Rocky Mountain Pizza Company
Pickin' and grinnin' and pizza on Wednesdays at Rocky Mountain.
By Austen Diamond
The circle will be unbroken, by and by ... well, except for one or two inviting, unoccupied wooden chairs. With an ever-changing ensemble and a cultlike following, Rocky Mountain Pizza Company’s Wednesday Bluegrass Night has had folks tapping their toes to the sound of acoustic strings for years.
The location on Wasatch Boulevard is brightly lit and hospitable; the walls are decorated with snowshoes and mandolins. On Wednesdays, the atmosphere evolves from casual dining to a do w n-home jam session. Seated in a circle in the middle of the dining hall, the pickers and the grinners have come to play their favorite tunes or learn a new one.
Between songs, older musicians tell the younger ones a yarn about the tune just played. Songs range from old bluegrass standards to re-popularized crossovers, like “Wagon Wheel.” With gruff voices and side-smiles, the stories have a charming air of porch gossip.
Throughout the restaurant, pizza crusts are piled high from a crowd ranging from musician’s friends to die-hard locals and the younger folks in back drinking pitchers of beer. Many enjoy the thrifty Continental Divide pizza buffet & salad bar, offering both meaty and vegetarian options—you can even make requests. With the large crowd, pizzas are eaten and replaced quickly, so there are no hour old slices growing stale. If buffets aren’t your thing, you can order scrumptious specialty pies, from classic to eclectic, like the Evergreen: pesto, chopped garlic, artichoke hearts, zucchini, tomatoes, black olives and green onions—or the Taos: barbecue sauce, chicken, red onions, green peppers and tomatoes. Either way, save room for the dessert pizza covered with streusel crumbles and a cinnamon-glaze topping.
So, re-string that dusty guitar, mandolin or banjo, and swing by for good eats while reconnecting with some old-fashioned American roots music.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN PIZZA COMPANY
3977 S. Wasatch Blvd.
801-272-9888
Wednesdays, 8-10 p.m.
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