Forage

I may complain incessantly about not being able to buy wine at the grocery store, but with the addition of restaurants like TIPICA and Pago, even I have to admit that Salt Lake City is only getting better. Then there's Forage, which has brought an entirely new level of fine dining to town. Money may not be able to buy happiness, but as we learned during our recent trip to Forage, it can buy one beautifully crafted, entirely unprecedented SLC meal.

We decided to celebrate our 10-year wedding anniversary with Forage's 10 course tasting menu, which is $79 per person. The restaurant also offers a three course tasting menu for $39, which is a very reasonable equivalent of what an appetizer, entree and dessert would run you at any restaurant--even those unnamed chains pushing free bread sticks. While the course options for Forage's three course menu were carefully detailed, the staff were a little evasive when we inquired what the 10-course tasting menu would entail, promising only that we would enjoy some things that were on the menu--and some things that were not. Personally, shelling out that kind of dough for dinner is a treat: I at least want some foreplay by way of a menu. But all was forgiven as the courses started coming...



Amuse Bouche: Tomato Garlic Croquette


More Amuse: Poached Egg with Maple


Big Eye Tuna "Mi Cuit" with Fresh Polenta, Tomatoes and Pine Nut Vinaigrette


Atlantic Fluke "Sashimi Style" Cucumber, Olive Oil and Chives



Vegetable Garden - Seasonal Selection and Summer Herbs



Summer Squash Risotto Without Rice, Tomato and Garlic, Crispy Squash Blossoms



Sea Scallop, Corn, Chorizo, Jalapeno



Braised Shellfish, Shrimp, shellfish Essence, Sea Beans

As night fell and the wine bottle emptied, the quality of the photos started to go downhill, but the food most certainly did not...



Niman Ranch "Poulet Rouge" Napa Cabbage, Potato Confit, Mushroom Ragu, Bacon


Roasted Colorado Lamb, Chick Pea Gnocchi, Smoked Paprika



Beef Strip Loin, Tomato Confit, King Oyster Mushroom, Potato Puree, Nasturtium



Goat and Sheep's Milk Cheese - Courtesy of Tony Caputo's Market and Deli

At this point we switched to dessert wine, and the photos digressed even further...



Chilled Passion Fruit Soup, Soft Vanilla Cake, Compressed Melons, Lime Sorbet



Bear Lake Raspberries, Rose Custard Cake, Black Sesame Croquant, Yogurt Sorbet

The irony, which we realized by the end of our three-and-a-half-hour meal, was that the 10 course menu had indeed consisted of everything listed on the overall menu. As the night wound down, chefs Bowman Brown and Viet Pham visited each and every table (unfortunately though there were only three including us) to chat with guests, which I thought was a lovely gesture on their part, and hopefully, a tradition. On our next visit (which can't come soon enough) our budget will have us more bound to the three courses for $39 route. If you've driven by the transformed house on 900 South but have yet to venture in, don't let the white linens and elegantly minimal interior fool you: Forage is approachable. It is also unmatched. They even sent us home at the end of the evening with little individually wrapped pound cakes, a touch which reminded us of dining at NYC's Bouley. Needless to say, Salt Lake City's food scene has long been waiting for a culinary journey like this one: Forage is worthy of the support to indicate such.

- K


Forage Restaurant
370 East 900 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
801.708.7834