Long Live the King 

• Alex Springer

I'd been thinking a lot about the passing of Valter Nassi, along with his impact on Utah's food scene over the past few weeks, when it occurred to me that I had never actually visited Valter's Osteria (173 W. Broadway, 801-521-4563, valtersosteria.com). Of course, the place has been on my list since I started taking an interest in local restaurants; if you are a culinary explorer in the Wasatch Front, you know that Valter's is much more than an institution. Based on the rows of photographs that feature Nassi posing with the celebrities and professional athletes who have come through town, he was one of the original ambassadors of Utah's true talent in the restaurant industry.

I guess my lag in paying Valter's a visit comes mainly from my food aesthetic. Those of you who regularly read this column will know that I'm very much a takeout and tacos kind of guy. However, that doesn't mean I'm not able to appreciate the finer things, which is precisely what a trip to Valter's is all about. I booked a reservation for me and my wife at 5:30 p.m. on a Wednesday because I thought it wouldn't pick up until later, but Valter's hits full capacity pretty quickly after the doors open. If you're planning on paying a visit, call them up for a reservation beforehand.

After we took our seats, my wife and I were both floored at the game face that Valter's puts on. It's one of the most prestigious restaurants in town, and the staff is no doubt busy busy busy. When they come to your table, however, you feel like you're the only person in the restaurant. It's especially impressive when you decide to order the prix fixe tasting menu ($95), a four-course meal that is heavy on tableside presentation and comes out like clockwork. Yes, it's a hefty price tag, but if you order this and still happen to leave the restaurant unsatisfied in any way, your problems transcend mere finance.

So what does the prix fixe get you? I'm glad you asked. It starts off with a combination of three different salads—a chopped romaine salad with gorgonzola dressing, a prosciutto and arugula salad and another romaine salad with shrimp and a light pomodoro sauce. It's the weakest of the four courses, but they can't help the fact that they're salads, and that's kind of how salads work. All the same, the gorgonzola dressing was rich and creamy, and by the time you worked your way through the arugula and prosciutto to get to the acidic pomodoro sauce, you've still been taken on a well-curated journey of flavors and textures.

From there, it's on to the tableside presentation of some house-made ravioli, which change based on the day. Ours were a mix of butternut squash ravioli served with a lemon sage sauce and a spinach ricotta ravioli. I've griped before about how I like a generous heap of ravioli if that's what I've ordered, but I will give Valter's a pass here since four ravioli pack enough of a punch to stand on their own. Both versions of ravioli were excellent, but I can't help comparing the two, so the butternut squash won out over the spinach ricotta. Ravioli can be hidden purses of subtlety in the right hands, and that's exactly what I experienced here. From the lemon sage sauce that has a fleeting kiss of citrus to the earthy sweetness of the butternut squash filling, this is everything one wants in a stuffed pasta.

While I was still swooning over the ravioli experience, our main courses arrived. You get a choice of mains here, so I went with the pollo peperonata, a dish of chicken scallopini served with a sweet pepper sauce that also comes with a filet of fresh salmon topped with a lovely mustard sauce. My wife opted for the Duroc pork medallions in pepper sauce, and we did a bit of sharing. It's worth noting that this part of the menu has some vegetarian options, including a ricotta-stuffed bell pepper and a lovely mix of sauteed portobello and oyster mushrooms. I think I enjoyed the pork just a bit more than the chicken, largely because the reduced pepper sauce slathered all over those juicy pork medallions also had sliced sausage in it. The chicken was tasty and light, and the salmon with its mustard sauce was stellar. Excellent main courses all around.

The meal ends with a cocktail glass filled with a half-and-half mixture of lemon sorbet and a dark chocolate gelato that comes with a tiny cup filled with drinking chocolate. It's a miraculous sort of experience made up of a few seemingly simple ingredients. The chocolate elements are deep and rich, capturing everything you love about chocolate; then you hop over to this bubbly little lemon number that dances its way through all that richness while priming your tongue for the next bite.

It's uncommon to find a place like Valter's in Utah, or anywhere in the United States for that matter. I've been to hundreds of restaurants, and I love each of them in their own special ways, but Valter's is one of those rare restaurants that makes sure to love you right back.