Salt Lake City’s Central 9th Granary neighborhood keeps getting more and more enticing, from a food and drink perspective. Pioneering Meditrina restaurant and the Central 9th Market came first, then Water Witch, Nohm, Laziz Kitchen, Scion Cider Bar, TF Brewing,The Pearl, Blue Copper Coffee, Bar Nohm, and Snowmobile Kitchen. Now, add an interesting Italianesque cafe/bar called Cosmica to that growing list.
Cosmica is the creation of owner/chef Zachary Wade and is named as an homage to the venerable Cosmic Aeroplane, the countercultural book and record shop that opened in 1967 and specialized in hippie merchandise like beads, underground newspapers, pipes, rolling papers, incense, jewelry, and other head shop paraphernalia. It closed in 1991.
Self-described as an Italian Diner & Natural Wine Bar, Cosmica has an appealing vibe – part spaghetti western, part kitsch (note the painting of the owner’s dog Leo behind the bar), part vintage, and totally unique.
The menu is mostly simple Italian fare with classic culinary categories: Antipasti, Insalate, Pizza, Contorni, Pasta, Secondi, and Dolce. Note: As in Italy, guests aren’t expected to order antipast and pasta or pizza and a main course (secondi). There’s nothing wrong in Italy or here with making pasta or pizza your main course.
Tuna Crudo
Antipasti items include Italian classics like Arancini ($13), Prosciutto di Parma ($17), Olives with Chips & Peanuts ($11), and House Puffy Bread with olive oil, herbs, and Grana Padano cheese. Not so classic antipasti such as Elk Carpaccio ($22), Glazed Pork Ribs ($17), and Snap Peas with Pecorino Romano, mint, lemon and olive oil ($14) also dot the menu. I loved the Tuna Crudo ($23) with sushi-grade bluefin tuna, Castelvetrano olive pieces, house-salted chilies, lemon zest, pink peppercorn aioli, and spicy pane carasau chips – the latter being thin Sardinia-style crisp flatbread.
The wine program at Cosmica is notable insofar as it is 100 percent Italian with an emphasis on natural, low intervention wines and includes a selection of macerato (orange) wines. We enjoyed a bottle of La Morella “Il Monte” 2022 made from Piemonte Cortese. There’s a comfy bar at Cosmica where beverages range from Aperitivi like the Amaro Highball of the Day, and house cocktails including caffeinated drinks, as well as beer, coffee, tea, and alcohol free offerings like Amaro Falso and Peroni non-alcoholic Lager.
Pork & Fennel Sausage Pizza…