Forage in Salt Lake City - An Incredible Dining Experience

On a recent trip to Salt Lake City, I had one of the most incredible dining experiences of my life. It was at a small restaurant called Forage (http://www.foragerestaurant.com/), where a colleague and I had a 15-course meal. Each course was small, but exceptionally creative and delicious. Moreover, each course was served in a very artistic way. At the end of the meal, we were delighted with the many different tastes we had experienced, but did not feel in the least bit full. We accompanied our meal with a nice red wine from northwest Italy.

It was my colleague who discovered Forage in Internet browsing, and suggested we try it. As soon as I read the reviews he forwarded to me, I agreed that we should try it.

Forage specializes in using local foods "from the wild and from small farms and ranches." It serves a single set menu of 15 courses for $87 per person. It also offers wine pairings for $65, or juice and other non-alcoholic pairings for $26. It also offers a small, but nicely constructed wine list. The wine we chose was a bottle of 2011 Pecchenino San Luigi Dolcetto di Dogliani DOCG (a red).

Forage was opened in 2009 by Chefs Bowman Brown and Viet Pham. Chef Pham subsequently left in 2012.

In 2011, Food and Wine Magazine included Chefs Brown and Pham in a very small group of the Best New Chefs in America.

In a January 2013 Iron Chef competition, Chefs Pham, Brown, and Luke Fowles defeated Chef celebrity Bobby Flay. Their most innovative dish then was a beef fat ice cream with cherries. It blew away the judges. (http://www.standard.net/stories/2013/01/07/utah-chef-defeats-bobby-flay-iron-chef)

Each course that we enjoyed had only a few bites and was served in a very creative fashion. In some cases, food was served in a way that it blended in with non-food items in the dish - so that one almost had to "forage" for the food. Of course, the server pointed out the actual food item.

The restaurant is located in what appears to have originally been a residence. It is relatively small inside.

Two servers waited on all the clients. There was a young woman named Brooklyn, and a young man of Nepalese ethnicity named Pratik. Both were very attentive, professional, and helpful.

After returning from my trip, I sent an email to Chef Brown thanking him for the terrific meal and asking him to review my descriptions of the dishes. He kindly responded and corrected a couple of my errors.

The courses we enjoyed were:

Appetizers

 

Juniper Soda and Sorrel Sorbet - with salt around the rim

Potato Crisp with Elderberry Caper, Shallot, House-Made Sour Cream

Burn Eggplant Crisp with Eggplant Purée

 

 

Elderberry Leather with Chicken Liver Paté

 

Grilled Dragon Tongue Beans

Smoked Cheddar, Malted Barley, Epic Beer Batter

Main Dishes

Smoked Tomato Broth, Corn, and Fresh Trout Roe

Idaho Sturgeon and Cabbage infused with Rosemary, and with Buttermilk Whey

 

Plum and Tomato with Sheep's Milk Cheese and Basil Purée

 

Vegetables with Roasted Chicken Vinaigrette

 

Smoke Trout with Rosehips, Wild Sumac, Apple Juice, and Rosehip oil

 

Aged Duck with Beets and Burnt Onion

Desserts

 

Muscat Grapes, Celery Sorbet, and Sorrel Powder

 

Asian pear purée and Douglas Fir Mousse

 

Rosehip sherbet, vanilla meringue, sparkling yoghurt, dried raspberry.

 

At the end, we were served a couple of candies, probably home-made.

Wine

Dolcetto is a type of wine produced from a grape of the same name. It is from the Langhe area of the Piedmont Region of northwest Italy. The Langhe is one of Italy's greatest wine producing areas. Its star wine is Barolo. While Dolcetto is one of the Langhe's lesser wines, this one was very nice. I think the price was about $40.

 

Thanks Chef Brown!

Thai Food Jackpot, Salt Lake City

On a recent trip to Salt Lake City, a colleague and I hit the Thai food jackpot at Simply Thai Restaurant (http://simplythaiutah.com/) in the southern suburbs of Salt Lake City. My colleague and I both enjoy Thai food, although he is much more knowledgeable than me. On the basis of Internet reviews, he identified Simply Thai as a good possibility. It turned out to be fantastic.

We both felt that it was the best Thai food we'd ever had in the U.S. It was so good that we returned the next evening. The second experience was every bit as good as the first.

Our initial impression when we walked into the restaurant made us wonder how much Thai influence there was. There was not the slightest hint of Thai ethnicity among the staff we saw.

Our misgivings were soon dismissed when we tasted our first course - two different soups. He had Tom Yum - spicy hot and sour soup with mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, red and green bell peppers, baby corn, lemon grass, and spicy lemon sauce. He asked that they make it extra spicy. He is normally disappointed when he makes that request. This time, he was not. He said that it was the best Tom Yum he had ever had. He ordered it again when we returned the following evening. This soup can be ordered with chicken or tofu. A cup is $3.95, and a bowl, which serves 2-4 people, is $11.95.

I had Tom Kha - creamy coconut soup with sliced chicken breast, galangal (Southeast Asian ginger), mushrooms, onions, cilantro, red and green bell peppers, baby corn, and lime sauce. I asked that prawns be substituted for the chicken. I love Tom Kha. This was by far the best I have ever had. In addition to the wonderful taste of the soup, the prawns were terrific. I ordered it again the following night. The prices for this soup were the same as those of the Tom Yum.

My colleague's entrée the first night was Pad Gra Tiem Pik Thai - stir-fried meat in garlic and black pepper with carrots, onions, and bell peppers for $12.95. He substituted tofu for the meat. He had the highest praise for this dish.

On the first night, I chose Pad Him Ma Parn - stir fried meat with onions, bell peppers, carrots, scallions, celery, and pineapple for $12.95. I chose beef as the meat. It was fantastic.

Both entrées were served with as much rice as we wanted.

The second night, my colleague's entrée was Gang Massaman, a Thai curry with beef or chicken, coconut milk, potatoes, and roasted cashews for $13.95. He substituted tofu for the beef or chicken. He also asked that the dish be made very spicy hot. It was. He is very familiar with this dish and prepares it at home. He considered it among the best he'd ever had.

My entrée was Ghang Khua Sub Parod Thai, a mild Thai pineapple curry with red curry, coconut milk, pineapple, carrots, bell peppers, Thai basil, baby corn, onions, and cashews for $14.95. As you might expect from the other dishes, this one was terrific as well.

The owner, a woman of Thai origin, was very sweet and very solicitous of her customers. She emphasized that she does not use MSG in her cuisine.

When we were effusive in our praise of her food, she offered us both homemade Thai coconut milk ice cream for dessert. My colleague was too full to try it, but I did. It was very nice.

We had different servers each night. Both of them did an excellent job.

Simply Thai is located in a strip mall at 37 West 10600 south, Sandy UT. The lunch and dinner menus are both available on the web site above.