10 Local Dishes to Love
Photography: Timothy Thimmes
With the abundance of culinary treats Park City restaurants have to offer, paring favorites down to a few is a daunting but delicious task. With apologies for the many great dishes left off this list, and with an acknowledgment that some of the town’s most adventurous cooking is prepared seasonally, here’s one Parkite’s accounting of 10 local standbys not to miss.
At Talisker on Main, one of Park City’s newer eateries, chef John Murcko has improved on a near-perfect food: hush puppies. His spin on the Southern classic is to kick ’em up a notch with sweet lobster meat and woody tarragon butter. Bet you can’t eat just one. 435.658.5479 or taliskeronmain.com
The beef braciola at Ghidotti’s is based on owner Bill White’s grandmother’s recipe. It’s made with top round braised in wine, tomatoes, garlic and herbs for at least four hours, until it’s so tender you might want to eat it with a spoon. 435.658.0669 or ghidottis.com
If there’s a better steak option in town than the Grub Steak’s center-cut baseball top sirloin, I haven’t found it. It’s just one reason that Hans Fuegi’s steakhouse has lasted longer than most. 435.649.8060 or grubsteakrestaurant.com
With world-class chef Houman Gohary at the helm, there are no bad choices at Good Karma. However, the juhek kebab rocks: tender, young chicken breast infused with saffron, sun-dried lemons and shallots. It’s fresh, fragrant and delightfully spiced. 435.658.0958 or goodkarmarestaurants.com
Picture this: Julienned iceberg lettuce, radicchio and spinach tossed with minced red onions, mushrooms, green olives, bacon bits, hard-cooked eggs, hearts of palm, tiny croutons and a divine blue cheese and lemon-basil dressing, then presented in a mold and topped with crispy fried onions. Further description won’t do justice to the chilled chopped salad at Ruth’s Chris Steak House. 435.940.5070 or ruthschris.com
When it comes to steak tartare, I like to see a French chef at the controls. That’s why I turn to Jean Louis Montecot and his namesake restaurant, Jean Louis, for his classic tartare: beef tenderloin with aioli, Dijon mustard, minced red onion, capers and fried quail eggs. 435.200.0260 or jeanlouisrestaurant.com
In warm weather, a refreshing salad is hard to beat. Even harder to beat is Spruce’s watermelon and rocket (arugula) salad, tossed with goat’s milk feta and eiswein vinegar. And yes, with its refined mix of sweet, tart and bitter, it tastes as spectacular as it looks. 435.647.5566 or sprucepc.com
Sure, it’s old school. But Adolph’s, after all, is Park City’s definitive old-school haunt. So why not indulge yourself and your date with owner Adolph Imboden’s classic Steak Diane: tenderloin steaks (for two) prepared with a buttery Dijon sauce and flambéed to perfection at your table. 435.649.7177 or adolphsrestaurant.com
Longtime locals all know the name Jerry Garcia (and we’re not talking about the former Grateful Dead front man). Park City’s Garcia has been tantalizing palates at Chez Betty since 1994 with dishes such as his scrumptious pecan-crusted Atlantic salmon, served with maple-brown butter, crispy fried leeks and butternut squash chowder. 435.649.8181 or chezbetty.com
One of the most satisfying, if simple, meals I’ve enjoyed in Park City is a big, heavy, cast-iron pot of steamed mussels Marinières at J&G Grill in the St. Regis. It’s a serving of about three dozen plump Maine mussels, steamed to perfection and served with crisp, thick slices of rustic grilled bread for soaking up all the buttery, sensuous broth. 435.940.5760 or jggrilldeercrest.com
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