Lately, we’ve been doing a lot of good dining in the Avenues neighborhood.  We’ve been brunching at Avenues Bistro and having dinner at Avenues Proper.  Avenues Proper opened up in April and we got their as soon as we could. Although their menu doesn’t scream family friendly, with it’s duck fat popcorn and elk carpaccio, we discovered quite a few families enjoying a weekend meal here.  And the beer is some of the best 3.2 beer around and the brew master will continue to come up with new creations as two of his four taps will be rotating on his call.

Some of our favorites off their menu include the duck fat popcorn, mussels in coconut herb broth served with twice-fried fries, and the chicken and waffles with house-made chicken sausage.

Check out our full write up on Avenues Proper in this month’s In Magazine.

Avenues Proper
376 8th Avenue

(This post is promoting the SLC Mixers event promoting Ruth Lewandowski Wines)

It’s a bit presumptuous of us to use the word “introducing” in the title of this event.  If you’ve eaten at Pago or lived in Salt Lake City, Alsace, Alto Adige, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina or Northern California in the last decade, you might have crossed paths with Evan.  This may not be an introduction to the winemaker Evan Lewandowski, but we’re fairly confident this will be your introduction to his wine-making operation in Utah, Ruth Lewandowski Wines.  This will be the first time anyone in the public will be able to taste Ruth Lewandowski Wines.

Evan has three wines coming out this year, and our event next Sunday launches his first – MAHLON, an Arneis with fruit sourced from Fox HIll Vineyards.  Next up he has a Cortese (Chilion) and a Carignan (Boaz).

But his name is Evan, so why is it called RUTH?
Utah makes winemaking terribly difficult, how did Evan do it here?
Where can I buy it?

Come to the event this Sunday to meet Evan, taste his Arneis (MAHLON) and hear the story of his winemaking past, present and future.  Utah offers nothing comparable to what Evan’s doing and the way he’s doing it.  Even if you’re not impressed with the his natural process, his wines are simply delicious and one day you’ll brag that your palate was the first canvas for his Utah-born masterpieces.

Questions? Comments? Email SLCfoodie@gmail.com or Call (801) 918 – 8173

register: SLCmixers.com
Sunday, April 28, 4p – 6p
$40
Roth’s Culinary Scene
1400 S Foothill (Foothill Village)

See some photos from Michael Friberg’s trip to Domaine Binner in Alsace of Evan.

When we ate at The Farm the cocktails we sipped on almost stole the show. They were so good that we thought they deserved their own blog post.  The menu included so many interesting drinks that we let our waiter, who also often works at the bar, choose a couple from the list for us to sample.

I tried the most unusual one, the Phat Beetz, a bright pink cocktail made with pickled beet puree, ginger liquor and tangeray, a blend that easily grew on me as I slowly sipped on it.  This more-savory-than-sweet cocktail challenged my taste buds but ever since then I’ve been craving less sweet cocktails. I’m sharing the recipe for the Phat Beetz cocktail on theVintageMixer today. Josh tried the Summer Solstice, a mixture of High West Bouyre, peach/mint/white tea emulsion served in a highball with a finish of Squatters IPA.

Around dessert time we had to try the Farm Gin Fizz, a tall strawberry milkshake-like drink not for kids.  This cocktail is a combinations of Bombay Sapphire, a citrus medley, cream, strawberry reduction, fresh egg white, served in a collins glass floated with sparkling water.  The sparkling water mixed with the cream and egg whites together create a foam similar to what you sip off the top of an ice cream float. This is a dessert cocktail that will cure your cravings for ice cream and fruit all in the same sip.

We enjoyed our cocktails while sitting under the atrium overlooking the sun slowly going down behind the green slopes. A perfect evening in my book.

Today on theVintageMixer we’re sharing a recipe for one of the cocktails. Read the full post of our meal at the Farm here.

For the Roasted Strawberry recipe please visit TheVintageMixer.com. They are super easy and perfect on top a of crusty bread or vanilla ice cream.

Bar X is our favorite place to grab a drink with friends in Salt Lake. They now have a sleek back room called the speakeasy that is offered for use of private parties and events.  Contact Bar X for more details.

Wait, what? Salt Lake City has an urban winery?  How fun is this!  Urban wineries are gaining popularity all around the country, basically they are a winery minus the vineyard.  Kiler Grove has free wine tastings, a wine tasting room with a Zion Curtain (it wouldn’t be Utah without it), and a limited selection of their boutique wines.

I posted a full review of the winery on Visit Salt Lake’s blog, including my favorite wine and the story behind Kiler Grove.  I’m hoping to see more of their wine around the valley, maybe in some of our favorite local restaurants and brew-pubs like Pago, Tin Angel, Fresco, Em’s, Desert Edge, and Vinto (hint, hint).  Until then, you should venture over to their tasting room for a free sip and a bottle to take home.

I recently had the chance to sample several new flavors at Wasatch Brew Pub during Park City’s Savor the Summit. Red wine being my preferred drink, I was surprised at how much I really enjoyed several of the brews. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy a beer from time to time but I more frequently enjoy a glass of wine with dinner.

A few new brews from Wasatch Brewery that I thought were exceptional were their new Jalepeno Cream Ale, which really had a spicy kick to it, and their Summer Twilight Kölsch, which was refreshing with flavors of fruit and bread. Both of which, you cannot buy bottled but you can fill up a growler with these brews when you visit a the Watatch Brew Pub on Main Street in Park City.

Another point of news for Wasatch Beers is that they recently came out with a new bottle size, 8 oz Little Slammers, which you can buy in a six pack. The smaller beers would be perfect for a picnic or party.

written by my husband Josh, because he knows whiskey much better than I
I leaned over the bar at Seven Grand, a whiskey bar in downtown LA, searching through their hundreds of whiskey options hoping to find something from High West. I didn’t care to order it, I just wanted to make sure they had it to prove their taste in good beverage before I ordered an obscure, hard-to-find Scotch, neat with a water back. After all, I was out of Utah, I wanted to try something not so…regulated. If a bar shelf has High West, I feel at home. I feel like I can trust the bartender to do me right.

Not long ago, I finally made it to High West Distillery and Saloon on Park Street in Park City. Walking in, I planned to see the many versions of wood-toned spirits, but their latest creation left me with a lot of questions for the bartender, like “Why did you put vodka in a whiskey bottle?” or “What?”

High West’s new Silver Whiskey offers all the processes of whiskey minus the aging in wooden barrels, so it’s clear. It never met anything to shade its color. In a shot glass, it might be mistaken for Vodka, but one sniff and there’s no mistaking the fragrant, floral aroma. After the first taste, the vodka disguise is completely compromised.

Silver whiskey is new to me, but it’s no longer foreign. I’m looking forward to returning to the distillery to pick up a bottle soon because it’s not yet in liquor stores. Any whiskey snob/Utah snob needs a bottle of High West’s Silver Whiskey for their cabinet. I must admit, I certainly enjoy their Rendezvous and Rocky Mountain better, but the Silver will certainly have a place on my shelf. Look for it at the State Store this summer.
written by my husband Josh

Go here for a full review of High West from our first visit to the Distillery.

A new brewery opened up about a week ago called Epic Brewery. The store is located on State Street offering up all of their most recent brews for sale.

The founders and co-owners David Cole and Peter Erickson, have a passion for making and drinking fine ales and lagers. They partnered with la ocal brewmaster from Bohemian Brewery to create exclusively high alcohol content beer. The beers are bottled in 22-ounce bottles which are perfect for sharing.

If you want to sit down and have one of their beers you’ll have to go to the Beer Hive, because Epic is a store front only brewery. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing because it’s creating a lot of excitement around the culture of the brand. The word is out about Epic because when we went there was a long line to purchase beers and two of their brews were sold out. Our Portlander friends, who moved here recently and are self acclaimed beer connoisseurs, have given Epic their stamp of approval. My husband, who brews, and myself, who enjoys a good beer, agree that Epic is brewing up some unique offerings for Utah and we’re thankful.

Epic Brewery
825 South State Street,
Mon – Thur: 11am – 9pm
Fri – Sat – 10am – 11pm
Closed Sunday

Few things inspire me more than an afternoon beer with friends I truly love and the Beerhive in Salt Lake City offers the perfect room for such imbibing. I’m no lush, but 3pm is certainly not too early for a pint or two, especially on a Friday, especially if they serve Desert Edge’s UPA on tap. Especially.Several factors go into a good experience. First, if the company sucks, the beer follows closely. No matter if it’s Chimay Grande Reserve, Traquair House or Jacobite, Desert Edge’s entire beer menu, Odell’s 90 Schilling or Stone’s Arrogant Bastard Ale, a poor conversation wastes good beer. Second? Atmosphere. I want a place that’s clean but well inhabited, knowledgeable and slightly snobby about their selection. The Beerhive is all of these. Their liquor selection intrigues, but their beer menu warrants experimentation and perhaps a second visit.

Gather Nate, Nick and Mike around a table of pint glasses and prepare for exaggeration, a touch of vulagarity and April Fool’s jokes in February. The kind waitress raised her voice to match the volume of ours and graciously kept our glasses full as we went on about our fish stories. Beer is merely the engine that drives our conversation this particular afternoon, but we’re inclined to talk about the dark corners of our hearts even outside the familiarity of a good pub, because we are in a bible study together also.

It’s a shame that religious culture now condemns the drink that once blessed it. I know my friends and I certainly connect well over a few drinks around a wood table in the corner of the room. Through the course of the afternoon we talk about our marriages, our jobs, our frustrations and wants. The beer slightly loosens our pride to tell of our inadequacies and longings. But regardless of the conversation, we stand confident in our friendship and find fulfillment by simply sitting together over a beer.

The Beerhive offers a uniqueness only known in the elitist beer culture of Portland: the bar’s frozen ice strip. A stretch of ice extending the length of the bar cools your drink and reminds you of the beer’s value. Yeah, some cultures look down on the refrigerated beer. But that’s not my culture. I love my beer, no matter that variety, slightly chilled. I’ve never seen anything like the Beerhive’s bar. They tell me that Portland’s Henry Weinhard’s Tavern is the only other bar with such digs. I feel like a beer at the Beerhive is more of an honor than debauchery.

I think we’ll go back once a month, at least, to chat and try new beers and old favorites. Regardless, the Beerhive is reviving the lost art of good drink in a fine room.
written by Josh Rosenthal, husband of SLCfoodie and local beer connoisseur.

Beer Hive Pub
128 South Main Street