The Voice of Local Utah

Utah Food

Food Adventures Off the Beaten Path

Great dining outside Salt Lake City.

by

Heather L. King

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While there is no question that the food scene on the Wasatch Front has experienced a culinary revolution over the past decade, cities all over the state are also seeing elevated gastronomic fare become the norm. Here are a few favorite restaurants from southern, eastern and northern Utah.

 

conestogagrill
Campfire Grill at Conestoga Ranch. Photos by Heather L. King

Fired up at Bear Lake Campfire Grill Restaurant

Garden City, Utah is best known as the gateway to Bear Lake—famous for its raspberry shakes and gorgeous blue water. Yet until just last year, only a smattering of restaurants and shake shops were available to vacationers looking for good food with great views in the Caribbean of the West. Enter Campfire Grill Restaurant at Conestoga Ranch—offering a casual yet gourmet dining experience.

Campfire Grill Restaurant Chef Vincent Liberato explains, “While glamping elevates the camping experience, I wanted to create an accessible but gourmet menu with a hint of cowboy cuisine that complements the higher end yet friendly experience the ranch offers guests.”

Delivering breakfast, lunch and dinner to town residents, visitors and glamping guests alike, Campfire Grill is housed in a large timber-framed tent structure on the Conestoga Ranch property near the sleeping wagons and activities tent.

Start a day on the water with a hearty breakfast enjoyed in the open-air restaurant—everything from granola and pancakes to omelets and biscuits and sausage gravy. Lunch fare (offered Friday, Saturday and Sunday) serves up soup, salads and the Campfire Grill burger, highlighting Bear Lake wagyu.

Evenings offer the best of Bear Lake’s natural beauty with the sun setting behind the covered wagons. While enjoying Mother Nature’s visual show, take in the farm-fresh offerings of the Garden City signature salad featuring arugula, local raspberries, sunflower seeds, a chunk of honeycomb dripping with Slide Ridge Honey and a tantalizing raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

skilletcookie
Skillet Cookie

Behind the counter near the wood-fired oven, entertain yourself by watching competitive acrobatic pizza dough tosser Cassidy Hudson (who won 12th place in the World Pizza Games in 2016) work her magic and make a perfectly crispy pepperoni pizza with snappy soppressata spread over tangy tomato-basil marinara and cooked in the 700-degree wood-fired oven at the heart of the restaurant.

But if pizza entertainment doesn’t amaze you, there’s always the big-screen TV showing the latest sporting action if a snack of BBQ chicken wings and truffled French fries and some craft beer are more to your taste. Or pair a rosé wine with crispy Brussels sprouts cooled by the evening breeze.

After a long day of water sporting, you’ll be happy to sink your teeth into roasted chicken, hickory smoked salmon, New York strip steak or pork chop for your entrée.

End your meal with a warm and gooey cast-iron skillet cookie topped with vanilla bean ice cream. Utah’s great outdoors has never been so sweet.

 

centropizzaCedar City, Utah Centro Woodfired Pizzeria

When you visit Centro Woodfired Pizzeria, you’ll find rough-hewn wood, exposed bulbs and a hip vibe alongside some of Utah’s best woodfired pizzas. Cooked in an oven imported from Naples, Italy at around 800 degrees Fahrenheit, pizzas such as the fennel sausage pizza deliver hand-stretched crust, spicy housemade fennel sausage, smoky mozzarella and plenty of their hand-crushed tomato sauce that tasted as if the tomatoes came off the vine in the garden just that day. Vegetables are roasted in the wood-fired oven too. Recommended beer and wine selections (from Utah companies such as Uinta, Wasatch and Iron Gate Winery just a few blocks away) are handily suggested with each entree on the menu.

50 West Center Street, Cedar City

vbcsoupVernal, Utah Vernal Brewing Company

Just across the street from the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum in Vernal, sits Vernal Brewing Company (VBC). Opened three years ago to bring craft beers and memorable gastropub fare to locals and tourists in eastern Utah, Vernal Brewing Company delivers nine beers brewed on-site to complement a hearty menu highlighting crisp-fried Brussels sprouts studded with candied bacon and the juicy, house-cured pastrami sandwich with a side of tangy beer cheese soup. Finish your meal with the stout cheesecake topped with merlot cherries paired with VBC’s high-point Not Your Mama’s Milk Stout—offering up notes of espresso,  chocolate, vanilla and bourbon undertones.

55 S 500 East, Vernal

hermsinnreubenLogan, Utah Herm’s Inn

Originally built in the early 1900s, Herman’s Inn once served as the first (or last) chance to gas up in or out of Logan Canyon. In 2012, the building was restored to its former glory and serves breakfast and lunch seven days a week. Breakfast fare runs the gamut from hearty biscuits and gravy to stuffed French toast, or The Aggie omelet with blue cheese and bacon. At lunchtime,choices include burgers and salads or the signature sandwiches such as Herm’s Reuben with house-cured corned beef and housemade sauerkraut. Regardless of your craving, Herm’s is popular enough that you can expect to wait for a table most days.

1435 E Canyon Road, Logan

 

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Heather L. King

Heather is a food and beverage writer and anonymous restaurant critic for a variety of publications in Utah. She’s happy to have reported on Utah’s changing food landscape for more than 20 years. When not dining out, you’ll often find her at local farmers markets shopping for fresh produce and meeting local vendors. During the pandemic lockdown, she spent her time perfecting gin cocktails — often using locally produced spirits and garnishes. She shares her love of great food with her husband and two Great Danes. Her passion for traveling is fueled by experiencing the food cultures of other countries and regions. She owns SLCLunches.com, and you’ll find her sharing her favorite dishes @slclunches.

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