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Show E13 The Salt Lake Tribune DINING OUT Friday, July 25, 1997 Pining for Real Deli Food? Pinon Market & Cafe Is It Pifion Market & Cafe, the year- old creation of chef/owner Victoria Topham, epitomizesall that is goodin theculinary growth taking place in the Salt Lake area. First, Topham offers a simple menu of innovative, fresh foods that could hold their own anywhere in the country. Second,Pifion is a neighborhood spot — and we can never have too many of those — especially whenthey help raise the city’s culinary standards. As the numberof gourmetfood shopsanddelis grows,it spurs the kind of healthy competition we need to makea better foodcity. It also helps create more knowledgeable and discerning customers —asin, “How you gonna keep ‘em down on the farm ... after they’ve tasted tarragon chicken salad with grapes?” Aseach quality-driven chef or owner makes his or her statement, weare taken a step further in thebattle to stamp out food mediocrity, One look at the truly frightening, greasy, gloppy items many supermarkets pass off as “deli foods” is enough to make Pinon Market & Cafe 1344S. 2100 East, Salt LakeCity, 582-4539 W Hours: Monday-Saturday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. @ Reservations: No. Largeor special orders require 24 hours notice. @ Liquor: No Children’s Menu: No | Wheelchair Access: Yes Credit Cards: Cash and checks only Pluses: A neighborhood cafe offering sophisticated home cooking, from saladsto outstanding baked goods and desserts. Minuses: Bottled or- ange juice instead of fresh-squeezed. good and healthy food run to the nearest neighborhood gourmet being there. If you've never been to Pifion, look for the sage-green awning over a tiny storefront cafe in the strip of shops off 1300 South on 2100 East.In frontof the cafe you will see a sidewalk chalkboard with list of daily specials, as well Price Range: ($) Inexpensive: entrees under $7 ($$) Moderate: $7-$14 ($$$) Expensive: $1520, ($$$$) Very Expensive: Morethan $20 and workingwith assistant Jennifer Dye (whom she credits for many of the cafe's creative recipes) and her staff, making the day’s salads and getting ready to fill long lists of special orders. Topham and herstaff also make all their breads, mayonnaises and dressings, and roastall the meats, in-house. With morning coffee, Pifion of- buy them to take outor eat there. the prepared foods makeit a des- If you want something other than tination. Customers order at the casual. Topham describes her food as “straightforward home cooking with a gourmet swing,” and it’s the perfect description. Her background includes a long stint at Great Harvest Bread, where she started out as a delivery-truck driver and ended up as a manager fers a superb selection of freshly baked muffinsin a variety offlavors, as wellas biscuits and sweet, authentic scones served with fresh fruit butter or jam. You can pastry, try the Southern biscuit and egg ($4.24) — a scrambled or fried egg, cheddar and oven- roasted tomato on a tender buttermilk biscuit. The only thing missing is fresh-squeezed orange juice rather than bottled juices as the perfect accompaniment for breakfast. Pifion’s rotating lunch andear- ly-dinner menu of main-dish sal- at the 900 South location. She and her husband then movedto North Carolina, where she learned about pastries, and cooking in general, at a place called Nana’s. ads, sandwiches and desserts Whenshereturned to Salt Lake, Topham made a splash as the pastry chefat the then-new Log at Topham’s printed menuandorder ahead for a party. Haven restaurant in Mill Creek Canyon, where she stayed for about a year anda half. Her dream was always to open her own place — and she has done it with style. Sheis in there at 5:30 member Mateus and Lancers? No, we're talking about the new, light, fruity pale pink wines that beans and tomatillo sauce. Each smart wine makers,especially in California, are producing. Friday she offers a from-scratch pizza —suchasa recent special of asparagus, brie, pesto andgrilled chicken ($2 per slice or about $16 for a whole pizza). Generally, you whites such as chardonnay, And it’s a more refreshing summertime choice than full-bodied reds A good, chilled rosé is a re- freshing alternative to familiar can find seasonalfresh fruit sal- such as cabernet and merlot. And goodrosé is food friendly. It can be enjoyed with chicken ad, Pifion’s wildly popular tarragon chickensalad, mixed seasonal greens and a couple of special main-dish salads on hand. A recent Cajun chicken and rice salad (it’s a real hit with fried chicken), cold meatsalads, baked ham, bar- becued pork or fish. It’s faintly sweetflavoris a natural with California cuisine or Mediterranean red peppers, onions andplenty of spicy heat was a knock-out. Tuna salad at Pifion gets that “gourmet swing’ with capers, fresh herbs, pickles and peppers. The old-fashioned potatosalad is based on steamed new potatoes, recipes that call for herbs or spices. And the wineis so complementary to Asian cuisine that it should be required readingon every Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese restaurant winelist. which have a distinctive sweet- comes from an extensive repertoire. The best way to experience itis to pop in once a week and just try something new. Or take a look If you want something that's not on the menu, justtell her what fresh herbs and her own Dijon mayonnaise, redolent with mustard seed. A recent fresh aspara- Best of all, really good rosés ate gus salad included well-roasted sweet red onions, mild peppers, capers anda brilliant flourish of lemon zest. The asparagus was Sandwiches on fresh whole wheat or focaccia run around $5 to $6 and are as good as it gets. Pifion’s vegetarian sandwich of marinated grilled vegetables, spinach, pinenuts, oven-roasted tomatoes and balsamic dressing on focaccia changed my mind about vegetable sandwiches — it’s difficult to make them this appealing. Another great vegetarian choice is the Santa Fe pimiento cheese with grilled sweet onions and cilantro mayonnaise. You will also find ham, roast beef, turkey, bacon and avocado sandwiches, and more. If the rest of Topham's desserts are as downright perfect as her dense, super-moist carrot cake, weareall in trouble and should double our exercise regimens now. She makestart, fresh lemon bars, rich brownies, cheesecake bars, giant cookies (including the best coconut macaroonin town), notice, she will produce it with a and a selection of quick breads and pastry-shop cakes, too. Just catalogingit all is exhausting. To her credit, Topham doesn't try to recently got Topham to whip up some perfectly grilled, goat- cheese-stuffed chicken breasts andgarlicky mashed potatoes for of those that deserve attention: Paul Fraughton/The Salt Lake Tribune Pinon Market & Cafe offers extensive lunch and early-dinner menu of main-dish salads, sandwiches and desserts. do it all at once — she concentrates on the day's dishes and does @ Simi’s Rosé of Cabernet + Simi wasoneofthe first California wineries to produce a rosé from a premium grape, in this case cabernet sauvignon. This pale pink wine has a lush body tender-crisp. Salad prices vary by the pound and may seem expensive when yousee the serving size — butthe visual assessment is deceiving. A pound ofthese substantial salads goes a long way. it is, and chances are, with enough flourish. For instance, a woman affordable, with most priced between $8 and $15 a bottle. Some @ Snowbird Special Events Snowbird is offering special events under the direction of chef Andy Vaughn at the Wildflower Ristorante. On Aug. 1 you can attend a special Chef Dinner featuring a $40 prix fixe menu by Vaughn. It includes an appetizer of baked mussels with serrano chilies and buffalo mozzeralla, Italian shrimp and caper berry salad, lemon-pepperlinguine with shaved prosciutto and radicchio and a pomodoro-style bakedfish entree. Specially selected wines will accompany each course. The fotlowirig morning, Aug. 2, Vaughn invites food mavensup to the restaurant for a demo oncreating his baked mussel recipe. The event is free and beginsat 10 a.m. Call 521-6040 ext. 1042 to reservea spotat the Chef's Dinner, of for more information on the Chef Dinnerseries. — Virginia Rainey and dry finish that complements baked ham and grilled chicken. Suggested price: $8. } @ BonnyDoon’s Vin Gris de Cjgare Pink Wine — The folks at BonnyDoon take their winesseriously, but have a good time with them. Their answer to summér doldrums, the Vin Gris de Cigare Pink, lends itself to meals that feature Asian foods, pastas froin Italy, or blackened seafood. It’s also a nice wineto serve with Parmaor Serrano ham. Suggested re tail: $8, @ Joseph Phelps Grenache Rosé — OneofCalifornia’s most venerable wineries and a pioneér in the production of premium them well Not only does Pifion complement the surrounding businesses in its little enclave of shops, beauty salons, dry cleaners and Zachary's Garden across the street — it brings them together. Topham andthe folks at the garden store are launching their own neighborhood farmer's marketin Zachary's parking lot. An informal neighborhood event, it starts Wednesday. Tophamwill be serving barbecued chicken, corn and coleslaw, and you will probably find Bear Lake raspberries and corn on hand, plus whatever local growers decide to bring. If you are a grower and would like to participate, give Topham call. Correction: Last week's review of Cafe Diablo in Torreylisted incorrect hours. The hoursare daily 4to10 p.m rosés, Phelps’ pink tastes of fresh summer fruit. It is ideal with foods like barbecued ribs 6r chicken or hamburgers on the grill. Suggested retail: $14 @ ChimneyRock Rosé of Mef lot — Merlot aficionados can have Virginia Rainey is The Tribune’s restaurant reviewer. The newspaper covers the cost of meals at restaurants reviewed and there is no connection between reviews and restaurant advertising. Rainey welcomes food and wine news, comments and suggestions at FoodWrite@aolcom or by mail, c/o Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City, UT 84110. their favorite varietal and drinkit cold, thanks to winemaker Doug Fletcher. He's createda dry, easy- on-the-palatepinkthatis as much at home with moussaka asit is with lasagna and meatloaf. Suggested retail: $11 There are other rosés on tHe market — somereadily available some hard to come by — so ask your favorite wine merchant for suggestions. Serve it chilled or on ice, if you wish. | a.m. every day but Sunday, whipping up the morning’s pastries rosé. Not those old-fashioned very sweet rosés that you may have tasted 20 years ago — re- ness and more pleasing texture than russets. Topham addscelery, as trellis-framed outdoordining area surrounded by flowers and filled with a few French cafe tables and chairs. Though the cafe is stocked with some condiments and various food items forsale, counter, and the atmosphereis ERVICE If there is one perfect wine for the hot, dog days of summer, it's For the cafe’s refrigerated case, Topham makes seven to eight salads each day. She also puts one hot entree on each day’s menu. Depending on the time of year, that may be meatloaf,pasta, enchiladas, or something deliciously Southwestern with black of moist chicken breast, roasted anyone whoreally cares about deli and thankthe proprietors for a small weeknight dinner party. With a green salad strewn with beautiful edible flowers, the dinner was memorable. ajaae BY VIRGINIA RAINEY SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE Fresh, Light, Fruity Rose Is a Lively Summer Wine The Utah Symphonyhas the Latin music concert you've been waiting for with works by de Falla, Rodrigo, Lecuona, Villa Lobos andfeaturing: urice Ravel's with Utah Opera and The Utah Symphony Bring your family and picnic blanket for a summer evening of musical magic. Thursday, July 31 - 30 p.m. Valley Regional Park 5100 South 2700 We From I-15 g0 west on 5300 South; North on 2700 West ) Call 533-NOTE (6683) Or visit the Abravane! Mall box office. Student discounts available. Family discounts at Snowbird, (ae This programis su ed by 4 grantfromSalt Lake County's Z00, Arts, & Parks Program , AISNE n |