this spring.

In September 2003, Bill and Janalyn Holt, inspired by an entrepreneurial spirit, opened Pepperbellys.

The Tex-Mex restaurant, with a 1960s automobile theme, is patterned after the original Pepperbellys -- opened in Richfield back in 1995 by Bill Holt's brother, Jim Holt.

Bill Holt says he worked in the food business when he was younger and decided opening his own restaurant was a new challenge that he "just wanted to try in life." Holt and his father, Herb Holt, did extensive renovation work to retrofit the vintage building, originally constructed in 1946 to be a grocery store. The decor includes an antique gas pump gumball machine and other period paraphernalia.

Raphassa Somcharee said she loves to cook, but running a restaurant is a different story.

Before coming to Utah in 2007, Somcharee owned a restaurant in Thailand. She did not think she would open another restaurant in America because of the long hours of work involved, but changed her mind after visiting with a friend who owns a Thai restaurant in Salt Lake City.

In September 2010, Somcharee opened the doors to Aroy-D Thai Cuisine. She uses her own recipes, but says she modified them to be more suitable to local preferences. She prepares dishes less spicy than she normally would -- unless the customer requests more spice -- since traditional Thai food is very hot.