MURRAY — They're not afraid of strong flavors at Pine, a new Murray restaurant.
This sleek, modern space has a large dining area broken up into quirky little "rooms." Step down into one, and the main room's raucous hubbub dims just enough to encourage conversation.
Creative, deeply flavored cuisine appears to be the goal at Pine, and it's a goal that, by and large, the place achieves. The wait staff my friend and I encountered on our recent weekend visit clearly were proud to work there, speaking rapturously of the food and drink offerings, and in my experience that says a lot.
Looking over the appetizer menu, I hankered for the Angus sirloin carpaccio with horseradish cream, but my friend isn't into ultra-rare meats, so we compromised with vegetable spring rolls and crab cakes.
Pine's appetizers look pretty and the portions are ample, but not huge, so we were able to leave room for dinner while finishing both.
My friend preferred the spring rolls, with their crispy skins and dark roasted veggies inside, served halved on top of a grilled veggie relish, with hoisin-ginger sauce. The rolls were tasty alone but even better with the accompaniments piled on.
I, however, loved the crab cakes, which were both sweeter and better-textured than most crab cakes, thanks to the grilled corn mixed with the crab, bay shrimp and bell peppers. They had a tender crumb crust and were served with a superb citrus aioli.
We also shared the "Pine" salad, butter lettuce, spiced pecans, Maytag blue cheese and apples, with lemon and olive oil drizzled on top. The butter lettuce pieces were a bit large for our forks, but dewy-fresh, and we enjoyed the sweet, earthy, nutty, salty flavor combinations, though the lemon made the already-tart apples taste almost bitter.
For dinner, my friend had grilled salmon, which arrived on a bed of whipped potatoes with roasted tomato, sweet-pepper tapenade and citrus vinaigrette — one of the finest pieces of salmon I've tasted in a long time. The accompaniments were distinct but mildly flavored to show off the quality of the fish.
No mildness was present on my plate, which featured a simply grilled organic pork chop over blue cheese-bacon mashed potatoes with a Cabernet reduction, with spears of crisp-tender broccolini on top. Used to predictable mashed spuds, I was surprised by the assertive flavors, which seemed better suited to a steak. But then I started alternating bites, enjoying the contrast between the sweet, mild pork and strong potatoes and sauce.
Pine offers both a bread pudding and sorbet selection of the day for dessert, but my friend settled on the Meyer lemon cheesecake, creamy-smooth and tart, with bits of lemon peel and an aromatic ginger-graham crust.
My dessert, the chocolate mocha creme brulee, was unique and excellently made, with a delicate crispy crust, silky texture, and strong coffee and chocolate flavors. No, make that very strong flavors. No, make that very, very strong flavors, but delicious flavors, too. On top were cream, a sliced strawberry and a tiny, buttery homemade hazelnut milano cookie.
Appetizers $4.95-$11.50, soup and salad $5.95-$8.95, entrees $14.99-$23.95, lunch $4.95-$13.95, brunch $5.50-$10.95, kids' meals $6.95, desserts $6.95.
Rating: ***
Where: 4760 S. 900 East, Murray
Hours: Monday-Saturday 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sunday 11 a.m.-9 p.m. (brunch 11 a.m.-2 p.m.)
Payment: No checks accepted
Reservations: Accepted and encouraged
Phone: 288-2211
Stacey Kratz is a freelance writer who reviews restaurants for the Deseret Morning News. E-mail: skratz@desnews.com