SALT LAKE CITY CHEF’S TABLE

Ethan Lappe, the chef at Caffe Niche, serves up one of the most enjoyed brunches in the city, and he does so in an accessible and easy fashion. While the egg sandwich is hard to resist, the menu is filled with great finds.

Their weekend brunch includes blackened fresh fish tacos, literally caught just days before serving, steak and eggs with sliced hanger steak, and kobe corned beef hash that keeps other chefs around town on their toes.

Chef Ethan Lappe was led to the kitchen out of a love for golf. At the age of twelve his wallet sat empty in his pocket, but by some cosmic cruelty he loved a rich man’s sport, golf. With a small allowance and a sizable addiction to golf, he found a job as a short-order cook at a golf course. Until age seventeen he worked at various golf course kitchens, enjoying free golf all the while. These days, his time on the course is rare compared to his time in the kitchen.

At home Ethan enjoys using fresh ingredients and abstains from butter in his kitchen. At Niche he follows a similar rule, only using butter for a few dishes as he strives for a healthier menu. His hollandaise is made with extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice, something he learned from a master chef, and his eggs are cooked in grape seed oil, which comes with a higher smoke point, but more importantly, a bit of nutritional value.

Weekday breakfast includes steel-cut organic oats, blueberries, toasted coconut, and a generous drizzle of local honey. The breakfast sandwich (the one that’s hard not to order) is assembled with a house-made English muffin, perfectly scrambled eggs, thick slices of avocado, and bacon topped with Ethan’s perfect hollandaise sauce.

While breakfast is definitely the most important meal of the day at Caffe Niche, the other mealtimes should not be ignored. Lunch includes fish tacos, Utah elk burger with chimichurri, and a roasted beet and arugula salad, to name a few.

From the fish to the eggs, Caffe Niche boasts, and rightly so, of the freshness of their food.

CAFFE NICHE BREAKFAST SANDWICH

For the sandwich:

2 house-made English muffins (see recipe)

2 scrambled eggs

1½ pieces bacon

¼ avocado

Hollandaise sauce (see recipe)

For the English muffins:

½ cup nonfat powdered milk

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt, divided

1 tablespoon shortening

1 cup hot water

1 envelope dry yeast

⅛ teaspoon sugar

⅓ cup warm water

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

Nonstick vegetable spray

For the hollandaise:

4 egg yolks

¼ cup warm water

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of 1–2 lemons

2 dashes Worcestershire

2 dashes Tabasco

1 teaspoon salt

To make English muffins: In a bowl combine the powdered milk, 1 tablespoon sugar, ½ teaspoon of the salt, shortening, and hot water. Stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Let cool. In a separate bowl, combine the yeast and ⅛ teaspoon sugar in ⅓ cup warm water and let rest until yeast has dissolved. Add this to the dry milk mixture. Add the sifted flour and beat thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Cover the bowl and let rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

Add the remaining ½ teaspoon salt to mixture and beat thoroughly. Place 3-inch metal rings onto the griddle and coat lightly with vegetable spray. Using an ice cream scoop, place two scoops (about 3¼ ounces or close to ½ cup) into each ring, then cover the griddle with a pot lid or cookie sheet and cook for 5–6 minutes. Remove the lid and flip the rings using tongs. Again cover with the lid and cook for another 5–6 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a cooling rack, remove rings, and cool.

To prepare hollandaise: Bring about an inch of water to a steady boil in a double boiler. (This allows for a steady and more consistent heat.) You can create a double boiler with a metal bowl that fits into a pot as deep as possible without touching the bottom. Add the egg yolks with the ¼ cup water to the metal bowl and whisk back and forth vigorously over the boiling water. Make sure you are scraping the sides while doing so.

As soon as the yolks start to thicken, turn down the heat and keep whisking until mixture is stiff. Pull off the heat and add the extra-virgin olive oil in a steady slow stream while whisking in circles this time. The olive oil should be warmed beforehand (about 30 seconds in the microwave). Add the rest of the ingredients to taste (the measurements are a good guide).

To assemble sandwich: Cut an English muffin in half. Lay the scrambled eggs on top of the bottom half of the English muffin. Add the bacon and avocado. Top with hollandaise and the top half of the muffin.

Take a thirty-minute, winding drive up the mountains and you’ll find a whole new batch of dining options.

A breakfast/brunch favorite is Silver Fork Lodge, where you can sip coffee and eat sourdough pancakes while listening to the aspen trees whispering all around you.

Dine in a traditional Mongolian yurt at Solitude Mountain Resort and enjoy an exquisite dinner prepared by some of the best chefs in town. Dress appropriately, because you’ll be snowshoeing to your dining destination.

Grab a signature Bloody Mary at the St. Regis in Deer Valley. The views from the funicular ride up to the hotel are as grand as the five-star hotel itself.

The Farm at The Canyons provides unforgettable flavors with seasonal and local flare.

Go for a hike or ski day at Sundance Resort and finalize your day with dinner at The Tree Room or a drink from the Owl Bar. Their Sunday brunch at Foundry Grill is also one to enjoy.

Stein Eriksen Lodge boasts years of great food, from their fine dining at the Glitretind, to their brunch buffet with so many options you’ll have to come more than once to try all of it.

Seafood is celebrated at Deer Valley’s seafood buffet, and wine and small plates shine at The Mariposa. Or, if you really want a treat, take a sleigh ride and enjoy several courses of fondue by the fire at Fireside Dining.