Wines exclusively available at Pallet

2009 Bodegas Godelia Blanco DO Bierzo; 2011 Ulacia Txakolina - DO Getariako TxakolinaPallet bartender Matt Pfohl has made arrangements to bring you some special wines you can't find anywhere else in Utah. 

Pfohl's cocktail menu shows an ambition for providing unique offerings to the Wasatch Front, but he's taking that to a whole new level with these unique wine offerings.

Bodegas Godelia Blanco is a crisp and slightly fruity white wine, largely made from godella grapes grown on centuries-old vines. From the Bierzo region on the northwest Spanish coast, the wine features a slight hint of quininine, adding to its freshness and zest. 

It pairs especially well with Pallet's salmon entree or scallops.  

Next is a classic variety from Basque Country: txakolina by Ulacia 2011. Made from a blend of grapes grown in salty sea air, this wine creates a greater fizz when poured from great heights into a cocktail glass. It's almost like you can taste the sea a little bit in this super-fresh wine. 

Txakolina is a everyday/any occasion celebration kind of drink. Have a glass from the Basque, and relax. 

These are the first two wines Pallet is offering exclusively in Utah, but they won't be the last. Ask your server or check in with bartender Matt Pfohl about any updates. 

A closer look at Chef Buzz's Chef's Challenge award

Last week we announced that Chef Buzz Willey had won the Audience Award at the Chef's Challenge. Now we've got details on the molecularly peculiar item that secured his win.

The item he made was a slight variant on Pallet's Watermelon Carpaccio ($8), which is new to the summer menu (now available online), adding a splash of molecular gastronomy to spice it up.

The winning  was watermelon with coppa, a cured meat, arugula, cherries and balsamic spheres. It's the balsamic whose molecules are played with.

Maybe you've heard the term, but what is "molecular gastronomy," you might be wondering.

"Molecular gastronomy is a fad that fun for chef's to play with. For the [Chef's Challenge dish], I used what's called spherificiation. It doesn't change the flavor of the balsamic, but it makes it into solid balls, or 'caviar.'”

Using agar agar, a seaweed-based gelatin substitute, Chef thickened the balsamic and then dropped the combination into cold oil, forming the vinegar pearls.

The molecular balsamic went over so well at the Famer's Market Competition, hosted by Buy Local First, that Chef says he will be adding white balsamic pearls to Pallet's Watermelon Carpaccio in the near future, so that's exciting!

Chef says the Chef' Challenge was a cool way to keep chef's in friendly competition so that the entire SLC gastronomy scene ups its game.

“I want to see Utah's culinary scene come up. I don't want just me to improve, I want to see all us [chefs] make each other better,” Chef Buzz says. 

Pallet to help end hunger in Taste of the Wasatch--Join us!

Fifteen percent of Utahns experience food insecurity--meaning they don't always have enough to eat. It's kinda shockingly high, huh? Well, you can join us to help the problem and in the process enjoy delicious food, fine wine and great friends. 

Pallet will be amongst over 50 restaurants offering tasty bites at the most delicious fundraiser around, Taste of the Wasatch. In past years, this event has raised over $1 million to help feed people who are hungry.

We hope you join us this August 5 to make it the best year ever. We'll remind you again as the event gets closer but we want you to mark your calendars now.

What is Taste of the Wasatch? It's the new and better incarnation of Taste of the Nation Utah. How is it better?  Salt Lake City Weekly reports organizers of the event broke with the national "Taste of the Nation" group in order to keep 100 percent of the funds raised right here in our local communities. Had they kept the "Taste of the Nation" name and affiliation, 40 percent of the funds would go to, well, the nation! So, good move going DIY and indie, we say; kudos to the organizers. 

Here's the organizers' description of the event:

Utah’s premiere culinary event is hosted by Solitude Mountain Resort and raises funds to help support efforts to end hunger. TASTE OF THE WASATCH. Featuring food tastings presented by chefs from over 50 top Utah restaurants and resorts, alongside boutique wineries and craft breweries pouring tastes. There will also be live music, a live and silent auction. Tickets are $90 General Admission (in advance) and $125 for VIP (guaranteed seating) or $100 at the door. Ticket price includes tastings.

BUY TICKETS ONLINE HERE. 

The event provides needed funds to Utahns Against Hunger, Utah Food Bank and the Ogden Weber Community Action Program.  

Do well, live well, pay it forward.  That's how we try to do it at Pallet. Join us. 

Pallet's bright new summer menus

Pallet's new summer menu is in full swing, so come in soon to try some of Chef Buzz Willey's new items that are lighter and brighter--like summer itself. We don't have the new menus online yet so you'll have to come in to see the whole thing--but here's a sneak preview. 

Dishes this summer will be complimented by fresh items from Downtown Farmer's Market vendors--Chef lives and works in the neighborhood and the market opens Saturday, June 9.  "Stonefruit, like peaches, apricots and cherries are some of my favorite to cook with so it's going to be fun to such accessibility to them and use them," Chef says. 

Pallet will also feature a Game of the Week, a rotating dish of maybe rabbit, quail, elk or whatever we can find.

Try the new Bison Tartare, a stack of raw bison, arugula, black garlic balsamic and crostini with a fried quail egg on top.  

Chef also recommends the new and delicate Hamachi, a serving of yellowtail, lemon confit, pickled radish, braised red pearl onions, spanish olives--it's a salty/sweet mix of different full-flavor foods cooked all different ways over a lightly salted raw fish. 

"Seafood will always be my lead," Chef says, and many reviewers and customers have noticed his prowess. The Seared Scallops on the summer menu are served with braised black rice, veal demi, stone fruit and salted carmel. "It's a simple, delicious dish with robust flavors," Chef says. 

The summer menu also features many gluten-free items, as well as new vegetarian and vegan options. 

Some favorites from the past menu will also be sticking around from summer, including the popular Pepper-Crusted N.Y. Steak, Truffle Fries, Gloria's Meatballs and more. 

The wine list has expanded and bartender Matt Pfohl has concoted a mostly-new list of house cocktails with summer outdoor dining in mind. 

The Chilled Southern Toddy is perfect for a hot body. Bourbon, High West peach vodka, lemon juice, lemon grass, honey, basil and ginger simple syrup. Matt says, "it's an ode to Southern toddies, made for the summer time. It's kind of inspired by that mint julip culture of the South."

Also new is the Citrus Cipra-Stura Fizz, a unique expression of summer, featuring bitters as a primary ingredient and inspired by a traditional Ramos gin fizz. Citrus bitters, gin, lemon juice, lime juice, vanilla extract, orange flower water, heavy cream and egg white. 

These are only some of the exciting changes we've made to make your summer dining experience refreshing and delicious.  

Spend evening time on our new patio--or you might even call it a porch, the perfect place to enjoy a chilled toddy, tartare and grilled game.

Welcome to summer. Welcome to Pallet. 

So much love from foodie bloggers--Thanks!

For our first real post at Pallet Blog, we thought it would be appropriate to give a shout out and thank all the many foodies who have shown us some love on their blog.  They've shown us a lot of love.

"The scallops were near perfect," writes Wunderkid over at Wasatch Food Review. "That night we were presented with some granny smith apples drizzled in salted caramel and chives.  So hip.  But in all seriousness, this was a fun starter and I always appreciate something that I didn't order that isn't a basket of bread."

Becky Rosenthal over at SLC Foodie was also impressed with Pallet seafood. "The salmon was perfectly blackened and spicy on the outside and still tender on the inside," she writes. Rosenthal came in for lunch and says she wants to try dinner. We'll see you soon, Becky.

This word "perfect" comes up a lot in these reviews, have you noticed?  Kristina at Sassy Scoops writes that seafood isn't the only category on Chef Buzz Willey's menu that deserves such a strong word.  

"My steak was awesome. Perfectly cooked," Kristina writes. "The main reason I got the steak was because it was paired with blue cheese macaroni, and I am as obsessed with blue cheese as I am with The Hoff. And the croquettes did not disappoint. Really, all of the food was divine. I don’t think there was a single item we tried that I did not like."

But we're not done yet. Ana and Lea Cabrera from Exploration Food thought our Sweet Beats with goat cheese mouse were "perfectly roasted fresh beets on a light as air mouse and fresh arugula. This perfect start to the meal will keep me coming back for more. I could eat this everyday and be very happy."  That's two perfects in that review, one for each Cabrera sister!

WOW!  Thanks to all of you. And if you thought there were many perfect things about our first menu, just wait--YOU JUST WAIT!--for the awesome summer menu Chef Buzz Willey is finishing right now--you might even say he's perfecting it.

The new menu will roll out in June 5; we'll tell you more about it in our next post.  

If you've written a blog review of Pallet or have any questions about Pallet Blog, email jesse@eatpallet.com