Clear your calendar for the upcoming weekend, you’re going to need some free time to work your way through this one. More than a dozen Italian food vendors will be setting up shop at The Gateway, for this years Festa Italiana party. The two day event spans the 18th and 19th of September.
Admission to the family friendly event is free where you’ll find live entertainment and plenty of fine Italian food from the following businesses:
- Bartolo’s
- Carmine’s Italian Cuisine
- Caputo’s
- Cortona Italian Cafe
- Festa Italiana Italian American Classics sponsored by Granato’s
- Fratelli Ristorante
- Mastra Italian Bakery
- Per Noi Trattoria
- Pizzeria Tasso
- Sicilia Mia / Antica Sicilia
- Sapori Italian Bakery & Cafe
- Sweetaly Gelato
- Ti Amo Wood Fired Pizza
This is the sixth edition of the Festa Italiana event which previously took a Covid break back in 2020. The non-profit festival sees proceeds go to support charities including Catholic Community Services. Check out snaps from the previous five years here to see what to expect.
Actually keep your calendar out for a moment, there’s several foodie events going on this month and you might want to pencil a few of these in…
Ogden Greek Food Festival
If you’re hankering for more Greek cuisine after this past week’s SLC Greek Festival – don’t worry – you’ve got another bite of the souvlaki coming up. The Ogden Greek Food Festival is being held September 24th and 25th, 10 a.m. through 7 p.m. on both days.
Due to Covid the organizers are offering a smaller sized event this year, focused around a composed take out menu you can find here. Prices run $13-$17 per person.
Stratford Proper x Vida Tequila dinner
Act fast and you might be able to snag a last minute seat at this pairing dinner tonight (September 13th). The event starts at 7 p.m. at the East side outpost of the Proper group and the menu features the following selections:
- Scallop crudo, dill oil, pickled cucumber, carrots
- Vida Blanco
- Grilled head on shrimp, poblano and cilantro puree, charred corn salsa
- Vida Reposado
- Smoked pork cheek torta, bolio roll, mole verde, cilantro, queso fresco
- Vida Reposado
- Cinnamon cream puffs, banana diplomat cream, carmalized plantains, peptic brittle, lime gel
- Vida Anejo
The price for the dinner is $45 for food and $40 for the optional tequila pairing.
1588 Stratford Ave S, Salt Lake City, UT 84106
(385) 522-2637
SLC Eatery wine dinner
Local farmers and a selection of biodynamic wines are the central focus of this very special dinner at one of our favorite chef driven restaurants in town. Francis Fecteau of Libation will lead the wine service with the a menu as follows:
- Smoked cheese tartlet, Nikko farms heirloom tomato, trout roe, fennel pollen
- 2020 donkey + goat ‘lily’s pet nat’, anderson valley, CA
- Kauai prawn robatayaki, yuzu rosemary aioli, heirloom cucumber, tokyo turnip
- 2020 gulp hablo orange, castilla la mancha, ES
- Utah peach agua chili, Late harvest squash, basil, chia seed, jalapeno
- 2019 vietti timorasso derthona, piedmonte, IT
- Roasted onions + intermountain mushrooms, Utah corn, hazelnut, Japanese whiskey kimizu
- 2018 antiquum ‘juel’ pinot noir, willamette valley, OR
- Black garlic tare glazed venison, broken wheat, hay roasted beets, plum peppercorn sauce
- 2018 raul perez ultreia mencia, bierzo, ES
- Frog bench farms gala apple tartlet, miso curd, Mascarpone fig cannoli, pistachio
Tickets are priced $125 per person and can be purchased online here.
1017 S Main St, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
(801) 355-7952
Holystone x Oquirrh pairing dinner
September 29th (from 7 p.m. prompt) sees Oquirrh in downtown SLC host Holystone distilling for this five course pairing dinner. Food for the event is priced $110 per person with optional pairings $50. Menu is as follows:
- Sunchoke custard, chicories, chili
- Oxtail quesadilla, apples, blue cheese, oxtail jus
- Fall squash tortellini, foie gras, quince, sage
- Venison loin chop, vegetable ash cured mushrooms, leeks, pomengranate
- Puffed rice tart, peanut butter, white chocolate, vanilla ice cream
368 E 100 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
(801) 359-0426
Hoof And Vine wine dinner
A few tickets remain for this wine pairing dinner on September 28th, where Wagner wines are the star of the show. Sample some fabulous selections such as Conundrum, Mer Soleil and Caymus, paired with the South Valley’s steakhouse menu. Dishes include scallops, grilled beef tenderloin and rhubarb crumb cake.
7680 S Union Park Ave, Midvale, UT 84047
(801) 569-4645
Midway Mercantile wine dinner
This Midway based restaurant will be hosting an ‘East Meets West’ menu on September 21st, starting at 6 p.m. The event’s menu is TBD with the restaurant writing”
“We will be preparing dishes with decidedly Asian flavor profiles, (salty, spicy, tangy-citrusy) and pairing them with (primarily) wines from Europe and the Americas. There will also be a sake course and a Japanese scotch course, but those are just excellent additions! The main event sees Chef John take up this culinary gauntlet and face the challenge of syncretizing these two ancient, bold and powerful schools of culinary thought! $100 per person”.
99 E Main St, Midway, UT 84049
(435) 315-4151
Taste of California wine tasting
James Santangelo leads proceedings at this October 7th educational event. A trio of wine from from Napa Valley and Santa Barbara will be tasted and discussed. A small charcuterie plate will also be offered per person. The event at The Gallivan Center is priced $45 per person and starts at 7 p.m.
Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you! I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC. I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have written in myopic detail about the Salt Lake City dining scene for the better part of seventeen years.
I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV. Pause those credits, yep, that’s me! I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune. I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand. What they’re saying about me: “Not inaccurate”, “I thought he was older”, “I don’t share his feelings”.
Want to know more? This is why I am the way I am.
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