By Nathan Sharp
With a trendy urban lounge setting, Spark offers Provo residents a distinct out-of-Utah dining experience.
Opened last summer on the ground floor of the Wells Fargo building at 86 N. University Ave., Spark creates a non-traditional atmosphere found nowhere near Provo.
“There is nothing like Spark in Provo, or maybe even Utah,” Spark owner Blake Ballard said. “I wanted to set a new standard and be a first-mover in a niche that was bound to hit Provo sooner or later.”
Following his 2007 BYU graduation in accounting, Ballard moved to San Jose to work for a large tech firm. Finding the job experience not what he hoped for, Ballard took interest in the California restaurant and club scene. He began to use all his free time (and bored work time) developing the idea of opening his own restaurant.
Despite not knowing much about the food service industry, or if a sophisticated restaurant like Spark would work in chain-restaurant dominated Utah Valley, Ballard decided to return to give Provo a try.
“It doesn”t matter who you are, but we all want to go somewhere from time to time where you leave the world at the door and step into something different,” Ballard said. “A lot of people in this town, and not just college students, crave an experience that is a little more sophisticated and unique.”
The restaurant, offering food based on French techniques, fused with Japanese, Spanish and California influences, hopes to attract both BYU students and local residents looking for an unmatched dining experience. The creator of Spark”s menu is Chef Viet Pham, who studied at the California Culinary Academy and worked at the Fifth Floor, a high-end San Francisco restaurant.
Pham said he was not initially excited to move away from California to work in Provo, but his experiences at Spark have since been enjoyable.
“I think this will be a breath of fresh air for Provo,” Pham said in a previous interview. “I think people here want something more trendy with a nightlife, and I think this is going to be it.”
At first glance, the restaurant looks out of place in downtown Provo. The large plate-glass windows at the front of the restaurant open on the darkly lit dining room with its candle-lit tables, eye-caching chandeliers and darkly dressed waiters. Stepping off bleak University Ave., Spark transports the diner into a trendy restaurant in New York or San Francisco.
Diners can sit in the dining room, featuring intimate small black tables in the front of the restaurant; or they may elect for the lounge in the rear of the restaurant, featuring a more relaxed setting with couches and music. There is also a small loft, which can be reserved for parties or group gatherings.
Continuing with the feel of a lounge restaurant, Spark features a bar with a creative array of non-alcoholic drinks, perfectly suiting the predominant LDS demographic area.
“When I decided to start Spark, it was all based on the idea that there are thousands of people in the area who have no interest in alcohol,” Ballard said. “Still, many of those same people do have an interest in having social and culinary experiences similar to those you”d have in a swank, big-city restaurant bar or lounge. I wanted to prove that you could have the same type of experience even if alcohol was missing from the equation.”
Such virgin drinks include mango mojito, Shirley Temple, bellini and peartini. The mojito, drowned by the strong local mint flavor, needs a little tinkering, as I rendered it almost unpalatable. The Shirley Temple, on the other hand, punchy and flavorful, was virtual eye candy.
The appetizers and entrees at Spark highlight Pham”s unique experience creating artistic culinary masterpieces. The appetizers ($5-12) included ”dueling edamame” (soy beans in pods), butternut squash soup, citrus duck and shrimp on the plancha (grill). The entrees ($17-24) include 720-minute Short Rib, Roasted Pork Tenderloin, Pan-seared Arctic Char and Scallops Three-Ways.
The food arrived quickly, and although the typical diner would expect larger portions, an average foodie would relish the great presentation aesthetic. The pork, served with polenta, shiitake mushroom broth and baby onions was tender beyond belief and well liked. The chicken, with bacon white bean stew, red cabbage and mustard caramel, was also tender, helped by a sumptuous mustard caramel sauce. The interesting sides to the entrees show Pham”s creativity and culinary genius.
Spark may not be the answer to Provo”s trend-challenged downtown scene, but it”s a good start.
