FROM A TO Z

When you’re perusing the produce section or meandering through local summer markets, keep this guide handy for identifying the plentiful fruits and veggies.

BY SAM SIMMA/ ILLUSTRATIONS BY AMBER DAY

A

Achocha: a small, teardrop-shaped fruit grown on a vine with either a prickled or smooth skin, depending on the variety. Alpine strawberries: Smaller and more cone-shaped than common strawberries, these woodland strawberries are fragrant and very sweet. Anaheim pepper: an elongated, medium-size pepper that is green in color and has a mild heat. Arrowroot: a tropical tuber that is commonly used to make a white, flavorless powder that may serve as a gluten-free thickening agent.

B

Bitter melon (karela): a tropical gourd that is related to cucumber and zucchini but has a very bumpy, textured skin. Black radish: a root vegetable with a sharp, spicy flavor delivered by a white flesh that is concealed by tough, black skin. Bok choy: a variety of Chinese cabbage that has dark green leaves connected by thick white stalks, both with mild bitterness. Broccoli raab: elongated broccoli florets with coniferous greens and stalks that are sharply bitter. Brusselberry sprouts: small, purple-tinged cabbages that are milder and sweeter than regular Brussels sprouts.

C E

Elephant garlic: While two to threetimes larger than common garlic, elephant garlic has a much milder flavor. Endive: tightly bunched, elongated heads of greens that have a bitter taste and a crisp texture. Escarole: broad-leafed greens with curled edges and a slightly bitter flavor.

F

Calabash: Also called a bottle gourd, Fiddlehead fern: coiled fronds of young ferns that this pale green and smooth-skinned vegetable are very tender and taste almost a little nutty. is harvested young to be used similarly to Fennel: With a cherry-like texture zucchini in Asian cuisines. and feathery greens like those of a carrot,

Candy cane beet (chioggia beet): When this vegetable, when cooked, caramelizes and sliced, the flesh of this beet consists of becomes sweeter and more tender. white and red rings, but its flavor is similar Tagge’s to that of other beet varieties. Celeriac: the bulbous and earthy flavored root of celery plants. Famous Fruit & Veggie Farms grows chioggia beets. Get Garlic scapes: G slender, green flower

Chayote: a pear-shaped, bright green squash with a firm, crisp texture and mild taste. them if you sign up for their CSA. stems that grow from the garlic bulb and maintain an assertive garlic flavor. Cucamelons: A hybrid of melons and Ground cherries: Papery husks protect round, cucumbers, these fruits look like tiny watermelons orange berries with a uniquely sweet, tart and but taste more like sour cucumbers. almost tropical taste.

Ranui Gardens grows fennel, among other items, which they deliver to Hearth and Hill.

D

Daikon radish: a white root vegetable similar to a carrot in shape, but with a flavor like a radish, except milder and slightly sweet. Dragon tongue beans: white- and magenta-speckled shell beans that are a tad sweeter than green beans. Durian: a versatile, tropical fruit that has a spiky, green-brown skin and strong odor when ripe.

At Luna’s Kitchen you can get their chile verde enchiladas with jackfruit.

H

Hominy: dried kernels of corn that have been treated with alkali, causing the grain to double in size; often found in pozole soup.

I

Ivy gourd: a small fruit that looks and tastes like a cucumber but is slightly sweet, tart and a bit juicy when eaten raw.

J

Jackfruit: With a meaty texture and neutral flavor, this fruit is often used as a meat alternative. Jicama: a root vegetable with a thick, brown skin and a nutrient-dense white flesh similar to that of a potato in texture but sweet like that of an apple in taste.

M

Mashua: a medium-size tuber that has a lumpy exterior and conical shape, with a peppery flavor to its dense flesh. Mesclun: a mix of young greens that incorporates early sweet lettuces with tangy, tender leaves.

K

Kalettes: a small, leafy hybrid of kale and Brussels sprouts with a flavor that’s mildly earthy and nutty. Kiwano: Also called a horned melon, this African fruit has a gelatinous yellow-green center that is refreshingly sweet. Kohlrabi: Sometimes called a German turnip, this veggie has the sweet yet peppery flavor profile of the cabbage family. Kumquat: an orange-like citrus fruit that is small and oblong in shape, like an olive.

L

Lion’s mane mushrooms: shaggy white mushrooms with medicinal benefits for the brain and heart. Lychee: a tropical fruit with a bumpy red peel that is most often used in desserts and drinks.

N

Nopales: cactus pads (or leaves) with the thorns removed that are then sliced or diced and usually cooked when incorporated into Mexican dishes.

Intermountain Gourmet Mushrooms, based out of Ogden, has lion's mane and pioppino mushroom varieties.

O

Oca: colorful tubers grown in South America that have a tangy flavor. Okra: a plant that produces edible green seed pods, which can be eaten as a vegetable or used to thicken soups and stews. Okinawan sweet potato: Despite its light brown exterior, the flesh of this starchy tuber is bright purple and rich in antioxidants.

P

Pioppinos: firm, mildly nutty mushrooms with thin white stems and light brown caps.

Prickly pear: the edible, reddish fruits of cacti that produce a vibrantly sweet juice. Purple asparagus: more tender than green asparagus and sweeter, due to a 20% higher sugar content. Purple cauliflower: cauliflower graced with a purple hue due to the presence of the antioxidant anthocyanin, which is also found in red cabbage and wine.

Q

Quince: a bright yellow fall fruit that is extremely fragrant and often seen in the form of a paste used in pastries.

S

Snake gourds: long, slender gourds that are harvested for eating when young, before they become tough and very bitter tasting. Snap peas: a cross between snow peas and garden peas that results in a crunchy texture and crisply sweet flavor. Sunchoke: a thin-skinned root vegetable from sunflower plants that have the texture of a creamy potato once cooked.

T

Taro root: a tuberous vegetable that is toxic uncooked but is a nutty-flavored superfood when cooked. Tomatillo: Although it looks like a green tomato, a tomatillo has a papery husk and is far more tart (which lessens when cooked). Turban squash: With an appearance that combines pumpkin and acorn squash attributes, this bulbous, irregular-shaped gourd is also adorned with stripes.

The farm stand at Copper Moose Farm, open during the summer, is a perfect spot to grab snap peas.

R

Radicchio: purple leaves with white stalks, grown as round or elongated heads. Ramps: wild onions that look like scallions but have a more pungent flavor. Rutabaga: a large root vegetable in the cabbage family that has a dense and slightly sweet yellow flesh. Romanesco broccoli: Similar to broccoli and cauliflower in appearance and flavor, this chartreuse edible flower bud has more cylindrical florets and a form that naturally approximates a fractal.

Tina’s Bakery makes a quince pie.

At Drafts Burger Bar you'll have many milkshake varieties to choose from, but most start with a base of classic vanilla ice cream.

U

Ugli fruit: a hybrid citrus fruit grown in Jamaica that is a cross between an orange and a grapefruit.

V

Vanilla: the fruit produced by vanilla orchids and the seed pods from which vanilla bean is extracted. Vidalia onions: Grown only in Georgia, these yellow onions are highly sweet and slightly flatter than rounder varieties of yellow onions.

Find watercress in the salmon dish at The Brick.

W

Watercress: nutrient-packed leafy greens grown in aquatic environments, with a peppery taste that diminishes when cooked. Watermelon radish: mildly sweet and with just a hint of peppery flavor, these crunchy heirloom radishes have a hot pink center.

X

Xigua: a fruit from China that resembles a watermelon but is slightly smaller and rounder and has fewer seeds.

Y

Yardlong beans: Appearing and tasting like green beans, these beans are grown in warm climates and to lengths of over 1 foot. Yuca: a starchy root vegetable with a fibrous brown skin and dense, white flesh that yellows and becomes slightly sweet when cooked.

Z

Zucchini flowers: yellow-orange edible blossoms from zucchini vines that are both fragile and delicately sweet.

CATEGORIES OF FRUIT

BERRIES: FLESHY, FRAGILE FRUIT WITH MANY TINY SEEDS. CITRUS: THESE FRUITS HAVE A THICKER SKIN THAT MUST BE REMOVED TO GET TO THE FLESH, WHICH IS SEGMENTED. DRUPES: FRUIT WHOSE FLESH SURROUNDS A SINGLE SEED, CALLED THE PIT. MELONS: FRUIT WITH HARD OUTER SKIN, OR RIND, AND JUICY FLESH. POMES: CHARACTERIZED BY DENSE FLESH THAT SURROUNDS A CENTRAL CORE WITH SEVERAL SEEDS. TROPICAL: EXOTIC FRUITS GROWN ONLY IN WARM CLIMATES.

CATEGORIES OF VEGETABLES

(although legumes are botanically fruits)

BULBS: GROWN BENEATH THE GROUND WITH LEAFY SHOOTS THAT GROW ABOVE THE SOIL, THESE VEGETABLES ARE GROWN IN CLUSTERED SEGMENTS OR HAVE MANY LAYERS SURROUNDED BY PAPERY SKIN. GOURDS: HARD-SHELLED AND GROWN ON VINES; ORNAMENTAL GOURDS ARE NOT EDIBLE. GREENS: THE EDIBLE LEAVES OF PLANTS, HARVESTED IN VARIOUS STAGES OF GROWTH DEPENDING ON VARIETY. LEGUMES: CROPS THAT ARE GENERALLY GROWN AS PODS WITH SEEDS INSIDE (CALLED BEANS). ROOT: GROWN UNDERGROUND; FOR THESE VEGETABLES THE FOCAL POINT OF THE CROP IS THEIR ROOTS. STEMS: VEGETABLES THAT WE HARVEST THE STALKS OF TO EAT.

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CAMPFIRE OOKIN

PARK CITY CHEFS SHARE HOW THEY USE THEIR COOKING SKILLS IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS

By Jené Drennan

Surrounded by mountains and wilderness, Park City’s environs are rife with camping opportunities. One of the biggest perks about living here is the easy access to the outdoors — and many local chefs take advantage of it regularly.

For some of those chefs, camping was a huge part of their childhood and also an integral part of their cooking career path. Lorenzo Bindrup, the dinner sous chef at Stein Eriksen Lodge Deer Valley, got his introduction to professional cooking while helping his grandfather on guided camping trips to the Grand Canyon. “Cooking has been a part of my mother’s family for a really long time,” Bindrup says. “My grandad would take cowboys into the Grand Canyon and feed them for a weeklong adventure. He and my mom were the ones to show me how to cook in a Dutch oven.” Bindrup remembers how they would place a pot roast in a Dutch oven and bury it with coals in the ground. “You would go hiking or fishing for a few hours, and when you come back, it was perfectly done — just like with the oven at home.”

Courchevel Bistro and Talisker Club chef Clement Gelas also grew up exploring the outdoors, but on the other side of the world in the French Alps. “We have a lot of lakes, so we did a ton of fishing and camping trips where we cooked over the fire,” he says. He has used that experience on personal excursions, from weekend camping trips near Capitol Reef National Park to multiday rafting trips to Moab. When he first moved to Utah, he would spend Thanksgiving in Escalante at the cabin of chef John Murcko (Firewood on Main). Together they would cook an elaborate open-flame Thanksgiving dinner for friends and family, which included roasting a turkey on a big metal rod over coals.

Gelas also puts his camp-cooking experience to use professionally. Part of the private Talisker Club is a backcountry yurt (aka Outpost), where members can go to relax and refuel with paninis and hearty soups after horseback rides or hikes in the summer and snowshoeing or snowmobile rides in the winter. The chef and his team use Outpost’s simple kitchen to make rustic yet innovative dishes for both small private meals and 80-person campfire dinners. The menu changes constantly, but crowd-favorite appetizers include a trio of scrambled eggs with toppings such as truffles, bacon and caviar, and roasted squash

PHOTO BY DAN CAMPBELL

PHOTO BY REBEKAH STEVENS

soup topped with a fluffy Gruyère cheese emulsion. Even the post-dinner s’mores are elevated, with marshmallow flavors such as pine, espresso and Chartreuse.

Camp cooking for large groups is also something Twisted Fern chef and owner Adam Ross has mastered, thanks to his partnership with local outfitter Inspired Summit Adventures. His first excursion with them was a 20-person weekend corporate getaway to the Uinta Mountains, and that annual retreat has since grown to a fiveday adventure with more than 50 people. Thankfully, pack animals from High Star Ranch now help carry in the food and supplies 1.5 miles into the campsite, where Ross prepares three meals (plus snacks) per day. Although there’s always a night with campfire classics — hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries — Ross says he tends to make more of what he would cook at his restaurant, slightly altered for outside. That means fresh seasonal salads, Utah elk steaks or grilled trout, and from-scratch sauces.

FAVORITE CAMP MEALS Yuki Yama owner Matt Baydala takes camp cooking to the next level, often accompanied by fellow biker and a partner at Old Town Cellars Jason Morgan. Their crew plans out every meal in advance. Baydala will come up with a meal plan for each day so that nothing is forgotten and does a lot of the work in advance. He will smoke then freeze the meats so everything stays fresh in the cooler longer, with less ice needed.

CAMP COOKING TIPS

> Invest in the right tools. A Dutch oven was at the top of every chef’s must-have list. Gelas suggests using coal (which is easier to cook over than wood is), salt, pan spray to avoid rust, a metal spatula for cooking and cleaning, and plenty of Ziploc bags. Bindrup and his family built “butcher boxes” to hold their cooking tools, which double as bear-proof containers. Nice to have: a grate so you don’t have to put anything directly on the coals.

> Do your prep work. “Do all the mixing, seasoning, and chopping ahead of time,” Gelas advises. “When you camp, you don’t want to cut anything because it gets very dirty.” > Create smart portion sizes. “Don’t make anything that’s too big, because it’s hard to cook something through without the outside getting burnt,” says Deanna Fitchat of DeeLicious Park City. “Think about what will cook well over a flame.” Adds Ross, “Cut your veggies small so they cook faster and use less fuel — whether that’s open flame or propane. You want to conserve your fuel.”

> Pack well. “Double-wrap in plastic if you’re putting something in the cooler, and use heavy-duty foil, not the light kind,” Fitchat says. “Freeze things so the food will defrost in the cooler and you can pack less ice,” says Baydala. > Keep it simple. “Consider what you know, and start with that,” Ross suggests. “If it’s super easy at home, it will be fairly easy out in the backcountry or the desert. Don’t try to impress the people you’re with by cooking something you’ve never cooked before.”

> Be aware of your elements. “If it’s windy or chilly (below 60 F), plan to add cooking time,” Ross says.

> Plan easy meals. “I’ll alternate the elaborate make-ahead gourmet meals with one night where I do hot dogs, hamburgers and s’mores,” Fitchat says. “Don’t overwhelm yourself.”

Ross says he’s not an instant-ramen type of camper, even when he’s camping with his family — an activity he’s loved since growing up in western New York. “I like one-pot meals for ease of cleanup, but I’ll bring pork chops and steaks because it’s just really nice to have a nice meal with a great view,” he says. “You deserve good food when you’re camping.”

Although he is capable of creating sophisticated French meals, when Gelas is in the outdoors, he knows to choose meals appropriate for the setting. On backpacking trips, his go-to is rice and beans with shredded chicken. “You buy the 10-minute rice and a can of beans, and you cook the chicken ahead of time,” he says. “It takes up minimal space and creates minimal waste to carry out. I did a backpacking trip a few years back, and we definitely had that meal two to three nights.” On regular camping trips, two of his favorite things to cook on the fire are lamb — because it’s tender, cooks quickly and does well lightly smoked —and fish with fresh herbs and lemon.

Bindrup goes camping with his family in the Uintas or the White Mountains in Arizona and mixes in easy meals with slightly more complicated endeavors. “Nothing really beats tin foil or hobo dinners,” he says. “You just take whatever you want — mushrooms, peppers, green beans, ground beef — and add some type of gravy, like cream of mushroom soup or your own sauces, and fold it in tin foil. Toss it on the fire to cook, carefully take it out, and just eat it right out of the tin foil.” A close second? Pizzas in his trusty Dutch oven. “My mom and I would make the dough, let it rise, add cheese and pepperoni, and make a white cream sauce with garlic,” he says. When hot, the Dutch oven is comparable to a 400-to-500-degree pizza oven. Throw it in the coals, wait 10 minutes, and you have a delicious pizza. “Not everyone is up for rolling out pizza dough when they’re camping,” he says. “But we were definitely among the crazy people saying, ‘Let’s see what we can do out here in the woods!’”

PHOTO BY DAN CAMPBELL

MENU IDEAS FROM YUKI YAMA’S MATT BAYDALA

Baydala often goes biking in the desert during off-seasons and doesn’t skimp when it comes to meals. He plans a lot of Mexican food, soups, smoked meats and veggies he has pre-roasted. Here is a sample menu from one of his past trips.

Monday Chicken, pork and cheese tamales with salsa, cream, rice and black bean soup

Chicken soup with prosciutto and tortellini, plus a Beltex Meats charcuterie board

Pulled pork on pretzel rolls with cheddar cheese and barbecue sauce, and a lobstershrimp bisque

Tuesday

Wednesday Thursday Buffalo tenderloin with avocado puree, heirloom tomatoes and cilantro, with French onion soup

Duck, venison and elk brats on pretzel rolls with broccoli crunch salad and white bean soup

Friday

1/2 shallot, minced 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons Mountain

Town Serrano Honey

Vinegar 1 tablespoon Mountain

Town Campfire Steak

Blend 1/4 cup Mountain Town

Gremolata Olive Oil 12 ounces sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces (you can use a smoked sausage such as andouille or kielbasa, or a fresh sausage such as

bratwurst or Italian sausage) 1 pound of mixed vegetables, (summer squash, zucchini, snap peas, red pepper, fresh corn) sliced thin or cut into similarly sized pieces 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced thin Fresh herbs, such as parsley, chives, thyme, tarragon, chervil, etc.

Make ahead:

Whisk the shallot, Dijon, vinegar and steak spice blend in a small bowl. While whisking, slowly drizzle in the gremolata oil to make a vinaigrette. Set aside.

Mix the sliced sausages, chopped vegetables and sliced potatoes in a large bowl and toss to combine. Top with the vinaigrette and either pour into a disposable foil pan or portion into heavy duty aluminum foil cut into 8x8 inch squares for individual packets. If using the foil pan, cover with more foil and then wrap in plastic so it doesn’t leak when transporting. If using the individual packets, bring up the corners and roll down to form a very tight seal all the

At the campsite:

Get your fire going hot so that there are red embers. Place the individual packets or the foil pan directly on the fire and cook, moving the packets or the pan around occasionally so the contents cook evenly, for 20–25 minutes, or until sausage is cooked and potatoes are tender. Carefully open packets or remove cover so you don’t get burned by the steam, and enjoy.

CAMP RECIPES FROM DEELICIOUS PARK CITY + MOUNTAIN TOWN OLIVE OIL CO.

Private chef Deanna Fitchat of DeeLicious Park City regularly camps in the Uintas, “ideally somewhere with a pretty view near a river” because she loves to fish. Fitchat also teaches a make-ahead camping meal class with Mountain Town Olive Oil (products from the store are used in the recipes above and below).

CAST IRON APPLE CRISP

1 teaspoon Mountain Town except the butter olive swirling to coat the bottom Vanilla Balsamic Vinegar oil. Put in a zip-top bag and sides of the pan. Spread For the filling: 2 tablespoons Mountain or airtight container and the filling into the bottom of 5 apples (mix between Town Butter Olive Oil refrigerate. the pan. Sprinkle the topping

Honeycrisp or Fuji, In a separate bowl, mixture evenly over the filling

Granny Smith and Golden For the topping: combine the flour, oats, and cover with foil. Place

Delicious), peeled and 3/4 cup all-purpose flour sugar and spice blend. Cut the skillet adjacent to the sliced 1/2 cup rolled oats in the cold butter cubes with hot coals in a flat spot. Cook 1 tablespoon Mountain 1/2 cup brown sugar your fingers until the texture about 15 minutes, rotating

Town Gravenstein Apple 1 teaspoon Mountain Town is coarse and clumps in your the skillet throughout for

Vinegar Chinese 5 Spice Powder palm. Store in a zip-top bag even cooking. Then remove 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted or airtight container and the cover and cook for 2 tablespoons cornstarch butter, cut into small refrigerate. another 15–20 minutes to 1 tablespoon Mountain Town cubes crisp the top. When the

Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend At the campsite: cobbler is done, the fruit 1 teaspoon Mountain Town Make ahead: Heat the butter olive oil in will be bubbling around the

Sicilian Lemon Balsamic In a large bowl, combine a 12-inch cast-iron skillet or edges, and the topping will 64 DISHINGPC.COM Vinegar all of the filling ingredients Dutch oven over the fire, be brown and crispy.

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www.mindfulcuisine.com A Cooking and Dining Experience in Park City

YUTA

Artfully Eating YUTA

It’s the interior design that matters to your mind and your mood and enhances the food.

by Jené Drennan photos provided

NORMAL ICE CREAM AT HEARTH AND HILL

POWDER

The potential of a delicious meal may be what lures you into a restaurant, but the ambience want to be there as long,” says FORM Design’s Casey Adams, who has overseen the interiors of Riverhorse Hospitality is often what makes you linger and come Group’s properties. “It could be the best back again. Restaurants with vibrant food in the world, but if you’re not in a spaces ultimately deliver a better overall beautiful space to sit and enjoy it, it’s just dining experience. Even if you don’t realize not as good. I think the design is almost it, elements of interior design — seat as important as the quality of the food and comfort, color choices, light brightness, the overall consistency of a restaurant.” music volume — may affect how much you Take a deeper look at the design of five order and how long you stay. Park City restaurants. We guarantee these

“If you walk into a space that hasn’t backstories will give you a better appreciabeen taken care of or hasn’t had a lot of tion of each space next time you’re dining thought and effort put into it, you won’t out.

RIVERHORSE HOSPITALITY GROUP

When Adams set out to remodel Riverhorse on Main more than a decade ago, she says her original vision was a “black-and-white, old European feel in a modern form.” Coming from a home decorating background, she says that designing restaurant interiors is not just about the aesthetic. The overall functionality and connection to the food has to come into play, too.

“You have to design it around how the staff serves and how they have to move tables — and it was a big learning moment for me,” says Adams, who is also the wife of Seth Adams, Riverhorse’s chef and owner. “Seth is super high-end with everything, and the menu kind of goes with the whole brand. Modern, clean, consistent and warm, but also kind of a family feel.”

The process for creating the Riverhorse space was very hands-on. Adams and her team plastered the walls for a textured look, added trees from her grandfather’s property in Midway, and even learned about glassblowing to inspire the glass balls that hang from climbing wire in the atrium. Riverhorse’s design has slightly evolved over the years, including four revamps of the bar to adhere to the state’s changing alcohol laws. Adams describes the current iteration as “a swanky little bar that you’d want to hang out and smoke a cigar in.”

In addition to the flagship restaurant, Adams also designed the interior of Saltbox, a casual grab-and-go–style eatery. She tried to keep things simple: Features including a black waterfall countertop, custom wood installation and interesting light fixtures take the space from basic to chic. “I try to make things unique but give them the same feel,” Adams says of her projects. “I want people to be able to recognize that it’s us — and I hope that it translates to people that it’s our brand.”

POWDER AT WALDORF ASTORIA

At Powder, the style of Executive Chef Hermann Schaefer’s cooking, which he describes as “contemporary American with a European twist,” blends seamlessly with the hotel’s aesthetic. As you enter through the multistory lobby, a 300-year-old Italian fireplace and massive chandeliers welcome you into the warm space. Once inside the restaurant, the elevated furnishings mix with local elements such as Utah hardwood floors and artwork from Main Street’s McMillen Fine Art Photography.

“Because of where Powder is located, it’s very unique,” Schaefer says. “The size and the location outside of Main Street give it a totally different feel. Every aspect comes together — the ambience, the lighting, the music, how it feels, the service and the food, of course. Every single one of them has an impact on the whole dining experience.”

Hailing from Austria, Schaefer takes inspiration from his home country and weaves it into pastas, desserts and other dishes. “Because we are located in the mountains, as is Austria, there are a lot of similarities,” he says. “There is lot of European influence on the property, so it all ties into the restaurant and with our cuisine.”

RIVERHORSE ON MAIN

HEARTH AND HILL

When looking for the ideal space to plant their first Park City restaurant, Hearth and Hill owners Brooks and David Kirchheimer were committed to one defining element: locals. They wanted to create a gathering spot for Park City residents, which meant it needed to be accessible in terms of location, menu and pricing. That objective drove the father-son duo to look beyond Main Street to the long-vacant 15,000-squarefoot space in Kimball Junction that is now Hearth and Hill’s home. “It was a poor location by most standards, but we loved the high ceilings and the open space,” David explains. Plus, with the option for a patio and easy, free parking, the building was a fit.

The Kirchheimers scouted restaurants nationwide to find inspiration for their gathering-spot concept. Ultimately, they chose to work with a firm based in Long Beach, California, to bring the vision to life. “One of the true tests of great design is that it looks obvious in hindsight, but of course it isn’t obvious when you’re standing there in a raw open space,” David says. “You need to blend good design with alcohol laws plus the functionality of your chef and your servers. It’s a true art and science to blend all of those various elements.”

The design included a large, open floor plan, an exposition kitchen where diners can see their food being cooked, and a private dining room with a glass (versus opaque wood) door to promote openness — all of which help to maintain a sense of place. “In terms of the overall ambience, we know we’re in a mountain town, so we wanted to have a mixture of wood, tile and modern-style metals,” Brooks says. “We wanted a restaurant that would stay current in five, 10, 20 years, and not have something that looks out of style.”

EYE SPY // Next time you’re dining at one of these Park City establishments, look out for these interesting features.

// Local vendors are very important to Hearth and Hill, and the restaurant features them on its walls. Some of these include Park City Creamery, Red Bicycle Breadworks and Wild Harvest Farms.

// To create the custom-framed mirrors throughout Riverhorse on Main, Adams hiked around local lakesides to gather natural wood.

// Take a gander at the bar top at Yuta. It’s made from support beams found in an old barn in central Utah, and its holes and imperfections were filled in with molten aluminum to create the final product. // Look closer at the photographs adorning the walls at Powder. Photographers Jared and Trish McMillen sometimes observe an area for up to six months before capturing the perfect shot — often using oldschool film cameras.

// At 350 Main, you can mix art with business. The artist who created the custom pieces also works at the restaurant as a hostess.

PARK CITY CREAMERY AT HEARTH AND HILL

YUTA AT THE LODGE AT BLUE SKY

Set in the Wasatch Mountains in Wanship, Blue Sky’s signature restaurant embraces its surroundings and history. When owners Barb and Mike Phillips set out to design the space, they wanted to bring as much of the outside in as possible, says General Manager Joe Ogdie. The restaurant’s large windows overlook Lewis Peak, giving guests a true remote mountain feel.

Details inside Yuta amplify that theme, from the local quarried rock to pendant lights made from leather cowboy belts. The artwork pays homage to animals on the property — including Gracie, the rescue horse that inspired Barb to start the Saving Gracie Equine Healing Foundation. “Whether it’s the felted leather wall or using metals within the open-air kitchen, we kept as much open space as possible and used natural items and textures to bring it all together,” Ogdie says.

The Yuta team researched the history of the area to finalize the concept. They discovered that the land was a crossroads of a lot of things, including the many cultures of people that passed through. It was the Ute Native Americans who inspired the name. When asked by the Spaniards what the area was called, they referred to it (and themselves) as “Yuta,” meaning “mountaintops” or “people of the mountains.” Chinese, Irish and Mexican populations also came through the area. The interesting mix of cultures, plus the access to Blue Sky’s on-site organic farm, gave Executive Chef Galen Zamarra a melting pot of inspiration to define the regional cuisine found on Yuta’s menu. He ties in techniques from his own background, which includes working with decorated French chefs and the acclaimed David Bouley, with the area’s cultural roots.

Although it’s a fine-dining restaurant, Yuta “is really about warmth,” Ogdie says. “No matter where you’re at on the property, you’ll always feel like you’re at your friend’s home and get that sense of comfort.”

350 MAIN

350 Main

Though 350 Main owner Cortney Johanson has been a part of the business almost since it opened, when she took over as owner several years ago, she wanted to put her own spin on the interior design. The popular Main Street restaurant had looked almost the same since 2000, when mustard brown was the color and pony walls divided the space.

“It was a three-year, three-part remodel,” she says. Over that time, Johanson painted everything white, updated the bar area, redid the flooring and opened up the layout. She kept the copper ceiling and used parquet floors to keep the historic feeling of the place, but “brightened everything up.”

Her favorite feature is the quartz bar top, which creates a dramatic area. The art on the walls was created by the restaurant’s hostess (also an artist), which Johanson says allowed her to give direction on the color and style. “The art is similar to the work of an an artist we showcased during Sundance,” she says. If a piece sells, a new one can be created to take its place.

Certain elements were kept, such as the tables and an area to one side of the restaurant. “We wanted a little bit of old with the new. People walk in and wonder if they have been there before. It looks brand-new but has been around forever.”