Morty’s Cafe Hosts Syracuse Grand Opening Saturday

  Morty’s Café, a popular Cache Valley restaurant, has arrived in Davis County. A grand opening at Morty’s new Syracuse location takes place Saturday, Jan. 25. The public is invited to a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m., and all day long, the restaurant will sell its classic Iconic Burger with fries for just $5.

The new Morty’s Cafe is across the street from Syracuse High at 1863 W. 700 South, in the space formerly occupied by Scratch Burger.

  I interviewed owner Preston Parker for a Standard-Examiner story. A Utah State University professor, Parker co-founded the first Morty’s Cafe in 2014 with one of his students, Ty Mortensen, next to the USU campus. Over the years, it has been named “Best Burger” by four different Cache Valley awards entities. Two years ago, Parker bought out Mortensen’s share of the business.

  A few more things about Morty’s Cafe:

-It’s a fast-casual restaurant, with a higher price point and larger size (1/3-pound patties) than fast food.  “We use quality ingredients. Our beef is a quality blend, we worked with (food distributor) Nicholas Foods on it,” said Parker.

  Syracuse is the fourth Morty’s location. Although Morty’s has two Cache Valley locations (Darwin Avenue and Providence), its St. George location (opened in 2018) has the highest sales. The Syracuse location is currently the only Morty’s Cafe open on Sunday, Parker said.

  -Every Morty’s has the same menu. While it’s known for its burgers, there are also breakfast sandwiches and burritos; vegetarian burgers, quinoa salads, sandwiches, and shakes.

  -There are seven burgers on the regular menu. The best seller is the Iconic burger, a classic cheeseburger.

Some are geography-based such Hawaiian, Yucatan, Italian, and Philly.

Although many restaurants offer “Hawaiian” burgers topped with a slice of pineapple, Morty’s goes a spicy-sweet route with house-made pineapple jalapeno relish, and Korean barbecue sauce.

  The biggest burger, The Mortician, has a double patty, double American cheese, pastrami, jalapenos, bacon and spicy mayo.

 -For side options, there are regular fries, onion rings and sweet potato fries. Morty’s does a good job with its thick-cut sweet potato fries, getting them crisp on the outside but soft and tender inside.

And there’s a quirky invention called “scone fries.” These are strips of dough, deep-fried, dusted with powdered sugar, and served with honey butter or cheesecake dip.

If you’re looking for a lighter option, “The salads are phenomenal,” Parker said. The strawberry apple quinoa salad has quinoa, spinach, sliced fresh strawberries, feta, diced apples, candied pecans, and a raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

-Morty’s Cafe opens daily at 8 a.m., but breakfast traffic is usually slower than dinner and lunch. Parker wants to get the word out about items such as Morty’s Breakfast Burrito and Glen’s Delight sandwich. “People don’t think of it as a breakfast place, but the sandwiches and burritos are so good,” Parker said.

  – Seasonal specials are a way to switch up the menu. Currently it’s German cuisine, starring Das Frik’n Burger, a riff on German Frikadellen meatballs, topped with rotkohl (sweet red cabbage).

   When a seasonal special catches on, it might end up on the regular menu, as in the case of the Mortician burger. Or, if a regular menu item isn’t as popular, it may end up becoming a seasonal special. For instance, a Korean burger topped with house-made kimchee was on Morty’s regular menu initially, but now it’s become a seasonal special.

  “Some people like the predictability of ordering the same thing, but there’s another group that likes something different, and they will flock to the seasonal special,” said Parker.

  The next seasonal special will be “Morty-Gras,” with Mardigras-inspired food, including a King Cake shake.

Burgers are big in Davis County. When Patty Shack opened last summer, its owner Justin Newbold said he counted 17 other burger spots in Layton alone. Now, burger fans will have one more option to try.