In the past year or so, I’ve commented regularly – and happily – about how far bar fare has come since the days of pretzels, pickled eggs and, if lucky, maybe a plate of Buffalo wings. Elevated cuisine at 21 and over bars such as Franklin Ave. Cocktails & Kitchen, Whiskey Street, The Garage on Beck, Varley, Lake Effect, White Horse Spirits & Kitchen, Palomino, Citizens, Flanker Kitchen + Sporting Club, Post Office Place, Bar Nohm, The Sticky Wicket, BTG Wine Bar, and the bar at Laurel are serving up legit, creative bar food that rivals our state’s best restaurants. And nobody is doing it better than the talented team at Felt Bar & Eatery in downtown SLC. The next time you have a notion to visit The Melting Pot, do yourself a favor and cross Main Street to Felt instead. You won’t regret it. They are taking bar fare into the stratosphere.
Located in the sprawling space that was previously Pago on Main, Felt is the creation of Richard Romney – who spent nearly two decades at Takashi – and Chef Travis Herbert, who most recently was a corporate chef for Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar. At Felt, Herbert is able to stretch out and do some hifalutin cooking, the type of which you wouldn’t expect to see at Fleming’s.
The Felt crew reworked the Pago on Main space, moving the kitchen (“it was always hot in the restaurant before,” said Romney), building a comfy bar, and in general creating a very inviting, open and appealing new spot to eat and drink downtown.
The contemporary decor at Felt feels light and airy although I’m sure glad I don’t have to move the heavy marble topped tables around – not so light!
I probably shouldn’t have disparaged pickled eggs as bar food, since Felt serves Beet Pickled Eggs ($6) with a serrano chile and shallot vinaigrette. Not exactly your daddy’s pickled eggs. There’s also House Bar Nuts ($5) – Marcona almonds, pecans, and macadamia nuts with spices, citrus and local honey. And then there are bar bites from the raw bar such as the innovative Watermelon “Sashimi” ($14), where Herbert compresses yumi watermelon until it has a sashimi-like texture and serves it with pomegranate molasses, mango-miso, cucumber, mint and feta cheese. Again not exactly your daddy’s bar food.
Hokkaido Scallop Crudo
Even something simple like Oysters on the Half Shell ($20) from the raw bar at Felt get a special treatment of orange-bacon mignonette and citrus horseradish. A raw bar special of the evening when we visited – Hokkaido Scallop Crudo ($20) with Jimmy Nardello peppers was simply outstanding, the texture of the raw, sashimi-style scallops so creamy and tender and the flavor so luscious. One thing to love about the Felt kitchen and bar is that they are committed to wasting as little as possible. For example, avocado pits are used to create the avocado pit orgeat used in the Cowboy Killer cocktail, and corn milk from pressed corn was in the heavenly scallop dish.
Tuna Tataki
Another excellent seafood dish at Felt is the melt-in-the-mouth Tuna Tataki ($20), which is flash-seared sushi grade tuna with a tasty togarashi crust, scallions, and ginger-yuzu ponzu. Tuna lovers will also undoubtedly enjoy the Tuna Poke ($18) with citrus zest, poke sauce, avocado cream, pickled cucumber and edamame. For something more meaty, there is beef Filet & Marrow Tartare ($18) with beer mustard, black truffles, fried capers and toast points. Wow.
Peach Fuzz Cocktail
As outstanding as the cuisine is at Felt, it’s easy to forget that it is, first and foremost, a bar. But the cocktail menu is a solid reminder, with cocktails ranging from classics like an Old Fashioned ($14), Pisco Sour ($14), and Dirty Martini ($13), to unique creative cocktails such as the Unfinished Business ($15) made with Brennevin aquavit, Laird’s apple brandy, Cynar, yuzu liqueur, Thai tea and Islay Scotch spritz. I enjoyed the tasty Peach Fuzz cocktail ($15) – an interesting melange of Dickel rye whiskey, Oloroso sherry, grilled peach syrup, Cynar, lemon, smoke and basil, garnished with dried peach and mint.
Shrimp & Grits
On the Small Plates section of the Felt menu are dishes such as Curry Cauliflower Steak ($15), Korean-Style BBQ Baby Back Ribs ($12), Sweet Potato Croquettes ($12) Local Mushrooms & Corn Polenta ($16) and Grilled Mary’s Chicken Wings ($16). The Shrimp & Grits ($18) – not really a very “small plate” – at Felt is the best version I’ve ever tasted: blackened shrimp with andouille sausage slices bathed in an incomparable cajun-cream sauce with scrumptious herb and cheese grits, topped with chopped green onions. Simply fabulous.
Black Cod Filet
My wife loved her gluten free Black Cod Filet ($35). It was a 5-ounce filet of black cod marinated in sake and maple, seared and served with a clever “beer blanc” sauce, grilled asparagus, and a beet-tarragon relish.
Togarashi Chicken
Other “Large Plates” at Felt include Flank & Frites ($35), and a 6-ounce Filet Mignon ($50), both of which come with generous sides. I absolutely loved the Togarashi Chicken ($35), which was a bountiful serving of togarashi seasoned Mary’s chicken with yummy homemade yam gnocchi, farm pea pesto, spinach, parmesan, and toasted pine nuts. The Togarashi Chicken from Chef Travis Herbert is one of the most satisfying dishes I’ve eaten this year.
Well as I said, Felt Bar & Eatery is indeed a 21 and over bar with a menu ranging from simple bar bites to full-size meals. But don’t let the “bar” moniker fool you; Felt can go toe to toe with the best restaurants in the state. Herbert and Romney have created an awesome new space to eat and drink that, quite simply, is as good as it gets.
Photos by Ted Scheffler
Culinary quote of the week: “When you get to my age, you don’t even buy green bananas anymore.” – Arnold Palmer
