Open Streets returns – here are my favorite dining spots in the heart of the action

Last weekend saw Open Streets return to downtown Salt Lake City – this time for a month-long stint. Running every Friday and Saturday (2.00 p.m. – 2.00 a.m.) in June, the event sees four blocks of Main Street pedestrianized North to South (though do note that some East-West traffic does still flow across Main).

Four themed zones (family, arts, shopping, restaurants/bars) begin at South Temple, stretching down to 400 S. Along the way various performers line the street making for a festive meander up and down. Should you be pondering a downtown trip, here are some thoughts on where to stop, rehydrate, and replenish. All places and plates you’ll find me at too.

Main Street

Should the current temps and threats of a sun-scorching be dissuading you, it’s worth noting the roaring ball of fusion dips behind the city skyline by early evening, making for a mainly shaded East side of Main (hint: where the food is). Most of the businesses on Main Street at 300 S. to 400 S. expand their patios right to the street’s edge.

Felt Bar & Eatery

I snagged this beauty during my visit to OS last Friday. It’s been a favorite since my first visit a year ago. An imposing half-pound patty of elk is tempered with pork fat, keeping things supple. Excellent bacon comes next, as does a mushroom duxelle for a touch of earthiness. It’s a monster of a burger, one of the best in town.

Another staple is the daintily plated beef tartare (pictured page top). This isn’t the uncontrolled mush ordinarily encountered. The beef is sparingly chopped, affording gobs of textural interest. In lieu of a more familiar creamy egg yolk topper, bone marrow is used instead to provide galvanizing richness. The finished effort is presented in the halved bone.

Aker

Come for the sushi, stay for a few skewers. Aker’s dry aged sushi program is relatively unique in the city and the list begins with a selection of premium bluefin cuts – maguro, and toro. There are eight different selections on the dry-aged lineup, or you can opt to dive into a chef-selected flight. From there, Aker’s yakitori are a smart choice – shrimp, chicken, beef, or pork belly, quickly grilled. All come with a trio of dipping sauces.

White Horse

Whiskey Street needs no introduction (being packed to the rafters seven days a week, all hours). Sister-eatery White Horse though, slightly wins out on the culinary side, and often is an easier seat to snag. A recent dish I enjoyed was the pictured reuben (ordered up with a nice dry cider to cut that meaty fat I should add). Order the chips over fries, and try to cajole your server into having the kitchen prepare them with a flurry of malt vinegar powder. Trust me.

Adjacent streets

From Main you can snake through to Regent Street via a small alleyway on the East side of the street at around 150 S or so. This makes these two names quickly accessible to those on foot.

Pretty Bird

Viet and Alexis Pham’s chicken-empire surely needs no introduction at this point. The fried chicken sandwich is as good as they get, with the Regent Street location in SLC being a window-only outlet. That said, there’s a lively patio on the South side of the building that’s perfect in the Summer.

The picture above should give you an insight into how seriously they take those sandwiches by the way. “Who made you that sandwich Stuart?”, Pham politely enquired after seeing it. “The pickles should be on top, not the bottom”, he continued. “Errrr, me chef, sorry, I was tinkering for photos…” Enough said.

Chinese Bistro

Just across the road from the Pham’s original location, is this Sichuan-informed Chinese restaurant with plenty of dine-in space. The menu is large and features this fun twist on mapo tofu. In lieu of the more commonly employed rice, the dish relies on thick noodles for a starchy base. Large chunks of medium-firm tofu, jade-green bok choy, and seasoned ground pork sit atop. A thinner oil lies beneath, replete with all the flavors of the more familiar preparation; Sichuan peppercorns provide that unmistakable tongue-numbing envelopment, with garlic and chili doing their thing for balance. The finished result offers moderate heat that shouldn’t trouble most. Chilli oil hangs out on the table for those wanting to amp things up.

Lemon Shark Poke

Nothing screams, “save me from the searing rays of the skyball”, than poke does. Lemon Shark can be found just a few steps off of Main on Broadway. There’ll you find a solid lineup of warm weather coolers.

Spitz

I’ve been a fan since day one, and so have a lot of Utahns. Case in point, the brand now operate seven locations across the Wasatch. The OG location is a few more steps down Broadway, opposite Lemon Shark. My favorite is the doner kebab. It might not be an exact replica that you remember from that trip to Berlin, but it is a rewardingly hearty wrap, stuffed with your choice of protein, and fresh Mediterranean flavors.

Further afield

If you feel the need to escape Main, open the Lyft app or don the sunscreen. Just a few minutes walk or ride, I’d personally be headed to these spots…

Copper Common

The menu rotates quickly at CC, meaning it’s difficult to guide you towards a specific dish at any given time. That said, give serious attention to any salad on the menu. I know, I know, those are words I don’t utter very often. There’s never been an occasion I’ve ordered a seasonal salad at Copper Common, and not immediately made resolutions to copy the clever assembly of ingredients and textures.

Rouser

Head over to The Gateway and the new Asher Adams hotel for this wonderful new addition to the city. The kitchen is powered by a ritzy fire breathing Josper oven, and the kitchen crew make good use of the coals and embers. My favorite dish to date was this impeccable trout, cooked whole, nose to tail. The dish is presented simply with just a little acidic spike from a tomato chow chow. The fish is sourced from Utah’s Whistling Springs Farm and is plenty for two or three to share. I confess to tackling it solo. For, err, journalistic reasons.

Top tip: the fish is scored along the body, simply take your fork and peel the meat from top to bottom – the beautiful pink flesh effortlessly slides off the bones.

Franklin Ave

There’s a reason the black cod has remained on Franklin Avenue’s menu since day one. The dish nods to the Nobu classic that’s probably entranced millions by this point. The beauty of the dish is the signature sable fish, a fat-rich fish like no other – practically impossible to overcook. That fat is bolstered by an umami overload from miso and soy. Chef Matt Crandall’s rendition finishes the plate with Utah mushrooms, snap peas, and broccolini.

Mar | Muntanya

Another dish that refuses to give up its place on the menu – chef Tyson Peteron’s signature elk dish (read more on the increasing popularity of elk here). Yukon gold mask serves as anchor for pink-kissed elk loin. Sage, Iberico, and blackberries are fluttered around the plate, while a blackberry demi finishes things off.

Mensho

Speaking of umami. The newly opened Mensho in the Post District takes everything to 11. Truffle paste, fermented bamboo shoots, A5 wagyu, smoked meats and more are all deployed to layer on masses of depth. The sweetly marinated ajitama eggs are top tier. The restaurant is presently in soft opening mode while the team refine the dishes, so do expect chops and changes to the menu while they find their feet.

Cheap eats

Downtown dining on a tight budget? Here’s where I’m headed…

City Creek Mall probably offers the best bang for your buck when it comes to feeding a family on a budget. Kneaders would be high up my list in the ‘Creek, specifically their number one seller – the Turkey Bacon Avocado. The construction begins with slab-thick focaccia, all bubbled, with the right side of crumble. Inside, you won’t find plastically dubious poultry. Instead, Kneaders roasts turkeys onsite daily, hand-pulling them. Bacon, avocado, Kneaders sauce, provolone, lettuce, tomatoes, and red onion join the fun. You could happily split this between two, stretching the budget farther. A location of J Dawg’s (who recently marked two decades in the biz) lurks around the corner, and on the fast food front, don’t forget that the food court also recently welcomed Shake Shack into it’s midst.

Lastly, but by no means leastly, keep Squatters in mind for a Westward start to your day. A new pizza menu debuted at the brew pub late last year. Monday through Friday until 4.00 p.m. the restaurant offers a pizza happy hour where you can snag one of their new pies for just $9. It’s one of the keenest priced deals in town that I know, a genuine steal of a deal in these inflated times.

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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.