Salt Lake Magazine Awards

The other night Holly and I were invited to attend the Salt Lake Magazine Dining Awards Ceremony (held at The Leonardo) where dozens of restaurants, chefs, and local foodies were honored for their achievements. (And by the way, until March 9th you can enter here for a chance to win a one year subscription to the magazine)

I was truly astounded at the talent and creativity that came from this group and I have a strong suspicion that I'll be spending many a date night in Salt Lake.

Please don't judge me too harshly but I have long thought of Utah food scene as...well, kinda boring. Seriously. Don't hate me.

I am a reformed person...REALLY!

With the summer fast appro

aching and gas prices climbing (ugh) I can think of no greater thing than a staycation. It is all the rage, after all.

While some of these restaurants may not be the best choice for families with small children (ahem...me) there are plenty that would welcome it. And, hey, save the nice ones for date night. You know, they say the success of a marriage depends on date night!

If you have the chance I strongly encourage you to pick up the Salt Lake 2012 Dining Awards Magazine at your local store. Inside you will find the list of winners along with dreamy, mouthwatering pictures that are guaranteed to leave you hungry.

xo Krista

Hi! Holly here. I had a fantastic time the other night when, as Krista mentioned above, we were able to attend the 2012 Salt Lake Magazine Dining Awards. You can see video from the awards ceremony here, as well as check out the recap here. Also, I have to tell you, being an avid music lover too (who still harbors a secret dream to learn to play another instrument someday) I absolutely LOVED loved loved listening to the music provided by the Daniel Day Trio during the cocktail and shmoozing portions of the event as well as when winners were doing their acceptance walks - seriously, you HAVE to check these guys out!

The winners are all listed below, but I just wanted to give you a quick heads up that the geniuses over at Salt Lake Magazine have made your date night wish list even easier by providing a Dining Guide you can get here.

Really, with Utah's dining scene being referred to several times throughout the night as "The New Salt Lake" and a food revolution, is it any wonder that there were four amazing Utahn's nominated for James Beard Foundation Awards (including Salt Lake Magazine's winners for Best Chef, Forage's Viet Pham and Bowman Brown).

Also, I should mention, that though the restaurants for the event aren't yet announced, Salt Lake Magazine did announce that they will once again be doing the TasteMakers event again this year, coming up in May! Make sure to watch for more details on that coming soon. We attended last year and it was THE most fabulous date night I've had in a long time - just imagine getting to visit several of the city's best hot spots, for one very reasonable price per ticket and all in one night. For someone like me who has a tough time finding baby sitters, packing that much fun into one night was an unparalleled treat!

Salt Lake 2012 Dining Award Winners

Hall of Fame Winners

Mazza Cafe. 1515 South 1500 East SLC. Ali Sabbeh, Owner.

Red Iguana. 736 West North Temple, SLC. Lucy Cardenas, Owner.

Cucina Toscana. 307 West Pierpont Ave., SLC. Valter Nassi, Impresario.

Takashi. 18 Market St., SLC. Takashi Gibo, Owner.

Squatters Pub Brewery. 147 West Broadway, SLC. Peter Cole and Jeff Polychronis, Founders.

Log Haven. 6451 East Millcreek Canyon Rd., SLC. Margo Provost, Owner.

Best Chefs

Forage. 370 East 900 South, SLC. Chefs Viet Pham and Bowman Brown.

Best New Restaurant in Utah

The Farm at Canyons. 4000 Canyons Resort Dr., Park City.

Best Restaurant in Salt Lake City

Fresco. 1513 South 1500 East, SLC.

Best Restaurant in Park City

Talisker on Main. 515 Main St., Park City.

Best Restaurant in Central Utah

Pizzeria 712. 320 South State St., Orem.

Best Restaurant in Northern Utah

Slackwater. 1895 Washington Blvd., Ogden.

Green Fork Award

Pago. 878 South 900 East, SLC.

Best Restaurant in South Eastern Utah

Hell's Backbone. 20 North Highway 12, Boulder.

Best Restaurant in South Western Utah

Whiptail Grill. 445 Zion Park Blvd., Springdale.

Best Pastry Chef

Vinto. 418 East 200 South, SLC. Chef Amber Billingsley.

Best Bakery

La Bonne Vie. Grand America Hotel, 555 South Main St., SLC.

Best Breakfast

Copper Onion. 111 East Broadway, Ste 170, SLC.

Best Chinese

J. Wong Asian Bistro. 163 West 200 South, SLC.

Best Indian

Saffron Valley. 1098 West South Jordan Parkway, South Jordan.

Best Italian

Fresco. 1513 South 1500 East, SLC.

Best Japanese

Naked Fish. 67 West 100 South, SLC.

Best Mediterranean/Middle Eastern

Aristo's. 224 South 1300 East, SLC.

Best Mexican

Frida Bistro. 545 West 700 South, SLC.

Best Comfort Food

Pat's BBQ. 155 West Commonwealth Ave., SLC.

Best Lunch

Left Fork Grill. 68 West 3900 South, SLC.

Best Quick Eats

Guzzi's Vintage Burgers & Fries. 180 East 800 South, SLC.

Best Discovery

The Garage. 1199 North Beck St., SLC.

Best Design

Silver. 508 Main St., Park City.

Best Wine List

Spencer's. 255 South West Temple, SLC.

Best Mixol

ogist

The Wild Grape. 481 East South Temple, SLC. Sean Neves.

Food and Wine Education

James Santangelo, Wine Academy of Utah. 801-486-WINE.

Lifetime Achievement

Karen Olson. Metropolitan. 173 West Broadway, SLC.