Just a heads up here. J and I took a week long trip out west, so the next several blog posts are going to be very, very far from Southwest Michigan….but we had such a great trip and found such amazing restaurants, I’m going to blog anyway….
424 Main StreetIt has been a really, really long time since J and I have had a vacation. I mean a real vacation. Our weekend trips around Michigan have been a blast the last few years, but some time away was really needed.
That time away came in the form of a wedding. J’s first job out of college was in Idaho Falls, ID and she met some amazing friends there and they’ve stayed in touch over the years. All three of them were in our wedding back in 2009. One of those ladies got married in the Salt Lake City area this past weekend and J, along with the other two women were asked to be bridesmaids.
We decided to just turn the trip out west in to a full on vacation. We spent three days in Park City for the wedding then moved on to Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho to see Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park.
We’ve known about this wedding for over a year and once a date was set back in January, I booked airfare. Stupid me, I assumed the rehearsal dinner would be on Friday night. Where I grew up, it always was because there wasn’t that much of a demand for wedding venues….and they were almost always churches. I booked the flight for late on Thursday afternoon because it was cheaper and a direct flight from O’Hare to Salt Lake City International.
Well, guess what. I was wrong. The rehearsal dinner was on Thursday and it was scheduled to start just 45 minutes after our flight was scheduled to land in Salt Lake City.
To my surprise, our flight was actually on time. Our Frontier jet pulled in to the terminal at SLC right on time. By the time we deplaned and headed down to baggage claim, the bags were starting to come out. I grabbed them both off the carousel and we headed across the street to pick up the rental car. That took about fifteen minutes and by the time we got loaded up and out of the parking garage, it was just a little after 6:45.
We had a forty minute drive to Park City where our hotel and the rehearsal dinner were. Lucky for us, the actual rehearsal at Blue Sky Ranch about thirty minutes east of Park City ran late, so we walked in to the restaurant during the middle of the first course.
Park City is full of amazing restaurants, but the one selected for the rehearsal dinner was Cafe Terigo. The restaurant sits along historic Main Street which is downtown Park City. We were advised there was a parking garage behind the restaurant and it was suggested we use that. There is street parking on Main Street, but it’s right in the middle of the summer tourist season so parking would be at a premium.
Cafe Terigo is a Modern Italian restaurant in an old, cozy brick building. There is seating in a small dining room inside, but the best place to enjoy a meal is on the large brick patio next to the building. The Al Fresco dining experience nestled in the mountains of Park City is really what you looking for here.
We didn’t see anyone we recognized when we walked in the door, so J found a hostess who pointed us upstairs. Our party was already seated and even though there were two spots left at one of the tables, the bride asked if it was possible to get another table so we could sit near the others in the wedding party.
Everyone else was either working on or just finishing up the first course when we sat down, but a waitress came over and went over the menu with us, offered wine, and filled our water glasses as we were getting settled. Because it was a private party, they has a small menu with two choices for each course.
The first course was either soup or salad. Both J and I ordered the salad. It was a simple, yet elegant salad of mixed greens, croutons and a herb vinaigrette. Delicious and a great start to dinner.
Once J and I caught up, the entrees started coming out. There were actually three choices here. There was a fish, a chicken, and a pork dish to choose from. J chose the house smoked chicken breast that was served with a sweet corn and roasted red pepper risotto. I was actually leaning towards this choice at first and I would have loved it had I actually selected it. The super tender chicken was swimming in the flavorful, tender pasta. J loved it and even offered up a few bites so I could get a feel of just how delicious it was.
The entree I chose was the pork option. It was a double-cut pork chop with a fresh blackberry sauce and served alongside roasted fingerling potatoes and sugar snap peas. Is it ok if I say, holy crap this was good? Because really, holy crap was this good. The pork chop, although a little on the small side, had a salty crust which was matched perfectly with the sweetness of the blackberry sauce. I didn’t want to look like a pig and eat off the bone while sitting in a fancy restaurant with people I just met, but I eventually did just that. I didn’t want to leave any of the juicy, tender pork on that bone.
The potatoes were a good compliment to the pork, but a few of them were a little undercooked for my liking. It didn’t stop me from eating them, but a couple of the bigger potatoes made me feel like I was eating straight mashed potatoes.
The third course was dessert and again, two delicious options. This time, J and I both ordered the profiterole with vanilla cream and warm chocolate sauce. The chocolate was served in a small shot glass and no one really knew the “proper” was to eat. I wasn’t the least bit shy and just dumped the chocolate over it…pretty soon, everyone followed suit assuming I knew what I was doing. It seemed like the best way to eat it to me. As you can probably guess, the dessert was delicious. The warm sauce and cold cream between the flaky pasty was a perfect ending to this incredible meal.
Cafe Terigo is not the kind of restaurant J and I would normally eat dinner at. There are no burgers or pizzas on the dinner menu (although there are both on the lunch menu) and we’re not really fancy restaurant people. The meal we ate runs at $65 per person on the group menu, so it’s also the kind of meal that is a little out of our price range. I’m very happy we had the opportunity to eat at such a great restaurant. It was a great way to kick off what was going to become an amazing weekend in Park City.
House salad of Mixed Greens w/herb vinaigrette and croutons
Double-Cut Pork Chop w/Fresh Blackberry Sauce, Fingerling Potatoes, and Sugar Snap Peas
Profiterole w/vanilla cream and warm chocolate sauce
