Deer Valley continues to bring good food to the East side of the Wasatch Front. They recently opened up a new restaurant at The Lodges at Deer Valley, The Brass Tag, where you can get a feel for the mining days, while enjoying a moderately priced meal along with big flavored cocktails and wine.

At the Brass Tag you can watch the chefs busily getting food in and out of the brick oven and plating to perfection in cast iron skillets and stone platters. The dark atmosphere and earthen-ware plating, makes it easy to imagine the mining days. Even the bar is lined with old mining maps for navigating the dark tunnels under what we now enjoy for skiing. So, while you eat, you may get a little lesson of Park City’s past.

We dined in the dimly lit lodge taking in each course as it came our way. Here are a few standouts:

Appetizer- House Cured Duck and Parma Proscuitto Flat Bread – this pizza-like dish was perfectly cheesy with an earthy note adding in the duck and a crisp ending with green apple matchsticks.

Greens- Baby Spinach or Blueberry Romaine and Kale Salad – Both of these salads were a huge standout to me!  The baby spinach salad looked plain but tasted perfect.  It was dressed to just the right amount and the addition of caramelized pineapple really took it over the top.  Also, I’m a big fan of fresh herbs in my salad so the mint won me over.  As for the Blueberry Romaine and Kale Salad, it was crunchy with a rich dressing with plum, ripe blueberries and a creamy, creamy house-made lemon ricotta – need I say more?!

Entrees- Mushroom Trio and Potato Hash and the Tandoori Rubbed Quail. The Hash was right up my alley with flavorful quinoa, a farm fresh egg and a bright red pepper sauce that pulled all of the flavors together perfectly.  And the Tandoori Quail was a real kicker on the menu, this little bird had a corn bread stuffing, and was served over a coconut lime sauce and sweet potato puree but the spices on the meat really made the dish great.

Sides- Sweet Soy Roasted Broccoli with Shiitake Mushrooms and Leek and Garlic Creamed Spinach. The Broccoli and Mushrooms took me back to some of my favorite asian stir frys but much much better. The sauce was perfect with the right amount of ginger and garlic and the broccoli kept its crispiness making for a great combo of texture and flavor. The Creamed Spinach was sublime with a rich sauce and a cheese on top that I wish I would have asked more about.

Dessert- Cobbler. The cobbler served at The Brass Tag was comprised of just the right amount of fruit and moist cake and is served in the cutest little cast iron pan, you’ll want to take it home once you’ve devoured all of the cobbler (which, trust me, you will!)

Everything on the menu is accessible yet refined and the atmosphere creates an imagination for the mining days. The Brass Tag must be a locals choice if you’re in the neighborhood or not.