eG Foodblog: Flocko - Dining in the Desert

[Flocko]

It's been some 20 years since I was in Moab, but I think about it a few times a year when I'm passing through the Salt Lake City area.  (Provo and Ogden make great fuel stops on the way between central California and northern Minnesota.)  Utah is beautiful, but my husband and I always wonder whether we'd enjoy living there.  To the extent you can within the context of a food blog, please talk about the cultural influences.  I know beer can now be purchased in some places.  Are there wine stores?  Do you drink, or cook with, alcohol?  What altitude are you at, and what sorts of crops (if any) are grown there?

I agree with you that taking a generator along on a rafting trip is cheating. 

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Hello Nancy:

Culturally Utah is still another country, but it is becoming much more cosmopolitan. The liquor situation has changed a lot over the last 30 years. Beer can be purchased in most groceries and convenience stores, other than in a very few small towns. Beer is alos available a large number of cafes and restaurants. Liquor and wine are still only available for off premises sale in state stores which are few and far between. For example there are only 17 state liquor stores in the Salt Lake City metro area............population of 600,000 approx. There are only 32 stores in the whole state. There are, however, concessions made to the tourist industry in that there are mini liquor stores in some hotels and ski resorts. There are two state stores that are designated as "wine stores", both in Salt Lake City. They do now have a much better selection of wine than in years past, but nothing like the rest of the country, and at very high prices. Liquor and wine are available at better restaurants. You no longer have to buy a mini bottle and a mixer separately. The drinks are all one ounce pours, by law, however. The wine and beer at such resataurants are only available if one is dining, or snacking. There are many private clubs, some of which are restaurants as well, that allow drinking without ordering food. Memberships are cheap and there are very cheap temporary memberships for tourists and visitors.

I no longer drink, for health reasons. I have certainly done my share in the past however. It was always somewhat of a challange, but fun in a way. But it was always more fun to go to Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, or California, and sigh..........."Ah, to be able to drink in America again" . I still use wine in cooking quite a bt. It is illegal to bring liquor into Utah without paying the Utah tax thereon, but this is rarely enforced much anymore, thus many folks here in Moab make regular runs to Colorado for the liquor needs............or runs to California for their wine (or to Trader Joes in Las Vegas for their "Two Buck Chuck" )

Moab is at 4,000 feet elevation, with the mesas around it at 6,500 and the mountains behind it up to 13,000. Moab used to be known for its orchards. Sadly most of them have gone to make way for condominiums and luxury homes. There are still some good apples and peaches available at the local Farmers Market, but not like in the old days. Melons are terrific here, as well as tomatoes and other vegetable crops. With the extreme heat and the abundance of good water, we have a long growing season for this part of the country............much longer than in the Salt Lake area. There isn't an abundance of commercial agriculture here because (1) there isn't that much private land..............most land is controlled by the National Park Service, , the Bureau of Land Management, or the National Forest Service; and (2) there is no rail connection out of Moab. There are some alfalfa farms, mostly for local consumption by the cattle and horse ranchers. There is some wheat and some beans grown south of Moab around Monticello, at about 7,000 feet.

Overall Moab has been a wondenful place to live..............paradise in fact . The whole Utah experience is a bit different, but Moab is a little cultural oasis, or at least it has been for me. I still need yearly trips to the coasts and to Europe to get my "city fix" but I wouldn't live anywhere else. I moved here for the beauty and it hasn't let me down yet.

Bill

[cakewalk]

And I had eggs, ham, and potatoes:

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It all looks great, but one question: the watermelon. Is that a regular part of the breakfast?

I've never been to Utah, and somehow I doubt if I'll ever get there, so I'm looking forward to seeing if Utah has its own foodstuffs and/or way of cooking them. I've already noticed on the Starbucks priceboard that some things are very[i/] different than they are in NY.

[chow guy]

I'm not sure how far away you are from Boulder Utah (I think it's near Moab). Is there any chance you'll get to the Hell's Backbone Grill during your blog? One of these days, I'm going to make a pilgrimage to HBG, which is a 10-12 hour drive from here in New Mexico. I hope Moab is hard by, and I'll have some SW Utah dining tips. Blog on!

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Hey Chow Guy:

Yeah, I've tried the Hell's Backbone Grill in Boulder. I love Boulder!!! The Hell's Backbone people did a book signing for their book on the restaurant at Arches Books (where I coffee up each morning) here in Moab.

Boulder is not far "as the crow flys"..............But there is a big canyon (the Colorado River gorge) in the way , so it's about 3 and a half hours from Moab by car . I go thru there on my way to Vegas if I have all day (about 11 hour trip), and want a pretty drive. Otherwise Vegas is about 7 hours by I-70

I won't get over that way this week, unfortunately.

Bill

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Too bad, those darn canyons.... I actually have a signed copy of "With a Measure of Grace" from Hell's Backboe Grill. It's my favorite new cookbook.

[mizducky]

Overall Moab has been a wondenful place to live..............paradise in fact .  The whole Utah experience is a bit different, but Moab is a little cultural oasis, or at least it has been for me.  I still need yearly trips to the coasts and to Europe to get my "city fix" but I wouldn't live anywhere else.  I moved here for the beauty and it hasn't let me down yet.

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Hi Bill--

The armchair-sociologist in me is always fascinated by community transitions. I'm intrigued at the transitions you imply about Moab--I'm guessing from the apple orchards that the town started out as a Mormon farm settlement before its reinvention as a destination for outdoors-minded tourists. I'm hoping and guessing that transition will show up in your culinary adventures this week. Are there any dining spots that reflect older pre-tourist Moab? (Or were its founders not much for any kind of dining outside the home?)

I'm also mightily looking forward to any further Native American cookery you wind up showing us.

And of course, any pictures of the countryside you sneak in will be heartily appreciated.

[Flocko]

A friend in my office building and I went out for a quick lunch today. We went to the Slickrock Cafe. It's at the corner of Center and Main (every Utah town has a Center and Main, except places that have Temples........then it's Temple and Main). This is two blocks from my office:

This is one of the newer, touist oriented place in town. The theme is "Caribbean" I refer to it as the Jimmy Buffet Cafe..............what it has to do with the desert or "slickrock", I don't know. The food is good however.

I had my regular, The Baja Martini, sauteed shrimp on guacamole and salsa with chips:

My friend had the grouper sandwich:

Both were very good as usual.

I briefly discussed Utah liquor laws in a previous post, but here is proof that one can now get liquor in Utah restaurants. This card was on the table:

[mizducky]

I briefly discussed Utah liquor laws in a previous post, but here is proof that one can now get liquor in Utah restaurants.  This card was on the table:

Dang! Couldn't they have re-written the laws to at least exclude the Jagermeister?

[kiliki]

Cool! The Moab area is one of my favorites-I've taken 6 hiking/camping trips there. Even though I'm cooking most of my food at the campsite I have had good meals at the Slickrock Cafe and the Moab Diner.

The armchair-sociologist in me is always fascinated by community transitions. I'm intrigued at the transitions you imply about Moab--I'm guessing from the apple orchards that the town started out as a Mormon farm settlement before its reinvention as a destination for outdoors-minded tourists.

There was a pretty significant uranium mining boom in the mid-20th century there, too.

[bavila]

My friend had lox and bagels:

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I've had really bad experience with bagels in the West. How was that one? It looks ok.

[Flocko]

Hi Bill,

Are there any special regional dishes for the Moab/Utah area?

Besides jello, that is.

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Toliver, Hi:

There are a few Utah specialties................the aforementioned jello, of course. It is ubiquitous. A local humorous author concocted a "Jello Matrix" wherein you could find which jello and "add in" was appropriate for which function. Along the vertical were the flavors: lime, lemon, raspberry etc; along the horizontal were the add ins: pecans, fruit coctail, little marsmellows, etc. By going across and down you could arrive at the function that dictated which mixture: e.g. A missionary farewell---lime jello with fruit coctail; a funeral---cherry jello with cream cheese; a missionary welcome home---lemon jello with little marshmellows............IT WAS A HOOT!!

Another staple is "funeral potatoes" served at all Mormon funerals............basically scalloped potatoes au gratin in one form or another.

One strange one is "scones". Scones in Utah have no relation to the pastry as served in Scotland, England, or anywhere else in the world that I know. In Utah, a "scone" is a hunk of bread dough, sweetened or not, that is deep fried. It is basically a sopapilla. There is a chain of fast food places throughout the state called "The Sconecutter" that serves them as sandwiches, or sweet with honey or jam. They are sometimes called Mormon Fry Bread.

The Navajos make a similar fry bread that is prevalent around the Moab area and in the Navajo Nation. It is used as a base for the famous "Navajo Taco". There is a family that makes the fry bread at the Moab Farmer's Market every Saturday. Pretty good..............and they smell so good frying up at 8 on a Saturday morning

Lamb is very prevalent in Utah, as there are many sheep. There is a dwindling Basque population in the East of the state that make the best lamb . The Navajos prefer mutton, and their markets in the Nation sell it to the exclusion of lamb. I go down there pretty regularly and bring back some mutton which I love.

Game of any type is very typical Utah and especially Moab fare. Venison (called buckskin), elk, antelope, moose, bear, wild turkey, grouse, chukkar, dove. I don't hunt, but when I was D.A. here, I was naturally very close to the local deputies, highway patrolmen, city police, etc............all of whom were avid hunters. They would come in and request continuances in their cases to go out for various hunting seasons. I would always make my concurrence conditional upon their bringing me soem of the "spoils"...............Thus, I always had a freezer full of game. I even had one highway patrolman who swore by the taste of prairie dogs................He would shoot them by the dozens while on duty, it seems. I only tried them once. I made him some gumbo out of them. It wasn't bad...............kinda tasted like gopher .I even published the recipe for "Prairie Dog Gumbo" in a local alternative publication

Nuff for now

[Flocko]

Ok, I needed a little snack to tide me over for making gaspacho So, I put some fig and olive tapenade on some good sourdough I got at the Farmers Market yesterday, and put some feta in oil on top...................Yummmm

[Smithy]

My friend had the grouper sandwich:

Both were very good as usual.

I briefly discussed Utah liquor laws in a previous post, but here is proof that one can now get liquor in Utah restaurants.  This card was on the table:

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Grouper in Utah. Isn't that a testament to fast travel for food? Either that, or you don't know how it's supposed to taste. Somehow, I think you'd know if the fish were off, though. That's impressive.

I like the Wasatch microbrews. I didn't know there was a Moab winery, though! How are their wines?

Lamb is very prevalent in Utah, as there are many sheep.  There is a dwindling Basque population in the East of the state that make the best lamb .  The Navajos prefer mutton, and their markets in the Nation sell it to the exclusion of lamb.  I go down there pretty regularly and bring back some mutton which I love.

Game of any type is very typical Utah and especially Moab fare.  Venison (called buckskin), elk, antelope, moose, bear, wild turkey, grouse, chukkar, dove.  I don't hunt, but when I was D.A. here, I was naturally very close to the local deputies, highway patrolmen, city police, etc............all of whom were avid hunters.  They would come in and request continuances in their cases to go out for various hunting seasons.  I would always make my concurrence conditional upon their bringing me soem of the "spoils"...............Thus, I always had a freezer full of game.  I even had one highway patrolman who swore by the taste of prairie dogs................He would shoot them by the dozens while on duty, it seems.  I only tried them once. I made him some gumbo out of them.  It wasn't bad...............kinda tasted like gopher .I even published the recipe for "Prairie Dog Gumbo" in a local alternative publication

Nuff for now

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Now *that* sounds like a great way to score game.

I was in Boise over the Labor Day weekend and visiting the Basque center of town. The folks at the Basque Market told me that the local Basques have moved on to other occupations, and the Idaho sheepherders nowadays are from Chile or Venezuela. Is that true in Utah also? Are the Utah Basques dwindling in population, or just doing other things?

How do you like to prepare mutton?

[Pam R]

So, I put some fig and olive tapenade on some good sourdough

Eh... is fig and olive a good combo?

[Flocko]

So, I put some fig and olive tapenade on some good sourdough

Eh... is fig and olive a good combo?

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Pam R, Hi:

I think it's heavenly. Two of my favorite things in one bite. I got it at Costco in SLC. The feta I got at the local supermarket in Moab.

[ludja]

So, I put some fig and olive tapenade on some good sourdough

Eh... is fig and olive a good combo?

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Pam R, Hi:

I think it's heavenly. Two of my favorite things in one bite. I got it at Costco in SLC. The feta I got at the local supermarket in Moab.

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Here is a nice recipe for a fig black olive tapenade from "The Jimtown Cookbook" posted on David Lebovitz's blog: click I really like the combination as well.

Really enjoying your blog, Flocko! Thanks for the lowdown on the some of the local Utah specialties. I didn't know all things jello were a staple there in certani circles!

Edited September 12, 2006 by ludja (log)

[Flocko]

I have the gaspacho done, but we'll have to wait for tomorrow to actually serve it. It needs to chill and to let the flavors meld. I used guajolete's recipe from RecipeGullet

guajolote's gaspachol

I have made it according to his recipe many times and it always gets rave reviews.....and I like it too . I about tripled the recipe, since I had tons of great tomatoes, peppers, cukes, etc., and I have so many people ask for some that I'll be delivering containers all day tomorrow

Here are the ingedients ready to be prepared:

Ok, don't let the bottle of cheap scotch scare you. It is full of Greek Acropolis Brand olive oil that I buy by the gallon and decant . The other bottle is the secret ingredient.......Spanish Sherry vinegar. The bread is soaked in water and pureed with the vegetables to add consistancy.

I didn't photo the preparation as I was too into that choppin' thang , but here are the "choppers" that now "need warshed" (as they say in Utah )

And here is some of the almost finished product.......

And finally a photo of my Kitchen God

His name was Ray Scovil. He used to have a couple of restaurants in Moab. He taught me how to cook. He taught me how to think. He taught me his love of literature and art. He talked me into running for D.A. the first time, but died before I was elected in 1974. Here is an article I wrote about him for a local publication

Canyon Country Zephyr

See ya tomorrow, buckaroos and buckarettes

[Flocko]

And I had eggs, ham, and potatoes:

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It all looks great, but one question: the watermelon. Is that a regular part of the breakfast?

I've never been to Utah, and somehow I doubt if I'll ever get there, so I'm looking forward to seeing if Utah has its own foodstuffs and/or way of cooking them. I've already noticed on the Starbucks priceboard that some things are very[i/] different than they are in NY.

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Cakewalk, Hi:

The watermelon is fairly regular this time of year. Watermelon, and all melons, are excellent in the Moab Valley. The town of Green River, about 60 miles north of Moab is supposed to have the best melons in the country. Their annual "Melon Days" is going on next weekend, with floats, bands, contests, etc. It's supposed to be something to do with the sandy soil, abundant water, and hot summers, that make the melons here and in Green River so good. Whenever I go up to SLC this time of year I make a stop in Green River and fulfill orders for melons from SLC friends.

[Flocko]

Overall Moab has been a wondenful place to live..............paradise in fact .  The whole Utah experience is a bit different, but Moab is a little cultural oasis, or at least it has been for me.  I still need yearly trips to the coasts and to Europe to get my "city fix" but I wouldn't live anywhere else.  I moved here for the beauty and it hasn't let me down yet.

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Hi Bill--

The armchair-sociologist in me is always fascinated by community transitions. I'm intrigued at the transitions you imply about Moab--I'm guessing from the apple orchards that the town started out as a Mormon farm settlement before its reinvention as a destination for outdoors-minded tourists. I'm hoping and guessing that transition will show up in your culinary adventures this week. Are there any dining spots that reflect older pre-tourist Moab? (Or were its founders not much for any kind of dining outside the home?)

I'm also mightily looking forward to any further Native American cookery you wind up showing us.

And of course, any pictures of the countryside you sneak in will be heartily appreciated.

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Hello mizducky:

It has been interesting, and frustrating to watch the trasformation of Moab in the 35 years I've been here. Moab was never a typical little Mormon town like so many others in Utah. The first settlement by Mormon pioneers in 1858 was destroyed and the settlers slaughtered or run out by the Native Americans. The next settlement wasn't until the 1880s. Soon thereafter the town settler rebelled against the Mormon Church and the town has been predominently non Mormon ever since, unlike every other town in Utah, save Salt Lake City, and Park City. There was an oil boom in the 1920's and the Uranium Boom in the '50s, so there was always an outside influx into town. After the Uranium Boom the town went down from 10,000 people back to a couple thousand. It was about 4,000 when I moved here.

The real changes have happened in the last 10 years with the population boom. It seems to be growing very fast, and the growth is of the "big money" type. The Gulf Streams are running the Lear Jets off the taxi ways at the airport.

There were always restaurants in Moab. Up until the Boom they were of the Cafe variety (or "Caff" as it was pronounced.................Cafe must have sounded too French ). There were a couple of very good places though, even then. There are still some of the old Cafe type places left that cater to the "old timers"..........ranchers, drillers, miners, etc. One is owned by the Sheriff, The Stagecoach Grill. Maybe we'll go there. The specialite du maison is "Tater Tots with Cheese"

Bill

[christine007]

Very interesting, you live in a really cool place, Flocko!

I have a cookbook from the nineteen eightes with a recipe for fry bread, which, after cooking, is dipped in a mixture of bacon grease and syrup. Is that common in your area? I mean, in addition to using it for tacos.

Sounds very good to me, how can you go wrong with bacon grease.

[racheld]

I've been known to get homesick for places I've never been. Right now, I'm pining for the LONG shadows on the desert, with the whisper of a cooldown breeze a-comin' before suppertime.

We had a RAY as well, ornery and irascible and brilliant and a demon at the stove. I thought for a moment that yours might have been THE Scovill who was the Fahrenheit of the pepper world, especially with his propensity for scattering prospective diners to the winds on a whim.

Between your gaspacho and Percy's glorious concoction, both with good Spanish sherry, I know what's for patio supper tonight. I'm gonna sacrifice a good glug of this gift of Amontillado to the cause.

Every time I see the bottle, I think, ""For the love of GOD, Montresor!!"

My heart's in the desert today.

[hathor]

This is great...we almost got to Moab late last winter, maybe this year.... now, that I'm seeing that you can eat well. Wasatch porter? My favorite: "Polygamy Porter. Why have just one?"

Oh, and could you pass me some of those chips and guacamole? Then I'll have some of the gaspacho...

[kristin_71]

My parents came back from Bryce and Zion only a few weeks ago. Did you try Polygmy (sp?) Porter?(its a beer btw) My dad did not bring any of it back but he did bring the carton it came in. You have to have a sense of humor about it I suppose ( many in Utah apparently did not when it came out.) Anyways, I hear it is really good.

[Toliver]

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If that isn't foodie art, I don't know what is. Just beautiful...

How was the gazpacho?

[Rebecca263]

A favorite writer of mine, Ed Abbey!, lived in/around Moab. Thanks, dear Flocko/Bill, for bringing good memories of good words to my heart with this blog!

[Kouign Aman]

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If that isn't foodie art, I don't know what is. Just beautiful...

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Toliver beat me to it. Beautiful Still-Life for Gazpacho. If it were in tighter focus, I'd be tempted to print it as a poster.

I miss grouper.. How come you get it in Moab but I havent seen it in San Diego? <pout>

Edited September 12, 2006 by Kouign Aman (log)

[Flocko]

This is great...we almost got to Moab late last winter, maybe this year.... now, that I'm seeing that you can eat well.  Wasatch porter?  My favorite: "Polygamy Porter. Why have just one?"

Oh, and could you pass me some of those chips and guacamole? Then I'll have some of the gaspacho...

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My parents came back from Bryce and Zion only a few weeks ago. Did you try Polygmy (sp?) Porter?(its a beer btw)  My dad did not  bring any of it back but he did bring the carton it came in. You have to have a sense of humor about it I suppose ( many in Utah apparently did not  when it came out.) Anyways, I hear it is really good.

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Polygamy Porter......."Take some home to the wives!". I have two of their t-shirts. I've never tried the beer however. Even in my drinking days I was never a beer drinker. I've heard it is pretty good, though I hear that the Oatmeal Stout from Moab Brewery is better.