As The Salt Lake Tribune’s food reporter, I made a lot of great food memories in 2025. I was pregnant for most of the year, and I swear, because of that, tastes were more intense.
Here is a list of my culinary greatest hits of 2025, the 10 bites that I’ll always remember — and in one case, with the doughnuts at the now-closed Chubby Baker, mourn their loss. For the others, though, you should be able to track down relatively easily if you want to try them for yourself. Enjoy!
Strawberry and cream doughnut, Chubby Baker
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Strawberry cream at Chubby Baker in Sandy, a unique player in the local doughnut scene, on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024.
My favorite treat while I was pregnant was the strawberry & cream doughnut from Chubby Baker (R.I.P.). With a glass of iced milk at the ready, I would attack this doughnut, getting Chantilly cream all over my face, as my deepest pregnancy food cravings were satisfied by the bursts of strawberry flavor.
Chaufa con lomo saltado, Wild Peru Restaurant
In 2025, I finished my Redwood Road Challenge, which was to eat at or get takeout from every restaurant on Redwood Road in Salt Lake County. Out of all of that food, the chaufa con lomo saltado from Wild Peru Restaurant (4631 S. Redwood Road, Taylorsville) was the best thing I ate.
It has the zesty beef and juicy tomatoes of lomo saltado, plus a mountain of chicken fried rice that is tall enough to make any carb fantasy come true.
Pad thai, Tuk Tuks
Pad thai is one of my favorite dishes, and as a result, I’ve eaten a lot of mediocre pad thai in search of the best. I finally found it at Tuk Tuks’ location in the Marmalade District, at 535 N. 300 West, Salt Lake City (there are also locations in West Valley City and Draper).
A little sweet, a little sour, bursting with fresh lime juice and crushed peanuts, this pad thai is packed with flavor and has just the right amount of sauce.
House puffy bread, Cosmica
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Puffy bread at Cosmica in Salt Lake City on Thursday, May 1, 2025.
Before you think about ordering an entree at Cosmica (945 S. 300 West, Salt Lake City), there’s an important order of business you need to attend to: digging into the house puffy bread.
Imagine a bread pillow, airy inside and crispy on the outside, with Grana Padano and herbs on top. You can have it served with spicy pomodoro — like I did — or with stracciatella and house-salted chilis, or anchovies.
[Read more: Cosmica’s business ‘tripled’ after New York Times mention, owner says. If you can get in, here’s what to order.]
Whipped tofu with scallion pancakes, Koyote
It might be sacrilege to write about Koyote (551 W. 400 North, Salt Lake City) without delving into its gorgeous and delicious ramen, but its whipped tofu with scallion pancakes is an appetizer you can’t miss.
The creamy tofu is given depth through the additions of confit garlic and sesame paste, and it’s lovely when scooped up with pieces of the savory scallion pancakes.
Jambon buerre, Leavity Bread & Coffee
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) A ham and butter on baguette sandwich sits on display at Leavity Bread and Coffee in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 28, 2025.
The ingredients of this simple sandwich from Leavity Bread & Coffee (1000 S. Main St., Salt Lake City) are all in the name: ham and butter. But it’s really good ham, and really good butter.
Placed between slices of Leavity’s beautiful sourdough, that ham and butter creates a sandwich that’s smoky, salty and creamy, and so satisfying.
Mango sticky rice ice cream, Wanyen
At Wanyen (378 W. 300 South, Salt Lake City), you can have your mango sticky rice in the form of ice cream, and in the form of sliced ripe mango and a perfect scoop of sweet, chewy rice, all on the same plate.
It’s an elegant presentation, and it soothes something in my soul to take a bite of mango, take a bite of rice, and then take a bite of the ice cream, which is actually two ice creams swirled together: a mango sorbet, and a coconut-based ice cream infused with pandan.
Meatball sub, Caputo’s
There’s no way to avoid it: This sandwich from Caputo’s (locations in Holladay, 15th & 15th and downtown Salt Lake City) gets all over my face — I even get sauce on my nose ring when I bite into it. But it’s so delicious that I don’t care.
The ingredients are simple: Just meatballs, marinara sauce, provolone cheese and crusty bread, with pecorino Romano on top. But they combine to create a meaty sandwich heaven.
Pro tip: I don’t think this sandwich travels well. Eat it at a table inside Caputo’s, so the sauce doesn’t have time to make the bread soggy.
Vietnamese coffee pie, Picnic Cafe
Among all of the fruity and citrus-forward pie at last summer’s Pie & Beer Day celebration at Smith’s Ballpark, Picnic Cafe’s Vietnamese coffee pie was unexpected and very welcome.
I can’t get the thought of that delicious, creamy coffee-infused filling out of my head. Watch for it if Picnic Cafe does another Vietnamese-themed popup.
Italian cream cake, Di Napoli
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Italian cream cake at Di Napoli in Orem, Thursday, June 26, 2025.
If a cake and a blueberry muffin had a baby, it would be this Italian cream cake from Di Napoli (29 W. University Parkway, Orem).
The cake had berries baked in here and there, plus a hint of lemon flavor, with mascarpone cream between the cake layers and on top. Fresh berries were served on the side, and a dusting of powdered sugar completed the confection. When I wrote about it in the Utah Eats newsletter, I said, “OMG, THIS CAKE,” and I stand by it.