Eat & Drink

Summer means fresh fruit, which translates into lovely, flavorful desserts. 350 Main mastermind Chef Matthew Safranek is now offering dessert specials with fresh ingredients from his garden. 350 Main, a Park City icon, has been dishing out old favorites with a modern twist for 20 years.

For these dessert specials, Chef Safranek uses sweet berries and juicy peaches to create elegant desserts that have the look and taste of summer.

Below is the Honey Cannelé (French pastry with soft custard center) with Goldbud peaches, lavender semifreddo, pistachios and lemon mousse.

Below is the Strawberry Macaron, made from a large macaron shell, homemade strawberry jam, homemade strawberry sorbet, strawberries and creme diplomate.

Look for a review of 350 Main in our upcoming September/October issue.

Imagine that it’s Thursday at 5:00. You’ve almost made it through an entire work week, but you need a little motivation to finish strong. How about tacos from one of the best Mexican joints in the city? Oh yeah, and the tacos are only $1. Starting Thursday, July 21, Alamexo is hosting $1 Taco nights every Thursday from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

The $1 tacos will only be served in Alamexo’s entryway bar. Each week will feature a special with choices of either a meat taco or a vegetarian option (or both). Featured drinks will also be served each week.

Here’s the taco/drink menu for this Thursday, July 21:

Menu for 7/21/2016:

Tacos de Puerco:  Shaved pork loin with mole manchamanteles and local apricot salsa: $1

Tacos de frijoles y queso Oaxaca:  Black beans seasoned with hoja santa, fried queso Oaxaca, and salsa molcajete: $1

Featured Drink – Peligroso:  Espolón Reposado, crème de cassis, lime, Crabbie’s ginger beer: $10

Check Alamexo’s website and Facebook page to stay updated on each Thursday’s specials. It’s a surefire way to get you through the week.

Alamexo Mexican Kitchen is located at 268 South State Street in downtown Salt Lake City.

alamexo.com

It seems that every month there is a new cocktail bar or restaurant opening in Salt Lake City. This is great news for foodies and cocktail nerds, and over the past two years or so, I have seen first-hand the cocktail consumer become more and more educated about the beauty of a well-crafted cocktail. Because of this, the Salt Lake City imbiber is expecting more from local bartenders — both from establishments that are new and passionate about craft cocktails, but also from those restaurants and bars that have been around a while. Truth be told, if you aren’t keeping up with the trends, you’ll get left in the dust.

Martine Cafe has been a Salt Lake City staple for over 15 years. If you consider the growth that Salt Lake City has been through in both the food and cocktail scene, I can only imagine what it has been like trying to keep up. However, a recent trip to Martine completely impressed me and it is obvious that they are doing whatever they can to continue to be leaders within the ever-changing food and beverage culture.

Martine’s cocktail menu features classics — that is, craft cocktails that are used as the building blocks for nearly all other creative cocktails that bartenders shake up. Without a knowledge of the classics, building a new cocktail with balance and perfected flavor profiles can be difficult.

Try the Corpse Reviver #2, above, (Beehive Jack Rabbit Gin, Lillet Blanc, fresh lemon, Cointreau, Absinthe rinse. The perfect cocktail for a hot summer day!) or the The Old Cuban (Abuelo Anejo 12 anos Rum, Mint, Lime, Cava).

You can also get a classic Boulevardier, Old Fashioned, or Manhattan. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t branching out. One of my favorite original cocktails right now is The Slow Burn (left, below), created by Martine manager Greg Fritz, (Knob Creek Bourbon, Aperol, Lillet Rouge, Bitters Lab Habanero Bitters). It is light and easy to sip, with a hint of spice that adds a wonderful complexity. In my sister’s words, “I just want to drink a few of these and talk about life.” Yeah, that is the response I can imagine most bartenders want to hear.

As a cocktail enthusiast and writer, it is pretty easy for me to know quickly if a bar program is resting on its laurels (pre-made, purchased mixers anyone?)….or if shaking (ahem, OR stirring) up new bevvys is an important part of their persona. And, the bar programs that are incorporating both classics and originals are the ones that get me really excited; it demonstrates a knowledge that I personally want my bartender to have. I would definitely check out Martine for a great cocktail — and it only helps that the food is pretty exceptional too.

Check out their Instagram feed for more info on cocktail specials and menu changes! @MartineCafe

Martine Cafe, 100 South 22 East, Salt Lake City , 801.363.9328

Best Slopeside Lunch

Everybody knows Deer Valley has the best food. It’s hard to go wrong at their restaurants, but Royal Street Café is tops in our book. Sitting outside Silver Lake Lodge on a sunny day is among the most enjoyable things in life. The legendary Deer Valley Turkey Chili is there, but it’s other items like the Bulgogi, Andouille Sausage and Shrimp Gumbo and the Crawfish Bisque that really tickle our fancy.

7600 Royal St., 435-645-6724.

Best (and only) Indian Breakfast

Houman Gohary’s Good Karma restaurant has received plenty of great press, but breakfast at this cozy Prospector spot is still slightly off the radar.  Wake up your senses with the Bollywood Burrito or Punjabi Eggs Masala, or go west with Huevos Rancheros or Challah French Toast. Good Karma is friendly and convenient; the lovely backyard patio is an added bonus.

1782 Prospector Ave. 435-658-0958

Delectable-est Pre-Dinner Bread Item

Fletcher’s Biscuits with Bacon Jam. Pre-dinner bread is essential to any over-eating at a restaurant experience, and Fletcher’s has nailed it. The homemade biscuits and bacon-infused jam are some of the finest hipster fare Park City has to offer. Chow down on these and choose one of the small plates for dinner. You won’t be disappointed.

435-562 Main St., 435-649-1111, fletcherspc.com

Most Surprisingly Delicious Breakfast

We don’t normally hunt for Sinclair signs—nor the signs of other major petroleum peddlers—when we’re after a gourmet breakfast, but the No Worries Café defies its location under the green dinosaur and serves up some of Summit County’s finest grub. The crowds waiting in the parking lot at the base of Summit Park every Saturday and Sunday don’t lie. Dante’s Inferno with sirloin tips and hot Italian sausage will knock the morning fog right out of you.

185 Aspen Dr., 435-658-5007,  noworriescafeandgrill.com

Best Bloody Mary

With nearly all four major food groups covered, Stein Eriksen’s Bloody Mary makes a meal.  Finlandia vodka, Absolut Pepper Vodka, limoncello, Stein’s housemade Bloody Mary Mix, celery, olive, peperoncini and bacon work together, delivering that signature complexity that keeps this cocktail at the top of our list.

Troll Hallen Restaurant Lounge at Stein Eriksen Lodge, 7700 Stein Way, 435-649-3700. steinlodge.com

“Best Traveled” Chocolate

If your idea of a balanced diet is artisan chocolate in each hand, Ritual Chocolate Factory and Café is a kind of nirvana—hand-crafted chocolate sourced from beans from Madagascar, Costa Rica, Belize, Ecuador and Peru, just to name a few. Ritual’s “beans to bar” method uses only two ingredients: carefully selected cacao and cane sugar, producing intense and complex flavors guests can sample in their café on Ironhorse (formerly the Lost Sock Laundry). Watch the chocolate churn out while sipping a cup of coffee, or join a factory tour ($10 Thursdays and Fridays at 6 p.m.) or coffee cupping ($10, second Saturdays at 1 pm).

1105 Ironhorse Drive, 435-200-8475. ritualchocolate.com