As if owning four restaurants and a catering company in Jackson Hole wasn’t enough on his plate, restaurateur Gavin Fine has taken on a new responsibility: Silver Restaurant in Park City.
With the same mission in mind that helped Fine create a winning combination originally at the Rendezvous Bistro, Fine took charge of Silver last winter. After extensive market research, he in saw a need for good food and a casual, but upscale, dining experience in Park City that offers reasonable prices. Silver Restaurant, on Main Street, was the answer.
After a rocky opening last October, Fine Dining was brought in to turn things around for the restaurant. They closed for a bit, then reopened under Fine Dining’s leadership in December just in time for the Sundance Film Festival. Fine said the reopening was very well-received and the town and celebrities embraced the new dining experience, which offers modern American cuisine with Thai, French and Mediterranean influences, said Executive Chef Paul O’Connor.
O’Connor, who typically runs the kitchen at Osteria, has spent the winter refining Silver’s original menu and blending the best of what Osteria and the Bistro have to offer along with some new dishes. They make their own pasta, bread and pastries, and the menu highlights some original and creative dishes.
On the menu, diners will find some Jackson favorites such as the Bistro’s seared sea scallops with oyster mushrooms, ginger soy butter and crispy onions and Osteria’s pomegranate fried Brussels sprouts. Fine Dining Executive Chef Roger Freedman, who used to work at the Snake River Grill, even brought one of its favorite dishes that he created in his tenure there: the smoked salmon potato pancake.
Original dish highlights include an exceptional burger. A blend of three cuts of Snake River Farms meat are ground in-house and topped with foie gras, a fried egg-tomato-bacon relish and served with truffle fries. An atypical, but delicious Caesar salad, features black kale. A porcini ravioli showcases the restaurant’s pasta-making skills and is served with caramelized cipollini onions, spinach, warm egg yolk and sage brown butter.
The restaurant also offers sophisticated cocktail and dessert offerings.
The three-story building is one of the original spaces on Main Street. It still houses a classic (and working) boiler.
Each level is slightly different. The top floor offers a dining bar and more loungy feeling. They often host a DJ for a later-night scene. The main floor is filled with standard tables and booths and the lower level would be great for parties and showcases the extensive wine cellar, which holds 3,000 bottles.
O’Connor said he plans to utilize the Park City farmer’s market, which is held in the alley next door to Silver all summer, to procure local ingredients. He also plans to update the menu with a large selection of seafood and offer a bar menu, too.
Fine said the foray into a new market is good for his current restaurants.
“The ability to cross-market and to continue brand awareness for people down there coming into Jackson, and offer a another home-away-from-home for those from here going there is great,” he said.
As for future expansion in Jackson, Fine said that he is always looking for opportunities and continues to explore new concepts.
“You never know. We will probably have something new sooner rather than later,” he said.
