Food artists for this year's Utah Arts Festival promise to titillate our taste buds just as performing and creative artists stimulate our other senses. Each year, those of us who serve on the food jury find the decisions more difficult. From the conventional to the unusual, the gastronomic choices promise to be fun and appetizing. Here are abbreviated menus to help in your selections for the festival which runs from June 24-28.
Hot Snake: Like its name suggests, this booth will offer festivalgoers rattlesnake chili, a consummate Southwest dish to say the least. Customers can sink their teeth into chewy bits of rattler served with a savory bean chili and imitate Pecos Bill. The more civilized can order strawberry sabyon. (New this year.)Sun Bun Cafe: For the vegetarian in each of us, the all-vegetable wheat and grain burger called the Sun Burger. Wheat meat chicken tacos are also going to be served. This entree was a big hit with the jury, many of us seriously considering alternate eating lifestyles. Don't forget the Sun Bun dessert bar! (Another new entry.)
Seafood on a Sourdough: Freshly made seafood salad on grilled sourdough buns can take landlocked Utahns back to the ocean spray of either coast. Grilled salmon dinners with cucumber salad, salsa shrimp salad, and key lime pie round out the selections of this booth.
Scandinavian Desserts: Olde World waffle cones overflow with Farr's ice cream along with full- bodied concoctions like Nordic strawberry short cake and Copenhagen fudge brownie sundae. Both Thor and Hans Christian Andersen would be proud.
Maui Wowi: If neither the fjords nor desert tempt you, head for the surf. Fresh fruit-filled frozen drinks constantly whir in blenders only to be slurped up by wannabe beach bums. Another regular favorite returns to the festival. Don't overlook the Puka Puka Paradise!
Philippine Gardens: Chicken adobo, marinated pork shishkabobs, Philippine egg rolls, and pan fried noodles are the specialties of Vic Fernandez's hard- working crew who treat festivalgoers not only in June but in other ethnic gatherings around the state.
Marsalee's: Thai food tamed into portable and palatable servings including generous servings of pan-fried Thai noodles. Beef teriyaki on skewers and hefty combination plates should please customers who made this booth one of last year's favorites.
Kee's: Navajo fry bread topped with freshly made ingredients from chili beans, salsa and all the trimmings. Powdered sugar, blue berries, wild cherries, cinammon and whipped cream are other more decadent choices. Elma Kee and her family have long been popular with festival crowds.
Senor Frog: (No comparison to Hot Snake.) Another top booth from prior festivals. Chicken fajitas and curly fries down to a science are this group's specialty.
Quesadilla Company: Shrimp, chicken and cheese quesadillas served with salsa and sour cream toppings. Colorful and easy on the palate.
Tres Hombres: Stuffed jalapenos, calamari cocktails, seafood tacos along with ample Mexican combination platters add to the variety of Southwest cuisine served at the festival.
Cafe Mediterranean: Some of the best Middle East cuisine around town right downtown. Falafel sandwiches, tabouleh salads, wonderful grilled lamb and chicken sandwiches, as well as yogurt and cucumber salad.
Maritsas: Greek meatballs added to another popular booth's bill of fare that includes gyros, Greek rice and salads, dolmanthes and cheese triangles. Yasou, oppa and bon appetite!
Anthony's: Pungent garlic burgers, Italian sausage sandwiches and spicy fries, tasty twists on American favorites, round out the full serving booth's selections.
Most prices range from $3 to $5 with many choices less expensive for those who like to try samples from the different booths.
In addition to Sno Shack's shaved ice, Bun Brothers' cinnamon rolls and hot pretzels from Sorenson catering, slow-roasted German almonds should prove to be a favorite snack for those who want to nosh and saunter through the festival. The aroma alone promises to set off salivary glands all around the Triad. Iced tea and pink lemonade will see that thirsts are quenched.