Alamexo – table side guac
Alamexo Cantina
Newly opened sister restaurant to downtown’s Alamexo, Alamexo Cantina in the 9th and 9th area is acting upon customer demand by bringing up some “must-have” menu items from the downtown location and creating some all-new dishes for both lunch and dinner, which are now offered as separate menus. Lunch is served from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. and the new dinner menu starts at 3 p.m.
At dinner, the Para la Table offerings from their downtown location include popular selections of their classic table-prepared guacamole and guacamole verde con carnitas. Starter courses new to the Cantina menu are queso fundido, cantina nachos and quesadilla grande.
The Platos Principales are now centered around guest favorites of enchiladas and tacos and all entrees are now served with rice and beans for the table. Transplanted dishes from downtown include the enchiladas suizas with roasted pulled chicken in a tomatillo cream sauce; enchiladas mole poblano with pulled chicken adobo with traditional mole poblano. New enchilada dishes include the carnitas con salsa verde with tender pork carnitas, the jaiba y camarones with lump crab and gulf shrimp, hongos y queso with wild mushrooms and Oaxaca cheese, and the con queso y aguacate with mashed avocado and melted Chihuahua cheese.
Alamexo Cantina – tacos
Tacos that traveled to the Cantina per customer demand include the tacos de pollo y adobo with chicken in chipotle adobo, tacos pescado mixtos with wild mahi mahi filet and gulf shrimp, and tacos barbarcoa with tres chile beef barbacoa. Tacos new to the dinner menu are the al pastor de Alamexo with braised and pulled pork, vegetales with roasted cauliflower and seasonal vegetables and Carne Asada with adobo marinated steak.
A Cantina salad with romaine hearts, baby spinach, tomato, avocado and jĭcama can be made into a meal by adding adobo chicken or beef barbacoa. Lados (or sides) include the Cantina favorites of papas y chile molido, smashed russet potatoes, platanos con crema, fried ripe sweet plantains; elotes de la Calle, Mexican street corn off the cob with lime aioli, queso fresco and chile molido or Coliflor, roasted cauliflower with chile recado.
The lunch menu reflects the new dinner menu – bringing customer raves from downtown, keeping some guest favorites from September 2017’s opening and adding some new options. Instead of offering shared plates, each entrée stands alone. The lunch portions are slightly smaller for lunch and priced accordingly.
Starter courses of Alamexo classic guacamole and guacamole con carnitas (with crispy pork carnitas) can be mixed with lados (sides) for a meal, or just be a whistle wetter for the Platos Principales. Hailing from the downtown location are the enchiladas suizas, enchiladas mole poblano and the tacos de pollo y adobo. Cantina favorites of tacos pescado mixtos and barbacoa are included alongside new dishes of tacos vegetales, tacos carne asada and the Cantina salad with an option of adding chipotle shrimp or adobo chicken. Sides available for mixing and matching include Platanos con Crema, Elotes la Calle and Coliflor. GM Susan Bouldin writes
Alamexo – interior looking out onto patio
Our customers wanted a distinctly different menu for lunch at the Cantina, much like they experience in our downtown location. And they were outspoken that they wanted their own entrée selections instead of the shared plate format we started with, so we have portioned and priced their favorites accordingly for individual ordering ease.
We’re happy to still offer some of our guests’ favorites in our more casual Cantina setting in the iconic 9th and 9th District. We’re also chomping at the bit to open our lovely patio now that spring is here.
1059 East 900 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84105
(801) 658-5859
alamexocantina.com
Caffe Niche: exterior
Cafe Niche
Café Niche’s chef Andy Morrison is offering a new special $30 dinner menu of three courses nightly. Monday through Saturday from 4 p.m. with offerings changing weekly in April. Cost per person is $30 and does not include beverages, tax or gratuity. Wine pairings will be offered tableside by the knowledgeable staff. Café Niche is closed for dinner on Sunday evenings.
Chef Morrison’s March dinners start with a choice of daily soup or Niche salad and end with dessert choices of affogato – espresso, daily gelato and a house made cookie; or her house made sorbet. Café Niche’s special menus for the rest of the month are as follows:
April 16-21
Lamb tacos – lamb, blackened potatoes, Brussels sprouts, peppadews and chimichurri with a side salad
Aprl 23-28
Salmon niçoise – seared salmon, spring mix, roasted potatoes, asparagus, green olives, red onion, lemon vinaigrette, tomatoes, basil and Andy’s killer deviled eggs
779 East 300, Salt Lake City, UT 84102
(801) 433-3380
caffeniche.com
Copper Kitchen – halibut from Spring menu (Copper Kitchen)
Copper Kitchen
Holladay’s Copper Kitchen recently unveiled a range of updates to their menu for Spring. First up announced over on Facebook a new happy hour:
Happy Hour is nearly here! Half off select menu items from 5-6pm every Sunday through Thursday – Come by and check out our new spring menu and cocktails while you’re here!
Which leads us neatly to those new Spring dishes as well – including the pictured halibut with asparagus, red potatoes, pickled mustard seeds, and mustard creme fraiche. Other dishes include several new pasta items including a diavola pasta with grilled shrimp, house tagliatelle, chipotle diavola sauce, fines herbs, & crispy capers. Stop by their Facebook page for more info.
4640 S 2300 E #102, Holladay, UT 84117
(385) 237-3159
copperkitchenslc.com
Rice Eccles Theater – Delta performance hall
Cuisine Unlimited
With the uber-popular Hamilton production now in town, Cuisine Unlimited are offering a special dinner menu at their onsite restaurant – Encore Bistro.
Available starting two hours before performances in the Delta Hall the menu is offered until May 6th. The three course dinner menu is priced at $32.50 per person, menu as follows:
Cuisine Unlimited – Hamilton special menu
131 Main St, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
(385) 468-1010
cuisineunlimited.com/encorebistro
Meditrina – breakfast bowl scramble from their new Sunday brunch (Meditrina)
Meditrina
For April Meditrina has launched new lunch hours; Tuesday through Friday 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. with a Utah Happy Hour from 3-5. Some highlights include:
Sandwiches
* Mushrooms & brie burger – famous mushrooms & brie, gem lettuce, mayo, buttered bun; Gluten Free avail, $14
* Roasted veggie, carrots, peppers, onions, roasted beet hummus, balsamic, arugula, toasted bun, $12
* BBQ shrimp po’ boy, aioli, gem lettuce, tomato, onion, BBQ butter, baguette; Gluten Free avail, $14
* Korean BBQ pork belly, sautéed kimchi, mayo, buttered bun, $12
* House chorizo meatball, caramelized onions, spicy tomato red pepper cream sauce, baguette; Gluten Free avail, $12
Entrees
* Penne & goat cheese, tomato, asparagus, scallions, herbed olive oil; Vegan avail, $12, add chicken $4, add grilled shrimp, $6
* Grilled Utah trout, cheddar grits, wilted greens, seasonal vegetable, lemon crema, $14
* “Brick” or fried chicken, boneless brined breast, whipped scallion potatoes, seasonal vegetable, $14
In addition to the new lunch menu and hours, chef and owner Jen Gilroy is also debuting a new Utah Happy Hour menu – 3 snacks for $10 – 3 p.m – 5 p.m.
See Meditrina’s website for even more lunch items including Meditrina’s range of small plates. Lastly lunch is also joined by their recent brunch addition which offers $3 mimosas too!
165 W 900 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
(801) 485-2055
meditrinaslc.com
Oasis Cafe – a nightly special from a previous week (Oasis Cafe)
Oasis Cafe
Chef de cuisine Efren Benitez is cooking a up special three course set menus priced at just $30 through April. Dining on Oasis Café’s flower-laden patio is now open, weather permitting too.
Oasis Cafe’s April 3-Course $30 specials come with a starter course of soup or salad, end with a delicious dessert and change weekly:
April 16–22
Grilled chicken over herb risotto with chili oil and a fennel & tomato salad. Tri-chocolate cheesecake for dessert
April 23–29
Sliced beef tenderloin with port reduction, mashed potatoes and crispy quinoa with spinach. Final course is Oasis Café’s strawberry roulade cake
151 S 500 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84102
(801) 322-0404
oasiscafeslc.com
Other items
Element Bistro – now open for lunch.
Oh Mai – Rumor has it this much loved Vietnamese banh mi restaurant is rolling out a new vegan friendly sandwich soon. The Barbecue jackfruit banh mi is expected any day soon.
Tin Angel – Also getting in on the Hamilton buzz is this downtown SLC eatery. The restaurant is offering a special cocktail – Angelica’s Revelation – with Sugarhouse Silver Rum, sugarcane, mint and lime. Also, show your Hamilton tickets for a free bread pudding before the show too!
Ogden Restaurant Week – As mentioned last week, this event is now in full swing till April 21st. Check out the great deals here:
https://www.visitogden.com/restaurantweek/
Food talk
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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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