My wife and I enjoyed more than our fair share of fab restaurant meals in 2023, both at home and abroad. Year-end roundups and “Best Of” lists are always difficult to assemble, insofar as it’s both a challenge and, ultimately, somewhat unfair, to try to distill dozens and dozens of meals and dishes into a short list of favorites. But that’s exactly what I’ve done here. What follows is my 10 favorite dishes and/or meals of 2023. You might be surprised to find that most of them aren’t fancy-schmancy elaborate high-end dishes, but more often than not, killer comfort foods.
No Best Of list of mine would be complete without ramen, one of my all-time go-to comfort foods. I haven’t encountered ramen in Utah that is any better than at Midvale’s Toro Ramen, operated by partners Sunny Tsogbdrakh and Tony Magsar. Recently, Toro started serving sushi in addition to ramen and Sunny is a masterful sushi chef. But my favorite dish is Toro Ramen’s Tonkotsu Ramen, which begins with a slow-cooked homemade pork bone broth to which is added corn, soft-boiled egg, black garlic, bean sprouts, scallions, large slices of chashu (braised pork belly) and thin, fresh ramen noodles. This is rockin’ ramen!
Urban Hill is an eye-popping restaurant that opened this year making a mark in the new, $200 million Post District development that’s revitalizing the gone-to-seed Granary District. There are so many tantalizing options for the taste buds on the Urban Hill menu, not to mention an enviable wine and beverage list. But my favorite dish there is Executive Chef Nick Zocco’s Roasted Chicken entree. The half-roasted, skin-on chicken was cooked to perfection and served Middle Eastern style with Moroccan couscous, fava beans, sauteed farm greens, harissa, and natural jus which was poured onto the chicken by our server, Cameron, at the table. It’s the winner of this year’s Chicken Challenge – a contest that runs continually in my mind.
Photo courtesy of Umi
One of the more entertaining and satisfying meals our family enjoyed this year was at Umi Japanese Shabu Shabu. The all-you-can-eat restaurant in South Salt Lake features shabu shabu tables where meat, seafood, and other items are cooked right at the table in a broth of your choice. There’s also an almost endless buffet of accompaniments including gyoza, a variety of different noodle types, veggies, seafood and shellfish, chicken wings, edamame, egg rolls, sushi, and much more. Meat choices include pork shoulder, beef brisket, beef eye of round, boneless beef short ribs, beef chuck, ribeye beef, wagyu, and Australian lamb leg. Kids and adults alike will enjoy having their appetizers delivered to the table by robot.
I could eat pizza every week for the rest of my life. That’s particularly true if it’s pizza from Mozz at the Woodbine Food Hall. I love their Margherita and the white pizza with speck. But the Mozz pizza that rocked my world was a Serrano & Honey Pizza which featured spicy Creminelli calabrese Italian salami, fresh serrano pepper slices, raw local honey, and (optional) arugula as an add-on. It’s a perfect pizza.
Chef Dave Jones’ menu at Log Haven restaurant is chock-full of delectable dishes. My favorite from the past year was a creative take on risotto: It’s succulent shrimp seasoned with harissa spices, paired with creamy dried tomato risotto, roasted eggplant, and crispy chickpeas. This risotto is rad!
One of the best sandwiches I sunk my teeth into this year was at Lek Lekbox’s Trolley Cottage Cafe. She has a secret weapon in French chef Olivier Bouillot who makes one of the best croque madame sandwiches I’ve ever encountered. Ham, Gruyere, hearty toast, Béchamel, and a fried egg come together in a symphony of comfort food flavors that is simply unbeatable.
Not to be outdone, the Chicken Parmesan sub at NYC native Ricci Rondinelli’s Villaggio Pizzeria is second to none – a sensational sub. Generous portions of boneless chicken are battered and fried until crispy, then served with homemade marinara and melted Grande mozzarella on a perfect hoagie roll. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Villaggio also serves the best NYC-style pizza in town, both by the slice and whole pie.
Uber-talented chef Jacqualine Siao is turning heads at Adelaide restaurant in Le Meridien, which opened earlier this year. Adelaide is self-described as “an urban brasserie – French and New Orleans inspired with Cajun undertones.” But the highlight for me at Adelaide was Lacquered Short Ribs with whiskey glaze, leeks and onion soubise, horseradish gremolata, and Brussels sprouts. The lacquer – like the entire dish – was luscious.
There is a LOT to love about owner Matteo Sogne’s namesake Italian restaurant, Matteo. Not the least of which is an eye-popping wine list featuring some 200-plus bottles, almost all imported from Italy. I loved everything we ate at Matteo, but no dish more than the Crudo, made with fresh, raw, melt-in-the-mouth hamachi drizzled simply in citrus vinegar and topped with microgreens. That Crudo kills.
Last but certainly not least, Deer Valley Resort has, in a sense, rebooted the very popular Seafood Buffet, which was replaced last year by Cast & Cut, an a la carte steak and seafood restaurant. Now, Cast & Cut offers the best of both worlds: Prime rib, lamb, and other roasted meats and prepared entrees and side dishes, plus the all-you-can-eat buffet that features chilled shellfish, poke, cooked clams and mussels, a plethora of desserts, and much, much more. I just can’t get enough of the chilled Dungeness crabs, snow crabs, shrimp, oysters on the half shell, and other delicious foods from the sea.
What about you? Do you have favorite meals or dishes from 2023 that are especially memorable? Please share them with us.
Photos by Ted Scheffler
Culinary quote of the week: “”Cooking is at once child’s play and adult joy. And cooking done with care is an act of love.” Craig Claiborne
Feature image by Nathan Powers on Unsplash.
