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Stuart Melling

Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you!  I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC - Utah's biggest and oldest online food magazine; I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune.  I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV shows. I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have covered the Utah dining scene for the better part of fifteen years.   I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand.   I started Shop Smart to catalogue my adventures in the grocery store and kitchen.  Follow along on Instagram too!  

Chicken gyro

May 16, 2020 by Stuart Melling
Chicken gyro

Check out our sister site for how to make fabulous Greek style chicken here. Once you’ve got that in hand, you’ve got pretty much all you need to make healthy chicken …

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Categories Dinner Ideas, Greek, Healthy Leave a comment

Lemongrass Tofu Banh Mi

May 16, 2020 by Stuart Melling
Lemongrass tofu banh mi

This one has a lot of moving parts, and requires some advanced prep. After your first but you’re going to agree with me that it’s worth all the time an …

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Categories Dinner Ideas, Healthy, Meat Free, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Leave a comment

Fried Egg over Matchstick Potatoes

May 16, 2020 by Stuart Melling
Fried eggs over matchstick potatoes

This one was completely ripped off the menu of a local restaurant of ours, where we encountered the dish about a decade ago. It has a few delicate components but …

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Categories Comfort Food, Dinner Ideas, Meat Free Leave a comment

Pan fried chick peas and sweet potatoes

May 16, 2020 by Stuart Melling
Pan fried chick peas and sweet potatoes

This plate was the result of savaging through the pantry and freezer but worked remarkably well. The plate is built around pan fried chick peas. Simply drain a can of …

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Categories Dinner Ideas, Healthy, Indian, Meat Free Tags Deep Leave a comment

Orzo with pesto

May 16, 2020 by Stuart Melling
Orzo with olives

The small grains of orzo pasta are perfect for a quality pesto. The light sauce evenly coats the pasta grains. Our favorite comes from a local import store, a mix …

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Categories 30 Minute Meals, Dinner Ideas, Italian, Meat Free Leave a comment

Hasselback potato with chilli and chicken tinga

May 16, 2020 by Stuart Melling
Hasselback potato with chilli and chicken tinga

This one fuses together a few things I love into one gloriously messy and comforting dish: Air fried hasselback potato Home made chicken tinga Home made guacamole Home made chilli  …

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Categories Comfort Food, Dinner Ideas, Mash Up Leave a comment

Enchilada with Home Made Chile Sauce

May 16, 2020 by Stuart Melling
Enchilada with home made chilli sauce

This home made chili sauce is the basis for many of the dish I cook. It’s not particularly difficult, just time consuming. It takes a couple hours to deseed, trim, …

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Categories Dinner Ideas, Healthy, Meat Free, Mexican Leave a comment

Vegan BBQ Plate with MorningStar Popcorn Chikn

May 16, 2020 by Stuart Melling
Vegan BBQ Plate with-MorningStar Popcorn Chikn

This dish actually starts the day before for best results: the potato salad here is best after a night spent mellowing out the refrigerator. My preferred recipe there is: skin …

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Categories Comfort Food, Dinner Ideas, Meat Free Tags MorningStar Farms Leave a comment

Thai Yellow Curry with Cous Cous

May 24, 2020May 16, 2020 by Stuart Melling
Thai Yellow curry with cous cous and MorningStar Farms Popcorn Chikn

Thai yellow curry is a fabulously easy dish to make – you can find my recipe here. All said, you can put together a top notch curry in barely 30 minutes. …

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Categories 30 Minute Meals, Dinner Ideas, Mash Up, Meat Free, Thai Tags Mae Ploy, MorningStar Farms Leave a comment

Chicken Tinga with Pan Fried Crisp Potatoes

May 16, 2020 by Stuart Melling
Chicken tinga with pan fried crispy potatoes

You can find my recipe for chicken tinga here. It’s as simple to make as it is vibrant in taste. Best of all the dish freezes up extremely well. That means …

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Categories Dinner Ideas, Mexican Leave a comment
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  1. Joe on Review: Kroger Pork CarnitasMarch 10, 2024

    I'll never buy again! The package contained fully 12 (out of 16) ounces of pure pork fat. Totally unacceptable. Major…

  2. K B on Review: Van de Kamp’s Crispy Fish FilletsFebruary 28, 2024

    I complained to them and they sent me a measly $4 coupon to buy them again.’they won’t be in my…

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    I like them if you add water to the hamburger. When it's cooking it won't be so much grace

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    I had some for dinner last night . The first bite was so spicy, I had trouble getting back into…

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    YES!!! I both them a little bit ago and made them but they taste like they have permanent freezer burn…

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