Utah Stories

Beyond Beer and Burgers

Industry experts share their favorite food and beer pairings.

|


Spicy chicken sandwich from Avenues Proper. Photo by Steven Vargo.

Some of Utah’s best chefs and brewers sit down with a cold one and discuss their favorite food and beer pairings currently available on their menus.

Oasis Café
Looking for a breakfast/brunch beer pairing? Look to Oasis Café for Squatter’s Nitro Red Ale on tap paired with huevos rancheros. Chef Efren Nicholas combines Spanish rice, southwest vegetables and a housemade salsa verde with eggs cooked to order alongside flour tortillas.

Wasatch Brew Pub
In Park City, brewer Nils Imboden from Wasatch Brew Pub enjoys combining hoppy beers with spicy menu offerings. He suggests starting with the Wasatch UTX, which showcases a different hop every batch, and pairing it with buffalo wings with blue cheese, carrots and celery.

Avenues Proper Restaurant & Publick House
Avenues Proper head chef Jeffrey Springer points to their Lake Effect Gose and spicy chicken sandwich as a favorite pairing. The German-style sour wheat beer provides contrast to the richness and spice of the housemade chicken sausage patty amped up with signature Sriracha sauce and zucchini pickles.

Black Sheep at Sugar House
Black Sheep chef Mark Daniel Mason’s latest pairing is the Black Sheep Carrot Cake with Epic Brewing’s Big Bad Baptista. “It was born to marry with that carrot cake,” he says of the beer. “It has caramel, vanilla notes, a little coffee, a little whiskey from the casks they use.” The raisins in the cake are soaked in the beer and vanilla while the traditional cream cheese frosting is cut with whipped cream for a lighter presentation. §

, ,


Join our newsletter.
Stay informed.


  • Is Salt Lake Prepared for a Zombie Apocalypse?

    When the zombie apocalypse hits Salt Lake, don’t count on the city council. From camo-clad coworkers to Browning shotguns, here’s your survival guide—Utah style.


  • Panhandling in Salt Lake: A Firsthand Experiment

    Al Sachrov steps into the shoes of a panhandler for two hours to understand what it’s really like to depend on the kindness of strangers.


  • Start Your Spring Garden with Easy Veggies and Cover Crops

    Can’t wait for the weather to warm up? These top spring gardening tips will kickstart your season with easy veggies, smart pairings, and cover crops that feed your soil as they grow.

    To access this post, you must purchase Utah Stories (Digital + Print) or 3 month free trial (Digital).


  • Bewilder Brewing: Crafting Perfection in Salt Lake’s Evolving Heart

    In a rapidly changing Salt Lake City, Bewilder Brewing embraces craft and tradition. Amidst rising high-rises and the struggles of a shifting neighborhood, this five-year-old brewpub has become a haven for those who appreciate beer at its finest. Here, Cody McKendrick doesn’t chase fleeting trends—he perfects them. His Kölsch, refined over 15 years, is a product of precision, brewed with carefully crafted ingredients to match its German roots.

    While big-name breweries flood the market with sugary seltzers, Bewilder holds the line, delivering malt-forward ales, crisp lagers, and the kind of old-world brewing that demands respect. McKendrick, once a revered homebrewer, has transformed his passion into a thriving brewery, drawing in both locals and die-hard beer enthusiasts.

    In an era where Gen Z drinks less and corporate players dilute craft beer’s soul, Bewilder Brewing remains a rare find—a place where beer is still an art, and every pint tells a story.

    To access this post, you must purchase Utah Stories (Digital + Print) or 3 month free trial (Digital).