PIG & A JELLY JAR
ADDRESS: 227 25th Street, Ogden, UT 84401
Sunday rolled around before we knew it, and there was a spot in downtown Ogden that we had been saving to hit up for brunch. My flight to head back to Florida wasn’t until around 10:30 p.m. that evening, so there was definitely plenty of time to fit in a full day’s worth of activities. And no better way to start things off than filling up on some good food.
When I was doing some research on restaurants in the Ogden area prior to the trip, Pig & A Jelly Jar made the cut and had actually ended up on that list. Funny enough, it turned out that Mike and Tina had already been to the place before, so they had some good pointers of what to order.
Situated on 25th Street within a two-block strip of shops and restaurants, Pig & A Jelly Jar is a smaller restaurant that could probably accommodate around 25 – 30 people. We were lucky that the place wasn’t too busy when we arrived and got seated pretty quickly. Tina mentioned that it could get pretty crowded real fast on some occasions.
After our waitress stopped by to ask us what we wanted to drink, I quickly turned my attention over to the menu, where a vast array of breakfast options awaited. From breakfast sandwiches to chicken & waffles to three-egg scrambles, practically everything sounded good, which made it even harder to choose. Mike and Tina did say that we were going rogue and starting off our meal with the Pigberry Shortcake, an item off of their dessert selection. A buttermilk biscuit served with Pig & A Jelly Jar’s in-house strawberry coconut jam, fresh strawberries, and whipped cream, the shortcake sounded pretty fantastic and I certainly wasn’t complaining about starting the meal off that way.
After our “appetizer” was established, I went back to take another look at what to order for my main course. I was initially leaning towards the Chicken & Waffles, since another place the three of us used to frequent, Miss Shirley’s, served up an absolutely phenomenal rendition of the dish. But Tina mentioned that the three-egg scrambles were not to be missed, and since she was the veteran diner at the restaurant, I trusted her opinion. I instead opted for the scramble known as the Kitchen Sink.
The restaurant’s floor space doesn’t span very wide, but it extends deep into the back, and they certainly make the most of the space to fit in the diners. There were a few high-tops at the front (which was where we sat), some window counter seating facing out to the street, and then regular two- or four-person tables that could be pushed together to accommodate larger parties. It was a little bit of a tight squeeze, being pretty close to the diners adjacent to you, but I didn’t feel too packed in that they could hear every word we were saying.
The décor was pretty interesting as well, with a partially removed graffiti mural and exposed brick wall spanning the entire left side of the restaurant. Tina mentioned that the restaurant had started to remove the graffiti mural until they discovered they were inadvertently damaging the structural integrity of the wall. I thought the semi-exposed look certainly gave the dining area a bit of character. Further up along the right-hand side was a chalkboard detailing the pricing for the in-house jams that the restaurant had, with a little display rack in front of it.
It didn’t take too long for the shortcake to arrive. I’m certainly not one to normally start the meal off with dessert, but the shortcake seemed like a pretty manageable size for the three of us, as to not fill us up even before the main food got there. The buttermilk biscuit was light, fluffy, and coupled with the strawberry coconut jam, had just the right amount of moisture. The bowl certainly didn’t last very long, and ended up being a great starter for the meal.
Next up came my Kitchen Sink three-egg scramble, served in a small cast-iron skillet and a side of breakfast potatoes. Eggs, diced tomatoes, red peppers, onions, kale, house-made crumbled sausage, and bacon, layered with shredded provolone cheese, Bloody Mary salsa, and topped with some shredded pork belly. Yeah, that’s a lot of food to cram into an 8-inch cast iron skillet! I thought all of the flavors of the egg scramble blended together well, with a nice mix between savory and spicy. The roasted breakfast potatoes, tossed together with red peppers, jalapeños, onions, paprika, and rosemary, really helped to add to the “Tex-Mex” feel of the whole plate of food.
Typically, the scramble alone would already be enough food for brunch, but here I was progressing through round two of a three-course brunch! I was directed, however, to save some room for dessert, which was a small basket of Pig & A Jelly Jar’s Beignets. Essentially fried dough coated with powder sugar, the beignets came served with blueberry lavender jam, another one made in-house. These ones were still warm when we tore into them to dip into the jam, crisp on the outside and still doughy on the inside. Sugar to start the meal off and sugar to finish the meal off, I’m definitely a fan of how it worked out.
If you’re looking for a good brunch spot in Ogden, well, look no further. As a restaurant that also works to source a lot of their ingredients from other local farms and businesses, Pig & A Jelly Jar certainly offers a hearty selection of dishes inspired by Southern comfort food. If you tend to lean on the meat-eating side, you’ll certainly feel right at home here, with a wide array of dishes featuring chicken, pork, or beef. All of this, coupled with reasonable prices on their food, makes Pig & A Jelly Jar firmly on my list of restaurants to re-visit the next time I’m in the area.
Let’s now take a look at the Pig & A Jelly Jar Dish Spotlight. Asterisks (*) below mark my recommended dishes.
** Kitchen Sink Three-Egg Scramble **
Eggs scrambled together with diced tomatoes, red peppers, onions, kale, house-made crumbled sausage, and bacon, topped with shredded Provolone cheese and shredded pork belly. Served on the side with breakfast potatoes.
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** Pigberry Shortcake **
Buttermilk biscuit with house-made strawberry coconut jam on the inside, fresh strawberries, and topped with whipped cream.
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** Beignets **
Fried dough coated with a dusting of powdered sugar, served with house-made blueberry lavender jam.
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And finally, here are my rankings for Pig & A Jelly Jar:
Food: 5 / 5
Great tasting food and locally sourced ingredients, definitely a winning combination. With a large variety of delicious dishes to choose from, you can stick with a favorite or venture out on their menu during subsequent visits.
Atmosphere: 4.5 / 5
It’s certainly a lively place, getting rather packed during peak brunch time on the weekend. I’m really a fan of the partial graffiti brick wall on the left side of the restaurant, which certainly gives the place more character than traditional hanging décor might have been able to provide.
Service: 4.5 / 5
Our waitress was very friendly and came back to check on us several times throughout the meal. The food was cranking out of the kitchen pretty fast as well.
Price: 4.75 / 5
With the majority of the food hovering right around the $10 range, I thought you got a good amount of food for what you pay.
Overall:
18.75 / 20
(94%)
Categories: Restaurants, Utah
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