Bistro 222’s New Chef, New Menu

In the crowded downtown Salt Lake City restaurant scene, Bistro 222 is attempting to carve out its own niche with its chic, urban ambience.

 A new chef, Brady Gray, has rewritten the lunch and dinner menus.  Gray told me he spent some time working at Baci Trattoria, Gastronomy’s beautiful Italian restaurant that closed about ten years ago. The past eight years, he’s worked  at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouses, where he perfected his meat-cooking skills.

In December, I was invited to a media tasting event to check out the new menu. The press release said Gray “developed his flair for traditional Italian, American Southwest, Latino, and Asian Fusion, each of which will have representation on Bistro 222’s new menu.”  So it was a little hard to pin down the restaurant’s niche, since the menu seems so varied. I think New American is the best term for it, as there are classics with a twist.

The PR person told us the aim is to be more “competitive,” recognizing that there are a lot of good downtown restaurants. One competitive edge, which may be the restaurant’s best-kept secret, is the covered parking garage in the back of the building.  As I circled the block seeking a parking place, I wasn’t looking forward to slogging around in the snowy slush. Out of desperation, I turned into an alley from 300 South where the sign said, “Public Parking,” and found a  parking garage. The rate seemed a bit steep — something like $4 for an hour. But I found out later the restaurant validates parking. In wintry weather, it’s nice to avoid scraping snow and ice off your car when you leave! I was told that the management is setting up dining packages with nearby Capitol Theater events that include dinner and parking along with tickets to performances.

Since this was a tasting, the photos I took don’t represent the actual size or plating that you would receive if ordering from the menu.    Some of the dishes we tried included:

Lobster bisque ($10) This photo unfortunately doesn’t do the soup justice (hey, it was getting dark!). The creaminess didn’t overpower the savory seafood flavor.

There was also a clear glass of Tuna Tartare, garnished with black soy, sesame, chili oil, avocado, crispy sweet potato and taro root. Since it was getting dark, the photo I took really couldn’t do it justice.

 

Elk Tenderloin Carpaccio ($19) had paper-thin slices of elk tenderloin, with baby frisee, dried cranberries, lemon oil with a garnish of Peri-Peri sauce.

 

 

 

The moist, delicately textured Chilean Sea Bass came with braised oxtails, little “pearls” of winter squash, fingerling potatoes, and a balsamic-fig reduction sauce.

Pictured next to it are Beef Short Ribs ($25), simmered in a cremini mushroom consomme, perched over mashed cauliflower/potatoes.

 

 

The King Salmon ($26) was complemented by a sweet-chili Asian ratatouille.

The fork-tender Beef Ribeye Filet ($45) was served with a miso-glazed foi gras, smoked potato puree, wild mushrooms, roasted sunchokes and a blueberry demi-glace sauce. It’s obvious that Gray has learned a little about beef from his tenure at Ruth’s Chris.

 

The lunch menu offers the lobster bisque ($10), along with a variety of soups, salads and sandwiches, ranging from $8-17. I’d like to come back sometime and try the Lobster Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Beef Satay skewers, Moroccan lamb meatballs or a Buffalo Chicken Wrap.

Bistro 222 is open for lunch and dinner on weekdays; dinner on Saturday; and brunch on Sundays.  Hours are Monday through Thursday 11-9 pm; Friday11-10 pm; Saturday 5-10 pm.

Visit Bistro 222 online at bistro-222.com.