A pictorial stroll thru a market in Paris

Sunday 18 April, 2010

Market is held underneath a bridge carrying the metro

Emmanuel has been stuck in Paris for a few days now, due to the volcanic ash cloud covering Europe and grounding thousands of flights..... What a punishment..... We don't really feel for him!!!.... He went to a food market not far from the Eiffel Tower... Here are some pictures....

A tripe stand... Tongues, Kidneys, testicles and other "delicacies"

Fresh "rascasse"

Fresh sea urchins

Skate wing

Farm fresh eggs

White asparagus everywhere (look at the size of them!!!)

French Purple artichokes.... a rarity in Utah!!!

Blue thistle (Chardons bleus)

A greek Easter in Paris!!!

Saturday 3 April, 2010



























Check out these succulent pictures and the menu of specials being offered at the Paris on Easter Sunday !!!

What's the deal with the Greeks you ask??? well, let's say Eric has a long standing, undying love story with Greece, and quite frankly, when it comes to lamb..... The Greeks have their act together!!!!

Greens!!!!

Tuesday 23 March, 2010

Flowering Turnip Raab

It's starting to look and feel a lot like spring!!!!... In fact it IS spring already, but being in Utah, the growing season is always a little bit late.... Nevertheless, John, our farmer from Ranui Gardens has been growing organic and biodynamic greens for us in his greenhouse at an altitude of 7500 feet... We are now currently serving the very first of his harvest.... Sylvetta Arugula, the best spinach I've seen in a long time, and flowering turnip raab....And best of all, WE'RE THE ONLY ONES IN TOWN SERVING THEM AT THIS TIME!!!! How awesome is that???

John From Ranui Gardens with
our first delivery of Greens!!!!

Nose to tail... continued

Sunday 21 March, 2010


Pictured above is the result of a lunchtime brainstorming session in Eric's home kitchen yesterday....Clifford Farm Pork Tenderloin Medallions with a Mustard Cream Sauce, Fresh Thyme, Sea Salt Oven Roasted Fingerling Potatoes... Very luscious indeed, and coming soon to our Menu de Saison!!!

Fagioli soup!!!

Tuesday 16 March, 2010


Today I made a Pasta e Fagioli soup... This is a puréed white bean soup that is emulsified with rosemary and garlic infused extra virgin olive oil. It is then garnished with papardelle Pasta and grated Pecorino Cheese... We are going to be serving it for the next few days, then move on to a new soup as Spring is coming in fast!

TRUE nose-to-tail

Friday March 12, 2010


Despite some people's claims that they are Utah's first nose-to-tail restaurant, Eric and I have been buying entire animals directly from farmers and cattle growers and have butchered them ourselves ever since we started working together some 17 years ago.

When our friend Julie Clifford from Clifford Farms called us the other day to offer us to purchase a freshly slaughtered half pig from her farm, we did not hesitate... She showed up the following morning and brought us a superb specimen, cut in half lengthwise and weighing 80 pounds!

Just like the brown eggs and the arugula we buy from the Cliffords, the pig was raised naturally and never was fed any crap, hormones or antibiotics....

Look for a plethora of farm raised pork specials coming on the menu soon!!! We are most definitely going to serve a Ham around Easter time, but also, porchetta, pâtés, pork chops.... we will keep you all informed... We now have a page on facebook... Check it out!!! in the meantime, enjoy the pictures...

Before....

After!!!

Pork jowl and belly getting ready...

...to be cured with Guérande grey salt, sugar, fennel, rosemary...



...in a few days we'll have homemade (unsmoked) bacon and Guanciale!!!!

Salon de L'Agriculture, Paris, France

Eman is a lucky bastard....

Very lucky indeed, he is.... He worked a flight to Paris and got to spend the day at the once-a-year National Agricultural Fair.... and by the same token sample oodles of food, wines and spirits from all regions of France... Read his blog entry here

La Saint Valentin à Paris!!!

We are now taking reservations for Valentine's day dinner on Sunday, February 14th, 2010. Spend Valentine's Day with your sweetheart in the City of Lights!
The Paris will be presenting a "magnifique" Parisian five-course menu for $69.95 per person plus tax and a 20% service charge. Wine pairings will also be available, and priced separately.
We are offering reservations throughout the evening, from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.



Our regular menu is not available on Valentines Day All reservations will require a credit card guarantee at the time of the booking.To make Valentine's dinner reservations please call 801-486-5585 (Online reservations will not be available for Valentine's dinner)

Click Here To Download Printable (PDF) Menu

Valentine’s Day Menu

“La Vie En Rose”
First
~ Sheppard's Farm Fresh Goat Cheese & Basil Ravioli, Ciroc Vodka Sauce ~
or
~Thai Spiced Lump King Crab Cake, Mango Salsa, Spicy Miso Aioli~
~~~
Second
~ Salad of Butter Lettuce, Haas Avocado, Grapefruit, Fennel, Asparagus, Green Goddess Dressing ~
or
~ Lobster Bisque with Tarragon-Cognac Cream ~
~~~
Third
~ Pink Grapefruit & Champagne Sorbet, Pomegranate Seeds ~
~~~
Fourth
~ Dover Sole and Dungeness Crab Paupiette, Rosé Beurre Blanc, Wilted Spinach,
Cauliflower Mousseline~
or
~Wood-Fired Oven Roasted, All Natural, Fresh, Lavender Honey Glazed Chicken Breast, Oven-Roasted Root Vegetables and Arugula Salad ~
or
~Pan-Seared Filet of Prime Black Angus Beef Oscar -Alaskan King Crab, White Asparagus & Sauce Choron (Tomato Béarnaise), Roasted Fingerling Potatoes ~

Fifth
~Nougat Glaçé with Chestnut Honey and Pomegranate Seeds~
or
~Warm Molten Chocolate Cake with Orange Blossom Gelato~

Welcome 2010 in Paris!

Spend New Year's Eve in the French Capital- the City of Lights! We are offering a "Night In Paris" on New Year’s Eve, including a five-course Parisian menu with several choices. Our menu is priced at $69.99, plus tax and a 20% service charge. We are offering reservations throughout the evening, from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Our regular menu is not available on New Year's Eve.
French wine pairings will also be available and priced separately. For reservations call 801-486-5585. Book your table now, as availability is becoming limited.

French wine pairings will also be available, and priced separately. Call today for more information and for reservations, or click here.

New Year's Eve Menu

First

Oysters Paris - Fresh Pacific Oysters Baked w/ Vermouth Beurre Blanc, Spinach, American Sturgeon Caviar
-or-
House Loch Duart Scottish Salmon Gravlaks, Celery Root Rösti, Crème Fraîche, Caviar
-or-
Duck Confit Galette with a Fondue of Sweet Onion and Endive, Camembert Le Châtelain, Chives

Second

Celery Root, Parsnip and Chestnut Bisque with Foie Gras
-or-
Winter Citrus Salad - Watercress, Pink Grapefruit, Blood Orange, Fennel, Pomegranate

Third

Clifford Farms Soft Egg and Fresh Ricotta Ravioli, Sage Brown Butter

Entr'acte

Champagne, Thyme & Pomegranate Sorbet

Fourth

Petrale Sole and Dungeness Crab Paupiette, Tarragon Beurre Blanc, Wilted Spinach, Cauliflower Mousseline
-or-
Pan-Seared Filet of Angus Beef, Pan-Roasted Sweetbread & Porcini Mushroom, Sunchoke & Tomme de Savoie Galette , Laurel & Madeira Veal Demi Glace
-or-
Duck Breast and Foie Gras Roulade, Wrapped in Savoy Cabbage and Pancetta, Écrasé of Fingerling Potatoes
-or-
Roasted Rack of Lamb, Crust of Herbes de Provence & Mustard Seed , Braised Rapini Greens, Truffled Purée Blanche

Fifth

Warm Molten Chocolate Cake, Armagnac and Raisin Gelato
-or-
Nougat Glacé with Chestnut Honey

Download a printable version of this menu.. Click here!

Holidays at The Paris!!!

The holidays are upon us, and with them another glorious change of the seasons…. cold, snowy, and blustery weather; crisp blue sunny days; and, the spirit of the season abuzz everywhere. An age-old tradition, it’s a time that we come together with family and friends to share in our memories of the year past, gathered around the table indulging in good food and drink that celebrates the holiday cheer.

For us here at The Paris it will be our ninth holiday season providing festive food and drink in our warm and convivial atmosphere. This year we will once again remain open Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and throughout the holidays, so as to accommodate you - our patrons, and your family and friends whenever you wish to come and dine.


Holiday Hours!!!

The Paris will be open for dinner beginning at 5 P.M. on Christmas Eve, Thursday December 24th; Christmas Day, Friday, December 25th; New Year’s Eve, Thursday, December 31st; and for New Year’s Day, Friday, January 1st, 2010.

Otherwise, the Paris' regular operating hours will be maintained throughout the holidays, serving dinner nightly, Monday through Thursday beginning at 6 P.M. and Friday through Sunday beginning at 5 P.M.




Gift Certificates For The Holidays:

A Paris gift certificate is always the right size, the perfect color, and the one gift people look forward to exchanging! Order yours by telephone anytime and we will gladly mail it directly to the address of your choice. Or stop by the restaurant and we will assist you in person.

Holiday Parties at The Paris

It is not too late to schedule a private or corporate holiday party for the 2009 holiday season.

The facilities at The Paris can accommodate intimate gatherings of 10 to 35 people in The High Desert Room (Exclusive Private Dining Room) and grander scale events of up to 100 people in the Main Dining Room and adjoining Zinc Bar.

Customized menu options and a diversity of pricing levels are available to suit your specific needs. Please Call us at (801)486-5585 or click here



Holiday Dinner Specials:

In addition to our extensive regular dinner menu and our Menu de Saison we will be featuring wonderful holiday dinner specials for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Dinner:
Choucroute Garnie - Alsatian Braised Cabbage, White Wine and Juniper Berries; Assorted Artisan Sausages and Charcuteries (Knackwurst, Fleischwurst, Wienerwurst, Weißwurst, Bratwurst ,Salt Pork, Kassler)

~~~

Grilled Foie Gras Stuffed Quail, Black Truffled Mashed Potatoes, Asparagus

A French Christmas - Les Fêtes de Noel

Christmas is a centuries-old tradition that began in Rome in 354 AD and was introduced by Pope Liberius to replace the pagan winter solstice celebration with a Christian holiday period celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Although many of today's American Christmas traditions are rooted in Lutheran German heritage they also share in the French Christian Christmas culture. Traditions vary throughout the different regions of France. For most, the holiday season is a time for family celebration marked by reunions, merry making, gifts and candy for children - “Les Cadeaux de Noel”, & feasts – “Réveillon”.

A traditional Christmas in Provence, begins with weeks of preparation with household cleaning and repairs leading up to Christmas Eve and the decoration of a holy fir tree with white candles and red ribbon. That evening the children leave a shoe in front of the fireplace for "le Père Noel" Father Christmas to fill with presents or to find on Christmas morning “Le Père Fouettard” Father Spanking if they had been bad during the year past. Then it is off to midnight mass only to return to the celebratory feast “ Le Réveillon", where family and friends convene and eat "Le Gros Souper" (the big supper) after fasting for days during the Advent. The traditional meal typically includes oysters, escargots, foie gras, smoked salmon, caviar & champagne for starters and roasted turkey stuffed with chestnuts as the main course. As a finale “Les Treize Desserts", the thirteen dessert symbolizing Jesus and the twelve apostles, along with "Vin Cuit", a strong red wine accentuated with sugar and Marc (a regional grappa) and herbs, is served.

'Tis the season for....Choucroute!!!

It is Choucroute time, at last!!!!

... And no, we are not talking about Brigitte Bardot's famous 1960's hairstyle!....

The heart of the matter today is the famous French sauerkraut and sausage fest, the ultimate "baby-it's-cold-outside" dish from the Alsace region of France, served by ALL famous and venerable brasserie institutions of Paris France, and for years now, in the midst of the winter, The Paris Bistro in sugarhouse....

Choucroute is a famous Alsatian recipe for preparing sauerkraut with sausages, salted and smoked Pork as well as potatoes.

Although sauerkraut is a traditionally German and Eastern European dish, the French annexation of Alsace and Lorraine following the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 brought this dish to the attention of French chefs and it has since been widely adopted in France.

In principle, there is no fixed recipe for this dish - any preparation of hot sauerkraut with meat and potatoes could qualify - but in practice there are certain traditions, favorite recipes, and stereotypical garnishes that are more easily called choucroute garnie than others.

While the Parisian brasseries serve hundreds upon hundreds of pounds of Choucroute daily, they often serve a very bland and tasteless version of what Eman and I lovingly cook small batches of, slowly and for hours, sausage by sausage, always in my Le Creuset French Oven . The whole process cannot be rushed in any way and literally takes us two days.... Mr Siegfried makes our sausages and delivers them on that very day.... Our kraut is fresh, not pasteurized and thus crispier than anything we have ever found thus far....

Check out the making of our choucroute on this slideshow. Click here

Thanksgiving at the Paris

The Paris opened 8 years ago on Thanksgiving, November, 22, 2001. We have honored this day with a traditional Native American Celebration of the harvest of local products. Every year we have many returning guests who look forward to our reverence to what now is called "locavore"! With complete gratitude we invite you to celebrate the season with us. Please check out our menu and pricing below.

At The Paris, one of our goals has always been to showcase American Cuisine crafting meals from the bounty of the season's local harvest, using native products as much as possible. Again, this fall we are excited to feature many indigenous food stuffs that owe their culinary existence to the Native Americans who gathered and cultivated them; like pine nuts, wild mushroms, berries, corn, pumpkins and winter squash, turkeys, potatoes, yams and quinoa.


The Paris is taking reservations for Thanksgiving Dinner on
Thursday, November 26th, 2009.
We will be seating at 4:00 p.m. and will serve with seatings until 9:00 p.m.
The price is $44.95 per person, children under 12 - $19.95

Click Here to Reserve

Or call 801-486-5585 today for reservations as space is already limited!









The menu is as follows:

Prélude
Wild Chanterelle Mushroom Flatbread with Thyme & Gruyère

Soup & Salad
Roasted Pumpkin and Caramel Apple Soup
***
Salad of Mesclun with Pumpkin Seed Goat Cheese and Pomegranate

Fowl
Utah Wight Family Farms Free Range Turkey Rôti (Brined in Apple juice & Sea Salt, Native Spice Rub, Stuffed with Sage & Garlic, Calvados Thyme Jus and Roasted Chestnuts)

Accoutrements
Purée Blanche Ravioli (Turnips, Parsnips, Celeriac, Potatoes & Onions)
***
Cranberry Compote with Candied Oranges & Maple Glazed Pecans
***
Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Yams with Cipollini Onions, Garlic & Thyme
***
Romanesco, Cauliflower, Brussel Sprout & Beehive Cheddar Gratin
***
Quinoa, Fresh Herbs, Shallots & Roasted Pine Nuts

***
Corn Bread With Honey Butter

Desserts
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Roasted Chestnuts & Honey Gelato
or
Caramelized Apple Stuffed Crêpes, Calvados & Crème Fraîche

Download a printable version of this menu. Click here!

New Fall Menu!!!

Poulet Rouge being roasted on the spit at the Paris

Today, we saw our first significant snow storm of the season, and Fall instantly turned into Winter! Well, almost.... Although Emmanuel saw Christmas Carolers and people dressed as Santa's Elves (complete with pointy ears) at the local supermarket, we yet have to experience Thanksgiving which has traditionally been the celebration of the harvest in America. So we reluctantly made a transition with the menu today. We had to face that summer is over and we had to face that vine ripe produce like Ranui Gardens heirloom tomatoes, Parker Farms Gypsy Peppers, Borski Farms Rosa Bianca eggplant, East Farms Romanesco zucchini and summer squash, Clifford Farms Sylvetta Arugula , Green River Melons, and Green Acres Farm Yellow Romano beans were not going to be had until next year!!!

So we harvested the last of our sorrel, mint, Greek oregano and sage today before the winter frost took their life away until next season. Now we are forced to make the transition to winter and let it reflect in our menu. Don't think that we do not embrace change and the cycles of the earth.....we do emphatically celebrate seasonality!



The latest incarnation of our dinner menu and Menu de Saison is all about fall and its flavors. We are extremely excited to feature a new Poulet Rouge Chicken which we serve à la Provençale, with a fricassée of vegetable, couscous and an olive mélange....
During the summer months, we have been privileged to be one of the few select restaurants in the continental US to get our wild salmon directly shipped to us from the boys at Mystic Salmon in Yakutat, Alaska. Since the season is over, we are now getting a fantastic product from the pristine, cold waters of the Scottish Lochs, the Loch Duart salmon (click here to find out about it) .We are bringing back perennial favorites such as our roasted pumpkin and squash soup with caramel apple, our pan seared scallops with Puy lentils and Chanterelle mushroom persillade, and an amazing pumpkin-chestnut cheesecake....

With the holidays right around the corner, we hope to see you all very soon.... Thanksgiving day will mark the ninth anniversary of our opening day!!! How fast time flies!!!

Stay tuned for our next posting.... We will publish our Thanksgiving menu and talk about tradition....Wild Scottish Loch Duart Salmon Chermoula with a
roasted Vegetable Couscous

Daube Niçoise

Check this out....

We truly waste nothing!

We just cooked a Niçoise style Daube (an obscure french word for braised beef) with Bistro cuts of beef. Take some local vegetables, like carrots, celery, onions, San Marzano tomatoes from our garden, some good white wine and mixed olives to make it truly Niçoise, give it some love, some "savoir faire" and after a few hours, voilà !!! You got yourself a mean Daube!!!

We are going to serve it with fresh, homemade Pappardelle pasta (wide, wide ribbon pasta), biodynamically grown heirloom fingerling potatoes from Ranui Gardens and top it with a Persillade of Chanterelle mushrooms.

Does that sound amazing or what?

The hunt for red....uhhhh.... tomato!

The weather has been cold and blustery for the past couple of days and of course, our garden did not like it one bit.... The last of my basil died days ago and we harvested beautiful bouquets of Greek oregano as well as oodles of Thai chilies. Eric has been obsessively nurturing our plants , however, watching the thermometer and weather forecast in an almost religious fashion, covering the last of our plants with huge tarps every day at dusk in order to protect them from the deathly bite of the cold.

Late last night, after he finally wrapped up his umpteenth project of the day, Eric decided that he was going to come over to my garden in order to rescue the very last of our tomatoes.... It was almost freezing (35ºF) and a dark, moonless night. Since he came directly from the restaurant, he did not have a flashlight and had to settle for his Iphone in order to light up and see what he was picking (I am smiling just picturing the scene)....

After harvesting about 25 pounds of still beautiful heirloom tomatoes, he found a milk crate on my back porch, loaded it up in the front basket of his bicycle and off he went, weighted down and pedaling with great difficulty... I'm still not sure how he managed to arrive home unscathed...

Talk about passion.....

A rather impressive late October bounty

Fish Soup!!!

Yesterday was fish soup day for Eman!

Check out his blog entry and slideshow.... Click here

Tomato canning day

Yesterday was spent canning tomatoes from our garden .... Check out the story and pictures on Eman's blog... click here

Saturday at the Farmer's market

We buy local and seasonal...
We cook local and seasonal...
We always have...
We always will...

We are Utah's Original Locavore Restaurant!

Every Saturday morning and Tuesday afternoon, Eman and I perform the same ritual: We visit the Pioneer Park's farmers market. There we spend hours walking to every booth looking for the best product, talking to the farmers, buying cases upon cases of product before loading up our truck and driving back to The Paris.... We occasionally see other chefs there, but rather than buying vegetables, they seem more interested in posing for the local media in their impeccably pressed chef's whites.



We have been sourcing, buying, cooking local products ever since I first opened the Olive Barrel Food Company back in 1991, long before the words "organic", "local", "sustainable" became common lingo in the restaurant community. Also eons before the locavore/nose-to-tail/farm-to-the-table hysteria became a fashionable trend amongst the Salt lake city restaurant community..... Some farmers like John Garofalo from Ranui Gardens even drop off our vegetables directly at the restaurant before they hit the Market at 6AM. Others, like Julie from Clifford Farms, John from Borski farms set our produce aside on their trucks for us....

Check out our farmers market slideshow... click here