One in all my resolutions for 2023 was to be extra accepting of tapas locations. My first experiences with eating places that claimed to be tapas locations put on the moniker as a gimmick, permitting them to serve much less meals for extra money.
I’ve traveled round a bit since then, and realized that the excitement round Mar Muntanya (170 S. West Temple, 385-433-6700, mar-muntanya.com), downtown Salt Lake Metropolis’s latest tapas bar, is well-deserved. Like all developments, while you get an opportunity to expertise the real article, you begin to perceive a bit extra about why the pattern turned fashionable within the first place.
My preliminary curiosity in Mar Muntanya was piqued once I discovered that the Basque delicacies of Northern Spain was its culinary focus. Coming from this angle, the tapas fashion of serving small, sharable plates of meals is sensible. When you think about the truth that Mar Muntanya operates on the sixth ground of the brand new Hyatt Regency resort subsequent to the Salt Palace Conference Middle, all the pieces traces up in a transparent image. A hip idea executed with conventional data of regional delicacies is a powerful addition to a resort designed to impress the downtown convention-hoppers.
I used to be on board with the idea once I visited throughout their up to date brunch hours, that are from Wednesday to Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and much more so once I made one other journey again to take a look at dinner. The house is beautiful—diners are surrounded by heat, rustic colours and an important view of the downtown cityscape. There’s patio house, although it is at present hibernating below a blanket of that best snow on Earth. As soon as the climate warms up, nonetheless, I may see this evolving into one of many coolest patio spots within the metropolis.
Like all the pieces Mar Muntanya prepares, the brunch menu is filled with traditional favorites reinterpreted with Spanish aptitude. My spouse and I had been most curious concerning the biscuit and gravy ($9), the shrimp and grits ajillo ($15), the quick rib hash ($18) and the quince waffle ($13). The Mar Muntanya spin on these acquainted favorites was a wonderful intro to their general idea, and the biscuit and gravy was a first-rate instance. It is a heat, flaky biscuit sliced in half and topped with a thick nation gravy that swapped the maple sausage with Bilbao chorizo. It might not sound like a lot of a tweak, however that dry, crumbly chorizo releases its smoky and spicy flavors into the gravy, which envelops the entire dish in an fragrant, peppery bouquet.
We each preferred the quick rib hash and the shrimp and grits, however the braise on the quick rib made it overpower these beautiful Yukon gold potatoes and greens. The shrimp and grits are created from paella broth—a implausible thought, btw—however although the grits had been buttery and {smooth}, I hoped for a bit extra of the paella kick. A little bit saffron would have sealed the deal.
On the sweeter facet of factor, the quince waffle is likely to be the unsung hero of the brunch menu. It is a splendidly dense waffle full of sugary pearls like unto the Belgian boys, and topped with slivered Granny Smith apples and a dollop of quince jam. Topped with a little bit of maple syrup, this can be a sugary-sweet and tangy-tart pleasure to eat. The quince jam and tart apples are a wonderful distinction to the sweetness of the waffle and syrup.
When the solar goes down on the metro space, Mar Muntanya breaks out its dinner menu, which continues to be replete with small plates although it provides some bigger shareables to the occasion. You’ll be able to’t name your self a Utah foodie in case you do not attempt the funeral croquetas ($8), a dish that I appreciated to no finish. They roll out like a golden-brown stack of mozzarella sticks, besides they’re full of a tacky potato casserole and breaded with crispy corn flakes in a high-end nod to one in all Utah’s most notable culinary contributions. The thinly sliced pickled Fresno peppers on prime add a pleasant acidic punch to the tacky, starchy goodness, and the truth that that is on the menu hints at Government Chef Tyson Peterson’s understanding of native tradition.
I additionally went with the oysters ($15) that come topped with a little bit of beef tartare and served with home made còctel sauce and a vibrantly acidic spruce mignonette. This is a superb distinction to the wealthy croquetas, and prompted me to wrap the night up with a lemon natilla ($5). This dessert is a silky-smooth Spanish custard topped with a skinny layer of lemon curd and served with a mantecado cookie that’s meant to be crumbled on prime of the dessert for a little bit of textured crunch. As soon as once more, the candy facet of the menu caught me off guard—this can be a spectacular approach to end issues off and is a should for dessert followers.
I like that Mar Muntanya would be the face of Utah’s meals scene for the conference circuit vacationers—you must respect a spot that maintains its hip sensibilities whereas making cheeky nods about Utah tradition in its menu. On prime of all of the subtleties, the group right here goes above and past to create a memorable expertise for its diners, and I will stay up for checking them out once more very quickly.
