This article is excerpted from the Utah Eats newsletter, compiled by Kolbie Peterson, The Salt Lake Tribune’s food and drink reporter. To get the full newsletter in your inbox every Wednesday, become a subscriber by going to sltrib.com/newsletters.

Hello, Eaters!

In honor of spooky season, last week I went to The Ghost of Gibson, a themed bar experience at Salt Lake City’s Grand America Hotel. It’s a slightly Gothed-up version of the hotel’s Gibson Lounge — themed around Charles Gibson’s famous “Gibson Girls” illustrations — complete with cobwebs, plastic spiders, black candelabras and dark red silk roses.

The food options on The Ghost of Gibson menu are more or less the same as the regular menu, just given haunting names, but my dining companion and I had fun with the themed drinks.

The Wednesday Adams (I’m not sure if the incorrect spelling of the character’s name is on purpose) for $18 was especially entertaining. Made with Beehive Decade Dry Gin, lemon, St-Germain elderflower liqueur and activated charcoal syrup, this cocktail, with its fittingly dour shade of gray, was actually pleasantly lemony and floral. And it came with a special effect: fog-filled bubbles on the drink’s surface, made by a smoke machine gun wielded by the bartender. When I raised the drink to take a sip, a big, misty bubble burst in my face, which was fun.

If you don’t drink alcohol, the menu includes three zero-proof drinks (you have to ask for the non-themed menu to see them). We tried the Raspberry Dreams ($12), made with raspberries, lemon, sugar and sparkling lemonade, and it was delish.

To eat, we shared the Riga-boney ($20), and the Mr. Gibson’s boneless beef short ribs ($29), which came with Yukon Gold potato puree.

While the rigatoni tasted good, with its rich sauce made with sauteed bell peppers, kale pesto and parmesan cheese, the pasta was so overcooked it was falling apart.

The short ribs were much more successful. Read more about them in the “Dish of the Week” section of this newsletter.

By the way, there is a mystery afoot in The Ghost of Gibson lounge. Follow the clues on the card at your table to guess which Gibson girl is this year’s Ghost of Gibson, trapped in her portrait, for a chance to win a $100 Grand America Hotel gift card.

The Ghost of Gibson will descend upon the Gibson Lounge every night until Halloween.

Live deliciously,

Kolbie

Food News

Openings:

• Roni’s Mac Bar, a chain of macaroni-and-cheese restaurants, recently opened its first location outside Texas — at 42 E. 1230 North (aka Cougar Boulevard), Provo, not far from the Brigham Young University campus. Roni’s is known for its viral posts on TikTok, including a video with a wild story about how the owners got turned onto Provo in the first place.

Closings:

• Stanza Italian Bistro and Wine Bar, at 454 E. 300 South, Salt Lake City, announced on its website that it’s closing after eight years. Owner Zach Howa (who’s also a co-founder of the Woodbine Food Hall) didn’t give a reason for the closure in his message, but said “this decision was not made lightly.” Stanza’s last night is scheduled to be Saturday, Oct. 12.

• Beltex Meats, the acclaimed butcher shop at 519 E. 900 South, Salt Lake City — across the street from Liberty Park — announced on Instagram that it will close after Dec. 23. That means one more holiday season for customers to order their Thanksgiving and Christmas meats. (Online holiday orders start Tuesday, Oct. 15.)

Booze (and Drink!) News

• At long last, Thieves Guild Cidery has an opening date. Located in Salt Lake City’s Central Ninth neighborhood at 117 W. 900 South, this fantasy-themed tavern — which has been in development since early 2021 — will open Oct. 25, according to an Instagram post that went up Sunday. Stay tuned for an upcoming story in The Salt Lake Tribune.

• To mark October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Salt Lake City’s Mountain West Cider is launching a limited-edition hard cider, called Cider for a Cure. A portion of the proceeds from each sale will benefit the Susan G. Komen organization. The cider is flavored with boysenberry and hibiscus, giving the cider “a slight sweetness and a vibrant pink hue that perfectly aligns with the cause,” a news release said. The cider went on sale last week, and is available while supplies last at the cidery’s store, 425 N. 400 West, Salt Lake City.

• It’s time for the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services’ next drawing for a chance to buy bottles of rare spirits. The big prize is Pappy Van Winkle bourbon, with five vintages (10 to 23 years old), ranging from $129.99 to $449.99 a bottle. There’s also Sazerac rye, Thomas Handy rye, Eagle Rare bourbon, William Larue Weller bourbon and George T. Stagg bourbon, each for $149.99 a bottle. Registration for the drawing started Thursday at midnight, and runs through Oct. 20. Go to abs.utah.gov for details on the “allocated and rare” products.

Dish of the Week

The Mr. Gibson’s boneless beef short ribs in The Ghost of Gibson lounge hit all the right notes for me. I just don’t think there’s anything better than the combination of beef and mashed potatoes. In this dish, the beef was so soft and tender that it was a lot like a slow-cooked pot roast. Scooping up a bit of meat with some of the mashed potatoes was the best bite of the night. And the pearl onions added little pops of brightness that were welcome among all those rich flavors.

Tribune enterprise editor Sean P. Means contributed to this week’s newsletter.