Anne Wilson: The Salt Lake Tribune
Gateway Grille In Kamas Offers Comfort Food, Haute Cuisine
Kamas- The Gateway Grille is an anomaly. Where else in rural Utah can you order a cheeseburger with the works for $5, while your dining companion is a $25 merlot with her blackened catfish and lobster mashed potatoes?
Of course, Kamas, 40 miles east of Salt Lake city, is not typical rural Utah. The tiny farming community is just a stone’s throw from upscale Deer Valley, where Grille owner Sean Wharton was a chef for 14 years. And Kamas, gateway to two national forests, borders an area where growing numbers of baby boomers have summer homes and cabins.
Wharton took a chance on a location that have seen many restaurants fail. He believed he could succeed with a menu designed to appeal to a wide range of diners; kids, farmers, truckers, rich skiers and yuppie anglers. So far, he has been right.
The building itself , which formerly housed a burger joint, is nothing special inside or out. It is small, which is worth noting only because it means you should have a reservation on weekends. The interior is dimly lit, not for atmosphere but because the light fixtures are cheap. And only one table is covered with a white cloth- to hide a worn tabletop.
This plainness is part of the Gateway Grille’s charm, for several reasons. It is kid-proof, compatible with jeans and quite a contrast to some of Wharton’s Deer Valley-esque food.
Consider an appetizer special he offered recently: roast quail with mixed greens ($8.95). A moist and tender half bird came with a generous portion of mounded greens that sprouted carrots, enoki mushrooms and onions, lightly coated with house balsamic dressing. It was an artful work, salad and appetizer in one.
Another just-as-dazzling special was browned sea scallops, swimming atop a pool of spicy red-pepper sauce ($5.95).
The only disappointment of the evening was the Caesar salad. The greens were fresh and crisp, but the dressing tasted too little of garlic and lemon and too much of mayonnaise. Instead, try the over grown salad ($5.95) , a larger version of the mixed greens that came with the quail. (It’s big enough for two.)
If you prefer soup instead of salad, Wharton usually offers several outstanding selections, such as seafood stew, fresh mushroom, or cream of butternut squash.
Entrée selections listed in the menu range from the Big G, a burger with everything ($6.50), to ribs ($13.95) and steaks ($19.95 to $23.95). But the grille’s reputation is built on what isn’t on the menu.
The blackened catfish, for example ($19.95), was composed of three fillets, embracing a tower of orange, lobster-flavored mashed potatoes. Yes, it sounds weird but the moist and spicy fish was a perfect mate for the potatoes, subtly flavored with minced pieces of lobster’s and broth made from its shell.
The sea bass ($23.95), a dish Wharton preferred at Deer Valley’s popular seafood buffet, was also outstanding. It was dense and sweet, glistening with a teriyaki glaze, and accompanied by a dish of roasted fresh vegetables. Diners who want more than a burger but something less adventurous than lobster potatoes might try the rack of lamb, a half dozen pink ribs floating on a rich brown sauce ($23.95).
Food of this caliber demands good wine. Fortunately, the Grille offers a modest but thoughtful selection of domestic vintages.
Desserts are classic and seasonal. The crème brulee ($2.50) was perfectly browned on top and velvety smooth as custard should be; the peach cobbler ($2.50), cooked from peaches sold at a neighborhood fruit stand, was sweet but a bit bready.
Feel free to bring the children. The kids’ lunch menu ranges from burgers to grilled cheese, hot dogs and chicken strips, plus a drink and treat, for $3.25; the $4.25 dinners include grilled chicken, fried fish or fettuccine with cheese sauce.
