the foodworks

Cakewalk

2010-11-29T18:31:00.000-07:00

'A vegan bakery...how cool is that?'

We were headed downtown to meet some friends for a show. To avoid the disastrous parking slog that is downtown on a Friday night, our usual strategy is to park our car in a neighborhood adjacent to a TRAX stop and take the train into town. Normally we time it perfectly so that as we park and bop on over to the TRAX stop, we only wait a minute or two. On this particular night we were cutting it close. The train was due in a couple minutes, so we parked on 9th east and dashed out for the train stop...when my eyes came about a small bakery I had never noticed before - Cakewalk.

We only had maybe a minute before the train got there, but I just had to stop in. How did I never notice this place before? I jumped in, said hi, took a mental note of the cupcakes and other baked products in the display case...they looked great....told the staff 'I'd be back' and then ran right out to catch our train. Fortunately we made the train and got to dinner and the show on time. We had a great night but didn't have time for dessert. To make up for this obvious atrocity, I decided to pay a visit back to Cakewalk the next day.

Not being in such a rush this second time around, I now noticed that the bakery itself was entirely vegan....a minor detail that had eluded me in the rush of trying to make the TRAX train the night before. It appears that all items in the bakery are vegan-friendly; a substantial number of the baked goods are also gluten-free. To remind you of what we're talking about, here are a few definitions:

Vegan. People who avoid either using or consuming any animal products are known as vegans. In terms of their diet, vegans choose not to eat any animals as well as dairy products or eggs.

Gluten-free. People who do not eat ingredients derived from wheat, barley, or rye have a gluten-free diet. People adopt a gluten-free diet usually as a solution to health problems caused by severe wheat allergies.

'Very interesting' I thought to myself as my eyes glazed over in sugar shock. I asked the guy at the counter what his favorites were and methodically picked a few out. I ended up purchasing a number of different cupcakes and a dillo (a vegan twinkie kind of thing). They packaged it up and I ran straight home. My spouse and I devoured them over the course of two days. For the most part, the cupcakes were all pretty successful. My personal favorite was the Boston cream cupcake - yellow cake filled with a soy-type-cream with a chocolate topping. Although I thought they could have been a bit more liberal with the creamy filling, the cake was moist and flavorful and when eaten with the chocolate top, it did resemble a nice Boston cream pie. It didn't feel at all that I was eating the vegan version of a Boston cream pie. Also of note was the wonderful peanut butter chocolate cupcake (the favorite of the guy at the counter). Rich, decadent, chocolate cake paired naturally with a sweet peanut butter frosting. The mint chocolate cupcake to be honest wasn't a favorite, if only because the mint frosting tasted a bit medicinal in quality...a little too much like mouthwash...but the chocolate cake again was fantastic. I also tried a dillo, a vegan twinkie if you will. I'm a chocolate lover (if you couldn't tell from my above selections) and the dillo with its chocolate cake filled with chocolate cream, covered in chocolate coating, shaped like a twinkie was pretty darn good. Cakewalk also makes a selection of muffins, breads, cookies, and pastries and also has a bakery (pick up only) location in Bountiful.

I always thought that having either a vegan and/or a gluten free diet didn't lend itself much in the way of being able to make/enjoy luscious desserts. I mean really, most desserts have eggs, cream, milk, or flour in some form or another. How can you make a nice fluffy cake without flour and eggs? Well you certainly can...and Cakewalk certainly does it well. Although I am not vegan or gluten-free (or likely will ever be), a tasty dessert is a tasty dessert...and I for one am glad I accidentally ran into Cakewalk. A vegan bakery...and a good one at that...how cool is that?

Cakewalk ~ Salt Lake City, Utah
434 S 900 E
www.cakewalkbakingcompany.com
***

Pampas' Bakery

2010-09-28T22:53:00.002-06:00

'Best to keep an eye on this place...just don't look too closely at the decor.'

Growing up we often visited an aunt of mine in southern California. My aunt Florence is an amazing cook, whipping up the most tasty breakfasts, lunches, and dinners you can imagine. Although Disneyland or Universal Studios was often the planned "activity" of the vacation, in retrospect I would argue that the true attraction and highlight of our trips down south was her food (both for the adults and the kids). One of the things that my aunt introduced me to that I am absolutely in love with today - is the empanada. And my aunt made the best empanadas. The empanada originated in Spain but many Latin American and/or Spanish colonized/influenced countries have their own version of this stuffed bread or pastry. I thought that the farmer's market was one of the only places where you could pick up an empanada to go in SLC when...

I was meandering down a strip mall in Sugarhouse enjoying the artwork in a local gallery this past weekend. I noticed a bakery just below the shop I was in. It was about 3pm in the afternoon (time for my afternoon snack) so I thought a drop into the bakery was well in order. I immediately got the sense of deja vu (a glitch in the matrix?) when I dug deep to remember that this space was formerly occupied by the Italian restaurant Michelangelo's. I had a hard time connecting the space to Michelangelo's because the owners of Pampa's had really changed the interior. In a word, the decor is...well...bizarre. The place is oddly situated with a few tables, covered in plastic, on opposite ends of the restaurant separated by a humongous wooden bar. I wouldn't call the layout off putting, but my first impression was that the decor wasn't exactly calling me out to come take a seat.

What the interior design lacked was well made up by the warm and friendly service at Pampa's. I was greeted at the front counter by the owner who explained the Argentinian concept and walked me through several dishes and pastries. He was very proud of his Argentinian food and described the kind of flavors that were commonly found in Argentina. Unfortunately when he mentioned empanadas, I tuned everything else he said out. I knew what I wanted: 2 empanadas please! He also spoke really highly of a pastry filled with a homemade caramel that I also ordered as well. $4.00 later (can you believe how cheap it was?) I took a bag home with one chicken empanada, one beef empanada, and my caramel dessert.

Once I got home, I opened up the bag up with much excitement and immediately devoured the empanadas. The filling was still piping hot and the savory beef and onion mixture oozed out of the crusty bread when I took a big bite. The beef was robustly flavored with a slight hint of tomato, very moist and tender with onions and garlic. Although not done in the style of empanada of my aunt, I very much enjoyed this Argentinian version. The chicken empanada was also very tasty, a lighter dish than the beef option, stuffed with pieces of hard boiled egg. I really should have stopped there. I mean really, I was going to eat dinner in like 3 hours. But I just had to try the highly recommended caramel pastry. The pastry itself was light, buttery, and flaky topped with powdered sugar. It contrasted nicely with the caramel - a thick, sweet goo. I got about halfway through the pastry before I had to quit eating, to save myself from gluttony (too late actually).

Pampa's also offers a variety of Argentinian style dishes such as pizzas, sandwiches, pastas, and various Milanesa dishes. But there is something I just find so brilliant in the empanada; the meaty filling wrapped up in a baked buttery dough pouch is truly the perfect all in one meal.The kitchen is still getting its sea legs, so the owner encouraged me to come by when things really get going. If the empanadas are any indication of what good can come from the kitchen, Pampa's is bound to serve some truly great dishes. Best to keep an eye on this place...just don't look too closely at the decor.

Pampa's Bakery
2156 S Highland Dr
(801) 738-8058
***

Shahrazad Market and Restaurant

2010-09-27T22:02:00.001-06:00

'I found the smells of different spices and herbs that permeated the aisles intoxicating.'

If you've never set foot in an international market, it's well worth doing. Not only do you see an array of products you've never seen before, but the people, the decor, the smells, and the overall vibe really give you a glimpse of the cultures behind the market. A friend of mine told me about a Middle Eastern Market on the West side of Salt Lake with a restaurant in the back. I must say his description of the place really piqued my interest, both as a lover of food as well as from the standpoint of an interested tourist on a virtual vacation to the Middle East. The Shahrazad Market and Restaurant is a great introduction to Middle Eastern culture and food. The market is simple, reminiscent of a large mom and pop operation - think Emigration Market... Middle Eastern style. I found the smells of different spices and herbs that permeated the aisles intoxicating. In fact, I found myself gravitating toward the back, past the deli cases of freshly butchered meats, to where there was clearly some food being fired.

The restaurant in the rear of the market is pretty simple with some nicely situated tables and a front counter from which to order. A placard above the counter spells out the menu - combination plates of kabobs, meatballs, different yogurt type beverages, some sweets, and some breads fill the menu. It can be overwhelming, especially for someone like me who doesn't know much about Middle Eastern cuisine. However the guys at the restaurant are really good at explaining the dishes and are genuinely interested in helping you to have a great experience. Moreover, the deli case contains some examples of the food, so you can always point to what you want if you see it.

We started off with a yogurt, mint drink called dugh (pronounced doog) - a really refreshing start to the meal. We quickly gobbled up some hot naan that came alongside. The naan (a leavened, flat type of bread) was served steaming hot with mint, parsley, goat cheese, and walnuts. We were told to rip some of the naan and then add in the above acoutrements, roll everything up like a sandwich, and then eat it. The warm naan melted the goat cheese and helped the mint and parsley to open up. The crunch of the walnuts added some texture to the gooey cheese, while the herbs left a clean, fresh taste in your mouth. Absolutely delicious.

For the main course we had the chicken and beef koobideh (pronounced koo-be-day) and the lamb liver skewer. The savory chicken and beef koobideh are like meatballs shaped in almost a square shape. The skewered lamb livers are just like they sound - rotisseried livers on a skewer. These were all served with basmati rice, a side salad, and a baked tomato. We were told that the proper way to eat the dish was to take the meat off the skewer, cut all of the meats and tomato up, and then mix everything together, dusting the whole thing liberally with sumac (a middle eastern spice). The meatballs were tender, moist, and had a floral quality to them with the addition of the sumac. Mixed in with the rice and tomato, it was all together quite a filling meal. The livers tasted like most any liver I've eaten and were suprisingly tender and tasty. I devoured half my plate (which was humongous - see picture at left; we each got a plate like that) but still had a whole table full of treats ordered by my Persian friend who encouraged us to try a couple different things. To be honest, the rest of the meal is kind of a blur; I'm lucky to be able to share the little I can remember at this point. What I can I tell you though is that the meal was terrific; something about eating at the Shahrazad Restaurant made it feel like we were that much closer to a true Middle Eastern experience.

Living in Utah, you often forget that we have great international food resources right at the tip of our fingers. There are a few really good Asian, Middle Eastern, Indian, Mexican, even African markets in town. What's really cool is that most of these markets sell prepared food items for take away or even dine in. These markets offer true, authentic food from the trenches...made by those people submerged in the culture. So if you're like me and you love wandering around these markets, but don't really know what to do with half the stuff...take advantage of the good home cooking offered at these places: grab a quick bite, take all of the ambience and culture in, and then let the food guide you through a virtual vacation...right here in Utah.

Shahrazad Market and Restaurant
1615 West 2100 South
(801) 975-9977
***

Little World

2010-07-15T00:02:00.002-06:00

'...don't worry. They also have a drive-thru.'

You walk in and are not sure what to make of it. Cooks in the kitchen seem to be yelling at each other in a high pitched Chinese dialect. A restaurant worker is seated at a table in the middle of the dining room cleaning green beans - placing the clean ones in a colander and tossing the refuse in a plastic bag, while another employee slurps up hot noodle soup at the same table (guess it's her dinner break?). By the looks of the customers seated at the various tables you might have guessed you just walked into the DMV; some of the patrons are loud and cheerful, while others give you a dirty look making sure you don't look that way again. The restaurant doesn't look at all clean, let alone sanitary. In fact it's a dirty dive but you can't let that fact stop you. Your first instinct is to turn around and quickly walk out, get in your car, and drive straight to the nearest P.F. Chang's. But you've come this far...you have to go through with it. If you choose to accept this mission, you will be guaranteed perhaps the most flavorful and authentic tasting Chinese food in Utah...and it'll be cheap to boot.

Not daring to actually set foot into Little World? Okay, so there's an alternative. I do like to encourage people to go outside their eating comfort zones from time to time. It is, after all, character building - giving you a perspective that you might not have considered or experienced. But I also understand peoples' limits. Divey, hole-in-the-wall places like Little World do have their time and place as well as some charm (kind of), but if the dining room described above reminds you more of a scene out of a bad horror movie rather than a place you want to eat, then do what I do...and order for take-out! Little World might be a dumpy little place but they serve really great Chinese food. What I love about Chinese food is the amazing depth of flavor in each and every dish, the pungent odors, and the complex textures. As a kid my parents would often bring us to a neighborhood Chinese restaurant for dinner. Back then, I equated Chinese food to a fancy night out. In college, Chinese food garnered a more everyday kind of feel for me. With Chinatown only a hop, skip, and a jump away from my school, noodles, steamed pork buns, and dumplings became important staples to my San Francisco diet.

Little World brings me back to the flavors of San Francisco that I consider to be authentic in Chinese style cooking. Sure you can still get your sweet and sours, beef with broccoli, fried rice, and chow mein here...but you can also get so much more. You can't get more Chinese than to eat duck and the BBQ roast duck reminds me a lot of walking through Chinatown glancing at all of those hanging ducks in the windows of butchers and restaurants. Slightly charred, tender and moist, this duck will satisfy anyone's poultry craving. For those wanting to break the habit of getting General Tso's chicken (which I must admit is really delicious here - glazed gooeyness with a sweet-heat to it) I encourage going outside of what you're used to. I love Little World's chicken with black bean sauce. Black beans in Chinese cooking refers to fermented soy beans (not the traditional black beans you think of in terms of Southwest food). The beans provide a starchy and savory sauce with very deep soy flavors. Chinese food is well known for this penetrating savoriness and the black bean sauce here delivers great depth. Instead of the standard chow mein, give your noodles a little twist and order the Beef Chow Fun. Big fat, short, and wide rice noodles are dowsed and slightly seared with soy sauce creating a scrumptious morsel packed with flavor. The soft yet crispy and firm texture of the noodles is what makes this dish so great.

Little World offers a multitude of options for dine-in or take-out. With the servings they provide, you can get dinner plus leftovers for lunch the next day, maybe even lunch and dinner the next day. Chinese food has become so ubiquitous that people really take it for granted. It's a default in food courts, hospital cafeterias, and college campus' across the country and across continents. The globalization of this cuisine has caused a really probing, deep, soulful food to become readily available and recognizable. Unfortunately in this transition, a sad sanitization of the food has occurred in order to fit a more general (aka bland) palate. Some of the stuff you get around town at different chains isn't half bad at all, but throwing bok choy on a plate with soy sauce doesn't make it Chinese. Little World plays to the deep rooted flavors we all know and recognize in Chinese food. Though the restaurant could use a serious makeover, the food makes up for the lacking ambiance. So what to do the next time you don't feel like cooking dinner or when a night "in" with your favorite DVD is on tall order? Call up Little World and show up 15 minutes later. If you're still too scared to actually set foot in the restaurant to pick your order up, don't worry. They also have a drive-thru.

Little World ~ Salt Lake City, Utah
1356 South State Street
801-467-5213
***

Greek Souvlaki

2010-07-03T09:02:00.000-06:00

Enter the gyro (pronouced yeero).

When I was a kid, my mom would often drag me to the mall where she went on frequent shopping excursions. I found solace in these endless marathon shopping sessions by spending time in the bookstore flipping through comic books and then eventually picking up a snack at the food court. A food court in the mall. Not exactly the kind of place where you might expect to be introduced to a new and exotic food. But picture it: it was the mid-80s and I was a 12 year old boy (bowl cut and all) searching for something to eat in a big indoor shopping mall in the east San Francisco bay area. My usual snack was a square slice of pepperoni pizza and a soda. I rarely diverged from this all too familiar habit, but it was in the food court that I was introduced to something I'd never seen before.

Enter the gyro (pronouced yeero). A free sample persuaded me to try it and after a small bite - I was hooked. My then under developed palate told me that I liked everything going on in this Greek sandwich...even if I couldn't tell you back then what I liked so much about it. So here I am today and I have to tell you that I still love the gyro - and better yet - I can tell you exactly what I love about it. A great place to go for a quick, inexpensive gyro experience is Greek Souvlaki. We frequented this little gyro shop when I was a grad student at the U, but they've remodeled since those days and it's really quite nice on the inside. It's definitely a fast food kind of place, focusing on Greek delights. And the gyros here don't disappoint - luscious lamb meat, crisp tomatoes, a creamy yogurt sauce, a puffy hot toasted pita -the gyros here are delicious, savory, creamy, and crunchy. The perfect sandwich.

If you're looking to go outside the norm of the classic gyro there are a few options at Greek Souvlaki. One of my favorites is the Philly Gyro. The name Philly implies a cheesesteak feel and this sandwich certainly ties into this theme nicely. Sauteed peppers and mushrooms, and gobs of cheese top off this bad boy adding a depth of sweetness and earthiness to the classic gyro taste. If you want to go outside the realm of sandwiches, try out the Greek Spaghetti. The red sauce is oddly familiar but the addition of cinnamon really transforms the dish into something else. The cinnamon adds a heat or warmth to the pasta that is unexpected. Diving into it you immediately say to yourself, "Mmmm...what is that I'm tasting..."

There are a world of options for people who don't want to eat lamb (such as the chicken gyros), for vegetarians (like veggie gyros), as well as for those who want other classic Greek food (the kabob dish souvlaki, or filled grape leaves - dolmathes). For dessert the baklava is also great - crunchy layers of pastry with a gooey, sticky, nutty filling. An individual portion is small but filling and provides a great finish to your big, fat, Greek wedding...er...meal. Greek Souvlaki is Greek fast food at its best. It's not super fancy, but the service is fast and the food delivers an important one-two: taste and value.

Greek Souvlaki ~ Salt Lake City, Utah
404 East 300 South
With locations in Murray and West Valley City
***

Tiburon

2010-05-25T08:34:00.000-06:00

'Sometimes "nice enough" isn't worth driving out of town for.'

To be honest, I rarely go outside city limits to try restaurants. Living in SLC, I find that we have a plethora of options that can fit any craving, price range, or style preference that anyone can ask for. But when I hear good things about restaurants, regardless of geography, I am more than willing to take a little drive to check it out. So many people I know who live outside of Salt Lake City rave about Tiburon as THE RESTAURANT for a fine dining experience. I've also heard so much about Tiburon over the years through various reviews, most of which were positive. I thought this place warranted some investigation, even if I had to drive a few extra miles south to do so.

Having never been to Tiburon, I thought the restaurant was "nice enough", albeit perhaps a little boring. The outside has some definite curb appeal and I like the fact that they plant their own vegetable garden out back that is clearly visible from the parking lot. The interior was a tad on the smaller side; the decor was generically sort of nice but really just a bit un-memorable (literally - I couldn't tell you about the interior to save my life and I was there just a week ago!). I guess sometimes nice can be bland enough not to be noticed? We walked through the restaurant which was fairly crowded for a Wednesday night and got seated in what appeared to be overflow or patio seating. Again, "nice enough" I thought.

Darting through the menu, one particular appetizer immediately caught my eye...so we decided to get a head start on dinner with the kurabuto pork belly. Now this was a really great dish. The pork was braised tender and delicious, served with a creamy Brie (St. Andre's) and a caramelized onion jam. This appetizer was absolutely divine. The pork was crispy from a hard sear, as well as both tender and savory (as only pig can deliver) from a long flavorful braise. This tasty morsel contrasted well with the tart, creaminess of the cheese; the sweetness of the caramelized onions really unified the flavors quite nicely. It was a well composed dish: modern yet elegant - definitely fit for a fine dining experience. As I slowly devoured the appetizer, I thought that we were going to be in a for a true fine dining experience.

Unfortunately in scoping out the menu, nothing else really jumped out at me. Like the decor, I found the menu a little boring...nothing really earth shattering or mind blowing. I mean nothing sounded horrible, the menu just seemed a little mundane to me. Tiburon proclaims that they are well known for their elk - so I figured I would have to go with that. Interestingly, the entrees came with a house salad and an intermezzo sorbet to cleanse the palate. I'm glad that these came with the main course because the pricing is what I would consider on the higher end for this type of straight forward menu. Although the salad was "nice enough" it was not my idea of a gourmet salad one would expect from a fine dining establishment. Mixed greens were tossed with a light vinaigrette and topped with candied pecans, apples, and shredded mozarella cheese. I thought the cheese was a strange touch...sort of reminding me of a topping you'd see at an all you can eat salad bar. For this price point I think fresh mozarella would have been a more appropriate choice, coinciding with a true fine dining experience. The shredded cheese seemed like a chintzy corner cutting cost measure (say that three times in a row fast). Unfortunately it just made the salad look cheap. Cheese aside, the salad was "nice enough" (much like the decor) but it did begin to make me think that Tiburon and I had different ideas of what fine dining meant.

For the main course we tried the elk - the house-specialty - as well as the pepper crusted steak. Steak "au poivre" is a classic French preparation for a steak loosely crusted with cracked and whole black peppercorns. Generally speaking I'm not a big fan of steak au poivre but I can enjoy it from time to time. The steak prepared as it was here was almost inedible for me. The pepper literally burnt my palate and would have prevented me from really being able to taste anything else if I continued to eat it. This could have been my own sensitivity but I do think they went a bit heavy handed with the pepper. Others at the table seemed to think it was fine and luckily I had the elk to fall back on. The grilled elk tenderloin was served with a creamy mushroom "duxelle" and a green peppercorn demi-glace. The elk was cooked nicely, very soft and tender, not gamy at all - but for whatever reason the flavor didn't really pop for me. I was hoping that the accompanying preparations would help with that but these side sauces just ended up confusing me a little. The "duxelle" wasn't a true duxelle but instead whole mushrooms cooked in a cream sauce. I thought the sauce was lovely but I'm not sure why they felt the need to call it a duxelle which is typically a sort of paste made from chopped up mushrooms (as I learned it in culinary school anyway). The green peppercorn demi-glace was intensely sweet - really cloying on the palate. I actually thought it was a blueberry reduction because of the sweetness mixed with the size of the peppercorns (which I at first mistook for a berry of some type). I thought the sweetness of the demi-glace was too much for the elk - masking its flavor instead of enhancing it. I also found the two sauces a little confusing on the plate....almost like overkill. I would have been in favor of one really great sauce to complement the elk as opposed to two mediocre sauces that didn't marry very well on the plate.

Adding to the confusion of the mains were the sides of veggies served with both dishes. The veggies were actually the same for each dish, which I also found to be a little chintzy. I once worked in a hotel restaurant where we did exactly that - we served all the same side dishes and starches with any protein ordered. I hated it because it made it seem like we were just doing what was easiest and cost/labor effective - not necessarily what paired best with a particular protein. I got a little bit of that same feeling here...a feeling you shouldn't be getting at a "fine dining restaurant". The side of vegetables consisted of a couple of rods of asparagus, some carrots, and an odd smattering of spaghetti squash. I didn't really get the spaghetti squash. It was an interesting texture but it almost seemed like a random placement with not much thought going into why it was there. It also added to the overt sweetness of the dish with the demi-glace. The garlic mashed potatoes came as the starch on both dishes as well. Again "nice enough", but pretty boring.

Given the cost of the meal, I was fairly disappointed with Tiburon. I didn't get the sense of a true fine dining establishment and the food, while not horrible, was way off from a 5 star experience. If I paid a half or two-thirds of what the bill was, I think I would have been pretty satisfied - but when I shell out some major cash for a "fine dining" experience I expect the restaurant to meet some level of my expectation. Tiburon definitely did not. The one true star the whole evening was the appetizer of the kurabuto pork belly. It was a focused, well thought out dish with a nice layer of flavors. Its appearance was inviting and it was plated artistically - essentials to a fine dining experience. Given that this dish came out of the same kitchen as the entrees, there is obviously some talent in the kitchen. Unfortunately for me, I didn't see this talent come through in the main courses; I also found the attention to detail lacking in many aspects of the meal. Sadly, eating at Tiburon reminded why I don't often venture out of the SLC restaurant scene. Sometimes "nice enough" isn't worth driving out of town for.

Tiburon ~ Sandy, Utah
8256 South 700 East
Chef/owner: Ken Rose
**.5

Fresco

2010-05-20T21:58:00.001-06:00

"The intimate setting is inviting and comfortable..."

When I graduated from college many years ago, my closest friends and I invited all of our parents to celebrate with a quaint dinner we hosted at a local Italian place called Cafe Riggio in the Richmond district of San Francisco. The restaurant was a neighborhood place, close to our university, that we reserved for special occasions due to price as well as the special, intimate atmosphere the small restaurant fostered. The food was always wonderful and the feeling of celebration in the form of pasta, polenta, and risotto at our graduation celebration had a huge impact on me. It was a special place I'd never forget and it forever shaped what I look for in a special occasion restaurant - small homey, intimate, yet sophisticated climate with food to match...modern yet approachable.

Fast forward to life in Salt Lake City. I was invited to Fresco in the 15th and 15th neighborhood to join some friends for a celebratory dinner (this was some 8 odd years ago). I immediately had a sense of nostalgia for Cafe Riggio as I walked into the tiny Fresco dining room. Fresco is situated within an old house. By virtue of limited space, tables are close together which builds a quaint and intimate setting. In the winter this tiny dining room offers the only seating available but spring time sees the opening of a lovely outdoor patio until Fall. Although I can't remember a lot of the details of the dinner (this was a long time ago) I do remember the risotto having been the best risotto I'd ever eaten. Over the next few years, Fresco had quickly become my new go-to special occasion restaurant...fulfilling what I looked for in a place where I wanted to celebrate something memorable.

Unfortunately, I noticed a quality change in Fresco as the years passed. Although the ambiance and service were always great, I moved from loving the food one year to thinking it was overrated the next. The quality and vision of the food changed with the hands of a new chef that took the helm at Fresco every few years and I felt these changes were often for the worse. I visited Fresco maybe once or twice a year for a good four years to celebrate birthdays or major milestone events and I finally just got frustrated with Fresco's variability. My recommendation to others regarding Fresco at that time was that it could be good, but for the price it should be better.

In an odd series of events, I actually ended up working briefly in the Fresco kitchen years after I had stopped eating there. I did what's called a "stage" and worked for a brief few weeks on the line. The chef that I worked for was amazing and I enjoyed everything I did, learned, and ate. When I started reviewing restaurants I never felt comfortable reviewing Fresco because of my short lived connection to the place and my respect of the chef. However hands at the helm of the Fresco kitchen have changed since then and Martin Combs is now the chef. Coinciding with his arrival and his new spring menu was a graduation in my family; I knew the perfect place to celebrate this special occasion - and reservations for dinner at Fresco were quickly made.

We started with a simple bruschetta to open the evening: crisp bread slathered with ricotta, roasted garlic and peppers, covered with prosciutto, and a lightly dressed arugula. The flavors melded nicely with a sweet and savory combination from the garlic and peppers, a saltiness from the prosciutto, and a sharp bite from the arugula; the crisp bread did its job nicely to hold all of it together and provide a platform for everything else. It was a well constructed dish - a lovely layer of flavors. We followed with the cafe salad which was a nice basic salad with apples and mixed greens in a sherry thyme vinaigrette (I made this vinaigrette many a time when I was there), served with a tasty fontina crusted slice of baguette. While simple, and really not even that elegantly plated, the salad was a great prelude to the main event.

We shared two pasta entrees: the agnolotti and the rigatoni. The rigatoni was served with sausage and goat cheese. I must say it was just okay. The pasta was well cooked and individually the components were of great quality, but the marriage of everything wasn't there - the dish seemed a little disjointed...by no means bad, but a little disconnected...nothing really tying it together. The agnolotti however was quite the opposite. It was superb. The agnolotti was stuffed with ricotta and mixed in with a chicken jus and wilted greens. Crisp, perfectly cooked roasted chicken was served atop the agnolotti dripping its succulent juices all over the bite sized morsels of pasta. The perfectly seasoned chicken was crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside; the agnolotti gave a contrast in flavor and texture with its soft, mild ricotta stuffing - all of which was tied together nicely by the savory jus. Wilted radicchio added a nice crisp, peppery contrast. It was just a perfect dish to me. I could have ended dinner there and would have been more than satisfied.

Of course having spent some time in the kitchen, there was no way I wasn't having dessert. While I "staged" at Fresco, I plated up intricately designed desserts conjured up by Fresco's amazing pastry chef Melissa Phillips - and there was no way I was not going to finish my meal in style. We ended with a warm chocolate cake and a chilled chocolate espresso soup with cinnamon whipped cream. The cake was warm, gooey, and delicious. The rich bittersweet chocolate was perfectly balanced - not too sweet or too bitter - and the chilled soup added a nice chocolate milk/coffee element. It was nice to wash down the warm cake with something cool; that little bitter zing from the espresso didn't hurt either. I was very content by the end of my meal and my time spent at Fresco that night reminded me of why this restaurant is great for special occasions. The intimate setting is inviting and comfortable and I must say that the current chefs' food certainly matches the ambiance the restaurant has to offer. Does this mean my next special occasion will be at Fresco? Well...I think it just might.

Fresco ~ Salt Lake City, Utah

15th & 15th

Chef/Owner: Mikel Trapp

Chef de cuisine: Martin Combs

Pastry Chef: Melissa Phillips

****

Bayleaf Cafe

2010-05-04T18:46:00.002-06:00

'...I could immediately tell it had been simmered with the right flavors.'

A Southerner, a Filipino, and a Utahn walk into a cafe...oh wait...that sounds too much like the start of a raunchy joke doesn't it? Okay, let's start over. Two friends and I went for lunch downtown to take advantage of the Dine-O-Round specials. We settled on the Bayleaf Cafe over other restaurants because although the Southerner and I (the Filipino) had been to Bayleaf before, the Utahn had not - and we were all very eager to try out the eclectic Asian menu that had intrigued us all. Plus at $5, the price was right for lunch and the time was now. So Bayleaf it was.

The restaurant occupies a spacious downtown location. The interior of the Bayleaf is clearly a work in progress; it isn't what I'd call a refined avant garde atmosphere....it gives off more of a homey, yet quirkey vibe. Speaking of homey, yet quirky, the menu definitely seems to have a few oddities at first glance. A distinctly Southern portion of the menu is complimented with an interesting selection of Asian dishes (huh?). The entire menu is then rounded out with standard diner style breakfast fare (double huh?!?). This combination does seem a bit confusing, perhaps even oddly unfocused to the average eater, but given the background of the co-owners who themselves are Asian (Filipino and Chinese) and from the American South, it does seem to make a little more sense...at least it does to me.

As a kid, I was treated to an odd mix of Filipino food made by my mom and American comfort foods created by my dad (who was a cook in the Navy). So I know a little about intersecting cultural bounds through the comfort of food. I think this interesting exposure to different flavors and food styles as a kid has really shaped my palate today and it certainly has opened me up to seeing food in a little different light. To me seeing Asian food alongside American comfort foods like meatloaf on the Bayleaf's menu is not only NOT odd, it's pretty damned cool. Now as a kid, one of my all time favorite Filipino foods to eat was a dish called adobo. Adobo is a Filipino dish of meat (chicken or pork usually) stewed in a combination of soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, vinegar, and black peppercorns. It's the national dish of the Philippines and is probably one of the most popular and most recognizable Filipino dishes aside from lumpia (the beloved Filipino egg roll).

I myself make chicken adobo frequently at home but always long for my mom's home cooking. So for this reason, adobo is comfort food to me. Unfortunately I feel like I can never make this dish as good as my mom - so I was really eager to try the Bayleaf's version out. My Southern friend and I decided to do the Dine-O-Round chicken adobo lunch dish; it came in a medium sized bowl full of steamed rice, topped off with the chicken adobo along with stir-fried veggies. Adobo was something new for the Southerner and I was impressed and excited that she wanted to try it for the first time. She said she really enjoyed it. As the adobo hit the table and I took a big whiff, I could immediately tell it had been simmered with the right flavors. My first bite of the chicken was what I expected; the flavor profile was easily recognizable to me as adobo: a tamed saltiness from the soy, slight garlic background, and a tangy-ness from the vinegar. The stir fried veggies gave some crunchy texture to the dish, as well as some much needed color. I liked it...and I'm not the easiest person to please. But the big question was, how did it compare to my mom's? Well again, I hold my mom's version in high regard - possibly untouchable. So in all honesty...well...my mom's is better. The flavors are just a little more robust, a little deeper. I mean who doesn't long for your mom's home cooking? Maybe it's that little extra bit of love that a mom puts in that makes the difference? But I would say that the Bayleaf's adobo is very similar in terms of flavor to the adobo I cook myself. And I think my adobo is pretty darned good. So there you have it. I think the Bayleaf's adobo is pretty darned good.

My Utahn friend had the bulgogi for lunch, a Korean beef dish served over the same stir fried veggies and steamed rice. Bulgogi has a characteristic flavor of soy and garlic with a hint of sesame. Again, the Bay Leaf's version did a good job at getting a nuanced flavor of bulgogi down. Although the Utahn agreed that the flavors could have been a bit stronger, the food was still quite delicious; the grilled meat had a nice smoky component as well. Our lunch that day inspired the Utahn to come back to the Bayleaf, where she and her husband tried the pot roast and meatloaf...doing American comfort food their next time around. In fact there are a multitude of menu items like these to choose from. I've been to the Bayleaf now a few times, but prior to this I've only experienced their breakfast menu which I've enjoyed. The Southerner tells me she does like the Southern menu, with the side dishes being the real stars at the Bayleaf Cafe; some of her favorites include the fried pickles, cheesy-grits, and the black-eyed peas (referred to as Hoppin' John on the menu).

In reading what others have said about the Bayleaf, I've noticed a trend where people either love it or hate it. A lot of the negative comments I've read focus on poor service, so I'm happy to report that our service was excellent. Our food came out in a timely manner and the owner even came by our table to check on how our meal went. He also spent a few extra minutes to chat with us. I'm not sure why, but he even brought out a complimentary dessert for us to share - the nanner pudding (Southern hospitality?!?). Nilla wafers topped with banana pudding, chopped bananas, and whipped cream. The pudding was cool and creamy, contrasting nicely with the slight crunch of the Nilla wafers on the bottom...the density of the bananas gave it some much needed body. Mmm...it was a fun end to a lovely meal...not overly fussy or fancy, but it was nice nonetheless.

Take a closer look and you'll notice a bit of clarity in what might seem to be a cluttered, unfocused menu. The menu is clearly centered around comfort food, whether it be comfort food from the Southern U.S. or from Asia. I'm really looking forward to returning to the Bayleaf Cafe. Even though the food may not top my mom's cooking, it does bring back a wonderful taste memory for me...a nostalgia if you will...and that makes me happy. So if the beginning of the story goes - a Southerner, a Filipino, and a Utahn walk into a cafe - I guess the punch line is: and they walk out satisfied.

Bayleaf Cafe ~ Salt Lake City, Utah

159 South Main Street

Co-owners: Seth and Haylen

***

Metropolitan

2010-04-25T22:06:00.000-06:00

'...they still got it.'

Three things I like about spring: 1) an end to snow, 2) the weather is not too hot yet, but not freezing cold (it reminds me a lot of the weather I grew up with in the bay area), and 3) new spring restaurant menus. New spring menus mean that a restaurant changes their menu according to the seasons. Eating what's in season means using the freshest product out there; it's also a nice change to the monotony people might feel in a menu that stays the same year in and year out. I think we all get in a rut, eating what we know and love at our favorite establishments. The thought of something new on the menu allows a restaurant to grow and re-introduce itself to you. It had been a while since I had been to the Metropolitan...and I felt like it was time to get re-acquainted.

The Metropolitan offers a great space - the mix of materials such as exposed concrete, stainless steel, and polished copper all work together in a fluid modern concept. You can't help but feel sophisticated and chic in this place. The service is equally as bright, with obvious professionals aiding you at the front door, serving you pre-dinner cocktails at the bar, and executing near flawless service tableside during your meal. The experience is seamless at the Metropolitan; it's easy to be there...and the good news is that it's even easier to eat there. We started our meal off with an amuse bouche of a crisp potato wafer in a potato and leek puree. This duo of potato nicely reflected a deep, rich potato flavor in the puree with the crispy potato adding some nice crunch. We started our meal off with ease.

We continued with a plate of the artisanal green salad. The salad was lovely, lightly dressed in a creamy ramp dressing, topped with shaved fennel, crispy sweet potato, and smoked onions. The smoked onions gave a nice smokey background and almost a pickled kind of taste - adding some zest to the salad. This paired nicely with the licorice flavor from the fennel and the sweetness of the potato crisps. Ramps, which are relatives of the leek, really give this salad a nice bright, spring coating in the form of a creamy vinaigrette. This composed salad was really quite amazing....artisanal indeed.

We continued to be impressed with our entrees. The Utah trout was particularly satisfying, served over a pear and pistachio puree alongside some radishes and fiddlehead ferns. The trout was well cooked, although I thought the skin could have been crisper (I'm a big fan of crispy fish skin) and the pistachio and pear puree offered a rich, sweet, nutty, and creamy alternative to mashed potatoes. The soft texture of trout paired with a soft puree screams for some texture and that's where the fiddlehead ferns came in. If you've never had a fiddlehead fern, I suggest you try it...before it's too late. Fiddlehead ferns are only available for a limited time in the spring so I'm sure this is one entree on the Metropolitan's menu that will change in the next month. The fiddlehead ferns are a bit like green beans in that they don't have a strong flavor, but they offered a nice crunch to the otherwise soft accoutrements.

Also pretty amazing was the Wagyu beef. Wagyu is essentially the American version of Japanese Kobe beef, arguably the best beef in the world. At the Metropolitan, their Wagyu is served over fava beans and ciopollini onions, with mashed leeks and cashew butter. The beef, cooked perfectly medium-rare melted in your mouth. I hate to say it because it's kind of cliche - but it was like butter. The onion and mashed leek gave it an American steakhouse appeal but the cashew butter added a richness that brought this dish to another level. Could it get any better than this?

Indeed it did. Better came in the form of dessert: a red curry crepe served with caramelized bananas and chocolate with a dollop of yogurt sorbet on top. In a word: delicious. The bananas were sweet and silky, a hint of cinnamon gave it a Banana's Fosters feel. The use of red curry in the crepe batter was ingenious. The curry offers a slight bit of heat as well as that wonder factor. If the menu hadn't told me there was curry in the crepe, I would have never guessed it. It doesn't register on your tongue as the spice that you know from Indian or Thai food - but the crepe has a unique flavor that keeps you guessing and that's what I really enjoyed. The chocolate and yogurt sorbet melted into a sauce that really brought the entire thing together. A superb ending to a great meal.

The dessert, the entire meal really, kept me on my toes, taking food I was familiar with and giving it a little unique twist - turning everything into something a little more special. To me that's what New American cooking is all about: a modern interpretation on classic American flavors. The Metropolitan is a master at its craft. In my mind it was the first and is really still one of the few forerunners of modern, cutting edge food here in Salt Lake City. The Metropolitan has long been Utah's model for New American Cuisine and their new spring menu is a reminder to me that sometimes the tried and true places like the Metropolitan...they still got it.

The Metropolitan ~ Salt Lake City, Utah
173 West Broadway
Principal Owner: Karen Olson
Executive Chefs: Chris Durfee and Justin Shifflett
*****

Hatch Family Chocolates

2010-04-02T13:54:00.002-06:00

'We all have our weaknesses in life...'

I have a confession to make: I'm a chocolaholic. I need to eat a piece of chocolate every day...even if it's just a little bite. I know I have a problem...I'm addicted but acknowledging you have a problem is the first step right? There are a number of places to go to get my chocolate fix around Salt Lake City but one of my favorites is Hatch Family Chocolates. Located in the Avenues neighborhood of SLC, this family run chocolate shop offers a variety of chocolate confections, as well as ice cream, coffee, and espresso. If I'm in the neighborhood (or sometimes even if I'm across town) I'll swing by this candy shop for some sweet relief.

One really cool aspect of their store is that all of the chocolate is made and dipped by hand. That means if you've got a chocolate covered caramel, they not only roll out the caramel by hand but then they dip individual pieces into different chocolates by hand as well. Now that's dedication and true artistry - not to mention time consuming. Most chocolate places use a conveyor belt system to "enrobe" their candies in chocolate giving them an endless supply. I like the fact that at Hatch, it truly is a hands-on affair for these chocolatiers. It also means that everything in the cases is pretty fresh; however, that also means there is a limited supply of particular candies. So they can and do run out of candy quickly...therefore, if you see what you want - get it.

There are different chocolates that fill the cases but some of my favorites include the dark chocolate caramels, the haystack, orange creams, and the chocolate covered dates. I love the bitter taste and chalky feel of dark, dark chocolate. It makes for a great contrast with the sweetness of Hatch's smooth, soft, rich and creamy caramels. Orange and chocolate is another great combination and not only are the flavors paired nicely in Hatch's orange creams, the thick layer of chocolate is also a great textural contrast to the orange cream's gooey center. Although I mostly indulge in dark chocolates, I also believe there is a time and a place for milk chocolate. Hatch's haystacks offer a nice milk chocolate bite amidst crisp, toasted coconut - another classic flavor combination. And an interesting fruit filled delicacy to try is the milk chocolate covered date. It's a date stuffed with nougat, covered in chocolate and walnuts. It's sweet, savory, and fleshy all in one bite. It's got some fruit in it, so it's healthy right? In addition to an array of different chocolates, Hatch also serves up some specialty desserts. Need a last minute dessert for a dinner party? Pick up a few of Hatch's chocolate pot de cremes. These creamy little chocolate puddings go a long way to end any meal just right; they also work as a great afternoon snack...with whip cream or without.

Neighborhood chocolate stores are becoming a thing of the past. So it's nice to see a shop like Hatch's doing well. It's perfectly located in a place where you can drop by, get a sweet treat and move along. And I often find myself doing just that. It doesn't take much for me to fill my chocolate addiction. Just one of Hatch's little creations usually is enough to curb my craving. But when I enter the shop and get the whiff of all that chocolate in the air, I usually end up stocking up on a few things. We all have our weaknesses in life...and I am an addict after all.

Hatch Family Chocolates ~ Salt Lake City, Utah

The Avenues

390 4th Avenue

Co-owners: Steve and Katie Hatch

****

note: Steve, Katie, and the gang at Hatch Family Chocolates appear weekly (every Tuesday night) on the cable channel TLC in their own reality show/documentary series called Little Chocolatiers.

Pagoda

2010-04-01T23:02:00.001-06:00

'...it unfortunately was pretty sad.'

I've always been fascinated with the exterior of the Pagoda restaurant in the Avenues. The beautiful Pagoda like structure and the exquisitely kept landscaping out front has always caught my eye. I'm a sucker for aesthetics, so every time I drive by the Pagoda I feel like the restaurant is calling my name - and I always have the urge to drop in to try it. This has been going on for the past 10 years. Why, then have I never stepped foot into this restaurant if I've been so curious? How did I withstand the urge to ever have a meal there? Well the answer is simple: everyone I ever talked to about the place has told me it sucks. "Sucks ass" - I think that's an exact quote. Recently though, the original owners of Pagoda have sublet the restaurant out to someone else. When I heard that Marlene Noda, formerly a manager at Ginza, took over the reigns at Pagoda - I seized the opportunity to finally eat at this classic Utah establishment.

I wish I could say the aesthetics inside of the place match the fun exterior. The interior in fact was much the opposite of fun - it unfortunately was pretty sad. Upon finally entering the restaurant, I was surprised to see what must be the original furniture (which was probably purchased in the late 50s/early 60s?) still occupying the dining room. The dining room itself is very, very dark. Somewhat odd, generic-looking Asian-type screens are scattered sporadically around the tables to break the room up but the mix of this more chic decor alongside old, beat up vinyl black chairs is a little unsettling. In fact, it gives off a little bit of a convalescent home-trying to be hip-kind of feel. Not at all appetizing.

A friend and I had lunch at the Pagoda and began by sharing the self-proclaimed house specialty sushi roll - "The Pagoda Roll". Big mistake. The roll consisted of either tuna or salmon (I couldn't even tell what fish was in it) rolled in traditional Maki style with rice and seaweed (I think there might have been cream cheese or avocado in it as well, who knows?) that was then battered and tempura fried and topped with a flavored mayo (aioli) and soy. Ack. The flavors were so muddled. It could have been chicken in there for all that mattered. A few hours later, both my friend and I felt a little sick in the stomach. We both think it was thanks to this house specialty.

To try a variety of things for lunch, I decided on getting the "Daniel-San" which was a Bento box consisting of the famous Pagoda BBQ ribs, gyoza, a California roll, tempura onions and white rice. This is a lot of food, but for $14.95 it seemed a bit steep to me for lunch. This priced seemed even more steep after I actually tried the food. To be fair, the ribs were the best out of the bunch - soft and tender with a sticky and slightly sweet sauce. Nothing totally superb, but they were good. The gyoza, little Japanese potstickers which I normally love, were a little off tasting to me - a bit too gingery, the texture of which was a little mushy. The tempura onions were unmemorable, crispy yet pretty bland; I've definitely had way better. To top it off the California roll was uninspired; krab with a k is just crab with a p. Overall the Bento box was limp, definitely lacking some major personality. I think I would have been happier with just a plate of the ribs and rice. My friend who got the "Noda-san" (vegetable tempura with chicken teriyaki, a tuna roll, and rice) also commented how unimpressive it was. In fact he mentioned that the teriyaki at the Smith's grocery store at 8th and 9th is a lot better...and cheaper. Too bad they can't just stick a big ol' pagoda inside of there to attract more customers.

To top it off, we wanted to talk a little with Marlene about her move from Ginza to Pagoda, as well as to see if there were any major changes coming to the restaurant under her supervision. We asked the waiter several times if she were available and although he insisted she was coming out to speak with us, she never showed. The restaurant wasn't busy at all, so it would have been nice to get a hello at the very least.

It seems this new Pagoda has got some problems - problems that the beautiful exterior unfortunately can't help. I guess it's true what they say...it's what's on the inside that really counts. For their sake I hope Pagoda has a major overhaul coming up. The place has so much potential with such a great exterior; it's got curb appeal as they say. Finally eating at this Utah classic was essentially anti-climatic for me. Like their Bento box, the restaurant was poorly executed, limp, and seemingly soul-less. I drove past Pagoda the other day on my way to the chocolate shop in the Avenues and, not surprisingly, I no longer had any desire to drop in.

Pagoda ~ Salt Lake City, Utah

26 N. E Street ~ The Avenues

Owner: Marlene Noda

Ruth Chris Steakhouse

2010-03-31T23:33:00.000-06:00

'Ruth Chris Steakhouses...they ain't cheap'

To be honest I don't normally eat at many chain restaurants. I count myself lucky to live in a city where there are many locally owned and independently operated places to eat - and I really enjoy supporting local businesses (that is - as long as they are good). So you typically wouldn't find me at a place like the Ruth Chris Steakhouse but my mom happened to send me a gift card to Ruth Chris for my birthday and I'm never one to turn down free food (I think this goes back to my days as a starving graduate student and sometimes it's hard to break life-long habits, like say, devouring a free buffet of food when you think no one is looking....but I digress).

The first Ruth Chris I've ever been to was the local downtown Salt Lake City location. The space was formerly occupied by the Gastronomy run restaurant Baci; Ruth Chris had converted the space giving it a great ambience, complete with an elegant "business-casual" feel and beautiful decor. Right from the start you could tell that the servers were well trained and that this was a tip-top production, a tightly run ship. Our server had a great knowledge of wine, our steaks were perfectly cooked, came out in a timely (but not too quick) fashion and were delicious, and everything added up to a great evening. That is until we were told that the gift card given to me by my mom was invalid. Well actually it's a longer story than that, but suffice it to say - we thought we were getting a free dinner and we wound up having to pay an almost $200 bill for two people. Yikes; this is something you should know about all Ruth Chris Steakhouses...they ain't cheap. A steak alone (literally alone, you don't get anything with your steak except steak - it's served a la carte) is a minimum of like $25; add in drinks and side dishes and/or salads and you're easily close to $100 for a single person.

Obviously there was a mistake somewhere along the convoluted path from my mom's original purchase to the issuing of the gift card, and like any person on a mission to get my free food back, I had many very productive (and I might add enjoyable) conversations with general managers both in Salt Lake and in California (where my mom is from and where she purchased the card for me) to try to fix what was broken. In the end, Ruth Chris not only sent me a gift card for the original purchase made by my mother, but they also doubled the amount for all of the trouble that was caused on their end. Very classy indeed. This chain was starting to win me over.

Due to mis-management (unrelated to my own gift card debacle), the Salt Lake Ruth Chris ended up closing for good (incidentally, the space is currently occupied by another high end steakhouse chain called Donovan's). So in order to take advantage of this newly issued gift card, we headed up to Park City where the only other Ruth Chris in the state of Utah is located. The Park City Ruth Chris is housed within the Hotel Park City. The space is equally as lovely as the Salt Lake venue was, with a smaller, more ski-lodge feel...appropriate for a hotel restaurant residing in a ski town....and thankfully the interior was not an exact replica of the downtown Salt Lake location. The service again was excellent, they had a great wine list, and a very nice ambience. And what about the food? Just like my first experience, the food was awesome.

We started with a very large Caesar salad, not too heavily dressed, served with big slivers of Parmigiano Reggiano. The salad was quite satisfying with a tart citrus flavor curbed by the nice saltiness of the cheese and anchovies. This could have been a meal unto itself and in fact when we got the main course, I wish I hadn't eaten all my salad - I almost had no more room for the main event. I had the New York strip, medium-rare; it landed right in front of me sizzling on a hot plate laden with melted butter. Our table shared two side dishes - the whipped potatoes and the sauteed wild mushrooms. Each dish was magnificent in their own right but the steak was the definite star. The steak, perfectly cooked, was tender and moist, harboring a robust, deep flavor just enriched by the puddle of butter it rested on. The potatoes were smooth, velvety and creamy - and the mushrooms were delicious with a nutty, earthy, flavor. Both of these sides complimented the steak giving the meal different textures and flavors...add in great service and ambience....and again Ruth Chris serves up a lovely evening. And better yet, they accepted the gift card this time around no questions asked. Thanks mom!

Certainly there are high end chains out there that do really great food and strive to excel at customer service - and the Ruth Chris Steakhouse definitely falls into this category. The fact of the matter is that good food is good food, no matter if it's from a chain or a local place, or from a hot dog stand or your grandma's kitchen. But even given the great experiences I've had at Ruth Chris, these still haven't changed my fundamental philosophy about supporting local restaurants. Sure that means you won't find me eating every week at the Ruth Chris (I couldn't afford it anyway!) but if I had to recommend a great steakhouse in Utah....solely based on the food...Ruth Chris would definitely be in my top three.

Ruth Chris Steakhouse ~ Park City, Utah

Hotel Park City

****

-new SLC location under construction

Les Madeleines

2010-02-22T11:22:00.002-07:00

'Les Madeleines makes the best macaroons.'

When I was a kid growing up my aunt Rose used to always make macaroons for Christmas. She made hundreds of tiny little macaroons - crisp on the outside and gooey on the inside. I always ate tons but for whatever reason grew an aversion to them over the years. I think I just overdosed on macaroons every Christmas or perhaps just longed for something new and different. It's interesting how times change and something that revolted you as a child excites you as an adult. Fast forward to current day where I find myself drooling over any glass bakery case which prominently displays delectable macaroons. I'm not sure what my problem was but now I love macaroons. I LOVE them.

Simply put - Les Madeleines makes the best macaroons. They're light and fluffy like cake with a texture and flavor that only dried coconut exudes. The macaroons are uniquely scented with orange and one end is delicately coated in chocolate giving a sophisticated feel to this little morsel. Les Madeleines also makes classic French macarons. You've probably seen these colorful cookies that look like little sandwiches. Also quite good. On the day you hit Les Madeleines the content of their glass bakery case may vary. They have also been known to run out of things and not replenish. So be forewarned. When you see something you want, get it. Also be on the lookout for their classic black and white (or half moon) cookies (just like in New York!). I can only describe these as more of a cake or shortbread that is shaped like a big cookie and iced with half vanilla icing and dark chocolate icing. It's more or less like a cookie-brownie-cupcake type thing, but is absolutely delicious.

If you're not up to eating sweets (blasphemy?) try to drop into Les Madeleines for lunch. They have a small assortment of lunch items. My favorite is the sesame chicken salad wrap. House made chicken salad is wrapped up tightly in a lettuce cup and again tightly wrapped in a rice-paper-cellophane wrapper. Alone the sandwich is a little dull, but dipping it into the sesame/miso vinaigrette really evokes a wonderful flavor, elevating the sandwich a couple of notches on the taste meter. Edamame is served on the side, a really healthful and fun alternative to potato chips. I also normally get a fresh limeade to wash it all down with. Les Madeleines is a favorite lunch stop of mine where I can pick something up quickly and then head back to work so I can work through lunch in my office. It's a sad life I know but that sweet treat for dessert (a macaroon or black and white perhaps?) helps me to finish off lunch with a smile and energizes me to tackle the rest of my day.

I just love pastry shops and bakeries. Although I myself am not much of a baker, I really appreciate the artistry involved in such an endeavor. My aunt Rose would stay up long nights to finish her macaroons for the Christmas holidays. If you've ever made macaroons, you know they can be a sticky mess. So I know a lot of skill and a lot of love go into making these little things. I for one was always grateful for my aunt's industriousness...and I for one am grateful that I can find a little bit of my aunt in the macaroons at Les Madeleines.

Les Madeleines ~ Salt Lake City, Utah
216 East 500 South
Chef Romina Rasmussen
****

Wild Grape

2010-02-22T08:30:00.003-07:00

'Hit or miss.'

Hit or miss. It's not the best way to describe a restaurant's performance. Inconsistency is a restaurant killer. I mean really, who wants to go to a restaurant and at the end of the evening get hit with the reality that they just wasted their good, hard earned cash on a crappy meal or on sub-par service? Not me anyway. So - I've been to the Wild Grape at least a dozen or so times these past two years to try to figure them out...and unfortunately 'hit or miss' is the way I'd have to describe their food (and service). Sometimes it's good and sometimes not so good. In fact a big reason it's taken me so long to write this review is because I've got mixed feelings about the place. There are times when the stars align and I just love it and then other times I wonder why the heck I ever went back. Below I recount some highs and lows from a few experiences to exemplify what I'm talking about.

Low - flat iron steak with truffled mac n' cheese, topped with lightly dressed arugula. The steak was perfectly cooked medium rare but unfortunately both the steak and the mac n' cheese underneath were stone cold...not even room temp, but stone cold. Did the cook think that he could plate the dish up 30 minutes before the other dishes for the table were ready? And how did the cold food pass the chef/expeditor? In any case, amateurish performance at best. MISS.

High - Sunday prime rib dinner: perfectly cooked medium rare prime rib with mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables. The meat was tender and juicy, made even more succulent served in its savory jus. I'm picky when it comes to prime rib because I think my dad's prime rib is the best ever - and biting into this meat made me think of my dad's food. Taste memory: it's a powerful thing and it's what every dish should strive to evoke in some way, shape or form. And this prime rib had a dramatic effect on me. Hard to believe that this dish came out of the same kitchen on the same night as the flat iron steak above. HIT.

Low - Sunday brunch. Bad service, dirty tables, dry potatoes, and the absolute worst beignets and huevos rancheros I've ever had. Dry seemed to be a pervasive theme as both the beignets and huevos seemed to lack any moisture. Seriously - not good at all. Everyone knows that brunch is a time when a restaurant basically puts up their "B team" line up of cooks (since the really good cooks are needed for dinner). But on this particular Sunday it seemed like they staffed the Wild Grape kitchen with rejects from the reality TV show "Worst Cooks in America". How can a restaurant serve elegant, eclectic food for dinner and then crap for breakfast? Either inconsistency is a goal for this place or someone's just not paying attention. In any case - MISS.

High - seared salmon over gnocchi with spinach puree. On a recent trip back to the Wild Grape I decided to give the salmon a try, mostly to see if the Wild Grape could redeem itself. On a past trip, I hadn't been too enthused about the fish dish I ordered. So yeah, of course on this night - the salmon was EXCELLENT. It was cooked a perfect medium. Whoever cooked that piece of fish definitely knew what he was doing because the sear on that sucker was amazing. The fish was served crispy skin side up over caramelized gnocchi with a lovely bright green spinach sauce. The salmon was topped off with orange and lime rinds giving it a nice brightness of flavor and the spinach rendered a freshness to the dish. The gnocchi had a crisp texture but were light and fluffy - absolutely lovely. Definite HIT.

The menu changes seasonally, which means you may never see some of the above menu items on your own visit, but this gives you an idea of the style of food they serve. Other mentionables? Butternut squash soup - not my favorite. Wild Grape house salad - really nice. Lamb burger - just okay. Chocolate Smores Tort - great. Mmmm...so where does this leave us? I'm not exactly sure but you see what I mean? Sometimes the Wild Grape is on their "A game". Other times it's like they're not even in the building let alone the game. But don't you just sometimes really want to like a place? Even if it's not the best?

I have mixed feelings about the Wild Grape. They do some great things, have a great wine list, and nice atmosphere. But then I've also gotten some really bad dishes, rotten service, and have just wanted to get the hell out of there after a meal. Ugh. So do I like the Wild Grape? Would I recommend it? It's hard for me to say...and I guess it just shouldn't be so hard to decide if they're good or not. You shouldn't have to wonder if you're going to go to a restaurant and get a good meal or if the service for that matter is going to stink. And when I go to the Wild Grape, I guess I just always wonder.

Wild Grape ~ Salt Lake City, Utah

481 E. South Temple

Chef: Phelix Gardner

**** (on a good day)

** (on a bad day)

Chow truck

2010-02-12T16:38:00.000-07:00

'...you can't miss it - that is if you're looking for it...and believe me...YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR IT.'

I love street food. Yeah - you heard me - street food. You know...street vendors. Hot dog carts, taco carts, pretzel stands - that sort of thing. I don't think we celebrate street food enough in the U.S., let alone here in SLC, UT. Personally I feel like food always tastes better when you're outside in the fresh air anyway...and there's something communal and almost intimate about the food cart experience - whether its standing huddled around in line with strangers waiting to place your order or parking it on a nearby bench or sidewalk to eat with friends. So I was really excited to see the Chow truck in SLC, a new venture where moving taco truck meets gourmet Asian cuisine.

The Chow truck is a food truck reminiscent of most taco trucks found on the street or lunch trucks found on construction sites. This truck however is bright yellow, so you can't miss it - that is if you're looking for it...and believe me...YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR IT. At first glance you could be at any other lunch truck in the state, with an ice bar up front holding a variety of drinks and other candy bars and such to grab, but as you glance through the menu you see that you are indeed in for a unique dining experience. You won't see any boxed up turkey sandwiches here as the menu represents casual street food with a gourmet twist; instead, think Asian tacos. You order through a small plastic window where owner of the Chow truck, SuAn Chow, takes your order. On this day, we tried the spicy beef tacos, the pineapple-ginger pork tacos, the fried root chips, and the special of the day which was a pulled pork quesadilla with a mole sauce. As we ordered we could see Chef Rosanne Ruiz (formerly of Vinto) in the truck's tiny little kitchen putting our orders together...and the food came out in a flash.

To put it bluntly - the spicy beef tacos were amazing. Often times for me, tacos are all about texture rather than taste, but not this time - the flavor in this taco was very pronounced. The beef was tender and savory with a hint of heat. This blended well with the cool slaw and the crunchy topping of fried wonton strips. The cilantro pesto really tied the whole thing together nicely offering a blast of brightness. It was like eating a Southeast Asian taco which was somehow oddly American. It was absolutely delicious...all packed into one little taco. The pork tacos were also quite good with flavors a little less pronounced - more hints than distinct flavors of ginger for example, with some sweetness from the pineapple bits on top. However, the flavors weren't too subtle that you couldn't taste anything, but present enough so that you didn't feel like you were just eating something ambiguously crunchy.

Speaking of crunchy, the root chips provided a really nice alternative to plain potato or tortilla chips. The chips consisted of a mixture of fried yukon golds, purple potatoes, carrots, yams, beets, and lotus root. Each chip had a distinct flavor, some sweeter than others, some more savory but each with a distinctive crispness as well. We rounded our meal off with the special of the day - a pork quesadilla served with a mole sauce, cucumber salsa, and cilantro pesto. The pulled pork in mole provided a deep, rich, meaty flavor in contrast to the bright flavors in the tacos. The mole did tend to overpower the other subtle flavors of the dish but such is the case with mole.

The Chow truck menu is small and focused with variations of their 5 main tacos in slider or salad versions. It being a truck and all, the Chow truck moves from location to location but you can track where it will be via their website or by twitter. Or you can JUST LOOK FOR IT as you're driving and drop by for an impromptu lunch or dinner. Street food is a widely celebrated tradition in most parts of the world from Latin America to Europe to Japan or India...with vendors selling food specific to their respective lands. But as unique as the food in every place is, the locals share one common feature - they will always know which carts serve the best food. And I think I've just found the best damn taco truck in SLC.

Chow truck ~ Salt Lake City, Utah

Currently hosted at these locations: Trolley Square, Twilight Lounge, Eggs in the City, Key Bank, and REI

www.chowtruck.com

Owner: SuAn Chow

Chef: Rosanne Ruiz

***.5

The Copper Onion

2010-01-30T14:55:00.002-07:00

'Overall, pretty impressive - given that they've only been open for 9 days.'

The Copper Onion is the latest of a trickling of casual, new American type restaurants to populate the Salt Lake valley. Chef Ryan Lowder, originally from SLC, comes back to his home city highly acclaimed - having trained at the CIA, doing stages under New York Chefs Jean George Vongerichten and Mario Batali, and finally achieving the position of executive chef at Mercat in NYC. Most people believe if you can run a successful restaurant in NYC you must know what you're doing. So expectations for his new restaurant located next door to the Broadway movie theatre in downtown SLC are quite high. Do the sensibilities of running a New York City restaurant apply to our own Salt Lake City culinary scence? I had dinner at the Copper Onion to find out.

The restaurant space is pretty decent and the decor gives way to a casual dining experience with a dimly lit ambiance. It's a great location, perfect for attracting off-the-street business...very smart. The menu also appeared to be very smart: a small, focused menu with a variety of choices made from local, sustainable sources. Prices for entrees range from $11 to $24...really a great value if you look at the type of dishes offered. Good location - check. Good value - check. Good food?

We started our meal off with a warm loaf of house-made rosemary bread served with honey butter. Rosemary perfumed the soft loaf, it's strong scent a perfect match for the sweetness and richness of the butter. We also tried the gran biscotto ham and d'affinois cheese to start. The ham was savory and tender, sliced thin like sheets of paper. The d'affinois, a rich cow's milk cheese, soft and silky, was reminiscent of brie - but not so stinky. It's creaminess was dreamy and rich. The plate of meat and cheese also came with a house-made buckwheat jam. I actually found the taste of the jam off-putting; the smell alone was not exactly the most inviting and spread on the cheese and meat - it made everything too cloyingly sweet.

For our entrees, we decided to go with one standard menu item as well to try the evening's special. Carbonara is a classic pasta dish found on many menus featuring traditional Italian and more modern Italian-American items. At The Copper Onion they make their own pasta in-house and serve their carbonara with an egg yolk nested atop the hot pasta. In true Italian fashion, the hot pasta will cook the egg as you mix the yolk into the dish. The dish was good - nice and tasty, rich from the egg and cheese, and the noodles were delicate with a firm toothiness to them. As good as it was, it wasn't the best carbonara I've ever had though. I think the dish's main problem was that it was perhaps a little underseasoned. It's amazing what a little salt can do. Not bad though...

We also tried the special - piquillo peppers stuffed with braised short rib meat, served with fruit chutney, an arugula salad, and black eyed peas. I originally wanted to get the wagyu steak with fries, but I had an inkling for soft, tender, braised meat and the combination with the pepper sounded interesting. Generally I hesitate from getting the special at any restaurant since it's well known that they often come up with specials to get rid of excess or old food. But with the Copper Onion being 9 days old, I thought they just might be trying to test out new menu items. Moreover, the server did an exquisite sales job making me salivate at the drop of the description. And indeed the stuffed peppers were great. The braised short rib meat was soft and tender and the savoriness of the meat played well with the sweetness of the peppers and chutney. If anything the dish screamed for some moisture - a little sauce on each stuffed pepper would have moved this dish from great to superb...tying all of the components on the plate together. What added to the dryness were the black eyed peas which had a nice bite to them but again lacked some juiciness. The fruit compote was undecipherable to me (perhaps peach or pear?) but added a nice sweetness and density, while the peppery arugula on top offered a sharp bite, waking up the flavor with a splash of vinegar, as well as giving the dish a nice crunchy texture.

With an influx of guests just coming from a Sundance movie playing next door, the restaurant was packed. The staff was getting a little swamped and service seemed to slow down quite a bit. It took a while for us to get our check. We decided to save dessert for another day. Overall, pretty impressive - given that they've only been open for 9 days. I'll definitely be back in a few weeks to check on their progress. It looks to me like the sensibilities and skills of this NYC chef are playing through quite nicely in SLC. Welcome home chef, welcome home.

The Copper Onion ~ Salt Lake City, Utah

Chef/co-owner: Ryan Lowder

Co-owner: Colleen Lowder

111 East 300 South

***.5

Communal

2010-01-30T12:54:00.002-07:00

'Really, they made this here in Provo?'

I almost never get to Provo. I think I've been to Provo once where I've actually stopped for a significant period of time to watch a BYU vs. Cal football game over 10 years ago. (This of course excludes the 6 months I dated a BYU student in 2001...but that's a story for another time). When I think of cities that play host to restaurants that serve modern, unique food - honestly Provo is not the first town that comes to mind. On a chance overnight stay in Provo over the Christmas holiday, I got the opportunity to drop into Communal, a hip and trendy dinner spot I heard was pretty decent. Pretty decent in Provo? This definitely warranted some investigation.

The name Communal stems from the philosophy behind the restaurant's serving practices. The food is served in smaller, family style dishes - usually in portions big enough for at least 2 people. The decor in the restaurant also matches this philosophy with one long row of conjoined tables and wooden benches on one side of the restaurant. Seating in this area is close quarters, giving a true communal feel; not to worry if you value your personal space though, there is more traditional style seating available as well. The restaurant sports a beautiful layout and an open kitchen: all very small, clean, and modern. Could we really be in Provo?

We started off our dinner with the melted onion tart. A crisp pastry was layered with caramelized onions atop which a frisee salad tossed with a bacon vinaigrette was placed. Over this a poached egg sat glistening like a jewel. The dish was quite nice. The sweetness from the onion was well balanced with the salty, bitter frisee salad. Once you sliced through the poached egg with your folk, the creaminess of the yolk tied the whole dish together quite nicely...giving it an overall great mouth feel. Really, they made this here in Provo?

To celebrate the Communal theme, we next shared two meat entrees, a starch, and a veg. We were excited to see two miniature family style servings of the pot roast and the airline chicken breast in cute, modern serving dishes. The pot roast was everything you'd imagine old school, comfort food to be. It was juicy, tender, and deep with flavors of bay, onion, and red wine. It was a real comforting dish, as only a well done pot roast can deliver. Paired with crisp wild mushrooms and a cheesy, gooey gratin, we had the perfect accoutrements to a complete meal. Yes - all here in Provo!

The highlight of the dinner for me though was the airline chicken breast. The airline part of the chicken breast refers to an old school butchering of chicken where the chef fabricates the breast so that part of the wing is still attached. Apparently this cut was first made popular when it was served on airlines in the 1960s. In any case, the cut isn't what made this dish interesting per se - it was the way the chicken was cooked that made it special. The chicken was cooked sous vide...or under vacuum - under constant, exact temperature in a water bath. The breast was sooo juicy and tender. The chefs must have also quickly pan fried the chicken on one side to get a crisp skin, because the skin offered a nice textural contrast to the juicy meat. Not your everyday chicken breast...airline, indeed. Sous vide, really...in Provo?!?

I must say the food was great, the restaurant was intimate, the kitchen was open and this added up to a nice warm family type experience - a communal feel if you will. I love the concept, the menu is super simple and focused, and the chefs are even committed to using local, sustainable products. Are we really in Provo?

The food was so filling that we opted for no dessert. Instead we ended with a nice night cap finishing the wine we had at our table. Suddenly as if I snapped out of trance, I quickly glanced around the small restaurant and noticed that we were the only table drinking wine. We could hear the table behind us ordering drinks, saying that it was a special occasion so they wanted something nice. When the server came back to the table with a large bottle of sparkling apple cider, I just smiled to myself thinking - well, we are in Provo afterall....

Communal ~ Provo, Utah

100 North University Ave

Co-owners: Colton and Joe

****

Tulie

2009-12-30T14:02:00.001-07:00

My computer keyboard's a mess. Sometimes I get what I'm eating for breakfast on everything in my office. I find grease stains on papers or reports and little bits of sugar on my keyboard and mouse. I admit it. I'm a messy eater in the mornings. It's just that I find that I'm unable to restrain myself when it comes to a good morning bun from Tulie. Although I generally eat healthfully for breakfast during the week (honestly I work out at the gym each morning and then usually eat a yogurt and banana while catching up with emails first thing in the office) at least once a week I indulge in a brilliant hot beverage and a sinful pastry from a local coffee house/bakery. And for the past several months I've been on a Tulie kick.

I am a total coffee and pastry guy. I love a nice hot, slightly bitter cup of coffee after eating an indulgent, sweet, crusty on the outside-gooey on the inside kind of pastry. I know it's so bad for me, but I revel in the smell of coffee wafting in the air and glistening sugar on that morning bun. Mmm...it's just so inviting...especially in these cold winter months. The morning bun is a cross between a muffin and a cinnamon roll. It's baked till crisp on the outside and is covered in granulated sugar giving it an almost crystalline appearance. You bite into it and out comes a combination of cinnamon and orange amidst a goop of chewy bread - it's absolutely heavenly. With one bite I instantly go into starvation mode and devour the entire thing, thankfully in the privacy of my office...where by now I've gotten sugar and goo all over my computer and desk. I wash it all down with a hot cup of coffee and my day has started off well.

Being a 9th and 9th resident, I actually have quite a few options for morning coffee. However in my case the food is the high selling point of a coffeehouse for me. Weird I know. I do like my coffee, but I guess I like my food more. In addition to your standard specialty coffee treats, Tulie offers a wide variety of house made pastries, both savory and sweet. There a few lunch items as well as some specials like fresh beignets on early Friday and Saturday mornings. Some personal favorites of mine have included their pain au chocolat and chocolate bouchon (yeah okay - I like chocolate). But in their display case you'll find more than just chocolate with rows and rows of beautiful croissants, muffins, scones, tea cakes, and more. Desserts also adorn the neighboring deli case with delightful confections such as mini chocolate tortes, cream pies, and fruit tarts. The dark chocolate torte is amazing. Dense bittersweet goodness filled in a chocolate crust? Um yeah. Ridiculous...in the greatest sense possible. Tulie. It's an absolute dream and it's right here in my neighborhood. I'm a lucky guy.

Oh - and when I get into the office on a Tulie kind of morning, I'll sometimes close my door while I voraciously engulf my morning bun and coffee at my desk. It's a private, intimate, almost savage moment of fulfillment...and the grin of satisfaction on my face doesn't get any bigger.

Tulie ~ Salt Lake City, Utah

863 East 700 South

***

Chez Betty

2009-12-28T15:42:00.005-07:00

"Unfortunately Betty died today", we were told by host and co-owner Tom Bell as we were being seated. Apparently, some kids with a big dinner party wanted to sit next to Betty during dinner that night, but Tom quickly gave us the table next to the empty fish bowl which normally housed the mascot goldfish of the restaurant's namesake. Apparently Tom didn't have time to go the store to get a replacement before dinner service, so he told the kids that Betty was on a little vacation in the Bahamas. Oh well - no Betty tonight I thought...but at least there wasn't a mystery fish special on the menu that night.

Located inside of the Copperbottom Inn in Park City, Chez Betty is what I'd describe as somewhat of a "sleeper" restaurant. To some it's very well known as the restaurant and chef have gotten some critical acclaim in the local media in the past, but because of the restaurant's location just off of historic Main Street inside of a non-major-chain type of hotel - not too many think of Chez Betty as a destination restaurant. It's "sleeper" status however doesn't keep the locals away. The restaurant never fails to pack the crowd in giving it a vibrant, cozy energy.

You're a little thrown off as you first walk in through a door common to both the Copperbottom Inn and the restaurant. Once you find your way to Chez Betty to the left of the entrance, you quickly see that the restaurant is medium-sized with what I would describe only as a very "homey" interior. The decor isn't exactly fancy or elegant, definitely not modern or chic by any means, but the dining room tables are covered with white table cloths and the walls sport an eclectic decor of decorative plates and artwork that gives the place a nice sense of charm. The menu at Chez Betty matches its decor...what I would call eclectic American. It's a short menu, the majority of which represents classic preparations with a few modern dishes thrown in, making the dishes diverse in cuisine type and versatile in technique.

My dining companions and I sampled a number of dishes from the a la cart menu. An amuse bouche arrived in front of us - a small slice of sausage topped off with a sundried cherry and ancho chile pesto along with a toasted pine nut. The small bite gave us a lovely sweet-heat flavor combination alongside a savoriness from the meat - absolutely delicious - somewhat aggressive for a palate starter but it made me crave for more. We next sampled the tomato-basil soup and the kurabuta pork belly lettuce cups. The soup was good but lacked a little zip rendering it somewhat non-memorable. It tasted of sweet tomato with a hint of fresh basil but somehow seemed dormant, on the verge of being great...but it lacked a little punch to wake it up; acid would have been nice - perhaps some lemon juice or vinegar - something to make it less murky. In contrast, the lettuce cups were fantastic. The braised pork belly was tender and moist; the sweet chile sauce echoed the sweet-heat flavors of the amuse bouche. The crispy lettuce and cellophane rice noodles also added some textural interest and brightness of flavor. These were a hit at our table and a nice way to get us truly ready for our entrees.

We sampled the night's dinner special - an Asian style lo mein topped off with seared sea scallops. Unfortunately I didn't find this dish particularly successful. The noodles seemed dense - drowned in the thick, rich coconut based sauce. The scallops were cooked perfectly but were a little overwhelmed both in flavor and texture by the accompanying noodles. We also tried the warm spinach salad with spicy chicken livers. The flavor of the salad was nice - smoky from the bacon with some tang from the vinaigrette and savory feta cheese but I felt like the deep fried chicken livers lacked the promised spicyness and weren't as flavorful as they could have been. The deep frying process seemed to dry out the livers somewhat so I found the dish to lack some moisture in general.

The two stars at our table came with our red meat preparations. The beef tenderloin was cooked perfectly and melted in your mouth like butter. The classic demi-glace served alongside jazzed up the meat giving it a smoky grilled onion flavor. The tenderloin was served atop a potato pancake topped off with some wilted spinach. Unfortunately the crisp pancake became soggy due to the moisture of the spinach, although both items tasted great. The dish was topped off with a stack of onion rings which really did add some nice crunch with a nice, homey, steakhouse feel. We also tried the rack of New Zealand lamb. I must say that this dish was executed perfectly. The meat had a nice crust on it and was cooked a perfect medium-rare. The lamb was tender and juicy, not too gamey with a hint of garlic in the background and it paired nicely with some winter vegetables: roasted tourned (football shaped) potatoes, haricot verts (french green beans), baby carrots, and mashed butternut squash. The dish was executed nicely and made for a wonderful meal.

Although I do think that Chez Betty offers some nice dishes off of their regular menu, I really believe that the true value at Chez Betty's is from the chef's tasting menu. The tasting usually consists of a four course meal and I think the liberation from the confines of the regular menu really lets the chefs' creativity shine. The menu changes every couple weeks depending on the timing and what's in season. One summertime menu example includes a tomato-coconut curry soup, frisee with duck confit, tortilla-crusted pork tenderloin, and profiteroles...all for $48.00 ($68.00 with wine pairing). Everything I've had in past tasting menus has always been superb, focused, and delicious. The tasting menu definitely gives you a feel for what the chefs' food is all about and provides a nice option for getting to know the restaurant in a more intimate setting (foodwise).

At the end of our meal, co-owner and Chef Jerry Garcia came by our table to talk with us. He asked us how our meal went and talked a little about the scallop special which his sous chef developed. Very rarely does the chef come out and interact with customers but from what I hear Chef Garcia tries to get out to the dining room to talk with customers or just to even help out filling water glasses during a busy service. This kind of attention to detail, in combination with good food, really makes for the right restaurant experience. In my intro above, I called Chez Betty a "sleeper" restaurant. I think the real "sleepers" are people who don't wake up and head on over to Chez Betty to give it a try.

Chez Betty ~ Park City, Utah

1637 Short Line Drive

Chef/co-owner: Jerry Garcia

Co-owner: Tom Bell

***.5

Market Street Broiler

2009-12-17T22:30:00.003-07:00

I once worked for a chef who demanded that our salads be plated on ice cold plates, preferably served with an ice cold fork. This tradition stems from an old food serving practice seldom followed in today's restaurants - serve hot food on hot plates, cold food on cold plates. When my side salad came to the table I immediately touched the plate and felt chills jolting up my spine...the plate was ice cold. The salad was a simple plate of mixed greens, a few cherry tomatoes, and cucumber slices. It made me smile...dinner at the Market Street Broiler tonight was going to be a flashback to old school.

When I opened the menu, I was reminded about the gamut of classic dishes the Broiler serves such as clam chowder, shrimp cocktail, and seafood Louie. These dishes have definitely stood the test of time and for whatever reason - I equate these old school classics with decadence; they give me a kind of Great Gatsby feeling and I'm not quite sure why. What's also nice about the Broiler though is that in addition to these many classics, they also offer some modern interpretations such as an Asian style salad with Ahi tuna which really balances out their classic approach quite nicely. As the kitchen proclaims itself a seafood specialist, ordering the seafood at the Broiler is a safe bet. So on this night, my dining companion and I decided to try out the early bird special which includes seafood or steak (we chose halibut as our fish), a starch (boiled, herbed potatoes, rice, or french fries), salad or soup to start, and dessert for $18.99 - a great value if you're in to dine before 7pm (this concept in and of itself is also old school - not many restaurants do such a thing anymore).

We also decided to try out the fresh catch of the day, the teriyaki glazed steelhead. Steelhead is in the trout family but its consistency and flavor is more similar to that of salmon. The fish on both plates were cooked perfectly. We requested a light breading on the halibut and it had a nice, crisp exterior with a very tender, flaky flesh. In contrast, the steelhead was glazed in a slightly sweet teriyaki sauce without being too cloyingly sweet. The steelhead was broiled to a perfect medium giving it a silky, smooth texture, which was balanced nicely with crunchy green beans and herbed rice pilaf. The dish composure wasn't fancy or modern at all - it was your basic dish: protein-starch-veg at a ratio of about 50%:25%:25% respectively (an old school ratio used for portioning food). The plating on the salmon was also quite basic. The food wasn't placed on the plate to be a modern work of art, plated in a way that makes you think a lot about it...it wasn't extraordinary looking by any means - it was just food on a plate simply meant to be eaten and enjoyed. And that it was.

For dessert, we sampled their sabayon. Sabayon is a classic french custard-like sauce made with white wine (the Italian version is similarly tagged Zabaglione; when each is pronounced they actually sound more similar then they are spelled). At Market Street, they top off a small scoop of vanilla ice cream with their sabayon and top everything off with fresh berries and mint. The sabayon gave the ice cream a nice creaminess with an added depth of flavor from the white wine; the berries added a tart but sweet finish. It was really nice - not too overlwhelmingly sweet. Our evening was a hit, confirming the experiences I've had at the Broiler over and over for the past 10 years.

Gastronomy, the company that runs all of the Market Street restaurants, focuses their menu on heavy surf and turf options - an old school delight for sure. With fresh seafood delivered daily, Gastronomy's restaurants offer a regular menu of different seafood as described above but they also cater to heavy meat eaters as well. Their variety and quality of steaks is outstanding and their rack of ribs offers an excellent finger-licking-good option. I've been known to devour a whole rack of ribs with only a Hefeweizen in hand to wash it down. The ribs are that good. Their full service bar also offers a large variety of mixed drinks, wines, and beer - and the restaurant decor lends itself to either a fancy dinner or a casual night out. The nautical theme around the restaurant isn't subtle as portholes and ship-style carpentry adorn everywhere. The upstairs is even shaped to look like you're eating on a ship of some sort. Although it sounds campy, it really isn't. The style maintains a modern, yet truly elegant feel...which really sums up my evaluation of the Broiler: unassuming but good food, great service, and a wonderful environment. The Broiler offers classics that take you back to when cold salad plates and basic three-part plating were in vogue, yet it still remains both modern and elegant enough to feel like I'm not actually eating through a cheesy recreation of the Love Boat. It's classy...in an old school sort of way.

Market Street Broiler ~ Salt Lake City, Utah

260 South 1300 East

Chef Hans Cluff

***

Meditrina

2009-12-02T18:44:00.003-07:00

The tapas - or small plate - trend began in the U.S. some twenty-some odd years ago. This style of eating, largely based off of Spanish tradition, has been transformed over many years to incorporate influences not only from traditional Spanish dishes but from food all over the world. For some reason, Salt Lake City has not seen a huge interest from local chefs and restaurateurs venturing into the small plate concept. In the last several years Salt Lake has only seen a sparse number of tapas places...some coming and going so quietly you'd never know they were ever open. Late 2009 has since seen the introduction of a few new tapas bars...marking some truly exciting additions to our local culinary scene. Meditrina is located in a quiet residential area of Salt Lake City. The space is highlighted by an outside patio for dining in warm weather and marked by a quaint interior dining room with lots of charm. The chefs have put together a menu of many small plates, some taken directly from traditional Spanish tapas while others are fused with multiple international influences.

The patatas bravas are a traditional Spanish tapa which are fried and served with a spicy sauce. Meditrina puts their own spin on this classic by grilling the potatoes, accompanying them with a spicy tomato aioli and sweet caramelized onions. The dish emits a nice heat from a scant amount of chili sauce and the potatoes serve as a great canvass for this sweet-heat sensation. Mushrooms and brie, served with crostini are the most popular tapa at Meditrina - and it's no wonder why. Mushrooms sauteed in the chef's secret sauce (when I asked her about the contents of the sauce, she said she could tell me but then would have to kill me) had a really sweet, deep flavor which nicely complemented the woody flavor of the mushrooms. To be honest, the taste of the brie in the dish was a little overpowered by the strong flavor of the mushrooms but the gooey cheese was a welcome addition to the overall texture of the dish.

The Asian-marinated flank steak had a nice sweet flavor with accents of ginger. The steak itself was grilled perfectly medium rare with a juicy, tender texture and the meat had a slightly smoky scent. The steak paired nicely with the Chinese broccoli which offered texture, taste, and a nice contrast of color. The stalks of the broccoli were nice and firm while the tops were soft - the broccoli had a nice bitter bite to it...a great foil to the sweetness of the steak. I didn't even need the garlic mashed potatoes it was served alongside - the stars to me were the steak and broccoli.

The chefs also offered a dish which they were testing for future menu placement. They came up with a bacon and panko crusted pork tenderloin. The pork had a nice crust and was very flavorful, served with two garnishes - carmelized okra and a butter bean, turnip, and corn puree. Unfortunately the okra didn't work for me. When okra is cooked for a long time, it develops this (excuse me) snotty consistency and it just grossed me out. However, the corn puree was absolutely wonderful with a hummus like texture, very sweet and delicious. We ended our night with Meditrina's drunken oreos - oreo cookies drenched in red wine served under creamy vanilla ice cream over which a port reduction is poured. Crunchy, gooey, creamy, and chocolately all in a few small cookies. Very unique and really good - a great way to end an evening of many small plates.

To be honest, I'm a hearty eater. I love to eat my entree, savoring my food, and I usually horde it all to myself....so my attendance at tapas bars is not so frequent. But I do think it's nice every once and again to eat many smaller plates and get a taste of something different in two or three dishes. A variety of tapas offers many different options for the varied tastes around any given table. I also love the idea of sharing food with others and talking about what you've just eaten. The tapas atmosphere is perfect for that....and the atmosphere at Meditrina really does facilitate good food, sharing, and conversation...over many small plates. At Meditrina, good things do indeed come in small packages.

Meditrina ~ Salt Lake City, Utah

1394 South West Temple

Chef/co-owner: Amy Britt

Chef/co-owner: Jennifer Gilroy

***

Kyoto

2009-11-24T20:26:00.004-07:00

Would you think me crazy if I told you that the best place to go for onion rings in Salt Lake City is a Japanese restaurant? Well I'm here to say that it's true (and that the jury's still out on whether or not I'm crazy). But if you want crispy onion rings with a light and delicately deep-fried crust - Kyoto is the place to go...offering what I consider their house specialty: tempura to die for. It may sound strange that the highlight of a Japanese restaurant is its fried food given that in general Japanese food is thought to be lighter and healthier, but the adaptation of Japanese food in America has laid the way for heavier versions of traditional Japanese dishes that we've come to know and love - more or less - as Japanese-American comfort food.

Kyoto offers a range of items from traditional sushi to entrees covering the basic Japanese-American dishes such as sukiyaki, teriyaki, tonkatsu, and tempura. The entree portions are huge...a definite influence from American culture. The sukiyaki at Kyoto is served in a large, deep bowl laden full of a flavorful and slightly sweet soy sauce infused broth with thin slices of beef and other accoutrements. This beef stew of sorts is great on a cold night and is familiar enough for most people to enjoy their first time having it. The most popular Japanese-American dish, teriyaki, is done exquisitely at Kyoto. The choices for teriyaki abound at Kyoto - chicken, salmon, halibut, and beef all populate the menu as options for the sweet sauce. Any teriyaki meal is served with one of the above proteins, properly cooked with a light coat of their house made sauce which isn't too sweet...yet sweet enough. The teriyaki entrees are served with an American style green salad with a bright and sharp ginger dressing, steaming hot and salty miso soup, white rice, and Kyoto's famous vegetable tempura. It adds up to a huge pile of food on your plate - the definite American part of the Japanese-American equation.

Another traditional entree that many Americans rarely venture into is tonkatsu, a thinly pounded pork cutlet, lightly breaded and fried. And as alluded to earlier, where Kyoto truly shines is in everything fried. The thick cutlet is moist and tender yet incredibly crisp. The flavorful piece of meat is accompanied by two sauces, a sweeter, almost fruity-hoisin like sauce and more of a tart, sour, horseradish type sauce. As with all the entrees, the tonkatsu comes with salad, soup, rice, and a heaping serving of tempura. The light and crispy crust on vegetables such as onions, sweet potato, and carrots makes their tempura pretty amazing. If a deep fried product could be described as airy, the tempura at Kyoto certainly fits the bill.

What's interesting about Kyoto is their approach to sushi. With such excess demonstrated in their Japanese-American style entrees, the exact opposite is found in their sushi selection. Here you won't find the unique and creative funky rolls that newer, trendier places offer to attract more of the teriyaki-going types to try sushi. But you do have an option of some pretty standard maki rolls, as well as the traditional sashimi and nigiri. The plates are artfully presented and the offerings are quite delicious. The sashimi is high quality - the cool, clean taste of each raw fish wakes the palate with each bite. The distinct flavors of raw salmon and hamachi are light and fresh; without a sauce or side dish, the fish is served truly naked - and only the quality of the fish dictates its rich flavor. The texture and taste of sashimi is truly luxurious. It's interesting how something so simple and unassuming as raw fish can make you feel like a king. In the face of the heaps of food you get with an entree, the sushi selection is a model of restraint...which to me is more indicative of true Japanese cuisine. So if the standard entree with all the goodies sounds like a bit much for a night out, show some restraint and get a plate of sashimi and some miso soup - that alone should be enough to fill you up nicely.

A few years ago, I vacationed in (or should I say I ate my way through?) the Japanese cities of Kyoto and Tokyo. Interestingly, aside from sushi, most of the food I had in Japan was very unlike any version of the Japanese-American food I've ever had in the United States. I ate in many noodle houses, had many soups, a lot of seafood (both cooked and raw), ate raw egg over hot rice for breakfast, and frequented food carts selling various wood-fired treats on sticks. I don't remember ever leaving a meal in Japan feeling like I'd eaten too much and I didn't have teriyaki even once. So what does that mean exactly for the Japanese-American food popularized in the U.S.? I mean, did we American's bastardize Japanese food to the horribly sweet caricature of chicken teriyaki? Well maybe a little - but to be honest, I really do love chicken teriyaki when it's done right.

The beauty of the American melting pot is that we can take aspects of other cultures and integrate them into a more (forgive the food pun) palatable form. Western palates are very different than those in Japan and all we've done is taken what we like and run with it....hence we now have a nation full of teriyaki lovers. But I'm hopeful that we can grow in the next several years and adopt more of the traditional Japanese foods that we don't often see here in the U.S. The food in Japan is really amazing and truly more healthful than much of what we eat in the states; it would be a shame if the American public misses out on this. I think it's a matter of putting our own spin on this traditional fare as a means of introducing it gradually to our taste buds. I mean really - if you had told people fifty years ago that serving raw fish and seaweed would gain massive popularity around the U.S. they might have thought you were crazy. But today in addition to the nation full of teriyaki eaters, we now have a nation full of sushi eaters too. I for one am looking forward to the slow incorporation of new and different Japanese-American dishes among the masses. But as we all know, change comes slowly. So until then, I'm going to enjoy my huge plate of airy, heavenly onion rings at Kyoto...

Kyoto ~ Salt Lake City, Utah

1300 South 1100 East

***

The Savory Palate

2009-11-05T22:03:00.003-07:00

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to try a dish made by a young Thomas Keller when he was a green cook just starting out? Or curious to have a peek at what Bobby Flay's cooking was like when he was in culinary school? If so, now you've got your chance to see what aspiring cooking school students are dishing out. The International Culinary School at the Art Institute in Draper has opened a student-run establishment called 'The Savory Palate'. The restaurant is open to the public only two days during the week and dining at the restaurant is by reservation only.

The restaurant is run by students who are enrolled in a "restaurant class". Students who take the class are actually getting course credit to work in the restaurant. The student-chefs rotate through all aspects of kitchen prep and hot/cold line work executing dishes in a timely manner, as well as working front of house service as the host/hostess, servers, and bussers. The rationale for such a restaurant class is a great idea. It gives students a chance to get some experience with cooking on a restaurant line - which is presumably where the majority of students will end up right after they graduate. The experience also forces students who are training to be chefs to become servers - a position that most cooks will never normally have. It really gives the students a chance to see all aspects of a functional restaurant and give them a broad perspective of what it takes for a restaurant to be successful.

The Savory Palate is a small dining room adjacent to one of the school's teaching kitchens. The students are in a veritable fish bowl as the wall separating the kitchen and dining room is made of glass. The students are on display being watched eagerly by their waiting customers. The Savory Palate serves up a 3 course meal for $12.95 with choice of starter, entree, dessert, and beverage. The menu rotates and is based on dishes the students have mastered in a previous course called American Regional Cuisine.

I began my lunch with a sweet onion tart. To be honest it looked like something a culinary student might make. The tart itself was good - sweet, caramelized onions were baked atop of a crisp puff pastry dough and served with a roasted tomato sauce. The tart pureed sauce nicely balanced the sweetness of the onion and offered a nice creamy texture to the crunchy crust. I also tried the fried tomato with blue cheese and roasted red pepper sauce. This was also nice - crispy and chewy with a nice contrasting sweetness in the sauce. Not a bad start at all.

For my entree I had the smothered pork chops with orange-scented sweet potato and roasted butternut squash. The plating - again - was very much what you'd expect from culinary students. It was a nicely composed plate of the sweet potato which was piped onto the plate and browned, atop which the pork chop sat with sauteed onions and mushrooms placed on top. Roasted squash was delicately placed around the edge of the pork chop. My first impression of the dish was that it wasn't bad flavor-wise but definitely was not the most memorable of dishes. The pork was a touch dry and the food came out a little lukewarm...but really overall - it was a great effort.

People at the table commented on how the orange in the sweet potato was too over-powering but I actually found the flavor to be quite nice, adding some dimension and depth to the monotonous sweetness in the potato. What would have really made the dish for me though would have been a sauce to bring all of the elements on the plate together. A sauce would have tied things together nicely as well as provided some moisture to the dryness of the pork. The other entree option was the pecan-encrusted catfish served with the slow-cooked greens and the same orange-sweet potato. To be honest, I didn't try it but it got pretty good reviews around the table. Again, people seemed to like it but weren't swearing that it was the best meal they ever had.

For dessert I ordered the chocolate-banana parfait but was informed while we were eating our entree that they had run out. So I got the pecan tart instead. The tart was very good - crunchy pecans surrounded by a sweet, gooey filling overwhich a large scoop of whipped cream lay. It was a nice ending to the meal. Also ordered at our table was a fruit tart. Again, very culinary school looking. Sweet dough upon which vanilla pastry cream sits, on top of which various fruits are placed - a very classic French style pastry. Also quite good. Our server came by and actually dropped off a complimentary chocolate-banana parfait as well as a complimentary mango cake. I guess she realized they actually weren't out of the chocolate-banana parfait - or perhaps she just realized that I was having lunch with one of her culinary school instructors and she wanted to make a good impression. Either way it worked out for me. The chocolate-banana parfait was awesome. Nice banana cream, fresh and bright tasting, married with a deep chocolate mousse - airy but firm. With four desserts to finish the meal off with, who could complain? You know what they say - your company may forget about dinner, but they'll always remember dessert.

Believe it or not, I've actually had meals at various culinary school restaurants before. Living in the bay area for a really long time, I've had the pleasure of dining at the student run restaurants of the Culinary Institute of America (Greystone campus in Napa) as well as the California Culinary Academy (in San Francisco). Comparatively, The Savory Palate does seem a bit dated in terms of menu items and plating as well as a bit remedial in terms of technique but despite this, the food seems to fit the Utah demographic pretty well. So it does seem like the restaurant is catering to its potential customer base and it's a pretty good value at $12.95. All in all I had a good experience at The Savory Palate. Not the most cutting edge food I've ever had, but decent home cooking turned up a notch...not to mention that our server was great and really exemplified a good model for how service in any restaurant should be. Here at The Savory Palate you get a good glimpse of what these young culinarians can do now. With the training these ambitious students get at the Art Institute - coupled with a few years of experience in a "real" restaurant kitchen - I'm sure we can expect great things in the future from this next generation of talented chefs.

The Savory Palate at the Art Institute of Salt Lake City
121 W. Election Road
Draper, Utah
801-601-4769
***

Scaddy's

2009-10-21T22:05:00.004-06:00

There has been a wave of new burger joints to open up all through the Salt Lake metro area. Some are local ventures while most are franchises of national chains. It’s become very obvious that with so many different burger places around, having a unique twist or gimmick is essential to standing out, being noticed, and getting customers in. Places are smashing their burgers, putting gourmet spins on burgers, or offering a deluge of strange toppings to get people hooked. I’ve been meaning to try some of these places out although I’m a little skeptical of the schtick. I just hate when your food has to have a gimmick in order for it to be good.

I ran across Scaddy’s while running an errand at Costco and the restaurant supply store Bintz’s. Scaddy’s is located in a strip mall right across the street from each of the aforementioned stores. I noticed the Scaddy’s sign which read, “where fresh taste is everything”. I was intrigued since it looked like your run of the mill burger joint unfortunately located in a strip mall. Being the skeptic that I am, I decided to check out what this new places’s gimmick was….something about freshness…I guessed that perhaps they had devised different types of fresh salads that came on top of your burger….or something like that.

When I walked in though, I quickly saw a very standard, small and simple menu: hand-battered chicken, about 6 different kinds of burgers, a couple of different cold sandwiches as well as some salads, sides, and ice cream. The restaurant has a very standard fast food kind of feel with a semi-sports-bar atmosphere with a few flat screen TVs thrown in. I asked the cashier what their “freshness” sign was about and she replied that they make everything from scratch – they don’t use any frozen products. Mmm…interesting I thought. When I probed a little further about this topic, I did get a little more detail. The main ingredients are all fresh, but they don’t make their own bread, ketchup, ice cream, etc. – however they pride themselves on not using frozen products like burger patties, frozen french fries or onion rings. And they do make some of their own sauces and dressings. Mmm…interesting. So their schtick is “freshness”.

So how fresh does their food taste? The Scaddyburger, a ¼-pounder served with their special Scaddy-sauce was actually very satisfying – and yes – fresh tasting. The burger had a nice texture and flavor, the special sauce was kind of a blend of thousand-island and Russian dressing (definitely ketchup based) and the French fries were definitely cut from fresh potatoes. The toppings were also of high quality, with crunchy bright flavors. I really enjoyed my burger – it also wasn’t too greasy. But the highlight on the Scaddy’s menu for me were the hand battered chicken fingers. And can I just say the chicken fingers were just AMAZING. The breading was light but crispy and the chicken was soooo moist and tender. I couldn’t believe how good they were. I mean they were really good. The onion rings were also quite good with a delicate crisp crust. They also make pretty good milkshakes. But that chicken…man. That was good.

It turns out that Scaddy’s real schtick is that they’re a locally owned and operated family business that wants to run a burger joint the right way. Owner Wayne Scadlock and his family work all facets of the operation, from cooking to cleaning and cashiering. Eating there now a few times, I’ve noticed that Wayne himself has come by my table every time to see how I was enjoying my food. Given this family feel and professionalism, their use of fresh ingredients, and a hand-battered chicken to die for, Scaddy’s stands out from the malay of burger joints that have popped up all over the Wasatch front. I for one am totally down with the freshness motto at Scaddy’s. It’s not a gimmick – just fresh, real good food.

Scaddy’s ~ Salt Lake City, Utah

1846 South 300 West

Owner: Wayne Scadlock

***

Vinto

2009-10-21T21:53:00.005-06:00

Is Vinto yet another reincarnation of the typical wood-fired pizzeria, joining the ranks of a dozen or so pizzerias around town with the exact same schtick? This is a question I’ve been trying to collect data on for the past couple weeks…which means I’ve eaten at Vinto…a lot. And to be honest, I haven’t exactly made up my mind. “Fast-casual” is the concept that owner David Harries had in mind when creating Vinto. Restaurants in this broad category generally offer meals that are a step up from fast-food but served in a timeframe conducive to getting the customer out quickly if need be (for local chain examples, think Pei-Wei or Noodles). The difference at Vinto is that you, the customer, can actually control the pace at which the food comes out (and of course it’s an independent locally owned venture). If you’re in a rush you can order everything all at once and the food will come lickety-split. Or if you’d rather linger a bit, you can tell your server what you want a little at a time in order to set a more leisurely pace. The other big difference with Vinto is that the kitchen uses a battery of fresh, high-end ingredients that come through in a very focused rustic Italian menu.

The menu at Vinto includes a small offering of antipasti, salads, piadinas, pizzas, and desserts. One daily pasta special is also run alongside the regular menu. When you take a look through the menu, one obvious theme coming out of the kitchen is evident: every item is simple, composed of not too many ingredients, usually representing well-planned combinations of tried and true flavors. This is not fussy-fine dining by any means but rather simple, hearty, rustic Italian fare – very close to what you’d get in an everyday sort of pizzeria or café in Italy. Most of the menu items I’ve had taste good and are made from good quality ingredients. The salads are huge and can be considered meals unto themselves. The Italiana chopped salad is nicely composed of chopped lettuce, chicken, pancetta, fontina cheese, tomatoes, and cucumbers, lightly tossed in a red-wine vinaigrette. The individual ingredients are great and don’t need much to bring it all together but the vinaigrette seems to lack a little punch.

I’d never heard of a piadina before eating at Vinto but I must say the grilled chicken piadina is quite nice - nothing too over the top – just many high quality ingredients such as grilled Portobello mushrooms, fontina cheese, and mixed greens tied nicely together with a balsamic reduction. The piadina, an Italian flatbread or tortilla, provides a nice crunchy, yet chewy, envelope for the delicious filling which has a smoky flavor from the grill, a sharp taste from the cheese, crunch from the greens, and a lovely sweetness from the balsamic. Just imagine a large Italian style taco packed with lots of flavor and texture.

The pizza crust at Vinto has a crisp yet doughy texture. I would say the pizzas are pretty good – certainly not the best I’ve ever had, but definitely no way near the worst either. With good ingredients such as fresh mozzarella and clearly superior meat products like thick sliced pepperoni and house made artisan sausage – you really would have to do a lot to ruin a pizza made from stuff of this high quality. Taste-wise, the pizzas I’ve had there have been standardly good, not mind-blowing, but definitely solid.

In addition to the regular menu, a pasta item is also featured each day. So far I’ve had the opportunity to sample their spaghetti Bolognese – classic spaghetti in meat sauce. I must say that the depth of flavor I found lacking in the salad and pizzas was definitely present in this pasta. The pasta was a perfect al dente and the Bolognese was both a little sweet from the carrots and tangy from the tomato blended together in a velvety like consistency that made for a savory spoonful every time.

Finding a niche in the restaurant demographic is very important to the success of a new business. I think Vinto is on to something with its a little more upscale “Fast-casual” concept. The interior of the restaurant is beautiful and modern. It definitely evokes the vibe of quick and sophisticated yet casual. My impression of the food though is that the menu items are pretty safe and generally good in a standard sort of way. But it’s possible that they’ve perhaps over-sanitized their menu. I’m not sure I can explain it well enough here but I feel like the food coming out of the kitchen is a bit robotic at this point. I haven’t been really wowed by anything I’ve had. But nothing has been bad or severely disappointing either. Can anyone say status quo? So it’s almost as if Vinto truly does fall into the same “Fast-casual” category as say Noodles. But I guess I don’t want it to be in the same category because there clearly is some passion in the well thought out concept and menu. I just want to taste that passion in the food a little more. I think Vinto’s challenge will be to find the right combination of safe, best selling dishes that still deliver a complexity of flavors. With a great “Fast-casual” concept, a cool space and interior design, and truly fabulous ingredients, Vinto is well positioned to not be just another standard pizzeria or casual Italian joint. As such, I expect great things to come out of Vinto’s kitchen and am going to keep a close eye on this up and coming restaurant.

Vinto ~ Salt Lake City, Utah

418 East 200 South

Owner: David Harries

***

Note: Executive Chef Rosanne Ruiz left Vinto shortly after opening the restaurant. Apparently owner David Harries decided that the simple Vinto menu did not require the watchful eye of a full time head chef and has since hired a kitchen manager to take Chef Ruiz’s place. Perhaps this robotic sense of the food and lack of passion that I picked up on could in part be due to the loss of strong leadership and vision in the kitchen?

Forage

2009-10-03T21:06:00.012-06:00

People always lament about how Utah is light years behind in terms of modern, cutting-edge cuisine. Being raised in and having eaten my way through the San Francisco bay area as well as having had the opportunity to take food-inspired vacations in New York and Philadelphia – I must say that I generally agree with this statement. Don’t get me wrong…I really think there are many great restaurants in Utah doing some great food. But sometimes I feel like it’s “monkey see, monkey do”. I think we have been lacking a strong, modern sexiness in the Salt Lake culinary scene – a place on the cutting edge that takes our palates someplace they’ve never been before. Now enter Forage, the latest of a number of new, up-and-coming restaurants in Salt Lake City.

In an old converted house, Forage sports a modern, sleek décor. Like many of the new restaurants in town, Forage is on the smaller side – its small living room offers the only seating for dining in. The menu is impossibly simple: you either get a three course meal or you do a tasting of the entire menu. Like the décor, the menu is also very sleek with little description so you have lots left to the imagination when ordering. On our first night to Forage we had just rode a 50-mile bike ride in Park City (The Summit Challenge) and we were starving. Although we probably could have done the whole tasting menu the waiter was quick to point out that it does take up to 3-4 hours to complete. We didn’t really feel like sticking around that long so we each decided to go with the three -course option.

With each three-course meal you also receive a number of amuse bouche. These tiny starters were amazing. Not only did they taste great but they were also beautiful works of art. Our first amuse was a deep-fried garlic tomato croquette. These wondrous bites of tomato exploded in your mouth with a single bite. When I asked how the croquettes were prepared, I was told they were a mix of tomato and garlic bound together by gelatin and then deep-fried. (This is what I mean by cutting edge and modern). We then received three more amuse before the start of our three-course dinner: 1) a beautifully presented brown-shelled egg filled with a sweet custard finished with a sherry vinaigrette…really reminiscient of crème brulee, 2) a little shot glass filled with a delicious, cool summer vegetable gazpacho, and 3) a single spoonful of a raw fish (tuna if I recall?) preparation topped with chive. All were wonderful little tastes, each bursting with flavor, getting our palates ready for the main event.

First course arrives and we enjoyed the summer squash risotto and the vegetable garden plate. The risotto is actually “risotto” (risotto in quotation marks). It doesn’t contain any rice (as traditional Italian risotto does) and so the term “risotto” here is only used in the sense of how risotto is made but the main ingredient is squash chopped into pieces that resemble rice. The “risotto” was a nice al dente paired with a savory tomato and garlic compote. The vegetable garden salad was less of a salad than a nicely composed plate of summer vegetables – but this was also fresh, crisp, seasonal, and delightful. These dishes provided a lovely “start” to the evening (“start” in quotation marks since we actually had already eaten 4 amuse bouche).

Our entrées came next. We dived into the beef strip loin and the roast Colorado lamb. The waiter said the beef was cooked sous vide, a cooking technique using a water bath originally designed for use in research laboratory settings. The cooking technique yielded beef that was tender and succulent; it was complemented nicely with a savory tomato confit and a potato puree - a neat take on a classic meat and potatoes dish. The roast Colorado lamb was equally as pleasant served with eggplant and cucumber alongside a chick pea “gnocchi”. Gnocchi is an Italian potato dumpling but the Forage chefs have crafted a similar dumpling made of chick peas – and this “gnocchi” is just as good with a wonderfully nutty taste. The chick pea “gnocchi” and the smoked paprika definitely gave the lamb dish a delicious Moroccan slant.

Desserts topped off our meal with a rose infused cake and a frozen chocolate terrine. The rose cake offered a delicious, but not too sweet, end to the meal. It was served with peaches and a yogurt sorbet to round out with a little sweetness and tartness. The frozen chocolate and extra virgin olive oil terrine was truly an extravagant dish served with a plum sauce and chocolate, lemon cake. These were not your typical desserts by any stretch of the imagination, but the charm of a place like Forage is that it challenges its diners to go outside their comfort zones in taking a true food adventure.

In describing the meals we had here, I know I’ve probably misspoken about some of the ingredients and/or preparations used here, likely not doing them total justice. The plates are, how shall we say, a little complicated and I didn’t feel like taking copious notes at each course (especially given we had just gone on that exhausting bike ride). I really just wanted to sit back and be amazed. And amazed is truly the right word to describe my experience. Forage definitely warrants your own investigation. What I can say is that you’ll be pleasantly surprised by your experience at Forage. I guarantee it will be an adventure for your palate, taking your taste buds somewhere they’ve never been before.

Forage ~ Salt Lake City, Utah

370 East 900 South

Chefs Viet Pham and Bowman Brown

*****

Cinegrill

2009-10-03T14:35:00.019-06:00

If you haven’t already done so, you need to eat at Cinegrill. It’s a must-do, check off your Utah list kind of a thing to do. Cinegrill was originally opened in Salt Lake just after World War II. It offered simple Italian-American cuisine along with live entertainment and dancing. It was said to be quite popular with Salt Lake residents and University of Utah students. After a 7 year hiatus between 1986 and 1993, Cinegrill continues to be a Utah landmark restaurant still offering the same basic menu as well as live piano played by Cinegrill employees and family certain nights of the week.

Cinegrill is located in a strange space, essentially the bottom floor of an apartment building lit up with a pink neon sign. The inside is a little kitschy; tables are covered with plastic red and white checkered table cloths and there is an odd, old piano located directly in the front of the restaurant as you walk in - and an old bar on your right where you can order and pick up your take out. It’s been this way since the restaurant opened and continues as such today. The staff is friendly and the menu straight-forward. This is casual old diner food at its best. Don’t expect anything fancy or ultra modern here.

To be honest I’ve only had two things off the menu at Cinegrill but I would whole-heartedly recommend them both. My first recommendation is the corned beef sandwich. After all these years Cinegrill still manages to make their own corned beef in-house. That alone is pretty unique. The savory sandwich is a perfect lunch or light dinner and is uniquely served on their old-school, war-era garlic toast. The garlic toast in and of itself is fantastic – reminding me of the garlic toast I got at my high school cafeteria. They’re basically hamburger buns seasoned with margarine (really – I don’t think they use butter) with garlic powder and dried parsley. Again, it’s not fancy fare here – and perhaps not for everyone - but it does fill up your tummy and I quite like it.

My second recommendation is to start with the house salad and then dive into the spaghetti plate. The salad is a huge pile of iceburg lettuce lightly dressed in a creamy Italian dressing. It’s served with a slice of provolone and a slice of pepperoni with a garlic toast on top. It’s kind of a cool presentation really - and interestingly, the whole thing is served on a small dessert or bread plate…so you find it a bit difficult to eat without making a mess. The spaghetti is served in a small silver bowl where a heaping serving of pasta sits below a plop of old-fashioned meat sauce. I like to dump the whole thing onto the plate on which it’s served to mix all the sauce and pasta together into a unified meal. The meat sauce is a basic tomato-ground beef combination…with hints of dried basil and oregano…certainly something you would imagine getting at the home of a New York Italian grandmother or in my case it brings me back to the spaghetti of my childhood growing up with my Filipino father who was a cook in the Navy. It is true comfort food without any gimmicks or new wave interpretations.

Basic goodness is what you’ll get at Cinegrill. It’s a Utah classic that you have to try. It won’t blow your mind away but it will satisfy your soul. So go…now...and be part of Utah history. You may just be lucky enough to find a piano player tinkling away at the keys for you. If so, sit back, stay for a bit, and enjoy this true Utah gem.

Cinegrill ~ Salt Lake City, Utah

344 South 300 East

Co-owner: James Arnold

***

Este

2009-08-06T22:32:00.003-06:00

Over the years pizza has become a ubiquitous American fast food. Even though we’ve seen the pizza market slowly taken over by large-scale corporate pizza chains, you still see mom and pop pizza parlors going strong in every city in the US, carving out a niche where the Dominoe’s and Pizza Huts can’t compete. Este pizzeria in the Sugarhouse neighborhood of Salt Lake City has carved out its own niche as being a true to form New York style pizzeria. New York style pizza is characterized by its super thin crust with wide, foldable individual slices that are lightly sauced. It’s thought that New York style pizza most closely resembles pizza from Naples, Italy and Este definitely brings an Italian slant to the menu items at their quirky, little pizzeria.

In addition to standard starter fare, Este offers a house specialty of homemade garlic knots. This is basically pizza dough baked into a bite-sized knot, basted in garlic, olive oil, and oregano. The knots are baked to a crisp, golden exterior yet still maintain a light and airy, soft inside. A nice hot, fresh knot dipped in marinara really wets your appetite for a big slice of pizza. Speaking of the pizza, at Este you can top your pizza with any of the toppings offered on their menu or you can choose from a selection of specialty pizzas. Just a note though: you can’t get pineapple as a topping here. Apparently it appears to be somewhat of a faux pas to mention it at this establishment since real New York pizza is never served with pineapple. In fact at one point a can of pineapple was hanging from the wall with a big X pasted to it (on recent trips, I’ve noticed this has been removed). If you think that this might be a hint that all of their toppings are fresh….think again – they seem to be okay with using canned mushrooms.

Este also offers a wide variety of signature pastas, stromboli, and calzones but I’m thinking the main event here is the pizza. That said - one recommendation I do have outside their pizza menu is their sole dessert offering: a traditional Italian donut, called zeppole. These crisp, little, chewy bites are coated in sugar and served with a sweet agave nectar dipping sauce. Many of the local Italian restaurants don’t serve zeppole, so a trip to Este would be worth dessert in and of itself.

Some of my favorites on the Este specialty menu include the Italian Flag pizza, which is made of pizza sauce, ricotta cheese, and pesto; or the white pizza made of ricotta cheese, fresh garlic, oregano, and mozzarella; or the lasagna pizza with marinara, ricotta, and meatballs. All pizzas are made on the thin New York style crust and cut into wide slices that you can fold in your hand. The crisp, thin crust holds just the right amount of toppings, so usually the tops aren’t piled too high with stuff. The result is a perfect hand-held item that you can eat while standing on the side of a busy New York street or comfortably hold while watching a DVD on your screen at home in Salt Lake.

Este ~ Salt Lake City, Utah
Sugarhouse and downtown locations
***

The Park Cafe

2009-07-27T22:35:00.004-06:00

Weekend big breakfasts were something that I always looked forward to as a kid. During the week we always ate something quick like cereal or toast – usually on the go on our way to school. But on the weekends my folks would cook up big meals, with multiple meats like sausage and bacon, eggs, and additional items like pancakes or French toast. The tradition of the big breakfast is something that lives on in my own household now; similarly, we seldom get a chance to eat big during the weekday mornings. Usually a cup of coffee, some cereal or yogurt, or a smoothie suffices during the week before work. But on the weekends we continue the tradition of cooking it up big at home usually with French toast, bacon, and hash browns at least one lazy weekend morning. It’s either that or we go to our neighborhood breakfast diner – The Park Café. The Park Café is a restaurant that has been converted from an old house. It is located across the street from Liberty Park (hence the restaurant name – the Park Cafe) and is a breakfast and lunch joint Tuesdays through Sundays. If anything screams “local hangout” this is it. The outside is always packed with people eating at their tables, standing outside waiting for a table, or just people standing around hanging out. The atmosphere is vibrant and alive; you won’t find pretentious attitudes or gourmet nouveau cuisine here – it’s a simple hustle bustle diner, with simple fare - no doubt about it. And that’s this place’s charm.

The breakfast menu at the Park is very simple. They’ve got a number of omelets, typical breakfast items such as French toast and pancakes, sides of breakfast meats, and a number of breakfast specials or combos. My favorite breakfast special is the ‘Michigan Hash’ – house potatoes mixed with sausage, onions, mushrooms, and green peppers topped with cheddar cheese and two eggs, served with toast. It’s huge…it’s filling…and oh so delicious. Are you kidding? It’s like a perfect mix of everything you love about breakfast rolled into a crispy-on-the-outside, gooey-on-the-inside type of casserole. It’s a complete savory mindblast. Luckily you can balance out the savory with some sweet with your toast. At the table you’ll also find house made jams – strawberry, apricot, peach - depending upon what’s in season and/or available at the time. With some of this homemade jam slathered on a piece of wheat toast or sourdough, you can round out your breakfast nicely.

If you’re more into a basic breakfast, more like something you might make at home yourself, check out the huge portions of the ‘Double Play’ with meat (either ham, bacon, or sausage), eggs (however you like), and house potatoes served with toast. For sweeter menu items, don’t miss their delectable, thick pieces of French toast or the super fluffy, enormous pancakes. I’ve eaten most things on the menu, including the occasional specials such as chile rellenos or the ‘eutaw omelet’ and everything is great. It’s total diner food to the max. I must say that the breakfast menu is the highlight for me, but they do have a selection of burgers and sandwiches for lunch. But if all else fails for lunch, they do serve breakfast all day.

What I really love about the Park is its homey environment. I always feel welcomed when I come through the door and what I really like is that it’s always really loud and alive inside. It kind of reminds me of my family home growing up; I grew up with a pretty loud, large, extended family. It’s very appropriate that the restaurant is located inside an old converted house. That definitely contributes to the homey feeling you get from the place. Continuing my tradition of big family breakfast feels right at the Park Café. I may not be making the food myself, but I know someone back in the kitchen is putting some love into this food. You can taste it…and it tastes good.

The Park Cafe ~ Salt Lake City, Utah
604 East 1300 South
Co-owners: Sean and Randi
***

Bambara

2009-07-26T15:36:00.007-06:00

Located in the trendy, high-end Hotel Monaco, Bambara is a modern fine dining establishment in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City. It has a central, open kitchen as well as an adjoining bar that serves gourmet cuisine at a reasonable price. Once you walk into the restaurant it definitely has the feel of a fine dining establishment but with somewhat of a relaxed edge (a very common feel for fine dining places in Salt Lake City). In the same style as the Hotel Monaco itself, Bambara is outfitted with a funky and modern - yet elegant and classy - decor. Bambara has been a long time favorite of mine for over 10 years. And within those 10 years the position of the executive chef who runs the restaurant has changed a few times over - and hence so has the menu to reflect the individual styles and specialties of each head chef. Within the past year, Nathan Powers took the helm and has been acclimating to Bambara. He began by taking over his predecessor’s menu but slowly incorporated snippets of his own over time. The current menu is now his unique creation and it has been exciting to see and taste the development of his own take on what Bambara means.

There is a list of about 5-6 starters that you can begin your meal with. The blue cheese house cut potato chips is a Bambara classic and has been kept on the menu throughout the years regardless of which chef is running the kitchen – they are a Bambara staple. These crispy, savory, and tangy chips are a great way to start the evening. If you’re looking for a heartier appetizer you might try the crispy fried rock shrimp and calamari which offers some kick served with a spicy remoulade. Also on the menu are a variety of salads. Right now it seems like Salt Lake is in love with beets – every restaurant has their version of a summery beet salad these days. Bambara is no exception putting up a roasted baby beet salad served with blood oranges, goat cheese and pistachios. The roasting of the beets brings out the woody beet flavor that is cut with the sweetness and tang of the blood oranges. The goat cheese and pistachios offer some texture with creamy and crunchy side notes. Beets seem to be ‘en vogue’ right now – but if being ‘in style’ means eating this good…I’m happy to jump on the beet bandwagon.

Interestingly, Chef Powers’ menu also offers what are called middles. These are medium portion sized plates such as mussels or pastas like gnocchi that are offered after the salad course. At one point a hand rolled tagliatelle carbonara was offered. The soft, made-from- scratch pasta paired nicely with crispy, salty pork and a creamy, pecorino Romano sauce. However, this item must not have been very popular as it has since been replaced by a similar fresh pasta served with tomatoes and arugula. This is unfortunate because the carbonara was quite delicious and it showcased the Chef’s ability to take a classic Italian dish and put his own unique spin on it. However, the main entrée items do demonstrate the exquisite skill of the Bambara kitchen in executing dishes such as cast iron roasted Colorado bison with pomegranate au jus and Cabernet braised Angus beef short ribs with truffled macaroni and cheese. The maple brined pork porterhouse chops served with apple fennel slaw and calvados cider butter is a very nice dish that highlights a sweet and savory flavor profile. Served with cheesy grits, it is a very hearty main course. The Chef’s signature steak frites (steak with fries) is also a lovely, classic French meal. You have the choice of a flat iron steak or dry aged New York - and your steak is cooked to order, served with crispy herbed fries, a peppercorn jus and béarnaise…a true classic cooked to perfection.

With a long history of fabulous food, Chef Powers had some big shoes to fill indeed. I’m happy to say that he’s been able to fit his unique menu in without losing the spirit of the restaurant I’ve come to know and love over the years. I look forward to many more years of good eats to come.

Bambara ~ Salt Lake City, Utah
Executive Chef Nathan Powers
Executive Sous Chef Brad Murphy
****

Pago

2009-06-21T14:29:00.010-06:00

When you walk in the door, there is a very modest bar which offers a direct view into the open kitchen; sitting at the bar you’re literally less than 5 feet away from the hot line where the chef’s are cranking out each order. As you look around, you immediately notice the modern décor and the fact that the restaurant itself is quite small in size, probably only seating around 40 people or so. The place manages to be quaint, elegant, rustic, and modern at all once.

The restaurant is called Pago and it’s the first of its kind in Salt Lake City. Pago bills itself as a farm to table, neighborhood restaurant and wine bar. This means that Pago participates in restaurant supported agriculture where it gets most of its product from local farms only. They also use local artisans as suppliers, getting their cheese from the Beehive Cheese Company, lamb from Morgan Valley Farms, and chocolate from Amano Chocolate – all locally owned businesses. You can view the concept in two ways. The cynical view is that it’s purely a marketing scheme designed to attract those who think it’s “cool and trendy”. Or you can trust that what drives the concept is a true belief in the principles of supporting local business and farmers and that food is best served seasonally. I tend to believe the latter as it is a really big time investment in re-developing menus that have to change based on the season and what local agriculture can provide. I also believe the owners and chefs take pride in what they do – you can immediately get a sense of pride in the way the restaurant is put together as well as in the food that comes out of the kitchen.

Pago offers some lovely starters. I found the beet salad really refreshing – the firm yet soft texture of the beets blended nicely with the tart, creamy greek yogurt. The salad was paired with some spicy arugula and had some nice crunch with a sprinkling of candied nuts. It was sweet, tart, and peppery all it once. In contrast, for a lighter way to wet your palate, I would recommend the ceviche. A citrus vinaigrette is served over thin slices of delicate, raw white fish. The taste is clean and refreshing – very sushi-esque. Both are great ways to wake up your appetite. Having sampled items from both the lunch and dinner menus, I have found some favorites.

The roasted salmon is always cooked to a perfect medium, served over a bed of creamy risotto with crunchy salsify chips on top. The soft salmon pairs nicely with the creamy rice and crunchy salsify.

The chicken paillard is also quite lovely – nothing too fancy here – just a classic French preparation of a chicken breast pounded thin. At Pago, the paillard is crusted with a breadcrumb topping and pan fried to a crunchy exterior offering a lovely contrast to the creamy, savory potato puree it is served atop. The chefs do well to pair flavors, colors, and textures. Other favorites include the house meatloaf as well as the hand cut pasta. Seems to me like you just can’t go wrong at this place...at least so far.

Finishing off the meal with some chocolates from Amano or some gelato from Dolcetti’s - and it appears that you’ve not only just supported Salt Lake’s first farm to table restaurant but you also just supported about 10 other local businesses. Now that’s a concept that I like.

Pago ~ Salt Lake City, Utah
9th and 9th
Owner: Scott Evans
Co-executive chefs: Adam Findlay and Michael Richey
****

Faustina

2009-05-21T07:59:00.003-06:00

A good strategy for eating at a restaurant you might feel is just a little out of your price range is to try that place for lunch instead of dinner. At lunch you’re bound to get the same style and quality of food – giving you a feel for what the restaurant has to offer – just at a lower, hopefully more reasonable price. I use this strategy a lot for restaurants where I feel the menu is a just a bit overpriced - and for me Faustina definitely falls into this category. I consistently have gotten good food and a great atmosphere at Faustina. I actually really like the place, but the prices are a little more than what I’m willing to pay for this type of food for dinner. But lunch, well that’s a different story – and for me the price is just right.

Having had many things on Faustina’s lunch menu, I’d highly recommend the steak sandwich. The sandwich is composed of roasted red peppers, steak (cooked to your liking), green leaf lettuce, and a garlic aioli all sandwiched between toasty marble rye bread. The roasted red peppers add a nice sweetness to the steak, which is rounded out nicely with the sharpness of red onion and the creamy, garlicky aioli. It’s a little bit of a mess to eat but it’s definitely worth it. Other standout sandwiches also include the juicy Faustina burger cooked to a perfect medium as well as the chicken cordon bleu sandwich. Although I’ve never had it, a friend of mine highly recommends the salmon sandwich (served with crispy bacon) if you’re looking for something not too heavy; the crab cake sandwich is also another sound seafood favorite. Sandwiches are served with either sweet potato chips or a mixed green salad garnished with beet chips; the serving size is generous enough for a full lunch. If you’re feeling like a bigger plate, also available are pastas from the dinner menu and a variety of salads and soup – at lunchtime sizes and prices.

If you do have an inkling to hit Faustina up for dinner, there is a definite Italian slant to the dinner menu and there are some great pasta favorites you should try like their classic pesto, acorn squash ravioli, lasagna, and pasta diavolo (if you like spicy). There are also items that take a modern twist on a few classics like salmon Wellington and mac n’ cheese. Although I wasn’t personally a fan of the salmon Wellington or the mac n’ cheese, the pasta dishes I’ve had have been quite nice. I enjoyed the hearty lasagna in particular as it has pepperoni in it which is a nice surprise amidst the layers of gooey cheese. My problem with dinner at Faustina isn’t that it isn’t good, it’s just it isn’t a good deal (at least in my eyes…and I don’t necessarily consider myself a cheapskate when it comes to food). I just think that there is a big difference between a casual eatery and a fine dining establishment – and to me Faustina clearly falls into the casual eatery category. With their hip and modern interior, young staff, and modern take on classic food – I would think that Faustina should be aimed at those interested in cool but moderately priced food. But Faustina seems fine with what they’ve got and it doesn’t look like they’re in the market to change. If this is the case, I’m just fine with Faustina being forever a lunch destination for me.

Faustina ~ Salt Lake City, Utah
454 East 300 South
Chef Jared Young
***

La Caille

2009-05-16T10:18:00.005-06:00

Have you ever been to a restaurant where you just think to yourself…”Is this a joke?” Having been to La Caille a few times, I must say that I’ve thought these exact words every time I’ve been. The restaurant sits atop a large 20-some-odd acre campus decorated with bush sculptures (topiaries) of swans and other animals amidst a setting of carriages and other frilly, almost fairy tale like fixtures. Honestly to me, it’s just a little weird. I’m sure there are people out there who love this kind of stuff and I’m sure this would be someone’s fairy tale wedding setting. Gag.

Speaking of gag – let’s talk a little about the food. Four of us went up for brunch at La Caille before an afternoon show. We pulled in for valet parking (no other parking available) and were then met with a seemingly pre-occupied hostess. We were seated promptly and then immediately greeted by a waitress wearing a costume of some sort. Glancing around you quickly noticed that all of the front of the house staff were wearing costumes. The guys had on these frilly white shirts with dark green or black knickers (short pants) and the women wore these green dresses that revealed much cleavage. After talking to people around town, apparently it is well known (which I didn’t know) that La Caille’s hiring code for the waitress staff is akin to the hiring practices of Hooters. Gag again.

The servers were happy enough though…in fact all of them were very pleasant people who made dining at La Caille quite nice…from a service standpoint. We began with an amuse bouche provided by the chef. When it came out I just started laughing a little. It was GINORMOUS. My impression of amuse bouche is that it’s supposed to be a taste – something to wet your appetite. When this came out it literally could have been my entire breakfast. Besides the sheer size, what made me laugh was the form it came in. It was a puff pastry swan. A SWAN. The swan was filled with pastry cream and berries. Basically it was an éclair. It was quite good - don’t get me wrong. It was just…how shall I say…a little ridiculous looking. Following the swan, we received what appeared to be a never-ending bowl of caramel croissants. The croissants were gooey and sticky – a kind of mix between a sticky bun and a standard croissant. They were really sweet, but they were delicious. They were also pretty petite so you could eat a little without feeling like a complete pig (which is how I was feeling after eating the entire swan). I began getting the feeling that when La Caille says they’re a luxury restaurant…luxury to them may translate into eating…a lot.

The touted breakfast specialty of La Caille lies within their benedict selection. At our table three of us ordered the benedict with beef filet while one ordered the sun-dried tomato benedict. Our order came out promptly which was nice. As it turned out the kitchen quickly got into the weeds (restaurant speak for getting behind on pushing out their orders). We noticed that after we were served our plates, table after table were launching verbal complaints about the wait for food. We felt a little lucky – until we started eating that is…and then we wanted to launch some complaints of our own. Amongst the filets ordered at our table, two specified medium and one specified medium rare. What we got was a hodge podge of meat cooked at different temperatures. The benedict filet plate consisted of two English muffins, atop which a small beef tenderloin filet was placed on each, which in turn was topped with a poached egg on each, which was then slathered with hollandaise sauce (technically it was a béarnaise - hollandaise with tarragon).

We found that the cooks had mixed up cooking temps on each filet on each plate. For example, I ordered my filet medium. When I cut into my first benedict, the cooking temperature of the meat was about medium rare…a little more pink than I was looking for since this was being served with egg and a rich sauce (I didn’t want all that blood in the steak to mix with the yolk and hollandaise). Then when I cut into the second filet, it was cooked even more rare. Unfortunately the two others at my table had similar problems. And when we heard complaints from other tables, these errors seemed to be rampant around the entire restaurant. Apparently the kitchen got our food out so fast they didn’t pay attention to the appropriate doneness we had requested. The one person who ordered the sun-dried tomato benedict had no complaints. Tasting his, I thought it was a reasonable attempt by the chef at something creative with benedict….but nothing mind blowing.

As I continued to analyze the benedicts I did notice some things that I really didn’t like. One was that the hollandaise sauce was generally pretty bland. I think it could have used a little salt as well as some acid like lemon or vinegar to wake the taste up. The consistency was a little off too. Hollandaise should have a bright sheen, with a ribbon like consistency. The sauce here was mute in color and was a little thick. The biggest hollandaise faux pas I noticed though was that the plate temperature was so hot that the hollandaise congealed by the time it hit the table, so I saw coagulated egg on my plate and the sauce started to break…which is just gross. These may seem like nit-picky things to you but if I’m paying $37 for an eggs benedict (that is what this cost at La Caille) everything better damn be perfect. I also must disclose that I’m a little bit of a hollandaise snob. In my Skills class in culinary school the chef announced that I made the best hollandaise sauce in the class – not to toot my own horn – but it’s made me hyper critical of any hollandaise I taste…since the bar is set to surpassing expectations of my own sauce.

So how did we end the meal off? Well with dessert of course. I mean it’s 11 o’clock in the morning. Who couldn’t use a big old bar of vanilla ice cream wrapped in a crepe, decoratively covered with Hershey’s chocolate syrup? Sound weird? That’s exactly what we got – dessert is included with brunch. The crepe was kind of doughy, so I started just eating the ice cream. It was Haagen Daz vanilla so the ice cream itself was pretty good. But the combination of the swan, the caramel croissants, the benedicts, coffee, and orange juice…and then the ice cream crepe thing…it was all a bit much…and it all was starting to make me ill. It was just a weird assortment of things…being served by people in weird costumes in an old-worldly type environment straight out of some fantasy novel. Weird. That’s a good way to describe my experience at La Caille. Just plain weird.

La Caille ~ Sandy, Utah
9565 Wasatch Blvd.
Executive Chefs Matthew Anderson and Ryan Murray
**

Alta Club

2009-04-26T11:26:00.003-06:00

I was invited to dinner at the Alta Club for a University of Utah event. The Alta Club is a private social club located in a beautifully restored historical building in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City. The club offers membership to any working professional, including university officials, political leaders, and business executives. When we walked into the Alta Club it really was like a blast to the past. The club was developed in the late 1800s to be a social gathering place for the state’s elite. Honestly it felt a little weird being there. At one point, one of the members we spoke with told us that when she was younger only men were allowed through the front door and that their wives had to enter through the back. It also made me think about race: a non-caucasian person like me probably wasn’t even allowed into the club at all back then. But I thought to myself: it’s 2009 and the Alta Club has changed a lot….and here I am.

If you walk through the Alta Club you quickly notice that in some instances not a lot has changed…at least from the standpoint of décor. I must say there is something very elegant and luxurious feeling about the dated architecture, furniture, and paintings. Scenes out of the book The Great Gatsby flashed through my mind; it was like being in a different time and place - where status was celebrated - and I appreciated having the opportunity to be here. Another reason I was really excited to have dinner at the Alta Club was that my friend Heather from culinary school works as a cook in the kitchen and I got to visit with her. She was working pantry that night - preparing all of the cold items: salads and desserts. It was great to see Heather and catch up before the festivities began. It also gave me an opportunity to see the kitchen – it was nice to see that the kitchen was clean and well organized…a nice departure from some of the kitchens I’ve worked in.

Much like touring around the old building, sitting down to the dinner table was also a nod to history. The china had a floral pattern and the stemware was really dated. I mentioned to one of the people sitting at the table that it made me feel like I was eating in a palace in Russia or something like that. Dinner started and it was obviously going to be a basic banquet style meal. We weren’t given any options as to meal choices and we were all served at once. We started with a basic mixed green salad with vinaigrette. Nothing too fancy or complicated but it was good with fresh ingredients - a nice refreshing start to the meal. Just a side note: our server was kind of interesting. He seemed to throw each plate of food on the table in front of us, as if he was somewhat in a rush to get to his next table. It was a little odd, but entertaining at the same time. He was nice enough but it made me fear that the food might slide off the plate and hit me when he threw something in front of me.

Our entrée of grilled salmon, mashed potatoes, and mixed veggies came next. It was very standard fare. The veggies were plain, steamed probably with not much to them, but they were cooked to a nice ‘al dente’ which I appreciated. The potatoes were good but nothing to write home about - they did have a nice texture and flavor though. The grilled salmon was good and had nice grill marks, but for me it was a touch overcooked. I’m more of a ‘medium' or ‘medium rare’ person on my fish and my pieces of salmon were on the verge of being ‘medium well’. However what I did really appreciate was that the salmon came with a nice lemon wedge. I love that touch of fresh citrus juice with salmon. It changes the dimension of the dish, giving it a little acidic brightness to cut through the fattiness of the salmon. We ended our meal with a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a chocolate cream-filled cookie. It was kind of an odd dessert but it was a nice ending to dinner. I mean, who doesn’t love a cookie and some ice cream for dessert?

Overall I would say the food was pretty good but not very daring or imaginative. But I think if you look at the clientele of the Alta Club this would certainly fit in well with that demographic. You do after all have to cater to your customers. Moreover, banquet cooking can be difficult seeing as how you have to cook, plate, and serve everyone’s food at the same time; often times dealing with crowds of over 100 people. And I must say the food served at this banquet was pretty good compared to other banquets I’ve been to. On a whole I would be happy to have this meal again be it at a huge banquet dinner at a hotel or conference center; I’d be ecstatic to get this for dinner at someone’s home. I would however not be so enthusiastic if I got this meal at a fine dining restaurant. This did make me wonder then what a regular dinner was like at the Alta club if I were a member eating in their dining room, ordering off of their regular menu. Mmmm…perhaps I should look into becoming a member? It is 2009 after all and it would be interesting to see how much of the Alta Club’s menu has changed to meet the times.

Alta Club ~ Salt Lake City, Utah
100 East South Temple
Executive Chef Brian Edwards
***

Hayai Zushi

2009-04-16T20:03:00.003-06:00

Have you ever thought of a killer idea that might just be the next big thing? Drive-thru sushi is something that only a few brave restaurateurs have tried but seldom have succeeded at. To me the concept is brilliant. Sushi could really be the ultimate fast food. It’s healthy, delicious, comes in perfect bite sized pieces with a wide range of options and varieties, and has a loyal following. I wouldn’t hesitate to frequent an inexpensive drive-thru/fast food sushi restaurant. That is – if it was good.

Hayai Zushi coins itself as an innovative drive-thru (or dine-in) sushi spot. The concept is the brainchild of co-owners and business partners Keith Guevara and Peggi Whiting. Whiting trained with sushi master chefs in Japan and brought her newly acquired skills back with her to Utah. In the late 80s Whiting founded the first Ichiban restaurant in Park City, a restaurant that lives on today in its latest reincarnation in downtown Salt Lake City (Whiting hasn’t been involved with the operation since the late 90s). Upon reading the bio of Whiting and taking close inspection of their cool website, I had extremely high hopes for Hayai Zushi. Not only was the concept cool, but the fast-food restaurant had some immediate “street cred” (that’s ‘street credibility’ for those not cool enough to catch the lingo) given Whiting’s training and history with Ichiban.

A quick glance at the menu made my enthusiasm slightly wane. The only sushi offered was of the maki roll variety (raw fish served with rice and seaweed) but as I scrolled down the menu it became apparent that most of the rolls actually contained cooked products. The so-called “Sake Roll” is made up of cooked salmon and avocado. The flavors weren’t bad but cooked salmon tastes very different than raw. Cooking salmon takes away that cool, clean, and fresh taste that one usually associates with sushi. Many of the other menu items followed suit using deep-fried shrimp tempura or cooked crab in lieu of raw ingredients. They even have a “Hawaiian Luau Roll” consisting of grilled spam teriyaki. Um, okay so maybe not all menu items here could be billed as healthy fast-food. That said, the only raw fish present throughout the entire menu is any item that contains tuna. The quintessential roll – the spicy tuna roll – was…just okay. The tuna was mushy and lacked some brightness. However, there was a nice spicy kick that I did enjoy. Hayai Zushi also has a variety of specialty rolls. Basically all of these rolls are versions of their existing maki rolls that are then battered in tempura and deep-fried. I guess deep-frying is their specialty?

In addition to the sushi menu, Hayai Zushi also offers a series of rice bowls such as chicken teriyaki, tofu teriyaki, spicy tuna over cucumber and rice, and Oyako (a chicken and egg combo served over rice, slightly sweetened). In a word: unimpressive. Actually in a word: gross. The chicken teriyaki came in a bowl that looked like it had just been taken out of a lean cuisine frozen t.v. dinner box and was then nuked before it hit the table. The food sadly tasted the way it looked. The chicken was dry and was paired with an odd assortment of vegetables (edamame, corn, brocolli, carrots, peppers) that were clearly out of a frozen bag of mixed veggies. The chicken and veg mix was served over a scoop of white rice that was drenched – and I mean drenched – in an overly sweet, thick, and syrupy teriyaki sauce. Every bite dripped of the sauce and made for a very sweet, soggy dinner. I guess in the end it saves you some money. No need for dessert here – apparently it comes on top of your entree.

It’s obvious that Whiting and Guevara are trying to cater to a demographic that might not be your ‘average sushi lover’ since most of the sushi on Hayai Zushi’s menu isn’t even raw and the Japanese style bowls mostly consist of some version of teriyaki (an American construct but popular with the masses). They’ve also taken the fast-food mentality to heart, twisting the pristine idea of sushi into a horrible caricature; kind of like what McDonald’s did to the American cheeseburger or what Taco Bell did to Mexican food. I think Guevara and Whiting may have miscalculated a bit. I would say the average sushi eater expects a certain level of value, the right texture, and certainly the right flavor. I don’t see any of that here at Hayai Zushi. The next time I’m in the mood for fast-food I think I might just pass up Hayai Zushi and see what the next burger joint down the street is peddling…better yet, I think I’ll take my time to sit down at a not-so-quite-fast-food Japanese restaurant where the sushi is of higher quality…and where I know it will be worth the wait. Fast-food just isn’t worth it if it isn’t good food.

Hayai Zushi ~ Salt Lake City, Utah
307 West 600 South
Co-owners Keith Guevara and Peggi Whiting
*

L & L

2009-03-29T17:33:00.005-06:00

In Hawaii the migrant workers of Hawaiian, Japanese, Korean, and Filipino descent worked together in pineapple and sugar cane fields during World War II. At lunchtime on the job, they would often share foods from their respective cultures. The Japanese workers would take their lunches in traditional bento boxes, which have separate compartments for different items. Over time the Hawaiian culture has adapted a loose interpretation of the Japanese bento box morphed with the tradition of the migrant workers who shared their different cultural foods - into what is commonly known in Hawaii today as “plate lunch”.

Plate lunch is roughly described as a cafeteria-style lunch consisting of two scoops of white rice, one scoop of macaroni salad, and a main entrée of some sort of meat. The meat dish is derived from Hawaiian, Japanese, Korean, or Filipino food. Plate lunch has been a staple in Hawaii for years; it’s said the best plate lunch places are hole in the wall dives or lunch trucks. Having been to Hawaii a few times, I have experienced many plate lunches and I’ve really grown to enjoy this aspect of Hawaiian cuisine. The tradition of plate lunch has now reached the mainland and the L & L Hawaiian Barbecue franchise has been set up in about 10 states including Utah.

The dining options at L & L are quite simple. You basically have to decide what meat you want with your plate lunch. The choices are all pretty darn tasty if you ask me, so it’s really up to what kind of meat you’re feeling like that day. My favorite is the Hawaiian Barbecue Chicken. In this case barbeque sauce does not refer to the standard smoky, American barbecue sauce you normally think of. Instead this chicken is infused with flavor from a unique savory soy sauce-based marinade, likely adapted from Filipino style barbecue. If you’re feeling like something similar but would like beef instead, try the Korean style beef shortribs. If you crave sweetness, the teriyaki beef plate may be right up your alley. Feeling like fried food? The Japanese style chicken katsu is the way to go. Or if you’re feeling like it’s time for a Luau – go for the Kalua pig, a traditional Hawaiian succulent shredded pork.

There are a few other menu options which include seafood and some other Hawaiian favorites – such as Spam musubi, a sushi roll made of Spam, rice, and seaweed or the Loco Moco which consists of two scoops of white rice and two hamburger patties drenched in brown gravy over which a fried egg is placed. Sound a little heavy? This is the biggest complaint I’ve heard about Hawaiian food from various people. But perhaps as a consequence of offering this cuisine outside of the Hawaiian islands, L & L has started to offer a healthy options menu with scaled down portions, brown rice, and seafood such as salmon cakes, ahi tuna, or mahi mahi. So if you are a little health conscious, there are healthy alternatives here as well.

What I like about the Hawaiian plate lunch is its simplicity. It’s not real fancy but it’s really delicious; it’s just good hearty food that fills you up. It actually reminds me a lot of the food I ate growing up. On a day when I need something fast and filling to go, I drop by L & L to get my plate lunch, pop open a POG (Passion Orange Guava) juice (another Hawaiian favorite), and dive right into this comforting, soul-satisfying meal.

L & L Hawaiian Barbecue ~ Salt Lake City, Utah
358 South 700 East (and a Provo location as well)
***

Epic

2009-03-29T11:26:00.007-06:00

I get together about once a month with a few friends I used to be in culinary school with. It’s a great time to see each other, catch-up with each other’s lives, and hear about what’s going on at the school for those of us who are no longer there. I like to hear about how people’s classes are going, what chef-instructor’s gotten fired (and they fire a lot of them at this school), and what culinary and life adventures people have been getting themselves into. This month it was my turn to organize our informal “food club” gathering and I chose to have dinner at Epic. I’d eaten here several times before with things generally ranging from just okay to good, but never great. So I wanted one more visit to make my mind up about this place. I wondered if Epic would be up to the challenge tonight?

Epic is located in a strange strip mall next to a toddler jungle gym and a Burger King. The location certainly doesn’t instill confidence in a casual dining establishment, but when you walk into the restaurant you see that it is in fact very nice. It’s casually decorated, but modern looking; it’s definitely a place that invites you to take a seat and have some food. If I were to directly compare it to another restaurant that I’ve reviewed before, I’d say it certainly is comparable in style, cost, and clientele to Café Trio. On this particular night Epic was also hosting an acoustic guitar player, so we even got some nice background music with dinner.

We decided to share a couple of appetizers before the main course: an order of flatbread and the grilled artichoke. The flatbread was tasty, served with grilled chicken and a cranberry-cheddar soft cheese, with a parsley aioli. The flavors reminded me a bit of the holidays – I think because of the cranberries. It was nicely balanced with creaminess from the cheese, some chewiness from the cranberries, and some walnuts for crunch. It was good, but the idea is hardly original. In fact, it’s sort of a deconstructed chicken salad. I remember having a bastardized version of this at a Pampered Chef party that I attended a couple of years ago where the sales rep made something similar out of canned chicken, craisins, and Pillsbury canned croissants. Um yeah, you can imagine how that turned out, but I digress… The grilled artichokes were served drenched in clarified butter and garlic. So really, how bad can that be? The younger, smaller leaves toward the top were tender and delicious. You could pop these right into your mouth. However, you had to use the rougher lower leaves essentially as a vessel to scoop out the butter-laden filling. The artichokes were not perfect as they came out a bit oily because of its sauce, but health concerns aside - they were also pretty tasty.

Knowing we’d be having a few filling appetizers I felt like I should have something light for dinner. I also wanted something that would be clean on my palate, so I ordered the seared Ahi Tuna. I think this was a good choice. The Ahi was coated in sesame seeds, seared rare, and served with an Asian style spicy peanut sauce, white basmati rice, and vegetables - overall a very healthful dish. The plating was okay but it reminded me a little of a cafeteria as the rice came out in the shape of an ice cream scoop. The Ahi was placed around the scoop of rice and some mixed sautéed vegetables were placed around the rice. The tuna itself was great. It was cooked perfectly; the rare tuna was soft and tender, given some nice texture from the coating of sesame seeds. The rice was very bland and perhaps a little underdone. Even just the addition of some herbage would have heightened the rice a bit. I think the vegetables were also somewhat of a mess. I found these to be a bit clunky; they appeared to be from a bag of frozen mixed veggies similar to what you’d get from a grocery freezer aisle. I would have appreciated a simpler veg side dish – maybe a single vegetable with a cleaner taste. For example, some simple green beans tossed in a sesame vinaigrette or maybe some roasted asparagus. In this case, I think less would have been more – and the focus of the dish, the Ahi, would have really shown through.

Generally speaking, I think everyone enjoyed his or her dish. Other dishes around the table included the salmon, the pork medallions, and the white shrimp. Again, I think it was a little hit and miss with the plating. One of my friends mentioned that her salmon was actually covered up with tomatoes – as if they were trying to hide the salmon. Perhaps they were hiding an oddly shaped piece? In any case, no major complaints were heard around the table. One annoying thing that came up, however, was the fact that there were no options for those who were gluten intolerant. It turns out that one of my friends has Celiac Disease and can’t have anything made from wheat flour. The menu options at Epic for people with this condition were piss poor. So poor in fact that my friend had a special caprese salad made: tomato, fontina (I guess they didn’t have any fresh mozzarella around), and basil with a balsamic vinaigrette. She quite enjoyed it but in this day and age with people having special needs, restaurants should be more accommodating. I think it’s a little pathetic if the only dining option for someone with gluten intolerance is a cold tomato salad. It’s very uninventive and just lacks total imagination and effort. The staff should have reacted with better options and been willing to put something together that would have been truly special. I think taking this kind of extra step for customers is what separates restaurants from being mediocre to being good or great. And I think this is the reason that I consider Epic somewhere in between mediocre and good. I do think this visit with my food club helped to make up my mind about this place – and Epic was definitely not up to the challenge.

Epic ~ Midvale, Utah
707 E. Fort Union Blvd.
Chef/owner Ken Rose
**1/2

The Mariposa

2009-03-29T09:09:00.005-06:00

The Mariposa is Deer Valley Ski Resort’s high-end, high-brow, gourmet restaurant. The menu is eclectic ranging from classic preparations like entrees such as cassoulet with duck confit to more modern appetizers like roasted quail wrapped in pancetta. It is very obvious that the menu at The Mariposa is developed to satisfy a very sophisticated palate. And customers don’t get this sophistication on the cheap – every menu item boasts a hefty price. However, given that the ingredients are of the highest quality possible, that their wine list has consistently been awarded for excellence by Wine Spectator magazine, and that their service is not just good – but superb – it is not surprising that this place is so expensive…but believe me…it is soooo worth it.

Our waiter recognized us from previous visits. It was nice to see a familiar face and he nudged us on a little asking, “So what are we going to eat this time?” The last time we dined at The Mariposa he had convinced us to go with the Chef’s tasting menu - a six course meal highlighting certain items off of the menu. This is a great way to taste many different Mariposa favorites. For example, we sampled appetizers such as the ahi sashimi – absolutely sublime…so clean tasting and buttery that it could have just slid down my throat. Four courses later we received our final entrée taste, the rocky mountain rack of lamb. The lamb was a succulent pink, tender and juicy, served with a lovely pesto and crispy potatoes. For a tasting menu, I actually thought some of the portion sizes were just a little bit too big. I think I was full even just after the third course. But we did the impossible by finishing up with the sixth and final course: dessert, sampling a few of the pastry chef’s marvelous creations. It’s seldom that I would call a meal absolutely perfect, but I felt like this night at The Mariposa was the closest I might ever get. The night was very memorable and it definitely left me wanting for more. Specifically, I knew the next time I came in I would have to have the sablefish.

So back to our most recent visit - because of our previous experience with the tasting menu, we decided against doing the tasting again and would just order regular menu items. We began our meal with an amuse bouche compliments of the chef. This single bite contained a mix of julienned apples served over a dollop of crab all atop a small piece of crispy pancetta. The play of sweet from the apples, savory from the pancetta and crab and the crispy, smooth, and creamy textures were quite delightful on the taste buds. It made for a very nice start to the evening. We decided to go with The Mariposa’s version of fried green tomatoes as an appetizer. These fried green tomatoes were served with a sweet corn chile sauce, warm goat cheese, and nice mix of baby greens: absolutely delicious – crispy, tart, sweet, creamy…the perfect combination of flavor and texture.

My dining companion got something neither of us had had before: the bison filet. Instead of going with something new and unknown, I stuck with something I had gotten before: the sablefish. Why? Only because this was simply THE BEST fish dish I’ve ever had. I wanted to see if eating this fish again would allow me to experience the same feelings of ecstasy I remember from my last visit. And the verdict? It was better than I remembered. Just like last time, the texture of the fish was perfect…like velvet – so smooth and buttery. The fish is glazed with honey and tamari, adding a hint of sweetness and sesame as well as giving it a glossy finish. It was plated sitting atop a soft, risotto-like rice cake and some wild mushrooms. I detected a subtle ginger taste that contrasted nicely with the woody mushroom flavor. It all came together so beautifully. The stuff dreams are made of this sablefish is.

However, the sablefish was not to be outdone by the second entrée on our table. The bison filet was tender, not gamey at all, and cooked to a perfect medium rare. Compared to the clean flavors of my fish, the bison was very much on the rich side. It came accompanied by foie gras and some type of bleu cheese as well as a sweet potato gratin. The dish was lovely, albeit not what I would call a light dish – and to be nit-picky, I didn’t appreciate the symmetricality of the plating. I thought it looked a little weird. But aesthetics aside, the bison was absolutely delicious. If I had to choose between the two entrees however, the sablefish would win hands-down! To finish off our meal, we decided to do a Mariposa classic for dessert and went with the chocolate snowball. This is a very dense bittersweet chocolate cake, coated with whipped cream. It is a dark chocolate lover’s dream – not too sweet, but not too bitter, and surprisingly not too rich…and not only is it a great dessert, but it’s also a work of art as well. The artistry is just amazing; I wonder how long it took the pastry chef to pipe all of that whipped cream just to cover one cake?

The Mariposa is a unique fine dining experience in a very comfortable, informal, and relaxed setting: an old ski lodge. One unique - and quite unfortunate - aspect of being situated in a ski resort lodge is the sad fact that this restaurant remains open only during the ski season, December through April. This means that you only have five short months to enjoy the creations that come out of their kitchen. The months through spring, summer, and fall will prove extra long for me this year. And like many skiers who are waiting for the next winter season to come around, jones-ing for that first powder run, I’ll also be looking forward to next year’s ski season. I can already taste the sablefish in my mouth. I hope it will be better than I remember.

The Mariposa ~ Park City, Utah
Deer Valley Resort
Executive Chef Clark Norris
*****

Trio

2009-03-22T19:37:00.008-06:00

If I were to open up my own restaurant, I imagine it would be something like Café Trio. Trio is a neighborhood restaurant perched in the 9th and 9th area. The place itself is very modern and elegant without being too cold, uninviting, or pretentious. The fare at Trio is Italian ranging in style from items like spaghetti and meatball (yes, here they serve spaghetti with only one meatball – albeit it’s huge) and wood-fired pizzas to modern interpretations of classics like pork tenderloin picatta. Both food and wine are moderately priced and you’d feel comfortable coming into Trio either for a big celebration or just for a casual night out after work. I wouldn’t call Trio super fancy – the food is composed of basic ingredients, the preparation of which is rarely unusual – but the food is done right and is put together perfectly, the service is consistently good, and the atmosphere is vibrant and lively. This is my kind of place.

We met some friends at Trio for dinner before some theatre. We began with an order of flatbread as an appetizer and some cocktails to start. Our herb and cheese flatbread came with a standard basil pesto, a white bean puree, and an olive tapenade. I must say that this flatbread trio has become somewhat of a standard for me, as I’ve noticed it’s almost always ordered every time I go (whether by me or someone else). The bread is crisp but slightly tender and pairs well with the various dips. The white bean dip is very creamy and velvety with a very subtle taste, as opposed to the robust tang of the chunky, red olive dip. The green pesto is very earthy with lots of texture from the strong mix of garlic, herbs, pine nuts, and cheese. The trio of dips is very colorful: red, white, and green – an obvious play on the Italian flag. Usually this salute to Italian patriotism is evident in items like Margherita pizza (mozzarella cheese, red sauce, and basil – again, white, red, and green) but I quite like their own unique interpretation. Rounded out with a couple of cocktails - we had a great start to the evening.

Among the four of us, we sampled two pasta plates, a wood-fired pizza, and one of their more fancy dishes. How were the pasta dishes? Well, let’s just put it this way - how can you go wrong with layers of cooked noodle, sauce, and cheese? Talk about ooey and gooey - and oh so delicious. The special pasta of the night was a mushroom and spinach lasagna. This dish was quite lovely. I must say the mushroom flavor was a bit lost amongst the goo and overall the flavor profile was a bit of a one-noter, but it tasted great and was very satisfying. The same can be said of their baked penne, which we also had that night. Their classic carbonara (which we didn’t have this night but is another favorite that I’d recommend) is cooked to a perfect al dente made creamy from the eggs and crunchy from the bacon; peas add a nice green fleck among the yellow sauce and brown bacon. The wood-fired pizza tonight was also very delicious. The crispy, thin-crusted pizza was topped with spicy Italian sausage, roasted red peppers, and pepperoni. Again, tasty and simple, and really good – slight sweetness from the peppers and a hit me over the head savory-ness with the pepperoni and Italian sausage.

We also had the chance to sample one of the house specialties: a composed plate of seared salmon. The presentation was modern, the base of the dish was Israeli couscous tossed in a simple vinaigrette, atop which was a bed of sautéed vegetables including peppers and tomatoes. The salmon sat on the very top giving the dish some height and a creamy citrus béchamel was drizzled over the salmon. The couscous provided a nice starchy quality and the veg provided some crunch. The salmon was cooked to a perfect medium. The dish was good – some simple ingredients used very simply. Nothing pretentious about it. It was even farmed salmon. A major faux pas? Maybe in a fine dining, hoity-toity establishment…but I find Trio serving this salmon perfectly fine, fitting in with their non-pretentious vibe.

We ended our meal with a few desserts - an apple cobbler with ice cream, a tollhouse pie with ice cream, and chocolate pudding. Oh my heck, can you say comfort to the max? Anything a la mode is a great dessert in my book. Both the cobbler and the tollhouse pie were your classic sweet desserts providing some nice crunchy textures, countered well with the smooth, rich ice cream. Neither were exactly the prettiest thing to look at, and they leaned on the super sweet side, but boy were they good. You couldn’t help but keep plowing through more of it until it was all gone. But I think the definite star of desserts that evening was the chocolate pudding, demonstrating a sophisticated and elegant finish to the meal. First of all the presentation was clever: the pudding was placed in a coffee cup and topped off with whipped cream and a biscotti – mimicking the look of an after dinner cappuccino. There’s something really inviting about a dessert that’s served in a vessel that you can dig deep into. The pudding was smooth in consistency with the right balance between sweet and bitter. And unlike the a la mode desserts above, you didn’t feel assaulted with sweetness or richness. It was a nice little ditty to finish the evening off with.

Delivering consistently delicious food with basic ingredients, Trio continues to pack the people in day in and day out. It’s a vibrant place welcoming of all walks of life. Sometimes I think it would be fun to open up my own restaurant – something much like Trio. I’d want a place where people would feel like it would be affordable and casual enough to come to dinner a couple times a week but would equally feel right coming in for a special occasion in suit and tie to celebrate a major event. Trio is a like a home away from home, serving basic food that satisfies anyone. So does this inspire me to plan, save, and move forward with starting a restaurant in the future? Mmm…I think sometimes it does. Then I remember the statistic that something like 80-90% of new restaurants fail after their first year or so and the horror stories of people investing and losing tens of thousands of dollars. That’s a little bit too daunting for me. I’ll continue to think about it. In the meantime, I’ll head to Trio for dinner as much as I can.

Café Trio ~ Salt Lake City, Utah
9th and 9th (original location) or Cottonwood Heights
Executive Chef Shannon Roarke
Executive Pastry Chef Lisa Spencer
****

Michelangelo's

2009-03-07T08:28:00.003-07:00

Having just moved from a dark, dingy, basement in a sugarhouse strip mall to its new location in a spacious open space near what used to be the Cottonwood mall area, Michelangelo’s has improved upon one of its biggest liabilities: ambience. I distinctly remember the dark basement with no windows; plastic plants were scattered around in cheap plastic vases and plastic vines were strung atop doors. What’s up with the plastic? Well I assume since there was little natural light in the basement, plastic was the way to go if you wanted something seemingly vibrant, living, and green. Actually and unfortunately, I think it had the opposite effect. And the bathroom was just…well…the kind of bathroom you’d expect when visiting an elderly grandparent in a retirement home. The problem with the décor was that it set you up for immediate criticism of the food. If the place looked this way, would the food be any different? Talking to the mother of the owner, who was also the hostess the night we went to the new Michelangelo’s, this was a major motivating factor for the move.

In contrast to the old location, the new location is spacious and open. As you enter the restaurant you can see an open kitchen where you can watch cooks preparing cold items such as salads, appetizers, and bread; the exposed brick gives the area a very rustic, industrial feel – a long way from plastic plants in the basement. The main dining room is just to the right of the open kitchen and is elegantly decorated with appropriate lighting and decorations…and windows! I couldn’t resist a peek in the bathroom. Not to my surprise, it was modern and perfectly usable – no geriatric images came to mind at all, although there was a plastic garbage can in the corner that struck me as a little cheap, not exactly fitting into a newly renovated modern bathroom. I’m hoping this was a temporary fix for opening week and that someone will replace this with a more substantial stainless steel can or something like that.

With a huge improvement in space, I wondered if they improved in what I considered their second biggest liability as a restaurant: timing. To sum it up: the service here is really slow. It was super slow at the old location and unfortunately it turns out this hasn’t changed much at the new location either. We were seated promptly and our orders were taken very quickly. But once the orders were taken…well… we just sort of sat there waiting. Even the hostess swung by, chatting to us, and asked, “Haven’t you been served yet?” When we said no (this being 30 minutes or longer after being seated and not having even been served our starting course) she retorted, “Oh well, it’s the Michelangelo’s way!” I guess even they’re aware that their delivery of food takes longer than your average restaurant.

When our starters did come out, we were ecstatic. We had just played a competitive game of squash and were starving! The appetizers were also beautiful. We shared the soup of the day which was a Tuscan tomato bread soup called ‘Pappa al Pomodoro’. It looked a very nice deep red color with green basil leaves and big shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano atop. If you took a spoonful of the soup alone, you’d find the soup really bland actually – seemed it could’ve used a bit more salt. But if you dug into the soup with some of the cheese and basil, these additions really brought out the flavor of the tomato and rounded it out nicely. The soup really grew on me as I ate it. It was very satisfying. We also shared a celery salad. Can I just say that this salad was the highlight of my evening? It was a wonderful mix of celery, apple, Gorgonzola cheese, red onion, pine nuts, and raisins tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette made with Saba (syrup made from freshly squeezed grape juice). First of all it was beautiful. The texture was great: chewy, crispy, and creamy all at once. The flavor was lovely: sweet, salty, and acidic, with a little fat and tartness from the cheese. I definitely had high hopes for dinner but if I ended my meal with this salad, I would have been extremely happy.

Michelangelo’s is well known for making its own pasta. In previous visits, I’ve been amazed with their homemade raviolis, canolis, and tortellinis. On this particular visit to the new location we opted for two menu items that didn’t use homemade pasta: their carbonara and the risotto of the day. The risotto was just okay. It wasn’t exactly inedible but it was borderline too spicy for me. It was a mushroom risotto with spicy Colosimo Italian sausage. The flavor of the risotto had a nice mushroom backbone but the sausage was so spicy that you couldn’t really taste anything else after you had a couple of pieces. The consistency of the risotto was also slightly off. It was a nice ‘al dente’ but it was almost soupier than it was creamy. I was a little disappointed with this after that amazing salad. The carbonara fared better though. It was creamy and the spaghetti had a nice bite to it as well. The salty bacon added the right amount of crispiness to contrast with the creaminess and fat in the pasta. It was basically your standard carbonara. But if I were to compare it to other Italian places I’ve been to in Salt Lake, I’d say I’ve had better.

I think it was generally a good visit. The new location is a reason in and of itself to give it a try. It really is a drastic change from the old location. And if you’d never been to the old location, it will be a nice good first impression for you. The menu hasn’t changed which means their old stand-bys of homemade pasta are still available. It’s rare these days to find a place that actually makes its own pasta on-site. I’d recommend going with one of these if you choose to visit Michelangelo’s. Just be prepared for what could be a long wait…and be sure not to go when you’re in a hurry.

Michelangelo’s ~ Salt Lake City, Utah
2156 Highland Drive
Chef/co-owner: Scott Ashley
***

Em's

2009-03-02T22:47:00.009-07:00

It’s always said of real estate that location is everything – for any property ranging from one’s home to a successful business. Location will allow your home to gain value over the years…and location will afford your business free advertising and accessibility to a loyal customer base. Location, location, location. So you would think that situating a restaurant among people’s homes, obviously away from any other businesses, would be virtual suicide for any restaurant. This is decidedly not the case for Em’s. But then again, Em’s is not just any restaurant.

Em’s is tucked away in a residential neighborhood up near the Capitol. If you’ve never heard of it, you might never come across it. Em’s dining room is quaint, simply but elegantly decorated - giving the restaurant a warm and comfortable feel. A glance over of the menu also resonates this warm and comforting vibe. You get a glimpse of the chef’s personal style when you read through menu items such as ‘Leek stuffed wild salmon served over creamy cabbage’ or ‘Morgan Valley rack of lamb with a potato-shallot custard and jalapeno jelly’. Indeed, the chef prepares items using only the finest local and organic ingredients, and each menu item reflects this personal philosophy.

We began our meal with a few appetizers – taking our palates through a journey from Italy and Latin America to France. We started with gnocchi tossed in a fresh parsley and basil pesto. I seldom ever enjoy eating gnocchi because I find them often over-mixed and super dense. The gnocchi at Em’s, however, were fluffy and light as a cloud. There was a creaminess to the gnocchi that made them just melt in your mouth like butter. It was a perfect beginning to the evening. We moved to an order of tamales stuffed with goat cheese, served over a chipotle cream. The flavors were amazing. The corn tamales were a little sweet and contrasted nicely with the slight tartness of the goat cheese. The chipotle cream really tied the flavors in the tamales together nicely. My only complaint about the tamales was the temperature. As I bit into some of the tamales, there were noticeably cold sections, suggesting that they weren’t warmed through thorougly prior to serving. I’m a stickler for attention to details and although the temperature didn’t ruin the tamales for me, I was a little disappointed with this oversight. Lastly, we enjoyed the country pate served with toasted baguette. The pate was smooth and easily spreadable on the crunchy bread. It was served alongside a peppery aspic, which added some dimension and kick to the salty pate. Having this little bit of protein at the beginning of our meal really served to wet the appetite.

My dinner companions enjoyed a variety of entrees which I also had the pleasure of tasting. Both the special braised lamb shank and the maple-bacon glazed pork chop were excellent…rustic fare at its best. No fancy plating here – just a big old piece of meat served over some type of potato. Speaking of potato, I also found the potato lasagna to be a very unique idea. It consisted of layers of potato in between which parmesan, ricotta, and mozzarella cheeses were tied together by a white cream sauce. The lasagna was very rich and creamy with some texture provided by the potatoes; though I must say that the appearance wasn’t the most appetizing. It was molded into a round form and it sort of just looked like a big white mound….like a really undercooked white cake taken too soon out of its cake pan. Let’s just say it wasn’t exactly an invitation to eat. If it were up to me, I would have made the presentation a little more rustic – serving the lasgana in an individual ramekin or a deep bowl making sure the top was nicely charred and crunchy…tantalizing the diners to dig deep with their forks and their stomachs. However, when I did dig into the potato lasagna, it left me with a comforting impression…almost of a dressed up gratin – ooey and gooey – and oh so good. Okay, I forgive the chef for the choice of presentation; the potato lasagna was such a unique twist on a comfort food classic.

For my entrée, I had one of the specials of the evening, an orange glazed duck breast served with a sweet potato puree. The duck was cooked to a perfect medium with just the right amount of pink in the middle and the flavor was fantastic. The orange sauce provided a nice background for the slightly gamey meat. My only criticism of the duck itself was the lack of texture. I would have liked to see more of the fat rendered out of the skin to make it nice and crispy. The sweet potato puree had a nice smooth consistency and the flavor was lovely – with hints of nutmeg, maple, and a warm cinnamon. Overall the entree was quite delicious. However, with the sweet glaze on the duck I might have favored a more savory starch. At times, I did find the dish to be overly sweet.

Overall I would say that my visit to Em’s wasn’t without its flaws. But were there so many infractions that it deterred me from enjoying my evening? Absolutely not. The food was good and the service was excellent. Maybe I feel this way because I consider myself a biased, loyal customer. I admit that Em’s is one of my favorite stand-bys. And I know I’m not the only one who feels this way, as there remained a steady flow of customers coming into the restaurant late into the evening. As we left, waiters were walking by with entrees piled high and deep. Em’s isn’t the kind of place where you’ll find fancily decorated petite plates sporting the latest trends in haute cuisine. Sometimes it amazes me how a restaurant like Em’s, smack dab in the middle of a city neighborhood, does so well night after night, year after year. But maybe what they say about location isn’t all true. At Em’s you get a rustic home cooked meal guaranteed to satisfy the hungriest of souls - and just maybe the food is enough to get people to come back for more. It’s certainly enough for me.

Em’s ~ Salt Lake City, Utah
Capitol Hill
Chef/Owner Emily Gassmann
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Mazza

2009-02-19T23:01:00.006-07:00

My first encounter with Middle Eastern food was when I was a grad student attending the California State University in the San Francisco Bay Area. For a quick lunch I would often fall into a long line at the falafel stand on campus and sit at a neighboring bench or table to gobble down my order. Over the two years I spent at Cal State, I grew accustomed to Middle Eastern “fast food” – such as falafel and lentil soup – and I became intimately acquainted with new flavor combinations that tickled my palate and took me to new and exciting places. That’s what food should be about after all, right?

Eating the food at Mazza takes you on a journey through the Middle East. In one bite you can be taken to Egypt or Greece and in the next bite perhaps Israel or Lebanon. For example, a staple of Greek cuisine is the stuffed grape leaf. The vegetarian grape leaves at Mazza are wrapped around a combination of rice, herbs, lemon, and tomato and served with a yogurt sauce made of cucumber and mint. The grape leaf itself is quite savory, with hints of smokiness perhaps from a scant touch of cumin. The yogurt sauce breathes additional life into the grape leaf, brightening its flavor and bringing these tiny little fingers together into little bundles of joy.

The hummus at Mazza is silky-smooth. It is rich in flavor and gives you a subtle hint of lemon with strong chickpea and garlic overtones. The tahini rounds the hummus out nicely giving it a distinct sesame taste. Dipped through with a warm piece of pita, it is a meal in and of itself. But if you like hummus, you’ll love Mazza’s muhamara - a red colored dip composed of roasted red pepper and walnuts, sweetened with pomegranate molasses. The molasses enhances the natural sweetness of the roasted red peppers, but the use of spices in the dish provides a well-balanced savory tone. You take up each bite of muhamara using a crisp lettuce leaf. As such, with every bite you get a nice crunch from the lettuce on top of the smoothness you get from the dip. Every bite leaves you with a cool, refreshing feeling in your mouth. With each bite, you want more.

A safe bet for even the most unadventurous, the chicken mutabbak is a savory chicken and rice dish. The chicken is plated with a sweet tamarind sauce and served over basmati rice, around which beautifully roasted potatoes are circled. The dish is truly an invitation to eat. A similar dish that many will find equally approachable is the kebab platter. Mazza offers a nicely charred and flavorful kebab platter filled with grilled chicken, potatoes, and vegetables. If you hate cauliflower, you should try the grilled cauliflower off the kebab plate at Mazza – the char adds a new dimension to what you might typically equate with cauliflower.

And of course there is always the falafel – a deep fried vegetable patty consisting of fava beans, chickpeas, spices, and tahini served in a warm pita with cool lettuce and spicy, pickled turnips. I would akin a falafel sandwich to a Middle Eastern hamburger – it could be said however, that falafel might be an acquired taste. Although I’m of Filipino-American heritage, Middle Eastern cuisine has somewhat of a “comfort food” effect with me. When I bite into the falafel sandwich at Mazza, I get transported back in time. Eating falafel takes me back to my days in grad school. It makes me remember what those two years of my life were like back then and it makes me think about some people I haven’t thought about in a very long time, and this….makes me happy.

Mazza ~ Salt Lake City, Utah
15th & 15th (original location) or 9th & 9th
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Cucina Deli

2009-02-15T19:15:00.001-07:00

When you walk in the door you are greeted by a large glass deli cooler holding a variety of entrees, desserts, salads, and side dishes. On the walls behind the counters are chalk boards with the daily items written by hand in colored chalk. On their menu, you’ll find items ranging from grilled vegetable sandwiches, grilled chicken salads, salmon tortellini, meat loaf, and curry chicken to desserts such as german chocolate brownies, bread pudding, and lemon bars. The menu is very unassuming; there is something so simple and honest about being able to walk into a place, pick what you want through a glass case, pay at the end of the line, and be seated until your food comes out. It almost reminds you of a high school cafeteria.

As comforting as I’m making this sound, the experience can also be a little stressful as well. I immediately felt a twinge of panic when a line formed behind us. I took several glances at the chalkboard and then several glances at the deli case trying to make out what was what. I could tell the gentleman behind us, probably a regular of some sort, was becoming inpatient as he started breathing more heavily and increasingly louder. I was contemplating between the portobello mushroom sandwich and the Thai beef salad when in a panic I blurted out: "chicken enchiladas"! My lunchmate and I rounded our meal out with an order of cheese lasagna, two San Pellegrino Limonatas, and two Lindt dark chocolate truffles.

After the relief of the ordering trauma set in, our food was delivered promptly and happily to our table (lucky number 71). Upon first glance the food was unassuming, balanced nicely with a green salad of olives and pepporincini, and some bread. The chicken enchilada was quite satisfying. Cutting into it let out big chunks of chicken breast amidst a gooey cream sauce held together by the flour tortilla. The portion was actually manageable. Not too big or too small. It tasted much liked it looked – very unassuming; it tasted like a chicken enchilada. No stand out flavors…maybe a hint of cumin and oregano, but mostly you got this satisifying comfort from a creamy, gooey, bunch of chicken and cheese wrapped up in a bundle.

Similarly, I would also not call the cheese lasagna a masterpiece of modern gastronomy. It was – well - a piece of cheese lasagna. Pasta layered between dollops of tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and ricotta baked into a yummy goo. Again, like the enchiladas, there was no real defined flavor profile, but just a comfortable feeling from a whole lot of pasta, red sauce, and melted cheese. I find that you can’t always eat super chic, gourmet meals, all day every day. But I do think you can and should eat good food all day every day. Cucina Deli uses fresh, good quality ingredients and prepares its food with the respect it should be given. The result? Unassuming food that satisfies the soul. Now how bad can that be?

Cucina Deli ~ Salt Lake City, Utah
The Avenues
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Wahso

2009-02-15T18:27:00.001-07:00

“Tempura fried-braised short ribs?”, I asked our waiter Steve skeptically. Steve then proceeded to launch into an overly enthusiastic recommendation of the menu item citing that you just couldn’t go wrong with this – a comfort food dish made extreme by battering it up in tempura and deep frying it. Mmmm…deep-fried braised meat? Is that like a deep fried snicker’s bar?

I would call the menu at Wahso contemporary, eclectic pan-Asian. You glance down at the menu items and see influences from Thailand, Indonesia, Korea, China, and Japan. The menu immediately grabs your attention with appetizers and salads with interesting ingredients such as chiles, curries, and exotic fruit. As you look around the restaurant, the pan-Asian décor matches the pan-Asian menu. The space seems quite chic with table tops scattered between two sizable floors. Private booths separable by drape partitions are also available for an intimate dining experience. However, the walls are decorated with various items bordering the gawdy like dragons, fans, buddhas, and time-piece memorabilia from different countries. At first glance you might find these elegant but after spending a couple of hours staring at the walls, they become cheap-looking – almost like being in a pan-Asian themed TGIFs whose walls are decorated in an excess of “flair”.

We started our meal off with an amuse bouche compliments of the chef : a cracker topped with an Indian-inspired carrot slaw. The amuse was quite lovely having a mild curry flavor and slightly creamy texture, along with some crunch provided by the carrots and crackers - a delightful way to start off the night. We continued our meal with two appetizers: Spicy Malaysian Potstickers served over pickled cucumber and a pureed Tomato and Coconut soup. The potstickers were sticky with a crunchy exterior. Biting into a potsticker ignited an explosion in my mouth. Spicy, sticky, savory, sweet, crunchy…made ever so amazing by the tartness you got from the pickled cucumber. Talk about comfort. I started forgetting about the gawdy décor and focused in on the food. Unfortunately, the soup, however, left something to be desired. Simply put, the soup tasted like tomato paste with a little bit of coconut milk. It did have a nice coconut flavor, but the tomato background was overpoweringly heavy and a touch too sweet. Don’t get me wrong; it wasn’t that offensive - but after the succulence of the potstickers, I wanted my palate to be taken to a new place. All I got after eating the soup was a big, fat slap in the face saying, “You’re still in Utah bitch!”

Excitement silenced the table when our entrees arrived. We tasted between two items: the Korean BBQ Salmon and, of course, the Tempura Kobe Short Ribs. The plating on the salmon dish was just beautiful. A shallow pool of a yellow-pepper coulis coated the bottom of the plate, above which was a ring-mold of black forbidden rice topped off with a ginger-braised spinach - which in turn, held up a thick slice of salmon fillet. The salmon had a nice crust on top and was cooked perfectly. Every bite melted in your mouth like butter and the subtle savory elements of soy and sesame within the salmon paired well with the accoutrements. The spinach had a nice creamy consistency and it was topped with crushed walnuts for some crunch. I could barely taste the ginger in it, but somehow I think it better that way. The black rice was visually stunning. It was seemingly tasteless but the presentation it added was great. Even the yellow-pepper coulis had a very mild curry flavor. But it all worked beautifully together – elevating the star of the dish…the salmon…to new heights.

And what of the deep-friend short ribs? Well to be honest it was a neat concept but the execution wasn’t perfect. I found the plating a little boring and off-center. The food was plated all in one quadrant of the plate, which I found off putting. I’m wondering if it just slid to the side when the waiter was walking over from the kitchen to our table? Moreover, the meat was a beige/brown color and it was served with mushrooms and sautéed potatoes, alongside a creamy wasabi spinach. The food was all so very dark. To me, a splash of color would've made the food pop. Instead, it sort of just sat there looking lifeless. Not surprisingly though, the food was quite good once we dug into it. The flavor combinations were similar to the salmon in the sense that the co-starring side dishes played second fiddle to the savory ribs. The ribs were good, but I didn’t find them to be quite as stunning as I had hoped. The tempura wasn’t as crisp as it could have been, leading to a slightly doughy effect on top of the braised beef. The beef itself was lovely…obviously the chef had put in many hours treating this beef with love. But considering the anticipation of this dish, it was a slight disappointment.

We finished our meal with a sample course of chocolate. A creamy hot chocolate, a chocolate-orange tart, dark chocolate truffle, a macaroon, and crème brulee. All miniature in size. The desserts were good but nothing too surprising. Apparently the pan-Asian theme flew out the window with this course. No hint of curry or coconut or any interesting Asian-inspired notes in dessert. No mochi, no custards or red-bean cakes, not even green tea ice cream. Oh wait…but two chocolate covered fortune cookies came out with the bill. That’s like Asian isn’t it?

Wahso ~ Park City, Utah
Executive Chef: Chris Griffin
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