Eat & Drink

whoa. Where am I? L.A.? Silver Lake?  The wood floors, spare but civilized décor, friendly tattooed servers, counter service and the offer of CBD oil in any beverage certainly make you feel like you’ve walked into another civilization. The appeal of Em Gassman’s popular restaurant on a hill in Marmalade has always eluded me—its undeniable neighborhood charm, the patio views in the summer, the interesting sounding menu have always, on my visits, been undermined by lackadaisical service and inconsistent execution. Now Gassman has opened The Day Room. Same location, same space, but different hours and a different chef. Milo Carrier, cooking weekday lunch, weekend brunch and daily afternoon nibbles, is finally making the menu match the mood and Saturday brunch here was one of the most original and pleasing fast breaks I’ve had in Salt Lake City. 

Order at the counter, take your tea (black assam, green Chunmee, herbal or red), coffee (drip, macchiato, cortado, latte, etc.), Solstice hot chocolate or a hot shrub and wait at your self-selected table to be served. Look around. The place is filled with hipsters—bearded brewmaster-looking young men, young women in the requisite beanie or messy topknots. But in a pleasant deviance, no one is on their phone. 

And the food, when it comes, is extraordinary.

This menu is not like any other brunch menu in town. Take the French toast: a thick slice of multi-grain bread (and not the brick-heavy ’60s-style clunkers too often served as healthy bread), soaked in coffee cocoa-flavored cream, sauteed and topped with blood orange and red grapefruit sections and lots of little crunchy nibs—nuts, seeds, etc. You could probably leave it in a warm place and it would sprout. (But you won’t leave any of it.) Another standout—the potato waffles, crisp and more like a galette, with thick-cut bacon, fried onion, an egg and baby greens. Empanadas can be sweet or savory, filled with goat cheese and green chile. Smaller bites are available during the week—“The Normal,” crispy potato, egg, toast and cheese; house-made bagels; breakfast tostados. The menu segues into afternoon with a selection of wine, beer and savory bites. When we were there, Chef brought us a pot pie he was introducing to the menu—order it. The Day Room is a neighborhood treasure. 

IF YOU GO

• Address:  271 N. Center St., SLC
• Web: dayroomandems.com
• Phone: 801-596-0566
• Entrees: $-$$

Green, pink, red, candy-striped, round, oblong, big or little—name a descriptor and you’ll find a radish to match. In American supermarkets, though, you’ll usually only find the little round red ones. But they’re easy to grow and can be replanted several times during a season, so if you like to dig in the dirt, you can taste all kinds of radishes, from mild to peppery, in a single season. 

Tips from Wasatch Community Gardens’ Amber Nichols:
Try different varieties for a span of colors and varied spiciness. With so many options, like “French Breakfast”, “White Icicle,” “Cherry Belle” or the stunning multicolored “Watermelon,” you’re sure to find something that you fancy. Don’t go crazy with planting a ton at once. Planting 10-20 every week or two (we call this “succession planting”) will keep you flush in radishes without being overwhelmed, or leaving them in the ground too long to harvest and getting a woody texture.

The question is, what do you do with your harvest? Most of us have encountered them, washed and trimmed, on a relish tray where they make a tasty contrast with the carrot and celery sticks and little pickles. But there are lots of other ways to eat a radish.

1. Slice radishes onto thin-sliced French bread and spread thickly with excellent sea salt.
2. Toss halved radishes in olive oil and thyme; roast on a baking sheet until tender but firm.
3. Don’t toss the greens—wash them well, chop them (discarding any really tough stems). Quarter the radishes, sauté the chopped bacon and garlic, and add the radishes. Cook until almost tender, then add the greens and cook until wilted.

Grove Deli was carved (see what I did there) out of the family-owned specialty food market founded by Greek immigrant, Pete Savas, in 1947.  The original business idea was for a neighborhood grocery/produce store which Pete’s children could learn to manage as they grew. Pete died in 1953, his family took over the store as he had dreamed and still run it. In the early 1970s, the family decided to add services to the neighborhood corner-store. A deli was constructed within the building by friends and family, which has since proved to become one of the most well-known little secrets in Salt Lake City.

It’s all about the sandwiches. The Big John is the famous one. Few people remember the term “Dagwood” (go ahead, Google it) but the Big John is a version
of that.

Seven deli meats stacked with Swiss and American cheese, all the trimmings: mayo, mustard, lettuce, tomato, pickle, Swiss, American, or Provolone Cheese, and peperocini peppers (on the side). Hass avocado may be added to any sandwich for a surcharge; red onion and jalapenos at no charge. Add bacon for $1.50 and your choice of breads: specialty large “Ambassador Rolls” in rye, French, sourdough or wheat.

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The spontaneous and unlikely friendship formed on an impromptu road trip no one would have called a good idea resulted in a bar that sums up the attitude and history of Ogden. When musician Sam Smith (yes, that Sam Smith) and newly widowed Melissa Peterson met, they were both at one of those life intersections without a clue which fork in the road to take. Then Peterson found the old space in Ogden, decided to open a bar and called on her old traveling companion, Ogden native Smith to join her.

Neither had owned a bar before.

Yes hell. As in hell yes only, well I guess you had to be there. Yes hell.

And inside joke between the two became a hot spot in Ogden with red velvet wallpaper and Western antiques, left the brick walls and oak floors and harsh, exposed island. A menu of craft cocktails and locally sourced veg-based food makes the place sound like all the other  contemporary cool joints, but the feel is more honky-tonk than hip and the music lineup is impressive. The Yes Hell, 2430 Grant Ave., Ogden, 801-903-3671

Crisp Paring Knives

Prepping food never looked so good. Form, function and healthy-eating intersect with Crisp’s new collection of fruit and vegetable cooking tools.

Harmon’s Grocery at Emigration Market, SLC, $10/each

E-cloth

Nope, this isn’t an app. This “e” refers to the “charge” these microfiber cloths get when wet that attracts particles of dirt, grease, grime, even bacteria and mold. 

Bosch Kitchen Center, Sandy, $9

Food Huggers

Finally, a way to save the other half of a pepper or tomato without bulky storage containers or environmentally-unfriendly baggies.

Sur La Table at Fashion Place, Murray, $10/ set of 4.

Wide Spatula

The deep oar of this spatula takes the work out of scooping. The steel-and-silicone pair offers both rigidity and flexibility.

Bosch Kitchen Center, Sandy, $9/each

Butterie

Store your butter up to three weeks at room temperature without refrigeration inside this BPA-free silicone butter dish. Smooth like buttah.

Bosch Kitchen Center, Sandy, $13

Avocado Hugger

Answering every avo-obsessed eater’s lifelong question, “How do I keep it from browning?”

Williams Sonoma at Trolley Square, $8/set of 2

Zavor Lux Multi-Cooker

America’s Test Kitchen and Good Housekeeping stamp their seal of approval on the Zavor because it’s a slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker and veggie steamer. Beat that, Instant Pot.

Bosch Kitchen Center, Sandy, $200 for 8 quart

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