Cafe Pierpont

This is another place long gone, sort of an upscale attempt at a Mexican-​type restaurant that doesn’t work as the preference locally for that type of restaurant is either heavily Americanized, such as Tres Hombres or the odd sort of gravy slathered things with chips and gentle salsa that La Frontera/​La Puente churns out. The food there was mostly ok, you paid a lot for it and got a lot, but the best thing about this, by a long way, was the stunning tomatillo sauce they had. The ambiance was mostly gleaming chrome and not especially friendly.
It reminds me a bit of Dos Serranos (daily double review here), which started out with spectacular portions at a very fair price and then started changing their portion sizes and menus around until they have 2 very good things and little else. Their Baja burrito, a seafood-​filled affair with an incredibly delectable sauce (I still wish I could find one of those. Nothing else quite like it) and their «Fiesta» brew that one of the local breweries did for them and which I used to crank through by the pitcher. Ahhh, those were the days, especially in the beginning… too bad this one is gone, now something else in that absurd mess at Redwood and 5400 S. Pierpont, not so much…

Closed. Is now «Sandbar.»

Café Pierpont is now closed.

I’ve only been to Café Pierpont once and it was enough. The chips and various salsa are good and fun but the actual main course was overpriced and blah. I had ordered a shrimp and crab enchilada (or something like that it has been a couple of years) and it tasted blah. I ate about ¼ th of it and in about 4 hours I had food poisoning. I’ve never been so sick in my life!
Caution!!!

Went here on the unfortunate recommendation of someone’s local friend. Would’ve liked the place a lot better if we hadn’t ordered margaritas. The drinks suffered from Utah Cocktail Syndrome: even Cocaine, who despite his name has no tolerance for controlled substances of any kind, thought his was weak. After a long wait, our amiable Zonker-​like server brought out ginormous plates of food for each of us; only I finished mine. My chicken was sufficiently juicy, but it and its accompaniments were bland. Still, the place would be acceptable if they served smaller portions for less money.

I’ve always enjoyed their Super Grande Burrito, and I think if you eat the whole thing you get to take it home in your belly for free. Good Luck! I never have. But it’s worth several meals for $ 13, if you take it home in the box.
I even remember going here for my birthday, and you get to wear the super large sombrero all the way through the entire meal.
The best part is the salsa bar with mango, green, chipotle, and regular red salsas, oh and pico de gallo for those who like it. You get to pour out your own salsa into these little plastic cast-​iron looking bowls, and of course lots of tortillas provided by the servers.
Was always a regular favorite, maybe I can come back here in October when I visit.

My favorite spot for Cinco de Mayo. Located downtown, and once owned by wonderful Gastronomy, but recently sold to another company. Festive, frenetic, fun atmosphere, party-​in-​a-​box kinda place. Strolling mariachis, homemade tortillas and pretty quick service. Great place to party with friends. The fajitas are my favorite and I LOVE LOVE LOVE them here. Mesquite grilled chicken, steak or shrimp and sizzling! The coconut shrimp is tasty. Go hungry, they serve generous portions. If its a weekend night, you may have to wait. Go for a birthday and wear the giant sombrero, or go Cinco de Mayo and everyone gets hats! I like the salsa table (mango is best).
Here’s a nice review from Frommers, no less: