Faustina

I went to Faustina for lunch today with my sister, her little boy, and my mom. I have never been to this restaurant before, but after checking out their website, I decided we had to give it a try.

Faustina is a hip, chic restaurant nestled in downtown Salt Lake City at 300 South 454 East. There's free parking in the back of the building, which is a MAJOR plus. We had the choice of indoor or outdoor seating; it was a beautiful day, perfect for outdoor dining, but to facilitate a lunch with a toddler, we chose a booth inside the building.

The menu had a variety of delectable-sounding dishes, but we all ended up getting the same thing- soup and salad:

Candied Pecan Butternut Squash Soup with Fresh Rosemary and Bell Pepper Brunoise- This tasted really good; you have to love butternut squash soup in the fall.

For those of you who are not familiar with the term "brunoise" (including me), according to Wikipedia, "brunoise is a method of food preparation in which the food item is first julienned and then turned 90° and diced again, producing cubes of a side length of about 3 mm on each side or less.

The diced vegetables are blanched briefly in salty boiling water and then submerged in ice water for a few seconds to set the color. The brunoise is often used as a garnish in many dishes. A brunoise must be very consistent in size and shape, as it helps to ultimately create a visual effect."

Sounds impressive, huh? I loved the presentation- the waiter placed small, white bowls in front of us; the bottom of the bowls were filled with the candied pecans and red bell pepper brunoise. The waiter then took a gravy dish full of the soup, and poured it into the bowl, on top of the pecans and red peppers. My sister's son took a couple of bites, and, with a disgusted look on his face, said, "no soup."

Smoked Sonoma Chicken Salad with Fresh Greens, Dried Blueberries, Gorgonzola Cheese, Toasted Almond Slices, Dressed with Carmelized Onion and Pomegranate Vinaigrette- This salad had a variety of flavors I would never think to mix together! I really liked the dried blueberries, and the pomegranate vinaigrette tasted light and tangy. There was also julienned green apple placed on top of the salad like a crown. This. Was. A. Really. Good. Salad. My sister's son liked the salad leaves (cut up into small pieces, of course) with the vinaigrette, but that was it. I gave him a dried blueberry, but it did not pass the 2-year-old taste test.

My nephew got the House-Made Acorn Squash Filled Ravioli with Orange Browned Butter Sauce, Butternut Squash, Balsamic Reduction and Chopped Hazelnuts- Looking back on it, we probably should have just ordered the house macaroni and cheese. Unfortunately, the dish did not fit his particular 2-year-old tastes. This was kind of surprising, though; they are usually quite adventurous when it comes to eating. As a result, the rest of the group ate the ravioli.

It tasted really unique! I don't eat acorn squash that often, but this was good. There was a distinct cinnamon flavor in the squash. The hazelnuts were good and provided a nutty taste and a crunchy texture to complement the smooth, creamy ravioli. And anything in a balsamic reduction is good, so... And there were also tiny cubes of butternut squash resting on top of the ravioli. Nice touch.

After the lunch, we swung by McDonald's to pick up some chicken nuggets and fries for my nephew. Poor kid. He isn't quite ready for haute cuisine.

Price: Medium - High

Ambiance: Quiet surroundings, chic and modern furniture and decor; I loved that it was nestled in between houses and other random downtown businesses.

Would I go there again? Definitely- I want to try their dinner menu!