15 years ago, @blake_spalding and the farmers at our 6.5 acre farm planted hundreds of asparagus crowns at Hell’s Backbone’s No-Harm Farm that we call Blaker’s Acres. Our farm was established in 2005 and is now in its 21st year!
These beautiful green spears are one of the first things we harvest each season and our favorite flavor of spring. Cared for properly, they’re a perennial delight, growing anew each April and May and then gracing our menu for about 6 weeks.
This year, we’re refreshing the asparagus beds with 200 new crowns that we’ll be carefully placing this week while it’s still cool.
We serve the tender shoots lightly sautéed with our she-devil hot sauce laced hollandaise, that’s made with egg yolks from our no-kill flock of industrious chickens (who also eat all of our kitchen and leftover plate scrapings, keeping edible material out of the trash bins).
This dish brings together everything we envisioned this restaurant to be: home-grown, freshly harvested, healthy food, brought from our hands and hearts directly to your belly.
photos by @marykmcintyre featuring our dear lead farmer Birdie & head chef Tyler Warren 💚
:::🌟New Episode Alert🌟:::
📍 @hellsbackbonegrill & @littlebonefoodtruck
Boulder | UT
KUTV2 10 AM or
TasteUtah Youtube 10:30 AM
This week on Taste Utah, we take you inside the incomparable Hell’s Backbone Grill & Farm: a place where food, land, and community are deeply intertwined.
Founded by co-owners and best friends Jen Castle and Blake Spalding, this beloved destination sits on the edge of Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument and offers more than just a meal; it offers connection.
From elevated dining to their Little Bone food truck favorites, every dish tells a story rooted in heritage, sustainability, and a profound love of place.
Tune in Saturday at 10AM on KUTV2 or 10:30AM on YouTube.
#tasteutah #taste #utahrestaurants #tasteutahrestaurants #farm
We hope you saved room for dessert!
Our rotating offering of sweets usually has something for everyone... from the famed rich and creamy Chocolate Chile Cream Pot to Bread Pudding featuring local fruit (farm cherry this week!) or silky Panna Cotta made with chamomile + honey and topped with a blueberry + rosemary coulis.
Pair it with a mug of freshly brewed decaf coffee, tea or a night cap from the bar and we promise you’ll sleep well 😴
Happy Earth Day ✨ 🌎✨
Today and everyday we are so incredibly grateful for this wondrous place on this planet we call home. These lands feed and nourish the bodies, minds, and souls of so many beings.
Our dear founder @blake_spalding was in Washington, DC this week with @conservationlands continuing the fight to save Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument along with so many of our public lands heroes.
Thank you Bruce Babbitt, David Brooks, @dbxdc politigator @repstansbury , @repsusielee , @repgrijalva , filmmaker, author and scholar Angelo Baca, Public Lands activist Natasha Hale, and all the others out there advocating on behalf of our public lands. We’re so grateful for your work defending wildlife, wilderness, clean air and water, and the diversity of life on planet Earth.
The future of our public lands are always worth fighting for. Please join us in calling your representatives and urging them to Save Grand Staircase, to vote no on the CRA which would overturn the management plan, to leave the Roadless Rule in place (and remind them of all the other things you care about, too 😉).
Happy to be sharing and walking this miraculous Planet Earth with all of you 🫶🏼 ~ The Hellions
#savegrandstaircase #protectwhatmatters @saveplanetearth
photos 2, 4, 6 by @marykmcintyre
Thanks @satevepost for giving us some Bucket List love! In case you didn’t hear the news... as of last year, we (along with our dear hellions Nina Brownell, Nick Barretta, and Morgan Reedy) are now the proud owners of the Boulder Mountain Lodge!
We’re beyond delighted to be bringing our vision of higher consciousness hospitality to this rural oasis in the high desert of Southern Utah.
Having spent the past 25 years on this property running @hellsbackbonegrill , we’re thrilled about this new chapter and all the possibilities ahead. For almost three decades now, the Boulder Mountain Lodge has been a home base for visitors exploring this immense and unique landscape. Nestled in the heart of Boulder, a town of 250 people, the Lodge provides an increasingly rare experience of peace and wilderness, while still offering modern amenities to enhance comfort and convenience.
Together with @hellsbackbonegrill &
farm, @littlebonefoodtruck , the @bouldermountainlodgeutah is committed to the values of abundant hospitality, ecological stewardship, and community responsibility.
The first photo of founding chefs @blake_spalding and @jenner11 was taken 20 years ago... and they’re still at it! Final photo by @withloveut of the duo enjoying the lodge’s orchard last summer. ✨
On the menu this weekend: crispy skin-on, pan-seared steelhead trout with grapefruit tarragon beurre blanc (we don’t mind if you lick your plate 😋) served with parsley’d jasmine rice and organic vegetables.
There’s a reason this dish has been a mainstay on our menu for so long! It’s on the lighter side compared to our meatloaf and tenderloin yet perfectly filling after a day out wandering the canyons and oh so delicious.
Thank you to Hell’s Backbone for such a special visit! 💫
On our recent road trip, Brady and I were fortunate to visit this incredible restaurant run by Blake Spaulding and Jen Castle in rural Boulder, Utah near Grand Staircase-Escalante Natl. Monument.
This is season 27 serving delicious regional dishes, made with produce grown on their local farm!
🌶️
Hell’s Backbone is a beacon of hope, a daily practice in devotion to a better world. I felt so inspired to be here and witness everything they have created, despite all odds. It’s not easy to run a biz in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by people who may not share your values, but as we’ve learned with DRAM, it can be a recipe for success.
Every dish was perfection at dinner, and we came back for breakfast at the Little Bone food truck, where we are honored to have DRAM drinks for sale!
Thank you for the reminder to keep fighting the good fight, and the beauty that is created along the way. 🌻🔥🕊️
FDT!!!
To have Lambros Farms featured on the menu of a top tier establishment is nothing short of an honor.
Hell’s Backbone Grill is a true farm to table restaurant, so seeing every cut of my lamb being utilized for different creations to be served is truly something remarkable. Grateful for what we do and the opportunity to provide the community with local lamb.
We can’t wait to see you this weekend! Everyone is welcome to join our Easter Egg Hunt tomorrow — Saturday, April 4th — at 11am on the @bouldermountainlodgeutah grounds.
There will be eggs to find, treats to eat, and warm beverages to drink. We hope you can join us! Little Bone will be open for our regular hours from 7:30- 2pm.
Kiddos should meet in front of the Lodge office by 11 am with a bag or basket 🪺🐇🌷 Happy Spring!
Thank you City Weekly! From the 36th annual Best of Utah awards (chosen by over 15,000 voters!!), we’re honored to bring you the Best Meatloaf in the state!
Find @blake_spalding ‘s treasured recipe in our first cookbook, With a Measure of Grace. Our Spicy Cowgal Chipotle Meatloaf remains a tried-and-true favorite since the early days of the restaurant, now 27 years ago!
It’s crafted with extra-flavorful local grass-fed & finished beef & bison, smothered in our spicy backbone sauce and served alongside lemony mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables. Yum!
Blake is in the dining room most nights and is happy to personalize a cookbook for you, or find it in local bookshops or our online store, link in bio 🙌
Hell’s Backbone Grill & Farm is one of those rare, unforgettable experiences tucked away in the tiny desert town of Boulder.
This isn’t just farm-to-table…it’s farm-to-fork, same-day magic ✨With a 6-acre organic farm just steps away, nearly everything on your plate is grown, harvested, and prepared with intention.
Owned by chefs Blake Spalding and Jen Castle who are the nicest most passionate. This place is built on more than incredible food, it’s rooted in sustainability, community, and a deep love for the land.
This was the best meal we have ever had. The customer service was like nothing we’ve experienced, everyone was so helpful and amazing.
This is your sign to stop. Trust me, you’ll be thinking about it long after you leave 💛
🎥: BISON NY STRIP, SPICY COWGAL CHIPOTLE
MEATLOAF, DARK MAGIC PEAR GINGERBREAD 🤌🏼
📍 20 N Hwy 12, Boulder, UT
🕒 Open Thursday–Monday | 4–9 PM
