Dog Days: A Kitchen Without Walls

It seems every restaurant and every chef would like to claim the label of “farm to table” and the image it evokes in the minds of diners: fresh local vegetables, hand-picked fruits, ethically sourced proteins — real food! But how many menus can really back it up when more and more food is coming off the back of a Sysco truck? Dylan Brady, founder and chef at Dog Days Kitchen, is committed to the difference, and his expertise starts in the soil.

After receiving a degree in Sustainable Agriculture from the University of Montana, Brady spent the last seven years working at and running farms all over the country, including Four Season Farm in Maine under Eliot Coleman, whom many credit with popularizing organic agriculture in America. “Coming up in farming, you’re so close to the food that you’re eating,” Brady explains. Growing food is where he first fell in love with it. “The first Sungold tomato of the season, right off the vine, is the most beautiful food experience you can have,” he gushes. “It’s food in its purest form.” When circumstances forced him to close his own Dog Days Farm in Missoula, Brady moved to Salt Lake and dove into the culinary scene.

“The first Sungold tomato of the season, right off the vine, is the most beautiful food experience you can have.”

After working in a few kitchens, most recently at Central 9th Market, Brady and friends Ali Mahmoud and Noah Bosen Urabnik came together to start doing pop-ups with a focus on farm-fresh produce under the Dog Days name. They’ve primarily operated out of the C9 Market kitchen to do creative one-off menus, expanding the range of what pop-up food can be by drawing on fine-dining influences. Classic French dishes like Coq au Vin (red wine braised chicken), Vichyssoise (a cold leak and potato soup) and Radish Toast might define one event while Rack of Lamb in a sauce of honey, dates and lavender, North African Orzo soup or Egyptian Dirty Rice are featured on the next — and none of it seems like your classic takeout fare.

From Italian-influenced Eggplant Parm Sandwiches (with Calabrian chile aioli) to an East Asian-inspired menu, nothing is off limits. “A lot of that speaks to our backgrounds as a threesome,” Brady explains. “Ali is Egyptian-American, so he has all these really cool recipes and flavors that we haven’t gotten to experience, while I’m passionate about French intensive agriculture and French cooking in general.”

Whatever the cuisine, the emphasis is solidly on high-quality and farm-driven ingredients, leading Brady to describe their food as “elevated takeout.” The produce is locally sourced, and next to nothing comes from the mass market suppliers — but that doesn’t mean it isn’t accessible. “I think a lot of ‘farm-to-table’ is this formidable thing that is only approachable through tweezer food or making these beautiful plates of perfectly placed peas,” Brady laments. But with Dog Days, making ethical decisions and buying quality food won’t break a tight budget. “The consumer can go up and feel good about spending money on something that isn’t a $300 seated menu, although we want to do those kinds of things too,” he says, laughing.

“What I think is so beautiful about bringing it onto the farm is you’re directly connected to the produce that we’re cooking with.”

The goal for these three SLC transplants has been to heighten what takeout and pop-ups can be while keeping the emphasis on the agriculture; and that continues to emerge in their move to using farms as venues. Recent events at Gracie’s Farm and Copper Moose Farm, both in the Park City area, let the chefs cook with 100% fresh produce directly out of the ground. “What I think is so beautiful about bringing it onto the farm is you’re directly connected to the produce that we’re cooking with,” Brady says. “What a beautiful closed-loop that is!”

Dog Days Kitchen has no plans to open a full brick-and-mortar restaurant, and that’s not their priority anyway. “If there is an end goal,” waxes Brady, “[It’d] be buying a farm to host dinners there or host dinners off site with our vegetables.”

Read more about people committed to bringing the best food to the community:
Rico Brand Brings the Taste of Mexico to Utah Homes
Doyoung Kimchi: DIY Festival Craft Food

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