This article is excerpted from the Utah Eats newsletter. To get the full newsletter every Wednesday, subscribe at sltrib.com/newsletters.
Hello, Eaters! Last week I got a tip from an Eater saying I needed to check out Piko Mexican Grill, so I decided it was high time I grabbed dinner there.
Located at 500 E. 511 South in Salt Lake City, just down the street from the Smith’s Marketplace, Piko opened in November and serves “Mexican with a twist,” said owner Kasandra Galindo. (The “K” in Piko is a nod to her first initial, by the way.)
(Kolbie Peterson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The outside of Piko Mexican Grill on Saturday, March 1, 2025.
If the last name Galindo sounds familiar to Eaters, it should: Victor Galindo, Kasandra’s father, has run Victor’s Restaurant — attached to a Salt Lake City tire shop — for years.
Other than the family tie, the two restaurants are linked through their cuisine. Kasandra said Victor’s Restaurant is probably best known for its tamales, and she gets the tamales for Piko straight from her dad’s restaurant.
Well, I’ll have to go back and try the tamales; I got distracted when I saw birria tacos on the menu. To read more about these unstoppable tacos, scroll down to the “Dish of the Week” section of this newsletter.
I also tried a bite of my dining companion’s chile relleno ($16), which Kasandra said is an example of Piko’s traditional Mexican food with a modern twist. Instead of being stuffed with shredded cheese, this chile relleno was filled with whipped chipotle cream cheese and chorizo, and then fried. Delicious!
(Kolbie Peterson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The chile relleno at Piko Mexican Grill on Saturday, March 1, 2025.
We also enjoyed sampling Piko’s Salsa Trio ($6), which comes with your choice of three housemade salsas and chips. The salsa selection has a lot more variety than I’ve ever seen at a Mexican restaurant: You can choose among rojo, verde, molcajete, pasilla, morita, mango habanero, chipotle and tamarindo.
We tried the verde, pasilla and the tamarindo; my favorite was the sparkly and tangy verde. The others were a little too sweet for me, but my dining companion said he thought the tamarindo would go well on a charcuterie board, and I totally agree.
Piko also just started serving brunch: On Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., enjoy dishes like tres leches French toast and chilaquiles.
The space is nice, too. There are paintings of dancing Dia de los Muertos skeletons on the walls, and the high-top tables by the front windows are a nice vantage spot for people-watching.
Live deliciously,
Kolbie
Food News
• Now is the time to purchase your 2025 farmyard share from Snuck Farm in Pleasant Grove if you want to be able to pick up a bushel of fresh veggies and fruit in July. The shares are picked up weekly starting July 11 and going until Oct. 17, and cost $700 for the full 14 weeks. If that sounds like a lot, the price actually works out to be $50 a week. Snuck Farm is partnering with Hatfield Farm in Mapleton to make a variety of produce available. For a farm share option in Salt Lake County, check out Stagl Organics. And for a Park City option, look into Copper Moose Farm.
• Mountain Town Olive Oil, at 613 Main St. in Park City, is holding two tasting classes this week, one on Thursday and one on Friday; both will go from 5 to 7 p.m. On Thursday, the class will be themed around Irish food, and the Friday class will focus on dishes from Tuscany. Guests will get the recipes to take home, a small gift, and an in-store discount to shop with afterward. Each class is $75 per person, plus $20 for an optional wine pairing. Call 435-649-1400 to reserve your spot.
Openings:
• Big Dipper Sandwiches has taken over the downtown Salt Lake City spot previously occupied by Taco Taco, at 208 E. 500 South, an Eater confirmed. Big Dipper’s menu focuses on big, dippable sandwiches, as well as salads and soups. The business has one other location, in Park City, at 227 Main St.
• A new location of Smothered Burrito is now open at 250 W. 500 South in Salt Lake City, in the former Denny’s restaurant, according to an Instagram post. Smothered Burrito’s menu features classic Mexican dishes like burritos, fajitas, chile verde and more.
• Hispaniola Bistro is the newest food entrepreneur to incubate at Square Kitchen Eatery’s shared restaurant space, at 2435 S. State St., according to a news release. Described as the first Dominican restaurant in Salt Lake City and Utah, Hispaniola Bistro is led by Ynoelia Fabian, who brings dishes like sancocho (a traditional meat stew) and mangú (a plantain-based dish) to the local food scene. The restaurant had its soft opening on Feb. 27 (Dominican Independence Day), and will be having a grand opening on March 22.
Dish of the Week
(Kolbie Peterson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The birria tacos at Piko Mexican Grill on Saturday, March 1, 2025.
When I think about the birria tacos ($15) that I had the other night at Piko, my mouth literally starts to water. These were huge tacos, bursting with juicy shredded beef, and topped with chopped white onions, cilantro and lime wedges. And you can’t forget about the cheese: goopy, glorious, melty cheese, which oozed out the ends of the tacos in big gobs. I made an absolute mess devouring this feast, especially after dipping my tacos in the cup of consomme.
