On our walk to dinner, we spotted a horse and carriage and asked the driver directions to our restaurant. The young woman offered us a free ride there, since, she explained, this was the first night her horse Pete had pulled a buggy in the city and having people board, ride and depart would be good practice for the novice. Of course, we agreed and Pete tried to walk off while Jim was stepping onto the carriage! Once we traveled the couple of blocks to our restaurant, we complimented Anne with a US$2 bill.

Upon entering the Oyster Bar Restaurant, the maitre d’ asked if we were members; no, we’re tourists looking for dinner. We learned that many restaurants in Utah are membership only due to strict alcohol laws. Basically, if there is a physical bar, then the establishment must be private. In order to eat at the Oyster Bar, we’d each have to pay US$10 for a two-week temporary membership. No, thank you, we decided.

We stepped next door to the Marketplace Restaurant, with a stylish diner atmosphere, and decided to have dinner here, since no membership rules applied and the menu looked tempting. Spinach salads, tossed with delicious blue-cheese vinaigrette, accompanied both of our meals. The dressing was so nice that I wish I’d asked for the recipe. We continued with Jim eating pepper steak, perfectly cooked, but missing the touted peppercorns that he adores. I enjoyed a delicious prime rib, which looked enormous upon arrival, but I finished off the meat, save the fat, with no problem. We drank a California Central Valley Echelon Pinot Noir 2000, which was quite good, but not big and bold enough for our beef.