Hey, kids, here’s a recipe for cooking up an amazing dinner party: take 600 gorgeous and ravenous ‘foodies’, add bites from some of Salt Lake’s most intrepid gourmands, sprinkle a dash of live music, and let the whole damn mix simmer in a landmark buildings like Union Pacific Depot. It'll come out perfect every time.

Said flawless recipe is precisely what the respectable folks at Local First Utah [a not-for-profit dedicated to promoting and supporting locally-owned businesses] pulled off at their annual fall Celebrate the Bounty fundraiser on October 10th. With over fifty of Salt Lake’s most talented and creative independent restaurants, artisans and food purveyors present, we arrived expecting to have our COLLECTIVE culinary asses kicked. And so we did. Within the Union’s gilded halls, we were served some seriously mouth-watering pleasures: zucchini chile soup from Laziz, roasted squash with honey-whipped ricotta from Avenues Bistro on Third, shredded pork tacos from Frida Bistro, just to name a few. Sweets? Hells yes. We might kill for another round of Tin Angel’s bread pudding. And somewhere in the mix was a toe-curling pecan roll that rendered typical toe-curling activities completely unnecessary. Lest we forget the wonderful wine-makers and brew-masters who represented, special mention need go out to the brains and beauty behind Sugar House Libations [story coming very soon]. This husband/wife/best-friend trio create specialty syrups so good, you're 5 cocktails deep before you know it. No driving for you.

All that said, it was more than just the great food and top-shelf spirits that made the night memorable. The people watching was bang-on.  Where else can you find great, bearded men nibbling pickled okra samplers or cocktail-dress-clad ladies furtively wolfing down bacon-wrapped pork sliders? When we finally staggered out of the depot, we were certain of two things: 1) the evening was a veritable feast for the eyes and the belly, and 2) we can't wait to do it all again next fall.