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(Photos by Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune)

Hello, Eaters!

Cluck Truck is a Utah food truck that recently made the big jump and opened its first brick-and-mortar location, and last week I went to check out the new digs.

Located at 285 W. 800 South in Salt Lake City’s Granary District, Cluck Truck’s restaurant opened in June in the former Yoko Taco space, just a stone’s throw from Fisher Brewing.

Owner Gentry Davies acquired the Cluck Truck business with her partner, Phil Rodriguez (both are pictured up top), in 2018, and since then, they’ve been busy driving their two food trucks as far north as Ogden and as far south as Provo (and sometimes even farther for catering jobs). 

What Davies and Rodriguez are most famous for by far is their award-winning fried chicken. They brine chicken tenders for 24 hours in a salt bath for juiciness, then put them in a cornflake dredge, which includes sesame seeds and a “blend of secret spices.”

Davies said this process results in chicken that has “a sweet and savory crunch to it, so it's going to be different than a lot of other places that you go.”

On Cluck Truck’s menu, you can find this fried chicken served on top of a bed of fries, in a sandwich, in a bowl, or in a wrap. The spice level can range from none to a lot.

Davies and Rodriguez actually had been looking for a physical space for a couple of years, Davies said. Both trucks were “consistently” booked out, she said, with more invitations to events than what they could handle — and often people were “disappointed” that they couldn’t “find” Cluck Truck.

They were originally planning on opening in a downtown development, but Davies said they realized the space wasn’t going to work for them.

She said the Granary District storefront “fell into our laps, and it worked out really great, because we love this area.”

Since opening the physical location, Davies said they’ve enjoyed not having to share a commissary kitchen — and they’ve enjoyed the slower pace of being in a restaurant versus a food truck.

“You feel like you have a lot more breathing room and flexibility, where it's not like everything all at once, punching you in the face,” she said. 

The new space is cool (hello, AC!) and colorful, with the front counter designed to look like the side of Cluck Truck’s food trucks, and a rad mural on the back wall by local artist Josh Scheuerman. 

Davies and Rodriguez have made a couple changes on the menu now that they have more space for food preparation. They have made their gluten-free grilled chicken available to sub out for fried on any dish every day, and they added milkshakes to the lineup. 

To read more about my Cluck Truck order, check out the “Dish of the Week” section of this newsletter.

Cluck Truck’s physical location is open Monday through Saturday, from noon to 9 p.m. To find out where the food trucks are heading next, follow Cluck Truck on Instagram: @clucktruckutah.

Live deliciously,

Kolbie

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune)

• Scion Cider Bar, at 916 S. Jefferson St. in the Central Ninth neighborhood, is celebrating Bastille Day (a French holiday that commemorates the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789) with three food-centric events. On Friday, there will be an oyster pop-up with Alex Morales, who goes by @sunburstfog on Instagram. On Saturday, there will be a cheese and charcuterie event. And on Sunday, Scion is hosting a brunch featuring chef Franck Peissel, who just launched a new food truck called Saveurs de France. He will be making savory and sweet crepes at the Sunday event. Tickets for the brunch start at $25 and can be purchased here.

Openings:

• Shake Shack is now open inside the City Creek food court at 28 S. State St. in downtown Salt Lake City, according to City Creek customer service. This popular chain serves burgers, crinkle fries, shakes and frozen custard.  

• Top Taco, a new Mexican taco shop, recently opened at 1427 S. 300 West in Salt Lake City. This spot has been open only for a couple of weeks, but people seem to be leaving it a lot of positive reviews for its tasty al pastor tacos and clean restaurant.

• Thirst, one of Utah’s soda-mixing chains, is opening its newest location — at 4247-B Orinda Drive, Saratoga Springs — with a public grand-opening event, Friday, 5 to 10 p.m. Free pretzel bites and beignets will be available.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune)

• Six months after a law enforcement operation found evidence of underage drinking at SugarHouse Pub, at 1994 S. 1100 East in Salt Lake City, and the bar was shut down, new co-owners Paul Maritsas and his daughter Xenia Maritsas say they want to “create a community” around the bar, which is now back open for people to enjoy a cold beer or a game of pool.

• On Saturday, Brewvies Cinema Pub, at 677 S. 200 West in Salt Lake City, is screening “The Donn of Tiki,” a documentary about Donn Beach, who is known for opening the first tiki bar. The film features interviews with Sam Miller, a lead bartender at the Central Ninth bar Water Witch. After the screening, there’s going to be a party at Water Witch, at 163 W. 900 South. 

• On Tuesday, Stein Eriksen Lodge, at 7700 Stein Way in Park City, is kicking off its Hops on the Hill series, which will feature two regional breweries every week through Aug. 19. On Tuesday, the breweries will be Uinta and Bohemian. July 22 will be 2 Row and Bewilder. July 29 will be Fisher and Epic. Aug. 5 will be Mountain West Cider and Top of Main/Squatters. Aug. 12 will be Prost (from Colorado) and Helper Beer. And Aug. 19 will be Level Crossing and Mad Fritz (from California). There also will be food and live music to pair with all that craft beer. Tickets are $90 per person and include a beer tasting and food tasting; a $45 “food only” ticket is available at the door. Reserve by calling 435-645-6455. 

A family-run Italian restaurant gets casual with a new Orem location

Lion House rolls are back — and a Temple Square restaurant has reopened

Utah couple open Fiddler’s in Sugar House, a new bar to ‘connect to the legacy of Fiddler’s Elbow’

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune)

For lunch at Cluck Truck, I decided to expand my horizons beyond their classic chicken & fries and order the Side Chick sandwich, with half regular fries, half Cajun fries on the side.

After I took a bite, this juicy and flavorful sandwich quickly earned the title of one of my favorite chicken sandwiches in Salt Lake City.

To make it, Cluck Truck butters the bun and toasts it, then adds fried chicken, ranch dressing and pickles. (By the way, Davies’ and Rodriguez’s team makes all of Cluck Truck’s sauces in-house, except for the barbecue sauce.)

The Side Chick sandwich was crispy, sweet, savory, tart and creamy, and I absolutely loved it. For dessert, I ordered one of the new milkshakes, a small chocolate, and thought it was the perfect accompaniment to lightly spiced chicken and fries.

— Newsletter compiled by Kolbie Peterson, The Salt Lake Tribune’s food and drink reporter.