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!

Review: 365 Breaded Chickenless Nuggets

February 8, 2020October 5, 2019 by Stuart Melling

With all the noise around new meat free brands like Beyond Meat and Gardein, it can be easy to overlook some of the store brands like these meat-free chicken nuggets …

Seapoint Farms Riced Edamame

October 4, 2019 by Stuart Melling

In today’s more health conscious world of cooking, riced vegetables have started to become something of a superstar side dish. Riced cauliflower usually takes all the headlines and plaudits, often …

Alexia Organic Yukon Select Fries

April 8, 2020October 4, 2019 by Stuart Melling

The search for the perfect home cooked French fry is undoubtedly an endless quest. At the farthest end of the spectrum, the ideal fry requires a deep fat fryer, exacting …

Bovine And Swine sausages review

June 9, 2020September 25, 2019 by Stuart Melling

Disclosure: this quartet of sauces was sent to us directly by Bovine And Swine for free, for review purposes.Our thoughts below are our own. There’s an old joke about two …

Whole Foods Vegetable Potstickers

February 8, 2020September 24, 2019 by Stuart Melling

Despite a long standing, “well that was far less impressive than I’d hoped for” malaise when it comes to pot stickers – the attractively clean packaging and $3.99 price point …

Nando’s Peri-Peri Sauce review

October 20, 2019August 26, 2019 by Stuart Melling

Disclosure: this quartet of sauces was sent to us directly by Nando’s USA for free, for review purposes. Our thoughts below are our own. Back in in my home country …

Thai Yellow Curry recipe

April 25, 2020August 25, 2019 by Stuart Melling

I love Thai curries for their ease and flexibility; I use them quite often when I need to use up random vegetables left in the fridge. Got some leftover sweet …

Tyson Naturals Chicken Breast Nuggets

February 8, 2020August 25, 2019 by Stuart Melling

Tyson Naturals Breaded Chicken Breast Nuggets

The packaging promises a superior nugget. The clean packaging, the “Naturals” branding and gluten free labelling – all come together to suggest a much more higher end nugget than some …

Sarayo Sriracha Mayo

September 21, 2019August 25, 2019 by Stuart Melling

Love mayo? Love sriracha? You’ll love sriracha mayo! So goes the premise behind this squeezy sauce from Sarayo. The sauce definitely leans more creamy than spicy. If you’re a fan …

Fast Fixin’ Steak Fingers

September 21, 2019August 25, 2019 by Stuart Melling

Given the relatively low price of this package of steak fingers, and the copious amount of pieces within, I suspected the quality might not be amazing. Still, I love a …