Have you ever had a dining experience that just completely changed your mood or helped you forget everything going on around you? As we sat inside the atrium umbrella on the deck of The Canyons ski resort at one of the most highly acclaimed restaurants in Park City, The Farm, and as our friendly waiter handed us over a couple of cocktails, I easily slipped into the euphoria of the moment. Sometimes a book or a long run helps me to take a break from the business of life but in this case it was a meal, and a delicious mulit-course meal at that!  Today I’m going to take you on a journey through our tasteful evening at The Farm.

The open air kitchen allows anyone entering the restaurant to see just how freshly prepared each dish is that comes to your table at The Farm. Many of the dishes they serve at The Farm highlight the natural flavors of the food, without any distractions or overly seasoned additives to keep you from tasting the fresh selections of produce and meats.

After walking past the kitchen area we chose to sit in their indoor/outdoor area, what they call the glass atrium or the umbrella. Blinds guard the sun from making the area too hot and if the sun is getting in your eyes at all a server will hang up a thicker blanket to shade your table.  We always feel spoiled by the quality of service we get in Park City.  When the sun goes down the blinds go up and you have a peaceful setting overlooking the ski slopes with the cool mountain air greeting each table.

The chef started the evening by bringing a complementary amuse-bouche to our table. Of our first few small bites, my favorite was the fried-green tomato, a firm tomato fried to a crisp in grainy cornmeal and served with a tangy, spicy aioli and an assortment of unusual greens on top.

Pork Belly also graced their amazing menu of hors d’oeuvres (which we can never pass up an opportunity to taste pork belly).  This salty cut of meat lived up to its reputation – it melted our mouths.

I let Josh enjoy most of the pork belly while I moved on to a small serving of their cracked pepper fettucini served with sweet english peas, a bite of trout and the smallest quail egg cracked on top.I am so glad that The Farm serves up fresh, lighter fare because we had a long evening of eating on this occasion!  Before our main entrees came out we cleansed our pallets with some refreshing golden and pink beets that were lightly roasted and naturally flavorful.

At this moment in our meal, we took a few deep breaths and a few more sips of the tasty Pinot Noir selected by our waiter before we moved to our entrees.  I really appreciate that the Farm serves half-bottles of wine.  Especially since I began the evening with a cocktail, a half-bottle is the perfect amount to enjoy with a meal.  We enjoyed every sip of the Domaine Drouhin from the Willamette Valley in Oregon.

For our main course Josh tried their grass fed beef, which was a rare cut on this day, and was served with horseradish flan, chard, beets and chimichurri.  The cut of meat was perfectly tender and as Josh described ‘incredible!’

I chose the Grass Valley Steelhead, a cut of trout simply seasoned with garlic and fresh herbs, served with mushrooms (foraged by the chef himself), asparagus and parsley infused goat milk.  The goat’s milk sauce was most unusual, adding a tangy, creamy sauce that didn’t overwhelm the dish but added a intriguing flavor to a few bites.

After consuming most of what was on my plate I got up to walk around the restaurant and take a few photos.  I wanted to show you their creativity in their outdoor dining area.  The ‘live tables’ were specially made for the restaurant’s spot at Savor the Summit and were lined with a shallow trough for herbs to grow.  Diners can add herbs to their dishes or pick from a wide selection of mint for their summer mojito.

No one had to twist my arm to try something off the dessert menu at The Farm.  The only problem was deciding which dessert.  Luckily there was one that both Josh and I were drawn to, Peanut Butter Pie with an Oreo crust and a topping of chocolate ganache and espresso reduction sauce.   We savored each bite as we shared a small glass of Alvear dessert wine, a wine that uses the solera process in aging, which uses fractional blending from previous vintages giving the finished product a vintage to boast about.

I’m always amazed by the interesting and congenial servers in Park City restaurants, but that is even an understatement for our service at The Farm. Our server, Michael, gave us many nuggets of interesting information about our food and wine and did so in a way that we felt was modest and friendly. The Farm served us memorable bites, exceptional service and atmosphere, and overall a magical evening slope-side.  This is a place I’ll return to for any special occasion or just to take a break from the craziness of life and enjoy seasonally fresh flavors and cool mountain air.

The Farm at The Canyons Resort