Spirit Guide
THE DRINK: IMPROVED SHOCHU COCKTAIL NO. 1 THE CREATOR: RICH ROMNEY THE BAR: POST OFFICE PLACE | 16 W. MARKET ST. | 801-519-9595
With modern, minimalist design and soaring ceilings emphasizing large original art panels by local multi-media artist Gary Vlaskic, recently opened Post Office Place embraces sleek elegance without a bit of stuffiness. SLC sushi institution Takashi’s co-owners Tamara and chef Takashi Gibo created in Post Office Place a spot that very much reflects Gibo’s personal and culinary journey, having lived in both Japan and Peru before coming to Utah.
Represented on the menu (with chef de cuisine Tommy Nguyen) at the helm] are several references to “nikkei,” the Peruvian term for Japanese-Peruvian culture fusion. General manager Rich Romney says they named the spot after the historic Market Street Post Office formerly across the street. “The old post office served as a gathering place— where people pass through, interact and where cultural interchange happens,” he says. In keeping with that cultural give-
and-take theme, I thoroughly enjoyed sipping Romney’s Improved Shochu Cocktail No. 1 ($10), a combination of barley shochu, Zubrowka vodka and ume plum brandy, served in a masu (traditional cedar sake box). The smooth drink has clean herbal, fruity and distinctively sour notes and spot-on balance. “It’s the first of what we imagine will be many shochu cocktail variations,” Romney says.
Devour Utah • september 2018
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