Devour October 2016

vol. 2 no. 8 • october 2016 • eat

It’s time to

Bodacious Biscuits p. 14 Utah’s Greek Cuisine p. 32 The Brunch Bunch p. 10

Late-Night Noshing p. 40

Devour Utah • October 2016 1

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2 Devour Utah • October 2016

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435-649-3097

Devour Utah • October 2016 3

10 14 22 24 30 32 40 48 58

The Brunch Bunch Flavor-packed morning dishes

BY AMANDA ROCK

Mind Your Own Biscuits

Utah’s bodacious biscuit boom

BY HEATHER L. KING

J. Wong’s Bistro

Delectable Thai & Chinese Cuisine

BY MAYA SILVER

Windy Ridge Bakery Park City’s one-stop bake shop

BY AIMEE L. COOK

The Deconstruct

Good Karma Lamb Shish Kababs

BY TED SCHEFFLER

Utah’s Greek Culture & Cuisine 100 years of Grecian flavor

BY DARBY DOYLE

Nightime Noshing

Where to find late-night eats

BY REBECCA ORY-HERNANDEZ

Suds and Spirits Unite

Beery cocktails to sip & savor

BY MAYA SILVER

Back Page

An eater’s tasty resolve

BY JOANNE MILLER

4 Devour Utah • October 2016

Contents

Devour Utah • October 2016 5

DEVOUR CONTRIBUTORS STAFF

Publisher JOHN SALTAS Editorial Editor Copy Editor Proofreader Contributors

Photographers

TED SCHEFFLER SARAH ARNOFF LANCE GUDMUNDSEN AIMEE L. COOK, DARBY DOYLE, HEATHER L. KING, JOANNE MILLER, REBECCA ORY-HERNANDEZ, AMANDA ROCK, MAYA SILVER NIKI CHAN, AIMEE L. COOK, CAROLINE HARGRAVES, KASSIE MONSON , MAYA SILVER, JOHN TAYLOR

Maya Silver likes to write almost as much as she likes to eat. When she’s not doing either of those things, she’s biking, baking or working on environmental issues as a master’s candidate at the University of Utah.

Production Art Director Graphic Artists

DEREK CARLISLE SUMMER MONTGOMERY, JOSH SCHEUERMAN, CAIT LEE

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

CODY WINGET PAULA SALTAS CELESTE NELSON BRYAN MANNOS ALISSA DIMICK

John Taylor is a freelance photographer in Salt Lake City. He has been shooting people, food and the kitchen sink for over 10 years.

His many subjects include his 4 year old son, wife and two greyhound rescues.

Marketing Marketing Manager Marketing Coordinator

JACKIE BRIGGS NICOLE ENRIGHT

Circulation Circulation Manager

LARRY CARTER

Sales Magazine Advertising Director Newsprint Advertising Director Digital Operations Manager Senior Account Executives Retail Account Executives Account Manager

JENNIFER VAN GREVENHOF PETE SALTAS ANNA PAPADAKIS DOUG KRUITHOF, KATHY MUELLER JEREMIAH SMITH, SIERRA SESSIONS, LISA DORELLI, TYSON ROGERS IVY WATROUS

Writer and recovering archaeologist Darby Doyle highlights hip SLC as a cityhomeCOLLECTIVE contributor. She also blogs about boozy experiments at aBourbonGal.com.

Cover Photo: Chicken and Biscuits at The Porch by John Taylor 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 • 801-575-7003 • DevourUtah.com Email editor at Ted@DevourUtah.com Advertising contact: Sales@DevourUtah.com

Copperfield Publishing Copyright 2016. All rights reserved

6 Devour Utah • October 2016

Heather L. King writes about food, travel and culture in Utah and beyond. She is the founder of Utah Ladies Who Lunch and a proud Great Dane owner.

Devour Utah • October 2016 7

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Just Eat It An enthusiasm for eating

I

am not French, but I have something in common with French people: While I’m eating, I’m typically talking about or planning my next meal, or reminiscing about a past one. I take eating seriously and believe, to paraphrase the late Harriet Van Horne talking about love, that eating is like sex and should be entered into with abandon, or not at all. In that regard, I think of myself as a food and eating enthusiast, much more than a critic.

And so I am enthusiastic about this issue of Devour Utah devoted to eating. I share Amanda Rock’s enthusiasm for breakfast and brunch—a time when we sort of let ourselves throw out rules about fat and cholesterol—and her thoughts on a quartet of can’t-miss breakfast/brunch dishes. If dining later at night than normal is something you enjoy, Rebecca Ory-Hernandez has tracked down a number of late-night dining spots that run the gamut from Chinese fare to pizza pie.

“The Deconstruct” for this issue features chef/owner Houman Gohary of Park City’s Good Karma restaurant and his delicious lamb shish kebab. He recently appeared on The Food Network Channel’s Beat Bobby Flay. Maya Silver, meanwhile, turns her attention to J. Wong’s, where she finds smart interpretations of Chinese and Thai cuisine in an attractive and contemporary atmosphere.

“I could write a book,” Darby Doyle says about digging into Utah’s unique Greek culture and cuisine. Like peeling an onion, she found layer upon layer of fascinating facts about Greek influence on the food scene—and on life in general—in the Beehive. Whether you know it or not, a Greek probably had a hand in the last restaurant meal you ate here.

So, as my friend Steven Rosenberg of Liberty Heights Fresh is fond of saying, LET’S EAT! ❖ —Ted Scheffler Editor

DEREK CARLISLE

CHILI BEAK

Devour Utah • October 2016 9

THE

BRUNCH BUNCH

A quartet of can’t-miss brunch and breakfast dishes

BY AMANDA ROCK PHOTOS BY JOHN TAYLOR

10 Devour Utah • October 2016

southwest skillet $ .00 10 Lox & Loaded $ .50 8

B

reakfast reigns as the most important meal of the day, but we all know brunch is the most fun. It’s the weekend, the pace is relaxed, the company is friendly and there’s usually an option to imbibe a cocktail or two.

From a historic restaurant to a modest bagel shop, here are four dishes worth getting out of bed for.

Lox & Loaded The Bagel Project is your destination for some of Utah’s best bagels. Made with a traditional fermentation process, hand-shaped and boiled, these bagels are as authentic as they come. Opt for a schmear of cream cheese on your choice of bagel ($3) or go all out with the Lox & Loaded, a glorious combination of cream cheese, gravlax, capers and red onion with a splash of lemon. Grab a cup of locally roasted coffee and enjoy your brunch at nearby Liberty Park.

The Bagel Project 779 S. 500 East, SLC 801-906-0698 BagelProject.com

Southwest Skillet Since it’s technically a bar, Zest Kitchen & Bar can serve cocktails starting at 10 a.m. along with their vegetarian and gluten free brunch menu. Try the Southwest Skillet: a medley of savory black beans and quinoa served in a piping hot skillet. The dish is topped with crunchy tortilla chips, cheddar cheese (or vegan cheese), avocado slices, flavorful pico de gallo and a drizzle of cashew sour cream. Top it off with an egg for a buck more, and choose from an eclectic menu of cocktails or opt for a $5 mimosa made from prosecco and freshly pressed juice.

Zest Kitchen & Bar 275 S. 200 West, SLC 801-433-0589 ZestSLC.com Devour Utah • October 2016 11

Eggs in a Hole Left Fork Grill is one in a million—a comfy diner that serves down-to-earth gourmet fare. Owner/ chef Jeff Masten’s Eggs in a Hole—fried eggs nestled inside buttery toasted sourdough topped with creamy Hollandaise sauce—are simply splendid. Served with tasty home potatoes and your choice of meat including bacon, ham or housemade sausage, this dish is beyond compare. Be sure to order a glass of freshly pressed orange juice served in a chilled glass to wash it down. And maybe (definitely) buy one of their famous pies to enjoy later.

Eggs in a hole $ .99 7

Left Fork Grill 68 W. 3900 South, SLC 801-266-4322 LeftForkGrill.ipower.com

Red Trout and Eggs

Red Trout and eggs $ .64 12

With canyon views and a gorgeous patio, dining at the 86-year-old Ruth’s Diner is brunch elevated. The moment you’re seated, complimentary Mile High biscuits are placed in front of you ready to be slathered with jam and butter. The trick is to order a dish that will complement the fluffy biscuits, yet not send you into a carb coma. Try the Red Trout and Eggs—the Cajun-spiced fish is perfectly grilled and topped with salsa fresca. Choose from hash browns, halved grapefruit, Spanish rice or pinto beans to round out your meal. The spicy Ruth’s Killer Bloody Mary is the perfect accompaniment.

Ruth’s Diner 4160 Emigration Canyon Road, SLC 801-582-5807 RuthsDiner.com

12 Devour Utah • October 2016

Devour Utah • October 2016 13

On the trail of the ultimate comfort food

By Heather L. King

H

ot, fluffy and fresh out of the oven.

Southern-style country biscuits are melting Utahns’ hearts as fast as butter and leaving an indelible (if not a bit flaky) mark on Utah’s food scene.

Whether as a side at Penny Ann’s Cafe, a breakfast favorite at Hell’s Backbone Grill or the staple offering from Sweet Lake Biscuits & Limeade, biscuits are no longer just bread, nor only for breakfast—they’re a delicious delivery method for fried chicken, jams, gravy, desserts and more, any old time.

Keying in on the growing trend of preparing simple foods well, Utah’s chefs are looking to biscuits to bring them back to the basics—in the form of butter, flour, buttermilk and leavening—but it’s taken time to attract a following in the West. Here are some local folks who take their biscuits seriously.

14 Devour Utah • October 2016

CAROLINE HARGRAVES

Tupelo biscuits

Tupelo “Biscuits are something most people have an emotional attachment to and is something tied to what they grew up with—whether it’s clotted cream like Shirley or honey butter, which is what I grew up eating,” says Park City’s Tupelo coowner and chef Matthew Harris.

Tupelo pastry chef Shirley Butler, who hails from England, actually considers a biscuit a cookie, and America’s typical idea of biscuits to be scones. But regardless of the name, her Tupelo biscuit recipe incorporates the same basic ingredients.

“The interesting thing I have discovered working with Matt is how I will make something from back home and he’ll say, ‘oh that tastes like something I had growing up,’” Butler chuckles.

Tupelo’s biscuits are made by hand each day using flour from a Utah mill, and Butler is adamant that the petal-like flakes of butter rubbed into the flour are the secret to a good biscuit. “The biscuits I make have eggs in them that adds more flavor and richness and they are also sprinkled with lashings of English Malden sea salt flakes,” she explains.

The larger ones are prepared for the flaky chicken-andbiscuit; the smaller ones have become a memorable table bread served at the restaurant with honey butter. Several other varieties pop up as well, including a cheese biscuit as part of a country ham appetizer or the kimchi biscuit once found on the brunch menu. “They are the perfect vehicle for flavor and for good memories,” Harris says.

Tupelo 508 Main, Park City 435-615-7700 TupeloParkCity.com

Devour Utah • October 2016 15

DEREK CARLISLE

Biscuits & sausage gravy

4670 S. 2300 E. HOLLADAY MONDAY-FRIDAY 6AM-8PM SATURDAY 6AM-9PM SUNDAY 7AM-6PM

www.3cups.coffee 385-237-3091

Pig & A Jelly Jar Biscuits have always been a way of life for Pig & A Jelly Jar owner Amy Britt. “I was raised with biscuits for breakfast, lunch or supper as a kid growing up in the South,” she says. “To me, a flaky buttered biscuit is memories and comfort.”

And that’s why they are heavily featured on the Pig’s menus in both Ogden and Salt Lake City. Britt finds biscuits perfect for sopping up eggs on the Pig Breakfast, enjoyed as part of the biscuits with sausage gravy entrée, or as the base for the restaurant’s chicken and biscuits with chow chow and mustard. And don’t forget dessert. Try the Pig Berry Shortcake to enjoy their sweet side.

“To me, a biscuit serves as more than just a vessel for a protein, jam, cheese or whatever you are into,” Britt says. “A buttery biscuit is a memory of my memaw’s supper, a time when my working parents got up early on Sunday to make us kids something special and a small piece of where I’m from. I love that Utah has embraced its versatility!”

Pig & A Jelly Jar Various locations PigAndaJellyJar.com

16 Devour Utah • October 2016

Devour Utah • October 2016 17

JOHN TAYLOR

Chicken and Biscuits

Porch Restaurant

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1344 S. 2100 E. | 801.521.4773 everybloomingthing.com 18 Devour Utah • October 2016

Located on the southern end of Salt Lake County on Daybreak’s SoDa Row, you’ll find Porch—the sophomore restaurant of Meditrina chef and owner Jennifer Gilroy—offering Southern classics with surprising spins.

Take, for example, the chicken biscuits on the brunch menu, featuring sweet tea-brined and buttermilk fried chicken breast with green-peppercorn gravy and an up egg over hot biscuits made by Executive Chef Josh McNeely. The hefty biscuits serve as an ideal base for the rich gravy and egg paired with a bite of moist chicken. And in true Southern fashion, for just $10, it’s definitely enough for a breakfast or lunch portion.

“We also do traditional dessert features with our biscuits like strawberry shortcake every now and then,” Gilroy says.

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Devour Utah • October 2016 19

Dottie’s Biscuit Barn

JOHN TAYLOR

When Dottie’s Biscuit Barn rolls out each year for area farmers markets, you’ll want to seek them out for their hot, buttery biscuits.

The mobile barn made of reclaimed materials is the brainchild of owner and chef Andrew Walter who recognized the rising popularity of Southern cuisine three years ago and built a biscuitcentric menu around it.

“We offer our biscuits as an element to every dish we serve,” he says. “I love making biscuits because they are a very simple pastry that can serve as a vehicle for so many great things.”

As customers wait for their flaky biscuits topped with Amour Spreads, savory gravies or fried chicken, Walters and his crew like to roll out the biscuits in the back of the barn so people can see the process. “They can watch the dough come together and know that they are indeed fresh,” Walters says. “We have many customers swing by just to watch and then wait for that batch of biscuits to come out of the oven.”

Biscuit recipe from Dottie’s Biscuit Barn 1 lb. unsalted butter, ice cold 8 cups bread flour 1 1/5 tsp. kosher salt 1 1/5 tsp. baking soda 4 tbsp. baking powder 3 cups buttermilk (makes about 20 biscuits)

1) Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.

2) Using a cheese grater, grate the cold butter into the flour mixture. This creates lots of small shards of butter that fold well into the dough. Using very cold butter ensures the butter doesn’t melt until it hits the oven.

3) Once the butter is incorporated, pour in buttermilk and stir just enough to combine the milk but do not over mix. The dough should be lumpy, not too wet, and not holding together (unlike bread or pizza dough).

4) Pour the dough out onto large work surface and begin pushing it together with a roller and pastry scraper. It will crumble and take a couple attempts to start coming together. Once rolled out, fold the dough into thirds length-wise and roll out. Repeat 2-3 times.

JOHN TAYLOR

5) Once the dough is folded several times and rolled out to about 2 inches thick, cut with a biscuit cutter for round biscuits or use a pizza cutter for square biscuits.

20 Devour Utah • October 2016

6) Bake at 450 degrees F. in a convection oven until tops of biscuits are golden brown.

Devour Utah • October 2016 21

The

pread S Atmosphere through the Stratosphere

22 Devour Utah • October 2016

J. Wong’s

Tom Yum Hed soup

Thai cuisine meets Chinese in a contemporary setting

T

he “J” in J. Wong’s could stand for jasmine—the type of rice that is served in an eye-pleasing mound on your plate. It could also mean jazzy, a fitting descriptor of the vibrant space with intimate eggplant-colored booths dimly lit by golden paper lanterns. But in this case, it stands for Jordan, Jason, Josh and Justin, the four brothers behind the popular downtown restaurant.

Eight years ago, the Salt Lake City natives decided to realize a long-held family ambition of opening a restaurant. The cuisine? A marriage of the Wong brothers’ family heritage. Thai dishes and drinks honor their mother’s roots, while Chinese dishes nod to their father’s country of birth.

What J. Wong’s is not is a catchall for just any cuisine from Asia. Nor does it attempt to fuse Chinese and Thai cuisines with modern twists and high price tags. J. Wong’s offers a collection of dishes all created from Wong family recipes, masterfully fulfilling cravings for kung pao and pad Thai alike.

On the Thai side, you’ll find dishes rich with coconut and fragrant with lemongrass. Try a cup of the Tom Yum Hed soup, featuring a lightly spiced, herbaceous coconut broth afloat with sautéed enoki, button and oyster mushrooms. If the silkiness of coconut milk is your jam, move on to an order of the Kao Soi—the ultimate in Asian comfort food, with egg noodles in a red curry-coconut broth with pork.

When it’s Chinese flavors you’re after, try the Wong family’s Sweet and Sour with pork, chicken, or tofu intermingled with pineapples, bell peppers, onions and carrots.

Whatever you order, don’t miss the Thai Iced Tea. It’s the color of a creamsicle and will fulfill the sharpest of milkshake cravings without weighing you down. ❖

Thai iced tea

Bacon shrimp rolls with Peking sauce Sweet and sour tofu

J. Wong’s Thai & Chinese Bistro 163 W. 200 South, SLC 801-350-0888 JWongUtah.com —By Maya Silver Photos by Maya Silver Devour Utah • October 2016 23

Windy Ridge

Bakery A celebration of all things baked

Story and photos by Aimee L. Cook

24 Devour Utah • October 2016

Red Velvet

T

he sights and smells upon entering Windy Ridge Bakery in Park City tempt all of the senses. The cases full of pastries, cakes and cookies, almost too beautiful to eat, make the choice of which to try a very difficult one. Co-head bakers Alphine Medina and Charlie Aguirre are masters at creating delectable treats that are pleasing to both the eye and the palate.

Aguirre began working in the bakery after the 2002 Olympic Games as a dishwasher. He then moved into the kitchen line, and also began to dabble in baking. Through the years, he has kneaded his fair share of dough and frosted thousands of cakes working his way up to co-head baker. He is known for creating edible beauty with his hands, especially picturesque embellishments on cakes. In fact, Aguirre can frost an entire cake, flawlessly, in less than three minutes. His main focus as co-baker is creating à la carte pastries that are used in all of the eateries in the Bill White Restaurant Group and developing the next season’s desserts, but cakes are his specialty. “I will try and make any special cake that someone asks for,” he says. “Chocolate raspberry is the most popular. But every day we try something new.”

Medina began working in the bakery more than 10 years ago as a cashier. A former pastry chef then introduced her to prepping tarts and cookies.

After two years, she was promoted. “The pastry chef gave me the chance to be the baker,” Medina says. “I enjoy testing new recipes, but they don’t always work out. It’s very challenging being at a high altitude; we just keep testing. Sometimes it takes four or five tries until we get it.”

Hard work, dedication and loyalty are key ingredients to success and longevity in the Bill White Restaurant Group. Once an individual

Spaghetti A ll’Ubr ia

co

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An assortment of treats on display

Mile High apple pie

Glazed fruit tartlets

26 Devour Utah • October 2016

It isn’t just about culinary school

exhibits what it takes, he or she move up the ranks. “It isn’t just about the skills learned in culinary school or past employers,” says owner Bill White. “It is also about embracing and embodying the culture of our town and our company. When we see that in an employee, we like to recognize and encourage them to grow within our company.”

Matt McMillen, the group’s executive chef, who got his start as a line cook, is charged with maintaining an environment within the restaurants that allows everyone to prosper and encourages the creative process. All recipes used throughout the nine restaurants are tested, tasted and approved, and some are shared throughout the group, while others are unique to that specific restaurant. McMillen also ensures that a high level of quality is maintained throughout the restaurants.

“Alphine or Charlie will come up with an idea, they will make it, and I will come in and try it—unless it’s a small thing, then they will just run with it,” he says. “I will tell them if it needs tweaking in this direction or that direction, then walk away and let them work on for a bit and then come back and typically, at that point, I approve it.”

Recently, Medina introduced cake bites and dog treats to the already extensive selections offered at the bakery. “Our new cookie dough recipe has beer in it,” she says. “And our French macaroons we do special. So sometimes I have to tell people, depending on the weather—if its humid or starts to rain—that I can’t take any orders for those, they won’t turn out.”

One of the most sought-after items is the Mile High Apple pie.

Each pie requires 11 apples, all peeled and cored by hand.

Fifteen Mile High pies are baked each day. “We are an eating bakery, not a showpiece bakery,” McMillen says. “The bakery provides all the breads and the pastries for the entire company.

All of it comes out of this bakery and these guys are baking here every single day.”

According to Matt, Bill White is “not a buy-from-someoneelse guy.” True to that philosophy, Windy Ridge Bakery got its humble beginnings 25 years ago in the Grappa restaurant basement, where the then-bakers created all of the breads and pastries that were served there.

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High-altitute baking Today, Windy Ridge Bakery feeds the masses with a staff of only six, putting out between 600-1,000 items per day. Deliveries to the various restaurants start off early each morning, and often the public is waiting at the door before opening. On average, 10 cakes are sold each day. When winter hits, or a holiday or the Sundance Film Festival happens, pies and cakes fly out of the case and the bakery fills many special orders.

Many savory items are created each day and are available for purchase—from traditional meatfilled lasagna and a vegetarian option to chicken potpies, gazpacho soup and various flavors of quiche, I recommend you show up to Windy Ridge Bakery hungry; I know you’ll leave happy. ❖

Windy Ridge Bakery 1255 Iron Horse Drive, Park City 435-647-2906 WindyRidgeBakery.com

Lemon Bars 28 Devour Utah • October 2016

Recipe courtesy of Alphine Medina

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The

30 Devour Utah • October 2016

At Park City’s Good Karma restaurant, Iranian-born chef/owner Houman Gohary tempts the taste buds with his unique IndoPersian cuisine while also treating guests as though they’re family. Gohary is affable and seemingly always beaming with a broad smile. Signature dishes at Good Karma include salmon Parsi, beef tenderloin Sultani and the restaurant’s very popular curries.

You wouldn’t think of such a nice guy being in a throw-down with Bobby Flay, but Gohary appeared in the “Poking and Prodding” episode of Food Network Channel’s Beat Bobby Flay, honorably representing Utah’s culinary scene.

He’s also appeared on The Today Show and

been featured with Rachael Ray. For Devour, Gohary prepares his luscious lamb shish kebabs, seasoning local Morgan Valley leg of lamb cubes with housemade yogurt, tomato paste, lime juice, spices like turmeric, salt and black pepper, along with grated onion, before skewering them. Red onion, yellow, green and red bell peppers, and the lamb cubes alternate on skewers and are placed on a hot grill until seared on all sides. Then they’re sprinkled with somac (a Persian spice from dried berries) and served with raita and basmati rice or pita bread.

Sheesh! That is crazy good shish kebab! ❖ —Ted Scheffler Photos by Niki Chan

Good Karma’s

Lamb Shish Kebab

1782 Prospector Ave., Park City 435-658-0958 GoodKarmaRestaurants.com

Devour Utah • October 2016 31

(Kalí óreksi!) = bon appetit

W

hen Chris Tsoutsounakis turned 16, his parents gave him a car for his birthday.

On the keychain were also keys to the family’s Astro Burgers restaurant, where he’d been helping out in one way or another since he was a toddler.

Now the chef/owner of his own place, GR Kitchen in Cottonwood Heights, Tsoutsounakis says with a grin, “Greek families are incredibly generous, loyal and supportive of each other. With that comes hard work and responsibility. In my case, I got a car, but I also got the closing shift.” And it’s something that Tsoutsounakis believes in his bones is a cultural and personal calling, serving up equal portions of food and graciousness. “There’s nothing else that I’ve ever wanted to do,” he says.

“Working with food and serving people every day is something I love to do.

And it’s part of being Greek, where being hospitable always comes first.”

Teasing out the story of how Greek

immigrants over more than a century have become such a powerful force in Utah’s food culture is a bit like biting into a gooey piece of baklava: complex, multi-layered, a little bit sticky. But always delicious. It’s a story built in equal parts on that triumvirate of culinary success that Utah Greeks have taken to heart: food, service and generosity. As Katrina Cutrubus, pastry chef and co-owner of Manoli’s on 9th, says, “There’s always food when there are Greeks. And there’s always lots of it.

Family, food, taking care of people. It’s what we do.”

It’s a bit like reading a Greek phone book, looking at the extensive and influential list of Utah’s food entrepreneurs. From kafenio (coffee houses) started by the state’s first Greek immigrants in the 1900s through the 1920s, to another big wave of Greeks relocating to Utah in the 1960s-’80s.

Greek entrepreneurs worked hard and have had incredible success in many

professions, but they are an undeniably vibrant force at every level in food service in the state: whether running classic diners and family restaurants, organizing food-distribution and grocery networks, starting Utah’s worldfamous pastrami-topped Greek burger dynasties, or operating innumerable fast-Greek drive-thrus. Hearing stories of fancy restaurants featuring elaborate Greek foods, belly dancers and live music performers makes us wish for the return of last century’s swank supper club culture. And Utah’s Greeks have been famously flexible in achieving success no matter the culinary enterprise. Louis and Athena Nichols owned and operated Senior Pepe’s—a local favorite for Mexican food—at 216 S. State for many years. In Bountiful, pharmacist Gregory Skedros took his personal passion for food to the next level in 1978, opening the Mandarin Chinese Restaurant, which daughter Angel continues his fine tradition, with

Mapping Greek Culture & Cuisine in Utah by Darby Doyle for Devour 1870—Nicholas Kastro, the first Greek in Utah (probably) came to Bingham Canyon via California. He developed several mining claims consolidated under the Kastro Group and Kastro Grecian Mining Co. He sold the claims to SLC Mining Corp. in 1911 for a reported $35,000, and was rumored to have returned to Greece in his old age.

32 Devour Utah • October 2016

1898—Leonidas Skliris, probably the second Greek in Utah, became a notorious laborprocurement agent.

1903—Four Greek food-oriented businesses are operating in SLC, including a candy shop, grocery store, kafenio (The Athenian Bachelor’s Club is thought to be the first coffee house in Utah) and a lunch wagon on Main Street run

by Vassilios Demos.

1904—More than 1,000 Greeks live in the greater SLC area, most working railroad or bridge construction.

Celebrating over a century of Greek culture & cuisine in Utah

By Darby Doyle • photos by John Taylor a kitchen full of talented chefs drawn from Hong Kong to San Francisco. The Mandarin—which idiosyncratically, yet successfully, incorporates Greek ingredients like lamb in several dishes and occasionally has baklava-inspired treats for dessert—consistently wins statewide and national acclaim, including recognition in 2013 by Travel and Leisure as being one of the “Top 25 Chinese Restaurants in the USA.” The newest generation of Greek restaurateurs are bringing modern café Greek, street Greek traditions and cosmopolitan fine dining to the Beehive state, and Greek publishers such as the Saltas family curate magazines like Devour. Through it all the same family names keep popping up: Katsanevas, Lyhnakis, Katzourakis, Hatzipolakis, Fuskundrakis, Kefalopoulos, Papadakis, Politis, Paulos, Koukoulias, Ziakas, Ziouras, Tsoutsounakis, Louras, Armaou, Limantzakis, Hatzipolakis, Neofitos, Daskalakis, Liotiris, Kartsonis,

1904/05— Located roughly between 100 South and 300 South from 200 West to 600 West, “Greek Town” developed quickly.

mid 1900s— Stelios Kotsolios opens Stadium Café in Greek Town, and cooked for Greek bachelors for 50plus years.

Maroudas, Brillos, Skedros, Boutsikakis, Dakis, Papadopoulos, Ritzakis, Tzakis, Priskos, Polychronis, Mouskondis, Kessimakis, Klepas, Peters, Ligeros, Katsenevakis, Nikols, Bournakis, Sifondonakis, Koukouvetakis—it’s nearly impossible to include them all without slighting someone in the short space of a brief magazine article. Even more terrifying for this scribbling outsider is the fear that they won’t feed me again if I leave someone out through my own ignorance, oversight or error.

Utah’s earliest Greeks arrived just before the turn of the 20th century, at a time when the push-pull of immigration gave them few choices for gainful work, and as a group they came to food service after breaking a rather circuitous path. Most came from Crete, which was still suffering economically from centuries of Turkish oppression; they had few employable skills and spoke little or no English. Three out of four Greeks worked the land in their

1905—The Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church is established in SLC.

native country, although agriculture remained limited to raising goats, sheep and growing currants and other crops adapted to the rocky soil and arid climate. Impoverished Greek families pooled their limited resources to send strong young sons to the U.S. in the hopes of earning quick money to send back home, improve their family’s lot and presumably return to marry and start families of their own back in Greece. The 1900 census listed three Greek men in Utah, but more quickly followed. Already barely limping by, the Greek economy collapsed in 1907 after the currant crop failed, leaving thousands starving. Greek immigrants fled in droves to the United States; by 1910 the number of Greeks in Utah totaled just over 4,000, and according to historian Helen Zeese Papanikolas, “They continued coming until they were the largest labor force in the state.”

Salt Lake City’s Holy Trinity Church, established in 1905, served the largest

1925—The new cathedral on 300 West is finished.

1935—1960s Volunteers at the church host an annual one-day bazaar open to the community.

1976—The bazaar is so popular it now runs for three days 1977-79—The Cultural Center is built to host 400 more guests and larger kitchens.

1992—The Hellenic Museum is established.

2010s—Up to 50,000 guests attend the event annually.

Devour Utah • October 2016 33

GR Kitchen Chris Tsoutsounakis

Greek community between Chicago and San Francisco.

It was a predominantly young and male immigration; most of the young men were aged 17-20 and sent west by Greek labor agents in eastern port cities with a tag printed “Utah” pinned to their coat, only the clothes on their backs and a treasured vrákes, or amulet of earth from Crete. Whether destined for the mines or for building railroad tracks, the first wave of Greek immigrants stuck closely together. Coffee shops (kafenio) and cafes—the mainstay of social life and communication in Greek villages—became gathering spaces in Western mining towns and transportation centers. Enterprising Greeks opened shops catering to the growing immigrant population, and Greek sheepherders supplied lamb to boarding houses.

In Salt Lake City, 200 South between 400 and 600 West became known as “Greek Town,” (there is now a Trax stop there with the same moniker) supporting dozens of Greek-owned businesses like Pete Nikolopoulos’ wholesale grocery store, the RizosSkedros Drug Store and Soda Fountain, barber shops and two Greek-language 1907—The Greek currant crop fails, prompting mass immigration to the U.S.

Yanni’s Yanni Armaou

newspapers. Stores sold Greek staples like Turkish tobacco, goat cheese, olive oil, octopi, figs, dates and liquors.

Kafenio served equally as places of sustenance, community support and job networking: Newly arrived immigrants flocked to The Athenian Bachelor’s Club or the Stadium Café operated by Stelios Kostsolios, who for 50 years often fed out-of-work young Greeks at no charge. The majority of workers went to the mines, with the biggest concentration sent to Bingham and much of their wages skimmed off the top by labor agents (the most notorious being the “Czar of the Greeks,” their countryman Leonidas Skliris). As labor unrest and violence came to a head in the 1910s and ’20s, the kafenio of Bingham and other mining towns became meeting places for dissent; their owners sometimes targeted by mine company enforcers. In 1920s Salt Lake City, the kafenio Anekti Karthia (Open Heart) run by Crete immigrant Michael Katsanevas became a meeting place for Greeks to locate family and friends, play traditional music and remember the old country.

Katsanevas’s descendants later opened the Athenian Dinner Club (1965-1978),

1910—Greek communities are established in almost all mining/ transportation centers: Murray, Midvale, Copperfield, Garfield, Magna, Tooele, Price, Helper, Hiawatha, Sunnyside, Scofield. “Greek Town” is recognized in Ogden on 24th and 25th streets near the Union Station.

34 Devour Utah • October 2016

1916— Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in Price is established.

started the popular Crown Burgers restaurant chain in 1978, and last year chef Manoli Katsanevas opened the award-winning Manoli’s on 9th, bringing the family’s food legacy full circle to fine dining.

While Salt Lake City and the Holy Trinity Cathedral served as the cultural, economic and religious center of Greek life in Utah, Greek businesses flourished all over the state. The second-largest population of Greeks, located in Price, built the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in 1916. In Logan, Greek immigrant George P. Lamb opened Lamb’s Grill in 1919; he moved the business to Salt Lake City in 1939 where it still operates in its original location in the National Register of Historic Placeslisted Herald Building, making it the longest continually operated restaurant in Utah.

The story of Katrina Cutrubus’ grandparents, Gus and Athanasia (“Ethel”) is representative of these first waves of immigration. Gus came from his home village of Havari through Ellis Island, and via a sponsor in Omaha, Neb., was sent to Utah to work laying double track between Green River, Wyo., and Ogden. According to family 1919—George P. Lamb opens Lamb’s Grill Cafe in Logan.

1939—Lamb moves Lamb’s Grill to the Herald Building in SLC, longest continually run restaurant in Utah.

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Jim’s Family Restaurant Jim Fouskandrakis

Greek Souvlaki and Padelis: Frank, Chris, Leo Paulos history, he settled in Ogden in 1905 and opened a small grocery store on 25th & Lincoln. During the next two decades, he operated the Utah Cigar Shop and a candy wholesale business, earning enough money to return to Greece in 1931, marry Athanasia “Ethel” Gogoras from the village of Amaliada, and return to Ogden with her. In addition to raising a growing family, Ethel taught school and worked as a seamstress.

Whereas earlier the decades of Greek immigrants were mostly bachelors, the next generation of Greeks equalized the male-female ratio; many young women in the 1920s and ’30s came as picture brides not knowing their future husbands or what to expect when they arrived in Utah.

Fiercely loyal to Greek Orthodoxy and suspicious of outsiders, Greeks tended to live, work and conduct business within their own associations. According to church chronicler Constantine Skedros, “Despite discrimination, open hostility and prejudice, [Greek immigrants] committed themselves to establishing our church-community” in Utah. “It was their dream that the mother country’s customs, culture, language, and traditions be perpetuated…[and] pass

1920s—Michael Katsanevas’ kafenio Anekti Karthia (Open Heart) supports immigrants in Salt Lake’s Greek Town. Katsanevas had arrived at an asbestos kiln as a very young man in 1909, and served in US Army in WWI giving him citizenship.

36 Devour Utah • October 2016

on to future generations that which they created here.” Oral histories from this wave of Greek immigrant women reflect their ambivalence. In America, food was plentiful, and working class families could afford plenty of fruit and sugar, grow bountiful home gardens, keep rabbit hutches and chicken coops, preserve foods year-round by canning, and, yes, go out to restaurants to dine.

Greeks were shocked and confused by the predominantly Mormon cultural norms of what they perceived as eating cheaply and their emotional and physical reserve, especially with children. Greeks greeted each other exuberantly with kisses, embraces, and obligatorily prepared elaborate impromptu feasts for drop-in guests.

According to historian Helen Papanikolas, Greeks “were shocked to learn that [American] children were punished by being sent to bed without food. Love and food were synonymous to the Greeks. To the Greeks, a person could be sick; he could be grief stricken; but to be hungry was the worst evil to befall him.”

Sundays after church meant feasting with the extended Greek community.

As Manoli Katsanevas tells me, “Greek

Jan. 10, 1955—Life magazine features the reunion of Michael Katsanevas’ family after his co-workers at Clearfield Depot raised funds to fly his wife and remaining children from Greece.

families have always gotten together after church on Sundays,” a tradition that became institutionalized at Salt Lake’s Holy Trinity Cathedral in 1935 by a one-day bazaar open to the public every year until the mid-1970s. It became so popular that the volunteer Philoptochos Society decided to turn it into a three-day event in 1976. It has continued to grow in scope, and now the Greek Festival is one of Utah’s most popular cultural events, serving up to 50,000 guests over every post-Labor Day weekend. “We have our own warehouse, commercial baking and cooking equipment, and hundreds of volunteers who make it all happen,” parish council member Ted Sargetakis says.

“Everything is hand made and takes months of preparation,” and funds raised by the event support a myriad of local charities. Chris Tsoutsounakis’ uncle (also named Chris Tsoutsounakis, who came to Utah in 1957 from Crete) agrees, “even if you’re not Greek, it’s the best way to learn how to make good Greek food if you volunteer to work at the festival.” In Price, the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church holds the equally joyous Greek Festival Days every July on a slightly smaller scale.

1965-78—Jim and Manuel, sons of Michael Katsanevas, and their familes run Athenian Dinner Club, featuring belly dancers, traditional Greek food, American fine dining dishes like lobster, live music by Greek performers.

Liberace once visited!

1978—The irst Crown Burgers is opened at 200 South and 400 East by Rula Katsanevas Katzourakis, her husband John Katzourakis and brother Nick Katsanevas. Steve and Manuel Katsanevas open Crown Burgers No. 2 the next year. Eventually expanded to seven locations, all managed by family members.

2015—Manoli Katsanevas (son of Steve and grandson of Michael, and who worked in Steve’s Crown Burger) and Katrina Cutrubus (granddaughter of Gus Cutrubus of Ogden] open Manoli’s on 9th, featuring Greek-influenced fine dining.

Manoli’s

1920s—Greek-owned Politz Candy Co. operats on the northwest corner of 300 South and State.

Early 1920s—Federal legislation restricts immigration, limiting the flow of Greeks coming to Utah.

1920s—James Skedros and Alex Rizos operate Rizos-Skedros Drug Store and Soda Fountain at 480 W. 200 South.

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1978—Gregory Skedros, a pharmacist who loved cooking, founded Mandarin restaurant in Bountiful. It’s still run by Skedros’ daughter Angel.

Local and national awards include being listed as one of the “Top 25 Chinese Restaurants in the USA” by Travel and Leisure in 2013.

1927—Nicholas Mouskondis starts selling re-labeled cans of food that fell off trains on his bread route.

1939—He incorporates business as Nicholas & Co. 1940—The first of many Nicholas & Co. warehouses is built on 400 South.

1959—Nicholas’ son Bill Mouskondis starts the first marketing campaign for the company, taking over leadership in the 1960s.

1963—Nicholas & Co. expands to serve five Mountain West states.

2003—Bill Mouskondis becomes chairman of the board. His son Peter Mouskondis is named CEO/president of company.

2013—Peter’s wife, Nicole Mouskondis, becomes co-CEO of Nicholas & Co.

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William, Elyce, Peter Mouskondis, and his wife, Nicole with Christopher Zunis

Aristo’s Aristo Boutsikakis The elder Chris Tsoutsounakis explains that sharing food, community support and hospitality is all based on the Greek principle of philotimo, which the owners of Utah-based food distribution corporation Nicholas & Co. translate as “the love of honor.” Nicholas Mouskondis came to Salt Lake City from Crete in 1907 and in the 1920s had a bread route and began selling cans of food that he’d collected and relabeled after they’d fallen from train cars. Over the next decade, Mouskondis grew the business substantially, officially incorporating in 1939 and building the first of many warehouses in 1940. By 1963, Nicholas & Co. trucked goods to five Mountain West states from their base in Salt Lake City.

According to their corporate history, “Our Greek heritage runs deep within our company and is a driving force with how we view and operate our business.” Passionate about food, family and community, the Mouskondises say that philotimo always remains the heart of their corporate ethos, which they describe as, “A sense of love for family, community and country. A joyful hospitality and sense of nobility enshrined in Greek culture. The notion that we have an obligation to one another to make things better. The sense of right and wrong and the duty to do 1947—Johnny Pappas returns from WWII and buys the Scenic Inn on Route 89 near Bountiful in south Davis County with his wife, Kitty. He renames the restaurant Johnny Pappas Steak House.

1963-Johnny dies at age 49, Kitty Pappas takes over managing the restaurant in addition to raising three children (in a house attached to the restaurant).

1981—The name is changed to Kitty Pappas Steakhouse.

38 Devour Utah • October 2016

what’s right.”

This service to community has created a stalwart reciprocal loyalty with customers of all cultural backgrounds at Greek-run restaurants all over Utah. Tony and Maria Kefalopoulos (along with their children Kosta and Georgia) have run the The Olympian Restaurant since 1984 at its original location on 700 East near 2100 South and say that many of their customers have been coming since they opened. “Ninety-nine percent of our customers have become our friends,” Maria says in between trips circulating with a steaming coffee pot around the diner. “The two sisters who taught our American citizenship classes still come here” regularly, now 30-some years later.

Going to Manoli’s on 9th for Sunday brunch is a bit like falling through the screen into a scene from the film My Big Fat Greek Wedding—although, let’s face it, Manoli’s very sleek, modern venue bears absolutely no resemblance to the film set—where hugs, kisses and shouts of “ya sou,” “ya sas” and “stin iyá mas!” (“cheers, all y’all;” that’s my translation) abound. I sheepishly asked Katrina Cutrubus if it was offensive or reductive to be compared to the nowfamous movie and she replied with a laugh, “No, there’s actually a lot truth in it.” It would be hard to imagine

Manoli’s without giving a nod to Aristo Boutsikakis, who introduced so many Utah diners to authentic, modern Greek cuisine at his Aristo’s restaurant.

The kafenio culture has survived in Salt Lake at modern iterations of traditional coffee houses like the Kafenio Coffeehouse (slogan: “Coffee Made to Please the Gods”) on 3300 South where yoga, standup comedy and live lute sessions are served up with a side of decorative latte foam. At Greek-owned burger restaurants like the Astro Burgers shop on 3900 South, Chris Tsoutsounakis says Greeks have been gathering for three decades: “They’re there at 9:30 every morning, still. Back in the day, they smoked and played cards. Now they drink coffee and will talk your ear off gladly if you let them. They’ll tell you all about Greek food ... and everything else.”

Like a feast with a big extended Greek family, Utahn’s can have it all, from pastrami burgers with fry sauce, to some of the best souvlaki in the country, to innovative Greek fine dining embracing the best concepts and techniques from European cosmopolitan influences and made with local ingredients. And, it’s all wrapped up in a warm embrace and a generous shot of ouzo. Opa! ❖

1960s-1990s—Jim, George and Mary (née Kladis) Maroudas operate Grecian Gardens in Murray for 31 years, a staple for GreekAmerican food, live music and belly dancers.

Sources: To access photos and historic documents on display and in the archives at the Holy Trinity Hellenic Museum, contact the main church office in advance to make an appointment for viewing 801328-9681. Usually Wednesday mornings are best.

Papanikolas, Helen Zeese. Toil and Rage in a New Land: The Greek Immigrants of Utah. Utah Historical Quarterly, Spring 1970, Vol. 38/ No. 2 Skedros, Constantine J. 100 Years of Faith and Fervor: A History of the Greek Orthodox Church Community of Greater Salt Lake City, Utah 19052005. Salt Lake City: The Greek Orthodox Church of Greater Salt Lake: 2005 [ed. by Mike C. Korologos and Mary P. Chachas].

Greek Souvlaki

1972—Lee and Mary Paulos open Greek Souvlaki, the first place to serve yeeros (gyros) in Utah.

Padeli’s

Aristo’s

2000—two additional Greek Souvlaki locations opened.

Sons Frank, Leo and Chris Paulos take over management after Lee and Mary retire.

2016—Frank, Leo and Chris Paulos open Padeli’s Street Greek in downtown SLC, named after their father.

2003—Aristo Boutsikakis moves from New York to SLC. He and his parents, George and Ekaterina, open Aristo’s near the U of U. It won City Weekly’s “Best Greek” from 2005-2013 and Salt Lake Magazine’s “Hall of Fame” in 2013.

1996-2004—The Kefalopouloses open a second shop, Olympia Grill, on Redwood Road.

2016—Chris Tsoutsounakis (son of Angelo) opens GR Kitchen in Cottonwood Heights.

The Olympian Grill

Devour Utah • October 2016 39

Nighttime Noshing Where to find good grub after 8 p.m.

By Rebecca Ory-Hernandez

F

inding a place to eat a satisfying meal late at night in Salt Lake City can be a challenge, especially if you’re craving a little comfort in food that’s not served in a paper bag. There’s an abundance of good food everywhere in the area for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but what can you do if you’re needing to nosh later than the standard 7 p.m. dinner time? Maybe you’re off at 8 p.m. from your swing shift. And what about the times you forget to make a restaurant reservation before heading out to a concert or the theater? Then, there’s the case of time ticking: Dinner was three hours ago, and you’re hungry again. You’re craving something heavier than a snack, but lighter than a full meal. If this sounds like you, here are some thoughts on where to find good latenight food after the streets have been rolled up and stored away.

40 Devour Utah • October 2016

Gearing up for a late-night study session: Dinner plus dessert(s)

JOHN TAYLOR

Delights under the lights

JOHN TAYLOR

Tomato bisque

Gourmandise The Bakery 250 S. 300 East, SLC 801-328-3330 GourmandiseTheBakery.com Hours: Monday-Thursday 7 a.m.-10 p.m.

Friday and Saturday 7 a.m.-11 p.m.

JOHN TAYLOR

Tri tip steak

JOHN TAYLOR

Veggie lasagna

A neighborhood bakery serving late night plates seems unlikely, yet Gourmandise The Bakery is just such a spot for small plates, dinner and wine. After 8 p.m., Gourmandise offers late-night small plates with simple, real food void of pretentious overtones. It’s ideal for out-of-town guests when they want something good to eat, along with a little bit of something sweet to take home for later.

Choose the tri tip with fingerling potatoes and asparagus. While filling, it won’t weigh you down due to the smaller portion and the light herb sauce.

Fresh-roasted asparagus topping the dish rounds it out to feel like a legit supper. The vegetarian lasagna stuffed with layers of summer vegetables is light and fresh, while the soups, according to the servers, are the most popular with regular customers. The tomato basil bisque and French-onion soup are so popular that they never rotate off of the menu. If you’re lucky, there still will be some daily-baked baguettes for dipping.

The double case of tarts, pies and pastries will likely tempt you while you wait for your meal. Impossible to resist is the almond chocolate-dipped horn. The top layer is coated in almond slivers and crisp on the outside, while chewy-on-the-inside. Half of the confection is then dipped in chocolate. It’s just enough of a sweet bite late night, and also very nice dunked in coffee.

Devour Utah • October 2016 41

Fleming’s dining room

JOHN TAYLOR

COURTESY OF FLEMINGS PRIME STEAKHOUSE - RICK PAZ

Fish in hot sauce

Sometimes the only thing you can think about when you get the late-night munchies is really good Chinese food. With descriptive flavors listed on the menu to help you decide what might hit that crave: sweet, spicy, salty and sour, Chef Gao delivers within three miles of its location in Midvale. But walking into the restaurant past 9 p.m. will take you right into a Chinese-American time warp. The décor will transport you elsewhere, but there’s no denying the Sichuan and authentic Mandarin cuisine. There’s an overwhelming selection of late-night options—60, to be exact, for $5.49 (cash only). You could go there a dozen times and still not try everything on the menu. Do try the noodles, which are tasty and perfectly cooked, with or without broth. Shanghai fried noodles include stir-fry noodles with shredded pork, cabbage, bean sprouts and onion. Noodle soup and mustard greens are satisfying with just the right amount of saltiness to complement the bitter greens. Be forewarned: Soups are served in a large bowl—enough for sharing with two or three other people. You’ll find more exotic offerings like ham and winter melon soup, soft tofu and fish fillet in hot sauce, as well as the more familiar items like Mongolian beef, salt-and-pepper ribs or Shanghai style fried rice.

Chef Gao (Sweet Ginger) 220 W. 7200 South, Midvale 801-532-0888 ChefGao.com Hours: Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

Friday and Saturday 11 a.m.-11:30 p.m.

42 Devour Utah • October 2016

A bodacious bargain burger

Flemings Prime burger at the Gateway is a late-night treat and hard bargain to beat. Yes, sometimes the sun goes down and the thought of a juicy, delicious full-sized burger is the only thing that’s going to satisfy your hunger pangs. If the glare of office lights and computer screens have you a bit unfocused, order the burger at the bar. The quality/price ratio is hard to beat in Utah: Eight dollars normally and only six bucks before 7 p.m.. For that low price you get a 100 percent Prime beef burger served with peppered bacon, cheese, plus delicious fresh fries. You’ll leave happy.

Flemings Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar 20 S. 400 West, SLC 801-355-3704 FlemingsSteakhouse.com Hours: Monday-Friday 5-10 p.m.

Friday-Saturday 5-10:30 p.m.

Fleming’s Prime burger

COURTESY OF FLEMINGS PRIME STEAKHOUSE - RICK PAZ

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JOHN TAYLOR

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Beer-battered halibut and chips

JOHN TAYLOR

Turkey sandwich

JOHN TAYLOR

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The nighttime diner

No doubt, there’s still a void in the late-night diner scene since Bill & Nada’s closed shop years ago. You won’t find their calf brains and eggs here, but you can get a tasty, hot, open-faced diner-style sandwich or a slice of pie at the Little America Coffee Shop. The diner still dishes out its famous hot roast turkey sandwich, with thick slices of white bread served open-faced with white-meat turkey, heafty gravy, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. Who says turkey and gravy is only for Thanksgiving? Little America’s will satisfy your craving for comfort food.

Little America Coffee Shop 500 S. Main, SLC 801-596-5708 SaltLake.LittleAmerica.com Hours: Monday-Saturday 6 a.m.-11 p.m.

Sunday 6 a.m.-10 p.m.

44 Devour Utah • October 2016

When only pub food will do

Let’s be real: All too often, work turns into a double-shift.

When that happens, pub food (and drink) can be the perfect solution, and Red Rock Brewery offers some nice nighttime options. Many of my chef friends, when asked, recommend Red Rock because it’s a great place to get a quick bite, the food is consistent, and there’s always good beer. Sure, chefs like to explore what other chefs are doing, but not late at night. They like kicking back with reliable, honest food, and that’s what you’ll get with a Red Rock Oatmeal Stout and the delicious beer-battered halibut and chips. Another nice option is the wild mushroom pizza, served piping hot from Red Rock’s wood-fired pizza oven.

Red Rock Brewery 254 S. 200 West, SLC 801-521-7446 RedRockBrewing.com Hours: Sunday-Thursday 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-12 a.m.

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Devour Utah • October 2016 45

If your heart is set on a late-night supper of fresh, local Greek food, Manoli’s is a great choice. In a quiet segment of a residential Sugar House neighborhood, you’ll find a little modern Greek gem. Guests can choose a table or pull up a chair at the counter with views of the open kitchen, but this is the opposite of a classic Greek-diner atmosphere—so don’t think gyros or souvlaki. Try kakavia: perfectly cooked shrimp and scallops nestled in a bowl of simmering tomato/ wine broth. Or, maybe vegetarian orzo with white cheddar, Parmesan, feta, caramelized onions and bread crumbs.

Manoli’s food is subtly comforting, satisfying and nicely balanced. If it’s a salad you’d like, the braised beet and watercress is lightly tossed with pomegranate vinaigrette and pairs nicely with lemon rice with yogurt; you’ll still have room for an order of the amazing chocolate cardamom ice cream.

JOHN TAYLOR

Manoli’s 402 E. 900 South, SLC 801-532-3760 ManolisOn9th.com Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 5-10 p.m.

Late night ’za

No late-night list would be complete without a pizza recommendation, and for that there’s the Pie Hole. It’s small, it’s funky, and it rocks until really, really late. Wedged into a busy downtown strip of State Street near some hopping night spots, Pie Hole serves pizza by the slice or as a whole pie.

It’s a place where you’ll likely eat fast and dash, probably post-clubbing. Hands-down, the late-night menu winner is the potato-bacon Alfredo pizza. While scanning the crowd one night, I asked pizza maker Nate, who was serving slices, “why this particular pizza, at this particular hour?” He said it best: “Because it’s breakfast and dinner all wrapped up in a pizza. It’s awesome!” Can’t argue with that.

Pie Hole 344 S. State, SLC 801-359-4653 PieHoleUtah.com Hours: Sunday-Thursday 11 a.m.-2 a.m.

Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-3 a.m.

NIKI CHAN

A nighttime visit to modern Greece

46 Devour Utah • October 2016

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JOHN TAYLOR

Vegetarian orzo

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Suds and Spirits

Unite 5

Five beer cocktails to sip this season

By Maya Silver

D

rink envy is real. Inundated by a long list of beverages, you commit to a beer, only to find yourself ogling your friend’s phenomenal cocktail. Or perhaps you go the cocktail route, then envy the simple suds your companion so sagely chose. We have an answer to this liquid FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out): beer cocktails.

Thankfully, there’s no better time to drink them. Oktoberfest has Germans clicking steins of helles and hefes. In Denver, brewers and beer lovers the nation over gather this month for the Great American Beer Festival. On Oct. 26, we all celebrate National American Beer Day. And this season, we finally get to revel in pumpkin beers and malty Oktoberfest marzens.

Here are five beer cocktails in Salt Lake City that cocktail connoisseurs and beer-hounds alike will love during this beery month and beyond.

The Cocktail:

Rain Delay The Maker:

Bourbon House 19 E. 200 South, SLC 801-746-1005 BourbonHouseSLC.com

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KASSIE MONSON

Bittersweet and slightly hoppy, the Rain Delay is one of three rotating beer cocktails on the menu at Bourbon House. The bartenders shake up Bacardi rum, Cynar (an herbaceous Italian liqueur) and black-pepper simple syrup, then top it off with Uinta Cutthroat Pale Ale. You can also test out the combination of tequila and hefeweizen bridged by a squeeze of citrus in a drink dubbed Small Hands.

And when it’s hazy out, head over to sister restaurant Whiskey Street for a dose of Liquid Sunshine in beer cocktail form.

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JOIN THE STREET TEAM 1624 South 1100 East Open from 7:30am to 2:30pm daily 7 days a week

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Devour Utah • October 2016 49

Suds Spirits

The Cocktail:

Belgian 75 The Maker:

Beer Bar 161 E. 200 South, SLC 801-355-3618 BeerBarSLC.com

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MAYA SILVER

Twists on classics is the cardinal rule of the beer-cocktail game at this downtown bar. The Dark and Stormy becomes a Dark and Stoutly, a Caipirinha transforms into a Caip”beer”rinha with a splash of pale ale, and the French 75 crosses the border into Belgium. This demure drink combines the ingredients of a French 75—gin, lemon and a touch of sugar—with Duvel Belgian ale instead of the traditional Champagne.

Served up in a coupe glass, the Belgian 75 stands to benefit from an order of Beer Bar’s habitforming Belgian fries with curry ketchup and Utah fry sauce for dipping.

3005 S. Highland Drive (801) 466-0961

michelangeloristorante.com

Your local park city gastropub WHERE THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING GOING ON DUELING PIANO SHOW FAMILY FRIENDLY, GREAT PRICES

1680 W. UTE BLV KIMBALL JUNCTION, PARK CITY MOLLYBLOOMSGASTROPUB.COM

(435) 645-0844 Devour Utah • October 2016 51

MAYA SILVER

The Cocktail:

Babacino The Maker:

Suds Spirits

Cucina 1026 Second Ave., SLC 801-322-3055 CucinaDeli.com A drink that jumpstarts the night without consequence is a tall order. Vodka Red Bulls kick us into overdrive, while Irish Coffees sit heavy. Up in the Avenues, Cucina has found a solution: the Babacino. This beer cocktail is the only one on this list that features only two ingredients, neither of which is liquor. The premise is simple: a strong shot of espresso paired with Uinta Brewing’s brilliant Baba Black Lager, which packs the roasted coffee and cocoa notes of a stout, and a drinkability rarely reached in umber hues. While the drink may daunt some, once you make the “leap of faith,” as Cucina Owner Dean Pierose puts it, you’re likely to leap again and again. If you’re not looking for a liquid wake-up call, try Cucina’s other beer cocktail: Peaches Mimosa featuring Epic Brewing’s Brainless on Peaches.

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URBAN ESSENTIALS

Organics, groceries & snacks • Local beers • Smokes & sundries Excellent cold beverage selection! • Kombucha & Emergen-C Fresh seasonal fruit • Ice cream • Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate

353 West 200 South, SLC, UT | 801.521.2106 7am-midnight Mon-Sat; 10am-10pm Sunday -CREEKSIDE PATIO-86 YEARS AND GOING STRONG-BREAKFAST SERVED DAILY UNTIL 4PM-DELICIOUS MIMOSAS & BLOODY MARY’S-LIVE MUSIC SAT & SUN 11AM-2PM“In a perfect world, every town would have a diner just like Ruth’s” -CityWeekly

Serving American Comfort Food Since 1930

AS SEEN ON “ DINERS, DRIVE-INS AND DIVES”

“Like having dinner at Mom’s in the mountains” -Cincinnati Enquirer

4160 EMIGRATION CANYON ROAD

801 582-5807 WWW.RUTHSDINER.COM

SPEND $30 & GET $5 OFF

3370 State St. in Chinatown | (801) 486-8800 | HoMeiBBQ.com

U O Y E ?

R A T FOR A H W ITING .

W A O W N .

T I F T GE

G: N I ER ga F o F Y O s• e t a il auna P • TRX frared S In 801.940.0928 2560 Main St. SLC

WWW.THEPOINTPILATES.COM Devour Utah • October 2016 53

Suds Spirits

The Cocktail:

Bloody Beer The Maker:

East Liberty Tap House 850 E. 900 South, SLC 801-441-2845 EastLibertyTapHouse.com

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KASSIE MONSON

Speaking of brunch beverages, beer has long demonstrated that it has a place in the Bloody Mary.

From porters to pilsners, a touch of beer goes a long way in lightening up what can be an intense, thirstinducing cocktail. The East Liberty Tap House bartenders start with their housemade Bloody mix, piquant and briny with olive juice, capers, cumin and horseradish. Then they add in whatever pilsner is currently on tap (right now, it’s the Squatters Squasatch Hoppy Pils). Pro tip: The everso-slightly carbonated drink makes a mean complement to the bagel sandwich.

Unwrap, Taste and Enjoy the Experience.

The Tin Angel is a locally owned, locally driven Art, Dining and Cocktail experience in the heart of Downtown Salt Lake’s Historic Pioneer Park District with ample off street parking.

Reservations: 801-328-4155

SAMPLE MENU ESPRESSO BEEF TENDERLOIN Center Cut Tenderloin wrapped in Smoked Prosciutto dusted with Espresso and seared. Served atop a bed of Horseradish Cauliflower Mashers and finished with an Herb Demi Glace and crumbled Gorgonzola.

HOUSE ROASTED LAMB CIABBATA Slow roasted Morgan Valley Lamb with Feta Cheese, Balsamic-Red Onion Jam and Pesto served on Toasted Ciabbata Bread

PATO TACOS House Roasted Duck Confit, Hummus, Slaw, Feta and Pickled Onions together in a Corn Tortilla fried crispy in Duck Fat.

sales@millcreekcacao.com I millcreekcacao.com

EKCACAO.COM | 435-513-1769

LES@MILLCREEKCACAO.COM

TRADITIONAL. ICONIC. HISTORICAL.

GNOCCHI IN GORGONZOLA CREAM SAUCE A House Favorite! Potato Dumplings cooked with Cream and Gorgonzola Picante

SMOKED TROUT SALAD House Smoked Utah Rainbow Trout served over Organic Mixed Greens, Shaved Fennel, Pickled Red Onion, Fresh Tomatoes, Cucumbers,Shepherd’s Farm Goat’s Cheese and Pine Nuts. Topped with Cucumber Dill Vinaigrette

GIN ANGEL MARTINI Beehive Jackrabbit Gin, Week’s Berries Raspberry Puree, Ranui Garden’s Thyme infusion

SATURDAY BRUNCH 8AM-2PM

FEATURING $4 MIMOSAS 169 S. MAIN ST. ◊ LAMBSGRILL.COM ◊ 801-364-7166 Devour Utah • October 2016 55

SARA LUND

The Cocktail:

Broken Window The Maker:

Suds Spirits

Bodega 331 S. Main, SLC 801-532-4042 Bodega331.com If you need evidence for the compatibility of whiskey and beer, look no further than bold ales aged in former bourbon or Scotch casks. But Bodega takes the whiskey-beer relationship to the next level with the Broken Window. A take on an Old Fashioned, the cocktail unites rye whiskey, maple syrup and cherry-chocolate bitters with a malty nut brown ale. The result is a complex palate evoking memories of Mom’s pecan pie, dark chocolate truffles and the scent of autumn leaves carried by the wind. Available through the December, the Broken Window is in good company with two other beer cocktails, one of which features Bodega’s signature IPA, spiced rum and ginger. Consider your palate teased.

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Nooww N

g n i n n i Sp ! o t a l e G

801.355.2294 | 216 East 500 South, SLC

COME CHECK OUT

OUR NEW SPOT!

We have an amazing store where we purify water, produce alkaline water, and have many other additives WE PROVIDE UNIQUE WELLNESS SUPPLEMENTS + HIGHER CONSIOUSNESS ITEMS WE ALSO DO WATER DELIVERY & IN HOME PURIFICATION/ ALKALINE MACHINES

3673 South 900 East (801) 904-2042

Devour Utah • October 2016 57

Resolve

Stanza

Tasty

Reflections on dining and diners

I

love food and I savor every eating opportunity. “Are you hungry?” is a redundant question to pose to me, but those three magical words trigger instantaneous, full-body joy. Science confirms the route to our hearts is via our second brain—the almighty belly. I salivate at the suggestion and reply, “I could eat,” reluctant to forego a noshing moment.

The number of times I’ve skipped a meal can be tallied on one hand, and a plague-like virus was the basis for each instance. I wake with zeal to commence my day, but truth be told, I’m envisaging what’s for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

My past time is necessary for survival and a social norm, so I gleefully indulge in my hobby at least three times per day, and sometimes more, schedule permitting.

Deciding where to eat is my downfall. I feel consumed by the possibilities, especially when making a reservation on behalf of a group, armed with the best of intentions to appeal to the gamut of tastes, dislikes and demands. I vacillate from tried-and-tested favorites to undiscovered gems, but the prospect of mediocrity quells surges of epicurean bravery. Substandard food, drink and service impart an unpleasant and unforgettable taste.

To muster restaurant resolve is akin to grocery shopping on an empty stomach, post workout. Everything tempts, even that handmade peanut-butter-chocolate soap, taunting with its rich, decadent aroma and candy-like form. You may soon froth at the mouth, which is my conundrum when wavering between my reliable and fabulous eateries and the “what ifs” of unfamiliar establishments.

Allergies, intolerances and strict nutritional plans are absolute levelers, culling the dining pool by half, if not by three-quarters. But what ultimately sways where you opt to dine? Is it ambience, vistas, an inviting patio? Perhaps an extensive wine list whets your whistle, or the fact your much-loved locale is open on a Sunday to while away the official day of rest. Is it the creativity of an inspired, daily, weekly or seasonal menu, or the comfort and reliability of a menu that hasn’t been altered in decades?

Culinary, cultural and individual diversity further intensify our daily dining needs and wants. So, which descriptor below best describes your dining mojo?

Ambience Chaser: You’re all about the mood and prefer intimate settings. You recoil at the mere mention of fluorescent lighting and communal dining.

Conscious Diner: You only frequent establishments offering fresh, non-GMO, organic food with vegan/vegetarian options.

Crowd Pleaser: You regularly hold court at the center of a fun and raucous crowd.

Fork Bearer: You know every eatery in town, including those in development.

You witness official openings and sample wares long before the hordes.

Naturist: You love the outdoors and you’re instinctively drawn to leafy patios bedecked with all-weather furniture to bask in nature’s glory.

Super Sleuth: You pride yourself on your research, referencing every available online platform before committing to a reservation.

The Scheduler: Time is money. You require valet/onsite parking, advance bookings, express menus and never linger longer than 45 minutes.

Usual Suspect: You frequent your old faithful at least once per week. Routine is good.

Dining motivation and penchants aside, Utah’s culinary scene continues to deliver, develop and hush the detractors. Best of all, it leaves us wanting to devour more. ❖

By Joanne Miller Photos by Niki Chan

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Riverhorse on Main

Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse

Taqueria 27

The Tree Room

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