The best dishes I ate in Utah this year

One more recap to finish the year with, and my favorite, a look back at what plates lodged most firmly in my amygdala. The following dishes all left an indelible imprint, and should you be looking for something new to dig into in the new year, you might want to begin here.

Wisteria

Tuna handroll

Back in April, I enjoyed a remarkable popup (within Bar Nohm) by chef Ben Steigers. For those lucky enough to snag seats, the Edomae-style omakase experience was a stunning tour de force. Impeccable ingredients treated with minimal fuss and exacting precision.

The meal ends with a decadent tuna handroll, Steigers rendering fat in real-time from a tuna carcass (pictured top of the page). This laces the roll with a slick umami richness, and of course, there’s caviar on top – because that’s what we do these days. It’s sublime. The whole evening was a testbed for what Steigers hopes to bring to SLC as a permanent installation this year. I’m tremendously excited about this one, and so should you – read about it here.

Bhansa Ghar

Gongura chicken

Skip the cream-based kormas and masala, and dig into this unique prep from South Salt Lake’s Bhansa Ghar. What this dish might lack in visuals, it more than makes up for in layered flavor. The jade green sauce relies on sorrel (gongura) to power proceedings, the leaves imparting a tongue-arresting sourness to the curry. Lest you worry, the unique profile never sags into bitter. Onion and tomato play their part too, helping balance things with a note of sweetness. There’s an assertive tanginess that brings you back again and again, indeed there’s an almost medicinal quality to the nuanced gravy.

Felt Bar & Eatery

Crab cakes

Previously a star of the Main Street restaurant special’s menu – these jumbo lump crab cakes have now leaped onto the regular menu. Priced at twenty bucks for a duo, the loosely packed crabby patties are remarkable. Binder and filler are minimal, sweet real crab – maximal. For those like me who are all too often suckered into this dish, only to be let down, this is the real deal.

The dish is completed with a lemon-ginger sauce and mild creole remoulade. On the side, razor-thin shaved radish, and pops of briny brightness on top courtesy of smoked trout roe. A classic executed perfectly.

Koyote

Shioyaki saba

While the ramen here is undoubtedly top-tier, it’s this appetizer that made the biggest memory for me. Funky mackerel is the centerpiece of this Japanese staple, a pyrotechnic flash from a cooking torch is the final step before an exquisite shioyaki saba ($12) lands table side. Crisped skin and brittle tail remain intact, with mouthwateringly juicy fatty fish lurking inside. The saba is thoughtfully deboned and is the best example I’ve tasted in Utah. I say this with a solemn seriousness – I was briefly known as “saba guy” at one of my former regular haunts. The composition is finished with grated daikon, perked with ponzu. A reminder that I dove into all of the details of Koyote in this article.

Pho 777

Bo luc lac

I don’t think there’s been a month during 2024 when I haven’t stopped by this West Valley City gem. Bo luc lac, AKA shaking beef ($18.50) is the dish you can rely on to get your bestie hooked on Vietnamese cuisine in one mouthful.

Tender pieces of filet mignon are cooked with the unmistakable fingerprints of vigorous wok hei – flecks of brisk char coat the beef which yields a ruby interior. It’s a deceptively nuanced balance, a motif you’ll encounter again and again here. The rapidly composed dish is finished with onions in a sweet and salty mix of soy and oyster sauce.

Enrico’s Deli

The RICO

Enrico’s menu is essentially a love letter to NYC, a giddy recounting of bodegas, folded slices, and buzzy deli lines. Pastrami is what draws me quickly to West Jordan this time around. Take a minute to insert your own favorite Seinfeld quotes here now. Of course, there’s pastrami, and then there’s pastrami. One wafer-thin and plastically pliant, the other beautifully frail and prone to a pile of finger-scooped fragments. Guess which this is.

The pastrami at Enrico’s can be found across several dishes, but these particularly greedy eyes fall halfway down a third menu board. Number fifteen – The Rico. The sandwich features a blushworthy bounty of pastrami – a full pound in fact. The cured meat wends its way directly from New York City, much like several menu items at Enrico’s Deli. The pastrami arrives in Utah, ready for on-site preparation, spending a quarter of the day slowly braising. The result is frankly impeccable.

Layer upon layer of thickly sliced meat is piled onto the Rico. Swiss and spicy mustard can also be found within the toasted rye sandwich, but it’s all about that pastrami, gossamer-esque, crumbling and tumbling with every bite. Salty, smokey, warm spices, magical stuff – and comparable to the best I’ve tasted in town.

Drunken Kitchen

Fried chicken wings

DK’s wings are marinated (my guess is there’s some five spice lurking) before being double fried; a canny process that affords the poultry a brief respite between a duo of scalding oil baths, allowing increased moisture evaporation – and ultimately – tremendous crisp. Remember kids, moisture is the enemy of fried food. The quick technique also ensures the bird underneath isn’t mercilessly overcooked. Crisp, check. Juicy, check.

The finished dish sees the crags flurried in fried basil and lashings of visually arresting chili threads. A side note: these lend mainly mild smokiness, spice barely factors unless you order up your chicken in a range of ratcheting levels. It’s first-class fried chicken by any metric and holds up remarkably well when ordered to go.

$15.99 secures a pound of this exemplary chicken, plenty to share. Don’t do that. Instead, creep down those midnight stairs and furtively enjoy any remaining pieces chilled, directly from the fridge. Trust me – cold fried chicken in hushed silence.

Emiliano’s Taco Shop

Chile verde

As you’d expect from their moniker, the tacos at this South Salt Lake spot are excellent. Pastor to asada, everything is on point, and priced particularly wallet-friendly to boot. Dig a little deeper into the huge menu though and try their chile verde. It’s a fine example of this rib-sticking comfort food, which is what we’re all surely eyeing during sub-freezing temps.

The pork is tender from the unmistakable hours of slow cooking, managing to also retain a handsome bronzed glaze. The meat isn’t overly worked, with little pieces of fat still present, adding richness to the green chile broth. Stout house tortillas come on the side for dipping and scooping, rice and beans too. Emiliano’s also offers a range of respectable salsas, and as you might spy from the above pic – my motto is, “when life brings you salsa…”

Urban Hill

Dry-aged ribeye

Flying solo one evening after a work meeting, I snuck into Urban Hill and plonked myself at the counter. Keeping my own counsel and company, there was no need to ask if we were sharing appetizers or desserts. No, the royal we would simply be digging into the most gratuitous dish I could imagine. Steak, potato, and red wine for one please, and thank you.

Nearly two dozen ounces of dry-aged excellence (from Creekstone farms) arrived straight from the wood-fired oven, and as you might expect, did so with . The steak practically filled the plate by itself. An extra shout-out is due to the always impeccable staff, who seeing my solemn indulgence unfold, left me to my devices undisturbed.

Yanni’s Greek Express

Gyro with red sauce

Yanni’s classic gyro ($7.89) comes in a brace of options – red sauce or white sauce, your main consideration. I implore you to eschew the familiar sharp tzatziki and instead go with the rojo flow. I’m unaware of anywhere else in the state that makes this like chef and owner Yanni Armaou. Indeed it’s less sauce, and more lustry, meaty gravy. I’d pay legitimately good money for the recipe – and I’m not the only one who wants to know the secret. Every other example I’ve tried around town has been thin and insipid. Not here.

Whatever your selection, the gyro comes stuffed with slices of familiar lamb and beef amalgam. For my money, it’s a slightly less full-throttle assault on the senses compared to other businesses, both the garlic and herb feel toned down a notch. It’s also piled generously (notably so compared to other places) upon a pita that’s given a greasy crisp kiss on the flat top.

9-UP Night Market

Braised pork belly bao

Braised pork belly bao was the first item to seize my attention at this to-go / delivery business. The soft dough is pleasantly pliable, never straying into the rubbery, or god forbid, crunchy territory. Yes, I’ve had crunchy bao, don’t ask.

The pork itself was a smartly cut mix of fatty/meaty, sweetly lacquered in a soy-based sauce. According to the business it’s braised for hour upon hour. Offered in a variety of spice levels, I hedged it safe with medium. Thin rounds of vivacious red chili spike the wrap – birds eye I am guessing. The fierce flames pop up every other bite, quickly subsiding mind you. This ended up being plenty for me, an admitted capsaicin lover. In truth, any more would probably overwhelm the gentler pork.

Marcato Kitchen

Banh boli

When I asked chef Kyle Williams to prep me a stromboli that exemplified his approach (for this story) he immediately got to work on building the banh boli. Here a beef dip collides with classic banh mi flavor somewhere over South Philly, and the result is a beguiling mix of the familiar and new.

Handsomely marbled brisket is braised for fourteen hours and forms the lustrous centerpiece of the show. The banh boli also comes loaded with pickled veggies, mozzarella, bright Fresnos, basil, and hoisin-sriracha – before house-made cilantro chimichurri crowns the masterpiece. On the side, a small portion of pho for dipping.

Brasserie 7452

Lobster roll

The highlight of a Summer’s escape to Deer Valley this year – a resplendent lobster roll. Maine lobster is the captivating centerpiece, an ample portion stuffed into a buttered roll and moderately sauced. A squeeze of lemon is all you need to cut the richness. It’s perfection on a plate and needs nothing more.

Well, that and a Bloody Mary. The resort lays claim to inventing the modern (circa 1930s New York City) day Mary, and as a result, takes the cocktail that little bit more seriously than most; no, you’re college-era Smirnoff splashed with V8 doesn’t count. The Regis’ variation has bags of capsaicin kick, the tomato core livened with a hefty amount of lip-smacking brininess. A Worcestershire-filled pipette allows you to judiciously balance acidity as you please. I’d be hard-pressed to point you at a better version in the state, and when paired with the stunning Deer Valley background, it’s downright unbeatable.

Zeitoon Cafe

Koobideh kebob

When someone slides into my DMs and recommends “the best” of anything – I usually sit up straight and start taking notes. Such was the case with Zeitoon, a mix of market and cafe over in Midvale. The tip I was given – “no one else in town gets the fat ratio of their koobideh as on point as these guys”. Beef? Fat? Kebob? Best? I am there. Said tip proved momentously accurate, I’ve never had a ground beef skewer like it. There’s a notably larger proportion of fat, which makes for a pliant texture, bordering on sausage-esque.

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• Best of SLC 2024 – what you can’t miss in the Beehive right now.

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.