As the year 2011 opens and begins to roar forward, a mention to one of Salt Lake's greatest achievements in culinary art. Meditrina has a menu that reflects the current trend in tapas dining. It seems that the chef duo at the restaurant have taken otherwise plain items and moulded them into delicacies.
When you enter the pocket size restaurant you are always greeted by a warm and inviting hostess. The next step was a little more daunting. After being greeted the guest is given a rough estimate for a wait time and kindly ushered to the waiting, well, "area" --for the lack of better description. The small size of the restaurant limits the amount of space it can offer it's prospective guests which can be somewhat invasive into the diners experience. If there are quite a few parties waiting for tables it seems more or less as if you are standing on top of the table or two situated parallel to the waiting area. However uncomfortable it may be to sit at the elbows of the diners it is very much worth the wait. Enjoy a glass of wine or a beer while you wait for your wry own cozy table. Once seated the scrabble-tile server will greet you and tell you about what specials the kitchen has for the evening.
The wine list has a selection on par with the menu and has an easy to read feel. The only problem is: which wine do I get. That question is answered with the specials menu. This menu has a special 3 ounce pour trinity. Each of which has a different role to play in your meal. Wine is offered by the glass but for larger parties of like-minded drinkers there is a great selection of wine by te bottle. Another virtue of the wine list is the two pour size options. A 3 ounce "half" pour and a 5 ounce pour. In addition to the fantastic wine option come a list of both local and "imported" beer.
Once you've chosen the glass of wine or beer to begin your dinner, the next step is to determine how to delve into the creative and inspired morsels. My last visit began with what many would consider an entrée, however a light cheese dish seemed more appropriate. Brie and a blend of mushrooms served with a delicious bruschetta. Each bite of the delicious cows milk delight mixed with an encore of mushroom give the pallette reason to dance. Each subsequent course would be a succession of flavour trails into ultimate taste bud exhaustion. That is no to say it will be the end of your life as you know it however it most certainly leave you wanting more. Some o my favourite dishes include the barbecue prawns over a cheddar polenta, the crab stuffed pequillo peppers, and the duck with mapled apples. A must do dinner with a friendly staff and inventive food.
How can we end the discussion without addressing dessert. The most popular of the small dessert menu is the drunken Oreos. This wine soaked cookie served with vanilla ice cream and a port reduction has a bitter, sweet, and creamy finish to end the night well. Try them and beware: they are addicting.
Eat well and drink well, but always remember good food is worth the price.
Meditrina
1389 South West Temple Street
Open nightly from 5:00.
This restaurant can be done on the scant but is best enjoyed as a splurge for a leteral food-gasm.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Pago
Below are photos from the new Salt Lake eatery, Pago. Trendy little places have been popping up around the city for the past few years. With some failing to capture the hearts and minds of the popular crowd here in the city. While Pago has so much to offer good old SLC I feel it has a few kinks to work out.
Before we tackle the kinks, I would like to commend the chef of Pago for creating a menu that flows well and blends with the wine selection. I enjoyed the curried vegetable soup. That brought a rush of flavor and joy to my pallette. It was a masterpiece in culinary art, giving all who dared try it a flury that soup rarely give. To complent my entrée, the poached albacore tuna salad sandwich, I chose a glass of 2007 Latour Poully-Fuisse Burgundy. This wine had an abundance of floral notes as well a hint of the oak barrel this wine spent time in. Together the tuna and the burgundy made the meal complete. Yet as I enjoyed my meal, my colleague had the pasta. It was overpowered by basil and oregano giving the delicious first bite a strong and foul after taste. That however can be remedied with a great thing: taste the food before it goes out. If the seasonings are off, you can catch it. However I will grant that Pago is new and has those kinks to work out.
The menu at Pago rivals many other establishments in the popular 9th and 9th neighborhood of Salt Lake City, yet the originality of the place lacks the merit of a mainstay restaurant. Many of the physical traits of the eatery hint at originality but nothing too extraordinary. Storage of wine and liquor brings to mind the wine cellars of old -brick cubbies with stacks of wine and liquors- minus the brick and enter glass. Which overall makes convenient usability nearly impossible. Another of Pago's misses are the ridiculous starched aprons the servers don. These cumbersome things make easy travel through the compact dining room(s) a mere dream. The friendly service staff gave 101% effort to lug their aprons around the room.
Pago is worth a try if you can deal with over seasoned pasta and floor length starched denim aprons. It might be worth the effort if only you partake in one of their wonderful wines.
Pago
846 South 900 East
SLC, Utah
Although the dining room was compact-to-the-max, the overall ambiance was there. Ot was in the creative handle-less coffee mugs, the flatware, and decent stemware topped off with a rustic-chic décor: original brick, an abundance of barn wood, and who can forget the denim aprons (as awkward as they were they fit).
Lunch that day was interesting to say the least, yet with a few flaws fixed Pago might just become the place to be in the 9th and 9th District.
Before we tackle the kinks, I would like to commend the chef of Pago for creating a menu that flows well and blends with the wine selection. I enjoyed the curried vegetable soup. That brought a rush of flavor and joy to my pallette. It was a masterpiece in culinary art, giving all who dared try it a flury that soup rarely give. To complent my entrée, the poached albacore tuna salad sandwich, I chose a glass of 2007 Latour Poully-Fuisse Burgundy. This wine had an abundance of floral notes as well a hint of the oak barrel this wine spent time in. Together the tuna and the burgundy made the meal complete. Yet as I enjoyed my meal, my colleague had the pasta. It was overpowered by basil and oregano giving the delicious first bite a strong and foul after taste. That however can be remedied with a great thing: taste the food before it goes out. If the seasonings are off, you can catch it. However I will grant that Pago is new and has those kinks to work out.
The menu at Pago rivals many other establishments in the popular 9th and 9th neighborhood of Salt Lake City, yet the originality of the place lacks the merit of a mainstay restaurant. Many of the physical traits of the eatery hint at originality but nothing too extraordinary. Storage of wine and liquor brings to mind the wine cellars of old -brick cubbies with stacks of wine and liquors- minus the brick and enter glass. Which overall makes convenient usability nearly impossible. Another of Pago's misses are the ridiculous starched aprons the servers don. These cumbersome things make easy travel through the compact dining room(s) a mere dream. The friendly service staff gave 101% effort to lug their aprons around the room.
Pago is worth a try if you can deal with over seasoned pasta and floor length starched denim aprons. It might be worth the effort if only you partake in one of their wonderful wines.
Pago
846 South 900 East
SLC, Utah
Although the dining room was compact-to-the-max, the overall ambiance was there. Ot was in the creative handle-less coffee mugs, the flatware, and decent stemware topped off with a rustic-chic décor: original brick, an abundance of barn wood, and who can forget the denim aprons (as awkward as they were they fit).
Lunch that day was interesting to say the least, yet with a few flaws fixed Pago might just become the place to be in the 9th and 9th District.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Summer of 2009
Hi all,
This summer has been super busy eating and writing etc that I haven't taken the time to post many reviews.
However, I have a stockpile of them from throughout the summer. From now on and through the next few days before school starts I'll post more of them.
Thanks for looking and reading.
This summer has been super busy eating and writing etc that I haven't taken the time to post many reviews.
However, I have a stockpile of them from throughout the summer. From now on and through the next few days before school starts I'll post more of them.
Thanks for looking and reading.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Eva ~ Downtown SLC
As culture in Salt Lake grows, so do our options as consumers to experience a great night out. At Salt Lake’s flourishing and widely popular tapas restaurant, Eva (314 South Main), diners get an exclusive chance to do what most only dream of. Eva offers ambiance, gastro-pleasure, and best of all it is cheap.
Cheap, some would say, is a questionable word, however the most appropriate to capture the attention of not only the hip 20-30 something crowd but also for anyone affected by the current economic stag mire. (By the way, it is affecting EVERYONE, including you.) The average small plate, or tapas, is around $8-10, with their specials running only a few dollars more. A must-have and my favorite dish is the gnocchi served in a light cream sauce with peas and shallot potatoes. In addition to Eva’s cheap food, the alcohol list is very reasonably priced and decently extensive. A beer list that has multiple “liquor store” level bottles is trumped only by the Bayou. Eva also offers a respectable wine list and offers a wide selection of specialty cocktails.
This little eatery is sweeping popular culture in Salt Lake; anyone who is out and about has either heard of or eaten there multiple times. Ambiance at Eva is a force all other tapas restaurants will have to reckon with. A perfectly lit space that has twenty foot industrial-esque ceilings, grey walls adorned with minimal local art, and simply set tables give Salt Lake a taste of big city chic. The table arrangement is comfortable and appropriately arranged to promote groups of virtually any size to enjoy the cheap and exquisite menu. Each table boasts a single candle, a minimalistic vase with a single trademark daisy, and a casual silverware/napkin setting. Being at a central and perfect downtown location Eva is in very close proximity to: the Gallivan Trax station, big business, Temple Square, Energy Solutions, Abravanel Hall, etc.
Dinner service begins at 5:30 pm and runs to 10:00 pm, bringing the trendy crowds as well as the run of the mill people. It is at dinner the best ambiance can be enjoyed, not to mention the larger dinner menu. Eva also serves a great lunch menu from 10:30 am to 2:00 pm; however, it is much too comfortable for the quick lunch and dash back to the office, although plenty of business-folk stop in at the lunch hour. In addition to the lunch and dinner hours, Eva does what most don’t: they offer a Happy Hour (more like Happy “3” Hours). During this late night sprawl, the menu dwindles to wood-oven baked pizzas, side plates, and the alcohol menu (at least until 1:00 am). Eva offers a one up to many other downtown establishments; they also offer their Happy Hour menu at the neighborhood bar next door. Cheers to You is a mainstay of downtown nightlife and now has a great ally in Eva. The patrons who call in phone orders from Cheers to Eva get barstool service. Their food is delivered to you. These delivered take-outs are payable by cash only. The Happy Hour can last all night or if business is slow that night, it might end a bit earlier.
The staff at Eva is more or less efficient. With one chef behind the counter cooking all food for the restaurant, it is possible to wait a fair amount of time for your food. The waitresses are always friendly and do their jobs well. It is worth your breath requesting them if they are available or even waiting for them to become so. The new talk of the town is Eva and is quickly becoming the must-do for Salt Lake night life.
Eva “Casual Fine Dining”
314 South Main
Salt Lake City, Ut
Lunch: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
–Dinner: 5:30 pm -10:00 pm
–Happy Hour: 10:30pm – 1:00 am
Cheap, some would say, is a questionable word, however the most appropriate to capture the attention of not only the hip 20-30 something crowd but also for anyone affected by the current economic stag mire. (By the way, it is affecting EVERYONE, including you.) The average small plate, or tapas, is around $8-10, with their specials running only a few dollars more. A must-have and my favorite dish is the gnocchi served in a light cream sauce with peas and shallot potatoes. In addition to Eva’s cheap food, the alcohol list is very reasonably priced and decently extensive. A beer list that has multiple “liquor store” level bottles is trumped only by the Bayou. Eva also offers a respectable wine list and offers a wide selection of specialty cocktails.
This little eatery is sweeping popular culture in Salt Lake; anyone who is out and about has either heard of or eaten there multiple times. Ambiance at Eva is a force all other tapas restaurants will have to reckon with. A perfectly lit space that has twenty foot industrial-esque ceilings, grey walls adorned with minimal local art, and simply set tables give Salt Lake a taste of big city chic. The table arrangement is comfortable and appropriately arranged to promote groups of virtually any size to enjoy the cheap and exquisite menu. Each table boasts a single candle, a minimalistic vase with a single trademark daisy, and a casual silverware/napkin setting. Being at a central and perfect downtown location Eva is in very close proximity to: the Gallivan Trax station, big business, Temple Square, Energy Solutions, Abravanel Hall, etc.
Dinner service begins at 5:30 pm and runs to 10:00 pm, bringing the trendy crowds as well as the run of the mill people. It is at dinner the best ambiance can be enjoyed, not to mention the larger dinner menu. Eva also serves a great lunch menu from 10:30 am to 2:00 pm; however, it is much too comfortable for the quick lunch and dash back to the office, although plenty of business-folk stop in at the lunch hour. In addition to the lunch and dinner hours, Eva does what most don’t: they offer a Happy Hour (more like Happy “3” Hours). During this late night sprawl, the menu dwindles to wood-oven baked pizzas, side plates, and the alcohol menu (at least until 1:00 am). Eva offers a one up to many other downtown establishments; they also offer their Happy Hour menu at the neighborhood bar next door. Cheers to You is a mainstay of downtown nightlife and now has a great ally in Eva. The patrons who call in phone orders from Cheers to Eva get barstool service. Their food is delivered to you. These delivered take-outs are payable by cash only. The Happy Hour can last all night or if business is slow that night, it might end a bit earlier.
The staff at Eva is more or less efficient. With one chef behind the counter cooking all food for the restaurant, it is possible to wait a fair amount of time for your food. The waitresses are always friendly and do their jobs well. It is worth your breath requesting them if they are available or even waiting for them to become so. The new talk of the town is Eva and is quickly becoming the must-do for Salt Lake night life.
Eva “Casual Fine Dining”
314 South Main
Salt Lake City, Ut
Lunch: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
–Dinner: 5:30 pm -10:00 pm
–Happy Hour: 10:30pm – 1:00 am
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