El Día del Amor
In Mexico, Valentine's Day is called El Día del Amor y la Amistad, or the day of love and friendship. At Alamexo (268 S. State, Salt Lake City, 801-779-4747, alamexo.com), chef Matt Lake and his talented team celebrate love and friendship from Tuesday, Feb. 14, through Saturday, Feb. 18, with regional Mexican dinner specials. Offerings include entrée selections of filete de res con recado negro (filet mignon with black chile paste); pescado a la veracruzana (mahi mahi and Veracruz-style salsa); and sangrado torta del corazón (dark chocolate cake with sweet goat cheese mousse) for dessert. Two special bebidas are also featured: Amor Añejo and Amistad Añejo cocktails featuring Espolón Añejo tequila. Reservations for El Día del Amor y la Amistad are highly recommended.
Flights & Bites
Each Wine Wednesday at Stanza Italian Bistro & Wine Bar (454 E. 300 South, Salt Lake City, 801-746-4441, stanzaslc.com), wine educator and sommelier Jimmy Santangelo hosts Flight & Bite, a formerly monthly event that was so popular it's now gone weekly. The informal soirée runs 5-7 p.m. on Wednesdays, and includes two two-and-a-half-ounce splashes of wine paired with two "bites" of Stanza's cuisine, all specially selected by Santangelo. Many of the wine selections are special orders that aren't otherwise available in the state. "With over 30 wines available by the glass of mostly Italian selections, this is a great way for our diners to be a little adventurous and to try some of these amazing wines we are special ordering," Santangelo writes in an email. Reservations are recommended.
2017 James Beard Humanitarian
Those who've been around SLC for a while might know the name Denise Cerreta, who in 2003 founded the small One World Everybody Eats pay-what-you-can, donation-based café. Today, One World Everybody Eats (OWEE) is an international nonprofit, and Cerreta has been named the recipient of the James Beard Foundation's 2017 Humanitarian of the Year Award for her hunger relief efforts. Since its inception, 60 cafés around the world have implemented the OWEE business model. Congrats, Denise!
Quote of the week: "When the stomach is full, it is easy to talk of fasting."
—Saint Jerome
Food Matters 411: tscheffler@cityweekly.net
