Orin Swift Abstract wine label At Thistle & Thyme When I dined at Thistle & Thyme this week, I perused the small wine list. It’s not especially extensive, but there are some interesting selections and I like that most of the wines are available by the glass or 9-ounce carafe. One of the most appealing wines on the restaurant’s list is Orin Swift Abstract 2017. I’d buy … [Read more...]
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse Bargain Bar Bites : A Very Happy Hour
Prior to a recent comedy show featuring Todd Barry at The Gateway location of Wiseguys, my wife and I were looking for an early dinner spot to dine. We were looking for refuge from a Sunday night snowstorm when I remembered that Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar features a Prime Happy Hour in the bar area from 5 to 7 pm, nightly. It’s one of the best bargains in town, … [Read more...]
Chicken & Cashew Biryani Recipe for Home Cooks
Biryani - which is also spelled biriyani - is a popular rice-based dish in South India. It’s sort of like rice pilaf, but with an Indian spin and can be made in a multitude of ways, such as with shrimp, fish, lamb, etc. I especially like chicken biryani with toasted cashews to add some crunchy texture to the dish. Ingredients: 1 Tbsp ghee or butter (clarified, if … [Read more...]
Tiki Cocktails @ Tinwell Salt Lake City
Did you know that Salt Lake City has its own exotic tiki bar? Yup. The cocktail experts (and husband/wife team) behind Tinwell - Caleb Cannon and Amy Eldredge - have turned the upstairs at Tinwell into TinTiki, an inviting and comfy tiki cocktails lounge. It’s a mostly private room available for parties and special events, but opens to the public on Tuesdays. That’s where … [Read more...]
Raising the Bar: Creative Cuisine at SLC Eatery
It’s still early in 2019, but so far the most exciting event for local food enthusiasts, IMHO, has been the opening of SLC Eatery. Don’t let the name - which is about as generic as it gets - fool you. There is nothing generic or mundane about the cuisine at SLC Eatery. The new restaurant is the love child of co-chefs and co-business partners Paul Chamberlain and Logen Crew. … [Read more...]
Juicy Bone-In Chicken Breasts Recipe
I’ve never quite understood why so many people favor boneless chicken breasts over bone-in ones. Bone-in breasts, properly prepared, are so much more juicy, tender and delicious. Here is a method for roasting bone-in chicken breasts in the oven that is virtually foolproof. The recipe is for two chicken breasts but can easily be doubled. Give it a try! Ingredients: 2 bone-in … [Read more...]
Kung Fu Girl Riesling -Try This Pleasantly Dry Riesling
Ask any sommelier and they’ll probably tell you that the most food-friendly wine to drink is Riesling. I know what you’re thinking: “Riesling? Isn’t that a sweet wine?” Well, Riesling can be sweet. There are a range of Riesling wines running the gamut from teeth-aching sweet to pucker-the-mouth bone dry. The best food-friendly Riesling wines are of the dry, acidic … [Read more...]
Scheff’s Table – Simple Meat Sauce for Pasta
Many authentic Bolognese-style Italian meat sauce recipes for pasta are cumbersome and time-consuming. The sauce often has to cook for the better part of a day, or even longer. Well, here is a nifty meat sauce for pasta that can be made in under a half-hour - a great recipe for a quick weeknight dinner. Ingredients: 1 Tbs olive oil ¾ lb. lean ground beef, preferably … [Read more...]
Sip O’ the Week – Conquilla Brut Cava
If you’re a frequent reader of this column, you know that I love bubbly. But as much as I adore Champagne, the French sparkling wine isn’t typically within my budget. So, I often turn to Spanish cava to get my sparkling wine fix. Cava is a Spanish sparkling wine from Catalonia, which can be white or rosé. Only sparkling wines made in the French-style … [Read more...]
Bringing Home Bites of The Big Apple
Normally in this space, I write about local restaurants. It is, after all, called Utah Bites. However, this week I’m going to deviate from the norm and bring you some tasty snapshots of New York City, where I spent last week. I think it’s informative to look beyond our culinary borders from time to time and see what’s happening elsewhere, foodwise. And, I’ll see … [Read more...]