Sad news indeed for one of the more daring restaurants in SLC. Also one of my favorites.
(SLMag)
Category: Uncategorized
Although it’s only been open for two years, Vinto Pizzeria has made a big splash in the Salt Lake City dining scene. The restaurant has recently won two Best of State awards–one for their pizza, and one for their gelato. I recently had the opportunity to attend a Vintage Mixer dinner at Vinto.
The first thing you’ll notice as you walk in the door is the amazingly warm, welcoming interior of the restaurant. Warm wood tones, exposed brick, and a multitude of wine bottles instantly welcome you to this modern retreat. This is one of the best designed restaurants in Salt Lake City. And they’ve won several national design awards to back that up.
The employees are very gracious and happy to see you. I have yet to dine at Vinto and been less than extremely impressed by their service. You’ll notice they take all orders through an electronic device, which is then transmitted to the kitchen. This allows the waitstaff to remain on the dining room floor instead of running back to the kitchen to place orders. They also process your credit card and print your receipt tableside.
I’ve only had the pizza from Vinto before, so I was excited to be able to try more of the menu.
Soup made with sorrel, potato and cream. Sorrel is similar to spinach, but with a strong lemon flavor. This soup was well balanced and creamy.
The caprese salad was delicious. Since local heirloom tomatoes aren’t quite in season, the chef roasts San Marzano tomatoes for this salad. The result is absolute deliciousness. Roasting the San Marzanos brings out their natural sweetness, which complements the basil and mozzarella perfectly.
Grilled artichoke with arugula and shallot vinaigrette. Probably my favorite dish of the night. The nutty artichoke was the perfect savory companion to the spicy arugula.
Housemade meatballs in tomato sauce. Really nice dish. Reminded me of my mother’s home cooking.
Italiana chopped salad. This salad has romaine, arugula, chicken, and pancetta mixed together with a really tasty red wine vinaigrette. The savoriness of the pancetta and fontina was cut nicely by the vinaigrette. Oh, and the breadsticks. Made in house, and delicious.
Verdura chopped salad. Mixed greens, quinoa, beets, squash, and many other garden vegetables. It was named the best salad in last year’s Salt Lake Magazine Best of the Beehive awards.
Fettucine Arancione. This is a fettucine dish mixed with prosciutto and coated in an orange citrus sauce. My wife loved this dish, polishing off her entire plate! They only offer this as a special on certain days of the week, so be sure to ask if they’re offering it.
The pizzas were all delicious. My favorite is also the simplest: the Margherita. The Tuttabella and Patate were also very tasty, although I could have done without the truffle oil on the Patate. I find that it almost always overpowers the rest of the dish when it’s added. But the caramelized onion on the Tuttabella added a sweet richness that was wonderful, and a very nice counterpoint to the spicy housemade sausage.
Patate
Tuttabella
I was especially impressed with the desserts, and you can tell they’re definitely not an afterthought. Vinto is famous for their award-winning gelato, and it’s obvious why. My two favorite flavors are the orange honey and basil. This is seriously some unreal gelato. Pastry chef Amber Billingsley hit these flavors right on the head.
Applewood for the pizza oven.
The next time you’re looking for a casual, relaxed dining experience, check out Vinto Pizzeria. And a special thanks to Becky at the Vintage Mixer for organizing the event, and thanks to Vinto for hosting us.
The Metropolitan has partnered up with Travelzoo to offer an amazing deal. For $49, you get either a seven or four course meal prepared by Chef Shifflett.
The seven course meal is offered on July 25th and the four course meal is offered on July 30th.
Go here for more details.
Salt Lakers have the opportunity to try delicious food from some of the best Salt Lake restaurants for about 50% off regular menu price, without the need of coupons.
From July 11th through the 17th stop by any participating restaurant and you’ll be given a special “Yelp Eats” menu with deeply discounted meals.
And these aren’t deals at Bob’s Burger Shak. We’re talking Atlantic Café, Bohemian Brewery, Cucina Vanina, Faustina, Meditrina, Metropolitan, Stoneground, and The Wild Grape. If you haven’t tried these restaurants, now’s your chance for minimal cash.
I already have my meal at The Wild Grape planned:
Lobster Risotto $6.50
Wagyu tenderloin with mushroom polenta $12.25
Vanilla Bean creme brulee with fresh berries $3.25
I’ll be out the door (excluding tip of course) for $22!
For more information on Yelp Eats, go here.
Pork eggs rolls from Café Thao Mi
For all of the fans of the amazing Tea Rose Diner in Murray, you’re in for a treat. They have opened a second restaurant in Midvale at 87 W 7200 S. The building used to house an old, dingy breakfast place, and they have torn everything out and turned it into a beautiful new restaurant.
For those unfamiliar with Tea Rose, they serve quite an unusual menu. They serve some American dishes and make a nice American breakfast, but their specialty is of course their Thai food. They make the spicy level of each dish to order, so be prepared to tell them a number, 1 through 10. But a word to the wise: unless you’re a masochist, don’t order past a two or maybe a three. It is really spicy. It’s also my favorite Thai food in Utah. They do things right here.
Stop by and support their new location. They are currently doing a soft opening and their grand opening will be July 11th.
Step into Gourmandise – The Bakery, and you’re immediately brought home. The welcoming, relaxed interior envelopes you in the aromas of freshly baked bread, rich pastries, and delicious soup simmering slowly on the stove.
Gourmandise’s executive chef and general manager is Jean-Jacques Grossi. Jean-Jacques began his baking career as a 13 year-old boy in France. After moving to Salt Lake City, he worked at various Salt Lake bakeries, including Bakers de Normandie and Brumbies, and eventually settled down at The Bakery, where he worked his way up from baker to executive chef.
The Bakery is owned by Pete and Wanda Hanssen, who immigrated from South Africa and purchased Gourmandise in 2006. It’s all about the family at Gourmandise, where several generations all work together.
The layout of the bakery is European inspired, which can lead to confusion for some. I remember my first time at the bakery, I walked in and didn’t know whether I should sit down at the table or order at the counter. Our host Becky gave us a tip: if you plan on staying to eat, sit down at a table and a server will come over to take your order. If you are looking for something to carry out, go right up to the counter to order and pay. If the weather is nice, I would recommend sitting out in their covered patio.
This unique layout causes service to be a bit sporadic at times, especially during the busy times. Water glasses can go unfilled as the servers try to handle their tables.
I have never left from Gourmandise disappointed with my meal. The Bakery has recently reinvented their quiches from ground up. They are made completely in-house from scratch using delicious ingredients such as creme fraiche and gruyere. Each day offers a different quiche. The Saturday quiche is roasted red pepper, goat cheese, and basil. If you have to make a special trip to The Bakery in order to try the Saturday quiche, do it. It’s that good. The goat cheese isn’t too overpowering, and the quiche was perfectly cooked.
The cup of French Onion soup that came with the quiche had the perfect blend of sweet onions, salty broth, and gooey cheese. It’s their house special and it’s obvious why.
Other recommendations from Becky: for the vegetarians, the Chickpea Smash, which can either be had as a sandwich or a salad. The Smash consists of smashed chickpeas, olives, red onions and fresh Italian parsley. Another hit is the Portobello Panini. Grilled portobellos, red peppers, muenster, hummus, and basil aioli. I think I’m going to have to try that one next time. The Curry Chicken Salad is another Gourmandise classic. Think of a delicious chicken salad kicked up a notch with a rich curry dressing.
Another reason why I love Gourmandise: they’re open late. They’re the only bakery in Salt Lake that does so, staying open until 10 pm Monday through Thursday, and open until 11 pm Friday and Saturday. One thing that had us wondering is why they are closed on Sunday. I guess we can give them one day off, right?
If you’re looking for a place to relax with friends, bring a business acquaintance, or for some late night eats, make sure to put Gourmandise – The Bakery, on your list. I guarantee you’ll find a sweet treat you’ll love in their gigantic display cases.
Croissant Pudding
For a chance to win a $25 gift card to Gourmandise, leave a comment telling us what your favorite Gourmandise dish is, or what you’d like to try when you go. Or tweet @Broswhobrunch and tell us there!
Gourmandise – The Bakery
250 South 300 East
Salt Lake City
http://gourmandisethebakery.com
I spotted a new BBQ place called Firehouse the other day on 21st South and had to pop in and check it out. Their building is one of the more interesting setups I’ve seen, sharing half the building with a hardwood floor sales office, and their smoker is right out next to the sidewalk.
Firehouse was started by three guys with various experience in the BBQ world. “Tornado T” Tom moonlights at Hog Wallow, and Mark and Robert were associated with the old Bubba’s and Firehouse BBQ on 4300 S 900 E (currently Stella’s).
These guys are serious about their Southern Texas Style BBQ. They are in the process of installing “Salt Lake’s only” open BBQ pit, according to Mark. They have only been open a week, so naturally they are working out the kinks with seating and service, but if these guys can iron those issues out, they’ve got something really good going on here.
They take great pride in all of their food. Their pickles are house-cured and are very unique, having a sweet and spicy kick that I haven’t had before. I sampled a few of their very tasty meats. And the sauce. Wow. I’m a big Heinz 57 sauce fan, and this is Heinz times 1000. I could drink it by the gallon
Again, don’t show up expecting a sit-down meal. As of right now, it’s limited to carry-out orders while they finish the interior of their shop. Once it’s completed they’ll have a few tables to sit down.
Their prices are right on target. When I stopped by, they were offering their rib sandwich for $5. Ribs are $3 each. The menu is dead simple, offering three entrees and two options for sides. Try their “Shawn’s Slaw,” an asian-inspired cole slaw with mangos and peanuts.
Open Monday through Saturday 11 am to 7 pm. Cash only.
Firehouse BBQ Grill
565 E 2100 S
Salt Lake City, UT
(801) 268-3374
www.firehousebbqfood.com
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City officials are looking to revamp local ordinances to possibly make them more mobile food friendly, and are accepting comments from the public regarding this issue. I received the following email from SuAn Chow of the Chowtruck.
Dear Friends,
The City is in the process of reviewing and revising the ordinances for “mobile food trucks”. They have set up an open forum for you to be able to post your comments in which they will be read and reviewed by city officials prior to formal changes. This is a great opportunity for you to voice your support in advance and to hopefully help make progressive changes.
As owner of Chow truck I have worked diligently to provide a strong model of an upscale gourmet mobile food truck that will hopefully be the beginning of many. I have been able to provide affordable, quality, and accessible food to a broad demographic of people from a wide range of locations, and have brought awareness and energy to the mobile food truck trend here in Salt Lake.
There are the obvious compliances which are required for all business, and we most certainly abide by them such as; licensing, taxes, health dept., etc., so what really should be in discussion are the operation considerations. Please read the brief introduction of “Where do you want to see food trucks in the community” as it outlines some change considerations. I hope you will take a moment to please post your comments, as it may influence the future of the food trucks in Salt Lake.
And please feel free to forward.
http://www.peakdemocracy.com/706
Thank you,
SuAn
One of my favorite things to do is meet new, local food producers who have great passion for what they do. I love hearing their stories about their journeys to where they are now.
Thanks to a meet and greet held at Caputo’s market, I was able to meet cheesemaker Kendall Russell, from Lark’s Meadow Farms. Lark’s Meadow, based out of Rexburg, Idaho, creates delicious farmstead cheeses, meaning that it owns the entire production, from the cow to final product. While many cheesemakers truck their milk in from other dairies, Lark’s Meadow is able to maintain complete control over their raw product: milk. And speaking of raw, Lark’s Meadow only produces raw milk cheeses, meaning no pasteurization of milk takes place. Instead of pasteurization, in order to ensure that the cheese is safe to eat, a minimum amount of aging must occur for the cheese to meet government safety standards. Many cheesemakers (and cheese aficionados) swear by unpasteurized cheeses, insisting that the taste is purer and truer to history.
Kendall certainly has an interesting history in the cheese business. His only formal training consisted of a two-week internship. Other than that, he has self-taught cheesemaking, which is a pretty formidable task (and costly–Kendall told us that he had to throw away about $40,000 in bad cheese as a result of early mistakes).
According to Kendall, the act of making cheese isn’t a very difficult process, but understanding the nuances that go into making cheese, such as understanding differences in how milk tastes, aging temperatures, and humidity really is more art than science. One small tweak in any of these variables can have a significant impact on the final product.
Leland Cheese
We tasted three cheeses at the event. The first cheese is called Leland. It is a half sheeps’ milk, half cow milk cheese. Their cows are Brown Swiss, which are known for producing high fat content milk. It definitely shows in this deliciously creamy, high moisture content cheese. This one would be perfect for a decadent grilled cheese sandwich.
The second cheese we tried is called Helen, named after one of Kendall’s mentors. This cheese is made with 100% cow milk. It has some strong grassy notes to it, and has a distinct yellow coloration. Kendall mentioned that milk that comes from cows who graze in a pasture has a slight yellow tinge to it, due to the beta carotene that the cows consume in the pasture. Many cheesemakers add coloring to try to duplicate this orange-yellow coloration in their cheeses.
Dulcinea
The third cheese is Lark’s very first production cheese recipe, and I have to say, they nailed this one. While the other two cheeses were delicious, the Dulcinea knocked my socks off. This cheese is a very low moisture cheese. This rich cheese was nicely salty and nutty, and it even reminded me a bit of the sharpness you get with Pecorino, except much more rounded and subtle. The other really neat thing about this cheese is that as you eat a piece of this cheese and work towards the rind, the flavor profile changes dramatically to a much nuttier flavor.
All of Lark’s cheese is hand-produced, which, as Kendall said, means that he takes a lot of Ibuprofin since it is so labor intensive. Hand-pressing cheese results in some of the whey being trapped in the cheese, whose lactose then ferments into esters. It is these esters which give their cheeses some fruity notes that you won’t find in many other cheeses, contributing to make Lark’s cheese some of the most unique cheese out there.
Lark’s Meadow Farms cheese are currently available at Caputo’s Market and Liberty Heights Fresh, and they will be carried at many Harmon’s stores in short time.
SLCeats: Highlighting the best restaurants in Salt Lake City and Park City 