It’s time to raise a glass, fork, spoon; heck even a club, lets just dispatch with 2020 as swiftly as we can. On the menu this year, it’s slimmer pickings than recent years, but there are still a few seats around town if you’re at a loose end. You will need to act fast mind you, with restaurants operating at 60% or less capacity for spacing issues, tables will be limited. Here’s a look at some of the best NYE dining options I’ve come across.
Porch
Four course menu with wine pairings, $65 (food only $40) menu:
- Roasted tomato confit and Gournay cheese crostini
- Starter choice of
- Porch salad or
- Ginger butternut soup
- Main choice of
- Wild mushroom barley risotto, pine nuts, truffle, gremolata
- Prosciutto-wrapped salmon, miso cream cheese grits, fresh winter vegetable, fig balsamic glaze
- Grilled pork tenderloin, roasted fingerling potatoes, winter vegetables, maple gastrique
- Prime tRib, buttermilk whipped potatoes, winter vegetables, au jus
- Dessert choice of
- Famous Banana Puddin’
- Carrot Cake, cream cheese chevre frosting, candied walnuts
- Flourless Chocolate Decadence, salted caramel sauce
Stanza
Five course prix fixe, menu.
- Starter choice of
- Wintertime salad, Spring mix & frisee, red onion, apple slices, crisp ‘prosciutto pine nuts pepitas and candy pecans, blue cheese champagne fennel vinaigrette
- Shrimp & crab arancini, frisee, shaved fennel, red onion, artichoke 5 pepper jelly, arugula, marinated tomato lemon tarragon dill vinaigrette
- Main choice of
- Spicy pork ragu with red pepper torch kurobuta pork shoulder braised in Campari tomato broth rapini, crisp roasted garlic cloves, charred Fresno pepper, fried shallots
- Spinach & red pepper tortellini, tartufo asiago tortellini, sundried tomato., Olted chicken pesto cream sauce fried lion’s mane mushroom, cranberry goat cheese quenelle roasted almonds and hazelnut
- Blackberry sage sorbet
- Choice of
- Seared scallops, sweet com and poblano risotto, grilled asparagus, ‘,roc candy bacon Green onion and red pep, hay, alep, berme blanc
- Ribeye cap, red new potato pontabla mash, wild mushrooms, green onion, cotto prosciutto broccolini with roasted garlic & parmesan, fig demi-glace
- Dessert choice of
- Classic tiramisu, Solstice chocolate, espresso sauce
- Madagascar chocolate cheesecake, raspberry sauce, vanilla mascarpone cream, fresh berries
Pago
Five course tasting menu $95 plus $45 wine pairing, menu.
- Amuse ruche of Yukon tots and caviar
- Starter choice of
- Broiled crab legs
- Potato gnocchi
- Crispy delicata squash
- Intermezzo of whipped ricotta, honey comb, salt roasted pears
- Main choice of
- Pan seared scallops
- Roasted duck breast
- Potato agnolotti
- Braised lamb shank
- Dessert choice of
- Bread pudding
- Chocolate cremeaux
- Key lime curd
Current Fish & Oyster
Four course menu, $80 per person, menu.
- Starter choice of
- Grilled oysters
- Seared ahi
- Local burrata
- Choice of
- House salad
- Clam chowder
- Beet & squash salad
- Main choice of
- Seared scallops
- Caramelized organic salmon
- Grilled swordfish
- Kalbi short rib
- Dessert choice of
- Yuzu posset
- Chocolate and beetroot cake
- Gelato sundae
Tuscany
Four course menu, $135 per person, more details.
- Starter hoice of
- Cocoa braised duroc pork ribletts
- Asiago baked oysters
- Choice of
- Wild mushroom bisque
- Beet salad
- Main choice of
- Braised veal osso buco
- 8 oz. beef tenderloin stroganoff
- Norwegian hzlibut oscar
- Dessert choice of
- Berry grape-ful
- Tik-Tok chocolate clock
Finca
Four course tasting menu $75 plus $30 wine pairing, menu.
- Welcome of warm olives & almonds
- Tapas choice of
- Roasted carrots
- Sautéed prawns
- Spanish ham & cheese fritter
- Lamb, beef & pork meatballs
- Main choice of
- Rioja braised lamb shoulder
- Salmon
- Braised beef short rib
- Paella
- Dessert choice of
- Churros
- Cheesecake
Franck’s
Five course prix-fixe, $135 per person, menu.
- Kombu cured diver scallop, apple miso, wasabi-caviar, shiso oil, pickled daikon, jasmine rice streusel, flake salt, sprouted daikon
- Meyer lemon velonte, yogurt, candied pork belly, roasted couscous, chickpea salad, masala ghee
- Half sashimi Tasmanian ocean trout, champagne barley risotto, drunken golden raisin, lobster “roll”, pickled hazelnut, fried enoki mushroom, aerated lobster, chervil
- Score 6 Ranger Valley wagyu beef sirloin & truffle crusted wagyu beef cheek, wagyu fat- marble potato salad, porcini duxelles, ember roasted endive, fermented blackberry, blackberry-peppercorn emulsion, nasturtium
- Warm yeast risen donut, yuzu glaze, sake poached Asian pear, milk chocolate yuzu pudding, Asian pear crumb, prickly pear meringue & gelato
From Scratch
Four course prix fixe menu.
- Amuse bouche of crostini with fresh mozzarella
- House salad
- Salmon Bisque
- Pan seared petite tenderloin with grilled prawns
- Zabaglione
Others
Veneto – offering a six-course traditional NYE fish menu $275, plus $175 for optional wine pairings. Kimi’s – live music and regular menu. Fleming’s Steakhouse at The Gateway, four course wine dinner, $65 per person.
Keep your distance
Or for something more informal, check out this years edition of The Last Hurrah at The Gateway. The event is now in its fourth year and is SLC’s official New Year’s bash. While a select number of reserved spots are still available for attending in person – this year sees the whole shebang live-streamed for the ultimate in socially distanced celebrating.
The event will see a 45 minute pre-show to the countdown and fireworks featuring live music from The Cool presented by Social Antidote to kick off the virtual party. An array of prizes will be given out every 20 minutes to viewers online.
If you do stop by in person, plenty of places will be open for late dinner and snacks including include HallPass, Dave & Buster’s, The Store, and Rocket Fizz. You can stream the event via LasthurrahSLC.com, AttheGateway.com and the YouTube Chanel – The Gateway.
Update: NYE specials at HallPass include:
- Colossal Lobster – Stone crab claws
- Graffiti Bao – BBQ duck sizzling hot pot
- Hibachian – 8 oz. beef filet
- Waffadopolis – Molten chocolate cake
New news
Taco Land – The space emptied by Salvadoran Cafe Guanaco on the corner of 27th and 5th has been vacant for a while now. That is until recently when the taco-centric Taco Land opened up shop. You can see the menu here which focuses on everything from tacos de guisado (think homestyle/comfort food) through to local specials like the Wasatch BBQ beef taco.
Rio Grande Cafe – This landmark restaurant temporarily shuttered some eight or nine months ago; but due to earthquake damage (so I hear) at the historic Rio Grande facility, it never re-opened – until now that is – well in a different spot.
These days the business is owned by the same group that runs the popular Porcupine Pub. The return of the RGC sees the group close down the University Porcupine location and replace it with this classic Mexican restaurant. No word yet on whether the change is permanent.
Review round-up
During a regular year, one of our most popular recurring features are the review roundups – monthly recaps of all the reviews and write-ups hitting newsstands. For the most part I’ve shelved the format, what with reviews being thin on the ground. Things are now starting to pick up though ,so it feels like it’s about time to bring this feature back though.
First up a trio of pieces by the late Mary Malouf: Nomad Eatery, Current Fish And Oyster and Nohm, the latter of which she takes umbrage at this piece. As I wrote on Facebook – its a timely reminder that while we definitely didn’t see eye to eye on every last subject, we had a helluva time laughing and debating why over a glass or three. Mary had a lot of time for Gastronomic SLC when others looked down their noses at the interloping ‘blogger’. You’ll never find trite words like nice, delicious, yummy or otherwise in her writing, something I try to emulate all the time. I hope I grow up to be half as talented.
In Utah Stories, Ted Scheffler checks out Yurt dining at St Regis, yours for only a $250 rental fee and minimum $1250 minimum dinner spend. The French fare over at the new Brasserie 7452 seems more accessible for us mere mortals though, and it’s nice to see more French options. Scheffler also writes about the comfort food charms of Woods Cross’ Lorena’s Mexican Restaurant and the Easterly migrated Nomad East.
More struggling businesses
As per a recent post, I’ll be highlighting businesses that need your help as I hear about them. This week, two more came across my desk. The downtown Himalayan Kitchen, a 16 year staple, is apparently having real issues holding on. See more here. Meanwhile, the Sandy based Potstickers Plus 1 is seeking to raise cash via Go Fund Me, also facing tough times.
In other news
- Yes you can start a tequila company in Utah
- Expanded outdoor dining approved
- Happy Dumpling profile
- 10 p.m. curfew ended
- Liquor commission vents at lawmakers
- Restaurant owners fight to stay open
- Utah restaurants cheer new bill
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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