Hearth and Hill’s Eclectic Brunch

Hearth and Hill wants to be a Park City restaurant for locals. Now it’s been open six months at Kimball Junction, the restaurant recently began offering Sunday brunch. I was invited to a media tasting event last week to check out some of the brunch menu. It was a great opportunity to visit with  co-owner Brooks Kirchheimer, chef Jason Harvey, general manager Mia Yue and pastry chef Jessie Rae Nakoneczny.

The restaurant’s design is sleek and chic. I loved the large glass windows separating the kitchen. It’s a great way to offer the  visual appeal of an open kitchen, without the noisy clanging of pots and pans.

Hearth and Hill’s main menu has a wide variety of dishes – “Fun, eclectic food that people like to eat,” according to Brooks Kirchheimer, who owns the restaurant with his father, David Kirchheimer.

On the brunch menu, diverse items such as ramen, a smothered burrito, a burger, Korean chicken wings, eggs Benedict and shrimp & grits somehow co-exist peacefully the menu. Often restaurants who try to offer “something for everyone” can end up being a “jack of all trades, master of none” kind of deal. But each dish that I tasted seemed to be thoughtfully crafted with quality ingredients. Every dish had a twist that made it a little different from run-of-the-mill fare.

These cinnamon rolls with thick, browned-butter cream cheese frosting is a customer favorite for good reason. The browned butter adds a caramel flavor that’s hard to resist. But at $6 each, you’d probably want to stop at one.

These mini strawberry shortcakes ($6) get a flavor twist with a lime zest garnish.

Beets & Burrata ($15) features a variety of roasted beets served with buratta, grilled peasant bread and fresh raspberries.

Elotes, grilled corn on the cob, were cut in half lengthwise and grilled with miso aioli and questo fresco. It was delicious, although hard to eat. I ended up slicing off the kernels with a  knife and fork, but was tempted to hold them in my hands in order to bite into every tasty morsel.

Steam buns ($10) were my husband’s favorite. Light and airy buns were sandwiched with thick-slab bacon and flavorfully dressed with spicy hoisin, sriracha, and fresh cilantro.

 

The Shrimp and Grits ($18) may hark back to chef Jordan Harvey’s time cooking in Charleston, S.C. (Harvey, a Culinary Arts grad from Johnson & Wales University, has also worked in Vail, New York City, and Portland. In Park City, he’s cooked at Zoom, Apex in Montage Deer Valley and Grappa.) The grits are topped with a poach egg, and served with slices of peasant bread.

This banana Dutch baby pancake ($14) was cooked and served in its own cast-iron frying pan.

My favorite was the tomato watermelon salad ($15), a variety of colors and sizes of tomatoes with watermelon cubes, pickled melon rind, cucumber and chevre. It was flavored with dill and a citrus vinaigrette.

The Mushroom Reuben is a vegetarian option featuring meaty oyster mushrooms, sauerkraut, gruyere, and horseradish dressing, served on rye bread.

For dessert, there was Honey Pie. Pasty chef Jessie Ray Nakoneczny said the hint of lime zest was added to cut the sweetness of the filling, and I thought the juicy blackberries helped too. Pistachios offered a bit of crunch on top.

Jessie Ray’s Yeti Mug Cake is a playful dessert. Ray makes the “Yeti” garnish of dried meringue. The chocolate footprints are just the size of a baby’s prints, leading us to joke about having an infant somewhere in the kitchen. But, Jessie Ray uses a template for the job, not a real kid.

I can see how well-heeled Park City-ites would enjoy Hearth and Hill, and it could be an occasional splurge nice splurge for more budget-minded folks. (Speaking of budgets, select appetizers are half-price during “Happy Hour,” every afternoon except Sunday, from 3-5 p.m.)

Chef Jordan Harvey is tied into using local ingredients — including produce from Copper Moose Farm and Ranui Gardens, bread from Red Bicycle Breadworks, charcuterie from Beltex Meats, and pork from Ballard Farms. But, some ingredients, such as avocados, aren’t local crops. Since the restaurant goes through 2-3 cases (about 60-70 avocados) per week, the Trump administration’s threatened tariffs for Mexico could cause a spike in food costs, said Brooks Kirchheimer.

Since the goal is to be a locals’ destination, the restaurant stays open during spring and fall when many Park City restaurants close until the summer and winter tourist seasons.

Brooks earned his degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from the University of Denver. He has worked front-of-the-house at Montage Beverly Hills, Montage Deer Valley, Robert Redford’s Zoom in Park City, and Merriman’s in Maui.  His father, David, has worked in finance, and owns a home in Park City area. General manager Mia Yue and pastry chef Jessie Rae Nakoneczny have both spent time working in other Park City restaurants.

I asked Brooks about the challenge of attracting and keeping a well-trained staff at a time when nearly every restaurant in Utah has “help wanted” signs on the door. Having worked at the Montage Park City and the now-closed Zoom, he was already well-acquainted with local staffers, and was able to attract some of them to come and work for him. Also, employees working 30 or more hours a week are eligible for health insurance and dining discounts. In order to build camaraderie, the restaurant hosts staff events such as a bowling party and a Salt Lake Bees’ game.

Located in the Redstone area of Kimball Junction (1153 Center Drive), Hearth and Hill is open from Monday-Thursday 11:30-9 p.m., Friday- Saturday from 11:30-9 p.m., and Sunday 10 a.m.-9 p.m. There are parking spots in the back, and a patio so you can enjoy the weather while you eat.