Cooking up business.

• Author: Hengesbaugh, Mark Gerard
• Position: Executivedining - Restaurants targeting executives

Dining out is a significant part of doing business. No one knows this better than those in the business of dining. Whether it's a refreshing break from ringing telephones at noon, a time-crunch lunch or schmoozing a client over an elegant dinner, local restaurateurs who cater to business executives strive to deliver more than meals, providing thoughtful service and an atmosphere conducive to communication.

For restaurants that aim to please the business crowd, convenient location is important, says Heather Blume, general manager of Bambara, a busy downtown Salt Lake restaurant. But plenty of other restaurants are close and convenient, so attention to ambience is critical. "We make sure when someone walks in the door of Bambara, they know they're in a special place," she says of the restaurant's elegant brass and glass restoration of the Continental Bank building's street level.

Both artful in design and cosmopolitan in decor, Bambara presents diners with an atmosphere that could as easily be in New York or San Francisco as on Main Street Salt Lake City And that's the point. "Often, surprised visitors say, 'You have restaurants like this in Salt Lake?' They find out we're not in a backwater here," says Blume.

But the atmosphere and character of a business dining spot comes from more than decor. Tradition and reputation provide a robust ambience as well. Down the street from Bambara, Utah's oldest restaurant, Lambs, is a time-honored oasis for local powerbrokers who dine and deal at its dark wood booths and mile-long counter backed by smoky mirrors.

At Lambs, you regularly see locally famous faces. "Some days we might have all the bankruptcy court judges in here," says owner John Speros. "When Sen. Hatch is in town, he comes in to eat too. He doesn't step to the front of the line, though. We treat everybody the same. At our counter, you may see Jon Huntsman sitting next to a guy who doesn't have two nickels to rub together."

Speros says he doesn't do anything special to attract the business crowd except to serve high-quality food quickly, at a price that's easy to swallow. "But I know my customers, too. When the legislature's in session, we may have one room full of Republican legislators and another full of Democrats. We have to know where to place each of them." He says they get a lot of local lawyers and have learned to seat opposing counsel at booths in entirely different zip codes.

While Speros recognizes decades of faces at Lambs, Blume...