Shorts Program is my new film favorite at the Sundance Film Festival.  Though full length feature films give you a 90 minute in-depth movie experience, a Shorts Program provides five different films filling the same time period. The way I look at it, you get five times the enjoyment during your 90 minutes of film watching.

Though the Sundance Film Festival has long since packed up and cleared out of Park City, Utah, my yearning for “five times the enjoyment” has not. When my husband. Jay, and I celebrated with a “date night” at Deer Valley, we were excited to find the opportunity to try the “Mariposa Tasting Experience.”

Looks like I found what I was looking for. The experience reminded me of an award winning “Shorts Program,” but for dining.

You see, the “Mariposa Tasting Experience” is unique. Rather than choosing one entree, guests choose a variety of small plates.  Our waiter recommended we make 4-5 choices plus a dessert. So we did!

Now, of course, date night in and of itself is inherently fun. It’s just the two of us, out for a romantic dinner, celebrating life and, in our case, our 20 year partnership in marriage. Spicing things up by experimenting with new, unique, and abundant culinary delights added five times the enjoyment to date night.

Each special small course at the Mariposa had enough to enjoy, to share and not too much to preclude us from trying another. Our date night at the Mariposa started with:

A bottle of red wine from the Mariposa’s extensive wine list. As transplants from California, we have long enjoyed wines from Napa and Sonoma so we chose a Cabernet from Sonoma.

 

Bison Carpaccio- with wilted spinach. This was a first for me.  Wonderful!

Quail – I might have had quail in the past, I don’t recall but I certainly won’t forget this quail dish!

Sorbet – Jay and I shared three different types of sorbet with my favorite being green tea. To my delight, it was served with a tiny fortune cookie that included an edible fortune – a new experience!

Whether you dine at the Mariposa with family, friends or just your sweetheart, consider coming with an empty stomach and bringing an appetite for culinary adventures.

If you are coming for date night, though, be sure to experiment with a few new interesting dishes to spice up your night.

For more information on the menu and to make reservations, click here.