Believe it or not, this is my fifth year writing about food for Ski Utah. Time has flown in a blur of menus, while I’ve chocked up both epic ski seasons and calories—and hence, trips to the gym. It’s worth it. One of my early posts introduced many of you to The Farm at Canyons Village at Park City Mountain and I felt it was high time to give it a revisit.
In many ways, everything at The Farm felt delightfully the same. Same leathery-library-Western art gallery-feel. Same attention to detail, as displayed in the abiding charcuterie platter featuring local salamis, house-cured pickles, in-house mustards. Same focus on fresh, “farm-to-table” sourced foods, although they are reaching beyond the Beehive borders for some dishes and not striving for a strictly local menu (just a fact, not a criticism).
The menu at The Farm successfully straddles trends and old school comfort foods. Brussel sprouts, the darling of the food world? Check. Served here with earthy warm mushrooms, kale, crispy chickpeas, almonds and red onion. Roasted beet salad? Yes, but superbly tossed in a mignonette gelee, folded with feta mousse, fennel seed granola, pickled shallots, tarragon and topped with, my favorite, paper-thin slices of crispy beet chips. It’s no boring salad.
The Farm—or should I say Executive Chef Manny Rozehnal—offers a playful take on a number of classic comfort foods such as French onion soup, roast beef and duck confit. The soup is a braised oxtail topped with a crostone coated in Drunken Cheddar by Gold Creek, an artisal cheesemaker in Kamas, about 20 miles from Park City. The beef is a tenderloin cooked sous-vide to perfection, served with incredible fingerling potatoes that have been brined for 24 hours, then fried in duck fat; topped with chimichurri and a house steak sauce because everyone likes steak sauce. Admit it.
The duck is crispy seared slices of breast, atop a white bean ragout with a duck leg confit, local Beltex andouille sausage, chive oil, preserved oranges, carrot. The oranges are a great surprise.
Much of the down-to-earth approach to the food style comes from Chef Rozehnal, a small-town mountain boy—from Germany. After learning fundamentals from his grandfather, using foraged mushrooms and other local produce, Rosehnal started professionally cooking at age 15 at Le Meridien in Munich through an apprentice program while he also attended culinary school, after which he moved to Dana Point, CA to work as a junior sous chef with world-renowned Chef Michael Mina at Stonehill Tavern. Since 2015, he has been at The Farm. “Back to the mountains?” I asked him. “Yes,” he replied with a big smile.
The most memorable dish—a classic favorite—is what we’re going to liken to mac n’ cheese: the herbed spätzle. I’ve never been a huge fan of spätzle, finding it to be bland and pasty. Chef Rozenhnal’s is obviously full of hometown love, a silky dish with Emmenthaler, essence of truffle, caramelized onions topped with crispy shallots, black chanterelles and Oregon truffles.
The Farm is approachable and unfussy, yet serves sophisticated ingredients. It’s not inexpensive, but portions and flavors are appropriate for the price. If you’re on a budget, I would still recommend popping in for just the oxtail soup. Share the charcuterie platter and wrap it up with a decadent hot chocolate with Ketel One Oranje, Grand Marnier and whipped cream.
Location: On the Ski Beach, across from the base of Red Pine Gondola. 1-435-615-8080
Dinner nightly, 5:00–9:30 pm
Lunch: 11:30 am–2:30 p.m.
Apres-Ski: 2:30–5:00 p.m.
Getting There:
Enjoy The Farm even if you’re not skiing. You can either park at the 7-11 and ride the Cabriolet, which drops you right at the front door. Or valet park at The Grand Summit Hotel. Validated parking. Warning: the Cabriolet stops running at 7 p.m., so this would only be an option for lunch or an early dinner.
