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Feed2009 Dining Awards
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In fine dining, as in fine art, the qualities that add up to greatness are hard to pin down, but easy to recognize. Besides dependably good food and consistently thoughtful service, the best restaurants have a distinct personality, an irresistible ambience and, most important, integrity. Whether they serve cheese steak or chateaubriand, a restaurant must live up to the expectation— fulfi ll the promise it holds out to the diner.
Lucky for us, we have more and more restaurants in Utah that measure up—not because new restaurants are opening all the time, but because the ones that are here are getting better and better. The reason? Well, practice makes perfect, and high-quality raw ingredients are more easily available than ever before. But mostly it’s because you, the diner, demand more and more from the food you eat—you want it fresh, local, authentic, inventive and fun. That’s what we’re getting from this year’s list of winners.
Best Italian and Best Restaurant, Salt Lake City
Fresco Italian Cafe
Restaurants, like people and places, have their ups and downs. We feel that this has been the year of Fresco: the hideaway restaurant isn’t new, it hasn’t moved, been spruced up or changed its culinary intentions. Its personal charm and its hospitable spirit are truly Italian. And all the people and parts that add up to a restaurant—chef Billy Sotero, the cooks, host and servers—seem to be at the top of their game right now, making the experience greater than their sum. In fact, making it the best. 1513 S. 1500 East, SLC, 801-486-1300
Best Restaurant in Park City and Wasatch Back
350 Main
If you believe that the “best restaurant” in a city should present a sense of place as well as a sense of plate—and we do—then the choice of Park City’s best restaurant becomes obvious. The style of the erstwhile mining town’s internationally well-off transient population and its rustic, frontier-tinged charm combine beautifully on the plate at 350 Main. In the time-honored custom of the West, chef Michael LeClerc borrows flavors from cuisines around the globe, both humble (grilled vegetable and lentil cakes with coconut raita and hot mango) and haute (pork tenderloin rubbed with coffee and black truffled mashed potatoes). The food has a verve and heartiness that is pure American. 350 Main St., Park City, 435-649-3140, 350main.com
Best Restaurant in Provo and Central Utah
Pizzeria 712
True pioneers, chef-owners Colton Soelberg and Joseph McRae set up business in a frontier of fine dining, and who knew Orem was so hungry for it? Then again, who could resist these meticulously handcrafted pizzas, the deceptively simple first courses and luscious desserts? We think pizza of this caliber is a gateway food—once your senses get used to this level of excellence, you’re just going to crave that high quality in everything you eat. That’s a good thing. 320 S. State St., Suite 147, Orem, 801-623-6712, pizzeria712.com
Best Restaurant in Northern Utah
Zucca Trattoria
Clearly, we have pleased the pizza gods in Northern Utah: we have been blessed with truly marvelous pizza in Salt Lake, in Orem and now in South Ogden, where chef Elio Scanu’s new Zucca Trattoria has made fabulous thin-crust, Neapolitan-style pizza the center of a menu whose non-pizza dishes hint at a whole world of well-defined flavor to come. We can hardly wait. 1479 E. 5600 South, South Ogden, 801-475-7077, myzucca.com
Best Restaurant in Moab and Southeast Utah
Hell’s Backbone Grill
Once again, the little café that could takes the prize. Since Blake and Jen opened Hell’s Backbone eight years ago, the grill in the middle of nowhere has had gourmets beating a path to its door for its Alice Waters-inspired natural cuisine. Typically, the duo have not rested on their laurels, but have continued to challenge themselves to greater degrees of conscious eating—farming three acres, serving seasonal vegetables, sourcing local and sustainable food and wine, and—not least—expanding their hours. Now Hell’s Backbone is open through Thanksgiving. We’re thankful. 20 N. Highway 12, Boulder, 435-335-7464, hellsbackbonegrill.com
Best Restaurant in St. George and Southwest Utah
Spotted Dog
Does Springdale have so many good restaurants because of all the European tourists that come to visit Zion, or are all those European tourists there because Zion is one of the rare national parks where you can find good food? It’s a fun thing to consider as you savor your achiote-braised lamb shank at Spotted Dog, the best of those good restaurants, after a day hiking the Narrows. Or you could just muse on the unbeatable combo of red rocks and white tablecloth. 428 Zion Park Blvd, Springdale, 435-772-3244
Best Wine List
Glitretind
The word “best” when applied to a wine list can mean different things to different people: some want the cheapest wine, some want the rarest, some want the most. When our panel is looking for the best, they mean “all of the above.” That sums up sommelier Cara Schwindt’s wine list at Glitretind. Clearly organized and well-written, it presents a huge selection of large and small bottles from wineries the world over, all food-friendly and at all prices. Don’t just take our word for it—Gliitretind’s list has won accolades from just about everyone who hands them out. 7700 Stein Way, Park City, 435-645-6455, steinlodge.com/dining
Best American Fine Dining
Glitretind
Like a true American, chef Zane Holmquist is always pushing boundaries; but his manifest destiny is gastronomic. Every season, his food at Glitretind becomes more accomplished and inventive —think peach-foie gras mousseline with 7-spice Muscovy duck and arctic char with frozen crème fraîche. But his zaniness (if you’ll pardon the inevitable pun) never exceeds the bounds of good, even delicious, taste. In fact, Holmquist seems to have the culinary equivalent of perfect pitch. 7700 Stein Way, Park City, 435-645-6455, steinlodge.com/dining
Best Ambience
The Paris
Few would argue that the City of Lights has the most irresistible ambience in the world. It follows that a re-creation of that ambience would also be irresistible, and that’s what chef-owner Eric deBonis has done: conjure up un peu de Paris at The Paris. The warm wood floors, the zinc bar reflecting the bare-bulb fixtures, the family-style table, even the music and the saucissons in the deli case all contribute to the natural grace of the place. 1500 S. 1500 East, SLC, 801-486-5585, theparis.net
Best Service
Chez Betty
Dining out is all about being waited on. A great meal with lousy service is a bad night out. A mediocre meal with great service is a good night out. You’re not likely to get anything but good food at Chez Betty, but you are guaranteed to get great service from a staff that seems to know intuitively when you want your glass filled or your plate removed. How do they do it? Serious training and respect for the job. 1637 Short Line Dr., Park City, 435-649-8181, chezbetty.com
Best Comfort Food
Sego Lily Café
This beautiful Arts and Crafts house-turned-restaurant is like eating at your grandmother’s in your dreams, since—let’s be honest—most grandmothers don’t cook this well all the time. Slices of meatloaf, grilled, with a smoked apple barbecue sauce and mashed potatoes, a gussied-up version of beans and franks—here, house-made sausages and canellini beans—and pot roast are examples of the comfort food with a kick that is Sego Lily’s specialty. 305 N. Main St., Bountiful, 801-294-3327
Best Bakery
Carlucci’s
Baker Theresa Roper named her bakery after her Sicilian grandmother, but she went global when she fired up her ovens. Besides killer tiramisu and homemade biscotti, she turns out American muffins, French croissants and English scones, all good. Not only that, but Carlucci’s bread is as good as its pastries and cakes—a rare double-whammy in a bakery. 314 W. 300 South, SLC, 801-366-4484, carluccisbakery.com
Best Coffeehouse
Salt Lake Roasting Co.
John Bolton was a Utah coffee pioneer and his Salt Lake Roasting Co. has continued to set standards for sustainable, conscientiously traded coffee as well as for its menu. Many coffeehouses outsource their baked goods. The Roasting Company’s breads, pastries, cookies (and anything else you want beside your cup of house-roasted coffee) is made in-house by chef Dave Wheeler, whose recipes strike a balance between comfort and technique. He insists on special-ordered European-style butter, the best he can buy, and you can taste it in every bite. 320 E. 400 South, SLC, 801-363-7572, roasting.com
Best Breakfast
Left Fork Grill
Left Fork Grill is famous for its pie. You may not want pie for breakfast (although a slice of the apple with cheddar cheese makes a highly nutritious breakfast compared to a bowl of Count Chocula), but, pie or no pie, Left Fork brings the best to you each morning—berry pancakes, omelettes, eggs benedict, scrambles, house-made sausage and thick-cut bacon. Chef-owner Jeff Masten is in the kitchen, the waitress calls you “honey,” all is right with the world. (There’s also a line—and pie—for lunch and dinner.) 68 W. 3900 South, SLC, 801-266-4322
Best Brunch
Oasis
We’d like to declare an end to the scrunched tablecloths and mirrored fruit displays of the Big Brunch. Instead, we applaud the truly leisurely mid-morning meal at Oasis, where you do not have to wait in line or hike across a ballroom to choose your food, but sit sedately and read your Sunday paper while your server delivers your meal. Be sure that the house-made salmon chorizo is part of what your server delivers. 151 S. 500 East, SLC, 801-322-1162, oasiscafeslc.com
Best Southeast Asian
Mi La-Cai Noodle House
The pho alone is enough to make diners break into song, but the genius Vietnamese soup is just the beginning at the newly souped-up Mi La-Cai. The French subtlety of style that lingers around Vietnamese cuisine is in full play here: the aromas are complex and enticing, dishes are beautifully seductive, and your meal ends happily ever after. Mi La-Cai Noodle House, 961 S. State St., SLC, 801-322-3590
Best Indian
Himalayan Kitchen
Yes, the food is delicious and the atmosphere cozy, but could there be a friendlier restaurant in town than Himalayan Kitchen? We certainly haven’t found one, and we haven’t found any better biryanis, curries or korma, either. Tandoori is miraculously moist, the onion bhajis alone make a satisfactory daydream and when you climb into the realm of Nepalese specialties like the sublime momos, you hit a gastronomic high, culinary nirvana. 73 E. 400 South, SLC, 801-328-2077, himalayankitchen.com
Best Japanese
Takashi
No one should be surprised that, once again, Takashi takes the cake for Utah’s best Japanese restaurant. (And if anyone thinks they know a better one, please call us.) For freshness, flair, style and substance, there’s simply no place like it. And if you don’t think so, you probably haven’t been there. 18 W. Market St., SLC, 801-519-9595
Best Brewpub
Bohemian Brewery
Bohemian brews strictly by the book, the book in question being the Reinheitsgebot, or Bavarian Purity Law, for brewing lager beer. Said law is the oldest consumer protection regulation in the world—it was passed in 1516. It’s not actually on the books anymore, but some brewers, like Bohemian, still proudly claim it as their standard. Add to that a menu that bridges beer appetites from wings to schnitzel, and you’ve got a winner. 94 E. Fort Union Blvd., Midvale, 801-566-5474, bohemianbrewery.com
Best Chef
The chefs’ co-op at Metropolitan
The stereotypical chef has a massive ego that is not all myth. It takes a lot of self-regard to run a fine kitchen, to maintain the necessary fanatical attention to detail and an obsessive philosophy about food. But stereotypes are made to be broken, and that’s what Karen Olson has done with her kitchen team at Metropolitan. She calls it a “chef collaborative”—Chris Durfee, Justin Shifflett and, often, a third chef—and the idea is that they work as a team. The pastry chef works with the seafood for a while; the garde manger guy takes a turn at the sauté station. That way, ideas remain fresh and un-clichéd and execution has natural quality controls. A good idea you can taste. 173 W. Broadway, SLC, 801-364-3472, themetropolitan.com
Best Design
Road Island Diner
This iconic diner from the early days of America’s car culture has been relocated to the glorious mountains of northern Utah. Meticulous attention to original design details meshes seamlessly with modern regard for comfort and convenience, making a meal at Road Island Diner the best of a bunch of worlds. Eating here is not an occasion for restraint—be sure to order a milkshake. 981 W. Weber Canyon Rd., Oakley, 435-783-3467
Best Chinese
Hong Kong Tea House
Clearest proof of the caliber of this restaurant is the fact that it stayed open through the World War III-level of destruction/reconstruction just outside its door this year. Despite yards of caution tape, warning lights and piles of jack-hammered rubble, the Teahouse maintained its benevolently serene atmosphere and served up some of
the best Chinese food in town. 565 W. 200 South, SLC, 801-531-7010
Best Mexican
Café Rico
Jorge Fiero has been teaching the Utah palate about fresh, authentic Mexican food for decades now. His salsas, tamales and tortillas are sold in markets all over the state. But only recently have we been able to taste the food at its source. Café Rico, a tiny, out-of-the-way restaurant on Salt Lake City’s west side, is an oasis of quick, fresh Mexican food. Like chicken molé enchiladas, cochinita pobil tacos, chile rellenos and flautas. Grow, baby, grow. 700 S. 545 West, SLC, 801-433-9923
Best Quick Eats
Moochie’s
Now nationally famous from its appearance on Food Network, Moochie’s has been a local celebrity since it opened. Count on a line at lunch, but even so, we consider this quick eats. We figure if you divide the minutes you spend in line by the amount of deliciousness you derive from a Moochie’s cheesesteak, you come out with a very rich eating experience, indeed. For extra credit: try the meatball sub. 232 E.
800 South, SLC, 801-596-1350, moochiesmeatballs.com
Best Neighborhood Restaurant
Em’s
The best neighborhood restaurant is not merely convenient for residents to get to; it embodies the feel of its location. Every neighborhood has its own culture—but not every neighborhood has its own restaurant. Capitol Hill is lucky in that respect. Em’s is housed in an original old market building on Center Street, and it features local ingredients at lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. In fact, Em’s fills its niche so perfectly that people from other, less endowed parts of the city like to come here and pretend this is their neighborhood. 271 N. Center St., SLC, 801-596-0566, emsrestaurant.com
Best New Discovery
The Wild Grape
Wild Grape opened to an enthusiastic and hungry neighborhood; evidently the city has been waiting for a restaurant like this. The simple menu relies on bold flavors and there are lots of good wines by the glass. The Grape is chic but not pretentious, delicious but not expensive, convenient to downtown venues and—maybe best of all—open when you want to go there. 481 E. South Temple, SLC, 801-746-5565
Reader’s Choice
Café Trio
What do you want from a restaurant? We probably all agree. Unpretentious, but delicious food. A hip, but comfortable setting. And seating. Friendly service. Good smells. And prices—for food and wine—that are reasonable right now. This restaurant gives us all that, plus it’s locally owned and has two convenient locations. No wonder its fans voted Café Trio this year’s “Readers’ Choice.” 680 S. 900 East, SLC, 801-533-8746; 6405 S. 3000 East,801-9448746.
Best Lunch in Park City
Café Terigo
Charming and unpretentious, Café Terigo stands out by remaining low-key. The sun streams in the window and sparkles off the glass of wine that this peachy café calls for, even at midday. Young and enthusiastic servers look even more attractive in the light, and a simple steamed artichoke with lemon aioli followed by poached salmon and avocado makes lunch the bright spot in your day. In fact, you’ll head into afternoon and evening with Café Terigo-colored glasses. 424 Main St., Park City, 435-645-9555, cafeterigo.com
Best Lunch in Salt Lake City
Faustina
Faustina has settled into the position of a stylish Salt Lake staple—dependably sleek, chic and fun to eat. For lunch, there’s always an interesting $10 special, which brilliantly consists of two courses—the essential ones, of course: main dish and dessert. Recently, we enjoyed a low-fat turkey burger with cranberry relish. With a glass of cava and followed by double chocolate mousse, it was the perfect midday respite, nourishing mind, body and soul in under an hour. What more can you ask of lunch? 454 E. 300 South, SLC, 801-746-4441
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