02/29/08
 Just in time to celebrate the new year, RedRock Brewing Company is releasing its Belgian-style trippel ale.
 Brewer Kevin Templin has taken four years to develop RedRock Reve —it's made with
|
02/29/08
Ten courses and eight wines in six hours—it added up to an over-the-top evening. A Tuesday evening.My Tuesday nights aren't known for their extravagance, so last night'swine dinner at Wolf Creek Ranch was a seismic shake in my usualschedule of Law & Order reruns.
Executive chef Bill White, of Bill White Enterprises, invited a fewmedia people and a lot of his best patrons to a super-exclusive dinnerfeaturing food cooked by the chefs of his Park City restaurants (
|
02/29/08
 Today is the first day of Hanukkahand I for one will be celebrating on one of the eight days. I know—it'sonly a minor Jewish holiday that has been magnified by the proximity ofoverblown Christmas, but to me it's a great festival just because itincludes latkes (click herefor a good recipe in a weird format) and applesauce. Every family hasits own Hanukkah menu, but I don't know one that doesn't includelatkes. I like to make them with minimal...
|
02/29/08
 Salt Lake City's Vertical Dinerwas voted "Restaurant of the Month" by VegCooking. com. Congrats tochef/owner Ian Brandt, who has been our city's proponent of the veglifestyle for years, as proprietor of Sage's and—for the last 8months—Vertical Diner. The Diner is 100% veganand, speaking as one who has arranged catering (the tricky part: thecake) for a vegan's wedding, I have a lot of admiration for someone whocan create variety and taste with what...
|
02/29/08
 Pairingwines with Asian cuisines has always been a challenge. I don't knowanyone who has embraced this challenge more assiduously than KeithChan, owner of Monsoon Thai Bistro. His wine dinners, featuring Thaifood and flavors paired with excellent wines from his Spectatoraward-winning list, are always fun, informative and completelydelicious adventures in taste.
The next one, his Wine Spectacular 2007, on Sunday, December 9,promises to be one of the best yet. Diners will taste wines that havebeen highly rated by Wine Spectator with a six-course...
|
02/29/08
 The Nutcracker is a chestnut,yes, but this is the time of year for traditional and sentimentalpleasures and even though you've seen her umpteen times, it's hard toresist the sugarplum...
|
02/29/08
Well, we know how Santa must feel at this time of year: Our mailboxis overflowing. Competition for our Reader's Choice Dining Award isheating up—we've received hundreds of votes and more are coming inevery day. There are a couple of clear frontrunners, so if you want tomake sure your favorite restaurant wins the prize, vote now. Votingends December 14.
Just ask for a ballot at any participating restaurant or here , click on the little salad photo (to the lower left of the cranberry tart), fill out the form and hit "send." You could win a night at the Grand America just for voicing your opinion. That's a lot more than your two cents' worth. Originally published 2007-11-30
|
02/29/08
The Hotel is hosting the First Annual Red Hott Aids FoundationCharity Event tomorrow night. Dress up nice, enjoy music by DJ:K and DJJuggy and bend your elbow for the Utah Aids Foundation.
The Hotel Bar & Nightclub is at 155 W., 200 South. Originally published 2007-11-29
|
02/29/08
 Andthat's a good thing, because truffles have been one of the true luxuryfoods of the world for centuries. Especially the white truffles fromAlba, Italy. I have a foodie friend (a member of our Dining Awardspanel) who is in the Piedmont region of Italy right now for the sake oftruffles and until i received this email today from Liberty Heights Fresh I was feeling just a tiny bit grumpy about it.
But—Rosenberg to the rescue—Liberty Heights is taking orders forfresh truffles....
|
02/29/08
This just in from CNN: The Food Network has cancelled Emeril Legasse'slong-running "Emeril Live." Production will cease December 11. Emerilwas one of the early hits on food TV, when cooking shows were firstmaking the transition from Julia and Jacques on PBS to commercial,ad-driven television. In the early days, the Food Network showcasedreal culinary stars, like Emeril and Bobby Flay. Lately, the big hitshave been telegenic personalities like Rachael Ray, whose main asset isperkiness. Originally published 2007-11-27
|
02/29/08
I was putting together my thoughts about this year's Salt LakeDining Awards when I received the note below from a reader. What agreat thing for a diner to do. Restaurants seldom hear the praise oftheir patrons, but it matters as much as the complaints in shaping thebusiness. And, as I've said before, the customers play as big a part increating a great dining scene as the restaurants do. I encourage youall to speak up. If you don't want to send a letter to the restaurant,send it to me, here. As a frequent diner and a bit of a self proclaimed "cook" andappreciator of enjoying an exceptional meal. I realized that a largepart of the restaurant experience and food has to do with the waiter.They elevate or deflate that experience by the service they...
|
02/29/08
Our Thanksgiving table as much a meeting of culinary philosophies asthe original Pilgrim feast. Our menu represented the totaltraditionalist, the locavorous, the strictly personal, the vegan, the raw foodistand the completely omnivorous points of view. By the way, you'll noticethat raw foodism involves a lot of quotation marks. My daughter-in-lawexplains that in this cuisine, the names of dishes are strictlymetaphorical. Le Menu
Appetizers: Organic crudites with raw "cheese" made from blended cashews, garlic and lemon
Cocktail: Slushy made from frozen green grapes and organic sparkling wine
Turkey: Fresh, organic, from Whole Foods, unstuffed,...
|
02/29/08
At one point in my life, I was the unofficial "turkey girl" at the Dallas Morning News.I wrote regularly (free-lance) for the paper's Food section when DottyGriffith was Food editor, and I did a lot of the food-styling for thephotography for my articles and others. This was a time when I was rarely without a package of candiedviolets in the styrofoam cooler that lived in the trunk of my car. Justin case of a garnish emergency, you know. Somehow, I was always called on to style the turkey for the annual inevitable photo of the perfect Thanksgiving bird. Here's how I did it: Thaw the turkey. Remove giblets and that weirdlittle thermometer thing that come in some frozen birds and wipe offthe skin. Truss it attractively. (Kitchen twine looks...
|
02/29/08
The New Oxford American Dictionary, published by Oxford University Press, recently announced its 2007 Word of the Year: locavore.It beat out other new locutions like "bacn," a kind of email spam;"previvor," a person who has survived a genetic likelihood for cancer,and "mumblecore," a film genre using unprofessional actors in alow-budget production, like Hannah Takes the Stairs and Funny Ha Ha,films that are described as "severely naturalistic" or "neo-slacker."(I suspect "unwatchable-except-by-close- friends-of-the-film-maker"would be a more accurate definition.) But "locavore"—now there's a word worth chewing on and one that SaltLake diners have taken to heart. It means, of...
|
02/29/08
Instead of waiting around for the pig-cooked turkey on Saturday, thespousal unit and I drove up to Layton for a lunchtime gathering of agroup that calls themselves opencarry.com,meaning that they frequently exercise their second amendment right tocarry guns. Their slogan: "A right unexercised is a right lost." About25 gun-totin' folks gathered at the Golden Corral to walk down thebuffet line, choose their own meat and three, and eat lunch with theirguns on. "An armed society is a polite society," one person told me. Iguess an armed dining companion would make me more mindful of my elbowsand cause me to think twice about a boarding-house reach across thetable... We all have our issues, don't we? I don't...
|
02/29/08
Aforesaid turkey was intended to be the main dish at the tailgate onSaturday—unfortunately, there were some technical difficulties so Inever tasted it. Note: For a cajachina, a grill, a broiler or any one-sided heatsource, it's best to butterfly the bird: Split it down the breastboneand push it flat. Slip any seasoning under the skin, between the meatand the skin. In a conventional oven, you should cook a turkey about 15 to 20minutes per pound if it's not stuffed. This big baby, with the heatcoming mostly from the coals on top, was ready about half-time. Of course, in the last several years, Americans have beendiscovering that there's more than one way to cook a turkey. Lots offeasts now routinely include the Cajun deep-fried turkey:
|
02/29/08
 LastFriday afternoon, in dire need of a fresh—that is, unfrozen—turkey thatwould be ready to cook Saturday in the pig-cooker, we knew who to call:Emigration Market. The butcher put our name on a 15-pounder and wepicked it up at lunchtime.
Emigration has a pen of live gobblers right outside the storeentrance. We wondered—was this the latest in gobbler-shopping? Can youpick out your turkey, like you would a lobster, and have its neck wrungto order? Turns out no such drama was in store. I suppose the birds arejust there as a reminder of the circle of life,...
|
02/29/08
In 1988, WHO established the first of December as World Aids Day. Inthe nearly 20 years since, the hospitality industry, extremely hard hitby the disease, has stepped up as one of the big fundraisers for thecause. San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants hosts afundraising event at each of its properties, including Salt Lake City'sHotel Monaco which will host its 3rd annual Red Party on November 29,from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. Red-dressed drag queens will host the liveauctions, there will be fire-dancing, red food, red drinks, redballoons and...
|
02/29/08
Zev Rovine, wine proselytizer and proprietor of The Spotted FrogBookstore and Cafe in Park City—often, as he admits, accused of being afrancophile— has developed some stars and stripes to go with his spots.Rather than exploring the wines of Alsace or Bordeaux or even the Loirein his next sip-and-talk, he will focus on wines made right here in theU.S. of A. And not just California—wines from Oregon and Washington and(stretching it, in my opinion) New York. Even, excuse me, Utah. Checkit out. We make good cheese in Utah, and chocolate, and we raise goodlamb. There's no real reason we can't make good wine. I don't think... Where: The Frog
When: Friday the 16th @ 7PM
Why: Because it makes you sound smarter if you know a lot about wine
How: Call the...
|
02/29/08
My nephew, who is working on his Ph.D. in mathematics at Stony Brookon Long Island while he inventories egg creams and pizza joints inevery borough, has his own Thanksgiving tradition, separate from thefamily. Every year, he gathers with a like-minded bunch (meaning fellowCal Tech grads) they call Turkey-Tek. Every year, they creatively combine food and physics in their feast.
One year, it was a fractal pecan pie.  Another, a...
|
02/29/08
I grew up in the Age of Aquarius. That's all the reason I can givefor being a tailgate virgin. At the University of Texas in Austin inthe early 70s, college was about everything except sports. So Saturday,before the Utes played somebody, was my first experience at tailgating.I picked the right invitation to accept; this was a group of pros andthey were cooking on my dream machine: a genuine la cajachina. It may not look impressive, compared to a Wolf or a Weber. But this humble little box,...
|
02/29/08
Last night, Deer Valley Resortinvited all the food writers and media types to a tasting of dishesfrom their new winter menu so for two nights in a row, all the SaltLake food bylines were gathered under one roof for a four-houreat-a-thon. I'm a newbie in the Salt Lake scene so I didn't know everyone buthere's who I know was there: Kathy Stephenson, food editor at Salt LakeTribune; Ted Scheffler, dining critic for Salt Lake Weekly; VirginiaRainey, free-lance food writer and cookbook author; Valerie Phillips,food editor at the Deseret News; plus Julie Wilson, Food & BeverageDirector for Deer Valley Resort, etc., etc. This is the kind of occasion that makes other people say, "I'd like to be...
|
02/29/08
That's what I get for Googling: misinformation. Deer Valley's Blueberry Mojito was lastyear's winner of the Third Annual Cocktail Contest. This year's winnerwas Lial Gingell, "the Martini slayer," bartender at Kristauf's MartiniBar, where the contest was held. His cocktail:
1 oz. Grey Goose Le Poire
1/2 oz. Peach Schnapps
Splash of pineapple juice
Mix and float Cook's Brut Champage on top. hmmm. Cook's?? First runner-up was Drew Johnson from the Spur Bar & Grill. He calls his cocktail the "Catmint":
1 oz. Mallibu Rum
5—8 muddled mint leaves
1/2 oz. Bacardi 151
Splash of Coke And second runner-up was Steven "Max" Maxwell who pours at the...
|
02/29/08
I guess I was too blissed out from my lunch-time pie yesterday toremember to tell you where to find the pies: Left Fork Grill is at 68W. 3900 South. Foner is 801-266-4322. Originally published 2007-11-09
|
02/29/08
How many times have I been told about a place that has great pie,only to find that the crust had been frozen, the filling came from abox and the whipped cream from a can? Too many, that's how many. In fact, my hopes for good pie about equal my hopes for heaven, a fact that sets me apart from most Americans. In fact, I pretty much go through the world expecting bad pie. Thatway, the usually mediocre ones I'm served seem okay. (Therapists havetold me that lowering expectations is one way to avoid being depressed.Depressing advice unless you don't expect good advice from a therapist.) Anyway, rumors of good pie have been swirling around the officesince my compadre Dan Nailen...
|
02/29/08
More than a dozen area bartenders stirred, shook, muddled, strainedand blended in the 2nd Annual Park City Cocktail Contest last night.The judges deemed Deer Valley's Royal Street Cafe's Blueberry Mojitothe champion. See what you think... 2007-2008 Signature Cocktail
Deer Valley's Royal Street Cafe's Blueberry Mojito To make your own Blueberry Mojito, mix up the following: 1 handful mint leaves
1 Tsp. granulated sugar
Quarter wedge of lime
1/2 to 3/4 cup lemonade
1 oz. light rum
2 Tbsp. fresh or frozen blueberries(1 tblsp smashed to create some juice)
Splash of soda
1/2 oz. dark rum
Sprig of mint for garnish
Slice of lime for garnish
Ice In a tall 16 oz. glass, add mint leaves and sugar....
|
02/29/08
You may remember that I told you several weeks ago about the Utah chefs cooking Thanksgiving at the Beard House.
You may not. Here's a refresher: Famous cooking instructor, classic cookbook writer and American foodevangelist James Beard (1903-1985) is often called "the dean ofAmerican cooking." Mainly this means that at a time in American eatingwhen the only good food was French food, he begged to differ. Longbefore Chez Panisse was a twinkle in Alice Waters' eye, Beard waspromoting American ingredients and traditional American foods. When hedied, the James Beard Foundationwas formed to continue what Beard began. Besides handing out covetedawards for food writing, restaurant excellence, etc., the Foundationhosts...
|
02/29/08
Do as I say, not as I do. That's what Mother used to tell me andit's what I'm telling you: Don't miss the 3rd Annual Libation NationCelebration Park City Cocktail Contest Wednesday night, November 7! Only the most serious circumstances (yes, it involves dinner) wouldprevent me from attending this fundraiser for the People's Clinic and getting an early taste of Park City's signature cocktail for 2008. Fun begins at Kristhauf's Martini Bar on Main Street at 6 pm andlasts 2 hours. Bring a valid ID and enjoy yourself knowing that speciallodging rates have been made available to party-goers at Park CityPeaks Hotel and the Park City Marriott. Taxis Against Drunk Driving(T.A.D.D) will also be available after the contest. For hotel...
|
02/29/08
Is there such a thing as a dining wonk? If so, I am one and therefore this piece of news pleases me:
Restaurants and Institutions, the leading trade publication forthe restaurant business, listed Utah's Gastronomy, Inc. among its top75 multi-concept restaurants in the country. Gastronomy runs several restaurant concepts: Market Street Grill,Market Street Oyster Bar and The New Yorker. (It used to own more,including Baci and Cafe Pierpont, and I personally wish it still did,but that's another story.) Anyway, the restaurants are ranked according to sales (it's number72 with sales of $28 million), which is why I say it's a wonkishtidbit. Why should consumers care how much restaurants earn? Well, thereason I care is just because it's...
|
02/29/08
Because this blog is about matters gastronomical not political, I'llrefrain from giving my impressions of President Bill Clinton's stumpspeech at the U. yesterday. Unfortunately, no refreshments were served. Instead, my "news" from the weekend is that I tasted perhaps theworst margarita ever AND I finally found a real one. Hidden in plainsight, so to speak, on the bar menu at Prime Steakhouse in Park City.Notta tostada in sight. I was reading Prime's martini menu for edification only (because ginis no longer a friend of mine) when I saw a drink description that mademe holler out to Tiffany the bartender to cancel my white wine, stat.The "Margarita Martini" had only three ingredients listed: Herradura,Cointreau and lime juice. Sounded like a...
|
02/29/08
Bambararestaurant's three-course "Blue Plate Special" has become a lunchfavorite in Salt Lake and the "Chef's Pantry" dinner is also a hotitem. Now, in honor of World AIDS Day on December 1st, Bambara isoffering a three-course “Red Plate Special” menu during November. Aportion of proceeds from each Red Plate Special” will be donated to theUtah AIDS Foundation. New executive chef Dave Jones' ever-changing menuis priced at $11 for lunch and $28 for adults / $12 for children atdinner. Bambara, Hotel Monaco and the Utah AIDS Foundation will collaborateon the third annual “Red Hot” Party November 29, 2007 from 5:00 – 8:00p.m.
For more information call Reline Sombrero at (801)...
|
02/29/08
Nouveau Beaujolais Festivals began hundreds of years ago in Franceas celebrations of the end of the harvest and growing seasons. The Wasatch Food and Wine Society have been holding their Nouveau Beaujolais Festival at Deer Valley for 25 years. Both celebrate the same thing: the distinctive, fruity young winesmade in the Beaujolais region of Burgundy and bottled right afterharvest, with no aging. Of course, there are very specific rulesgoverning the...
|
02/29/08
Two dishes my family expected on the table every Thanksgiving: roast turkey and sauerkraut. Mother changed some things through the years—sweet potatoes losttheir marshmallows when they became tacky, gained pecans in the name ofregional cuisine, regained the marshmallows in the name of camp. Thechoice of green vegetable varied. The turkey's inevitability wasunderstood. But I never really "got" the sauerkraut. When asked, Motherjust said, "It's your Father's family tradition." So I was surprised when the Tribune ran a space-filler today about atraditional turkey and sauerkraut fundraiser in Rhode Island. The piecewas about how health inspectors no longer allowed a Spring Creek schoolto serve homemade sauerkraut to raise money.
Frankly,...
|
02/29/08
A couple of weeks ago I reported that the brisket exceededTexpectations and I'd promised to go back to see if other regionalstyles of barbecue fared as well at Sugarhouse Barbecue. I ate thepulled pork sandwich last week and it was extremely good. The porkstrands were slightly dry but a good dousing of the mustardyCarolina-style sauce helped. (There's also a squeezer of thevinegar-based sauce traditional for pork and one of red Texas-stylesauce on every table.) Today I finished the smoky trifecta by sampling the Memphis-styledry ribs and found them pretty terrific, too. It's been awhile sinceI've ribs at Rendezvous in Memphis but the Sugarhouse version wasdefinitely evocative. Ribs are a trendy dish these days and "trendy"often becomes synonymous with...
|
02/29/08
Last night, I had dinner at Szechuan Garden in Sandy. Me, GovernorJon Huntsman, his wife, Mary Kaye, daughter Gracie, and about fifteenrepresentatives of the University of Sichuan. Well, to be perfectlyaccurate, the Chinese delegation ate banquet-style on the other side ofthe room. They were in Salt Lake City for the opening of the new ConfuciusInstitute at the U. (Part of the College of Humanities, the ConfuciusInstitute will offer "China-related cultural activities such as...
|
02/29/08
...that Chef David Jones will be taking over the kitchen at Bambara,which should mean a match made in heaven. Maybe we'll have a Christmaspresent from the Kimpton Group: Jones' new menu. More to come... Originally published 2007-10-23
|
02/29/08
Panache, soon to open its new restaurant, has a new chef to go withit. Meet Carl Feissinger and the flavors he'll bring to the Panachetable when he serves up his first, soon-to-be-monthly degustationdinner with a wine pairing for each course. Proceeds from this dinnerwill go to RAIN, a non-profit communications company.
Call to make reservations.
Where: Restaurant Panache
2nd Floor, Wells Fargo Building
299 S. Main
When: October 25, 2007
7:00PM Menu Preview:
Baby Beet Napoleon, Local Goat Cheese Fonduta
Salt Roasted Bosc Pears, Micro lettuce, Candied Walnuts
~
Armagnac Scented Acorn Squash Consommé,
Petite Osso Bucco, Savory Black Currant Bread Pudding, Clove Tuille
~
Pan Roasted Diver Scallop, Cracked...
|
02/29/08
We live in a time when many people don't like to face the fact that carnivores must kill animals to eat meat.
It seems kind of a basic notion, but on today's menus of boneless,skinless breasts and ground anonymous, it's hard to see any evidence ofLord Tennyson's "Nature, red in tooth and claw."
Remember Gary Larsen's boneless chicken ranch?
But for those of us who like to eat meat, the trend is a problem because meat (and chicken) on the bone has more flavor.
So last night's last-minute decision to dine at Spencer's, thesteakhouse in the Salt Lake Hilton, was an unexpected delight: severalSpencer cuts are aged on the bone, including a rib-eye and a 3-inchthick filet.
Wow. I've never been served a bone-in filet and...
|
02/29/08
Okay, right away I have to confess that I missed out on the picklepie this weekend. By the time we got to Bicknell driving south, we werealready late for our date at Cafe Diablo. By the time we got toBicknell going north, it was Sunday. You could starve in Utah onSundays. However, we did do some honest gastronomic investigation along withour serious scenery-gazing. (Please, could New England or anyplace bemore beautiful than southern Utah in the fall?) First, Cafe Diablo, bywhich we have driven by dozens of times,...
|
02/29/08
For many Texans, a cool blue sky and the smell of deep fat in October are as nostalgic as pine trees and peppermint in December.
October is the fifth season of the year, Fair Season. The State Fair ofTexas lasts for several weeks in the middle of October andovershadowing, or outshining, memories of heart-pounding pig races,sunset rides on the Texas Star ferris wheel and the hokey voice of BigTex booming "Welcome. To. The. Great State Fair of Texas," the Fairevokes great food memories.
One I will treasure forever is the sight of Julia Child arriving tojudge the chocolate cake-baking contest. She was riding in a golf cart,eating a turkey leg.
But, of course, the best fair food is fried.
We always make a point of going to the Fair early in its run, so the...
|
02/29/08
News from the North: Unofficial correspondent Tim Vitale in Loganwrites: By the way, did you hear that John Simpson of Logan's CulinaryConcepts won the chef competition at the Deseret News Fall Home Show onFriday?
(I hadn't heard, because I didn't judge the contest after all.)
But it turns out that Simpson won out over high-profile chefs likeKevin Donovan of Log Haven in Millcreek Canyon, Robert Valaika of Shabuin Park City and Hans Cluff of Market Street Grill in South Jordan bybest using the “mystery box" items chosen by the event's emcee, FoodNetwork star George Duran, who hosts “Ham on the Street” and “TheSecret Life of...”
The chefs had one hour to create a salad, appetizer and an entree usinga set list of ingredients plus the...
|
02/29/08
Utah's own Redrock Brewing Company won top honors in the annualGreat American Beer Festival held in Denver last weekend. Sponsored bythe Brewers Association, this is the most prestigious beer competitionin the country. Redrock won medals in five categories: a bronze; threesilvers and a gold for its organic Zwickelbier. (There were 2,793 beersentered in 75 categories.) Plus, Kevin Templin was named "Brewer of theYear in the large brewpub category and Redrock was named "Large Brewpubof the Year."
Other Utah winners:
The Utah Brewers Cooperative(production facility for Squatters Brewpub and Wasatch Brewery)received a gold medal for its Squatters IPA, an and a silver forSquatters Organic Amber Ale.
Midvale's Hoppers Grill and Brewing Co. won silver...
|
02/29/08
In one of the most counter-intuitive marketing ploys I've ever heardof, Delta Airlines has decided that airline food—the phrase is acliched example of an oxymoron—is the perfect bait to lure customersback to the skies. Delta's SKY360 lounge is at the corner of 57th andSixth Ave., golden real estate for someone, for sure, and supposedly,Delta's done it up right with designer digs, fancy cocktails and a menuthat previews the in-flight food.
The airline has had a famously bumpy ride financially, teetering in andout of bankruptcy and someone has convinced the guys at the top thatthe way to stabilize is to open a restaurant?? In New York City, noless, where the restaurant failure rate is the highest in the country.
True, it's a temporary restaurant, slated to...
|
02/29/08
Think of it as Iron Chef with a dash of salt. See Salt Lake's top chefs, including Log Haven’s Chef Kevin Donovan,in a live chef's competition at the 30th Annual Deseret Home Show. Thecontest takes place
tomorrow, Friday, at 4 pm at the South Towne Expo Center. It'spresented by ABC 4 and will be hosted by Chef George Duran, a bona fideFood Network star who hosts “The Secret Life of…” and “Ham on theStreet.” Chefs will work in a state-of-the-art kitchen, incorporatingingredients from a “mystery box.” They will have just one hour tocreate an appetizer, main dish and salad. Click here to buy your tickets. I'll see you there....
|
02/29/08
Some of us are food-fixated. From reading a biography of MarieCurie, the main thing I remember is that after working feverish daysand nights in her lab to isolate polonium and radium (I think), shecollapsed from exhaustion and hunger on the doorstep of her Parisapartment and was only revived after her landlady fed her steak-frites.So I think of Marie whenever I order steak-frites at The Paris. I realized my (some would say skewed) perspective once again last night while I was watching "Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street"at the Egyptian Theater in Park City. I've seen it before. My companionhad not. And much as I love Sondheim, when my friend...
|
02/29/08
Leafing through the latest Bon Appetit (November), I was pleased tosee that Salt Lake's Beehive Tea room, had made the mag's list of thecountry's top trendy tea houses, along with spots in all the usualplaces: New York, Seattle, Chicago...
If you've never experienced the hip quaintness of the Beehive, bettermake a bee-line for it (sorry) now that it's getting national buzz (so,so sorry.) 
beehivetearoom.com Originally published 2007-10-10
|
02/29/08
Having traveled, as I did this summer once again, the Great BarbecueTrail of Texas, and tasted the epic 'cue in Luling, Lockhart and Elgin,it's hard for me to credit barbecue in Utah. The Texas pits are mannedby masters who tend their fires like Hephaestus in kitchens blackenedwith the smoke and burnt fat from decades of use. Pick up a HillCountry tour guide from the rack at City Market in Luling and you'llfind that even the pamphlet is smoke-smudged. The mouth-watering odorlingers—five months later, I can still sniff the map and get a taste ofdeep-dyed Texas flavor. So a squeaky-clean Sunday afternoon in Sugarhouse didn't set me upfor a soulful sandwich. Neither did the menu, which not only claims toserve Texas-style brisket, but Southern pulled pig and...
|
02/29/08
A story by Dawn House in last week's Salt Lake Tribune said thatUtah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff wants malt beverages—like SmirnoffIce, Jack Daniel's Original Hard Cola and Bacardi Silver—out of tavernsand grocery stores, even though they contain only 3.2 percent alcohol, the same amount as beer sold in grocery stores. The logic of this escapes me and the explanatory quotes do not help: "These drinks are not beer and should not be sold like beer," said Shurtleff.
Retailers "should step up and do their part to keep these drinks out ofthe hands of kids," Shurtleff said. Restricting access to minors "isone more step in the process of reducing the flow of these beveragesand maybe saving some lives." ...
|
02/29/08
You know what they say—if you can make it there, you'll make it anywhere. So I guess that means that Utah's own—Orem's own—Amano ArtisanChocolate has it made. They've been invited to exhibit at the ChocolateShow in New York in November. This is one of the most prestigious tradeevents (if there can be such a thing) in the food world. Only about 40chocolatiers are invited to attend. Chocoholics will recognize many ofthe names involved: Dagoba, Green & Black, Knipschildt, ChocolatModerne, and on and on. In addition to culinary demos, there will be achocolatte lounge featuring chocolate-based drinks, book signings bychoco-authors and even a chocolate fashion show.
Our home chocolate team will be in Booth 68.
You can find their chocolate at...
|
02/29/08
It's not lost on me that, by some standards, I am old. I work withseveral younger people who do their best to keep me plugged in towhat's hot, and Dan Nailen, whose career depends on his knowledge ofwhat's hot, is right here in the office with me and yet I often find itdifficult to believe that someone I'm talking to doesn't know the wordsto "Like A Rolling Stone" or who Euell Gibbons is. Was. Or, to amble around to the point of this rant, how to make a real margarita. I remember when the frozen margarita was first invented, in aMexican restaurant in Dallas, Texas. A good day for Mariano Martinez,but a sad day for lovers of the real thing. Or thang, as they would sayin Texas. Margaritas are now possibly the most popular alcoholic...
|
02/29/08
You know what I'm talking about. Anyone who has ever lived in California—or even visited there—has aspecial place in his taste-memory for In-N-Out Burgers. Yes, it's achain; yes, it's a drive-thru; yes, in some ways it's the epitome ofeverything foodies love to hate. But, to employ that catch-all phrase that excuses praise of thebanal, In-N-Out transcends its genre. It's not just the scriptures onthe bottom of your soda cup, it's the freshly cooked, clean taste ofthe burger that lifts In-N-Out into a category where Mickey D is just awannabe. So I was interested to read about an alleged In N Out copycat inAmerican Fork. Evidently, the place—Chadder's— is so similar toIn-N-Out that it's being sued by the California chain for...
|
02/29/08
Also this Saturday: the 2007 Utah Brewers Festival at the GallivanCenter in downtown Salt Lake. From 11 am (no, that's not too early fora good beer; in the 18th century, bread and beer was a good breakfast)until 10 pm, nearly a dozen Utah micro-brewers will convene to sharesamples of their brews. Pick up a ticket in advance for $8 atparticipating breweries or buy one at the gate for $12. Hey, it's allfor a good cause—a portion of the proceeds benefits Tracy Aviary inLiberty Park. 2007-10-01
|
02/29/08
The Salt Lake Buddhist Temple, the center of the Japantown that usedto thrive where the Salt Palace now stands, is still a center forJapanese culture in Utah. And, of course, culture means food. OnOctober 6, the Temple hosts a Japanese Food Bazaar--snack on sushi,tempura, teriyaki and other Japanese dishes while you shop the silentauction and browse the Japanese crafts. Starts at 6 pm at 211 W. 100South. 2007-10-01
|
02/29/08
Stopped by Caputo's Market on Saturday to pick up needed suppliesfor a dinner party--olives, goat cheese, chocolate. I didn't know Ineeded sausage till I got there and Cristiano Creminelli handed me atoothpick with a sample of his fresh Piemonte sausage--wildly herbal tothe nose, spicy on the tongue, with a rich meatiness that neverthelessleft a clean taste in the mouth and a finish that lasted all the wayhome. Okay, I live close to Caputo's. Tony's was crowded Saturday. There were lots of refugees from thesoggy Farmers Market, but most folks seemed to be there because of SaltLake Tribune food writer Kathy Stephenson's article about Creminelli'sfabulous handmade sausage and salami, fresh and cured. The crowd at thesausage counter was three...
|
02/29/08
The all-star chefs teaming up to cook America's Dinner at the BeardHouse in New York on Thanksgiving are Greg Neville (chef/ owner -Pine,) Matt Barrigar (chef - Solitude’s St. Bernard’s and the Yurt),and Jed Banta and Chad Horton (chefs - Metropolitan). I'm told thatdishes like Metropolitan’s seared Hudson Valley foie gras with candiedyam, marshmallow and brown sugar ice; Solitude’s cider-braised rabbitleg, sage and apple gnocchi with natural jus; and Pine’s roasted guineahen breast with roasted parsnip/potato puree, corn bread and pecanstuffing with pan juice “gravy” will be on the menu. Yum. But the real good news is that the Salt Lake Convention and VisitorsBureau is hosting a special preview dinner at Pine Restaurant onNovember 7, with...
|
02/29/08
I keep telling friends in other places that there's great food inSalt Lake City. Well, as of Thanksgiving Day, the biggest foodies inthe country will know that this is not just a city of jello and funeralpotatoes. Three Salt Lake restaurants will be cooking ThanksgivingDinner at the Beard House in New York City. In case you don't know, theBeard House is to gastronomes what Carnegie Hall is to musicians—thesign that you have made it. Chefs from Metropolitan, Pine andSolitude's St. Bernard's and The Yurt will team up to present"America's Dinner," based on the theme "Urban, Suburban and Mountain." More on this shortly... 2007-09-28
|
02/29/08
Or at least that's what it seems like. The whole country has gone a little food-crazy the last few years.The casual question, "What did you do last night?" receives an answerincluding a bite-by-bite description of the three-course meal weenjoyed (or, all too often, didn't enjoy). Whether the national obsession results from a spiritual hunger forthe community of the table, a national palate fatigued with the tasteof hot fat and the mouth-feel of corn syrup, the attempt to satisfy anoverscheduled people's emotional vacuum with oral comfort or theincreasingly globalized tastes of a previously gastronomically isolatedculture, I would not presume to say. But I would ask you to presume to say. That's what this space isfor—food talk on every...
|
02/29/08
Themeals you serve can never be better than the ingredients you use.That's especially true of meat and poultry especially product sold atretail. It's no secret that the limited amount of highest quality beefproduced in this country goes to high-end restaurants. So it's greatnews that Harmon's Brickyard store has a whole new attitude towards its meat.
Their meat department sells only choice and...
|
02/29/08
I was laid low by the midwinter crud so I haven't posted any news. The fingers were willing, but the brain was weak.
That means you'll have to hurry to eat your quota during Market Street'sannual Crab Festival, which started a week ago and runs through the endof January. Imagine: five kinds of crab cooked in 2 dozen differentways. You do the math. (I can't.)
Market street flies in Dungeness crab—its Latin name is
|
02/29/08
It's my job to be an omnivore. It's a job I've grown into—as a child I ate about 4 foods. I wouldn't eat peanut butter till I was in college. Then, of course, I had to. As a professional eater, I cannot be squeamish. I've eaten pig's nose 
and snail's eggs.I try to erase my middle-class American prejudices about food. Youknow, I don't walk a mile in their shoes, but I do eat a bite...
|
02/29/08
LookoutCabin Restaurant, the award winning on-mountain dining spot perched9,000 feet up at The Canyons Resort, will be offering 3 separate winedinners this season.
THe first one is this Monday, January 21. Greg Neville of Lugano Restaurantin Salt Lake will join Chef Jacob Guay in preparing a six course mealpaired with wines from the latest region of Italy to become Americans'darling, the Piedmont—specifidally, from
|
02/29/08
One person just can't eat it all. I had to miss last night's Stella Artois-sponsored beer dinner at Stein Ericksen but Salt Lake magazine editor, Jeremy Pugh, filled in. And up. Here's his report:
Deer Valley's executive chef Chef Zane Holmquist was in high spirits on Tuesday night at the Stein Ericksen Lodge's Glitretind.
It was once again...
|
02/29/08
Add another star to the collection at Stein Eriksen Lodge:it was awarded one more this week by Mobil Travel Guide, making it thefirst five-star property in Utah. One of only four new places in NorthAmerica to reach five-star status, Stein deserves it: its service,Stein's is also one of just 30 properties to hold both Mobil TravelGuide and AAA's highest honors—surely a lot of the attention is thanksto...
|
02/29/08
Salt Lake magazine's beer editor—editor Jeremy Pugh's other jobtitle—sampled the double-bock Devastator on Friday. Here's his report: The first thing you see is the Salt Lake LDS Temple,writhing in flames along with other skyline icons like the capitolbuilding and (oddly) the Wells Fargo edifice.  "It's a giant ram totally destroying downtown," says Squatters brewer Adam Curfew. "It's the Devastator." Indeed. It is. The...
|
02/29/08
The press release says, "Park City’s Treasure Mountain Inn is among the nation's first hotels to become 100% carbon neutral."
According to Treasure Mountain Inn owner/operators, Thea Leonard andAndy Beerman, reaching carbon neutral status was a three-part program:
1. Reducing their carbon footprint. Last Year Treasure Mountain Innreduced energy usage by 12.5% despite a dramatic 30% increase inbusiness.
2....
|
02/29/08
Nowthat all the Sundancers have packed up their Uggs and gone home,Wasatch Front lifers can get back to normal. For Zev Rovine at the Spotted Frog Bookstore Cafe and Wine Bar in Park city, that means tasting wine. This week, the merlot grape steps into the spotlight.
Where: The Frog
When: Friday Feb. 1st at 7 PM
Why: Because Merlot's name needs to be cleared once and for all.
How: Call...
|
02/29/08
Last night, we dropped into Baxter's American Restaurant,Butterfly's replacement restaurant at the Depot in Gateway, for areconnaissance dinner. It's only been open a week or so, making a firstvisit controversial in dining critic circles. However, I believe if aplace is open for business and charging full prices, they should beready to face reviewers as part of the public. This has been myphilosophy since I started writing about restaurants and it's...
|
02/29/08
Another option for Valentine's Day: Blue Boar Inn & Restaurant announcesits special fixed-price menu for sweethearts. If you hurry, you may beable to book a room, too, so you can just totter upstairs after yourfour-course feast of Butter-Poached Lobster Tail, Seared Foie Gras andRaspberry Mousse-Filled Chocolate Heart...
The dinner is available February 14 and 15, by the way, and includeschoices of grilled veal chops, butter-poached lobster tail, a petitefillet Oscar with crab cake and...
|
02/29/08
I stopped by Caputo'sSaturday afternoon to pick up some last minute party food (speck fromAlto Adige, arugula and, um, chocolate) and saw that the east side ofthe Market was hung with plastic sheeting. The Caputo's arerearranging—the deli is going to move in the space where the Market isnow and the Market will move into the remodeled area. Note: Aquarius Fish Market will stay where it is.
|
02/29/08
Parlez La Langue De L'Amour A Paris!!!
Salt Lake's own little piece of Paris is offering a special Valentine'smenu for $74.95 per person plus tax and a 20% gratuity. (Wine pairingswill also be available, and priced separately.) Call 801-486-5585.
The five course menu is titled—what else?—"La Vie En Rose" and offers choices like
Morbier, Apple & Leek Fondue Tarte Minute
or
|
02/29/08
For Valentine's Day, Bambara's new chef, Dave Jones, is concocting anextravagant Sweethearts’ Menu designed for sharing—talk about a testfor a relationship! Start with fresh dungeness crab salad with avocadomousse, fresh grapefruit and spun beets. Choose pan seared big eye tunawith braised red onion-barley risotto, pancetta and baby shiitakemushrooms with a port wine reduction and truffle essence; or pan-searedduck breast confit with crimson lentil-pistachio cake and rhubarbsauce. Dessert? Baked chocolate mousse and...
|
02/29/08
A store clerk said coyly to my husband last night, "Today is February 13; you just have a few hours left."
He thought she was making reference to the unluckiness of the number.
Sigh.
He's not the only one: more than admit it leave their lover's Valentinegift until the last minute. Fortunately, this is one holiday where youdon't have to be original: Chocolate and roses are always perfect. Thatmeans your one stop shop today is Liberty Heights...
|
02/29/08
Okay, today it's clear you can't use the snow as an excuse: It's Valentine's Day and the roads are clear and likelyto remain so. So if you've procrastinated making meaningfulreservations, here's a lifeline: there are still a few tables left upat Sun and Moon Cafe.Take a romantic drive up Emigration Canyon for a four coursedinner—with wine or beer pairings—in the remodeled rustic...
|
02/29/08
This California burger joint commands a cult-like following. I'm a member and like many, I was thrilled to hear that In-N-Out is finally opening a store in Utah.
My excitement balloon was somewhat popped when I heard the chosen location was St. George. Why???
Turns out there's a good reason: To maintain quality control, thecompany policy is to keep all stores within a 500-mile radius ofBaldwin Park, California, the location of In-N-Out's distributioncenter....
|
02/29/08
Tonight'sthe night: the Salt Lake magazine Dining Awards commence at 6 pm. Aftera gala banquet at Grand America, we'll be handing out dozens of awardsto what we (myself, my colleagues and a pro/am panel of serious diners:Joe Padilla, John Thomas, Eric Vitale, Virginia Rainey and Beau Jarvis)think are the best restaurants in Utah—the best food, the best service,the best community involvement...the best in all kinds of ways.
For the full scoop, pick up a copy of the latest magazine; it shouldbe on newsstands...
|
02/29/08
Soit's only appropriate that Peggi Whiting, master sushi chef, will beholding a sushi-making class in the new SmART Space Studio. Get rollingon Saturday, February 23, from 10 am to 2 pm. SmART Space is at #50West Century Park Way (2950 South between West Temple and Main Street).The class fee is $100, which includes the use of all sushi-makingmaterials and instructions plus enough sushi to take home. To registeror for more info, email Peggi Whiting at peggi@sealsama.com.Registration is limited. originally published 2008-02-19...
|
02/29/08
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.It's a movement puts the community in touch with their food sources. Inother words, a way for you to buy fresh produce directly from thefarmers who grow it. To get out the word about local CSA's, the GreatSalt Lake Resource Conservation and Development Council is hosting anopen house on February 27. Meet local farmers and learn how to receiveregular deliveries of locally grown fresh produce.
The event kicks off at 6 pm at the Main...
|
02/29/08
Thewinners of Salt Lake Magazine's 2008 Dining Awards were announced lastnight at a reception and dinner at Grand America. Two restaurants,Mazza and Red Iguana, were inducted into the new Hall of Fame. Best Ambience: Log Haven Best American Fine Dining: Glitretind in the Stein Eriksen Lodge at Deer Valley Best Bakery: Crumb Brothers in Logan Best Bartender: Jerry Zoulek, at Spencer’s Steakhouse Best Breakfast: Ruth’s Diner Best Brewpub: Red Rock Brewing Company...
|
02/29/08
We just received a press release telling us that the Springville Museum of Art will be showing an exhibit of paintings by California artist Wayne Thiebaud."Wayne Thiebaud: 70 Years of Painting" runs March 29 thorugh July 27and I urge everyone who loves food to mark the date on their calendarsand make the drive down to Springville to see it. Thiebaud's mostfamous paintings are of food, especially sweets. The way he lays thethick, creamy paint on the canvas makes his images look practicallyedible, and beautifully blurs the line between visual and culinary art.
|
02/29/08
SaltLake magazine's signature oversized glass plates, given to each year'swinners of our annual dining awards (see earlier post for winners), hadto be switched out this year: the company who has always made themceased production, so we had to substitute plastic (but REALLY NICEplastic) plates. At the awards dinner two nights ago, editor Jeremy Pugh pointed outthe change and the fact that the new plates are "earthquake-proof." The question is, how did he
|
02/29/08
Sundance, Utah's upper-crust rehab facility, Cirque Lodge,has been in the news a lot lately, what with Lindsay Lohan, Mary KateOlson and Kirsten Dunst all checking in for treatment. But this is the first piece we've seen that focuses on the five-star food the stars eat while recovering. originally published 2008-02-21
|
02/29/08
For those of you who weren't there, here's the PCTV report of Tuesday night's dining awards. originally published 2008-02-21
|
02/29/08
Last week we heard the news that the Snelgrove Ice Cream brand is retiring after 79 years in Utah.
As usual when something like this happens, a lot of people are suddenlynostalgic for the old home-town company, although, also as usual, theyonly miss it when it's gone. If they'd been buying Snelgrove's icecream regularly, it wouldn't be disappearing, right? I'm all for localbusinesses and supporting community...
|
02/29/08
Onlyin California, of course, could the golden arches be imagined as a signof serenity. But the owners of this particular Mickey D's in thelargely Asian community of Hacienda Heights have replaced the plasticand garish colors with water features and lucky bamboo. The newelements, placed in accordance with the ancient principles of feng shui, are supposed to help diners achieve good fortune and happiness as well as lunch in less than an hour.
The idea fits in with new corporate ideas about...
|
