Devour Utah Jan 2015

Issue 2 • jan/feb 2015 • eating well

It’s time to

Nourish Tea Takeover p.16

Reset your relationship with food and revitalize every meal

$4.95 FREE at select locations

2 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015

Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015 3

34

24

What is eating well?

It’s not about calories or fine cuisine, but about soul-warming experiences

26 ORIGINS

Cover photo: Niki Chan, Tearamisu

Traditional Asian soups are taking center stage

Roots Cafe owners marry meat and health

Spread

Omar’s Rawtopia energizes body and spirit

Contents

Personal Chef

Wendy Phelps & Bill Peterson

THE

4410

16

THE

42

Deconstruct

Take a peek inside Del Mar al Lago’s tasty empanadas

Tea Time

Local purveyors go beyond the hot-water basics

Goumet for All

Appetizers that won’t drain wallets or add to the holiday bulge

Spirit Guide

4 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015

It’s time to rethink fruity cocktails

48

Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015 5

Devour Contributors Staff Publisher JOHN SALTAS General Manager

ANDY SUTCLIFFE

Editorial Editor Managing Editor Contributing Editor Copy Editors Contributors

Photographers

Production Production Manager/Art Director Assistant Production Manager Graphic Artists

Rachel piper Heather May Ted Scheffler Sarah Arnoff, kolbie stonehocker VANESSA CHANG, Francis Fecteau, Heather king, Kelli Meziani, Kelli Nakagama, amanda rock, billy yang Niki Chan, Austen Diamond, John Taylor, Billy yang SUSAN KRUITHOF dEREK CARLISLE CAIT LEE, Summer Montgomery BJ Viehl

Business/Office Accounting Manager Associate Business Manager Office Administrator Technical Director

Billy Yang is a Salt Lake City-based freelance writer and photographer. His photography has appeared in AFAR Magazine and Eater.com, among other publications.

CODY WINGET Paula saltas CELESTE NELSON BRYAN MANNOS

Kelli Meziani is a former journalist in Chicago and advertising account executive.

She has a passion for good food, amazing drink and her road bike.

Marketing Marketing Manager

Jackie Briggs

Circulation Circulation Manager

LARRY CARTER

Sales Senior Account Director Digital Operations Manager Senior Account Executives Retail Account Executives Devour Store Assistant Manager

Jennifer van grevenhof ANNA PAPADAKIS DOUG KRUITHOF, kathy mueller Jeff Chipian, Pete Saltas, JEREMIAH SMITH ALISSA DIMICK

Francis Fecteau is owner of Libation Inc., a wine brokerage in Salt Lake City.

Distribution is complimentary throughout the Wasatch Front.

Additional copies of Devour are available for $4.95 at the Devour offices located at 248 S. Main, Salt Lake City, UT 84101

Copperfield Publishing Copyright 2015. All rights reserved

6 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015

Amanda Rock is a freelance food writer with a passion for local vegetarian fare. She blogs at Amanda-Eats-SLC.blogspot.com.

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Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015 7

Lessons in

Eating Well I

t’s just a few weeks into the new year, but it’s likely that most people’s resolutions have gone by the wayside.

“Go to the gym every day” has become “Go to the gym whenever I have the time.”

But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. True change and growth doesn’t come at the end of a list. They happen gradually, the result of hundreds of tiny moments and small decisions.

That’s why this isn’t a diet issue. Sure, we talk about healthy appetizers (p. 10) and the benefits of drinking tea (p. 16) and even how to juice up your cocktail (p. 48) but we know that Eating Well means much more than calories and fiber and antioxidants.

Food is more than fuel, and eating should be an experience whether it happens at a messy table at home, in a fine restaurant, or around a campfire in the middle of nowhere.

We hope this issue—and its complementary online content, including healthy kitchen tips from Ted Scheffler and a piece by specialty food expert Vanessa Chang on her love of kimchi—will help readers form new and improved relationships with food, and the way it’s consumed.

And speaking of new, thank you for making Devour such a success. This magazine was planned as a quarterly, but we quickly realized that Utah’s growing food scene merited more attention. We’ve expanded to six issues per year, publishing every other month. The next Devour is just around the corner, in March, and will be exploring ideas of growing—the stuff that’s happening in the ground as spring and summer approach, as well as the people, places and philosophies in Utah that have cultivated this amazing expansion.

No matter your resolution, we hope you’ve made room to indulge in Utah’s tempting food scene. Here’s to Eating Well in 2015.

—Devour Utah editors

8 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015

Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015 9

There’s an App for That Savor flavor-packed small plates without killing resolutions

By Kelli Nakagama

T

is the season to swear off rich, fattening foods and pay attention to that bank balance. But that doesn’t mean you have to forgo flavor, or dining out in general. There are plenty of Utah restaurants serving healthy, delicious dishes that’ll still let you stick to your calorie (and financial) budget.

Eva 317 S. Main, SLC 801-359-8447 EvaSLC.com Roasting this flowery vegetable transforms the mild crucifer to something nutty and sweet, and Eva ups the ante by dousing the floret with Moroccan spices—a mixture of turmeric, cumin, salt and toasted coriander.

And beyond being incredibly flavorful in this dish, cauliflower is one of the healthiest vegetables, boosting brain power and digestion.

10 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015

Moroccan Roasted Cauliflower $ 6

Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015 11

Beet Fries $ 8 Reef’s 710 Main, Park City, 435-658-0323 ReefsRestaurant.com No taters here, but you won’t miss ‘em. These fries are more calorie-conscious and also more flavorful than their traditional counterparts. Oven-roasted beets are rubbed with olive oil, then flash-fried and topped with garlic and parsley, and served with a spicy cilantro aioli. Beets are full of health benefits, but with a dish this delicious, those will be the last things on your mind.

Naked Fish Bistro 67 W. 100 South, SLC 801-595-8888 NakedFishBistro.com

Shishito Peppers $ 2.50 12 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015

The “it” small bite of the moment, shishito peppers have a unique mildly spicy, yet sweet, flavor that’s highlighted when the Japanese chili peppers are grilled and blanketed with sea salt, as is done at this downtown bistro. The peppers are not only full of flavor but also healthy, containing antioxidants and metabolism-boosting powers.

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Caputo’s:

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Caputo’s Downtown 314 West 300 South 801.531.8669

Caputo’s Holladay 4670 S. 2300 E. 801.272.0821

Caputo’s On 15th 1516 South 1500 East 801.486.6615

Caputo’s U of U 215 S. Central Campus Drive 801-583-8801 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015 13

Aristo’s 224 S. 1300 East, SLC 801-581-0888 AristosSLC.com This classic dip consists of garlic, olive oil and a base ingredient to add bulk—usually potatoes, bread or even almonds. Aristo’s deliciously addictive skordalia employs bread, and the garlic-heavy dish bursts with health benefits thanks to its main ingredient, known to boost the immune system, treat colds and protect the heart. Order a plate of fresh veggies in lieu of the pita bread for even more health points.

Skordalia $ 7.50 14 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015

New Menu Items your old favorites are back

$2.50 draft beers on tuesdays

Saturday & Sunday brunch starting at 10am 890 e. fort union blvd. | 801.566.0424 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015 15

Tea Takeover

Local shops bring flavor back to the other hot drink

By Kelli Meziani & Heather May

sit & sip

Tearamisu

O

NIKI CHAN

ur days revolve around what beverage is next. The promise of fresh-brewed coffee helps us rise to face the morning. We drink water throughout the day to keep our bodies healthy. And in the evening, many of us look forward to a glass of wine or a cold beer.

What we’ve been missing is tea—but not out-of-the-box tea from a bleached bag. There’s a world of flavor to be found beyond the generic herbal or English Breakfast that are often the only varieties in Americans’ awareness. And local vendors have read the tea leaves and realized that Americans are thirsty for a change.

Tea’s tastes and aromas are beautiful and varied. And the health benefits are undeniable: Tea is loaded with amino acids, vitamins and flavonoids, and has been shown in countless studies to protect against cancer. So, this winter, steep yourself in these unique tastes.

16 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015

Real Estate

That’s what we do.

HISTORIC

DOWNTOWN sit & sip

NIKI CHAN

The Tea Grotto

Sit & Sip

M

ore complicated than brewing a pot of coffee or pulling a shot of espresso, making a cup of tea involves careful preparation and timing, as tea varieties all respond differently to water temperature and steeping time.

Newcomers—or those who think tea is simply weakly flavored water—would be best served by taking a seat at a tea shop and letting the perfect cup come to them. Tea shops are often lower key than their coffee counterparts, given to relaxation and quiet contemplation rather than caffeinated conversation. And, with near limitless varieties to sample from, there’s no buyer’s remorse—just sip until you find the right blend to take home, or return until you’ve tried them all.

The Tea Grotto 401 E. 900 South, SLC 801-466-8255, TeaGrotto.co

“C

offee has reached a saturation point,” says Brad Heller, who owns The Tea Grotto with his wife, Molly. “Tea has a richer history and is far more complex. ... Trends come and go, but tea has been around since the beginning.”

Salt Lake City’s longest-running tea shop keeps things fresh, offering 130 varieties of tea and hosting weekly tastings on Wednesdays for $3, so tea newbies can sip their way through sweet and nutty herbal rooibos to earthy and floral oolong varieties and far beyond to discover their own home base in the vast world of tea.

“We reset the tea menu every fall, and we are always moving to better quality options,” Brad says.

The shop feels organic, with refurbished-wood floating shelves, inviting seating and a bar that beckons. The Tea Grotto also serves tea-infused foods, like hummus spiked with rooibos or citrus mint, Earl Grey cookies with lavender frosting, and oolong-infused granola.

MAIN STREET Restaurant Space For Lease HEPWORTH – CARTHEY BUILDING 159 South Main Street Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • 3,500 Sq.Ft. Available on Retail Level (3,500 Sq.Ft. Basement) • One Block South of the City Creek Center • Great Retail/ Restaurant Space on Main Street • Located in the Heart of CBD • On the Trax Line • Close to All Downtown Amenities • New Facade Being Developed This information is provided with the understanding that any negotiations relating to this property will be conducted through InterNet Properties Inc. The description is based on information we believe to be reliable but cannot guarantee.

Vasilios Priskos Owner / Agent vas@iproperties.com Office: 801.355.0600 Mobile: 801.599.0655 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015 17

sit & sip

NIKI CHAN

Tearamisu

Tearamisu Tea House 929 E. 4500 South, SLC 801-590-8247, TheEmperorsTea.com

Y

ou can tell from the name of this year-old tea shop that the owners love tea—and Italian desserts.

The tea selection is staggering—more than 200 varieties. And the housemade cannoli, biscotti, panna cotta and the signature tiramisu, made using co-owner M.C. Rivetti’s family recipes, have a bit of a cult following.

And they pair well with tea: Try the cannoli with green teas, especially Jamillie mocha mint, and tiramisu with the seasonal favorite Sicilian bloodorange herbal tea.

The shop, with three private tearooms, opened in February 2013 in response to requests by customers of Rivetti and co-owner Jason Woodland’s online Emperor’s Tea shop. The duo hope to add more locations to take advantage of Americans’ growing interest in tea and their own well-established tea roots.

“We own land in Vietnam, and that is where we grow most of our teas.

It makes it possible for us to oversee all aspects of the business: growing, packaging and shipping,” Woodland says.

With the opening of their inviting and down-to-earth shop, they can now oversee the sipping experience, too.

18 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015

T co D aq mi o u ng w e s n r oo To ia n w 27 n

fancy tacos & fine tequilas

monday - thursday 11am–9pm | friday - saturday 11am–10pm sunday 11am–8pm

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149 eASt 200 South opEning Soon

ta q u e r i a 2 7 . c o m

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“meats”

@ fE LdmanSdE Li

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Tea Zaanti 1324 S. 1100 East, SLC 801-906-8132

T

RACHEL PIPER

he word “zaanti” means peace, and that’s what owner Brian Murphy wants customers to feel when they visit his homey tea shop in a renovated bungalow on 1100 East in Salt Lake City.

“I call it a relaxing retreat for tasteful tea,” he says, standing in the two-room store that features exposed brick, a reclaimed butcherblock countertop, local art for sale, and armchairs and salvaged tables where folks gather to write or knit as they sip tea. “I wanted it to feel like you’re walking into a good friend’s home,” Murphy says.

The former paralegal and accountant started selling tea after visiting a friend’s mulberry tea farm in Thailand.

Mulberry tea was the first type he sold online. Now, he offers more than 70 types (all of which can be examined and smelled at a teaser board near the counter), including some of his own unique blends like licorice mint and chocolate rooibos. He also sells Jack Mormon Coffee to those who want it (it’s labeled “not my cuppa” on the menu board) along with toast and cookies. His teas can also be found at Coffee Garden, Rye Diner & Drinks and Blazing Needles.

20 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015

NIKI CHAN

TAKE-home tea

The Queens’ Tea

Take-home Tea

A

ll teas come from the same plant—Camellia sinensis—but what comes packed in the average supermarket tea sachet is little more than the dust of what used to be tea leaves. As you might expect, these result in a lesser tea than what a scoop of fragrant tea leaves and buds will provide—similar to the difference between a weak cup of instant coffee and a shot of high-quality espresso.

And there are almost as many ways to brew tea as there are tea varieties.

The centuries-old methods of preparing and serving tea are valued more for the experience and ritual than for the simple purpose of making a beverage. For the latter, filters, infusers and tea balls are the most common and easiest, but the French press is gaining steam, for the same reasons people swear by it for the best and least-bitter coffee. Tea leaves are allowed to unfurl and release their flavors throughout the entire press. And plunging the tea keeps the leaves steeping at the bottom, allowing for several flavorful rounds of steeping and pouring.

Of course, the best technique is the one that makes your favorite cup. And these local tea purveyors will give you plenty to experiment with.

The Queens’ Tea TheQueensTea.com

I

t’s fitting that J. Seth Anderson and Michael Adam Ferguson got engaged on a tea farm.

The couple drank tea as they dated, and they pursued their new passion on trips to China and Japan. The historian in Anderson was thrilled by tea’s thousands-year-old tradition. The scientist in Ferguson liked tea’s effect on health.

They named their company for the role that queens have played in popularizing tea. And they like the name’s gender-bending reference to gay men.

“We’re the queens,” Anderson says.

Ferguson proposed during a trip to a Japanese tea farm in 2013, placing the ring on a bed of jasmine green tea leaves inside a teapot. The two would eventually be the first gay couple to wed in Utah.

They like to create their own blends, including the popular Blue Tea, a mixture of black tea, apricot, peach and candied pineapple, named for the 1870s Utah Women’s Literary Club.

Their loose-leaf teas can be purchased at their website, the downtown Winter Market and at various coffee shops and restaurants. The teas also recently debuted at the Draper Whole Foods.

Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015 21

Millcreek Cacao

An ExCEllEnt DoWntoWn Dining ExPEriEnCE

Free Parking 110 West 600 South | Call us at 801.384.3800

A restaurant in a hotel… not a hotel restaurant!

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1615 South Foothill Dr. | 801-583-8331 22 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015

Millcreek Cacao Roasters MillcreekCacao.com

M

illcreek Cacao Roasters, makers of beloved farm-tobar chocolates, have been transforming nibs from heirloom Ecuadorian cacao beans into luscious treats for a couple of years, and recently decided to turn the cacao-bean husks into something amazing, too: tea.

“I was reading about husks and how rich in theobromine [a stimulant] they are,” says co-owner Dana Brewster. “I thought, ‘What would it be like if you put it into a tea?’ ” Her verdict: “It’s absolutely lovely.”

Millcreek sells the cacao nibs and shells loose-leaf style in four flavors, including chai spice and peppermint. The teas are available online at MillcreekCacao.com and at Caputo’s and Harmons stores.

Mezzo MezzoChocolate.com

H

aving already turned the tables on hot chocolate with its drinking chocolate (a rich drink made from real chocolate, not the usual cocoa powder), Mezzo has now started offering a cacao husk & nib tea called Tikal, named for a mystical city in Guatemala.

The four flavors include orange ginger and cinnamon with toasted coconut. Owner Topher Webb suggests preparing the tea by simmering 4 ounces of both whole milk and water with 2 tablespoons of tea and 1/2 tablespoon of butter and pouring the mixture through a strainer.

“Each cup delivers … that incredible soul-nurturing lift that makes cacao truly the ‘food of the gods,’ ” he says.

NIKI CHAN

TAKE-home tea

Kindred Yerba Mate KindredLeaf.com erba mate may be unusual in the United States, but the herbal drink (not technically a tea) is “such a part of the culture in South America, it’s strange if you don’t drink it,” says McKay Adams, one of five owners of Kindred (formerly Tea Leaves & Melody), which sells the leaves and equipment used to drink the traditional beverage.

Adams, whose mother is from Paraguay, grew to love the taste for the steeped holly-tree leaves, which grow only in South America, as a child. His company sells classic-style mate—just the leaves—along with lemon- and mint-flavored drinks (to temper the bitterness) and seasonal flavors like pumpkin spice.

While the drink can be prepared in a tea infuser or brewed like coffee, the owners encourage drinkers to try it the way native South Americans enjoy it: filling a gourd with the leaves and hot water and sipping the liquid through a filtered straw called a bombilla.

“The process of making it the traditional way in a gourd and with a straw is very therapeutic,” says co-owner Adam Bullough, who drinks it daily.

Y

TAKE-home tea

NIKI CHAN

Kindred Yerba Mate

Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015 23

JOHN TAYLOR

The

pread S

24 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015

Omar’s

Rawtopia

O

—Amanda Rock

JOHN TAYLOR

2148 Highland Drive, SLC, 801486-0332, OmarsRawtopia.com

JOHN TAYLOR

mar’s Rawtopia is a portal to another dimension, where food is alive, full of nutrients and bursting with flavor. The space is casual and intimate, and in warm weather, outdoor tables invite diners to linger over their meals while chatting with a friend or delving into a book. The space is shared with retail items: cookbooks touting the benefits of a raw diet as well as raw foods like local honey, hemp seeds and young coconuts.

Everything on the menu is organic, gluten-free and vegan (with the small exception of local honey). Chef and owner Omar Abou-Ismail’s passion has been feeding the people of Salt Lake City with raw food loaded with enzymes, vitamins and minerals for the past seven years. He follows the philosophy that “Living food feeds living energy,” saying it gives him boundless vitality.

Dishes like hummus, falafel and tabbouleh are inspired by his home countries of Lebanon and Nigeria, but he also offers Italian-like fare, including raw pasta. Made using thin spiral “noodles” of zucchini, the dish has a mouthfeel similar to spaghetti.

The sauce uses both dried and fresh tomatoes to create a rich, deep flavor.

Dried herbs, heated to only 118 degrees Fahrenheit so as not to kill enzymes, are essential, and you can taste the oregano and basil in the dish. A dollop of Alfredo sauce, made from soaked cashews, adds creamy texture to the raw pasta. Avocado, fresh red pepper, onion, tomato and olives create another tier of flavor, and a generous sprinkle of seed “cheese” is the final step. Made from a secret combination of herbs and lemon mixed with dehydrated and pulverized almonds and sunflower seeds, it’s remarkably tangy and cheese-like, a wonder of raw food.

And Omar hopes you’ll leave his restaurant full of three other ingredients he says he includes in every dish: patience, peace and love.

Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015 25

Soup

Swoon Spice up winter with an Asian meal in a bowl

By Heather L. King

Kobe sushi

Shoyu Ramen 26 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015

JOHN TAYLOR

3947 Wasatch Blvd., SLC 801-277-2928

Kobe sushi JOHN TAYLOR

3947 Wasatch Blvd., SLC 801-277-2928

I

t’s the dead of winter in Utah, and nothing sounds better than warm and comforting clothes, activities and meals. The chilly months also call for more than yet another can of Campbell’s: Think steamy, filling soups with Vietnamese, Japanese or Thai origins. Dishes such as pho, ramen and tom kha gai will have you coming back for more umami—the savory taste that’s one of the five basic flavors, alongside sweet, salty, sour and bitter.

Tonkatsu Ramen

Japanese Ramen Although it may be hard to believe now, Japanese ramen—which actually originated in China—didn’t make itself known to the rest of the world until the 1980s. While broths and ingredients vary widely throughout regions of Japan, two items remain constant: broth (typically meat-based) and chewy wheat noodles.

A memorable bowl of steaming ramen tempts diners with tender pasta and rich broth that’s been slowly coaxed to greatness—achieved by simmering pork (or chicken) bones and vegetables for hours and finally adding flavorings such as shoyu (Japanese soy sauce) or miso.

Longtime favorite Koko Kitchen has offered pork ramen for well over a decade, but ramen as a widely known and customer-demanded culinary art form is relatively new to Salt Lake City, ushered in with the help of Toshio Sekikawa— formerly of Naked Fish Japanese Bistro and now owner and executive chef at Tosh’s Ramen—and Kobe Sushi chef and owner Mike Fukumitsu.

Salt Lake City’s ramen revolution began in fall 2013, when Tosh transformed Naked Fish’s lunch menu into a ramen bar, offering creamy tonkatsu (which is Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015 27

chabaar Beyond Thai

JOHN TAYLOR

87 W. 7200 South, Midvale 801-566-5100 Chabaar.com

Hot & Sour Soup

28 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015

made from boiling and reducing a pork-bone broth and includes roasted pork called chashu), karai (tonkatsu with hot chili), vegetarian and shoyu ramens. Those ramens, along with a curry and blend option, have made the journey to his new, namesake restaurant—and make up almost the entirety of the menu, which is small and simple, allowing Tosh to focus on his signature savory ramen offerings, along with a few appetizers and dessert.

For his part, Fukumitsu spent a year in Atsugi, Japan, learning the art of from-scratch ramen before purchasing Kobe on Wasatch Boulevard in June 2013 and turning it into a wildly popular—and recently expanded— ramen shop. “At its core, ramen is a dish that highlights all of its parts: the noodles, the broth and the toppings,” Fukumitsu says. “Having each of these parts perfectly complement one another makes it a great all-in-one dish.”

But unlike many soups that might come about from using whatever leftover ingredients can be found in

the pantry and refrigerator, ramen is a carefully orchestrated symphony of flavors where not a single slice of skillfully roasted-pork chashu, poached egg, green onion or narutomaki slice is placed without thought and care.

“Our process is very labor-intensive,” Fukumitsu says, “and requires a lot of time to make sure that everything going in to each bowl is perfect.”

Vietnamese Pho The number of Vietnamese restaurants in the Salt Lake Valley that offer versions of this beef noodle soup is a little awe-inspiring.

Although pho was created in northern Vietnam, most local establishments serve a southern-style pho that is heavily influenced by the spices and rice noodles of China, as well as France’s pot-au-feu soup. This pho features long-simmered broth and

Authentic German Cuisine Market

Enjoy

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BEST SauSagES BEST SchnITzEl with SpaETzlE

at the Wild Grape!

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Serving Breakfast Lunch & Dinner Open Tuesday - Sunday (Closed Monday) 481 e south temple | 801.746.5565 | wildgrapebistro.com

Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015 29

JOHN TAYLOR

Oh Mai

Vietnamese Sandwich Kitchen

3425 S. State, SLC 801-467-6882 6093 S. Highland Drive, Holladay 801-277-9888 OhMaiSandwich.com

Vietnamese Pho

30 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015

rice noodles along with beef options such as rare beef, brisket, flank and meatballs. Tripe and tendon are offered in more authentic versions. Bean sprouts, fresh basil and sawleaf are typically part of each bowl, as are the northern-style additions of green chilies and lime condiments.

And each Salt Lake City pho restaurant has a little something different that attracts its own legion of devoted fans. Oh Mai Vietnamese Sandwich Kitchen and Pho Tay Ho are known for their earthy, beef-bone broths spiced with star anise, clove and cardamom, while Pho Bien Hoa and Noodle & Chopstick offer the most protein options including an array of beef selections (everything from brisket to tripe) as well as chicken and tofu choices. La Cai Noodle House has the freshest and most extensive vegetable add-ins such as crunchy carrots, fresh peas, cabbage and broccoli.

And newcomer Pho Thin Famous Vietnamese Noodle House adds a raw egg to the mix.

Thai gang “In Thailand, anything that has broth is a soup called gang,” says Anny Sooksri, owner and chef at Tea Rose Diner, Chabaar Beyond Thai and Siam Noodle Bar. But Sooksri calls it “pho” on her menus for customer familiarity and because the beef & noodle soup of her native Thailand is strikingly similar. “The way we boil the broth is almost identical to pho, but in Thailand, it’s called ‘boiled noodle soup,’ ” she says. Heavy doses of cinnamon, clove, cardamom and other pho-familiar spices create a sweet, earthy broth that takes Sooksri six to eight hours to prepare.

Another Thai favorite is the creamy, coconut-based tom kha gai. Sooksri’s restaurants, along with Thai Delight, Skewered Thai and Ekamai Thai Curry’s two locations, deliver delicious renditions highlighting the galangal,

Your

Ski-Town

Sushi Spot

2014

2012

TONA tonarestaurant.com SUSHI BAR AND GRILL

2013

210 25th Street, Ogden • (801) 622-8662 • facebook.com/tonasushi Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015 31

chabaar Beyond Thai

87 W. 7200 South, Midvale 801-566-5100 Chabaar.com

JOHN TAYLOR

Vietnamese Pho kaffir lime leaf and lemongrass that makes this dish so distinctive.

“Thai people like to put a lot of herbs in our foods,” Sooksri says. “Because of the spiciness, you need a lot of herbs to balance it—first for the flavor and then for health benefits.”

And when there’s talk of addicting soups, Chabaar Beyond Thai’s hot & sour noodle soup floats to the top of the list. Customers have renamed it “crack soup,” and once one tastes the

Ekamai Thai Curry

336 W. 300 South, SLC 801-363-2717 1405 E. 2100 South, SLC 801-906-0908 EkamaiThai.com 32 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015

Tom Kha Gai

JOHN TAYLOR

tangy, spicy broth, the association becomes clear. Loaded with chicken, fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, cabbage and instant ramen noodles, it’s made even more perfect with a raw egg on top, which creates a silky, creamy and savory bowl of deliciousness that’ll make the months till spring much easier to bear.

Tosh’s Ramen 1465 S. State, SLC 801-466-7000 ToshsRamen.com

Karai Ramen

Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015 33

settebello 260 S. 200 West, SLC 801-322-3556

JOHN TAYLOR

Settebello.net

On Eating

Well A truly memorable meal is about much more than the food on the table

By Ted Scheffler

34 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015

I

consider myself to have been gifted with killer culinary karma.

Growing up in countries such as Japan, Canada, Spain, Brazil, Mexico and the United States—and traveling to many more—some of my earliest and most lasting memories are food related.

Not just any food, but flavor-packed dishes ranging from the Japanese ramen I was served as a child to Spanish paella and Brazilian xin xin.

And, as a food writer and restaurant critic, I’ve enjoyed more than my fair share of amazing restaurant meals.

They run the gamut from Michelin three-star restaurants in Europe to beachside shacks in the Caribbean.

However, even as much as I look fondly upon my visits to near-holy epicurean shrines such as Taillevent in Paris or Lutèce in New York City, it’s the more low-key, often spontaneous and unplanned meals that I treasure

JOHN TAYLOR

the most. It’s those occasions when the planets seem to align, and the food, the setting and—most importantly—the company all magically merge and come together to equal much more than the sum of its parts.

I get teary, for example, recalling a dinner hosted by a family in Oaxaca, Mexico. An anthropologist friend of mine had funded a meal to be cooked

by Maria Elena, the matriarch of the family, so that I might be introduced to the complex flavors of Oaxacan cuisine.

Maria Elena and her family had very little, materially speaking. They lived in a small house (a tin-roof shack, really) with dirt floors. But they were proud and probably the most generous hosts I’ve ever encountered.

One particular memory of that evening in Oaxaca still chokes me up to this day. Maria Elena’s young daughter was dressed in what was probably her only party dress, and she and my wife Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015 35

cafe madrid 5244 S. Highland Drive, SLC 801-273-0837

JOHN TAYLOR

CafeMadrid.net

36 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015

were playing catch with an old tennis ball. Well, each time before she threw the ball, the girl wiped the ball on her pretty party dress so as not to throw a dirty ball to her American guests. I am still humbled by that thought.

That night, we feasted on chiles en nogada, which is a dish as rich and complex as anything a three-star restaurant could ever proffer. Poblano chiles were battered and fried, then stuffed with a multi-ingredient picadillo made with ground pork, almonds, pear, apple, peach, tomatoes, onion, garlic and about a dozen other things.

Then, the chiles were bathed in a walnut-cream sauce that must have descended straight from heaven, and the whole thing was garnished with pomegranate seeds. I haven’t eaten a better meal, nor been shown such hospitality, since.

The first meal I ate in Spain was one I can’t quite remember in detail, but will never forget. My family arrived in Seville late at night and checked into a small family-run hotel called a pension.

Luckily, Spaniards tend to eat dinner late, and we were treated to (and this is the part I can’t quite recall) a simple seared piece of meat that might have been beef or veal, seasoned solely with garlic and served with a bowl of homemade chicken consommé alongside. I think that might have been the first time I ever tasted garlic!

And, to this day, I’ve never tasted soup as good as that first night in Seville.

In the months to come, I’d watch my father drink cold cerveza while I ate hot tapas at the Feria de April de Sevilla, and wished I could dress like the male flamenco dancers, who looked like Zorro to me.

Thankfully, I don’t have to travel all the way to Seville for the food of my adolescence. Cafe Madrid provides the same warm family hospitality that the folks in that pension did, and the croquetas and cazuela dishes take me back to Seville. And, at Finca, I can enjoy fideo, the rice-noodle dish I learned to love in Spain, along with foods grilled a la plancha like the costillas de puerco. Plus, I’m old enough now to enjoy my own cold cerveza or Spanish Sherries, Madeira and such alongside dinner.

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PARIS BISTRO 1500 S. 1500 East, SLC 801-486-5585

JOHN TAYLOR

TheParis.net

During a break from graduate school in New York City, I honored an obsession with the Brazilian martial art called capoeira—which I’d been learning in NYC from Mestre Jelon Vieira and his group Dance Brazil—by heading to Rio de Janeiro to study with Mestre Camisa, the Bruce Lee of Brazilian capoeira. There I discovered the carnivorous phenomenon that is churrasco at the churrascarias that serve skewered and grilled meats in an endless, all-you-can-eat circle (rodizio).

Eventually, I’d roam north to Victoria and dine at a friend’s beachside mansion, as well as with my capoeirista compatriots at seaside shacks in Salvador, Bahia. It was at the latter that I’d buy acarajé—a mashed fried bean concoction—and enjoy it on the beach between capoeira sessions, along with other delectable Salvadoran dishes like vatapá, moqueca and, on Saturdays, feijoada, Brazil’s national dish. Although the cuisine of northern Brazil is hard to come by here, there are plenty of places to get the full-on churrasco experience: 38 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015

JOHN TAYLOR

Tucanos Brazilian Grill, Texas de Brazil, Rodizio Grill and Braza Grill, for example.

Back in New York City, I’d have enough money from time to time to savor meals in food temples like the aforementioned Lutèce, where the great Andre Soltner served elevated versions of Alsatian dishes from his birthplace.

Or, at the fabulous Lespinasse, at the time commandeered by the ridiculously talented Chef Gray Kunz. From time to time, I’d venture to The Four Seasons, Chanterelle, La Grenouille and others.

Still, many of my favorite meals happened at a dive restaurant in the East Village called Curry Mahal. The owner was an Indian guy who also happened to be the most devoted Kansas City Royals fan I’d ever met.

I remembered him fondly during this summer’s World Series.

My favorite Curry Mahal dish was chicken vindaloo, and, I’m happy to report, you can get great vindaloo here in Utah via top-notch Indian/Pakistani restaurants like Bombay House, Royal India and Taste of India. And for the authentic flavors of Indian street food, you’d be crazy to overlook the delicious fare at Saffron Valley. But maybe my favorite Indian eatery here is the one that’s closest in size and scale to my beloved Curry Mahal: Curry in a Hurry, where the Nisar family treats me, and every other customer, like a member of their own family.

You never know where an episode of eating well will break out. I remember a totally spontaneous lunch that turned into a party at a pizza restaurant (I’ve forgotten the name) in a marina on the Caribbean island of St. Martin.

We began chatting with an adjacent table of folks who’d just sailed in from Venezuela. I remember eating Margherita pizza and drinking French Rosé. Before we knew it, we were dancing with our newly made friends and planning to rendezvous in the United States.

I believe that afternoon in St. Martin was my first encounter with Margherita pizza, and it’s been a lasting love affair.

Here in Utah, I get my Margherita fixes at Settebello, Vinto, From Scratch and Zucca Trattoria, but I’ll never be able to top that Caribbean afternoon in the sun, dancing with friends who, just

hours earlier, were strangers.

In Provence, a stop for lunch at Bistrot du Paradou would wind up turning into a four-hour affair as we sipped wine and shared it with newfound friends. I remember thinking how odd it was that the owner, Jean-Louis, opened bottles and only charged us for what we drank (although we drank a lot). The leftover wine, I assume, went into cooking the incredible daube de boeuf and other comforting dishes that emerged from his kitchen. It was at Bistrot du Paradou that I ate my first-ever frisée salad with lardon and warm vinaigrette and a poached egg on top—a revelation! And the duck confit: magnificent. But, what really made that lengthy lunch memorable was the friends we’d found and the unsurpassed hospitality of Jean-Louis. Today, when I want to try to re-create that magical meal in Provence, I head to The Paris Bistro, where miracles occur nightly.

Admittedly, I’m nostalgic for fondly remembered evenings at restaurants that have passed: The Metropolitan, The Parisian, L’Avenue, Bacchus, Au Bon Appetit, Baci, Santa Fe, The Globe, Campagna and others. These were places where I experienced conviviality, hospitality and top-notch cuisine. Someday, I’ll probably Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015 39

The Nisar Family JOHN TAYLOR

curry in a hurry

CURRY IN A HURRY 2020 S. State, SLC 801-467-4137 ILoveCurryInAHurry.com

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be writing just as nostalgically about some of today’s favorite restaurants: places like Forage, The Copper Onion, Log Haven, Hell’s Backbone Grill, Le Nonne, Valter’s, Mazza, Aristo’s, Takashi, Frida Bistro, Fresco—the list goes on.

Eating well isn’t about calories or antioxidants. Nor is it about dollars, famous chefs, cutting-edge cuisine or million-buck ambiance. I mean, it can be about those things, but ultimately, eating well comes down to particular places and times when the company couldn’t be improved upon, the food is good enough, and somehow, someway, a magic spark ignites what would otherwise be just another common meal and turns it into something truly special. I wish you many happy occasions of eating well.

Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015 41

Deconstruct

NIKI CHAN

The

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Del Mar al Lago’s

Chicken Empanada

310 Bugatti Drive, SLC 801-467-2890

T

he cebicheria Del Mar al Lago is justly known for its sensational ceviche. But that Peruvian specialty isn’t all that chef/owner Frederick Perez has up his sleeve.

In addition to having the freshest ceviche, Perez thrills customers with dishes like intricately flavored chicken empanadas.

The empanada dough is simple enough: a mixture of flour, sugar, vegetable shortening and water.

It’s what’s stuffed inside that simple dough casing that’s so interesting.

Perez fills his empanadas with aji de gallina, a complex combination of chicken breast cooked with red onion, carrots, garlic and seasonings, then shredded and mixed with crushed pecans, queso fresco, hard-cooked eggs, Kalamata olives, chicken stock and a few other ingredients, including the essential Peruvian pepper paste.

Perez brushes the empanadas with a little egg wash and some sugar and bakes them until they’re a beautiful golden brown, then garnishes them with julienned red onion, peppers and aioli. It’s impossible to eat just one.

—Ted Scheffler Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015 43

Wendy Phelps & Bill Peterson Roots Cafe

BILLY YANG

By Billy Yang

Personal Chef

44 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015

Y

ou know those couples who finish each other’s sentences? Well, Wendy Phelps and Bill Peterson aren’t like that. They’re opposites, but in the best way possible.

The menu at Roots Cafe, the pair’s health-conscious breakfast and lunch spot, is a perfect example of this contrary yet complementary dynamic.

“When we first opened—I guess it was because of the atmosphere—we had people who thought it was a hippie-ish, granola-y place that didn’t have meat,” Phelps says.

Eclectic art adorns the walls inside Roots, and the juice bar is a prominent feature of the dining area, so it’s easy to see why some customers might pick up a meatless vibe. And Roots does feature a veggie patty called the Dirt Burger, but it sits on the menu alongside a regular burger loaded with blue cheese and applewood-smoked bacon. The Peeto, Roots’ version of a French dip sandwich, also has a vegetarian counterpart where the grass-fed, slow-roasted beef is swapped out for slices of grilled, marinated portobello mushroom.

Peterson is a trained chef with a résumé that includes gigs at Market Street Grill and Solitude. When he sat down to brainstorm menu items for the Millcreek

Roots Cafe

BILLY YANG

3474 S. 2300 East, SLC 801-277-6499 RootsCafeSLC.com

Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015 45

restaurant, Phelps hovered and offered her two cents.

“I’m a carnivore,” Peterson says.

“He thinks: Meat. Meat. Meat. And I’m like: No. No. No,” says Phelps, who studied health promotion and education at the University of Utah.

One thing they both agreed on right away was the concept for the place.

They wanted to provide great food using local products, and be able to cater to all dietary preferences. Phelps was a strict vegetarian for 10 years and says she struggled to find options beyond salads when she dined out, leaving her wondering, “Why can’t you just make awesome vegetarian food without sacrificing flavor?”

And so that’s what she and Peterson set out to do.

The pair had a feeling their idea of an inclusive menu would be successful, but they had no inkling of how much. Roots Cafe opened in 2011 as a juice bar and coffee shop with a menu of about half-dozen items.

Peterson trained employees to make his dishes and was The Roots Cafe planning to keep his fulltime gig at Solitude.

“We just thought we’d 1/2 lemon. Cut rind off and focus on really good leave the pith (the white part, coffee and juice. We which aids in nutrient uptake) thought that was our 1/2 medium beet, washed, not niche,” Phelps says. peeled But the food quickly 1-inch ginger root, washed, not became the main draw. peeled The community embraced 4 large carrots the idea of having great1/2 or more of green or tasting, guilt-free food. red apple Four months after opening Send through centrifugal-type the cafe, Peterson quit his juicer. Makes 12 ounces job and was in the Roots kitchen full time.

“We just listened to what they wanted. All of our customers got to grow with us, evolve with us,” he says.

That evolution has transformed Roots into a full-service restaurant with a dining room that’s packed every weekend. And Phelps and Peterson credit their popularity to having something for everyone.

“You might not be able to have gluten, but you can still come to Roots and pig out,” Peterson says. “You can have a blue bacon burger here, too.

But it’s grass-fed beef and [served on] locally made bread.”

BILLY YANG

Juice Cleanser

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Get

Juiced Fresh-fruit cocktails are just what the doctor ordered

By Ted Scheffler

I JOHN TAYLOR

’m sure if you Google long and hard enough, you’ll find articles or studies championing the health benefits of cocktails. But, c’mon. We drink cocktails because we like them, not for their lifeextending benefits. However, if we’re going to be sipping cocktails anyway, why not try to get a few vitamins while we’re bellied up to the bar? That’s easier to do than you might think, thanks to the creative use of juices that crafty mixologists are incorporating into their cocktails. It lends new meaning to the phrase “get juiced.”

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Sangria JOHN TAYLOR

Spitz

The Drink Sangria

The Juices

Apple, cranberry, pomegranate

The Maker

Spitz 35 E. 300 South, SLC 801-364-0286 SpitzSLC.com

S

pitz is well-known for doner awesomeness, but maybe a little less so for its beer, wine and cocktail selection. That might change as more people try this refreshing sangria, made with a trio of tasty juices—apple, cranberry and pomegranate—along with Malbec wine, star anise and allspice.

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The Drink

Strawberry Mint Mojito

The Juice

Fresh lime

The Maker

Title 32B Lounge at Hearth on 25th 195 25th St., Ogden 801-399-0088 Hearth25.com

N

Strawberry Mint Mojito title 32b lounge

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JOHN TAYLOR

ot only do the mixologists at Hearth use hand-cut ice, housemade bitters and fresh herbs for their craft cocktails, but some also include fruit sodas that are made in-house. One of the tastiest is the strawberry-mint mojito, made with Captain Morgan light rum, fresh lime and mint, and the essential ingredient: strawberry-mint house soda. It’s fizzy and fantastic.

Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015 53

Fair Wail JOHN TAYLOR

rye diner & drinks

The Drink

Fair Wail

The Juice Beet

The Maker

Rye Diner & Drinks 239 S. 500 East, SLC 801-364-4655 RyeSLC.com

W

ith an eclectic menu running the gamut from pork-belly lettuce wraps to truffled mac & cheese and scrumptious shoyu fried chicken, it’s little surprise that cocktails at Rye are equally unique. It’s not often that you see beets, scotch, absinthe and lemon in the same sentence, but beet and lemon juices, along with herb-infused absinthe and smoky scotch, are the essential components in Rye’s Fair Wail.

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The Drink

Italian Ice

The Juice

blood orange puree

The Maker

The Dodo 1355 E. 2100 South, SLC 801-486-2473 TheDodoRestaurant.com

F Italian Ice JOHN TAYLOR

the dodo

or as long as The Dodo has been pleasing Salt Lake City customers, you’d think they’d have run out of fresh ideas. Well, the Italian Ice cocktail is proof of the freshness that awaits Dodo fans. It’s a light, effervescent cocktail made with Finlandia Grapefruit Vodka, lemon soda and fresh blood-orange puree, which lends the drink both bold color and flavor.

The Drink

The Hemingway

The Juices

LIme, grapefruit

The Maker

Mazza Middle Eastern Cuisine 912 E. 900 South, SLC 801-521-4572 1515 S. 1500 East, SLC 801-484-9259 MazzaCafe.com

The Hemingway JOHN TAYLOR

Mazza middle eastern cuisine

56 Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015

A

long with a very interesting wine selection that includes wines from Lebanon and Israel, Mazza also shakes things up with unique cocktails, including this one.

It’s a tribute to “Papa” Hemingway, a classic combination of light rum and maraschino liqueur, blended with fresh lime and grapefruit juices. Did someone say vitamin C?

Devour Utah • Jan/Feb 2015 57

Eating Well

For Fun & Profit

By Francis Fecteau

I

eat well. As a matter of fact, I eat very well. As a wine pimp for my company, Libation Inc., I’m also in the business of ensuring that others eat and drink well.

There are days, I confess, that it feels like “work.” I sometimes find the greatest joys in food and drink when I don’t have to talk about food and drink. First World problem, I know, but it puts a different cast on what it means to eat well.

Fortunately, when it comes to matters of edible and drinkable bliss, Salt Lake City has never been better than it is now. It’s why we’ve been featured in more national publications recently than ever before, and for good reason: The wealth of local talent and passion has never been greater, and the number of places that get it right never more.

I imagine we all have our own definitions of eating well. But for me, it’s a matter of comfort, a matter of ease. When I eat, I do want carefully selected ingredients— preferably fresh and local—served in a friendly atmosphere for a reasonable price.

But … as the song goes, is that all there is?

Eating well means that the dining experience, upon proper execution, will allow me a moment to slow down, shift to a lower gear and forget, for a moment, the strains of the day. Food and drink are a reason for communion, in the best sense of the word, whether solo or with company.

And currently, Salt Lake dining is blooming with culinary greatness. I love Rye, for example, because when the other restaurants close by 10 on a weeknight, I can sit at a bar and eat exquisitely prepared shoyuBorn in Naples, Italy, marinated fried chicken with Sriracha slaw and, for Francis Fecteau has a minute, feel like I am in a large metropolis that lived in Salt Lake City for accommodates unusual appetites at unusual hours. more than 30 years. He’s There are now more exceptional burgers than I care worked as a chef and to count here, too, from The Copper Onion to Bistro restaurateur and is the 222 to Montage’s Burgers & Bourbon. And, better still owner of wine brokerage is that this notion of “eating well” runs the gamut Libation Inc. from high to low, from the artful skills of Forage to the homespun goodness of Tosh’s Ramen.

When did I realize that Utah food had grown up?

It was an odd moment that snuck in on tiny cat feet. I’d gone to a Napa Valley work trip, and as I sat at a lauded Napa Valley French restaurant that shall remain nameless, I thought, “I can eat better at home.” And when I returned home, I took a seat at the Paris Bistro and did just that.

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