The venerable Cafe Madrid is shortly set to re-open at it’s new location, 5244 S. Highland Drive, Holladay. While the new larger building (pictured left) also promises to be occupied by a new chef, the tapas style approach is expected to remain the same.
Finca
In a similar vein, Scott Evans of Pago, recently indicated to the Salt Lake Tribune, that his latest outing will be of Spanish influence:
It will be located in a new development on the northeast corner of 1300 South and 1100 East. A few weeks ago the developer tore down the old Dairy Queen to make way for the project.
Evans said the food at Finca, which means farm/vineyard, will be “contemporary Spanish-influenced cuisine utilizing seasonal and local ingredients.” The prices will be around $8-$14 for lunch and $12 to $20 for dinner.
The projected opening date is January 2012, if construction stays on schedule. (which it never does.)
Pago’s executive chef, Mike Richie, will take on more responsibility, overseeing the menu and training cooks and sous chefs at both restaurants.
Finca will seat about 75, (this includes 20 private dining seats that will be closed off most nights) with 15 bar/counter seats.
Better Burger
Food trucks in SLC go from strength to strength. The most recent one I came across is Better Burger featuring local beef and local buns: “All hamburgers are a quarter pound and come from grass-fed cows raised in Southeastern UT! All buns are by Stoneground Bakery, right here in SLC.
http://betterburgertruck.squarespace.com/menu/
New opening from Copper Onion team
Finally, GastronomicSLC contributor and fellow food blogger Ryan recently reported on a new exciting restaurant from the folks at The Copper Onion:
I spoke with Ryan Lamon, the current sous chef at the Copper Onion a few days ago. Sounds like they are making headway on opening their new restaurant just about a 1/4 block east of their current location (in the old Sicilia Pizza location).
The new restaurant will be Southeast Asian-inspired, featuring dishes and flavors from Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, and Vietnam. I excitedly asked him if he was going to feature a Singapore Crab dish. He says he wants to, but so far has struggled to find a distributor that can bring crab into Utah that meets his high standards of freshness and taste.
Ryan Lamon, who has extensive experience cooking Asian dishes while in New York, has been named the executive chef of the new restaurant. He was mum on the name, but says they are on track to open mid-October.
Exciting times!
Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you! I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC. I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have written in myopic detail about the Salt Lake City dining scene for the better part of seventeen years.
I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV. Pause those credits, yep, that’s me! I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune. I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand. What they’re saying about me: “Not inaccurate”, “I thought he was older”, “I don’t share his feelings”.
Want to know more? This is why I am the way I am.
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