And let me just say – they sell out exceptionally fast each and every year. Now in the ninth year, Eat Drink SLC is in my opinion the premier Summer food event on the dining calendar. Last year the event transformed from a yearly one off to a duo of sampling days – and 2023 will see the format return again. It makes for a calmer, more intimate evening and there’s still more than plenty to ooh and ahh over.
Held on September 13th and 14th at Tracy Aviary, EDSLC sees dozens of local restaurants plate up some impeccable samples; eat one, eat two, eat five. One ticket gets you entry and unlimited number of tastes. Last year I found myself meekly appearing before chef Viet Pham for one more taste of his latest dish. Please sir, can I have one more.
Each of the two evenings features different vendors (and requires a unique ticket purchase for each evening I should note) and the lineup is the strongest of any in the state. At the time of writing ticket holders will get to enjoy:
September 13th
- 3 Cups
- Avenues Proper
- Carson Kitchen
- Copper Onion
- Cucina Wine Bar
- Emigration Cafe
- Fácil Taqueria
- Fire & Slice Pizza
- Franklin Ave
- Hill’s Kitchen
- Nomad East
- Oquirrh
- Table X
- Twisted Tiramisu
- Yoko Ramen
September 14th
- Bambara
- Beehive Cheese
- Chop Shop Park City
- Eva Restaurant
- Flanker Kitchen & Sports Bar
- Hog & Tradition BBQ
- Ken Garff Scholarship Club
- The Local
- Park City Culinary Institute
- Provisions
- Stanza Wine Bar
- San Diablo Churros
The full list is still being finalized as I understand it, names like Whiskey Street, Urban Hill, Pretty Bird Chicken and Xiao Bao Bao should also feature on the final lineup, maybe more. Keep your eyes peeled on their site for a complete list.
The dining options on display are genuinely some of the cream of the crop in local dining. But that’s only half the story. A myriad of drink options are also poured each night, again, differing across the brace of parties. You can find a full list here. They include a mix of regional and national boutique wineries, as well as local distillers and brewers.
Proceeds from the event benefit a trio of beneficiaries, this year: Tracy Aciary, SB Dance and Women of the World – a grassroots organization dedicated to empowering refugee, immigrant, and asylum-seeking women and their families to achieve self-reliance as they make a new home in Salt Lake County.
The event sells out quickly each and every year. All attendees must be 21+ and must show ID at the door, with tickets priced $125 including food, drinks and a signature wineglass you can take home to toast the memories with.
Speaking of which, here are some of my own memories from years gone by. And yes, that’s me with the camera, probably snapping away far more than I should be eating. And yes, I have 100s of these…
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Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you! I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC; I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune. I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV shows.
I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have covered the Utah dining scene for the better part of fifteen years. 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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