Online Magazine
Autumn/Winter 2003
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Dining
Guide
Salt
Lake City |
Cucina Toscana
Impresario Walter Nassi found his Utah niche at this modern-baroque, bustling
Italian bistro just north of Tony Caputo’s in the old Firestone
building. Daily specials add to the pleasures of tender homemade gnocchi,
a fresh, tart Caesar salad, earthy pasta carbonara and osso buco. Grilled
and marinated vegetables make a zesty antipasta, while banquettes and
tables-for-two snugly encircle the open kitchen. 307 W. Pierpont Ave.,
SLC, 801/ 328-3463. $$
Fresco
The youthful Chef Todd Miller brings a deft and creative hand to this
intimate, romantic oasis of rustic but cosmopolitan Italian charm. Count
on fine polentas, pastas and risotto, excellent service and sublimely
subtle flavors. This spring, try the squid spaghettini with braised fennel
or the braised beef short ribs lightened with a salad of celery, pine
nuts and golden raisins. One of the city’s best wait staffs knows
the wine list and the art of "reading" the desired pace of your
dinner. 1513 S. 1500 East, SLC, 801/486-1300. $$$
The Globe
At this stylish downtown mecca, the evolving, intriguing menu reads like
a slice of San Francisco dining, which makes sense when you know that
owner/chef Adam Kreisel once worked in that city, among other coastal
spots. The menu skirts the globe, running from the Rocky Mountains to
China, through Italy and back to Okeechobee, Florida. Recent favorites
include crispy-skinned Guinea hen and venison ravioli with figs and Shaoxing
wine, but save room for the "twin" baby soufflés of mascarpone
and bittersweet chocolate. The Globe is a delightful surprise for those
who’ve missed it. 264 S. Main Street, SLC, 801/321-0160. $$$
L’Avenue
A smartly conceived and well-executed Sugar House bistro from Mark Eaton
and friends, whose drafting of Chef Franck Peisel was one of many astute
moves. L’Avenue buzzes nicely at lunch, dinner and brunch-time,
while a congenial bar scene and friendly prices for both food and wine
add to its pleasures. Start with a half dozen lusty preparations of mussels.
Warm goat cheese enhances a gold and burgundy beet salad, seafood entrées
excel and coq au vin and steak frîtes satisfy cravings for traditional
French fare. Note: The dining pace is a little slower than you may be
used to. It's French! 1355 E. 2100 South, SLC, 801/485-4494. $$
Log Haven
As the weather warms and flowers bloom, there’s even more reason
to head up Millcreek Canyon to enjoy pleasures of the palate designed
by Chef Dave Jones and his talented staff. Rustic elegance and the canyon
setting have made Log Haven a tradition for weddings, parties and romance,
but diners return for the complex, audacious flavor combinations and sublimely
complementing wines. Examples include meltingly tender grilled calamari
with a tomato-veal reduction, Morgan Valley lamb with roasted beet and
cabernet reduction and brined, grilled pork chops with braised pancetta
and grilled apple. Thoughtful wine pairings and fine cordials from Ian
Campbell’s new list complete a fine evening. 6451 Millcreek Canyon,
SLC, 801/272-8255, www.log-haven.com.
$$$$
Lugano
Chef Greg Neville’s earthy Northern Italian flavors—and great
values—have captured the hearts and minds of Salt Lake diners at
this bustling restaurant. Grilled eggplant pizza, hearty cotechino sausage
and wine-braised pork shank are among new spring flavors. An extensive
wine list and generous desserts add to the experience, as does a young
and alert staff. For special events, check out the adjacent Loggia, designed
in the style of an Italian hunting lodge. 3364 S. 2300 East, SLC, 801/412-9994.
$$
Martine
A great value in palate-challenging Mediterranean cuisines, skillfully
blended by Chef Tom Grant to evoke the flavors of Spain, Italy and North
Africa in an ever-changing array of entrées and flavorful tapas.
For entrées, there are variations on lamb, salmon and quail often
with hints of cinnamon, cumin and mint. In this historic brownstone, enjoy
a well-balanced and well-priced wine list, seated amidst candlelight in
one of the private, cushy banquettes. Martine is a downtown respite of
good taste, a great choice before or after an evening on the town. Better
yet, make dinner at Martine the main event. 22 E. 100 South, SLC, 801/363-9328.
$$
Metropolitan
A changing-of-the-guard brings Executive Chef Adam Finlay to the helm
of the Metropolitan’s cosmopolitan kitchen. Asian touches blend
with comfort flavors in inventive combinations, as with the purple rice
and miso scallion chicken breast and crispy-skinned black bass with smoked
tomatoes. Rich flavors abound in seared elk with black truffle risotto
and goat cheese mozzarella grits with free range pork. An award-winning
wine list, a nationally admired reputation and a high-style ambiance make
this restaurant a rock-solid choice. 173 W. Broadway, SLC, 801/364-3472,
www.themetropolitan.com.
$$$
New Yorker
When it opened twenty-five years ago, the New Yorker pushed, pulled and
gracefully opened the envelope for Salt Lake fine dining. Today, it remains
a prime choice for an elegant and/or romantic evening. Chef Will Pliler
has a focussed menu, featuring excellent interpretations of lamb, seafood
and game classics and specials integrating seasonal fare with the kitchen’s
creativity. Wine flights add a new dimension to dinner, as does an alert,
veteran staff. The café menu offers the same great flavors at more
modest prices, while it remains a "power lunch" favorite. 60
W. Market Street, SLC, 801/363-0166. $$$-$$$$
The Oyster Bar
Spring is still a good time for oysters, fresh plucked from the cold coastal
bays of the Northwest and New England, and the Oyster Bar remains the
place to sample them all, followed by lobster tails or wild salmon. At
both the downtown and the new, more capacious Cottonwood site, the menu’s
strengths include a stellar array of shellfish and seasonal fresh fish
specials plus generous seafood salads. Always a reliable experience, the
Oyster Bar, a private club, is a bustling enclave of the good life. 54
W. Market Street, SLC, 801/531-6044. 2985 E. 6580 South, SLC, 801/942-8870.
$$$
Paris Bistro
Part of a welcome trend in less formal, less expensive dining, Paris Bistro
brings a continental flair to its 15th & 15th neighborhood. Dark woods
and mirrors accent the dining room of banquettes, booths and tables-for-two,
while the adjoining barroom and boulangerie offer casual dining and a
view of the kitchen, busy with a steady stream of pastas, salads and pizzas
(the arugula pizza is great). The menu offers bistro favorites—duck
confit, steak au poivre—and tasty surprises like a napoleon of diver
scallops and leeks or coq au vin ravioli. Try a cheese course for a change
of pace and the patio on a sunny spring evening.1500 E. 1500 South, SLC,
801/486-5585. $$
Tiburon
An excellent fine dining neighborhood restaurant so popular with Sandy
residents that it's now open seven nights a week. Casual and comfortable
setting for intimate dining, replete with copper fireplace and live guitar
music several weeknights. A friendly service staff offers up such favorites
as roast chicken, portabella and Marsala polenta; potato-crusted salmon;
and char-grilled elk tenderloin with green peppercorn demi-glace. An extensive
and thoughtful wine list adds to the experience, as do the inviting desserts.
Every neighborhood should have a Tiburon. 8256 South 700 East, Sandy,
801/265-1200. $$$
Xiao Li
A family Chinese restaurant, but with Lily and Lee Lei in charge, it’s
a graceful and charming one, with modern, distinctive interpretations
of standards such as orange beef and the subtlest hot and sour soup in
town. A clean, contemporary setting in the Crane Building and a thoughtful
list of sakes as well as beer and wine enhance the pleasures of dining
here. The tasty lunch buffet is popular and chef’s specials on the
dinner menu offer exciting options to the expected Utah flavors. 307 W.
200 South, SLC. 801/328-8688. $$
Salt
Lake City |
