Utah
A Ruined Pop-Up: Arthur Residency at The Ruin
You may recall that I’ve written about Kevin before. A couple summer ago he and his wife Alexa staged a terrific pop-up dining series called Arthur at Nohm restaurant. Kevin Finch hails originally from right here in Utah – Sugar House, to be precise – and has an impressive resume that began when he was fifteen working at The Grand America and includes cooking in Michelin-starred houses of the holy such as Maaemo in Oslo, NYC’s Betony, Ensue restaurant in Shenzhen, and – most impressive to me because Dominique Crenn is a hero of mine – as Chef de Cuisine at San Francisco’s Atelier Crenn. Now, and through August, Kevin is lending his skills to The Ruin with a residency and new Arthur menu that changes weekly. As I said, this ain’t your daddy’s bar food.
Kevin’s eclectic cuisine is particularly well-suited to The Ruin Mach 2 – having moved from Sugarhouse to Main Street downtown – which is eclectic itself in decor and design. It’s an eye-popping lounge decorated with bric-a-brac including women’s garments on the wall, scantily-clad mannequins, original local art, mod-style vintage furniture, comfy banquettes, a vibrant color scheme, clever lighting features, and more. The vibe is fun, funky and friendly.
The Ruin is open Monday through Sunday from 2 pm to 2 am with kitchen hours Monday through Thursday from 5 to 9 pm and a late night menu ‘til 11, and on Friday and Saturday from 5 to midnight.
I love that a portion of the cocktail menu at The Ruin is an “Ode To Our Industry” and features drinks created by a bevy of SLC’s best mixologists. They include cocktails like Jalatlaco, Stirred, from Water Witch’s Scott Gardner; one called Highly Ordered Structure from Crystal Daniels of Bar Nohm; Julie Tall’s Death’s Dance from Bar X; Cyprus en Vogue from Copper Common’s Mckay Middleton, and many more, including The Ruin Old Fashioned.
Haus Music Cocktail
There is also wine, beer, spirits, and a non-alcoholic cocktail selection. We particularly enjoyed a Phony Negroni and a tropical tasting cocktail called Haus Music made with Four Roses Bourbon, D’usse, Saffron, Coconut and Citrus, garnished with fresh mint leaves.
As I mentioned, the Arthur pop-up EATS menu at The Ruin changes frequently so you’ll probably want to take a look at it on the bar’s website to see what’s currently being offered. For example, I was looking forward to enjoying Escargot ($6) at The Ruin – Burgundy snail skewers grilled over charcoal with brown butter and roasted garlic – but it wasn’t on the menu when we visited. As I write this, it’s back on.
Spicy Nuts
Even if you’re just in the mood for a simple bar snack and a beverage, be sure to order the Spicy Nuts ($8). It’s a whopping portion of candied peanuts, walnuts, and cashews tossed with Szechuan peppercorns, Thai bird’s eye chili, and fried garlic. They are fiery and addictive. Other snack type items include charcuterie (priced at $9/$24/$35 depending on the combo ordered); “Bread and Butter” ($7), which is Leavity Sourdough with whipped butter seasoned with alliums and sea salt; and Radish and Butter ($9) – breakfast radish and whipped butter also seasoned with alliums and sea salt.
Lettuces
Although we felt it was a tad overdressed, we loved the flavor of a dish simply called Lettuces ($12). It was a plate of young lettuces with a scrumptious sherry vinaigrette, thinly sliced radish, herbs and shallots. A recent addition to Kevin Finch’s menu is a Tokyo Turnip ($15) with nori, creme fraiche, calamansi and trout roe – a fine example of Finch’s eclectic and creative palate.
Beef Tartare
Meat lovers will enjoy menu items like Bone Marrow ($18) with grilled sourdough and parsley-shallot salad; Steak Frites ($48), which is a peppercorn-crusted culotte steak with au poivre sauce and fries; and the Steakhouse Burger ($21) of dry-aged beef on a brioche bun with roasted garlic mayo, Burgundy mustard, caramelized shallots, and Delft blue cheese. For my money, Chef Finch’s Beef Tartare ($28) is as good as any I’ve ever had, including famous Parisian versions at spots like Bofinger, Chez Julien, and Bistrot Paul Bert. The Ruin/Arthur beef tartare is finely minced raw American Wagyu top sirloin that isn’t fussed with too much: tossed simply with shallots, minced chives and roasted garlic and topped with a sous vide egg yolk.
Fries
I love that the plates the food is served on at The Ruin come from Keven and Alexa’s personal collection and each vintage plate is unique and distinct. Even the from-scratch French fries – which are among the best in the city – are served on a pretty antique plate – tossed with parsley, chives and served with roasted garlic mayo.
Roast Chicken Ballotine
Chicken dishes at Arthur/The Ruin rotate and may include Szechuan-style Hot Chicken Sandwich ($15); a Half Chicken ($40) with market veggies, mushroom, and brown butter sabayon; or the dish my wife enjoyed: Roast Chicken Ballotine ($35) – deboned breast and tenderloin with skin wrapped around a mousse of the chicken thigh with cream, topped with brown butter sabayon, and served with butter-glazed English peas, roasted mushrooms and potato pave. A simply stunning dish.
Here is some good news for fans, like moi, of Kevin Finch’s cooking. He and Alexa are planning to open a brick and mortar restaurant in the near future called, most likely, Arthur. For now, through August, we can continue to enjoy his creative cuisine at The Ruin.
Photos by Ted Scheffler
Culinary quote of the week: “I’m the president of the United State and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli.” – George Bush
Utah
‘2.5 minutes of terror’: Passengers sue Delta, alleging crew flew into dangerous weather despite warnings, injuring dozens
Twenty passengers allege the airline ignored repeated weather warnings before the flight hit severe turbulence that sent dozens of people to hospitals
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) A Delta airplane travels down the runway at Salt Lake City International Airport in Salt Lake City last March. Passengers on a Delta flight last July are suing the airline over injuries suffered because of violent turbulence.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Environmental Protection Agency awarded Utah and Salt Lake County a total of $3.5 million in grants to assess potentially polluted properties for eventual cleanup and redevelopment.
The agency announced a $2 million grant to Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality and $1.5 million to Salt Lake County to conduct environmental assessments and inventory brownfield sites for cleanup. Brownfields are sites that may be difficult to redevelop or expand because of “the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant,” according to the agency.
“These brownfields grants will help Utah communities clean up contaminated sites and unlock opportunities for redevelopment and investment,” EPA Regional Administrator Cyrus Western said in a news release announcing the grants earlier this week. “By transforming underused properties into community assets, EPA is helping create healthier neighborhoods and stronger local economies.”
The two grants awarded to Utah and Salt Lake County are among more than $248 million awarded to nearly 200 communities nationwide for brownfield assessment and cleanup. Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality plans to focus the resources on several areas in Ogden, Heber City and Fillmore, among others, according to Bill Rees, who leads Utah’s brownfield cleanup program.
“What we do is work to secure the funding and then begin to reach out to our communities across the state, say, ‘Listen, there’s opportunity to do some assessment work in your community if you’re interested,’ and then work with our rural partners, work with our urban partners to see if there are sites that will fit that bill,” he told KSL.
The state has received similar grants in the past, and Rees said the money can help local governments determine what to do with ailing properties such as old schools, hospitals or private property that have gone to waste.
“Is there asbestos in it, or is there hazardous material in it? Or could there be something that’s impacting the soil or the groundwater, and a policymaker needs to make a decision?” asked Rees. “Knowledge allows you to make good decisions.”
The $1.5 million awarded to Salt Lake County is the largest brownfields assessment grant the county has ever received, according to a county press release.
“This grant is a real win for our communities,” said Mayor Jenny Wilson. “This funding will let us do vital environmental work on a larger scale and in more neighborhoods. It reflects exactly the kind of partnership between local and federal government that gets results for residents.”
The county grant funds will be used to help create cleanup plans in three areas, including a vehicle storage yard in Salt Lake City’s Ballpark Neighborhood, a 4.26-acre vacant lot in Millcreek and a small commercial building in Magna that was damaged during an earthquake in March 2020, according to the EPA.
Contributing: Don Brinkherhoff
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City issued red flag warning Friday morning as emergency workers continued to battle one of the state’s largest wildfires in its history.
The red flag warning, issued when critical fire warnings are occurring or imminent, was to be in place through midnight Saturday.
“This is the FIRST Particularly Dangerous Situation Red Flag Warning issued in NWS Salt Lake City history. This is an exceptionally rare event,” the federal agency said in its warning.
A map of the area under the warning covered much of central and southwest Utah, with an area of the southwest, central and southern mountains also outlined as “particularly dangerous red flag.”
The particularly dangerous area includes the Cottonwood Fire, near the town of Beaver, which started Monday and had grown to covering almost nearly 71,000 acres by Thursday, 15 News reported. The fire forced evacuations.
The NWS warned that gusty winds and dry conditions would lead to rapid fire growth.
Utah also was dealing with the Iron Fire, which started June 19, and nearly destroyed the town of Eureka. The fire was about 27% contained Friday morning.
The fire danger led Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to issue executive order restricting fireworks statewide during the July 4 holiday, which marks the nation’s 250th birthday this year. The ban is in effect through July 5.
“Nothing about this decision was easy,” Cox said in a statement issued by his office Thursday.
“This is unlike anything we’ve seen in recent memory. We’re seeing fires spread farther and faster under conditions that defy historical expectations” Jamie Barnes, Utah state forester and director of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, added in the statement.
Cox allowed cities and local communities to set aside areas where fireworks could be safely used. The city of Provo announced it would enforce a citywide prohibition on fireworks and would not designate a safe area for fireworks.
“This year is different,” Provo Mayor Marsha Judkins said in a statement. “The wildfire danger facing our community is real, and protecting lives, homes, and our natural spaces must come first.”
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