A new Salt Lake City bar won’t open for months. Their appetizers will be really good.

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

Hello, Eaters!

Last week, Utah’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services gave a liquor license to a future bar called Eight Settlers Lounge in downtown Salt Lake City. Set to open in December, this bar will be located at 44 Exchange Place, near The Green Pig and Earth & Stones.

To get an idea of what some of the tastes will be at this bar, my dining companion and I went to the business’s original location, Eight Settlers Restaurant & Distillery in Cottonwood Heights, to try some of the food and drinks.

The distillery, at 7321 Canyon Centre Parkway, was opened in 2020 by Katia and Radu Dugala, who grew up distilling with his grandfather in Romania. Katia Dugala told me they wanted to open a bar to get the word out about their distillery business.

We started with two appetizers that Dugala said likely would be on the menu at Eight Settlers Lounge, which will focus mostly on craft cocktails and small plates, she said. We ordered the baby back ribs ($14) and the tempura cauliflower ($13), and you can read more about them in the “Apps of the Week” section of this newsletter.

To sip, I got a cocktail called the Sego Lily ($14), made with Eight Settlers Green Ditch Gin, lavender-blueberry shrub, Earl Grey and club soda. It was delicate, lightly botanical and refreshing.

For my entree, I got the Exotic Burger ($26), and it had just too much stuff on it for me to enjoy it, even with me requesting they hold the jalapenos. The patty, made with elk, bison, wagyu and boar, was really delicious if a bit overcooked. Piled on top was Vermont white cheddar, bacon (a little burned), barbecue aioli, lettuce, tomato, pickled cucumbers and onion rings, all on a brioche bun that didn’t know what hit it. The burger started to fall apart way before I was finished with it.

For dessert, we shared a piece of tiramisu ($10) that was so creamy, I don’t know how they did it. The ingredients were just ladyfingers soaked in coffee and rum; mascarpone cream; and cocoa powder. But it was more decadent than your typical tiramisu, for sure.

Not judging them on the burger, I think Eight Settlers could make a fine bar; the appetizers and drinks appear to be where they really shine anyway.

Live deliciously,

Kolbie

Food News

• The 12th annual Dine About Park City is underway through Oct. 31, giving a chance for visitors to try some of Park City’s best restaurants at value prices. For this event, members of the Park City Area Restaurant Association are prepping their menus with specially priced lunch, dinner and après specials, including two-course lunches for $15, $25 or $30 per person; three-course dinners for $30, $45 or $60 per person; and a new après category featuring $20 cocktails and bites, a news release said. The list of participating restaurants is expansive; visit ParkCityRestaurants.com for the full list.

Openings:

• Crispy Cones is opening a new location on Friday in Layton, at 2086 N. Harris Blvd. Suite 2, according to a news release. Crispy Cones specializes in pastry dough ice cream cones that are grilled rotisserie style and then covered with cinnamon and sugar, and filled with spreads, fruit, soft-serve ice cream and toppings, the release said. To get a free cup of ice cream at the Friday grand opening, just follow the company on social media.

• Mo’ Bettahs opened its 28th location in Utah last Friday at 2654 N. 2000 West in Clinton, a news release said.

• Chipotle Mexican Grill opened its first location in Magna on Monday, at 8375 W. Arbor Park Drive, according to a news release. The restaurant features a walk-up window where customers can pick up digital orders, the release said.

Moves:

• In November, Thai Better in Saratoga Springs is moving from 222 Crossroads Blvd. to 1032 N. Redwood Road, still in Saratoga Springs, according to a post on Instagram.

Closings:

• Nautical Bowls, which served superfood bowls at 2121 E. 9400 South in Sandy, has closed, according to a Facebook post. “While this chapter is coming to a close, we will always cherish the memories and friendships we’ve made,” the post read.

Booze (and Drink!) News

• In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Swig is kicking off its annual Save the Cups fundraiser. All month long, Swig will be raising money by selling specialized drinks and merch, and collecting donations, which will then go directly to women fighting breast cancer to help with their medical bills, a news release said. On Monday, Swig will be hosting a Save the Cups festival at Cornbelly’s, 3687 W. 5600 South in Spanish Fork. If you’d like to nominate yourself or someone else for the Save the Cups campaign, visit SaveTheCups.org.

Apps of the Week

Wow, these ribs at Eight Settlers Distillery were unstoppable. Bathed in a Japanese seven-spice sauce, they were fall-off-the-bone tender, with layers of sweet and smoky flavor.

And the cauliflower was cooked perfectly, soft enough to bite through but with a crunchy tempura coating. And the sauces that came with it showed how versatile these cauliflower bites could be, holding up to a sweet plum chili sauce as well as a horseradish crema.