Food Reviews
Eat, Drink and Be Merry: Provo’s Up-and-Coming Food Scene
Up until recently, I never really considered Provo a place that cultivated any authentic type of food culture. It’s full of various chain restaurants, fast food joints and a few dives that offer a bit of local charm, but Provo’s food scene was almost nonexistent. That was until I attended Local First’s Celebrate the Bounty event, where three Provo sparkplugs brought their A-game: The farm-to-table virtuosos of Communal Restaurant, the Southwestern Native American pioneers of Black Sheep Cafe, and the regional comfort food experts of Station 22. … read more
Guerilla Dining @ Nata Gallery 12.15
When you sit down for a meal at Nata Gallery, it’s like throwing down a gauntlet and daring chefs Katie Weinner and Mike Burtis to keep your ass in the seat long enough to try each and every offering that they’ve created on a given evening. … read more
Nata Gallery Grand Opening 12.07
The concept of a “pop-up dinner” has provided both chefs and diners with a unique opportunity to socialize, network and enjoy food that varies wildly from one event to the next. Since April, Salt Lake City has been host to several of these pop-up dinners, thanks to an organization called SLC POP, which has been under the dutiful watch of chefs Katie Weinner and Mike Burtis. … read more
Fresh Cuts Daily: Sushi Groove
Sushi Groove is a mellow place. Located across from the Visual Art Institute on Highland Drive, the small, laid-back space provides an intimate dining experience. When you’re greeted by the graffiti-style artwork on the wall, you know immediately that you’re not in a pretentious sushi shop. The dining room seems designed to set the guests’ mind at ease, and it is successful at doing exactly that. … read more
Oh Mai Vietnamese Sandwich Kitchen: Headcheese Is Our Friend
My first visit to Oh Mai not only challenged my perspective of what a sandwich could be, but left me with an appreciation of this cultural staple. … read more
Yelp! Soda Tasting @ Co2 Cafe
When I learned that Yelp! had teamed up with the local Co2 Café for a soda tasting, I high-fived my inner glutton and we both had an enjoyable evening. … read more
Food Review: Pig & a Jelly Jar
Pig & A Jelly Jar is a fresh eatery serving breakfast and lunch seven days a week, and a three-course dinner on Sundays in the west Liberty Park neighborhood. … read more
What Awesome Tastes Like: Curry Fried Chicken
What do superheroes eat after a hard day of do-gooding? Shawarma, of course. If you saw Joss Whedon’s latest movie, The Avengers, and you stayed for the second, post-credit end scene, you know what I’m talking about. Where do the local superheroes get a genuine shawarma in our little home of vice and virtue? Well, there is only one answer: Curry Fried Chicken. … read more
Food Review: Mazza
A Utah staple since 2000, Mazza is arguably the best Lebanese and Middle Eastern restaurant in town. Mazza started as a family eatery, serving their food on paper plates out of the small 15th and 15th location. By 2007, demand was high enough for owner Ali Sabbah to open a second restaurant—an upscale, fine-dining establishment at 9th and 9th. … read more
The Wheels on the Cart Go ’Round… Sometimes
In the mid-2000s, the food cart hit America’s streets in earnest. UrbanSpoon lists 22 local trucks and carts as of this writing, serving everything from discount ramen or horchata to gourmet Asian sliders for a fraction of the cost of sit-down restaurants. I tried to hit four carts, but it wasn’t easy. Finally, with only a few excuses, I was able to make it to three: World Dog, The Curryer and Union Street Eats. … read more