This article is reprinted from the Utah Eats newsletter, compiled by Kolbie Peterson, The Salt Lake Tribune’s food and drink reporter. To get the newsletter in your inbox every Wednesday, become a subscriber by going to sltrib.com/newsletters.

Hello, Eaters!

This week, I have some restaurant and coffee shop recommendations for you, from someone who is deeply involved in the Salt Lake City food scene: chef Romina Rasmussen, of bao place Xiao Bao Bao and chocolate shop Chez Nibs.

Of course, Rasmussen recommended her own businesses, and you’d do well to visit both of them. Here are the rest of her recs:

Avenues Proper, 376 8th Ave., Salt Lake City, 385-227-8628.

Caffe d’Bolla, 299 S. Main St., Suite 130, inside Wells Fargo building, Salt Lake City.

Copper Onion, 111 E Broadway, Salt Lake City, 801-355-3282. “Their wagyu stroganoff is life. I also love their burger,” Rasmussen said.

Crown Burgers, multiple locations.

Manoli’s, 402 E. 900 South, Salt Lake City, 801-532-3760. “Greek food elevated by love and great ingredients,” Rasmussen said.

Mazza, 1515 S. 1500 East, Salt Lake City, 801-484-9259.

Osteria Amore, 224 S. 1300 East, Salt Lake City, 385-270-5606. “My favorite Caesar salad and mighty fine pizza,” Rasmussen said.

Pizza Nono, 925 E. 900 South, Salt Lake City, 801-702-3580.

Settebello, 260 S. 200 West, Salt Lake City, 801-322-3556.

Takashi, 18 W. Market St., Salt Lake City, 801-519-9595. “The torched black sablefish is one of my favorite things in the world,” Rasmussen said.

Urban Hill, 510 S. 300 West, Suite 100, Salt Lake City, 385-295-4200.

Live deliciously,

Kolbie

Food News

• Flanker Kitchen + Sporting Club, at 6 N. Rio Grande St. in The Gateway, Salt Lake City, is kicking off NCAA March Madness by opening early at 10 a.m. on Thursday. With two 20-foot LED walls, over 60 HD TVs and full game audio, you’ll always have the best seat in the house to see all of the basketball tournament’s action. And with Flanker’s multiple menus of burgers, tacos, apps and more, plus beer, wine and cocktails, you’ll never be hungry or thirsty on game day.

• If you’re staying downtown to see the March Madness games at the Delta Center on Thursday and Saturday, there are plenty of dining options only a couple of blocks away at the Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City. Mar | Muntanya on the sixth floor offers food from northern Spain, on a large patio that includes private dining globes. The Salt Republic has a wood-fired oven and rotisserie in its open kitchen, and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Contribution Cocktail Lounge is the lobby bar, where you can enjoy craft cocktails, a curated beer selection, and wine.

• ICYMI, Lee’s Market is reopening in its old space in Salt Lake City at 255 N. 400 West, with a soft opening planned for April 11 and a grand opening set for sometime in May. The first Lee’s Market (pictured above) closed in November 2022, less than three years after it opened, due to COVID-19 and other factors. Check out my story to learn how the new store will be different from the old one.

• A second location of Taboo Pizza is coming to the old Slackwater location on the Ogden River Parkway. The new shop will be opening at 1895 Washington Blvd. sometime in October.

Openings:

• Thai Better, 1435 State St., Salt Lake City, 801-474-3322. This is the second location for a restaurant in South Jordan. (The State Street location has housed Thai restaurants before, under the names Thai Siam, Thai PT and, most recently, Coco Wok.)

Closings:

• Beehive Distilling has closed its bar space at 2245 S. West Temple, in Salt Lake City, according to an Instagram post. “We’d like to call out a huge thank you to our amazing employees,” the post stated. The bar’s last day was March 16; however, it’s still available for private events. The post also hinted at new Beehive Distilling products coming in the future.

• Kao Thai, at 3011 E. 3300 South in Salt Lake City, is now closed, according to Gastronomic SLC, with which The Tribune has a content-sharing agreement.

Moving:

• Cubby’s has closed its location at 2130 S. Highland Dr. in Salt Lake City’s Sugar House neighborhood and is reopening a few blocks west at 759 E. 2100 South, according to a report from The Tribune’s Sheila McCann and Jordan Miller. The new location promises to have a drive-thru, and is just outside the area in Sugar House where the city has banned new drive-thrus.

Dish (and Cocktail!) of the Week

Last weekend, I visited the Mexican restaurant Monarca in downtown Salt Lake City, at the recommendation of an Eater — thanks Liz!

For Dish of the Week, I chose Monarca’s birria tacos ($19, above), which are three tacos stuffed with melty cheese and housemade birria, then served with a side of consommé to dip them into. I made a glorious mess getting these juicy, beefy, savory tacos into my mouth.

And when a menu has an item on it called the Millionaire Margarita for $25, I have to see what all the fuss is about. And boy, does this drink deserve that fuss. This was a complex margarita with the perfect balance of smoky, sweet and tart, as well as depth. The presentation was beautiful (see below): The cocktail had black lava salt and gold flakes on its rim, and it was served in a bed of pebble ice with three mini loteria cards, dried orange slices and an orchid, which I tucked behind my ear.