Annual Restaurant Review

May is the in-between season and I thought that this would be a perfect time to review Park City's award-winning restaurants in anticipation of a busy summer. But first, let's talk about what's really important. The sun is shining! After weeks of cold, dreary, snowy weather we woke up yesterday to brilliant sunshine with temperatures forecasted to be in the mid 60s by the end of the week. Could this really be spring? We received about a foot of snow this past weekend and looking up at Deer Valley it doesn't look that different from a typical powder day.There are tracks all over from skiers hiking up. Looking at a pathway going from the Silver Lake Lodge to Stein Eriksen Lodge, the snowbank is still over six feet high. This may be the year that I'm able to ski on my birthday, June 14.


Among the Western ski resorts, Park City is known for having the best ski-town restaurants and deservedly so. I'd like to take a moment to review new restaurants in town as well as some of my long-time favorites. New in town this year is a restaurant called "Silver." Silver is located in what was originally the Utah Power and Light Company building on Main Street; up until the late 1980s this was where locals went to pay their electric bills each month. For a while it was the Phoenix Art Gallery and it opened up as Silver Restaurant this past winter. The restaurant was a big hit as it had a festive atmosphere and often had music and dancing. The menu was typical for Park City, offering a variety of seafood and meat dishes with their distinctive touch. Silver recruited a chef from one of New York's finer restaurants and there is definitely a New York flair.

Another restaurant I'd like to talk about is The Blind Dog. While not new, The Blind Dog moved locations and was closed for the better part of last year and just reopened last winter. Penny and Derek, the owners, hail from the East coast and feature their favorite seafood dishes. Particularly crab cakes and a variety of crab dishes. The Blind Dog certainly specializes in seafoods of all kinds but also has a wonderful sushi bar. The bar area has been expanded from the old location and is quickly becoming a locals' favorite for an evening glass of wine and some sushi or seafood appetizers. While the food at The Blind Dog is quite good the service can be suspect at times. So not a place I would recommend if you're in a hurry.

This past weekend I ate at Chimayo, one of Billy White's three Main Street restaurants. Chimayo bills itself as an interpretation of Southwest cuisine. The entrees are all very unusual and are decidedly Southwestern in flavor. Their tortilla soup is probably the best I've ever had. Some of my favorite appetizers at Chimayo are the duck enchilada and chile relleno. Both are worth visiting the restaurant just to sample. Chimayo is a classic Main Street restaurant, interestingly decorated and again, very festive. It's very small, so reservations are definitely required.

My long-time favorite restaurant and the one I always recommend is River Horse. A classic menu with fish and steaks, but their signature dish is an almond-encrusted halibut. When you visit River Horse, at least one person in the party has to have the halibut so everybody in the party can try it; it's that good. River Horse offers live music on weekends and during the warm summer months offers outdoor dining on a balcony overlooking Main Street. River Horse doesn't take reservations for the outdoor balcony seating (first come, first served) and it's extremely sought-after, so arrive early.

For more of the casual or family-friendly dining, I like Cafe Terigo, which is also the most popular lunch restaurant in town. Main Street Pizza and Noodle, very casual and child-friendly, Cicero's, for Italian, and The Eating Establishment, known locally as the double E. The EE is also one of the best places for breakfast. Zooms, on lower Main Street, owned in part by Robert Redford, is another very popular lunch spot and rivals Stein's for the best burger in town. Easy Street is extremely popular during the summer months when the downstairs patio is open as they have live music on a small stage. A great location with firepit, water feature, and right on Main Street for terrific people watching.

No visit to Park City is complete, however, without enjoying the Sunday brunch at Stein Eriksen Lodge. Featuring a wide variety of egg dishes, omelettes made to order of course, lamb, roast beef, a wonderful selection of fruits and cheeses and then there's the desert table, as only Stein's can do it. Sitting outside on the deck overlooking the slopes of Deer Valley, there just isn't a prettier place for Sunday brunch.

Contrary to popular belief, each of the restaurants I've mentioned have wonderful wine lists. While each restaurant will feature its own favorites, rest assured you will not be disappointed with your options. Another very nice and perhaps unique thing about dining in Utah is that you can bring your own wine with you. The server will open and serve the wine, you'll be charged a small corkage fee, but this allows you to bring your favorite from your own cellar. Up until about a year ago any wines brought into a restaurant for consumption had to display a sticker showing it was purchased from a Utah state store. Fortunately Utah, in its infinite wisdom (sarcasm, sarcasm) has done away with this requirement, opening things up to now enjoy a favorite wine from home while dining out.

While these are several of my favorites, there are many, many more wonderful restaurants here in town and I will continue this discussion in next week's blog. When you let me know you are here in town I will certainly recommend some different restaurants for you to experience.