dining guide
// MARY BROWN MALOUF
Melissa Gray, Briar Handly and Meagan Nash, HSL owners
HSL Briar Handly’s done it again. We mourned the loss of our go-to place, Vinto, with its casual feel and great pizza, but didn’t cry long because of what replaced it: HSL, which stands for Handle Salt Lake. Handle, founded in Park City, means Chef Briar Handly and that means exciting food. The interior has been given a wash of soft green, and luxed up a little with cushioned chairs. Look familiar? They’re from Talisker on Main in Park City, where Handly was chef. While he was chef, it was the best restaurant on Main Street. HSL’s interior, a tug-of-war collaboration between Handle’s wife Melissa Gray and Cody Derrick of City Home Collective (Finca, Pallet) shows the hip sensibilities of the latter and the softer—more comfortable—inclinations of the former. Handle in PC is still thriving and if you’ve eaten there, don’t expect a cloned menu in Salt Lake. He’s invented a new menu and has an all-star lineup to help him invent and execute: Cocktail wizard Scott Gardner is concocting drinks, Ryan Wenger put together an interesting and
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SOMI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 STANZA . . . . . . . . . . . 112 PADELI’S . . . . . . . . . . 114
well-priced wine list with lots of by-the-glass selections, pastry goddess Alexa Norlin is making desserts and Craig Gerome and Tim Smith are in the kitchen with Briar—a collective superabundance of talent. It’s an old saw that travel brings perspective, but like most ancient wisdom the saying comes to life through experience. I took my jaded palate on a trip recently to Portland and returned with enthusiasm for dining out in Utah. While in Portlandia, we ate at a dozen different restaurants and began to see as a trend what has been an anomaly in Salt Lake City—a truly new style of cooking. America has always been a nation of meat-eaters— protein is the point of the main course. After years of talking about a shift away from our meat-centric cuisine, it seems that cutting-edge is here. Protein is not necessarily the star of the show anymore—chefs are showing a more ensemble approach to plates. Emphasis is on contrasting textures (instead of mouthcoating fat.) Chefs are celebrating the subtle aromatic
PARK CITY DONUTS. 118 CY NOODLE. . . . . . . . 120
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