Easter Dining 

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• Faustina's eggs Benedict

To be honest, I’ve never quite gotten my head around what Easter has to do with dyed hard-boiled eggs, bunnies and bonnets. But I do like the fact that families and friends tend to congregate to break bread on Easter Sunday. And I love both ham and lamb, which have become synonymous with the Easter supper.

Since my wife works in a restaurant, our preference for holiday dinners is usually to enjoy them at home. We both spend more than enough time in restaurants. So, this year, I’ll be cooking an Easter ham. But not just any ham. The ham I’ll be serving is, simply put, the best I’ve ever tasted: Creminelli prosciutto cotto. This is an Italian-style, unsmoked, delicate-tasting ham that is also quite low in sodium, with a unique flaky texture. I served Creminelli’s cotto for Christmas dinner this year, and my sister-in-law, who supposedly doesn’t care for ham, took leftover cotto home with her—a cotto convert. So I suggest visiting Creminelli.com to score your Easter ham.

If lamb is your preference, I’d go to MorganValleyLamb.com, where you’ll find info about all-natural, hormone-free Morgan Valley Lamb products and where to buy them.

If you do decide to let someone else do the Easter cooking and cleanup, there are a plethora of dining-out options. Here’s a roundup of brunches, special menus and such from the restaurants that contacted me with information about their Easter events. All events are Sunday, March 31.

The high-altitude Aerie (9600 E. Little Cottonwood Canyon, 801-933-2160, Snowbird.com) restaurant at Snowbird resort will host brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. ($40 for adults, $19 for kids 6-12). The buffet menu will include breakfast items like omelets and waffles as well as pan-seared trout, sweet tea-cured pork loin, honey-mustard ham, herb & horseradish roasted beef tenderloin, lots of salads and sides, desserts and a kids menu with sliders, chicken fingers, pasta and such.

At Bambara (202 S. Main, Salt Lake City, 801-363-5454, Bambara-SLC.com) in the Hotel Monaco, Executive Chef Nathan Powers will offer an all-you-can-eat brunch buffet from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. ($38 for adults, $28 for seniors, $18 for kids 6-12). Menu specialties include Powers’ luscious lamb hash with poached egg and mint béarnaise, mustard-glazed ham, roasted organic turkey, truffled mac & cheese, antipasti, breakfast pastries, grilled king salmon, custom omelets and a lot more.

Caffe Niche (779 E. Broadway, Salt Lake City, 801-433-3380, CaffeNiche.com) chef/owner Ethan Lappé will offer an à la carte brunch menu from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. featuring delicious-sounding Caribbean pancakes with coconut butter and pecan-rum sauce, a crab & asparagus scramble, Kobe corned-beef hash and $5 Bloody Marys or mimosas.

At Faustina (454 E. Broadway, Salt Lake City, 801-746-4441, FaustinaSLC.com), Executive Chef Billy Sotelo will serve a brunch buffet from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ($30 for adults, $15 for kids 12 and under), with choices like orange-chipotle-glazed salmon, Prime rib, seafood paella, breakfast items, desserts and pastries, salads and more.

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar (20 S. 400 West, Salt Lake City, 801-355-3704, FlemingsSteakhouse.com) will offer a three-course brunch menu from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a pretty good deal built in: Each party to enjoy the Fleming’s brunch ($36.95 per guest) will receive a $25 gift card valid for a future visit to Fleming’s. Brunch options include lobster bisque, Caesar salad, eggs Benedict, Prime rib, egg strata, brioche French toast, white-chocolate bread pudding and creme brulee.

At Franck’s Restaurant (6263 E. Holladay Blvd., Holladay, 801-274-6264, FrancksFood.com), Executive Chef Franck Peissel has created an interesting four-course brunch menu ($60 for adults, $25 for kids 12 and younger), which will include smoked-salmon eggs Benedict, preserved cherry & wasabi soup with caviar and creme fraiche, Snake River Farms pork belly and lobster with jalapeño jam, and creme brulee pancakes with rum-caramel sauce and goat-cheese creme fraiche. Seatings are at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Log Haven Restaurant’s (6451 E. Millcreek Canyon Road, Salt Lake City, 801-272-8255, Log-Haven.com) Easter supper menu ($39.95 adults, $21.95 for kids 12 and under), served from noon to 5 p.m., will include roasted-beet soup, Creminelli Italian sausage peperonata, roasted leg of Morgan Valley lamb, cornmeal-crusted Utah steelhead trout, Angus New York steak au poivre, green garbanzo & baby-shiitake risotto, dark-chocolate peanut-butter silk with raspberry sauce and more. And guests will receive a “bounce-back” gift certificate for $20 (one per table) during March.

At Market Street (GInc.com) restaurants, in addition to the regular full brunch menu, a half-dozen special à la carte items will be available, including maple-bacon pancakes ($8.99), chicken-fried New York steak & eggs with cream gravy ($12.99) and blackened Atlantic salmon with orange-avocado salad ($16.99).

Oasis Cafe (151 S. 500 East, Salt Lake City, 801-322-0404, OasisCafeSLC.com) will serve a brunch buffet from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ($32 for adults, $18 for kids 10 and under) featuring local organic veggies, fresh seafood and sustainably ranched meats. Among the items offered are a Prime rib carving station, a chocolate fountain, maple-mustard-glazed salmon, a Mediterranean tasting platter, omelets, shrimp-filled enchiladas, salads, pastries, desserts and much more.

Texas de Brazil (50 S. Main, Salt Lake City, 385-232-8070, TexasDeBrazil.com) will offer its regular churrascaria dinner menu with the addition of breakfast favorites like scrambled eggs, bacon & sausage, and fresh fruit and pastries from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a complimentary choice of dessert and nonalcoholic beverage included in the regular dinner price ($42.99 for adults, $21.50 for kids 6-12, kids 5 and under eat free).

In Eden, Harley & Buck’s (3900 N. Wolf Creek Drive, 801-745-2060, HarleyAndBucks.com) will serve brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. ($34 for adults, $14 for kids 5-12, kids 4 and under eat free), with menu items such as smoked Prime top sirloin, Black Forest ham and Cajun fried turkey. Other menu choices will include made-to-order omelets, Belgian waffles, barbecue-glazed salmon, seared ahi tuna, sushi, seafood Alfredo, salads, desserts and a chocolate fountain.

And finally, Park City dining options include an alpine-inspired brunch at Montage’s Apex (9100 Marsac Ave., 435-604-1300, MontageDeerValley.com) restaurant from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. ($62 for adults, $25 for kids 5-12), with an appearance by the Easter Bunny. A prix fixe brunch at Cisero’s Ristorante (306 Main, 435-649-5044, Ciseros.com) at 9:30 a.m. will feature breakfast items as well as pizzas and pastas, along with egg-decorating for kids and, for the adults, Bloody Marys, mimosas, cappuccinos, lattes and flavored coffees included in the price of the meal ($24.99 for adults, $12.99 for kids 10 and under). The Glitretind at Stein Eriksen Lodge (7700 Stein Way, 435-645-6455, SteinLodge.com) will offer a buffet with dozens of gourmet dishes from seven food stations ($67 for adults, $25 for kids 3-12) from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Grub Steak Restaurant (2093 Sidewinder Drive, 435-649-8060, GrubSteakRestaurant.com) will host a brunch featuring cold and hot buffet items ($25.75 for adults, $12.75 for kids 12 and under). Table One (201 Heber Ave., 435-658-9425, TheSkyLodge.com) at The Sky Lodge will do a buffet-style prix fixe brunch for $25 per person.

Happy Easter, everyone!