Faustina Brunch Menu

Faustina chef Billy Sotelo recently realized a long time ambition for his restaurant and started to serving Brunch for the first time. Brunch will now be served each Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Highlights from the new menu include Brie stuffed brioche French toast, cinnamon swirl pancakes with cream cheese glaze; brie puff pastry with roasted red grapes and a seasonal berry compote; Faustina Benedict with polenta, local Italian sausage, grilled tomato, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce, served with house made breakfast potatoes; and Sotelo’s Faustina Scramble with artisan lamb sausage, roasted pepper medley, Asiago cheese and scrambled eggs served with a French baguette.

Faustina
454 East 300 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
(801) 746-4441
Website: www.faustinaslc.com/

Celebrate Chinese New Year

Ring in the Year of the Dragon 2012 at the Mandarin restaurant in Bountiful. This two-week celebration is from Monday, January 23rd thru Saturday, February 4th. The lively and colorful traditional Lion Dance will be performed by an 8-person troop with a spectacular performance at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 24th and Wednesday, February 1st. The Lion Dance is thought to ward off evil spirits and welcome the New Year with a bang.

The Lion makes its way through the Mandarin interacting with guests, eating lettuce for good luck and blessing the kitchen. Reservations are accepted for 8 or more people. Parties fewer than 8 may call ahead and have their name placed on the waiting list. In addition to the regular dinner menu, the Mandarin is offering a special Chinese New Year Menu for parties of 4 or more people. The cost is $20.00 per person and includes:

Chicken Soong Imperial Lettuce Wraps
Pork Pot Stickers
Chicken Creamed Corn Soup
Black Bean Beef
Orange Chicken Noodle
Mongolian Pork with Chinese Sausage
Kung Pao Shrimp
Brown and White Steamed Rice
Homemade Ice Cream Trio: Passion Fruit, Saigon Cinnamon and Ginger with Cookie of Good Fortune

Specialty drinks such as Gingerita and Tropicaltini will be available in addition to wine, Asian beers, ginger brew and china cola (for an additional charge).

Mandarin
348 East 900 North  Bountiful, UT 84010
(801) 298-2406
Website: www.mandarinutah.com

Mist:SaltLake changes venue

Finally, Mist:SaltLake, covered last week here on our site has recently found a new home at the old Metropolitan location:

173 West Broadway
Salt Lake City, UT 84101

This location change does not affect any current reservations and all guests will be alerted to the location change via email shortly. Guests with questions can contact (801) 410-0656 or info@themistproject.com.

Looking to kick off 2012 with an auspicious beginning? If so, perhaps look no further than the upcoming ‘Mist Project’ which rolls into SLC on January 19th.

Mist:SaltLake is a popup restaurant with lofty ambitions. During the travelling restaurants month long stint in Salt Lake City, it aims to serve up Michelin quality cuisine on a nightly basis. After that, the show moves on to San Francisco before other cities both nationally and internationally.

I’m normally a tad skeptical of these guerrilla operation, but with chef Gavin Baker at the helm, these folks are surely in with a shout of creating something special. Chef Baker you see just happened to be junior sous chef at the massively lauded Fat Duck (Bray, UK) for two years. It would also be amiss to not mention the fact that the Fat Duck was happily placing in the worlds top three restaurants routinely at that very time. I’d wager Chef Baker picked up more than a few tricks from molecular gastronomy stalwart Heston Blumenthal along the way. Indeed, as part of a PR pack I received, some of Chef Baker’s nightlights were items such as: “small amuses like the Crispy Pork Lollipop with Nitro ‘Dipping Dots’ and edible landscapes such as the ‘Sunrise From My Plane Window’”. Your typical meal this likely won’t be.

If that sounds fun to you, a few facts about Mist:SaltLake:

15 courses for $150 (vegetarian option available), January 19-February 19, 2012

36 seats a night

Bring your own wine – no corkage fee

Tickets available for purchase online: www.themistproject.com

The first Mist restaurant opened in Park City in 2008 for eight days

Mist:SaltLake @ Paradise Palm
307 East 300 South, Salt Lake City, Utah
Website: www.themistproject.com

Cafe Madrid gets new digs

The venerable Cafe Madrid is shortly set to re-open at it’s new location, 5244 S. Highland Drive, Holladay. While the new larger building (pictured left) also promises to be occupied by a new chef, the tapas style approach is expected to remain the same.

Finca

In a similar vein, Scott Evans of Pago, recently indicated to the Salt Lake Tribune, that his latest outing will be of Spanish influence:

It will be located in a new development on the northeast corner of 1300 South and 1100 East. A few weeks ago the developer tore down the old Dairy Queen to make way for the project.

Finca will seat about 75, (this includes 20 private dining seats that will be closed off most nights) with 15 bar/counter seats.

Better Burger

Food trucks in SLC go from strength to strength. The most recent one I came across is Better Burger featuring local beef and local buns: “All hamburgers are a quarter pound and come from grass-fed cows raised in Southeastern UT! All buns are by Stoneground Bakery, right here in SLC.

http://betterburgertruck.squarespace.com/menu/

New opening from Copper Onion team

Finally, GastronomicSLC contributor and fellow food blogger Ryan recently reported on a new exciting restaurant from the folks at The Copper Onion:

I spoke with Ryan Lamon, the current sous chef at the Copper Onion a few days ago. Sounds like they are making headway on opening their new restaurant just about a 1/4 block east of their current location (in the old Sicilia Pizza location).

Ryan Lamon, who has extensive experience cooking Asian dishes while in New York, has been named the executive chef of the new restaurant. He was mum on the name, but says they are on track to open mid-October.

Exciting times!

SLC Greek Festival

Dolmathes, Gyro, Spanakopita: just three of the fabulous items available to sample during this weekend’s Greek festival in downtown SLC. The poplar event is now in its 36th year and entry will cost you a measly $3. The event runs Thursday 8th September through Sunday 11th September 8pm.

A quick browse of www.saltlakegreekfestival.com reveals many more delicious treats than the familiar faces too – Loukaniko anyone – ‘Greek pork sausage flavored with fennel seeds and orange peel’.

SLC Greek Festival
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church‎, Salt Lake City, Utah
(801) 328-9681
Website: www.saltlakegreekfestival.com

Iron Pig Food Festival

This weekend also sees the inaugural Iron Pig Food Festival, on September 10th in conjunction with the Fizz Fest at the Day Break Community in South Jordan.

The festival mixes food, live music with other community interests. The Iron Pig is partnered with Rio Tinto and promises to highlight some of the greater Salt Lake area’s tastiest food establishments – some of the names in attendance will be The Chow Truck, The Curryer, Culvers and San Gelato Cafe. The Food Festival runs Saturday September 10th from 5 pm to 9 pm

Iron Pig Food Festival
Day Break, Utah
Website: www.daybreakutah.com

Faustina goes EPIC

Faustina in downtown Salt Lake is hosting a special evening with EPIC Brewing on Thursday, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. EPIC’s brewmaster Kevin Crompton will be there to educate about EPIC Brewing fundamentals and the distinctions of each selection, along with tasting notes for beers complementing Executive Chef Billy Sotelo’s summer harvest menu. The four-course menu is $35 for dinner and $20 for the beer pairings. “We tasted each of their beers to get the right pairings,” said Billy Sotelo, executive chef. “We are excited to add new EPIC Brewing creations to our offerings. They pair very well with our local farm-fresh late summer menu.” The menu is as follows:

Antipasto
- Assorted Artisan Meats and Cheeses
- paired with Straight Up Saison

Course Four
- Lemon, Vanilla and Berry Panna Cotta
- paired with Brainless on Cherries

Faustina
454 East 300 South, Salt Lake City
(801) 746-4441
Website: www.faustinaslc.com

Elizabeth’s Bakery Moves to Granato’s

Elizabeth’s has moved location – sadly it is no longer a full service restaurant. The following is an excerpt from a recent email update sent out to members of the restaurants mailing list:

“The kitchen is up and running and we are ready for business and looking forward to seeing all of you again. We really appreciate your patience during this rather difficult time of relocation…let me just tell you how much we are enjoying working with the Granato’s. It is the best of two world’s …literally… England and Italy…who would have thought. I look at all of our wonderful items and then I look at all of the delicious items that are available from our new Italian family and I think I may never need to shop anywhere else. Our pies and pasties and scones and quiche and our plethora of sweet delights are right across from the most spectacular deli meats and cheeses …and you have never seen so many olive choices ( or at least I haven’t)… so you see YOU can have it all ! You must come and check us out ! One of my new finds is an extra virgin olive oil infused with orange…mmm…the scent of orange is delicate as is the taste…and bread and Baci rolls baked fresh everyday……Yes ! We are working on putting in a self serve espresso and tea bar which will compliment everything AND…my lovely window seat bench is now a window seat bench ( it is located under windows) hurray !! So all in all life is good and I can only expect it to keep getting better and better…I am an optimist after all Come and see us soon…we miss you !! and thanks for all of your love and support …it means the world to me ! Ronni & Mike”

Elizabeth’s @ Granto’s
1391 South 300 West, Salt Lake City
(801) 486-5643

Fall 2011 Dine-o-round

The Fall 2011 Dine O’ Round is right around the corner! Downtown Dine O’ Round is an ideal way to explore new restaurants or revisit old favorites with 43 restaurants participating in this annual event. Patrons will be able to choose from a three-course dinner priced at either $15 or $30 per person. Many of the restaurants also offer a special two item lunch for $5 or $10.

There are no coupons, no punch cards, and no strings attached. Just ask your server for the Dine O’ Round special and enjoy! Only. Downtown. See http://www.downtownslc.org/table/dine-o-round/ for more details on some of the participating restaurants.

Feast of the five senses

In the name of good taste and to support Slow Food Utah’s Micro-grant Fund, seven local celebrated chefs will use the bounty of Utah’s local food producers and artisans in an extraordinary evening of delicious food and conviviality to raise funds for the Slow Food Utah’s wide range of programs. The 7th Annual Feast of Five Senses will take place on Sunday, September 18, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. at Kimball Distributing Viking Showroom, 2223 South, 300 East in Salt Lake City. Feast makers for 2011 include:

David Hammel of Liberty Heights Fresh
Greg Neville of Lügano
Ryan Lowder of Copper Onion
Nathan Powers of Bambara
Michael Richey of Pago
Amber Billingsley of Vinto
Letty Flatt of Deer Valley
Uinta Beer will offer pairings
Francis Fecteau of Libation will be pairing a wine with each course

Tickets are available online at www.slowfoodutah.org or by mail to Slow Food Utah, PO Box 581213, SLC, UT 84158-1213. Cost to attend is $85 per person, with a $35 optional wine pairing.

This annual fundraiser allows Slow Food Utah to offer a wide range of programs and to fund the micro-grant program in order to fill gaps that they see in traditional funding sources for food-related projects, especially for small-scale food growers and producers, community innovators and educators. In past years, Slow Food Utah has funded schoolyard gardens, Salt Lake Community College Seeds of Hope program and has helped small farmers build greenhouses to extend the growing season and start Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs.

Kimball Distributing Viking Showroom
2223 South, 300 East, Salt Lake City

New Bar Bites menu at Bambara

Bambara recently announcing their new “Powers’ Hours” in its adjacent club, The Vault, with new half-priced Bar Bites throughout the work week from 3 – 5 p.m. Executive Chef Nathan Powers mentioned: “We’re really looking forward to getting to know our new neighbors and figured what better way to cap off the day then to enjoy a few tasty bites?”

The Powers’ Hours menu includes Morgan Valley lamb sliders with cucumber slaw, mint pesto for $5.50 with frites for an extra $1.50; crispy calamari with chipotle tartar sauce, cilantro and limes for $6 and Bambara’s signature house-cut blue cheese potato chips for $4.

Bambara
202 South Main Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
(801) 363-5454
Website: www.bambara-slc.com

Yelp Eats

Next week the popular user review site, Yelp,com, will be working with 8 Salt Lake City restaurants for ‘Yelp eats week’. The restaurants include: Atlantic Café & Market, Bohemian Brewery, Cucina Vanina, Faustina, Meditrina, Metropolitan, Stoneground and The Wild Grape. Each restaurant will offer a special Yelp menu with three apps, entrees and desserts priced at 50% off.

All you need to do is reserve a a table in advance and be sure to mention you’re booking for Yelp Eats. Prices are valid for dinner only and the event runs July 11-17. To get your appetites started here are a couple of the example menus:

Meditrina

Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta. $3.50
Creme Brulee. $3
Stawberry Roulade. $2.50

Location: Various
Website: Yelp.com

J&G Grill Spice Market Menu

Available now through July 22nd for dinner, J&G Grill will be offering their ‘Spice Market Tasting Menu’. Located in New York’s Meatpacking district and rated among the top 1% of New York dining establishments reviewed by TripAdvisor, Spice Market is inspired by the vibrant flavors of street food from southeast Asia.

“The dishes in J&G’s Spice Market Tasting Menu have bold flavors and unique ingredients that I don’t think anyone else offers in Utah,” explained Matt Harris, Chef de Cuisine at J&G Grill. “We love to work with the freshest local ingredients, stimulating textures, and vivid flavors. For our guests, it’s like a visit to Spice Market in New York without ever having to leave Utah”.

The Spice Market Tasting Menu at J&G Grill features celebrated Chef Jean-Georges’ Spiced Chicken Samosas with Cilantro Yogurt, Black Pepper Shrimp with Sundried Pineapple, Grilled Strip Steak with Garlic, Coriander and Sesame and more. The Spice Market Tasting Menu is the first of an ongoing series of tasting menus to be featured by J&G Grill that will highlight other Jean-Georges’ restaurants worldwide.

Picture: J&G Grill ‘Communal Table’:

J&G Grill
2300 Deer Valley Drive East, Park City, UT 84060
(435) 940-5700
Website: www.jggrilldeercrest.com

While undertaking some site maintenance I realized we have recently passed 100 reviews (107 to be precise). WOW! From Salt Lake City to Park City, eating everywhere from fine dining to food carts through to take out food.

I’d like to thank all the contributors to the site over the years – without them the site certainly wouldn’t be what it is today. Also many thanks to the restaurants and PR people who have offered up news, freebies and prizes to our readers. GSLC started back in October 2007 and it’s been a fun journey so far. Here is to the next 100 reviews! For a full alphabetical list of all our reviews please see:

http://www.gastronomicslc.com/archives/

The picture by the way is The Copper Onion’s Sauteed Mushrooms (fried farm egg, potato sticks, pickled carrot relish, $8). I tried to think of what dish I’ve enjoyed the most over the years, and while there are certainly too many to name one, that dish sprang to my mind first. It’s one of the best for sure.

I can’t keep up with the constant stream of info on new openings lately. Virtually every other day I seem to hear about something new, exciting times indeed! Here’s the latest on what is new around SLC:

Brought to my attention by a regular contributor on our SLC food discussion forum is Terrapin Station. This new BBQ venture opens in the former Zinn Bistro space. See dogbite’s detailed review of Terrapin Station here.

Terrapin Station Smoking Co
2020 East 3300 South Salt Lake City, Utah 84109
(801) 466-9246
www.terrapinstationsmokinco.com

Ryan over at SLCeats.com reports on the closing of Five Star restaurant downtown:

Demolition has begun at the Five Star restaurant on 268 South State. The new restaurant will be named Zy (pronounced zee) and will serve upscale American and should open later this summer. No word yet on where Five Star will be moving. The owner said they’re looking for places in West Valley.

Zy
268 South State St #110, Salt Lake City

Ted Scheffler has some great looking pictures of Vuz (pronounced views) out in Draper. This one seems like it might be a real treat, and something unique for the area to boot. Check out the pictures here. This feast for the eyes will also have an on site winery too.

Vuz Restaurant & Wine Bar
12234 S Draper Gate Dr. Draper, UT 84020
(801) 617-8600
Website: www.vuzbar.com

Back over in Sugarhouse, Edo West African restaurant is now open. I’ve only heard the odd whisper of menu items (traditional African from family recipes) and their website doesn’t shed too much light either. That said, SLC isn’t exactly awash with African cuisine, so this family-run restaurant could offer up some exciting new adventures.

Edo West African
815 E 2100 South, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84106
(866) 264-3979
Website: www.edokitchenwestafricancuisine.com

If you are still hungry and in the neighborhood, you can head (practically) next door to the Black Widow Cafe – a European styled cafe. The Black Widow serves up a pleasingly concise and simple menu of fresh fare such as salads, sandwiches and a few entrees. The general buzz from sites like Yelp and Urbanspoon seems to be positive so far.

Black Widow
837 E 2100 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84105
(801) 466-1929
Website: www.blackwidowcatering.com

Moving on to downtown, the space formerly inhabited by the now defunct ACME Burger Co has been filled by Hapa Taqueria. The current grand opening is planned for June 26th, but it looks like they are already serving up some great looking food (review by Mary Brown Malouf here). Operated by Park City’s Hapa Grill, the restaurant looks set to open late into the night, to help sate your taco and burrito fix when it hits.

Hapa Taqueria
275 South 200 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
(801) 355-9890
Website: facebook page

You might recall the Great Food Truck Race stopped by SLC recently. SLC is seemingly experiencing a boom in
food trucks, in its wake. Just a few that have recently popped on to my radar…

Cafe Con Leche (@CubanCafeMobile) who serve up a variety of Cuban delicacies on the go including Lechon (slow roasted pork), Ropa Vieja (shredded beef) and Colada (Cuban espresso).

Cruzin Sushi (@CruzinSushi) have taken SLC’s love affair with all things sushi and made the next logical leap – delivering the stuff on the move. As yet though there seems to be very little detail on their core menu.

The Curryer (www.thecurryerslc.com) wins my award for most cunning business name of the year. They offer multiple curries, rice and naan. Their website even claims they manage to run a mobile Tandoor!

Finally, Kathy Stephenson reports that Chef Ryan Lowder of the Copper Onion is eager to open a Wine Bar, just a few doors from his already excellent restaurant. Can’t wait to see what happens with this one.

Pencil the evenings of May 19th and 20th into your diary. Over the two nights, Salt Lake magazine will be throwing a festival of food, with their first annual Tastemakers Salt Lake City – the magazine’s premier food & wine event.

Tastemakers Salt Lake City is a two-day ‘strolling food event’, featuring restaurants from across the state. Attendees will be able to sample tastes from participating restaurants in the pavilion, as well as walk to other nearby participating restaurants for samples.

Attendees will receive a passport for the event, which will be stamped at each restaurant. The passports are valid for both nights of the event and will be redeemable for exclusive discounts and coupons at participating restaurants throughout the summer. Instructions and a stroll area map will be included in the passport.

The stroll begins at the Tastemakers Pavilion, located in the parking lot next to Squatters at 147 W. 300 South. The tasting area will include food and beverage samples, entertainment, an auto display by Strong Audi and giveaways.

Tickets for the event can be purchased online at www.saltlakemagazine.com, $20 for a food tasting from each restaurant and an additional $10 for beer and wine samples in the tasting area. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Utah Food Bank and Utah Head Start. The event will take place May 19 and 20 from 5:00 – 10:00 p.m.

Participating Restaurants include: Benihana, Blue Lemon, Caffe Molise, Caffe Niche, Christopher’s Prime Steak House & Grill, Easy Street Brasserie, Gracie’s, J. Wong’s, Market Street, Martine Cafe, Meditrina, Metropolitan, Naked Fish, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Squatters, Talisker on Main, Downtown Farmer’s Market.

All the details are now in, the full list of locations are as listed below.

For more information on the Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race coming to SLC, please see our original story here.

Who: Korilla BBQ
Where: Dan’s Foods Foothill Mall, 1360 Foothill Dr
When: Saturday, April 30, 2pm. to 7.30pm.

Who: Devilicious Food Truck, Torta Truck, So Cupcake
Where: R.C. Willey, 2301 S. 300 West, Salt Lake City
When: Saturday, April 30, between 11 am. and 3 pm.

Who: The Lime Truck
Where: No More Homeless Pets Super Adoption event taking place at PetSmart, 389 W. 1830 South
When: Saturday, April 30, and Sunday, April 1st, noon to 7 pm.

Who: Roxy’s Grilled Cheese
Where: 1588 South State
When: Sunday from 10:30 am. to 8 pm.

Who: Cafe con Leche
Where: Rico Market, 779 S. 500 East
When: Saturday, April 30, from 11 am. to 2:30 pm.

Who: Hodge Podge & ChowTruck (possible appearances by Korilla BBQ and Roxy’s Grilled Cheese too)
Where: Canyon Rim Center, 3150 East 3300 South – just west of REI
When: Saturday, April 30, all day

Who: Seabirds Vegan Food Truck
Where: Coffee Garden at 9th and 9th
When: Saturday from 10am to 8 pm.