This gem of a restaurant — opened in 2017 by Chef/Owner Adam Ross and his wife Meisha — is located near The Market in the Snow Creek Shopping Center. But don’t let the shopping center location dissuade you from visiting Twisted Fern, because it’s an oasis of culinary excellence combined with outstanding ambiance, including shady courtyard seating for dining al fresco.
Despite the location — or perhaps, because of it — Twisted Fern is a blissfully serene spot to dine. but despite the eye-popping decor, it’s not a hoity-toity dining destination. It’s as well suited to apres ski after a day of shredding as it is to a romantic date night.
Chances are that if you’ve been eating in Park City during the last decade and a half, you’ve experienced Adam Ross’ cuisine. He served for over ten years as chef at Bistro 412 before he and Meisha opened Twisted Fern. While for my money, Bistro 412 served fairly routine French bistro/brasserie fare, the food at Twisted Fern is anything but ordinary.
At Twisted Fern, Adam Ross is dishing up mostly from-scratch, minimally processed, totally innovative and delicious meals with a heavy emphasis on utilizing fresh, in-season, local (or near-local) products. Adam and Meisha describe the cuisine at their restaurant: “Real food, the kind that comes directly from plants and animals, is naturally fresh, nourishing, wholesome, and pleasant. At Twisted Fern, we honor the roots of our ingredients and infuse a twist of creativity in a New American atmosphere. We do this out of respect for you and respect for the process. We believe serving minimally processed real food should be the norm, not a catchy pitch.” Amen to that.
Adam Ross has been cooking since he was eight years old, but not always for humans. At eight he began experimenting in his mom’s bakery in the western New York state township of Naples. However, eight-year-olds weren’t allowed to prepare baked goods for human customers, so Adam honed his skills creating dog treats, which came to be known as Adam’s Dog Biscuits.
Ross would begin his culinary career at Bristol Mountain — a ski resort in Ontario County, New York — before formally studying the culinary arts at Denver’s Johnson and Wales University after graduating from high school.
Following culinary school, Adam relocated to Park City where he was quickly promoted to head chef at Bistro 412, and helped turn that environment into a 90% scratch kitchen. He is nothing if not committed to fresh, sustainable, local products and ingredients.
Ross’ inventiveness and commitment to fresh ingredients comes across clearly in a simple-sounding menu item: Blue Corn Crepe. But it’s a deceptively complex starter; a homemade blue corn crepe filled with black bean, corn and poblano, with roasted tomatillo & chili sauce, roasted corn pico, and avocado coulis. There’s a lot going on in that blue corn crepe, and it’s all good.
A sampling of enticing dishes from Ross’s kitchen include Nashville Hot Maitake Sandwich, Roasted Japanese Eggplant with Middle Eastern accouterments, Spanish Octopus with poached Yukon potatoes, kohlrabi, salsa verde, roasted pepper chimichurri, and chili-lime popcorn, and my very favorite: the Shorty Melt open-face braised short rib on rye with gruyère cheese, B&B pickles, 1000 Island Dressing, apple-bacon sauerkraut, fried egg and fries or salad.
In addition to Ross’ delectable dishes, Twisted Fern recently became even more enticing after a renovation in collaboration with the Crotty Collaborative Design Group and Franklin Woodworking, which elevated the already appealing eatery to a whole new level. It’s now one of Utah’s best looking restaurants, with an ambiance and decor deserving of Adam Ross’ killer cuisine.
