13 Weirdly Wonderful Appetizers in Northern Utah

There are some weirdly wonderful appetizers in Northern Utah restaurants! I did a recent story for the Standard-Examiner’s Dining Guide, and found that chefs like to add some creativity to their appetizer menus. Yes, some ARE kinda weird, but in a good way.

I decided to avoid writing about buffalo wings, onion rings or artichoke/spinach dip, which are staples of most restaurant menus.  And, I ruled out calamari, which seems to be the new buffalo wings as far as appetizer trends go. You’ll find it at  Timbermine Steakhouse, Two-Bit Street Café, Twigs Bistro, Parkstone Wood Kitchens, Union Grill, Roosters, Rickenbacker’s Steakhouse, Zucca Trattoria, Olive Garden, Bangkok Garden, Ruby River Steakhouse, MacCool’s, Windy’s Sukiyaki, Tokyo Station, and Corbin’s Grille — just to name a few.

“Fry it, you’ll like it” seems to be another theme, with deep-fried pickles (Hug-hes, Texas Roadhouse), zucchini (Rovali’s, Hug-hes,) green beans (Hug-hes, Habit Burger) cheese (MacCool’s and Iggy’s), eggs (Two-Bit Street), asparagus (ParkStone Wood Kitchens) and yes, even Funeral Potatoes (The Garage in North Salt Lake.) I’m guessing you could pack away a lot of calories in an appetizer, before you even got to your entree. But usually, appetizers are shared around the table, so you might only get one or two bites.

Here are some of the creative, weirdly wonderful appetizers I found:

Tableside guacamole:  At Bella’s Bella’s Fresh Mexican Grill in Farr West, you can watch your guacamole being made in a molcajete (mol-ca-hay-tay), a very heavy, mortar-and-pestle type bowl made of lava rock.

“They call me a “guac-tologist,” joked Terri Strand, a manager at Bella’s who showed me how it’s done.

Two avocados are mixed with the restaurant’s Roasted Avocado Cilantro Salsa, and its house-made pico de gallo.

Instead of lime, Bella’s uses a big squirt of fresh orange juice to brighten the flavor without being too tart, said Strand. I’ll admit, guacamole is not really “weird,” but the tableside prep is creative…and it tastes pretty wonderful.

Fresh-made Guacamole is also the top-selling appetizer at Sonora Grill, where it’s also made to order. The Queso Fundido is another Sonora Grill appetizer that offers dining drama.

“We bring a hot skillet right out to your table where we saute white onions and chorizo,” said owner Steve Ballard. “Then we add Asadero cheese, Manchego cheese, Oaxaca cheese, and salsa, and then stir everything around on the hot skillet as it melts into cheese dip. Queso Fundido is fun, delicious, and smells incredible.”

Where else but in Utah would you find Deep-Fried Funeral Potatoes? These are served at The Garage in North Salt Lake (on Beck Street, near to turn-off for Victory Lane.) I’m running the photo of these V-E-R-Y small, I didn’t take a very good shot of them. Sorry! I

Rovali’s Ristorante on 25th Street is jumping into the vegetarian trend with a Vegetale Palla ( or veggieball). It’s a substitute for the restaurant’s  Mama’s Giant Meatball appetizer. The house-made recipe includes lentils, crushed walnuts, carrots, mushrooms, and a few secret ingredients.
But the customer favorite at Rovali’s the House Combo, a sampler with lightly breaded chicken tenders, zucchini medallions, fried cheese ravioli, garlic cheesebread and two dipping sauces.

Fried Asparagus Spears and Deep-Fried Deviled Eggs are two somewhat weird and wonderful appetizers at Park Stone Wood Kitchen in Farmington.
“It’s just fresh asparagus, with some crispy parmesan breading, served with ranch dressing,” said manager Amber Eggett.

The Deep-Fried Deviled eggs are a less popular, “But once we persuade people to try them, they usually get addicted. They’re freakishly delicious.”

Scotch eggs are a signature appetizer at Two Bit Street Café. A hard-boiled egg is encased in sausage, rolled in breadcrumbs and deep-fried.Owner Penny Allred Dayley said they are big in England, where both she and her husband have spent time.

Bleu Cheese Chips are another creative Two-Bit appetizer. They are a similar idea to the ones found at Bambara in downtown Salt Lake City.

The potato chips are house-made, and topped with Dayley’s special mornay sauce and lots of crumbled blue cheese.

Wild West Shrimp is the nationwide top favorite at the Longhorn Steakhouse chain. It’s crispy, hand-battered shrimp, with spicy cherry peppers, garlic butter and house-made ranch dressing.

But a new starter. Crispy Blue Crab Bites is showcased with the chain’s spring “peak season” menu. Sweet lump crab, roasted corn and peppers are together in a light breading, and served with a housemade citrus rémoulade sauce.

At Tona Sushi, the best-selling appetizer is the Garlic Edamame, according to co-owner Tina Yu. The soybeans are sautéed in the pod, with garlic, soy and sake wine.

Iggy’s Tin Lid is a mammoth game-day sampler to share with other fans at Iggy’s Sports Grill (update: it’s is no longer in business, unfortunately). It’s got a lot of the usual appetizers like mozzarella sticks and onions rings. But the “weird” part is that it’s served on a garbage can lid.