Frida Bistro
545 W. 700 S. Salt Lake City, UT 84116

Restaurant openings seem to be coming as thick and fast in 2010 as they were in 2009. First up is Frida Bistro. This new upscale Mexican eatery is owned and operated by Jorge Fierro of Rico foods; while Rick Bruno (former sous chef at Meditrina) is heading up the kitchen. Stephanie Bailey-Hatfield, formerly of Wild Grape Bistro will also be heading up the liquor aspect of the menu, so expect a solid wine offering too, featuring select Spanish and South American options.

Right now only lunch is served 11am through 3pm, but dinner is coming any day now too I am informed. I have high hopes for Frida Bistro from the brief snippets of info I have heard so far.

Kathmandu
3142 Highland Dr, Salt Lake City, UT 84106

Masala Indian Grill
2223 S. Highland Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84106

Two new Indian options are set to hit the highland drive area shortly. First of all is Kathmandu, an Indian and Nepalese restaurant. This will be in the location now vacated by the defunct Bangkok Thai Talay. No real details have surfaced yet, but after several drive car journey’s past, they seem all set to open their doors.

Masala Indian Grill meanwhile is being opened by the good folks who run Curry In A Hurry on State Street. It appears Masala will likely be in a similar fast-food vein too. Owner Saifar Nisar told the Salt Lake Tribune the restaurant will be “a totally new concept.” Tandoori chicken wraps will be the specialty but there will be other options such as Naan, Kabobs etc. Delivery is also mentioned too.

The Copper Onion
111 E 300 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
(801) 355-3282

News of The Copper Onion hit my desk this week. The restaurant which will offer up “casual New American” is the latest in a seemingly endless revival of downtown SLC. The head chef Ryan Lowder certainly seems to have the cooking chops, returning to his native SLC via way of NYC including a stint working at Jean Georges. I came across an interesting blog post which seems to show Ryan cooking for friends, and gives a good indication of what the Copper Onion menu will look like. One to watch.

Red Iguana 2
866 W South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84116
Website: www.rediguana.com

There surely isn’t much left to say about Red Iguana. Every single news outlet in SLC (even Fox news) has seemingly reported on the opening of their second location, just around the corner from their first. We actually tried to pop by last Friday night, and guess what. That’s right, queues out of the door…anyone for Red Iguana 3?

Lugano
3364 South 2300 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84109
(801) 412-9994
Website: www.luganorestaurant.com

Next week sees Lugano celebrate is tenth birthday, with a series of special set menu dinners. The series starts on January 20th with the ‘annual piemonte dinner’, an opportunity to experience Italy’s Piemonte district right here in SLC. Chef’s Aldo Vacca and Maurizio Albarello will be cooking a six course menu with optional Barbaresco wine pairing. Reservations are required and the six course menu will cost $59 with the wine pairing an additional $45. Two further celebratory meals are also planned in February and March.

Smashburger
542 E University Pkwy, Orem, UT 84097
Website: www.smashburger.com

Smashburger continues to make inroads throughout Utah. The latest location to open is in Orem. We were lucky enough to be invited to check out their Sugarhouse location last year. And if you are an Orem resident, you can also do the same too, completely for free.

Orem residents can log on to www.smashburger.com/sneakpeek_orem.php to register to attend the “Sneak Peek event”. Attendees will be able to bring up to three friends and enjoy Smashburger for free. This event is strictly for area residents who register online, first come first served.

Tipica
314 West 300 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
(801) 328-0222
Website: www.tipicacaputo.com

And finally, a little sad news, that was just announced. Tipica, the latest culinary home to Adam Kreisel is set to close its doors in the coming weeks. It seems Salt Laker’s just didn’t take to the innovative menu featuring offal selections like heart, tongue and sweetbreads. Caputo’s will instead be extending the hours of their deli operation into the evening.