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.

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.

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