Faustina

Faustina may be the upscale dining experience most representative of Utah in existence. That is to say, they are trying, and on some fronts doing OK, but Faustina falls short of the mark. I didn't have my camera so all the pretty food shots come straight from faustinaslc.com.

The good:
1. The stuffed beef tenderloin medallions were top notch. They don't use a strong stuffing to get by - the treat here was the beef (as it should be).
2. The decor. The restaurant has its own feel, which is different but ultimately pretty fun.
3. $7 corkage fee - reasonable and particularly necessary given the wine list. Do not head to Faustina without a bottle of wine if you're planning to partake.
4. Blueberry souffle dessert - he or she who reads my reviews knows that I do not believe dessert can save the chef, but it did help us take a deep breath and leave without being upset about the evening. Really interesting dessert done well - and probably worth stopping in for this alone.

The bad:
1. The service was horrendous. We counted 12 minutes before our server (or anyone else) came by for the first time, and then it was to tell us that he'd be by just after opening a few bottles of wine for another table. If it hadn't been a special occasion we would have up and left but I was trying to stay mellow given the circumstance.
2. The signature rabbit appetizer was not good. Overcooked and served lukewarm. Nice presentation but overcooked rabbit is not delicious.
3. The seabass was below average. If you're going to pan saute a whitefish, you need to sauce with something interesting, and they did not. This dish was very light on flavor and this is me warning you off of the seabass.

The Verdict? If you had ordered the tenderloin, a salad and the blueberry souffle, you'd come away thinking Faustina was a top 10 SLC option. Unfortunately everything else we tried fell flat, so I'd say there are much better options for similar or less coin. Thumbs down.

Forage

According to the buzz, Bowman Brown and Viet Pham have brought real food to Salt Lake City for the first time ever. Given my experiences over the past couple of years, I felt glad that people were trying to do something original and real, but I figured that is where this would end - a step in the right direction. The problem is, I can't find anything to criticize. This was the best meal I've ever eaten in Salt Lake. This meal ranked among the top five I've ever eaten, period. So here's the play-by-play.

We started with a tomato croquette - one bite of tomato soup fried into a croquette about the size of a marble. This was the least enjoyable course by a significant margin, and it was very good. State fair fare came to mind (fried soup hell yeah!), but I will forgive the slow start because the next item out was....

...a soft scrambled egg with maple syrup. Sounded like they were reaching on this, but the staple Forage second course took top honors for me. Topped with a creme fraiche and green onion, this one was a killer blend of sweet and savory. I would go back to Forage for the egg alone, and if you go, this is the one dish I've never seen the menu going without. I'm just going to hit some high points for brevity's sake on the rest of the night.

Carrot puree with basil seeds, cucumber and wildflower. If there is a criticism that I've heard from foodies about Forage it is that they take the concept of floral cuisine to a whole new level. If you need meat on your plate, you'll be disappointed in several of the courses, but the carrot puree is a great example of how good they were at spinning floral into something simultaneously beautiful and fulfilling.

Wild greens and root veggies. I was beside myself by this point and I can't tell you too much about what is in this dish because Chef Brown was talking to us about he actually went out foraging (see what I did there?) for several of the greens in this dish. Wild mustard greens were the best addition - spice and good body to complement the milder items on the plate.

Did I mention there was a real floral theme here? Anyways - new potatoes with chives, onion and wildflower blossoms. Well done.

Meat course! This one was a chili rubbed hamachi with pancetta. The presentation was the weakest for this course, but it tasted great and was intriguing enough on the plate.

Time for a couple of dessert courses. We did sweet corn sorbet with blackberries and lemon creme first. This was a nice palate cleanser and still sweet enough to stand on its own as a dessert course. Nothing too sweet though, because this was on the way:

Peaches with a really nice fresh cheese and wildflower garnish. The cheese made this dish! Perfect end to this meal - I was really glad that they didn't throw a big chunk of chocolate at us after we had been on the root veggies and wild greens kick for so long. Nice work and we left full.

The verdict? This is the best restaurant in Utah and will go toe to toe with just about anyone else in the genre. We'll likely be repeating this review regularly going forward as I'll be looking for an excuse to get back.

Made by Tom

I wanted to let you know about Chef Tom Call, who is on his way to Salt Lake and has been priming the pump this summer by hosting a few pop up dinners. Didn't catch any great images this time but our menu included:

-Tomato and watermelon tartare

-Carrots three ways: puree, fire roasted and pickled

-Summer squash trifolate on cipollini onions and topped with parsley

-Coffee-roasted beets with home made goat cheese and jicama

-Smoked pork bellies over a bed of creamed barley, grapes and fresh granola

-Natural aged Idaho beef on braised greens and asparagus

-Preserved stone fruit, creme fraiche and charred scallions

Everything was served family style and we ate until we thought we were going to pass out. The kicker was that Tom just headed over to the farmer's market the morning of this dinner and looked for what seemed fresh - then created the above based on what he found. I think Tom will likely don the mantel of Utah's best new chef in 2012, so keep an eye out for him once he arrives full time.

Follow what Tom is up to here: Made by Tom