Hip spots to get your three squares in Park City
Former mining town now offers a wide range of international cuisines, from tapas to sushi Pizza topped with whole clams and white sauce at the Silver Star Café.
In an old Utah mining town that has turned into a mountain resort, you would expect a healthy dose of burgers, skillets and other eat-and-get-back-outthere fare. Park City has all that. But thanks to relentless development and investment — including Vail Resorts’ 2014 acquisition of the local ski mountain — dining options run the international gamut, including tapas, sushi, nouveau American, Indian, Italian and (who would’ve guessed?) Australian cuisine, fuelled by a surge in visits by skiers from Down Under. Some of the best finds are borne of passionate local restaurateurs and inventive young chefs, most of whom come for the same reasons: to revel in the two world-class winter sports resorts and 400 miles of summer trails in the surrounding Wasatch Range.
If you were going to find a 100-year-old miner anywhere in Park City, it might be milling on the steps outside Riverhorse Provisions (riverhorseprovisions.com; 435-649-0799; 221 Main St.), which still flaunts the 1904 stone-and-wood facade of the one-time miner’s favourite Imperial Hotel. Linger with that hope for a minute, then shift up to the second-floor gourmet market and cafe for a coffee — from Caffe Ibis of Logan, Utah — followed by brisket hash (with polenta bites, poached egg, spinach and crispy jalapeno), breakfast poutine (cheese curds, red onion, fried egg and sausage gravy) or the top-selling spinach tortilla wrap, filled with sausage, cheddar chipotle cream and farm-fresh scrambled eggs.
The 50-seat dining room at the Silver Star Café (thesilverstarcafe.com; 435655-3456; 1825 Three Kings Dr.) is like a really hip grandma’s kitchen, with weathered wood panelling, farmhouse shelving, exposed beams and a guitar (that anyone can play) hanging on the wall. The patio, steps from a ski lift and mountain bikers’ Armstrong Trail, affords views that stretch 40 kilometres to the Uinta Mountains. Owners Jeff and Lisa Ward, who met while waiting tables at the adjacent Deer Valley resort in the 1980s, opened the Silver Star Café in 2010, to nurture their love of food and music. (The evening slate from Thursday through Saturday is heavy on acoustic and jazz performers.) Top lunch choices include a burger crafted from a blend of brisket, short rib and hanger steak, pizza topped with whole clams and white sauce, and a seared trout salad on a bed of romaine, roasted corn, grape tomatoes, avocado and more.
After a bowl of oxtail onion soup — from meat braised in veal stock for six hours — you’ll understand why the Farm (opentable.com/the-farm; 435-6158080; 4000 Canyons Resort Dr.), in Park City Canyons Village, was tagged as one of Utah’s 25 best restaurants. Relax: You’re not done yet. Round up with German chef Manny Rozehnal’s herbed spaetzle (truffle, caramelized onions, crispy shallots and black chanterelles) or lamb rack (curried Israeli couscous, golden raisins, tomato braised chickpea ragout and green onion). Rozehnal emphasizes local, humanely raised, and sustainable ingredients in his dishes, all cushioned by a 200-bottle wine list.