Flavors of New Zealand and Mexico star at these upcoming dinners

Urban Hill Te Mata Estate wine dinner

March 13th, 6.00 p.m. | Post District

Following their recent win of Outstanding Restaurant of 2023 in the Salt Lake Magazine dining awards, Nick Zocco and his team are back at it. For their first major wine dinner of 2024, Urban Hill (pictured top) is linking up with Te Mata Estate. Zocco’s menu takes plenty of regional cues from the New Zealand-based winery with salmon, venison, and lamb all sourced from the same terroir.

Cost for the dinner is $160 per person ($95 food, $65 wine) and tickets can be purchased online via Resy. Menu as follows:

• Welcome of gougère, brie, chamomile honey
  • Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2022
• Big Glory Bay salmon crudo, pickled shimeji mushroom, sun-dried tomato & preserved lemon marmalade, basil aquafaba foam
  • Elston Chardonnay 2021
• New Zealand venison tenderloin, mustard greens, smoked beet chutney, sauce au poivre
  • Bullnose Syrah 2020
• New Zealand lamb chop, fire-roasted cabbage, sweet potato, miso-pomegranate glaze
  • Awatea Cabernet 2018
• Passion fruit and kiwi pavlova, mango, berries

Scion Cider x Cactus Eater

March 13th, 7.30 p.m. | Central 9th

On the same evening, another captivating menu, this time from chef Daniel Moreland. Moreland – most recently chef at Bodega + The Rest – has gone out on his own and this popup at Scion Cider looks fabulous. Operating under the name of Cactus Eater, Moreland’s menu taps Mexican flavor to produce a menu titled “burnt”:

• Charred fennel bulb, arugula espuma, cumin roasted beets, fermented citrus, mint, black pepper and fennel frond meringue
• Chochos and caviar, roots and squashes, heirloom masa, crème fraiche, egg yolk jam, leek ash
• Juniper duck confit tamale, “stain-the-tablecloth” molé, heirloom masa, purslane, blackened pineapple
• Pork belly, fermented blackberry, burnt leeks, smoked leek soubise, sweet potato
• Oaxacan crema semifreddo, grilled lime, black bean sabayon, dulce de frijol, cocoa & cardamom crisps

The five course menu will be paired by select ciders from Scion, unveiled to guests on the night itself. Cost is $100 per person, tickets can be purchased online.

Franck’s Jeepers Champagne dinner

March 13th, 6.00 p.m. | Cottonwood Heights

One more for the same Wednesday evening – this five-course offering from Franck’s – paired with bubbles. Tickets are available online via OpenTable or over the phone. The cost is $150 per person, or $110 for food only. Menu as follows:

• Slow roasted sweet onion, black & white garlic, chive- lemon beurre vert, lemon cured salmon roe, tangled onion
  • Cocktail pairing TBD
• Chilled licorice rubbed Pekin duck, “gingerbread” consommé, freeze-dried strawberry XO, duck fat-cracker, strawberry charcoal duck fat
  • Jeeper Grand Rose Brut
• 100 degree sablefish, sunflower variations, pickled mussel Champagne sauce, pedals
  • Jeeper Blanc de Blanc
• Dry aged Rocky Mountain bison filet, confit endive, parmesan, pomme puree, blonde bordelaise, golden raisin conserve, parmesan “cracker jack”
  • Jeeper Blanc de Noir
• Honey butter brioche, rosemary caramel, salt sweet cream, crystalized rosemary

BTG sommelier selections dinner

March 19th, 7.00 p.m. | Downtown SLC

At this sommelier selection wine dinner, BTG’s Louis Koppel will talk to guests about the following unique wines:

• Zaha, “Calcaire” Blanc de Blanc Brut, NV Mendoza, Argentina
• Savage Grace, Skin-Contact Gewurztraminer, Columbia Gorge, `22 WA
• Laurent Fayolle, Syrah, Crozes-Hermitage, `22 France
• Alana, “Autumn”  `12  Tokaj, Hungary

The assuredly special pours will be served alongside cuisine prepared by sister business Caffe Molise. Four courses, four pairings, the cost is $120 per person ($60 food, $60 wine). Call (801) 359-2814 for reservations.

Art & Soup

March 27th and 28th

Back for 2024 is this popular fundraiser for Community Nursing Services (CNS). This year is extra special with the event celebrating it’s 35th year. Proceeds benefit charitable health care, hospice care, and medical services for individuals in need throughout Utah.  Participating restaurants include:

• Cakes de Fleur
• Cuisine Unlimited
• Current Fish & Oyster
• Grounds For Coffee
• Great Harvest Bread Co.
• Laurel Brasserie & Bar
• Lucky’s Iron Door
• Soup Kitchen
• Salt Lake Culinary Education
• The Ridge
• Village Inn
• Vosen’s Bread Paradise

The two-day event will be hosted at the Mountain America Expo Center in Sandy. Tickets are $30 at the door. If you buy your tickets in advance, you can use the 15% off promo code: SAVE15. Lunch sessions are 11.00 a.m. – 2.00 p.m. with dinner 5.00 – 9.00 p.m.

Avenues Proper

March 27th, 6.00 p.m. | Avenues

The next dinner in AP’s long-running cellar series of beer pairing dinners. A four-course meal will be served paired with a variety of cellared beers from some of Utah’s finest brewers. Call the restaurant at (385) 227-8628 for reservations. The cost is $65 ($40 food, $25 beer) with the menu as follows:

• Chilled borscht goat cheese, fresh herbs, pine nuts
  • 2 Row Dangereaux Brett Saison 2018
• Fennel-cured herring, creme fraiche, watermelon radish, beer crackers
  • Epic Elder Brett #11 – 2017
• Smoked roast beef, rye buns, arugula, horseradish crema, tomato jam
  • Uinta Brett Tripel – 2017
• Spicy s’mores house graham cracker, toasted marshmallow meringue, milk chocolate, candied cayenne
  • Uinta Hopscursion – 2017

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Stuart Melling

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.