Zest Kitchen & Bar, Salt Lake City #2

After I had such a great experience at Zest this past year, I had to come back for more. So, on my way out of Salt Lake City, the night before my flight would take me away from all of the beautiful mountains, me and my friend stopped by for a final dinner.

On this particular Saturday night, there was a DJ, dancing, and hook-ups going on. We had just finished five hours of driving after a full day of jumping and were exhausted. We definitely didn't expect the liveliness we witnessed here! We were seated right next to the dance floor so we got quite the show.

I started with a berry lavender lemonade, which was really refreshing.

Zest is a vegetarian restaurant and most items are or can be made vegan. We ordered the Baked Mushrooms as our appetizer, which were baked mushrooms stuffed with cashew cheese and served with pesto and red pepper coulis. These had a beautiful presentation, but when we tried them, they lacked some flavor. Just one more ingredient would probably give it the oomph it needed.

For my entree, I got the Shakahari Curry Eggplant and, man, was this dish loaded with flavor. I've never tasted anything like it in my life. The eggplant was battered and covered with pepitas and baked and served with fennel curry potatoes and a cucumber mint lime salad. It was so filling that I couldn't finish it and that's saying a lot! I liked it, but it was a bit overwhelming with the different flavors.

My friend ordered a more subtle Stuffed Avocado Salad. He loved it. Made with romaine, seasoned walnuts, pico, cashew sour cream, and cilantro lime vinaigrette, it had just the right balance of flavors.

All in all, we were both pleased with our meals. I think Zest does a really good job with serving unique vegan meals in a low-light, romantic, yet casual setting. It's still one of my favorite places in Salt Lake City.

Previous review
August 3, 2016

Zest Kitchen & Bar
275 S. 200 W.
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
(801) 433-0589

Peace Tree, Moab, UT

As one of the few restaurants in Moab that bases its business on organic food, Peace Tree Juice Cafe has been on my hit list for a while. In a brown lodge-like building is a large organic restaurant that caters to individuals with all kinds of dietary preferences including gluten free and dairy free.

This will be a very short review and isn't representative of them because I just grabbed one item to go. We stopped by around 10 a.m. hoping to grab a lunch we could stick in the cooler to eat while BASE jumping. Unfortunately, the only item they could make at that time that was grab and go was the basic Hummus Wrap.  Well, we'll take it.

When we finally tried it, it was very basic. Just spring mix, cucumbers, tomatoes, sprouts, and artichokes with hummus on a spinach tortilla. I had expected something a little more exciting and felt disappointed by the dish. Especially for $10. It did come with a salad, but still.

So, more to come on Peace Tree next time I am in the area. I'll definitely try it again because there's some cool stuff on the menu.

Peace Tree Juice Cafe
20 South Main Street
Moab, UT 84532

Shire City Herbals - Fire Cider

The benefits of drinking apple cider vinegar are not largely debated as study after study has proven its health benefits. Shire City Herbals has taken this healthy vinegar and combined it with other good-for-you stuff to make a delicious tonic called Fire Cider!

As a vinegar-based tonic, it'll cause your mouth to pucker. So, just one tablespoon per day should do it for you. The original one has honey in it, but now the Unsweetened version is 100% vegan. Made with oranges, lemons, onions, ginger, horseradish, garlic, turmeric, and habanero pepper, there isn't one ingredient in the bottle that isn't super good for you.

I love the way it tastes--you get the pucker when you first drink it with the slight burn down the back of your throat once it goes down. It's delicious!

They say that apple cider vinegar can kill many types of bacteria, lower blood sugar levels, lower cholesterol, and may have protective effects against cancer.

This tonic is not cheap at $15 per 8-ounce bottle, but with all these good-for-you certified organic ingredients, it seems like a good investment. Fire Cider, you left me on fire!

Full Disclosure: Although the product was provided to me for free to review, that in no way influenced my veracious opinion.