It’s a bummer that one of Utah’s best restaurants is only open during the ski season. Marvelous things too often come in limited supply and vanish in the blink of an eye. Take the tasting menus at Mariposa, for instance. Executive chef Clark Norris has created two “small portion” tasting menus—one vegetarian, the other with meat and seafood—which serve as a survey of some of Mariposa’s best dishes. I hate using the “melt-in-your-mouth” food descriptor but it’s dead-on for describing chef Norris’ exquisite sablefish Mariposa: delicate sablefish filet glazed with honey and tamari and bathed in a delightful fresh ginger sauce. Sautéed wild mushrooms and herbed quinoa with roasted cipollini onions, house-dried tomatoes and mushroom broth is a rich, earthy dish, yet somehow light on the palate. Add superb service and a top-notch wine list to all those good flavors and you've got a real ski town winner.
