The Hot, the Cool and the Hip
Photography: Courtesy of Park City Jazz Foundation
Most Romantic table: It’s called the Love Shack. Wahso regulars know it and request it. Not that there’s any bad seating at Bill White’s Asian fusion eatery. It’s just that the Love Shack is a corner table tucked-away in a space about the size of a sleeper car and curtained off from the rest of the restaurant for privacy. It’s an ideal place for playing footsie while you sip a sake martini.
Perfect picnic spot: Deer Valley Resort. There are plenty of places to hide away in and around Deer Valley for a private picnic. But the best Park City picnic spot is anything but private. It doesn’t get any better than lounging on a lawn chair or blanket at one of Deer Valley’s summer concerts, sipping a glass of something cool and perhaps digging into one of Deer Valley’s gourmet picnic baskets. Roasted quail, chilled petit filet of beef, house-smoked salmon and double cream French brie are just a few of the tasty treats you can enjoy while listening to the likes of Lyle Lovett or the Utah Symphony.
Coolest cocktail: At Kevin and Bob Valaika’s Shabu restaurant, they whip up an endless array of “saketinis” to complement their “freestyle” Asian fare. None is better on a warm summer day than the Endless Swirl, a clever concoction of sake, Jose Cuervo Especial tequila and orange liqueur, all shaken and stirred with pineapple, orange and lime juices. Ole!
Awesome al fresco: Don’t be surprised to see moose meandering below the dining deck at the Westgate Grill as you and Bullwinkle both take in stunning mountain and valley views. This is the epitome of al fresco eating. And what could be better on a toasty summer day than a big bowl of Chef Warren Willey’s bodacious bouillabaisse with a bottle of bubbly alongside?
Hottest dessert: If you’ve grown tired of molten lava chocolate decadence cakes and herb-infused ice creams, we suggest trying on a classic at Chenez. The crème au caramel and pots de crème are remarkable, but the hottest (literally, since it comes directly from the oven to your table) dessert in town is owner Joe Jafarian’s soufflé au Grand Marnier — a cloudlike, ethereal Grand Marnier soufflé for two. Share it with someone special.
Hippest chef: Only a zany and immensely creative guy like Jean Louis Montecot could get away with wearing this in the kitchen: vertically striped hip-huggers from Chloe Lane and stylish Italian shoes with pointed toes sharp enough to slice mushrooms. Of course, Jean Louis Restaurant & Bar is his namesake restaurant, so he can dress as outrageously as he wishes. And who really cares about clothes when Jean Louis dishes up entrées as divine as his roast duck Belford, entrecote de boeuf, poulet en croûte, and Asian-style halibut?
Your comments may be edited for brevity and foul language.