Saturday, September 21 marks the opening of the country’s 19th Punch Bowl Social location. Housed on the north side of The Gateway, Punch Bowl Social looks to bring 15,000 square feet of fun and food to adults 21+ starting this weekend.
Described as an “eatertainment” destination, Punch Bowl Social Salt Lake features mini bowling, dartboards, karaoke and classic arcade games all built around a 360-degree bar serving craft cocktails that guests can carry anywhere in the space and a visible kitchen dishing up scratch-made food.
Sheamus Feeley, Chief Culinary and Beverage Officer for Punch Bowl Social, describes the Punch Bowl Social food philosophy with passion and candor. “What’s fun about Punch Bowl’s menu is that it’s fun! We’re not trying to win any James Beard awards. We want food to be honest, to be great and it’s critical for us that it’s scratch. We make biscuits 14 to 16 times a day—bench rolled and hand cut. We know that at the end of the day it’s a huge differentiation for us and it matters. That’s the most critical piece. It’s part of our DNA and it will never go away.”
So what should you not miss on the Punch Bowl Social menu?
Duck sauce and dip
Let’s dip into the crab Rangoon waters of the Shareables section of the Punch Bowl Social menu. The crab Rangoon dip is a play on crab and cream cheese wontons which Feeley has a mild addiction to—but without the kitchen staff needing to make wontons all day. Whipped cream cheese and rock crab are combined with Monterey jack and parmesan cheeses in a skillet and served with wonton chips for easy dipping. Individual condiment packages of spicy mustard and duck sauce add Chinese takeout nostalgia and whimsy to the offering.
Punch Bowl (duh!)
So the name, Punch Bowl Social, comes from vintage gatherings around the punch bowl where guests socialized and danced together.
Thanks to Utah’s liquor laws, there aren’t any batched alcoholic cocktails served in bowls (boo) for us to gather around but you will find this delightful offering that everyone around the table can partake in.
Served in a punch bowl for four, the Palm Tree Shade is a splash of tropical heaven filled with pineapple and spice-infused coconut water, mint syrup, fresh lemon juice and aquafaba (a vegan egg substitute) that lends the traditional egg white frothiness to the drink.
Breakfast all day
How can you go wrong with chicken and waffles? Be it brunch, lunch or dinner, a malted waffle with kicky chipotle-citrus maple syrup that’s topped with a crispy fried chicken breast and thigh just can’t be wrong. Fresh strawberries add color, freshness and a sweet breakfast reminder any time of day.
S’mores dessert
The campfire s’mores brownie made all my favorite childhood dessert dreams come true once again. Start with the triple chocolate brownie cookie topped with piped meringue that’s torched to a golden brown and sprinkled with toasted graham.
It’s so rich I ate my leftover s’more for breakfast twice and then almost cried when I came home from a business trip and saw that my husband had made the rest disappear.
Info
Punch Bowl Social is located at 6 N. Rio Grande Street in The Gateway.
- Monday – Thursday: 4 p.m. to midnight
- Friday: 4 p.m. – 1 a.m.
- Saturday 10 a.m. – 1 a.m.
- Sunday 10 a.m. – midnight
Starting Oct. 14, Punch Bowl Social will be open for lunch at 11 a.m. Monday through Friday.
Leave a Reply