Salt Lake Magazine March-April 2022

I S FA K E S N OW TH E F U T U RE O F U TA H S K I I N G? MAGAZINE OF THE MOUNTAINWEST

SALTLAKEMAGAZINE.COM

Chef's Choice

DI N I NG AWA RDS Utah’s Best Chefs Pick Their Favorite Chefs

SOCIAL BUTTERFLIES Why do so many influencers call Utah home?

SPRING BREAK FOR ADULTS

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of Utah’s best spa experiences

ROAD TRIP: WASHINGTON April 2022

The brighter side of rainy Washington

$4.95

Display until April 30, 2022

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T H E C H A R L E ST O N D R A P E R E V E N I N G

F E S T I V E

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D I N I N G

C U I S I N E

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A

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B R U N C H

1 4 7 - Y E A R - O L D

Dinner Monday – Sunday 5pm – 9pm

1229 Pioneer Rd, Draper

W E E K E N D

Reser vations 801.550.9348

H O M E

Brunch Saturday– Sunday 10am – 2pm

Open Table

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www.thechar lestondraper.com

T H E

E N O U G H TO

P R O M I S E

G E T

O F

S P R I N G ’ S

A R R I VA L

A N YO N E T H R O U G H T H E

I S

C O L D

W I N T E R !

Looking forward to expanding our outdoor patios and welcoming spring and our guests to The Charleston Draper. It’s been another long winter. See you soon!

- Chef Marco Silva and The Charleston Draper team

contents

MARCH /APRIL 2022

FEATURES

47 DINING AWARDS: CHEF’S CHOICE

BY JEREMY PUGH

This year, we asked some of the best chefs in Utah to nominate their favorite chefs and restaurants.

The 2022 Salt Lake Magazine Dining Awards honors the chefs, demonstrating the Utah dining industry’s love and camaraderie.

56 ROAD TRIP:

WASHINGTON

BY TONY GILL

We’re hitting the road to the Pacific Northwest. By car, bike, boat or foot, experience Washington’s alchemy of natural beauty and distinct culture— with its influential music and coffee scenes—while indulging in unique food and drink at every turn.

64 UNDER THE INFLUENCE

BY JOSH PETERSEN & CHRISTIE PORTER

ON THE COVER PHOTO BY ADAM FINKLE

The 2022 Dining Awards features seven chefs (and their signature dishes) united in their love of making good food for Utah.

Since the advent of the Mormon mommy blogger, Utah families have been at the forefront of sharing their personal lives online. Utah stars on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube share the stories behind their success.

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contents

13 the hive

BY SALT L AKE STAFF

This spring break, ditch the kids and relax at one of Utah’s top spas. Discover spring break for adults. Take along a book from our list of fresh reads for spring.

Spring offers sweet conditions for skiers, but the Greatest Snow on Earth has a dirty secret.

35 park city

BY TONY GILL

Park City hosts the NCAA Ski Championships, and the post-ski drink is a must. No matter how you après, there’s a place for you.

73

on the table

BY SALT L AKE STAFF

The Gateway is bouncing back with a swell of new bars and restaurants, turning it into an unlikely dining destination.

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bar fly

BY SALT L AKE STAFF

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The new Laurel Brasserie & Bar shows us the accessible side of The Grand America.

104 last page

BY JEREMY PUGH

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In Southern Utah, you’ll see the Kokopelli symbol everywhere.

What’s the story behind this enigmatic figure?

volume 32 number 2 Salt Lake magazine (ISSN# 1524-7538) is published bimonthly (February, April, June, August, October and December) by Utah Partners Publishing, Ltd. Editorial, advertising and administrative offices: 515 S. 700 East, Suite 3i, SLC, UT 84102. Telephone 801-485-5100; fax 801-485-5133. Subscriptions: One year ($24.95); for shipping outside the U.S. add $45. Toll-free subscription number: 877-553-5363. Periodicals Postage Paid at Salt Lake City, Utah, and additional mailing offices. Copyright 2022, JES Publishing Corp. No whole or part of the contents may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission of Salt Lake magazine, excepting individually copyrighted articles and photographs. Manuscripts accompanied by SASE are accepted, but no responsibility will be assumed for unsolicited contributions. POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to Salt Lake magazine, PO Box 820, Boca Raton, FL 33429.

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S E L L I N G U TA H ’ S M O ST

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View U t a h’s m os t d is tin c tive p ro p e r tie s at s u m m it s oth e bys re alt y.c o m This material is based upon information that we consider reliable, but because it has been supplied by third parties, we cannot represent that it is accurate or complete, including price, or withdrawal without notice; square footage is an estimate only. ©MMXXII Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a licensed trademark to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. An Equal Opportunity Company. Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated. Copyright© Summit Sotheby’s International Realty 2022.

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Salt Lake magazine is published six times a year by Utah Partners Publishing, Ltd. The entire contents of Salt Lake magazine are copyrighted and may not be reproduced without the expressed written consent of the publisher. Salt Lake magazine accepts no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts and/or photographs and assumes no liability for products or services advertised herein.

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The Canyon art installation by Gordon Huether

PHASE 2 IS COMING IN 2023-24.

It’s been a year since The New Salt Lake International Airport opened its doors and gates to the world. The views, the technology, the efficiencies, the space—they’ve all helped make The New SLC Airport one of the most modern and beautiful to travel through.

But we’re not done yet and The New SLC is going to get even better.

Work on Phase 2 (set for completion in 2023-2024) has begun, and when finished, will offer even more flights to more destinations, more shops, more restaurants, more art installations, and shorter walking distances between terminals.

Get to know all about your new SLC at slcairport.com

EDITOR’S LETTER

‘Chef’s Choice’

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M ARCH/APRIL 2 0 2 2

To a person, each one of the nominators and nominees we talked to create this year’s Dining Awards echoed Fuller’s acknowledgment of this lingering, outdated vision of Utah dining. There is a solidarity among Utah’s food stars who, frankly, have a chip on their shoulders.

“People who travel a lot always tell us,” Fuller continued. “Oquirrh could be in New York or Chicago or this or that place. It’s kind of a backhanded compliment.”

It is.

We have our own thing. We’ve had it for a long time and it keeps getting better and more diverse. So, we’ll keep beating that drum. These chefs deserve your dollars, your time and your curiosity. And, we once again, hope our attention will help you discover the greatness in your own backyard.

Jeremy Pugh

PHOTO ADAM FINKLE

E V E R Y Y E A R Salt Lake magazine hands out its Dining Awards to standouts in Utah’s dining scene.

This year we decided that we wouldn’t decide. Instead, we asked the top names in the city’s food and beverage biz to tell us who they think are the top chefs and restaurants. We discovered a whole lotta love. See, the players in Utah’s dining scene are fighting a lot. They’re fighting Byzantine liquor law and chain competition paired with stubbornly unadventurous Utah palates (more on that in a minute) that opts for quantity over quality. (“The food’s terrible but the portions are amazing!”)

All of this and a bloody pandemic.

But they are not fighting each other.

The nominators in our Chef ’s Choice edition of the Salt Lake Magazine Dining Awards (page 47) each graciously and enthusiastically pointed out one of their peers (technically competitors) for recognition, without hesitation. Because, as Andrew Fuller of Oquirrh Restaurant opined, “I’ll just say it, Utah still has this stigma that nothing is going on in the food scene and the only thing to eat is Café Rio. And that is not the case. We are all fighting together to prove that wrong.”

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O U T D O O R S

PHOTO CREDIT UTAH SYMPHONY AND OPERA

Cirque de la Symphonie runs at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 23 and 24 at Abravanel Hall. For tickets and info visit utahsympony.org.

HIGH-FLYING FEATS OF SYMPHONICS

T

H I S A P R I L , T H E U TA H S Y M P H O N Y will

provide the classical score for a three-ring circus in Abravanel Hall, that is more cirque than circus. Its spring performance, Cirque de la Symphonie, will showcase the dramatic feats of acrobats, aerial flyers, strongmen, jugglers and contortionists. This we have to see, but our only question is how they’re going to get the elephants on stage. Kidding. There are no elephants. Visit utahsymphony.org for more.

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SHOP

FRESH READS FOR SPRING The Children’s Hour has new book recommendations for the whole family

THE CHILDREN’S HOUR BOOKSTORE

S

P R I N G I S T H E S E A S O N of fresh start and renewal. It’s when we plant the first seeds in the garden or tackle the big cleaning projects we’ve been putting off all year. While we might not look forward to spring cleaning, spring reading is a reason to celebrate and can offer the same refreshed feeling and sense of accomplishment, only for our brains. Diane Etherington is the owner of The Children’s Hour Bookstore in Salt Lake City, and she gives us new book recommendations, for all ages, to get everyone reading this spring.

Diane Etherington

FOR THE KIDS George and His Nighttime Friends by Seng Soun Ratanavanh (2021 Princeton Architectural Press) George has trouble sleeping, but he learns to overcome his fear of the dark with the help of his new nighttime friends, a cast of adorable animals. “This is a cute story and the illustrations are just stupendous,” says Etherington. “They have to be for me to have it in the store.”

Here We Are: Book of Animals & Here We Are: Book of Numbers by Oliver Jeffers (2021 Philomel Books) Charming board book companions, one all about the animals we share our planet with and the other a counting book about the planets themselves. “I truly believe that it’s a good idea to buy books you like to read

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For 38 years, The Children’s Hour Bookstore has been a local purveyor of books in Salt Lake City’s 9th & 9th neighborhood in some form or another.

Owner Diane Etherington, a voracious reader and book collector, started out by selling hardback children’s books.

But, as more and more people started asking her, “what books have you read lately?” she didn’t want them to have to go somewhere else to buy her recommendations. Now, The Children’s Hour Bookstore sells books for all ages, as well as cozy gifts, toys and home goods (also for all ages). 898 S. 900 East, SLC, 801-359-4150, childrenshourbookstore.com as much as your children, so you don’t get bored,” says Etherington. “These books are so interesting, your 2-year-old will love them, and so will you.”

This is a Gift For You by Emily Winfield Martin (2021 Random House Books for Young Readers) This book is billed as “a poetic tribute to the simple joys of life and nature, and a reminder that the greatest gift we have is time spent together.” Of the author and illustrator, Etherington says, “She’s a wonderful artist. A new book from her is a special event.” She adds, “It’s not so much a story as it is a celebration of you, the reader. It’s for kids, but it’s a meaningful gift to adults as well.” Etherington pulled one stanza as an example of the book’s poetry and universality, “The gift of quiet / and the gift of loud, / your hand in my hand / out in a crowd.”

PHOTOS ADAM FINKLE

BY CHRISTIE PORTER

FOR MIDDLE READERS BOB written by Wendy Mass & Rebecca Stead & illustrated by Nicholas Gannon (2018 Feiwel & Friends)

EARLY READERS Anne Arrives: Inspired by Anne of Green Gables written by Kallie George & illustrated by Abigail Halpin (2018 Tundra Books) This is the first book in a series that imagines the early beginnings of the beloved Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables. “Darling illustrations,” says Etherington. “Perfect for an early reader in first or second grade.”

Astrid the Unstoppable by Maria Parr (2018 Candlewick) With energy similar to Pippi Longstocking, this is the story of a girl in a mountain village whose motto is “speed and self-confidence.” Etherington says, “An engaging cover and story. She [Astrid] is very outgoing and goes on lots of adventures.”

Livy visits her grandmother in Australia, where she is reintroduced to Bob, a strange, green creature who lives in a closet. In this tale of friendship, they try to solve the mystery of where Bob came from while keeping his existence a secret. “This book is hilarious and a lot of fun,” says Etherington, “but it’s also warm and touching.”

The Beatryce Prophecy written by Kate DiCamillo & illustrated by Sophie Blackall (2021 Candlewick) A princess survives a coup, escaping the castle and taking refuge in a monastery, but someone is still after her. “Everyone gets excited about her new books,” says Etherington of DiCamillo, the author of The Tale Of Despereaux, which received the Newbery Medal. “This is another excellent addition.”

Daring Darleen, Queen of the Screen by Anne Nesbet (2020 Candlewick) A staged kidnapping turns very real, and 12-year-old Darleen, silent film star, comes to the rescue of a young heiress. “This is a fun mystery-adventure story,” says Etherington.

Pax: Journey Home written by Sara Pennypacker & illustrated by Jon Klassen (2021 Balzer + Bray) A sequel to Pax, Journey Home follows the diverging paths of a boy and his pet fox, who reunite after a year apart under dire circumstances, making for a nuanced wartime story about heartbreak and finding home.

Snow & Rose by Emily Winfield Martin (2017 Random House Books for Young Readers) Another offering by Martin, but this one for middle readers, is a reimagined fairytale about “Snow White and Rose Red.” Etherington praises Martin’s original take on the story and her “beautiful illustrations.”

The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett: A Novel by Annie Lyons (2020 William Morrow) An elderly woman believes she is ready to die until a little girl moves in next door and becomes entranced by the older woman.

“This is a story about what happens when you care for other people and how that love can affect a giant change in others,” says Etherington. “You’ll be dying to know what’s going to happen.”

The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson (2020 Crown)

FOR GROWN UPS PHOTOS ADAM FINKLE

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (2021 Knopf) The story is told from the perspective of Klara, an “Artificial Friend” observing strange human behavior as she waits in a store for someone to buy her. “This book raises a lot of interesting questions about artificial life,” says Etherington.

“It makes for great discussion and conversation.”

Splendid chronicles Winston Churchill’s first year in office as Prime Minister—from the Nazi invasion of Holland, Belgium through Dunkirk and London during the Blitz—as he works to keep both his country and his family together. “This book gives you a window into what happened. Things you would never know,” says Etherington. “It describes the outrageous characters in Churchill’s family and shows how people go ahead and live their lives, even as the bombs are coming.”

FOR YOUNG ADULTS The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee (2019 G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers) In the post-Reconstruction South, Jo Kuan works as a maid for a wealthy Atlanta family, but moonlights as an advice columnist, writing under a pseudonym. She challenges society’s narrow views on race and gender, and some people aren’t too happy about that. “You get to know this fabulous character as you learn about her life and the mistreatment she faces,” says Etherington.

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THE HIVE

HIGH PROFILE

LANDMARK MOMENT Meet the man behind Salt Lake’s grand hotel

BY JEREMY PUGH

is Salt Lake City’s landmark hotel. As in, it is literally a landmark. Its greygranite facade is visible from all over the valley. For 19 years, Bruce Fery has been running The Grand and also, since 2011, the Holding family’s portfolio of independently owned properties including Little Americas in Arizona, Wyoming and Utah; The Westgate Hotel in San Diego; and two iconic ski resorts, Sun Valley and Snowbasin.

Not bad for a kid who started working at his dad’s hotel in Idaho.

Fery grew up in Boise, where his father was in the timber business but also owned two modest hotels.

As a young man, Fery started working at the properties. He comes by his passion for the hospitality business honestly. “I worked everything from housekeeping to the front desk and I loved being around the guests,” he says. “I fell in love with this work.”

Fery has only worked for three companies his entire career and all have been family-run businesses.

He started with the Holding family (the owners of Sinclair Oil) in 2003 and says he’s never had the displeasure of working in the corporate world.

“Working for a family business is a unique situation,” he says.

“We’re able to be nimble and

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quick. We enjoy a lot of autonomy.

We use that freedom to focus on our guests.”

That ability to pivot quickly was essential over these last two years.

“Who would have guessed that we’d experience a worldwide pandemic?” he asks. “It brought on challenges and hardship that were previously unimaginable for both our company and our employees.”

In the interest of public health, Fery had to shutter the two ski resorts at the height of winter and end the season early in what was at that point a record year for Sun Valley and Snowbasin. “How do you do that? I grew up going to Sun Valley and it was one of the hardest things to end the season early,” he says. “I’m proud of our employees who had the courage and loyalty to help us quickly close down to safeguard our staff and guests. It was such a tough time.”

Then, like everyone, especially hoteliers they had to entirely reimagine business across the board. “We had to establish a new normal.”

To help employees who were either furloughed or on limited hours during the height of the lockdown, the company set up a foundation, called Serve, that has helped by doling out more than 400 grants to help with medical bills, rent and other needs. And through it all, he’s

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Grand America General Manager Bruce Fery shows off the hotel’s new bar/restaurant space The Laurel, for more see page 99

proud to say The Grand, the flagship, never shut its doors and also completed some major renovations.

“Our approach was to create a safe environment and hold on for the day when people would be comfortable traveling again,” Fery says.

And a funny thing happened; while business travelers dropped off for a while, the locals showed up.

“We started seeing this high rate of staycations,” he says. “Our guests weren’t coming on a plane, these were families who were working remotely with kids who were still in school, learning online who just wanted to come and get out of their own places. I’m still amazed.”

LOCAL LOVE Locals (and nonhotel guests) can enjoy the spa and pool areas at The Grand America with the purchase of a $100 treatment or spa service.

Find out more at grandamerica. com/grand-spa/.

PHOTO ADAM FINKLE

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ST Y LE

FLOWER SHOWER Spring is in full bloom with fabulous floral-forward fashion, accessories and decor

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Secret Garden Square Wood Trays, $12-20, Salt & Honey, SLC; Dana Rebecca Designs Jennifer Yamina Single Circular Flower Studs, $825, O.C. Tanner Jewlers, SLC; Loveshackfancy Georgina Cardigan, $425, Koo De Ker, SLC; Wildflower Vase, $33, Hip & Humble, SLC; Old Gringo Hippy Dance Boots, $470, Sundance, sundancecatalog. com; Rifle Paper Hair Scruncie, $15, The Children’s Hour Bookstore, SLC; Poppy California Flower Bath $6, Atelier, SLC; Tokyo Milk Handcreme, $32, Amy Boutique, Holladay; June Capiz Floral Flush Mount, $348, Anthropologie, anthropologie.com

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THE HIVE

A &E

CALLING-IN CONVERSATIONS

UMOCA creates a space for community communication with ‘For Freedoms’

O

N E O F T H E B E S T T H I N G S about liv-

ing in this ultra-tech time is our access to seemingly unlimited information. And yet, with all our means of communication, we struggle to do just that—communicate—but we still want our voices heard.

Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA) provides a space for conversations in their new show For Freedoms. Founded in 2016 by artists Hank Willis Thomas, Eric Gottesman, Michelle Woo and Wyatt Gallery, For Freedoms describes itself as “a platform for creative civic engagement, discourse, and direct action.” The name is a riff on Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms, a series of portraits referencing the four freedoms outlined in Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. Decades later, For Freedoms

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combines artistic projects with social activism. “A nexus between art, politics, commerce and education, For Freedoms aims to inject the anti-partisan critical thinking that fine art requires into the political landscape,” explains the artists.

Most museum exhibitions focus on tangible art, but this show will be different. “There’s an expectation for art to be a singular object. A painting, a sculpture, a photograph—that is what most people think of when you say art. But this show focuses on art in terms of something that is idea-based, or a call to action—it’s that type of art,” explains UMOCA curator Jared Steffensen. “For Freedoms functions like an artist’s political action committee. They make stuff, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it art. Rather than producing art, they make ways for people to engage with their work, allowing them to have an interactive voice within it.”

ART COURTESY UMOCA

BY BL AKELY PAGE

Although this show will feature various art displays, community interaction will play a critical role. Signs with the prompt “Freedom for…” allow each visitor to fill in the blank about what issues are important to them. In this project, the venue and location provide the context; what’s important to the people of Utah might not be the things that are important to people in another state. For Freedoms portrays the artists’ design aesthetic, and the creators provide resources and activist tool kits with designs, posters and T-shirts, allowing communities to decide what ideas artists need to emphasize and amplify UMOCA

hopes this show will allow the community to engage in larger conversations about art and social issues. “Sometimes when people come into the museum and look at an individual object, they’re finding their relationship with that work, and it’s a solitary experience and that’s what it’s intended for. This is different,” Steffenson explains. For Freedoms invites visitors to share their perspectives, listen to other voices and find inspiration for their own work. “That’s the excitement. Building a larger community outside of the art world makes it accessible,” Steffenson says.

In 2018, For Freedoms began the 50 State Initiative, which commissioned more than 150 artists to create one-of-a-kind billboards, at least one billboard in every U.S. state. The UMOCA show features two large-scale replications from the project, one acknowledging native lands and another referencing the internment camps in Utah.

Beyond the billboards, a must-see of the show is the cloak display of the Wide Awakes, an artistic homage to the 1860s abolitionist group of the same name.

Historically, cloaks were used to insulate or shield abolitionist candidates from threats of violence so their ideas could be spread.

Each group member wore these cloaks and carried lamps with the candidate concealed among them so they could move through the cities free from harm.

UMOCA is hosting various community events in coordination with this show including a cloak building class, film screenings, talks, free posters, billboard designs and yard signs. UMOCA has also

partnered with the Salt Lake County Library to curate selections of books with progressive ideas for kids and young adults.

“I think of some kid growing up in the suburbs, progressively minded but they don’t feel like they don’t have any peers, so they go to the museum, and they see all these other voices, and they feel like they’re a part of it, and they can be loud about it and they can buy-in,” says Steffensen. To create real change, it’s time to start calling in rather than calling out.

IF YOU GO The For Freedoms exhibit runs through June 2022 at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (20 S. West Temple, SLC).

For more information, visit forfreedoms. org, wideawake.org or utahmoca.org.

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THE HIVE

FOOD

FEARLESS FOOD FUSIONS A tour of unexpected culinary combinations and cultures

BY CHRISTIE PORTER

T

H E R E W E R E T H R E E different

MIXTURAS If you want to continue on the South American-Asian fusion journey, there’s the family-owned Mixturas in Orem. The name of the restaurant literally means “mixture,” and they offer a fusion of Peruvian and Japanese food. The roots of this culinary combination (you may hear it referred to as Nikkei) are familiar, with a Japanese diaspora in Peru leaving their mark on the local cuisine. Mixturas signature dishes include Peruvian-style sashimi and Lomo Saltado (steak, tomatoes and onions, stir-fried in soy sauce base).

845 N. 100 West, Suite 103, Orem, mixturasfusion.com

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PHOTO ADAM FINKLE

birthday celebrations happening the Sunday we walked into Chang’s Food in West Valley City. The family parties that packed the house are testament to the popularity of the Chinese-Venezuelan restaurant. After the third round of “Feliz Cumpleaños,” an older man unwrapped a brand new Cuatro, its high-lacquer shine catching the afternoon light. He tuned the instrument—similar in appearance to a ukulele—and began to play. It didn’t stop there.

Multiple sets of maracas emerged from unknown places and an impromptu concert broke out in the middle of the restaurant, with the patrons and staff singing along to traditional Venezuelan songs. It was the rare (for Utah) fusion of food from Venezuela and China that brought us to Chang’s Food, but we stayed for the party.

Chang’s Food gives a look inside a community and culture that many readers might not have known existed, and it is just one example of the pockets of rich culinary heritage dotting the Utah landscape, courtesy of food fusion pioneers.

Chang’s Food

CHANG’S FOOD Two brothers—King and Johnson Chang—with mixed Venezuelan and Chinese heritage opened the restaurant in 2020, pioneering a cuisine in Utah that has been a staple in Venezuela for some time. In their homeland, Chinese immigrants to Venezuela brought their culinary traditions, started families and opened up Chinese restaurants in Venezuela. Thus began the fusion of Chinese-centric cuisine cooked Venezuelan style.

The plates at Chang’s Food are served family style and meant to be shared. If you order nothing else on the Chang’s Food menu, get the fried rice.

You can thank me later. The Venezuelan influence on the Chinese standard is subtle but savory and delicious. The Lumpias (egg rolls) are another standout, along with the Chinese Ribs. After you’ve stuffed yourself to the brim, do yourself another favor, ask for the pour-over Venezuelan coffee at the end of the meal.

3576 S. Redwood Rd., West Valley City, Instagram @chang.sfood2020

WORLD FAMOUS YUM YUM ASIAN FOOD TRUCK

PHOTOS COURTESY YUM YUM FOOD TRUCK AND MIXTURAS

At this point, we might acknowledge that Asian fu-

Fav Bistro bills itself as a “Thai + Fuzion” experience.

It has a wide menu of veggie and fruit-packed dishes that skew on the health-conscious side and are inspired by Thai, Vietnamese, European and North American culinary classics. This results in exciting specials like Steak Massaman Poutine and Seafood Pad Thai In A Blanket. Chef and owner Anny Sooksri is from Thailand, where her grandmother inspired her to cook, and behind the Thai restaurants Chabaar Beyond Thai and Tea Rose Diner.

sion could have an edge on other food fusions (it’s probably the egg rolls). And, you can get it without engaging in the traditional dine-in experience.

Based in Layton (but by no means inhibited by city boundaries) the World Famous Yum Yum Asian Food Truck serves up Filipino-inspired Asian fusion cuisine. The food truck had a rough year in 2021 after it was the target of anti-Asian hate and experienced a fryer explosion, but now it has bounced back with the help of community support.

Through special orders and catering, they’re back to offering up dishes like traditional Filipino Sisig both in a rice bowl or in a taco, Filipino Spaghetti (featuring Filipino hot dogs and banana ketchup) and, of course, Lumpias.

1984 E. Murray Holladay Rd., Holladay, bestthaifoodinutah.com

Serving Northern Utah, 801-719-1222, yumyumasianfoodtruck.com

FAV BISTRO

TOP TO BOTTOM: Yum Yum Food Truck Chicken Adobo; sushi from Mixturas

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THE HIVE

STATEWATCH

GREATEST BLOW ON EARTH Is human-made snow the future of Utah ski resorts?

BY TONY GILL

S

TARING BETWEEN MY SKI TIPS dan-

gling from the chairlift at a disordered pack of skiers zigzagging down a narrow run, I noticed how loud my skis’ steel edges sounded as they struggled to gain purchase on the firm snow. It was early December, and open terrain consisted of a single white ribbon. Typically, the overwhelming din of blazing snow guns supplementing the dearth of natural snow would drown out all other noise, but temperatures weren’t cold enough to run the snowmakers.

Things were getting dire in the Utah mountains.

Early season conditions can be fickle, even here in the land of the Greatest Snow on Earth. Still, ask around the bar stools where the crusty locals post up, and they’ll tell you warm temperatures and early season droughts are more common.

Sure, they’re pining for the glory days, but they’re not wrong. According to a 2021 Utah State University (USU) Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism (IORT) study, the average minimum daily temperature at Utah ski resorts has increased an average of 2.6 degrees Celsius from 1980 to 2018. It’s no secret to resort managers who’ve invested heavily into snowmaking infrastructure to bolster the early season, but is snowmaking a reliable long-term solution?

While locals know the best conditions come in the second half of the season, the early season— and the holidays in particular—is enormously important for overall season profitability. Resorts are working to enhance snowmaking capabilities to protect that crucial period.

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Deer Valley Senior Communications Manager Emily Summers said even though the resort has 250 snow guns, 40 miles of pipe and 1,150 hydrants, the resort invested more than $1 million in snowmaking infrastructure and equipment this year alone. For this story, Summers tried to schedule an interview with a member of Deer Valley’s snowmaking team, but they simply were too busy making snow ahead of the holiday rush.

Other resorts are following suit, but it might not be enough in a warming climate. “The percentage of the ski season where we can actually make snow is rapidly declining,” says Dr. Patrick Belmont, Watershed Sciences Department Head at USU.

We haven’t even addressed the fact that all snow starts as water. “Utah is the second driest state in the nation, and we’ve been treating snowmaking as a non-consumptive activity,” Belmont says. “But even when water is pulled from reservoirs rather than groundwater, it’s reducing groundwater recharge, and a decent percentage—15% to 40%—evaporates or sublimates. Reservoirs around the state are getting pretty empty.”

The Catch-22 is that more snowmaking will be required with a warming climate, while the conditions and resources required to make snow are also vanishing. Resorts, while avoiding chicken little proclamations, are quietly adapting. The USU IORT study’s authors interviewed numerous resort managers who say they’re diversifying offerings with more off-season infrastructure like mountain biking in the summer.

INGREDIENTS: In the short term, snowmaking 1. WATER AND AIR TO TASTE may be able to pad season length.

2. A PINCH OF NUCLEATING AGENTS, AS NEEDED Even so, it may not be able to save the ski economy. In statewide Gather water and air, mix under pressure and expel them from a snow gun in cold analyses, the USU IORT study temperatures. There are fan guns, big air guns and low-energy guns that work most found winters with high levels of efficiently under different conditions, so be sure to have a combination of all three on snow contributed an additional hand. Use a nucleating agent if the temperatures are a little warmer than the ideal $49 million to the state economy of 15 to 28 degrees Fahrenheit. Pro tip: Have a dedicated crew of snowmakers who while low-snow years resulted in a don’t mind working hard, frequently at night, when snowmaking conditions are a go. seven percent decrease in skier visits and more than $50 million in losses to the Utah economy.

Call it the backyard syndrome. When it snows “Generally without using additives, you can’t people go skiing. When it doesn’t? They don’t. [make snow at] temperatures much above 23 Snowmaking alone can’t save us. Protecting degrees Fahrenheit.” future ski seasons will require systemic change that The additives Belmont is referring to are known appears very difficult in today’s social climate. “The as “nucleating agents,” tiny grains of only thing that matters right now is how quickly we biodegradable bacterial protein—the common get the fossil fuels turned off,” Belmont says. “The brand name is Snomax—expelled with pressurized pollution we’re putting in the atmosphere is the water to facilitate ice crystal growth. Using these problem and climate change is the symptom. We additives substantially increases snowmaking perceive this as a problem of politics and costs, which at a certain point could become economics, but ultimately it’s physics, and the prohibitive. Although resorts don’t release specific physics are unforgiving.” figures, snowmaking is also incredibly energyFor too long we snow lovers have had our heads intensive. “For a lot of resorts with extensive buried in the snow when it comes to facing these snowmaking, it accounts for a majority of their issues. That’s going to become a lot harder when all annual power consumption,” veteran snowmaker that’s left is human-made hardpack.

Tim Valcourt says.

PHOTO DEER VALLEY - ALTERRA

Recipe: Snow

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THE HIVE

TR AV EL

SPRING BREAK FOR ADULTS

Six luxury spas where highly strung people go to get unstrung

BY JEREMY PUGH

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PHOTO CREDIT TK

I

T’S EXACTLY WHAT YOU EXPECT. The subdued lighting, plinky global music, trickling Buddhish water features, a hint of eucalyptus in the air and, of course, the robes. I always find it strange to strip down and cruise around in a fluffy robe and mingle with other people, also in robes.

Am I part of some new-age robe cult? But this is what we do at the spa, specifically the Alpine Serenity spa at Stein Ericksen Lodge, where I’m about to experience a healing massage with CBD oil, the latest addition to the rubdown routine.

The therapist collects me from the ultra-mellow waiting area and in soft, hushed tones directs me ALPINE SERENITY to the treatment room.

One hour later, I will Spa at Stein Ericksen Lodge feel like I’ve undergone 7700 Stein Way, Park City, an Egyptian Pharaoh’s 855-876-4395, preparation rites for steinlodge.com the afterlife, without mummification or actually dying. Instead, I’m a be-robed pile of blissed-out skin and bones settling into the remaining pleasures of sauna, steam, hot pools and cold plunges that await to revive me for my return to the mundane everyday world.

Every year, you schedule a trip around the kid’s spring break. Pile the whole crew into the car and get out of town. But how about this year, you ditch the kids and take time for yourself. Spas, like the spa at Stein’s, are the essence of escape. Once

The Edge Spa’s sage stone treatment at The Lodge at Blue Sky.

PHOTOS COURTESY: THE EDGE SPA AT THE LODGE AT BLUE SKY; GRAND AMERICA; THE SPA AT GOLDENER HIRSCH

TOP TO BOTTOM: The pool at Grand America; spa products from The Spa at Stein Erickson Lodge; The Spa at Stein Erickson Lodge; The Edge Spa at The Lodge at Blue Sky

you’ve got that robe on, there is no going back. And, while you might feel a little guilty, there are only your fellow robe people around to judge. And hey, they’re here too, so what can they say? They’re all guilty, too. Why not turn it all off and enjoy?

Utah is home to some of the best spas in the world to experience this wonderful euphoria. Last winter, we visited seven luxury spas (tough gig) in anticipation that folks like us would come out of yet another pandemic-tainted season needing a reason to disappear for a while.

URBAN SERENITY, NOW The Grand America is literally a Salt Lake City landmark. The giant, granitegray building can be seen from all over the valley. And while traveling film scouts and NBA teams call it home when passing through, we like to think of it as our hotel. The Grand has always made it a point to cater to locals and the Grand Spa is no exception, offering deals and staycation packages for those of us yearning to go somewhere but need to stay here. Book a spa treatment for $100 and afterward relax in the indoor and outdoor pools and lounge in the heart of Salt Lake City, while wearing a robe, of course. Bonus: Maybe you’ll see an NBA player taking a schvitz.

A SPA WITH A VIEW

The Grand Spa at The Grand America 555 S. Main St., SLC, 800-304-8696, grandamerica.com

The Spa at Goldener Hirsch 7570 Royal St., Park City, 435-571-0046, aubergeresorts.com/goldenerhirsch

Goldener Hirsch, located in the heart of Deer Valley’s upper base area, Silver Lake, recently became part of the Auberge resorts and completed a massive renovation making the marquee of its spa the rooftop pool and infinity edge hot tub that overlooks the surrounding peaks. After a big spring ski day, there are few spots in Deer Valley that rival a rooftop soak at Goldener. The spa, or “wellness program” in hotel speak, also has an adjacent fitness center (indoors) with equally stunning views. Book a yoga session and then chill out in the zen garden. Namaste.

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THE HIVE

TR AV EL

COWBOY COMFORT With all the fuss about the popular Kevin Costner vehicle Yellowstone, there seems to be a “cowboy moment” happening. Last year, the producers of the hit series, set in Montana, relocated the production from Utah to actual Montana after a tiff with the Utah Governor’s office over funding subsidies. But the original backdrop for the Dutton family’s machinations didn’t go with them. Utah is still here and Blue Sky Lodge is smack dab in “Dutton” country. (A stretch of river where the Lodge takes guests for fly fishing lessons was used as a location in the show.)

Fittingly, its Edge Spa has some western twang to it. Offering treatments accented with wild-harvested ingredients and a relaxation pool overlooking Alexander Creek. But in addition to all this mindfulness, you can book the aforementioned fly-fishing lessons, “natural horsemanship” classes or fire off shotguns on Blue Sky’s sporting clay range. That’s right.

Serenity and firearms.

Six treatment rooms compose the tranquil Stillwell spa along with a posh relaxation room and a serenely lit grotto replete with a plunge pool encased in granite walls. A yoga and fitness center add to the rejuvenating experience. Swen’s Restaurant indulges with breathtaking mountain views and delicious, locally-sourced fare. Similarly sited nearby, The Gulch Pub cheers with creative cocktails and a relaxed, après-ski menu. Lounges on every floor invite convivial gatherings and The Nest—a fully equipped game room—invites fun off-the-slopes competition. A large, heated outdoor pool treats guests to dips surrounded by breathtaking scenery.

The Edge Spa at The Lodge at Blue Sky 27649 Old Lincoln Hwy., Coalville, 435336-2646, aubergeresorts.com/bluesky

TOP TO BOTTOM: The entrance to The Stillwell Spa at Snowpine Lodge; horsemanship classes offered at The Lodge at Blue Sky; The pool at Snowpine Lodge

The Stillwell Spa at Snowpine Lodge 10420 Little Cottonwood Rd., Alta, 801-742-2000, snowpine.com

WORTH THE DRIVE While Utah has its share of luxury resorts, we’d be remiss if we didn’t encourage you to travel farther afield to one of America’s grand spas. The Spa at The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs has a history going back to the late 1800s and is the kind of place generations of travelers have visited to “take the waters.” Its founders, Spencer and Julie Penrose, were world travelers who came to Colorado to create an “oasis of culture” in what was then considered the “uncivilized” West and succeeded. Today the Broadmoor lets you step back in time and is truly a bucket list destination.

The Spa at The Broadmoor Resort, 1 Lake Ave., Colorado Springs, Colo., 800-755-5011, broadmoor.com

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PHOTOS COURTESY: THE STILLWELL SPA AT SNOWPINE LODGE; THE EDGE SPA AT THE LODGE AT BLUE SKY; THE SPA AT THE BROADMOOR RESORT

CLASSIC ALTA

Designer Sticks & Stones | Photographer Rebekah Westover

PARK CITY O N

T H E

O T H E R

S I D E

PHOTO OFFSET BEIR CO

L I F E

LOCAL BREW FROM A LOCAL CREW

BY TONY GILL

T

H E W O R D “ C R A F T ” is an oft overused descriptor for breweries, but it couldn’t be more apt when applied to Offset Bier. The brewery produces a handful of beers right here in Park City, ranging from modern, experimental hop-focused brews that highlight creative recipes to traditional European-style lagers that emphasize meticulous brewing processes. Conor Brown and Patrick Bourque wanted to provide a space in Park City where people could enjoy a product of their community in the heart of their community. Stop in to the new taproom for small-batch, locally produced beer that will blow away any misconception about Utah brewing culture. 1755 Bonanza Dr., 435-659-7517, offsetbier.com

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PARK CITY

APRÈS ROUNDUP Park City après shines whether homegrown or highfalutin

BY TONY GILL

I

S I T J U S T M E , or does that first sip of a frosty après beverage rival the gloriousness of the day’s first powder turn? Refreshing, gratifying and a touch indulgent, the post-ski beverage is the capstone to a job well done on the slopes. When people claim they’re “just here for the après,” it’s difficult to blame them.

Après means many things to people in Park City. For some, it’s pitchers of affordable macrobrew while still wearing ski boots. For others, it’s an opportunity to sample the craft of local brewers and distillers. And, of course, there are those in search of a fashionable cocktail to match their chic skiwear. We’ve done the hard work seeking out Park City’s best après drinks. Flavors and attitudes run the gamut, so whether adorned in flannel or fur you won’t feel out of place. Tip one back, tip your bartender and enjoy.

ST. REGIS DEER VALLEY 2300 Deer Valley Dr., 435-940-5700, marriott.com THE DRINK The Poe

(Hennessy, lemon juice and hot pumpkin sage chai tea) WHAT TO WEAR Moncler

puffy coat and Tecnica moon boots

Torres devised the Poe to resemble the hot, fragrant drinks Torres’ mother would make with fresh pumpkin from the garden.

It’s a gorgeous-looking cocktail that’s right at home in the luxurious St. Regis Deer Valley bar just steps away from the resort’s finely groomed corduroy. A hot cocktail at the tail end of a chilly day enjoying the snow is a

THE STORY Master

mixologist Gabriela Diaz

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perfect example of living your best life.

PHOTOS COURTESY ST. REGIS DEER VALLEY

THE SPOT

Above: The Poe from the St. Regis Deer Valley’s bar (right).

Left: At the base of Park City’s Town Lift, High West is the world’s only ski-in, ski-out distillery. Below: Park City Brewing.

THE SPOT

PARK CITY BREWING 1764 Uinta Way, parkcitybrewing.com THE DRINK

Powder Buoy Pilsner WHAT TO WEAR

Come as you are

THE SPOT

HIGH WEST SALOON 703 Park Ave., 435-649-8300, highwest.com

barrels creating layers of complex flavors that are the product of meticulous dedication to detail. Still, the end product is a sipping whiskey best enjoyed atop a bar stool on an uneven, rough-cut wood floor.

THE DRINK High Country

PHOTOS COURTESY HIGH WEST AND OFFSET BIER CO

Single Malt WHAT TO WEAR Woolrich

flannel, new Carhartt dungarees and Danner hiking boots THE STORY High West perfectly represents Park City’s melding of mountain luxury with a rustic, western façade.

Their new, limited-release High Country Single Malt matches the mood. Single malt blends are finished in Oloroso sherry

THE SPOT

OFFSET BIER CO 1755 Bonanza Dr., 435-659-7517, offsetbier.com THE DRINK

Dopo WHAT TO WEAR Well-loved Flylow bibs and a cotton T-shirt from your favorite indie rock band

THE STORY We already intro-

duced you to this truly micro craft brewer in our opener. You have to come straight to the source to sample Offset Bier’s creations. “The Dopo, which is Italian for "after,’ is our house hoppy beer. It’s aromatic but light enough for you to have a couple after skiing,” says Offset founder Conor Brown. The taproom was designed specifically for locals to enjoy a beercentric après. The taproom is open daily from 4 to 8 p.m. and the beer is literally named “after.” How can a thirsty crew of skiers not appreciate that little detail?

THE STORY The name is the same but everything else has changed. Park City Brewing is back with new owners, new brewers and all-new recipes in a new location. Jeff Tito is the new head honcho, boasting experience from Rolling Rock (which his family owned) and Heineken. “We’re bringing a focus on consistency and repeatability in our processes to craft brewing because we owe it to our customers for things to taste just right,” Tito says. Their five core beers are brewed in Park City and are named for the community. The Powder Buoy Pilsner is a drinkable, lightly hopped après beer that references the NOAA buoy off Kauai that portends big storms in Park City. The brewpub is kid-friendly, making Park City Brewing the perfect family après spot.

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PARK CITY

THE BIG CUT UP Redistricting further divides Summit County and dilutes its influence

BY TONY GILL

two sentences in talking about them, and most people’s eyes will glaze over. Hey, you. Wake up, please. See what I mean? That dull veneer is kind of the point because it keeps people from paying attention to something that matters a lot: representation in government.

As happens every ten years, legislative districts were redrawn in late 2021.

Summit County was split between four State House districts (4, 23, 59 and 68) and two State Senate districts (3 and 20).

The County was also split into two Congressional Districts at the federal level (the first and third). Summit County residents of all stripes should be miffed as the community’s influence will likely be diminished.

“It’s certainly worse than before, but we’ve been gerrymandered for 10 years in Summit County,” says Summit County Democratic Party Chair Katy Owens. “It just represents a further

effort to dilute the voice of Summit County voters.” Owens’ counterpart, Summit County Republican Party Vice-chair (acting as temporary chair) Karen Ballash did not respond to requests for comment.

Without question, winners and losers emerge after each round of redistricting.

However, in this instance, it seems the will of a majority of Utah voters was deliberately subverted and Summit County is in the crosshairs of the skewed redistricting effort. A statewide ballot initiative in 2018 passed by 7,000 votes asking for the creation of a non-partisan commission to draw political boundaries. In drawing the new boundaries, the Utah Legislature completely ignored the recommendations and maps created by the independent commission.

“The commission was very open and transparent, taking feedback from public meetings and posting maps during the process,” Owens says. “The

legislature dropped their map on a Friday night at 11 p.m. and voted for it on a Monday without any public input.

It was clearly drawn as incumbent protection.”

So, what does redistricting mean for representation? It’s difficult to pin down exactly, but Summit County appears to be in a representative black hole. “We don’t have a single representative who lives here in Summit County despite how populous the county is and how influential it is to the state’s economy,” Owens says. “But some people do argue that we have numerous people in the legislature who could advocate for the county and a single representative may not have much bargaining power,” she concedes.

For the next decade, Summit County will be represented in small slices. Time will tell how the community will be impacted, but in the meantime, it’s difficult to argue with voters who feel slighted.

THE FEDERAL SPLIT Voters in Park City are now part of the third congressional district for the first time since the 1990 census. Unincorporated Park City voters including residents of Snyderville, Jeremy Ranch, Pinebrook and Summit Park remain in the first district, splitting what has been a relatively cohesive voting bloc in two. Leaders of both political parties have long held the county would hold more influence if included in a single district.

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ILLUSTRATION BY SCOTT PETERSON

L

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PARK CITY

The Greatest Show on Snow

HOME SNOW ADVANTAGE University of Utah to host NCAA Ski Championships in Park City

BY TONY GILL

W

HAT’S THE BEST ATHLETICS TEAM in Utah? It’s not the

ever-consistent Utah Jazz, the miracle-playoff-run Real Salt Lake or even our beloved Ducks-decimating, Rose Bowl-playing Utes football team. Nope.

It’s the University of Utah ski team, and it’s not particularly close. The two-time defending NCAA National Champions call the Greatest Snow on Earth their home turf, and this year the U of U is hosting the 2022 National Championships at Park City Mountain and Soldier Hollow from March 9-12.

Head Coach Fredrik Landstedt enters his fourth year coaching the Utes with a pretty unimpeachable record. Teams he helmed won national titles in 2019 and 2021, and the Utes have won all but one meet they’ve participated in since Landstedt took over.

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Only the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Championships, derailed the Utes’ run of dominance during Landstedt’s tenure.

“Hosting the championships in Park City, we definitely feel we have a bit of home field advantage,” Landstedt says. “Most other teams compete here once or twice a year, but we feel very comfortable because we get to train here at Park City and the Utah Olympic Park.” If home cooking weren’t enough of an advantage, the Utes are returning every skier from the 2021 title team. A couple of skiers wouldn’t have been available in 2022, but in response to COVID, the NCAA provided an additional year of eligibility for student athletes.

The NCAA Ski Championships are a co-ed, combined event, with every school able to qualify three men and three women

for two alpine events—giant slalom and slalom—and two Nordic events— individual classic and mass start freestyle.

Because all three athletes’ scores count, scoring at the NCAA Championships is typically tighter than at regular meets where six skiers compete with only the three best scoring. “We have a very strong team, and we expect to be in the mix to win. But we’d love the community to come support us and give us an extra edge,” Landstedt says.

A number of the student athletes on the University of Utah Ski Team were vying for spots in the Olympics, and as of publishing several will have indeed competed for their countries in Beijing.

Park City is a skiing-obsessed community, so help show the state’s best athletes we have their back as they compete for a third consecutive NCAA title. Don’t forget to bring your cowbell. utahutes.com/sports/alpine-skiing

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE Wednesday, March 9: Giant Slalom at Park City Mountain Thursday, March 10: Individual Classic Nordic at Soldier Hollow Friday, March 11: Slalom at Park City Mountain Saturday, March 12: Mass Start Freestyle Nordic at Soldier Hollow

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You don’t have to take the same vacation photos as the millions Moab visitors, right?

Don’t worry, it’s not a mirage, it’s an actual luxury in the desert surrounded by some of the world’s most famous, scenic red rock landscapes. Oliver Gibbons, general manager, says the ranch allows guests to immerse in nature, and enjoy activities you can’t usually get in Moab. “You’re not doing the typical tourist experience,” Gibbons says. World-class dining, private excursions, it’s all at your fingertips and the best part, Utahns? It’s

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2 0 2 2 S A LT L A K E M A G A Z I N E

E ACH Y E AR , SALT L AK E MAG A ZINE RECOGNIZES THE STATE’S BEST

RESTAUR ANT S IN IT S ANNUAL DINING AWARDS EDITION. FOR 2022, WE ASK ED SOME OF THE BEST CHEF S IN UTAH AND OUR PAST HONOREES “WHO DO YOU LOVE ?” AND WE GOT PLENT Y OF LOVE IN RESPONSE. THE BUSINES S OF MAK ING FOOD IS A BUSINES S, OF COURSE, BUT THERE IS A SPECIAL CAMAR ADERIE AMONG THOSE WHO SPEND THEIR LIVES CRE ATING CUISINE, A K INSHIP, R ATHER THAN RIVALRY. THE 2022 SALT L AK E MAGA ZINE DINING AWARDS PRESENT S 14 CHEF S, E ACH PAIRED BY THEIR MUTUAL ADMIR ATION FOR E ACH OTHER, REMINDING US THAT WE ARE ALL STRONGER TOGE THER.

BY SALT L AK E MAG A ZINE STAFF

//

PHOTOS BY ADAM FINKLE

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MANOLI & KATRINA KATSANEVAS OF MANOLI’S

MIKE BLOCKER OF TABLE X

Nohm: Rare and risky MANOLI’S HAS BEEN open for six years but Manoli and Katrina Katsanevas have been cooking for more than a decade. Manoli started working in a family restaurant at age 13 and his wife, Katrina learned to cook at home. Manoli’s menu takes traditional Greek dishes and adds presentation and influence from France, Spain and Italy to create flavorful Mediterranean cuisine.

“We’re both Greek, but we didn’t just want to go the traditional Greek route,” Manoli says. “We put the emphasis on local, fresh, simple, healthy, just really good Mediterranean food. One of our biggest inspirations is just seeing how much our customers enjoy our food, and how that can make an impact in their lives and change their day. That’s why you get into the

business, to feed and please people.

When people have a really great dining experience, it changes their mood,” Katrina says. “We’re very big about being in the present, being in the moment. We emphasize shared plates, so it’s about being there, in the moment, with each other, with the people that you love.”

DISHES NOT TO MISS.“My favorite is the octopus,” Manoli says. “I love the octopus, and our pilaf—homemade lemon rice—is very comforting. Those are probably two dishes that I could eat every day. The octopus is also my favorite thing to make.”

“My favorite would be our Garides—a grilled shrimp served over polenta,” Katrina says. “And I’ve always loved Dolmades (grape leaves served with rice, herbs, tomato, house Greek yogurt). I could eat those at 2 a.m. right out of the fridge.”

ONE COOL THING. “We do a killer

brunch on the weekend,” Manoli says.

“We bring Greek inspiration to traditional brunch dishes” Manoli’s // 402 E. Harvey Milk Blvd. (900 S.) #2, SLC, 801-532-3760, manolison9th.com

‘WHY I LOVE MANOLI’S’ “Manoli introduced himself to me right after we opened Table X. I love that his menu has so much traditional Greek flavor presented in a simple, modern way. It’s a unique concept for Salt Lake. As a chef/ owner myself, I wish I could get out more and enjoy Manoli’s food. I always respect, admire, and relate to people that not just own their business but also work in their restaurants every night and lead by example.”

WHY DOES MANOLI’S DESERVE TO BE RECOGNIZED IN THE 2022 DINING AWARDS? “Manoli and Katrina work so

hard and have always been gracious and kind in welcoming us to the SLC food scene years ago. We’ve enjoyed doing events, collaboration, and charity dinners with them and they set a great example of what local restaurant owners should strive to be.” — Michael Blocher of Table X

Table X // 1457 E. 3350 South, SLC, 385-528-3712, tablexrestaurant.com

House smoked salmon, crispy potato feta cake, herbed Greek yogurt, fried capers

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WALI & MIRIAM ARSHAD OF AFGHAN KITCHEN

FRANCIS FECTEAU OF LIBATIONS INC.

Nohm: Rare and risky WALI ARSHAD CAME to the United States from Afghanistan and surprise, surprise discovered that there weren’t any good Afghan restaurants in Utah. He opened a small restaurant with his partner chef Naheem Amel. And set out to introduce Utah to the cuisine of his country.

“I always tell people that our cuisine is in-between Indian and Iranian,” Wali says.

“Afghans think Indians use too much spice and Iranians use too little. We are right in the middle.”

I have learned that preparing food is a work of art,” Wali says. “When a customer leaves happy it motivates me more. I had never been to culinary school and didn't know how to cook. My wife trained me and together we built a menu that we love.

Hospitality is key in our culture. If you come to my home I’ll give you a feast.”

DISHES NOT TO MISS. “The lamb shank, Qabili Palau, is our most popular dish but we serve everything family style so everyone can share and try it all.”

ONE COOL THING. “My vision for this restaurant is that you come here and feel like you are dining in Afghanistan and you get a sense of our cultural sense of hospitality.”

Afghan Kitchen // 1465 S. State St., SLC, 801-953-1398. 3142 S. Main St., South Salt Lake, 385-229-4155. afghan-kitchen.com

‘WHY I LOVE AFGHAN KITCHEN’ “I discovered Afghan Kitchen as just a random quarantine meal choice. I didn’t understand the menu but I thought, ‘what the hell.’ It was a random confluence of hunger and curiosity.

Lamb Shank Qabili Palau — Fall off the bone lamb shank, slow-cooked to perfection and served with seasoned aromatic basmati rice topped with caramelized carrots and raisins. (Qabili palau, also known as Kabuli palau is Afghanistan's national dish.)

My first taste was a party in my mouth! It’s easy for Central Asian cuisine to blur from region to region but this was distinctly different from its regional neighbors. I love the authenticity here. I had never tasted anything like it, there was a depth to the cuisine and it survived the transit of takeout. I eat there three-four times a month and love the mantu dumplings and the Borani Banjan.

It's as if the eggplant was made into edible silk.

Qorma E Murgh is a chicken dish that many would confuse with Indian tikka masala but there's this fresh gingery lift to it that blows

my mind and the balance!”

WHY DOES AFGHAN KITCHEN DESERVE TO BE RECOGNIZED IN THE 2022 DINING AWARDS? “The Arshads are wizards who

clearly love their native land. Afghan Kitchen brings a new and necessary element to the SLC culinary landscape. It’s like discovering a new color or a new sound.” — Francis Fecteau of Libation Inc.)

Libation Inc. // libationslc.com

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in mind designed to create an experience.

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MIKE BLOCHER OF TABLE X

ANGIE FULLER OF OQUIRRH RESTAURANT

Nohm: Rare and risky TABLE X HAS evolved over the years.

Started by a team of chefs who came from traditional, fine dining restaurants on the East Coast, Nick Fahs & Mike Blocher has recently gone to a single tasting menu. While Nick focuses on the restaurant’s bakery (now selling directly to customers) Mike sources food locally, much of it from the restaurant’s own garden.

“Last summer we started seating in the garden area,” Mike says. “You’re next to the plants you’re enjoying, and in the winter we’re working to preserve the excess of what we grow so you’re always going to get flavors from the garden.”

The duo uses the bakery to experiment with fermentation, pickling and other preservation techniques in the restaurant’s tradition of continuing to explore and learn.

“We try to push the boundaries of the food scene here but we don’t overmanipulate,” Mike says. “We use a small number of ingredients for each dish and present it to catch your eye. There are no parameters except that there is definitely not a burger on our menu.”

DISHES NOT TO MISS. The restaurant’s tasting menu means there isn’t a dish you can miss, although there is both a vegetarian and omnivore lane to choose from. Each evening’s tasting, either five or seven courses, with optional wine pairings, is built with seasonal ingredients

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ONE COOL THING. Table X has always had house-made bread and butter on the menu. But during the pandemic, the bread operation has grown. They started making and selling bread wholesale to other restaurants and recently opened a storefront bakery where you can buy loaves and bread-forward pastries directly from the restaurant.

Table X // 1457 E. 3350 South, SLC, 385-528-3712, tablexrestaurant.com

‘WHY I LOVE TABLE X’ “I love that they’ve gone to a tasting-menu-only format. Just to be like, ‘this is our menu tonight, let us feed you.’ That’s something this city has had since (Viet Pham’s) Forage. It opens people’s minds and that’s really important. We share a commonality with Table X in that we want to cook with as many seasonal products as we can. Farm-totable isn’t anything new but Table X thinks in terms of putting the best, freshest ingredients on the plate. It takes extra effort but it elevates all of us supporting the local growers that we all use and by showing people just how good food can be.’”

WHY DOES TABLE X DESERVE TO BE RECOGNIZED IN THE 2022 DINING AWARDS? “First of all and probably most

important, the food is good. It’s thoughtfully prepared and served beautifully. But I also see Table X trying to help set apart Salt Lake’s dining scene.

They are part of a community of restaurants that are convincing people that there is great food here.” — Angie Fuller of Oquirrh Restaurant Oquirrh Restaurant // 368 E. 100 South, SLC, 801-359-0426

Farro Verde; savoy cabbage, calabrian chili, dried olive, house capicola

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ANNY SOOKSRI OF LAVANYA MAHATE TEA ROSE DINER, OF SAFFRON CHABAAR BEYOND VALLEY THAI & FAV BISTRO

Nohm: Rare and risky IN 2006 ANNY Sooksri opened Tea Rose

Diner in a still, she admits, hard-to-find location in Murray. She says she set out to make the food she grew up with helping her grandmother and aunts cook at home.

“When I came to Utah, I felt like many ethnic restaurants set out to make food for Americans,” she says. “That’s not what I like.

I’m stubborn so I make food I like for those who like it too.”

The result is three restaurants including Chabaar Beyond Thai and Fav Bistro.

Everything is made from scratch, the way she learned as a child helping her grandmother.

“We don’t take any shortcuts,” she says.

“Everything is cooked fresh. I come from a country where everything is fresh. When I first came here, I saw broccoli in the freezer and I thought what is that? I’d never seen it before in my life” “Before I started my restaurants, I used to work at the post office. I worked hard but there was no appreciation for my work. Now, even though the restaurant business is hard, I am a part of a family. My customers and staff are my family. When people eat my food and love it, that is worth more than anything you can pay me.”

DISHES NOT TO MISS. “We make our pad thai in an upscale Thai way, and fold the noodles into the egg. It’s kind of like an omelet, very pretty. My cooks hate it because it’s very hard to do. You have to be able to make it fast enough so it doesn’t stick to the pan but not too fast or it gets too hot and crumbles.”

ONE COOL THING. “We are the hottest Thai

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food in Utah,” she says. “No joke. I tell people to order the mild spice (level) if you’re not used to very spicy Thai food.”

Tea Rose Diner // 65 E. 5th Ave., Murray, 801-685-6111, bestthaifoodinutah.com Chabaar Beyond Thai // 87 W. 7200 South, Midvale, 801-566-5100, chabaarbeyondthai.com Fav Bistro // 1984 E. Murray Holladay Rd., Holladay, 801-676-9300, favbistro.com

‘WHY I LOVE FAV BISTRO/CHABAAR BEYOND THAI/TEA ROSE DINER’ “Just

imagine you are thousands of miles away from your home and decide to make this home yours and then share your home with the people who live here. I can relate to that and I recognize

Anny for her work in educating local taste.

Every time I eat at one of her restaurants, the food is delicious and you can see that it’s made with pride. (The chicken rice is the best!) She has a good way of introducing new foods to Utah. She showcases Thai cuisine in a way that is not intimidating and I understand what a challenge that is.”

WHY DOES ANNY SOOKSRI DESERVE TO BE RECOGNIZED IN THE 2022 DINING AWARDS?

“She cooks from her heart and years of experience. She is constantly working and looking for creative ideas to keep everything fresh and innovative. She also takes good care of her staff and demonstrates mutual love and respect for everyone.” — Lavanya Mahate of Saffron Valley

night and a service experience that comes from having Angie in the building.”

The result is a cozy, welcoming and unpretentious restaurant that offers a living room vibe.

NOMINEES

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ANDREW & ANGIE FULLER OF OQUIRRH

SCOTT EVANS OF PAGO GROUP

Nohm: Rare and risky ANDREW AND ANGIE Fuller have always known they wanted to open a restaurant together. Andrew worked in the back and Angie worked out front and where some people use restaurant work on the way to something else, they never wanted to leave.

“We both knew that’s what we wanted to do for the long term,” Andrew says. “We both were working really hard, long hours and decided that if that was going to be our job, we might as well be doing it for ourselves.”

Oquirrh opened in 2019 with Andrew’s artfully nostalgic menu coming out of the kitchen and Angie’s ideas about hospitality and service in the front.

“We want Oquirrh to be Oquirrh,” Andrew says. “The only way to do that can be having me in the kitchen almost every

DISHES NOT TO MISS. Although Oquirrh’s

menu is not fixed, one staple that Andrew and Angie just can’t shake is his elevated take on the chicken pot pie—a delicate puff pastry filled with a decadent confit, fennel mirepoix and mushrooms. It comes and goes on the menu but the restaurant's loyal following always lobbies for its return.

ONE COOL THING. A seat at Oguirr’s small bar up offers a front-row seat to experience the Fuller’s idea of hospitality. Angie is upfront, chatty as she hustles the evening’s service along and Andrew occasionally emerges from the back to wipe his brow and take a break. Although there’s not a bad seat in the house at Oquirrh, if you’re in a small group, try the bar.

Oquirrh // 368 E. 100 South, SLC, 801-3590426

‘WHY I LOVE OQUIRRH RESTAURANT’

“Drew was the Chef de Cuisine at Pago on 9th & 9th before we went on to Oquirrh. The menu at Oquirrh is unique, balanced and well-executed. Drew's food is creative and playful yet relatable. There aren't any excesses on the plate that don't contribute to the dish. Drew has found the balance between plating beautiful dishes and executing the dishes perfectly. Too many up-and-coming chefs rely on plating alone and miss seasoning, texture, temperature.

His experience and palette allow Drew to innovate with precision. An example is the milk braised potatoes. It’s a dish you can eat every time you visit. It showcases Drew’s ability to transform humble ingredients into complex, elevated fare.”

WHY DOES OQUIRRH DESERVE TO BE RECOGNIZED IN THE 2022 DINING AWARDS? In my opinion, the best

restaurants and chefs push the market through their creativity and execution.

His talent behind the stove is apparent, he has worked in great restaurants in Utah and beyond. The menu offers items not available elsewhere and all

Cabbage smoked on the Traeger: Fermented fall squash “Romesco,” squash tear honey and sage.

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ONE COOL THING. Arlo expanded its patio and heated dining options in a quick response to the pandemic. They’re continuing to expand the terrace and outdoor dining options.

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MILO CARRIER OF ARLO RESTAURANT

STEVEN ROSENBERG OF LIBERTY HEIGHTS FRESH

Nohm: Rare and risky MILO CARRIER HASN’T stopped cooking since he was 16 years old, his wife Brooke Doner explains. “His mom was very egalitarian with chores,” she says, chuckling.

“If Milo cooked he didn’t have to help clean up.” Their restaurant Arlo opened in the space where Em’s used to be on Capitol Hill in Salt Lake and now has become a city and neighborhood favorite.

“I went to college at the U, floundered around there for a while, before I realized I wanted to pursue culinary school,” Milo says. “I moved to San Francisco and worked there for six years but eventually came back to Salt Lake City with the idea that I wanted to open my own restaurant.”

The couple started in SLC with pop-up events and catering, including a series of “Caterpillar Dinners” in unlikely locations like the foothills of SLC and empty warehouses. At Arlo, Miles gets to explore his ever-changing concept of cuisine, with a seasonal menu that never stays the same from month to month.

“For me, Arlo is non-linear and not stuck in time,” he says. “We’re always looking for new influences and are open to all cuisines.

Arlo is whatever it is today and whatever it will be tomorrow, at the same time.”

DISHES NOT TO MISS. “It’s maybe a weird concept but our favorite dishes are what are on the menu now,” Brooke says. “It’s always changing based on what’s available locally and how Milo develops a dish. We’ll start out at the beginning of the week with a dish and by the end, he will have tweaked it into something else. In a month, we’re bored of it and it's on to something else.”

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Arlo Restaurant // 271 N. North Center St., SLC, 385-266-8845, arlorestaurant.com

‘WHY I LOVE ARLO RESTAURANT’ “I

had heard that Em’s on Capitol Hill had been re-envisioned and opened as Arlo. I was impressed to see the creativity of each dish is exceptional. Ingredients are carefully sourced, of high integrity, and possess flavor and texture that are superb. There is So much thought in each and every plated dish. Now, I eat there two to three times each month. The Cuban Pork Shoulder on the brunch

menu blows me away. I feel like I’m in Miami at a Cuban friend’s house.”

WHY DOES ARLO DESERVE TO BE RECOGNIZED IN THE 2022 DINING AWARDS? “Milo has been developing

and growing his repertoire for this opportunity for many years—working in SLC, San Francisco, and many other places to hone their skills. Chef Milo is attentive to every detail in the dining room and terrace. When out of town guests arrive in Utah, we dine at Arlo.”

— Steven Rosenberg of Liberty Heights Fresh

Liberty Heights Fresh // 1290 S. 1100 East, SLC, 801-583-7374, libertyheightsfresh.com

Pacifico Sea Bass with New Potatoes, Piperade with Castelvetrano Olives and Refried Peas Winter Citrus, Safflower Petals, and Some Nice Herbs Lemon Fish Broth

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DAVID CHON OF NOHM

RYAN LOWDER OF THE COPPER ONION

Nohm: Rare and risky DAVID CHON, THE owner of Nohm, started working in restaurants when he was 16 because he discovered he could make money at a young age. He also discovered food. He went to the University of Utah and studied architecture but kept coming back to restaurants. He joined a family friend in the business and then, as he says, “it all clicked.”

“From there I decided I wanted to own a restaurant and started focusing on techniques. I went back to Korea and Japan and worked at restaurants. I would run out of money, come back and go again learning and perfecting my knowledge of these two cuisines.”

Nohm, a Korean word that means people, is not, however, a Japanese-Korean restaurant. It is both, concurrently.

“Our main goal was to do either this or that,” he says. “We serve Korean dishes and Japanese dishes but we don’t try to combine them.”

Nohm // 165 W. 900 South, SLC, 801-917-3812, nohmslc.com

DISHES NOT TO MISS. Nohm is emphatically

not a “fusion” restaurant. This means your tabletop could see a steaming hot bowl of Japanese Oden, a brothy stew of fish cakes, stuffed shiitake, marinated egg and braised daikon, alongside a selection of meats on skewers prepared the traditional Korean way.

ONE COOL THING. Nohm’s menu is succinct and to the point, like its chef-owner. David challenges diners with simple, exacting preparations of food that may sound unfamiliar but rewards the curious with the pleasing sensation of discovering something new.

‘WHY I LOVE NOHM’ “David is doing something

that’s needed in this town. He has a hand in everything in the kitchen and you can tell. It’s one of the best restaurants in the state. Hands down. He’s doing something that people aren’t familiar with here. He could easily take his concept and American-ize it, but he’s hell-bent on what he’s doing. I lived in the East Village in New York when David Chang opened Momofuku and it took a while to get traction.

Nohm reads like that to me. With David Chom, you have a guy with a vision and he’s not changing it. You gotta admire it. Because that’s the way the food culture here is going to change.”

WHY DOES NOHM DESERVE TO BE RECOGNIZED IN THE 2022 DINING AWARDS?

“Because his food is really good, and he’s not adjusting for Utah’s midwestern tastes. That’s rare and it’s risky. He’s willing to wait it out and get traction for what he’s come up with.

People need to discover Nohm and David’s dedication.” — Ryan Lowder of The Copper Onion The Copper Onion // 11 E. Broadway, SLC, 801-355-3282, thecopperonion.com Copper Common // 11 E. Broadway, SLC, 801-355-0543, coppercommon.com The Daily // 222 S. Main St., SLC, 801-297-1660, thedailyslc.com/

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ASHiNGTON

ISLAND HOPPING IN THE NORTHWEST

BY TONY GILL

H E F E R R Y R I D E L A S T E D a little more

than 20 minutes after leaving Point Defiance, but the misty breeze had me feeling as though I was crossing an endless sea. Clearly, I’ve been a landlocked captive in Utah if the short crossing of Puget Sound’s south end had me feeling like I was Shackleton with a sextant, but I’m unashamed to admit how pleasant the ride was. After disembarking on Vashon Island, I hit the pavement and started turning the pedals aboard a moderately loaded bicycle with an illfitting frame bag and a cranky derailleur. The faintly rural vibe of the quiet tree-lined streets felt lightyears away from the relative metropolises of Tacoma and Seattle, buzzing with activity just across the sound.

I’d set out with few plans other than to cycle around Vashon, stopping intermittently at various locations around Maury Island—an island within an island connected to Vashon by a causeway—and Vashon’s downtown, which is comprised of a single four-way intersection with an unlikely concentration of delightful food and drink establishments. On the route I was immersed in the classically moody Pacific Northwest atmosphere with a moist haze—never really rain, but never not rain—that’s a refreshing respite from the, at times oppressive, aridity characterizing much of the Intermountain West.

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PHOTO JASON HUMMEL PHOTOGRAPHY / WASHINGTON TOURISM ALLIANCE

Washington’s alchemy of natural beauty and distinct culture, defined by seemingly indulgent food and drink at every turn and an influential music scene that very much soundtracked my youth, overwhelms, inviting you to lean in, breathe deep and enjoy. Embrace it.

THE SOUND OF NORTHWEST HISTORY Vashon Island was named for James Vashon, a Royal Navy Admiral who, as far as I can tell, never visited the area but served as superior officer to George Vancouver, who commanded the Pacific Northwest expedition in the 1790s.

Vashon, it should be noted, went on to marry Sarah Rainier, the sister of his former shipmate Peter. One needn’t be a geography or history scholar to decode the region’s naming conventions while recognizing the absurdity of doling out

monikers for people obliquely related to “great discoveries” made some 10,000 years after native inhabitants, including the Marpole, Salish and S’Homamish, called the land home.

After European settlement came some logging and then a 50-year stretch where Vashon became an island of endless strawberry fields, farmed primarily by Japanese Americans until the population was forcibly relocated to internment camps during WWII. Suburban development has squeezed the commercial farming out of Vashon, but the island is still home to many independent growers and an annual strawberry festival hosted each July. Like the other islands dotting the sounds throughout Washington’s coast, Vashon has a turbulent history but is nevertheless a stunning place.

It’s a community and escape wholly distinct from the mainland just a short ferry ride away.

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WHAT TO DO

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The Lodges on Vashon

in Seattle from bohemian coffee shops to indie record stores.

WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK The coffee culture percolating through the Northwest is hardly a secret, and the birthplace of specialty coffee is located right in the center of Vashon Island. The Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie (19529 Vashon Hwy., 206-463-9800, tvicr.com) serves some of the finest artisanal coffee you’ll ever taste in a historic building made of old growth island fir. The building was previously owned by Jim Stewart, who’s known as the grandfather of specialty coffee, for being the first person to roast artisan coffee in Seattle and for starting what would eventually become Seattle’s Best Coffee right from that building on Vashon.

Though the SBC logo still adorns one side of the building, the roasting inside is unique and innovative as ever.

After a caffeine infusion to get going, head over to Snapdragon Bakery and Café for brunch (17817 Vashon Hwy., 206-463-1310, vashonsnapdragon.com). The pastries are incredible and massive, and the rotating menu of wonderful vegetarian cuisine changes daily with creative options like a spinach and arugula pesto omelet with a yogurt dill cucumber sauce or a beet Rueben

PHOTOS COURTESY THE LODGES ON VASHON & RUBY BRINK

Bike touring around Vashon Island requires a bike, obviously. If you’re not like me and didn’t bring a disheveled touring bike to ride around Vashon, you can stop in at Spider’s Ski and Sport (17624 Vashon Hwy., 206-4087474, spidersportsvashon.com) to rent a bike. If you are like me and brought a poorly maintained relic in need of some love, Vashon Bikes (9926 SW Bank Rd., 206-999-1551, vashonbikes.com) will get your bike in tune.

Starting from the southern end of Vashon, I headed northeast towards the causeway near Portage to Maury Island. Maury is named for an American naval officer on the 1841 Wilkes Expedition who later went on to raid Union ships on behalf of the confederacy, but don’t let that anecdote distract you from the gorgeous undeveloped shoreline.

Locking up my bike at the Maury Island Marine Park, I hiked the Maury Island Viewpoint Trail, a leisurely two-mile jaunt through forest and wildflowers to the water.

I saw neither bald eagles nor whales on the hike, but many are luckier than I. There’s an orca tracking website, orcanetwork.org, you can use to see if there have been recent orca sightings in the area, too.

Back in the saddle, I pedaled a short distance to the Point Robinson Lighthouse, an iconic Ruby Brink 19th century structure on the easternmost point of the island overlooking the sound. The lighthouse, with its overtly New England alarming amount of food and drink I aesthetics, sits on a 10-acre park and marine consumed—more on that later—meant I cut conservancy where the former keeper’s short my circumnavigation of Vashon and dwellings are offered as weekly rentals. turned in for the evening. In the morning, I headed to the island’s North Terminal and From there I settled in for a ride up took the Fauntleroy Ferry to West Seattle. towards Vashon’s main drag for a stop at the Any semblance of rural vibes evaporated Vashon Maury Island Heritage Museum as I rode to Alki Beach, which is a little slice (10105 SW Bank Rd., Vashon, 206-463-7808, of southern California beach life, replete vashonheritagemuseum.org). Inside, the with volleyball, rollerblading and the like. island’s history, both its complex human After soaking up a bit of Seattle semi-sun I machinations and fascinating natural origins, rode around West Seattle, which is chock is explored in nuanced detail and depth. The full of hipster-adjacent niceties you’d expect extent of the riding combined with the

ROAD TRIP 1

with house made sauerkraut, roasted beets and gruyere on house focaccia.

For a different experience later in the day, try the Ruby Brink, a combination bar and whole animal butchery (17526 Vashon Hwy., 206-408-7795, therubybrink.com). Artisan meats and cocktails don’t get any better than this. The bar features a variety of local beers and craft cocktails to choose from. The oak-aged sour from Propolis Brewing Wild Ales is outstanding. The menu consists of delectable items like humbly named braised beef meat and noodle—which has beef, a soft boiled egg, noodles and local vegetables in a 24-hour bone broth—and house-made chicken liver mousse on toast. And yes, there is an outrageously good butcher shop on site for your home chef needs.

PHOTO JASON HUMMEL PHOTOGRAPHY / WASHINGTON TOURISM ALLIANCE

WHERE TO STAY Stay within striking distance of the water at the Burton Inn and Spa (24007 Vashon Hwy., 206-910-4520, burtoninnvashon.com). The Inn, which is just a short walk from the Quartermaster Marina right on the sound, has a handful of charming rooms and even a glamping tent for those looking to dip their toes into experiencing the famous PNW weather.

The Inn also has a spa and guitar lessons every Wednesday for people of all skill levels.

Crash a little closer to the action at The Lodges on Vashon (17205 Vashon Hwy., 206-641-4717, lodgesonvashon.com). Chic, minimalist 570-square-foot lodges are scattered across the property which also features communal geodesic domes and an open-air pavilion. The Lodges are pet friendly and a stone’s throw from downtown Vashon’s restaurants, breweries and shops.

Once back on the mainland, enjoy a classic Seattle experience by staying at the Ace Hotel (2423 1st Ave., Seattle, 206-448-4721, acehotel. com). Just a short distance up S.R. 99 from West Seattle and Alki Beach, The Ace Hotel has deluxe rooms as well as more economical shared bathroom options all featuring west coast bohemian-lite trappings like painted exposed brick and artwork from Shepard Fairey (the artist who designed the iconic Obama “Hope” image). It’s the perfect home base to explore Seattle’s historic Belltown neighborhood.

MOUNT RAINIER MOUNTAIN ESCAPE Mount Rainier is a fixture of the Pacific Northwest skyline, and the mammoth 14,411-foot active stratovolcano is the perfect centerpiece of adventure. Explore the outdoors on foot, on skis and from horseback, all while indulging in some local cuisine and culture along the way.

1 / Hike Pinnacle Peak Loop Trail Kick off exploring the Rainier region with a hike on the Pinnacle Peak Loop Trail. The three-mile loop includes an observation tower providing remarkable views if the weather is cooperating. Even if it isn’t, the spring wildflowers won’t disappoint.

2 / Eat at Il Siciliano Ristorante Italiano Refuel with authentic Italian cuisine prepared by the Brancato family, which relocated to the Enumclaw from Italy in 1995. The Porcini Sacchetti is outstanding.

3 / Horseback Riding with Echo River Ranch Mount up for a guided horseback ride through gorgeous timberlands

surrounding Echo River Ranch.

Guides will shower you with local naturalist knowledge, including on available foraging tours for wild mushrooms and berries.

4 / Explore Federation Forest State Park Boasting a landscape blanketed with old-growth Douglas fir, Sitka spruce and western hemlock, Federation Forest State Park’s hiking trails are the perfect place to lose yourself in the immense evergreen labyrinth that defines the region.

5 / Visit Wapiti Woolies Outdoor Shop World-famous mountaineer Ed Viesturs—the only American to climb all 14 8,000-meter peaks—had his pick of the litter for outdoor gear, but chose only one hat, from Wapiti Woolies. Visit the home of the legendary headwear and leave with a unique hat of your own.

6 / Stay at Alta Crystal Resort Turn in at the Alta Crystal Resort for a little rest amid adventure in the mountains. The resort is the closest lodging to Mt. Rainier National Park and has shuttle service to the lifts at Crystal Mountain. Enjoy the hot tubs and chalet-style suites you expect at a mountain retreat.

Mount Rainier

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Hiking a crest on Crystal Mountain

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marshes and oceanside tidelands create a magnificent coastline.

6 / Waikiki Beach 7 / Shred Crystal Mountain Arguably the best skiing and snowboarding in the Northwest is at Crystal Mountain. 2,600 acres of terrain and stunning views of Rainier are a recipe for great times on the slopes each spring.

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UNIQUELY PACIFIC COUNTY Connect the dots with visits to iconic attractions down Washington’s coastal beaches.

Hidden gems, roadside hits and quirky curiosities await on an evergreen journey through oceanside villages.

1 / Washaway Beach Explore one of the fastest-eroding places in the Western Hemisphere at Washaway Beach. The beach, planned as a luxury destination in the 1800s, loses 150 feet per year to the ocean and had a clam cannery, a lighthouse and a Coast Guard Station, all of which fell into the sea. The ocean is relentless.

2 / Tokeland Hotel The oldest hotel in Washington, the Tokeland is a house of history.

The building was added to the National Register of Historic

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Places in 1978 and sits adjacent to the stunning Pacific seashore.

3 / Wildlife-Heritage Sculpture Corridor When driving through the town of Raymond, the streets come to life, lined with silhouetted sculptures of deer, bears and other wildlife. Unexpecting drivers will do double takes, so best to take it slow and enjoy the art installations along the way.

The beach where Lewis and Clark actually reached the pacific was morbidly named for when a Hawaiian sailor’s body washed ashore after his ship wrecked trying to cross the Colombia River Bar. Today it’s a dramatic, rock-lined cove more suitable for picnics and swimming than shipwrecks.

Immerse yourself in the pristine scenery of remote mountains, lush rainforest and rugged ocean beaches on the Olympic Peninsula.

Discover rich local culture and enjoy farm-to-table meals that are enthusiastically paired with local ciders and spirits.

1 / Lake Quinault Lodge The Lake Quinault Lodge is the perfect base camp to explore the Olympic Peninsula. Built in 1926, the rustic lodge’s grand scale is matched only by the natural wonders surrounding it. Immerse yourself in the surrounding lushly green forest on the 31-mile Quinault Rainforest Loop Drive around the lake.

North Head Lighthouse

4 / World’s Largest Oyster Shell/Oyster Capital of the World South Bend, Washington, nicknamed the “Oyster Capital of the World,” is home to Willapa Bay where oysters are plentiful.

It’s also home to a sculpture of the world’s largest oyster shell as well as plenty of wonderful oysters to dine on if you take the time to stop for a shuck.

5 / North Head Lighthouse The North Head Light was built in 1897 to aid mariners approaching Cape Disappointment from the North.

Situated at the mouth of the Columbia River, the historic relic is managed as part of Cape Disappointment State Park where

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Tokeland Hotel

Hiking Olympic National Park

PHOTOS: (TOP TO BOTTOM) JASON HUMMEL PHOTOGRAPHY / WASHINGTON TOURISM ALLIANCE; MARK DOWNEY - LUCID IMAGES GALLERY / WASHINGTON TOURISM ALLIANCE; COURTESY TOKELAND HOTEL; JASON HUMMEL PHOTOGRAPHY / WASHINGTON TOURISM ALLIANCE

OLYMPIC PENINSULA PARADISE

DEAR devotees of

Mischief Making,

Let’s Roll.

Scan to explore

VisitOside.org

Ruby Beach

3 / Ruby Beach Dramatic sea stacks jut from the ocean on this coastal section of Olympic National Park. Piles of driftwood and a moody marine layer lend Ruby Beach a heavy northwest vibe.

4 / Hoh Rainforest The Hoh Rainforest is the wettest forest in the contiguous United States. Since it’s situated within Olympic National Park, the forest surrounding the glacially created river is uniquely pristine and protected from commercial exploitation.

5 / Forks Timber Museum The story of non-native settlement in the Pacific Northwest is entwined with the timber industry. Forks was once known as the “Logging Capital of the World,” and today a museum

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Hoh Rainforest

Canyon River Ranch

housed in a log cabin tells the history of homesteading, farming and logging in the region.

6 / Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge At nearly seven miles long, the natural sand spit at Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge is one of the world’s longest and narrowest. The refuge is a birder’s paradise, a migratory stop for myriad species of birds which breed from Alaska to South America. It’s also home to high concentrations of shellfish and harbor seals.

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7 / Cider Tasting Route The country’s best hard ciders are born on the Olympic Peninsula.

Stop at a trio of tasting rooms near Port Townsend—Finnriver, Alpenfire and Eaglemount—to enjoy the amazing bounty from the local orchards.

8 / Ludlow Falls Wash down the cider with a short hike to scenic Ludlow Falls in the nearby town of Ludlow. The well-maintained trail is lined with enormous cedar trees leading to falls.

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YAKIMA CANYON SCENIC BYWAY Load up one of those eponymous roof boxes and hit the road. Experience central Washington’s scenic lake and mountain vistas, dive into diverse recreation and taste the highlights of wine country along this scenic byway.

1 / Red’s Fly Shop Stop in at Red’s for information, gear and guided trips to make the most of the world-famous

.

From glaciated peaks to oldgrowth forest to the pacific coastline, Olympic National Park is home to numerous iconic ecosystems to explore depending on your appetite.

PHOTOS: (TOP TO BOTTOM) ADOBE STOCK; FISHING, JASON HUMMEL PHOTOGRAPHY / WASHINGTON TOURISM ALLIANCE; ADOBE STOCK. OPPOSITE PAGE, YAKIMA VALLEY TOURISM

2 / Olympic National Park

Yakima Valley wine country

fishing on the Yakima River. The riverside location and deep local knowledge are tough to beat.

2 / Canyon River Ranch Spend the night at Canyon River Ranch for luxurious accommodations right on the Yakima. In the morning head out for some more fly fishing, hike through the central Washington landscape and even try your hand at some whitewater rafting. It’s your home base for adventure on the river.

3 / Umtanum Creek Recreation Area Springtime sees the basalt-lined canyons of the Umtanum Creek Recreation Area bursting with color as sunflowers, larkspur and geraniums come to life. A variety of trails to suit any ability level all feature incredible vistas.

Winery Sample the fruits of the fertile Yakima Canyon by visiting the Ellensburg Canyon Winery.

Riesling, Rose, Cabernet Franc du Blanc and Cab Franc and Malbec port style wines are all available for your tasting pleasure. Each glass comes with an incredible view.

5 / Hotel Windrow Turn in at Hotel Windrow, a boutique hotel located in downtown historic Ellensburg. The building melds modern amenities and rustic charm right in the heart of town, making it a perfect launching point for everything from fine dining and nightlife to outdoor adventure.

For more trip ideas, visit experiencewa.com.

4 / Ellensburg Canyon

we are here

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UNDER THE

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PHOTO CREDIT TK

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BY JOSH PETERSEN & CHRISTIE PORTER

n adorable redheaded 6-year-old squeals in delight as she opens up her front door to discover there are puppies all over her family’s pristine (aside from a few puppy accidents) Northern Utah home. She, her 3-year-old brother, mom and dad run around in a sequence of hasty cutscenes to wrangle all of the dogs. The video then goes on to show some of the kids’ art and a neon-and-adrenaline-infused arcade party. It’s just one of the “Best Days Ever” videos on the influencer Shonduras’ YouTube channel and it has 6.3 million views. Each influencer has their own personal story and their own niche—from family vlogs to fitness to fashion to travel—but the general model is the same: building a personal brand, sharing content that’s relatable to an everyday audience while also living a life that seems a little (or a lot) more perfect than yours and, if they’re lucky enough, making a living out of it. These are the influencers of Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. And a lot, we mean a lot, of them are from Utah.

UTAH’S INFLUENCE From the beginning, Utah women and families have been at the forefront of sharing their personal lives online. In the 2000s, bloggers rose to prominence sharing personal, of-the-minute updates about their own lives. These bloggers—some with large readerships, others with smaller networks of family and friends—found a community online. And a noticeable chunk of them were Utahns and/or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so much so that the term “Mormon mommy blogger” became a frequentlyused catchall.

The internet has changed significantly since the height of the blog era. As our attention has increasingly shifted toward social media, internet personalities primarily focus on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, and the modern-day influencer is more akin to a content creator and brand developer than a personal memoirist. Some of today’s most prominent influencers today were savvy (and lucky) enough to ride the tail end of the blog era and translate it to a loyal following. In 2022, many of these online creators are still, technically, bloggers, but their blogs are just one (increasingly minor) piece of their personal branding empires.

Mariah Wellman is a doctoral candidate at the University of Utah whose research focuses on social media influencers. Wellman explains that it makes sense why Utah is a particular hub for influencers. “In the LDS culture, little girls are taught to journal and scrapbook and practice a kind of memory keeping.” It didn’t take long for these women to realize the potential of digital platforms to continue these practices. Members of the Church also used social

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media to project a positive, approachable image of a religion that is still often criticized or misunderstood by outsiders, sharing what Wellman calls an “idealized domestic lifestyle.”

It helps, too, that the clean-cut image of many influencers matches the one ingrained in the church’s mainstream culture. “LDS women are also taught that they need to have this internal confidence, but it also should come outward. They should do their hair and their makeup. They should dress in a particular way,” Wellman says. The church also encourages women to stay at home raising children. For many Utah women, influencing allows them to make an income while staying at home—and, in a way, working—with their children. “Being able to be at home and be there for their kids and their partner while also making money for the family through blogging and through being an influencer is a huge pro for them,” Wellman says.

This traditional vision of the two-parent family—dad as breadwinner, mom staying home with the kids—is a key factor in the growth of Utah-based influencers. “A lot of the women who happen to be the most successful either started as stay-at-home moms or still are stay-at-home moms,” she says. “These are incredibly hard-working women, but they also had that luxury of not maybe working 40, 50, 60 hours a week when they were first starting.”

What exactly makes for a successful influencer?

The Devine Family

PHOTOS COURTESY BRAD AND HAILEY DEVINE

Sure, you need photogenic kids, a decent camera and enough free time or support to share content consistently. Building a long-term connection with followers, though, requires more. For both Wellman and the creators we interviewed, one word—authenticity—was often used to explain how the most successful influencers grow a brand that connects with a large audience.

But each influencer has their own definition of “authenticity” and ways of being “authentic” on social media (of all places).

•@ haileydevine on Instagram: 262,000 followers • Brad and Hailey Devine on YouTube: 131,000 subscribers • Founders of Somewhere Devine (somewheredevine. com) and Holdland (holdland.com)

THE GLOBETROTTERS Hailey Devine calls her success with the blog Somewhere Devine a “happy accident.” From the beginning, she and her husband Bradley bonded over their shared passion for videography. “It just comes naturally,” she says. “It’s always been a part of our relationship.” As newlyweds, the Devines traveled the world filming content for companies outside of the U.S. The couple started to blog and share videos on Vimeo as a way to share their travels with family and friends. Soon, their audience grew and brands began offering sponsorships.

In 2015, Hailey and Bradley quit their corporate jobs to focus on Somewhere Devine full time.

Seven years and three kids later, the Devines are in constant collaboration to run their family business.

“One of us is working; one of us is making lunch and putting babies down for naps,” Hailey says, explaining their day-to-day lives. “We’re booking travel. We’re doing meetings. We’re creating content.” The couple, along with Lucy (7), Greta (5) and Pippa (1), shares their world travels with hundreds of thousands of fans. In their most popular YouTube video, a travelogue of the family’s trip to Tokyo, international travel with a toddler in tow looks like an uncomplicated dream come true. Their content combines wish-fulfillment—slickly edited snapshots of incredible places you may never afford to visit—and practical advice. Over time, their content has evolved. While they haven’t stopped traveling completely, the Coronavirus and a newborn slowed down the family’s usual far-flung expeditions, and Hailey posts about the day-to-day of motherhood with her Instagram audience. In a recent YouTube series, the family shared the process of building their new home in Utah, which incorporated design elements from Norway, where Hailey’s family is from, and England and Chile, where Bradley’s family is from.

Lucy, Greta and Pippa have been a part of the family’s social media presence literally since birth. Hailey recalls followers recognizing the girls in public before they were old enough to understand their own social media fame. Now, Hailey continues to navigate the confines of what is public and what is private in her children’s lives. “We have our family rules of boundaries of what things we share and what things we don’t,” she says. “We film all the time, but we do not share all of it.” Lucy and Greta are old enough that Hailey now asks for permission before sharing content with them online. “We’re kind of the pioneers of this new generation of raising children in social media,” she says. As a person whose job is dependent on social media, Hailey has also had to draw boundaries for herself. “These platforms are designed to be addictive,” she says. “It’s so easy to sit on your phone for hours on end and then you start spiraling.” She has limited her social media use with app timers and avoids screen time at the beginning and end of the day. “My advice to everyone is ‘get out and create and live your life,’” she says.

The Devines have founded two companies—Holdland, which sells backpacks specifically designed for creators lugging camera equipment, and a wholesale travel search engine for hotels, flights and rentals, also called Somewhere Devine. The couple also earns revenue from high-profile sponsorships, including a long-time partnership with Canon. Still, Hailey says it’s important for her to share meaningful content that authentically reflects her own life, instead of hopping on the latest trend. Before sharing something online she asks herself, “Is there a purpose behind it for me outside of the likes?”

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The Devines also engage their followers with annual service expeditions, which are currently on pause due to the pandemic. “We feel like the best way to travel is to get to know the people and the area that you’re visiting,” Hailey explains. The first trip had 30 open slots, and the Devines were shocked when they filled up within 24 hours. “They’re all complete strangers from random places all around the world,” Hailey says. In 2019, the Devines hosted two trips, including one to Kenya. For the Devines, this has been a chance to connect with followers in a uniquely intimate way. “I have literally made so many new best friends from all over the world because of Instagram and specifically our expeditions,” Hailey says. “There’s just so much goodness within social media.”

THE DIY MOM Several years ago, Elise Hunter started her blog as a “digital journal.” “I got married in 2012 and started a blog because that’s what you did,” she says. “That’s what everybody did.” Early on, she started sharing her personal experiences with infertility, finding a community of other moms who connected with her vulnerable discussions of a topic that is still often stigmatized. Hunter was, years later, able to have children and then wondered what to use her platform for. “If I wanted to make it a job, I had to pick a niche… and treat it more like a job than a hobby,” she says.

PHOTOS COURTESY ELISE HUNTER

• @huntersofhappiness on Instagram: 351,000 followers • @huntersofhappiness_ on TikTok: 1.2 million followers • Most popular viral video: 38.4 million views

Initially, Hunter was thrilled to share the details of her young kids’ lives—after all, much of her audience had followed her long journey to have children from the beginning. Over time, though, Hunter grew weary of the family lifestyle content that had been her blog’s default. She felt increasingly protective of her children’s privacy, and besides, her kids disliked posing for pictures. Though her initial career was in speech pathology, Hunter had always been interested in interior design, and when she decided to construct built-in cabinets herself, she documented the process online.

Her alarmed husband taught her to use power tools: “He was very concerned about me cutting off fingers or something,” she jokes. Hunter found she enjoyed learning how to do the projects, and her followers connected with it too.

Soon, a quickly growing audience watched Hunter improve her home, through trial and error, one project at a time. Sometimes, Hunter wonders why this content resonates with so many women and moms—she is the first to admit that she’s no expert. “I’m just a normal person, but I think that’s it,” she says. Hunter’s audience doesn’t need her to be an expert—they want someone to relate to.

While Hunter maintains a large following on Instagram, TikTok has been an especially valuable platform. “Influencers who jumped to TikTok were able to really grow their following at the start of quarantine and the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Wellman.

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PHOTOS COURTESY TIA STOKES

• @ thetiabeestokes on Instagram and TikTok: 3.3 million combined followers • #redfortia: 113 million views • Dance studio: The Vault (thevaultdance.com)

Hunter started her account in June 2020, and, thanks to some viral videos, her following has grown quickly.

“I still don’t really understand TikTok,” she laughs.

“I’m trying. I’m not young and hip and cool anymore.”

Despite her self-deprecation, clearly Hunter is doing something right. And, just like with her home projects, she has continued a DIY approach, teaching herself how to video edit and use the app’s tools. “There’s no real blueprint on how to do this job,” she says. “It’s such a new job that a lot of people don’t even realize that it could be a real job.”

Whether Hunter is talking about infertility or showing the process of building shelves, honesty about both triumphs and disappointments is a key way she connects with her audience. “It’s easier to share successes. It’s harder to be vulnerable online.” For Hunter, DIY projects have emphasized this point further, as she not only makes mistakes but shares them with strangers online.

“If I’ve learned anything over the past almost 10 years of being online, it’s that people connect more over hardships than over successes.”

THE CANCER DANCER For most online creators, positivity is an important way to reach an audience. Few people, though, can match the relentless, hard-earned positivity of Tia Stokes. In the past two years, she has maintained her sunny attitude even while documenting a hellish

medical journey. In April 2020, she was diagnosed with leukemia and spent a month isolated in the hospital with no visitors allowed. When she left the hospital, she learned her mother passed away suddenly.

Over the following months, she contracted COVID-19 twice, received bone marrow transplants, had Graft vs. Host Disease and watched her body transform after steroid treatments.

Before her diagnosis, Stokes cared for her five kids and worked as a fitness instructor. A lifelong dancer who has performed with Beyoncé, she runs a nonprofit dance studio, The Vault, which she says has raised over $1 million for families in need in Orem and St. George.

She also had a sizable following on Instagram, where she shared photos of her family and dancing videos.

Stokes says she never intended to reach so many people with her online presence—in the beginning, she just wanted to update family and friends and have a personal document of her illness. “I wanted to be able to look back and heal and remember how hard I fought,” she says. Then, her doctors suggested 15 minutes of physical activity a day during treatment. “With the energy and the wellness that I did have, I would learn a TikTok dance, and then I would get up and I would record it a few times,” Stokes says.

It was an attainable daily goal for Stokes, even when treatment drained her so much that she filmed dance videos from her hospital bed. Stokes juxtaposed raw updates about physical and mental health, grief and body image—sometimes she is visibly in tears filming the videos—with cheerful, lighthearted dances to pop songs.

On TikTok, her following grew quickly, and soon a large community offered prayers and regular messages of support. On Oct. 7, 2020, Stokes saw just how significant her impact had become. Another Utah creator, JT Laybourne, started the hashtag #redfortia, asking other TikTok users to post support for Stokes, wear red (her favorite color) and post dances to Macklemore’s song “Glorious,” which had become a ritual for Stokes during treatment. The campaign went viral, and videos posted with the hashtag have been viewed 113 million times. “I have to honestly say I am grateful for my cancer journey because it’s brought so many relationships into my life,” Stokes says.

For almost two years, Stokes has documented the day-to-day challenges of her illness. On a visual medium, followers can see how cancer and GVHD have changed Stokes physically—from hair loss to body transformation. Stokes says she has never hesitated to share intimate details about her health journey on a large platform. “I get thousands of messages from people saying how grateful they are and how much I’ve helped them through hard days,” she says.

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While Stokes has found a large network of support online, she has also received cruel online comments, especially about her weight gain after steroid treatment. Stokes says it has taken her practice to not take the negativity personally, and now she shares some of these comments to speak out against body shaming. “What I love about those comments is that those are moments for us to learn from.”

Many influencers who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints share their faith online in ways both subtle and explicit.

Stokes has been especially open about how her faith has helped her through cancer, and as she shares her beliefs with a global audience, some followers tell her that her story inspired their own faith in God. “I hope that people will always feel my spirit and know that it’s genuine, it’s sincere and it’s coming from my heart,” she says.

As of January 2022, her cancer is in remission, though it takes six years to be considered fully “cancer-free” after an acute myeloid leukemia diagnosis. As she recovers, she will continue to dance through cancer with the support of millions online. “I could either have happy cancer or I can have sad, depressed, miserable cancer,” Stokes says. It’s clear what kind she has.

THE BRAND BUILDER

From top to bottom: Shonduras Snapchart drawing, Shaun McBride, his daughter Adley, artwork for Adley’s Play Space mobile gaming app

In 2014, Shaun McBride joined Snapchat and made his first video under the handle “Shonduras.” He would take pictures and draw over the photos—for example, transforming a sleeping woman on a plane into a My Little Pony character. Shortly thereafter, he surged in popularity, taking part in some of the first Snapchat creator collaborations (“collabs,” as the social media elite say) and monetizing the platform. He also started posting some of his most popular videos to YouTube, where they continued to gain views.

“I didn’t really know what kind of potential they had,” McBride says of his early efforts.

Soon, McBride transitioned from Snapchat collabs to travel vlogs—he uploaded a video every day for 800 days straight while he was traveling. In 2015, Shonduras had just cofounded the company Spacestation with his business partner Sean Holladay—which would become the hub for all of their future business ventures—and started a family with his wife Jenny, which meant his traveling days were over. “I can’t go create cool content, travel and tell all of these stories and spend time with my family. But, what if the Shonduras brand was a family brand?” He asked himself. McBride started posting

behind their picture-perfect image—

connections online. Motherhood,

strived to build broad appeal by

to a certain point. “You can be

especially during the pandemic, can

studiously avoiding controversial

authentic and bring out some kind of

be isolating, and Instagram can be a

topics altogether. In the coming

negativity, but it’s very easy to cross

place where these women find other

years, Wellman expects that

a boundary and you lose followers,”

women just like them, going through

influencers, both the old guard and

Influencers, both inside and outside

Wellman explains. For many creators,

the same experiences. And, as Hunter

new upstarts, will continue adjusting

of Utah, all have their unique

it’s a challenge to strike the right

and Stokes demonstrate, many social

their content to the ever-changing

interests, personalities and business

tone. “In the last couple of years,

media creators build a community for

online landscape. This will mean

strategies. What they all share,

especially with the pandemic, the

discussing difficult or taboo topics like

appealing to younger generations,

though, is an ability to relate to the

increase in realness is even more

infertility and mental illness.

adopting new platforms and finding

audiences who follow the minutiae

expected,” Wellman says. There is

of their everyday lives. “Those who

such a thing, though, as too real.

on social media, is consuming

audience. “Influencers are realizing

are able to grasp the concept of

“That’s what Utah bloggers do so

influencers’ content with a new set

they can’t actually rely on the

authenticity are the ones who are

well…They show an idealized family,”

of expectations. Many mebmers

platform for anything but a follower

ultimately the most successful

Wellman says.

of Gen-Z are rebelling against the

base that they can hopefully turn

manicured aesthetic that their

into consumers in another way,”

long-term,” Wellman says. For

Let’s be honest, there are lots of

Now a new generation, raised

creative new ways to monetize their

creators, this is a delicate balance.

criticisms to make about influencer

millennial forebears created and

Wellman says. The parameters of

Sponsorships are a part of the gig

culture, some more valid than others.

perfected—one 2019 headline

social media fame will certainly

for pretty much any influencer who

There are even websites and Reddit

from Inc. read: “How to appeal to

continue to evolve, but Wellman

turns social media into a career, but if

forums dedicated to picking apart and

Gen-Z on Instagram: Be Weirder

believes high-profile creators are up

branded content feels disingenuous

criticizing bloggers and influencers.

(and Uglier).” This generation,

for the challenge. That’s “the good

or inauthentic, followers may be

Still, despite the cynicism from

broadly, is also more interested

thing about influencers,” she says.

turned off. Influencers also connect

some outsiders, influencers and

in politics and social justice,

“No matter who they are, I think

with fans by showing the reality

their followers are finding genuine

challenging many creators who

they’re all adaptable.”

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PHOTOS COURTESY SHONDURAS

videos about his family’s “best days ever.” “They are all centered around the family, what we do together, our family traditions and vacations,” he says.

Making Shonduras a family brand was a transition born out of necessity, but it freed him up to pursue other opportunities and build an ever-expanding network of brands. In showing the slice-of-life family videos, scored with an almost improbably positive outlook, the Shonduras channel might look a lot like other family-focused influencers’ content, but, now, he’s able to do that while, say, building out his animation studio, Spacestation Animation, which has also launched an NFT project, Quarter Machine. It’s just one of his more recent ventures that McBride’s Shonduras following has facilitated.

One of his other ventures, Spacestation Integrations (expected to generate $19 million in revenue this year, according to McBride) is an influencer marketing agency. McBride built it to guide other influencers to do what he has done with his brand. “There are a lot of creators who have built a following, generated some revenue, and now they don’t know what to do with that,” he says. His services “free up influencers to focus on their story, creative genius and their community.” McBride and Holladay started the agency as they created another company, Spacestation Gaming, to support competitive eSports teams. They did this just before the advent of Fortnite, which put them in prime position when eSports and interest in competitive gaming surged. “We decided to do both, to see which would really take off, and then they both did.” It’s not a bad problem to have.

It’s all about timing and “taking a small opportunity and trying to turn it into a big one,” says McBride. “We created a bunch of free apps for our audience—especially the A for Adley channel,” says McBride. (That’s the YouTube channel centered on his 6-year-old daughter, Adley, who has 3.8 million subscribers.) “From there, we wanted to know if we could go deeper—so we built an animation studio, giving even more value to our audience in that way.” Now that animation studio generates its own revenue and has a team of 30 people.

McBride’s ever-expanding crew under the Spacestation umbrella also helps him meet the challenge of balancing work and family. “I had the luxury of starting a little bit older—I was 27 when I started on Snapchat and now I’m 34. So, I understood if we went slow, did this right, and built out Spacestation and all of the support before we went forward, it was going to be much longer-term than to just jump right in, film a ton of videos and get burned out.”

“When we’re filming, it’s a fun environment for the kids,” he says. “Some of the kids’ best friends are there, and after we’re done filming, we play games

The McBride Family

together, so there is very little stress or pressure on our family.” They also have the support of the Spacestation team—including dedicated editors and filmographers, so the family never has to shoot or edit their own content. “My wife and I can do what we want to do and be fulfilled and find happiness, and we’re never under the gun,” says McBride.

McBride has his own theories about why so many influencers come from Utah. “Utah has these awesome environments…and tons of families and return missionaries who went out and experienced the world— great people who have accomplished great things and have stories to tell.” And, compared to other influencer-dense areas, like L.A., Utah’s influencer culture isn’t as cutthroat. “Influencers in Utah are so collaborative,” he says. “All of us want to win together.

That teamwork allows us to accomplish more than people in other places.”

And, as long as the audience continues to show up, influencers like McBride will keep showing up too, making content and building their brands. “We have an audience that loves our content, and we can build a whole bunch of brands around that,” he says. They now employ 120 people under the Spacestation umbrella, with 160 total on the payroll. To think, it all started with some fun Snapchat videos. “I haven’t used Snapchat in years,” says McBride. “The Shonduras brand has changed so much since then.”

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•S honduras on YouTube: 3.37 million subscribers •A for Adley - Learning & Fun on YouTube: 3.83 million subscribers •C o-founder of Spacestation (spacestation.com) •O wner of Spacestation Gaming (spacestationgaming. com) and Spacestation Integrations (spacestationintegrations.com)

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Let Spark Solutions Group be your partner for restaurant success!

ONLINE ORDERING | CONTACTLESS PAYMENTS | GUEST ENGAGEMENT

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ON THE TABLE

PHOTO JACKELIN SLACK PHOTOGRAPHY

F O O D

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Lobster Fritters from Flanker

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ON THE TABLE

DID THE GATEWAY GET ITS GROOVE BACK?

The Meltdown from SkinnyFats

Unique restaurants and bars are calling The Gateway home

BY JOSH PETERSEN

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Flanker Ricotta Pancakes

PHOTOS: (TOP TO BOTTOM) COURTESY HALL PASS; JACKELIN SLACK PHOTOGRAPHY

S

hopping malls have not historically been known as centers of culinary excellence. Amid a sea of Sbarro, Orange Julius and Auntie Anne’s, your average chain-heavy food court is rarely a spot for interesting local cuisine. The Gateway, though, is bucking expectations. The mall-turned-entertainment-complex now has a growing roster of unique restaurants and bars in an unlikely dining hub.

These new (or new-ish) eateries are part of The Gateway’s larger revitalization. The Gateway opened in 2001, when the Winter Olympics were on the horizon and brick-andmortar shopping malls still ruled retail. In its tumultuous second decade, though, The Gateway’s fortunes shifted. The $1.5 billion City Creek Center opened in 2012, snatching many of its big-name stores, online shopping sapped revenue from malls nationwide and the Rio Grande area was saddled with high crime and a bad reputation. By the end of the 2010s, there were tumbleweeds blowing through the once-bustling corridors.

Now in 2022, The Gateway still isn’t going to beat City Creek at the traditional mall game, such as it is, but do we really need more malls? The Gateway has had to, as business types say, pivot and get creative with its ample downtown space. From hosting the Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival to regular events through the pandemic like flea markets, art strolls and yoga and beer, the Gateway is banking on experiences, culture, food and fun. Remember when Kanye stopped by for an impromptu Sunday Service back in 2019? Was that a dream?

The Gateway 2.0 wants you to hang out with a beer, throw a party or treat the family to a unique dinner (often in the same restaurant). This social, best-experienced-inperson model may be complicated as new variants are seemingly always around the corner, threatening our good time. But if you are venturing out again, The Gateway is worth a revisit.

WHERE TO EAT A select list of the best restaurants in Utah, curated and edited by

SALT LAKE CITY & THE WASATCH FRONT American Fine Dining ARLO 271 N. Center St., SLC, 385-266-8845. arlorestaurant.com

Chef Milo Carrier has created a destination in a small, charming house at the top of the Marmalade neighborhood. A fresh approach and locally sourced ingredients are the root of a menu that bridges fine and casual dining, at once sophisticated and homey.

BAMBARA 202 S. Main St., SLC, 801-363-5454. bambara-slc.com

Chef Nathan Powers makes decisions about food based on sustainability and the belief that good food should be available to everybody.

Using a Burgundian imagination, he turns out dishes with a sophisticated heartiness three times a day.

THE CHARLESTON 1229 E. Pioneer Rd., Draper, 801-550-9348. thecharlestondraper.com

Offering gracious dining in Draper, Chef Marco Silva draws from many culinary traditions to compose his classic but exciting menu—artichoke souffle, braised halibut, ratatouille. The setting, in an old house surrounded by gardens, is lovely and we love his high standards: No kids under 11 Friday and Saturday evenings and an indoor dress code.

Listings

Salt Lake magazine

GRAND AMERICA 555 S. Main St., SLC, 801-258-6708. grandamerica.com

Grand America Hotel’s Garden Cafe is one of the dinner stars of the city, and the kitchen makes sure other meals here are up to the same standard. The setting here is traditionally elegant but don’t be intimidated. The food shows sophisticated invention, but you can also get a great sandwich or burger.

HSL 418 E. 200 South, SLC, 801-539-9999. hslrestaurant.com

The initials stand for “Handle Salt Lake”—Chef Briar Handly made his name with his Park city restaurant, Handle, and now he’s opened a second restaurant down the hill. The place splits the difference between “fine” and “casual” dining; the innovative food is excellent and the atmosphere is casually convivial. The menu is unique—just trust this chef. It’s all excellent.

LA CAILLE 9565 Wasatch Blvd., Sandy, 801-942-1751. lacaille.com

Utah’s original glamour girl has regained her luster. The grounds are as beautiful as ever; additions are functional, like a greenhouse, grapevines and vegetable gardens, all supplying the kitchen and cellar. The interior has been refreshed and the menu by Chef Billy Sotelo has today’s tastes in mind. Treat yourself.

Dave Jones has a sure hand with American vernacular and is not afraid of frying although he also has a way with healthy, low-calorie, highenergy food. And he’s an expert with local and foraged foods.

PAGO 878 S. 900 East, SLC, 801-532-0777. pagoslc.com 341 S. Main St., SLC, 801-441-2955. pagoslc.com

Tiny, dynamic and food-driven, Pago’s ingredients are locally sourced and reimagined regularly. That’s why it’s often so crowded and that’s what makes it one of the best restaurants in the state. The list of wines by the glass is great, but the artisanal cocktails are also a treat.

PROVISIONS 3364 S. 2300 East, SLC, 801-410-4046. slcprovisions.com

With Chef Tyler Stokes’ bright, fresh approach to American craft cuisine (and a bright, fresh atmosphere to eat it in), Provision strives for handmade and local ideals executed with style and a little humor.

SLC EATERY 1017 S. Main St., SLC, 801-355-7952. slceatery.com

The SLC Eatery offers culinary adventure.

Expect equally mysterious and delightful entrees and exciting takes on traditional dishes.

TABLE X HAofLL

LOG HAVEN

FA M E 6451 E. Mill Creek Canyon Road, SLC, 801272-8255. log-haven.com

Certainly Salt Lake’s most picturesque restaurant, the old log cabin is pretty in every season. Chef

This selective guide has no relationship to any advertising in the magazine. Review visits are anonymous, and all expenses are paid by Salt Lake magazine.

HAofLL

FA M E

Dining Award Hall Of Fame Winner

1457 E. 3350 South, SLC, 385-528-3712. tablexrestaurant.com

A trio of chefs collaborate on a forwardthinking thoroughly artisanal menu— vegetables are treated as creatively as proteins

Quintessential Utah

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ON THE TABLE FLANKER This new concept, in the location of the short-lived Punch Bowl Social, bills itself as a kitchen and “sporting club.” What does that mean exactly?

In Flanker’s case, it means that the huge space—17,500 square feet—has the elbow room to be a little bit sports bar, a little bit nightclub (they threw a New Year’s Eve party with Lil’ Jon) and a little bit entertainment venue, with a parlor and bowling alley, private karaoke rooms and a golf simulator. Their food offerings lie somewhere between elevated pub food and casual steak house. For starters, there are Greek-inspired taverna tots with tzatziki and a Mediterranean twist on pico de gallo, grill-your-own chicken wings and, if you’ve got a seafood sweet tooth, funnel cake lobster fritters. The brisket tacos with griddled cheese tortillas are yummy. For dessert, there’s goldenfried cherry pie—a turnover, basically—or a birthday cake milkshake topped with (deep breath) a cupcake, cookie, marshmallow, whipped cream AND candy. It looks as outrageous as it sounds.

HALL PASS This food hall (not court) is a first for Utah and comes from owner Reed Slobusky and chef Marc Marrone.

Marrone developed the menus for several small fast-casual restaurants under the same roof, leaving room to experiment with new ideas.

SkinnyFats divides the menu evenly between “happy” and “healthy” (though the buffalo cauliflower I tried didn’t taste like particularly “healthy” health food.) At Graffiti Bao, an Asian street food inspired menu features kung pao chicken bao buns and Vietnamese spring rolls and is influenced by Marrone’s time cooking in Singapore and Vietnam. CodSpeed and Colossal Lobster sell fish and chips and lobster rolls. The draft room Beer Zombies has local craft brew on tap. And, because fried chicken is

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inescapable these days, Blaze of Thunder offers one main dish— Nashville hot chicken. (A manager promised me spice that went beyond “Utah hot.”) Marrone has an impressive command of a variety of cuisines—all of the menus are united by crowd-pleasing, affordable, accessible food packed with flavor.

And, thank God, it’s open past 10 p.m. on weekends.

ITALIAN GRAFFITI Besides Hall Pass, Marrone is developing another new eatery for The Gateway, a sit-down restaurant inspired by his Italian-American background. Marrone will be updating regional favorites from his childhood, including handcrafted pasta, red wine-braised lamb and salmon crudo over polenta. Marrone hopes to open Italian Graffiti sometime this year.

SEABIRD Perfect for a quiet nightcap, this cozy (read: tiny) bar on the Gateway’s upper level is a downtown hangout that feels worlds removed from the crowds on nearby Main Street. The menu is simple—a few snacks, a small variety of craft cocktails (the old-fashioned trades mezcal for the traditional whiskey) and homemade mixers to take home with you. Perhaps best of all is Seabird’s vast vinyl collection, because everything tastes better with a side of Fleetwood Mac.

(smoked sunchoke, chile-cured pumpkin, barbecued cannelini beans) bread and butter are made in-house and ingredients are the best (Solstice chocolate cake.) Expect surprises.

American Casual BLUE LEMON PHOTOS COURTESY HALL PASS AND FLANKER

55 W. South Temple, SLC, 801-328-2583. bluelemon.com

COPPER ONION 111 E. Broadway, Ste. 170, SLC, 801-355-3282. thecopperonion.com

Blue Lemon’s sleek interior and high-concept food have city style. Informal but chic, manyflavored but healthy, Blue Lemon’s unique take on food is a happy change from downtown’s food-as-usual.

An instant hit when it opened, constant crowds attest to the continuing popularity of Ryan Lowder’s Copper Onion. Though the hearty, flavorful menu changes regularly, some favorites never leave: the mussels, the burger, the ricotta dumplings. Bank on the specials.

CAFE NICHE

CUCINA

779 E. 300 South, SLC, 801-433-3380. caffeniche.com

1026 E. 2nd Ave., SLC, 801-322-3055. cucinawinebar.com

The food comes from farms all over northern Utah, and the patio is a local favorite when the weather is fine.

Cucina has added fine restaurant to its list of descriptors—good for lunch or a leisurely dinner. The menu has recently expanded to include small plates and substantial beer and wine-by-the-glass lists.

CITRIS GRILL 3977 S. Wasatch Blvd., SLC, 801-466-1202. citrisgrill.com

Most dishes come in either “hearty” or “petite” portion sizes. This means you can enjoy a smoked salmon pizzetta or fried rock shrimp appetizer and then a petite order of fire-roasted pork chops with adobo rub and black bean-corn salsa. Expect crowds.

COPPER KITCHEN 4640 S. 2300 East, Holladay, 385-237-3159. copperkitchenslc.com

A welcome addition to Holladay, Ryan Lowder’s Copper Kitchen reprises his downtown Copper

HUNGRY FOR MORE AT THE GATEWAY?

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Outside Hall Pass; Vincent Van Woah and Heat Wave cocktails from Beer Zombies Draft Room; Blaze of Thunder Chicken Sandwich; MS. PIGGY cocktail from Flanker, Colossal Lobster Lobster Roll

Onion and Copper Common success with variations. The menu is different, but the heartiness is the same; the interior is different but the easy, hip atmosphere is the same, and the decibel levels are very similar.

Try shabu shabu, a Japanese hot pot dish that literally translates to “swish swish,” at Mr. Shabu. For dessert, there’s mochi donuts (glazed sweets made from rice flour and tapioca) at Momi or ice cream rolled in a “taco waffle” at Sweet Rolled Tacos.

If you’re craving something more upscale, The Gateway also has Utah’s only Fleming’s location.

THE DODO 1355 E. 2100 South, SLC, 801-486-2473. thedodorestaurant.com

It’s hard even to update the review of this venerable bistro. So much stays the same. But, like I always say, it’s nice to know where to get quiche. And our raspberry crepes were great.

Yes, I said crepes.

EPICURE 707 E. Fort Union Blvd., Midvale, 801-748-1300. epicureslc.com

American food here borrows from other cuisines. Save room for pineapple sorbet with stewed fresh pineapple.

HUB & SPOKE DINER 1291 S. 1100 East, SLC, 801-487-0698. hubandspokediner.com

This contemporary diner serves the traditional three a day with an untraditional inventiveness applied to traditional recipes. Like, artisanal grilled cheese with spiked milkshakes. And mac and cheese made with spaetzle. Breakfast is king here—expect a line.

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LIGHTEN UP THE ROAST Caffe Ibis keeps discovers that, for coffee, less is more

BY BL AKELY PAGE

A

few weeks ago, I was asked what I’d do without coffee, and my unhesitant reaction was that I couldn’t go on living because, yes—it’s that important to me. Dramatics aside, I imagine there’s a few of you out there with similar sentiments. Us slaves to the roasted bean do a decent job at celebrating favorite baristas and local coffee shops, but without the roast masters behind the scenes, those mugs we fill each morning, afternoon and occasional evening wouldn’t be possible.

The Caffe Ibis roasting plant in Logan has been an integral part in shaping Utah’s coffee landscape for more than 30 years. In the last decade, Caffe Ibis observed a third-wave coffee revolution as lighter roasts

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exploded in popularity. “Somewhere around 2015, smaller coffee roasters began pushing the limits on what was normal in the roasting world, which at the time was darker roasts,” explains Tom Magnuson, Caffe Ibis’s Marketing Manager. For years Ibis’s research was focused on farming, but the emergence of the lighter roasts taught them more about why lighter roasted coffee tastes significantly different than dark roasts. “We learned that the lighter you roast the bean, you’re getting the flavor from the farm and the climate that the bean came from, whereas the flavor of the darker roasts is derived from the roasting notes rather than the regional influences,” Magnuson says.

Along with the lighter roasts, the coffee

industry has introduced a flood of new offerings like cold brews, nitro brews and pour-overs, yet Magnuson explains that the industry is starting to level out again. “It’s been great to learn all these new methods of coffee, but the average at-home coffee drinker is prone to avoid these innovative blends. What we discovered is that the medium roasts are what most people prefer.”

Ibis listened to the research and are now focusing most of their roasting efforts on medium roasted coffee.

Brandon Despain, Caffe Ibis’s Director of Coffee, concentrates on providing their roasters education and training, ensuring they all have a good understanding of roasting and farming practices. Many new coffee companies are now using modern technology for roasting purposes, making consistency easier. Ibis, however, keeps it old-school with its artisan approach. The company still practices the basic principles of roasting—listening, smelling and tasting.

Ibis’s Roast Masters come in 3-4 times a week to complete a “cupping”—a process used to identify factors of the coffee such as roast defects, acidity and finish, allowing them to keep the roasts consistent without the use of computers.

Like most industries, coffee has been hit hard through the last few years. Diminished supply chains have led to shortages, but the greater long-term risk to the industry is climate change. Many roasters are now looking at the possibility that Arabica beans, preferred by many roasting houses, could be unobtainable within the next few years, turning the attention toward the underdog Robusta bean. “As much as we love Arabica beans, our reality is that the Robusta beans will be the only sustainable coffee plant,” Magnuson states. Ibis isn’t wasting time waiting for the change—they added Robusta beans to their repertoire, including in their new roast Magical Breakfast Blend.

For more information about where Caffe Ibis’ coffee is available visit their website at caffeibis.com.

PHOTO COURTESY CAFFE IBIS

ON THE TABLE

LEFT FORK GRILL 68 W. 3900 South, SLC, 801-266-4322. leftforkgrill.ipower.com

Every booth comes with its own dedicated pie shelf. Because no matter what you’re eating— liver and onions, raspberry pancakes, meatloaf or a reuben—you’ll want to save room for pie.

Tip: Order your favorite pie first, in case they run out. Now serving beer and wine.

LITTLE AMERICA COFFEE SHOP 500 S. Main St., SLC, 801-596-5708. saltlake.littleamerica.com

Little America has been the favorite gathering place for generations of native Salt Lakers.

Weekdays, you’ll find the city power players breakfasting in the coffee shop.

LONDON BELLE SUPPER CLUB 321 S. Main St., SLC, 801-363-8888. londonbelleslc.com

It’s a combo deal—restaurant and bar. That means you have to be over 21 to enter but it also means that you can stay in one place all evening.

Their kitchen serves up everything from duck confit nachos to their signature 12-ounce Niman Ranch ribeye.

MOOCHIE’S MEATBALLS 232 E. 800 South, SLC, 801-596-1350; 2121 S. State St., South Salt Lake, 801-487-2121; 7725 S. State St., Midvale, 801-5621500. moochiesmeatballs.com

This itty-bitty eatery/take-out joint is the place to go for authentic cheese­steaks made with thinly sliced steak and griddled onions glued together with good ol’ American cheese and wrapped in a big, soft so-called French roll.

NOMAD EAST 1675 E. 1300 South, SLC, 801-883-9791. nomad-east.com

Nomad East is cousin to the original, now-closed Nomad Eatery. It’s in the charmed location on 1300 South where Eggs in the City used to be.

Everything here is cooked in a pizza oven, even the roasted chicken (a must-have.) Chef Justin is a salad wizard. Fun and excellence combined.

OASIS CAFE 151 S. 500 East, SLC, 801-322-0404. oasiscafeslc.com

Oasis has a New Age vibe, but the food’s only agenda is taste. Lots of veg options, but meat,

too. The German pancakes are wonderful, but its evening menu suits the space­—being both imaginative and refreshing.

ONE-0-EIGHT 1709 E. 1300 South, SLC, 801-906-8101. one-0-eight.com

One of the most delightful venues in town, especially in nice weather. Salads and vegetables stand out because of their extreme freshness— ingredients from Frog Bench Farms in the city.

Pizza is also a standout.

OQUIRRH 368 E. 100 South, 801-359-0426. oquirrhslc.com

Little and original chef-owned bistro offers a menu of inventive and delicious dishes—whole curried lamb leg, chicken confit pot pie, milkbraised potatoes—it’s all excellent.

RUTH’S DINER 4160 Emigration Canyon Rd., SLC, 801-582-5807. ruthsdiner.com

The original funky trolley car is almost buried by the beer garden in fine weather, but Ruth’s still serves up diner food in a low-key setting, and the patio is one of the best. Collegiate fare like burgers, BLTs and enchiladas rule here. The giant biscuits come with every meal, and the chocolate pudding should.

SILVER FORK LODGE 11332 E. Big Cottonwood Canyon Rd., Brighton, 801-533-9977. silverforklodge.com

Silver Fork’s kitchen handles three daily meals beautifully. Try pancakes made with a 50-yearold sourdough starter. Don’t miss the smoked trout and brie appetizer.

STELLA GRILL PIG AND A JELLY JAR 401 E. 900 South, SLC, 385-202-7366; 227 25th St., Ogden, 801-605-8400; 1968 E. Murray Holladay Rd., Holladay, 385695-5148. pigandajellyjar.com

Great chicken and waffles, local eggs, and other breakfasts are served all day, with homestyle additions at lunch and supper on Thursdays through Sundays.

PORCH 11274 S. Kestrel Rise Rd., Bldg. G, South Jordan, 801-6791066, porchutah.com

A chef-owned restaurant in the new urban community of Daybreak, this sleek little cafe was conceived by Meditrina owner Jen Gilroy and focuses on locally-sourced cuisine with southern touches.

PORCUPINE PUB AND GRILLE 3698 E. Fort Union Blvd., SLC, 801-942-5555. porcupinepub.com

With 24 beers on tap available for only $2 every Tuesday, Porcupine has practically created its own holiday. Chicken noodle soup has homemade noodles and lots of chicken. Burgers and chile verde burritos are good, too.

4291 S. 900 East, SLC, 801-288-0051. stellagrill.com

A cool little arts-and-crafts-style café, Stella is balanced between trendy and tried-and-true.

The careful cooking comes with moderate prices.

Great for lunch.

TIBURON 8256 S. 700 East, Sandy, 801-255-1200. tiburonfinedining.com

Servings at Tiburon are large and rich: elk tenderloin was enriched with mushrooms and demi-glace; a big, creamy wedge of St. Andre came with pork belly. In summer, tomatoes come from the garden.

TRADITION 501 E. 900 South, SLC, 385-202-7167. traditionslc.com

Plan your meal knowing there will be pie at the end of it. Then snack on pigs-in-blankets (sausage from artisan butcher Beltex) and funeral potatoes. Fried chicken, braised pork, chicken and dumplings are equally homey. Then, pie.

Bakeries AMOUR CAFE

ROOTS CAFÉ 3474 S. 2300 East, Millcreek, 801-277-6499. rootscafeslc.com

A charming little daytime cafe in Millcreek with a wholesome, granola vibe.

1329 S. 500 East, SLC, 801-467-2947. amourspreads.com

The jammin’ duo John and Casee Francis have a home for their Amour Fruit Spreads business, sharing space with a brightly-lighted cafe and plenty of fresh pastry. Plus, gelato.

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THE FROG IN YOUR THROAT Urban farming pioneer Frog Bench Farms is a small (but mighty) plot

BY MALIA ROBINSON PHOTOS BY MALIA ROBINSON

O

n an ordinary street in Sugar House, everything feels like a typical Salt Lake neighborhood—kids riding their bikes, couples walking their dogs, passing by churches and schools.

Nestled between the elementary school parking lots and neat backyards, though, is something less expected: a fully operational urban farm, chickens and all.

Locals Paula and Joseph Sargetakis had a decades-long dream to create a farm that would be both a viable business and an educational campus for the local community. For nearly 20 years, the Sargetakises learned about the best farming practices, taking college courses and visiting other farms. When a 2-acre property became available in Salt Lake City, they knew it would be the perfect fit. In 2012, Frog Bench Farms opened for business, fulfilling the first step of Sargetakis’ ambitious goal to pair sustainable agriculture with education.

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As one of the first urban farms within Salt Lake City limits, Frog Bench Farm became a trailblazer for other local farmers to push for rezoning in order to have larger greenhouses on their properties within city limits. Today, Frog Bench Farms has a 2,800 square

foot glass greenhouse, hoop houses, cold frames, raised planters and row plantings that enable them to farm yearround. They grow a wide variety of produce, microgreens and flowers for the local community.

Every Monday and Tuesday, residents in the surrounding

neighborhoods can order and pick up produce by visiting their online store. In addition to supplying produce to locals, Frog Bench Farms regularly provides fresh, organic ingredients to 20 restaurants within a 15-mile radius of the farm, including HSL, Pago and Table X. McKayle Law, Frog Bench Farm’s manager, encourages restaurants to use local produce because it supports local farmers and in return, the restaurants will get “super fresh, high quality, organic produce that can be delivered the day of or the next day.”

Even after almost a decade of success, there are still hurdles to overcome in running an urban farm. Law said that these challenges have included the high cost of land, city regulations, restoring poor soil and water quality, dealing with a variety of pests, and of course, fighting through COVID setbacks. Yet, Law says that Frog Bench Farms has persevered because they are passionate about making “good, wholesome, healthy food available to everyone” and helping the local community.

Law describes Frog Bench Farms as a “small but mighty

plot” that optimizes every part of their property, but they can’t feed everyone. The Sargetakises continue to set an example for new and aspiring urban farmers.

And, where it’s not possible for wanna-be farmers to start a farm on their own, they have other suggestions, including volunteering at public community gardens like Wasatch Community Gardens, shopping locally, lobbying for community urban farms, and living more sustainably in everyday ways, like growing herbs and recycling.

“The more farmers, the better,” Law says.

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THE MORE FARMERS, THE BETTER —MCKAYLE LAW, FROG BENCH FARM MANAGER

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THE BAKING HIVE

croque monsieur, but don’t ignore other specials and always leave with at least one loaf of bread.

3362 S. 2300 East, SLC, 801-419-0187. bakinghive.com

Tucked behind Provisions restaurant, this homespun bakery uses real butter and cream.

Classes allow kids to ice and decorate their own cakes and they offer gluten-free options, too.

THE BAGEL PROJECT 779 S. 500 East, SLC, 801-906-0698, bagelproject.com

“Real” bagels are the whole story here, made by a homesick East Coaster. Of course, there’s no New York water to make them with, but other than that, these are as authentic as SLC can get.

THE BIG O DOUGHNUTS

FILLINGS & EMULSIONS 1475 S. Main St., SLC, 385-229-4228. fillingsandemulsions.com

RUBY SNAP FRESH COOKIES

This little West-side bakery is worth finding—its unusual pastries find their way into many of Salt Lake’s fine restaurants. Pastry Chef Adalberto Diaz combines his classical French training with the tropical flavors of his homeland. The results are startlingly good and different.

The Trudy, Ruby Snap’s classic chocolate-chip cookie. But it’s just a gateway into the menu of delicious fresh cookies behind the counter at Ruby Snap’s retro-chic shop on Salt Lake’s west side.

GOURMANDISE 250 S. 300 East, SLC, 801-328-3330, 725 E. 12300 South, Draper, 801-571-1500. gourmandise.com

Vegan. Doughnuts. Need we say more?

Blueberry-lavender, tofutti cream cheese, etc.

This downtown mainstay has cheesecakes, cannoli, napoleons, pies, cookies, muffins and flaky croissants. And don’t forget breads and rolls to take home.

BISCOTTS BAKERY & CAFE

LA BONNE VIE

248 W. 900 South, SLC, 385-770-7024. bigodoughnuts.square.site

1098 W. Jordan Pkwy., South Jordan, 801-890-0659; 6172 W. Lake Ave., South Jordan, 801-295-7930. biscotts.com

An Anglo-Indian teahouse, Lavanya Mahate’s (Saffron Valley) latest eatery draws from intertwined cultures, serving tea and chai, English treats and French pastries with a hint of subcontinental spice.

555 S. Main St., SLC, 801-258-6708. grandamerica.com

Cuter than a cupcake, Grand America’s pastry shop has all the charm of Paris. The pretty windows alone are worth a visit.

LES MADELEINES 216 E. 500 South, SLC, 801-673-8340. lesmadeleines.com

CARLUCCI’S BAKERY 314 W. 300 South, SLC, 801-366-4484. carluccisbakery.com

Plus a few hot dishes make this a fave morning stop. For lunch, try the herbed goat cheese on a chewy baguette.

The kouign aman still reigns supreme among Salt Lake City pastries, but with a hot breakfast menu and lunch options, Les Mad is more than a great bakery.

MRS. BACKER’S PASTRY SHOP

CITY CAKES & CAFE 1860 S. 300 West, D, SLC, 801-359-2239. 192 E. 12300 South, Ste. A, Draper, 801-572-5500. citycakescafe.com

434 E. South Temple, SLC, 801-532-2022. mrsbackers.com

Gluten-free that is so good you’ll never miss it.

Or the dairy—City Cakes has vegan goodies, too.

And epic vegan mac n’ chezah.

A Salt Lake tradition, Mrs. Backer’s is a butter cream fantasy. Fantastic colors, explosions of flowers, most keyed to the current holiday created from American-style butter cream icing, fill this old-fashioned shop.

EVA’S BAKERY 155 S. Main St., SLC, 801-355-3942. evasbakeryslc.com

PASSION FLOUR PATISSERIE

A smart French-style cafe and bakery in the heart of downtown. Different bakers are behind the patisserie and the boulangerie, meaning sweet and daily breads get the attention they deserve. Go for classics like onion soup and

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is flaky and buttery (despite the lack of butter).

They also bake up some deliciously moist custom vegan cakes for any occasion.

165 E. 900 South, SLC, 385-242-7040. passionflourslc.com

A vegan-friendly cafe located in an up-andcoming neighborhood. They offer coffee and tea lattes and a variety of croissants: the crust

770 S. 300 West, SLC, 801-834-6111. rubysnap.com

SO CUPCAKE 4002 S. Highland Dr., SLC, 801-274-8300. socupcake.com

Choose a mini or a full cake, mix and match cakes and icings, or try a house creation, like Hanky Panky Red Velvet.

TULIE BAKERY 863 E. 700 South, SLC, 801-883-9741; 1510 S. 1500 East, SLC, 801-410-4217. tuilebakery.com

You can get a little spiritual about pastries this good on a Sunday morning, but at Tulie you can be just as uplifted by a Wednesday lunch.

VOSEN’S BREAD PARADISE 328 W. 200 South, SLC, 801-322-2424. vosen.com

This German-style bakery’s cases are full of Eifelbrot, Schwarzbrot, Krustenbrot and lots of other Brots as well as sweet pastries and fantastic Berliners.

Barbecue & Southern Food PAT’S BARBECUE 155 W. Commonwealth Ave., SLC, 801-484-5963; 2929 S. State St., SLC, 385-528-0548. patsbbq.com

One of Salt Lake City’s best, Pat’s brisket, pork and ribs deserve the spotlight but sides are notable here, too. Don’t miss “Burnt End Fridays.”

R&R BBQ 307 W. 600 South, SLC, 801-364-0443.

Other locations. randrbbq.com

Owned by brothers Rod and Roger Livingston, winners on the competitive barbecue circuit.

Ribs and brisket star, but fried okra steals the show.

THE SUGARHOUSE BARBECUE COMPANY

SQUATTERS PUB BREWERY

880 E. 2100 South, SLC, 801-463-4800. sugarhousebbq.com

147 W. Broadway, SLC, 801-363-2739. squatters.com

This place is a winner for pulled pork, Texas brisket or Memphis ribs. Plus killer sides, like Greek potatoes.

Bar Grub & Brewpubs (Also check bar listings.)

AVENUES PROPER PUBLICK HOUSE 376 8th Ave., SLC, 385-227-8628. avenuesproper.com

It’s a restaurant and brewpub, with the emphasis on small plates and late hours. The food is inventive, the beer is good and—big plus—they serve cocktails as well as brew at this neighborhood hot spot.

One of the “greenest” restaurants in town, Squatters brews award-winning beers and pairs them with everything from wings to ahi tacos.

WASATCH BREWPUB 2110 S. Highland Dr., SLC, 801-783-1127. wasatchbeers.com

Part of the same mega “boutique” group that produces Squatters and Wasatch beers and runs the pubs in Salt Lake City and Park City with those names, this extension is everything you expect a brewpub to be—hearty food, convivial atmosphere, lots of beer and a great late-ish option.

Breakfast/Lunch Only THE DAILY 222 S. Main St., Ste. 140, SLC, 385-322-1270. thedailyslc.com

BOHEMIAN BREWERY 94 E. 7200 South., Midvale, 801-566-5474. bohemianbrewery.com

Bohemian keeps a firm connection to its cultural history—so to go with the wonderful Czech beer, you can nosh on potato pancakes, pork chops and goulash. There’s also plenty of American beer fare.

LEVEL CROSSING BREWING CO. 2496 S. West Temple, SLC, 385-270-5752. levelcrossingbrewing.com

Going out to grab a beer with your closest circle, your homies, in South Salt Lake. Crafted beers come with a light fare menu offering a vegan wrap, BLT or classic Italian hoagie.

DESERT EDGE BREWERY 273 S. Trolley Square, SLC, 801-521-8917. desertedgebrewery.com

Good pub fare and freshly brewed beer make this a hot spot for shoppers, the business crowd and ski bums.

RED ROCK BREWING 254 S. 200 West, SLC, 801-521-7446; 6227 State St., Murray, 801-262-2337. redrockbrewing.com

Red Rock proves the pleasure of beer on its own and as a complement to pizzas, rotisserie chicken and chile polenta. Not to mention brunch. Also in the Fashion Place Mall.

Chef Ryan Lowder’s only non-Copper restaurant (Onion, Commons, Kitchen) is open all day for breakfast, lunch and noshing. Call in and pick up lunch, stop in and linger over Stumptown coffee, take some pastries to go and don’t miss the biscuits.

EGGS IN THE CITY 2795 S. 2300 East, SLC, 801-581-0809. eggsinthecityslc.com

A familiar face in a whole new space—the favored breakfast joint has moved to Millcreek.

Hip and homey, all at once.

FINN’S CAFE 1624 S. 1100 East, SLC, 801-467-4000. finnscafe.net

The Scandinavian vibe comes from the heritage of owner Finn Gurholt. At lunch, try the Nordic sandwiches, but Finn’s is most famous for breakfast (best pancakes in town), served until the doors close at 2:30 p.m.

MILLCREEK CAFÉ & EGGWORKS 3084 E. 3300 South, SLC, 801-485-1134. millcreekcafeandeggworks.com

This spiffy neighborhood place is open for lunch, but breakfast is the game. Items like a chile verde-smothered breakfast wrap and the pancakes offer serious sustenance.

Burgers, Sandwiches & Delis DIVERSION 535 N. 300 West, SLC, 801-657-7327. diversioneatery.com

Much-needed neighborhood eatery serving burgers, dogs, chili and fries. Try the “burger bowl”—just what it sounds like and twice as messy.

FELDMAN’S DELI 2005 E. 2700 South, SLC, 801-906-0369. feldmansdeli.com

Finally, SLC has a Jewish deli worthy of the name. Stop by for your hot pastrami fix or to satisfy your latke craving or your yen for knishes.

LUCKY 13 135 W. 1300 South, SLC, 801-487-4418. lucky13slc.com

A biker-bar-inspired burger joint, Lucky 13 has won first place for burgers in the World Food Championships. You can choose from the regular menu of 11 burgers, ranging from the foot-tall “Big Benny” with its 28 ounces of ground chuck to the “Ring of Fire,” topped with jalapeños and habaneros to the Fungus Amongus, featuring mushrooms sauteed in red wine. With so many choices, you’re bound to find one you like. This is a 21+ establishment.

PRETTY BIRD CHICKEN 146 S. Regent St., SLC; 675 E. 2100 South, SLC; prettybirdchicken.com.

Chances are you’ll still have to wait in line for Chef Viet Pham’s Nashville hot chicken. There is really only one thing on the menu—spicy fried chicken on a bun or on a plate. Go early—Pretty Bird closes when the kitchen runs out of chicken.

PROPER BURGER AND PROPER BREWING 865 S. Main St., SLC, 801-906-8604. properburgerslc.com

Sibling to Avenues Proper, the new place has expanded brewing and burger capacity, two big shared patios. And ski-ball.

PUBLIK KITCHEN 931 E. 900 South, SLC, 385-229-4205. publikcoffee.com

Same ownership as Publik coffee, only the Kitchen has a more extensive menu. Don’t miss the BLT, made with tomato jam.

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SHAKE SHACK 11020 State St., Ste. B, Sandy, shakeshack.com

The national favorite has landed in Utah and surely there will be more to come. Danny Meyer’s all-American favorite serves burgers, mediocre fries and milkshakes, along with other fast food faves. Play board games and try one of their super cool shake flavors.

SIEGFRIED’S DELICATESSEN 20 W. 200 South, SLC, 801-355-3891. siegfriedsdelicatessen.com

The only German deli in town is packed with customers ordering bratwurst, wiener schnitzel, sauerkraut and spaetzle.

TONYBURGERS 613 E. 400 South, SLC, 801-410-0531; Other Utah locations. tonyburgers.com

SALT LAKE ROASTING COMPANY 820 E. 400 South, SLC, 801-363-7572. roasting.com

SLC’s original coffee shop owner John Bolton buys and roasts the better-than-fair-trade beans.

Central & South American AREMPA’S 350 S. State St., SLC, 385-301-8905. arempas.com

Happy, casual Venezuelan food—arepas, tequenos, cachapas—basically everything is cornmeal filled with pulled beef, chicken or pork and fried. But—also the same fillings between slices of plantains. And a chocolate filled tequena.

BRAZA GRILL

This home-grown burger house serves freshground beef, toasted buns, twice-fried potatoes and milkshakes made with real scoops of ice cream.

5927 S. State St., Murray, 801-506-7788. brazagrillutah.com

Coffee

RODIZIO GRILL

CAFFE D’BOLLA

600 S. 700 East, SLC, 801-220-0500. rodiziogrill.com

249 E. 400 South, #100, SLC, 801-355-1398. caffedbolla.com

John Piquet is a coffee wizard—a cup of his specially roasted siphon brews is like no other cup of coffee in the state. His wife, Yiching, is an excellent baker.

Meat, meat and more meat is the order of the day at this Brazilian-style churrascaria buffet.

The salad bar offers plenty to eat, but the best bang for the buck is the Full Rodizio, a selection of meats—turkey, chicken, beef, pork, seafood and more—plus vegetables and pineapple, brought to your table until you cry “uncle.”

Chinese & Pan-Asian

LA BARBA 155 E. 900 South, SLC; 9 S. Rio Grande, SLC, 13811 Sprague Ln., Draper, 385-429-2401. labarbacoffee.com

Owned by locally owned coffee roasters—a favorite with many local restaurants—this little cafe off of George serves coffee, tea, chocolate and pastries.

PUBLIK 502 E. 3rd Ave., SLC, 385-229-4836; 975 S. West Temple, SLC, 801-355-3161. publikcoffee.com

Serving the latest in great coffee; the old-school java joint made for long conversations; a neo-cafe where you can park with your laptop and get some solo work done.

ASIAN STAR 7588 S. Union Park Ave., Midvale, 801-566-8838. asianstarrestaurant.com

The menu is not frighteningly authentic or disturbingly Americanized. Dishes are chefdriven, and Chef James seems most comfortable in the melting pot.

BOBA WORLD 512 W. 750 South, Woods Cross, 801-298-3626. bobaworld.blogspot.com

This mom-and-pop place is short on chic, but the food on the plate provides all the ambiance you need. Try the scallion pancakes, try the Shanghai Fat Noodles, heck, try the kung pao chicken. It’s all good.

GINGER STREET 324 S. State St., Ste. 150, SLC., 385-477-4975. gingerstreet.com

Chef Tyler Stokes, who owns Provisions, owns Ginger Street indulging his passion for Southeast Asian food, and providing an alternative for downtown diners. The fast-casual concept offers spins of classic dishes like dan-dan noodles and dumplings.

HONG KONG TEA HOUSE & RESTAURANT 565 W. 200 South, SLC, 801-531-7010. hongkongteahouse.yolasite.com

Authentic, pristine and slightly weird is what we look for in Chinese food. Tea House does honorable renditions of favorites, but it is a rewarding place to go explore.

J. WONG’S BISTRO 163 W. 200 South, SLC, 801-350-0888. jwongs.com

Drawing from their Thai and Chinese heritage, J. Wong’s menu allows you to choose either.

Lunch—Chinese or Thai—isn’t a good deal. It’s a great deal. Don’t miss the ginger whole fish or the Gunpowder cocktail. Call ahead for authentic Peking duck.

French & European BRUGES WAFFLE AND FRITES 336 W. Broadway, SLC, 801-363-4444; 2314 S. Highland Dr., 801-486-9999. brugeswaffles.com

The original tiny shop turns out waffles made with pearl sugar. Plus frites, Belgian beef stew and a gargantuan sandwich called a mitraillette with merguez. Other locations have bigger menus.

CAFÉ MADRID 5244 S. Highland Dr., Holladay, 801-273-0837. cafemadrid.net

Authentic dishes like garlic soup share the menu with port-sauced lamb shank. Service is courteous and friendly at this family-owned spot.

FRANCK’S 6263 S. Holladay Blvd., SLC, 801-274-6264. francksfood.com

Founding chef Franck Peissel’s influence can still be tasted—personal interpretations of continental classics. Some, like the meatloaf,

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are perennials, but mostly the menu changes according to season and the current chef’s whim.

MONSIEUR CRÊPES 1617 S. 900 East, SLC, 787-358-9930. monsieurcrepesut.us

This French-style creperie offering both savory— Brie, prosciutto, tomato—and sweet—whipped cream, fruit, chocolate—fillings. The famous Gallic pancake evolved from a food truck into a charming cafe with a very pretty patio.

Indian BOMBAY HOUSE 2731 E. Parley’s Way, SLC, 801-581-0222; 463 N. University Ave., Provo, 801-373-6677; 7726 Campus View Dr., #120, West Jordan, 801-282-0777. bombayhouse.com

This biryani mainstay is sublimely satisfying, from the wise-cracking Sikh host to the friendly server, from the vegetarian entrees to the tandoor-grilled delights. No wonder it’s been Salt Lake’s favorite subcontinental restaurant for 20 years.

CURRY IN A HURRY 2020 S. State St., SLC, 801-467-4137. ilovecurryinahurry.com

The Nisar family’s restaurant is tiny, but fast service and fair prices make this a great take-out spot. But if you opt to dine in, there’s always a Bollywood film on the telly.

HIMALAYAN KITCHEN 360 S. State St., SLC, 801-328-2077; 11521 4000 West, South Jordan, 801-254-0800. himalayankitchen.com

Indian-Nepalese restaurant with an everexpanding menu. Start the meal with momos, fat little dumplings like pot stickers. All the tandoor dishes are good, but Himalayan food is rare, so go for the quanty masala, a stew made of nine different beans.

KATHMANDU 3142 S. Highland Dr., SLC, 801-466-3504; 250 W. 2100 South, SLC, 801-935-4258; 863 E. 9400 South, Sandy, 801-9818943. thekathmandu.net

Try the Nepalese specialties, including spicy pickles to set off the tandoor-roasted meats. Both goat and sami, a kibbeh-like mixture of ground lamb and lentils, are available in several styles.

ROYAL INDIA

BRICKS CORNER

10263 S. 1300 East, Sandy, 801-572-6123; 55 N. Main St., Bountiful, 801-292-1835. royalindiautah.com

1465 S. 700 East, SLC, 801-953-0636. brickscornerslc.com

Northern Indian tikka masalas and Southern Indian dosas allow diners to enjoy the full range of Indian cuisine.

SAFFRON VALLEY EAST INDIA CAFE 26 E. E St., SLC, 801-203-3325. saffronvalley.com

Lavanya Mahate has imported her style of Indian cooking from South Jordan to SLC. Besides terrific lunch and dinner menus, East Indian Cafe offers regular celebrations of specialties like Indian street food or kebabs. Stay tuned.

SAFFRON VALLEY 1098 W. South Jordan Pkwy., South Jordan, 801-438-4823. saffronvalley.com

Highlighting South Indian street food, one of the glories of subcontinental cuisine, Lavanya Mahate’s restaurant is a cultural as well as culinary center, offering cooking classes, specialty groceries and celebration as well as great food.

SAFFRON VALLEY 479 E. 2100 South, SLC, 801-203-3754. saffronvalley.com

Yet another iteration of Lavanya Mahate’s vision of her homeland, this Saffron Valley location combines the best of her other three restaurants: Indian street foods, classic Indian and the Indian-Anglo bakery.

TANDOOR INDIAN GRILL 3300 S. 729 East, SLC, 801-486-4542; 4828 S. Highland Dr., Holladay, 801-999-4243. tandoorindiangrill.com

Delicious salmon tandoori, sizzling on a plate with onions and peppers like fajitas, is mysteriously not overcooked. Friendly service.

Bricks is the sole purveyor of Detroit-style pizza in Salt Lake City, baked in a steel pan and smothered in cheese, some might think it resembles a lasagna more than a pizza. You’ll want to come hungry.

CAFÉ TRIO 680 S. 900 East, SLC, 801-533-8746. triodiningslc.com

Pizzas from the wood-fired brick oven are wonderful. One of the city’s premier and perennial lunch spots. Be sure to check out their weekly specials.

CAFFÉ MOLISE AND BTG WINE BAR 404 S. West Temple, SLC, 801-364-8833. caffemolise.com

The old Eagle building is a gorgeous setting for this city fave, with outdoor dining space and much more. Sibling wine bar BTG is under the same roof. Call for hours.

CAPUTO’S MARKET AND DELI 314 W. 300 South, SLC, 801-531-8669; 1516 S. 1500 East, SLC, 801-486-6615; 4670 Holladay Village Plaza, Holladay, 801-272-0821. caputos.com

A great selection of olive oils, imported pastas, salamis and house-aged cheeses, and the largest selections of fine chocolate in the country. The deli menu doesn’t reflect the market, but is a reliable source for meatball sandwiches and such.

CUCINA TOSCANA 282 S. 300 West., SLC, 801-328-3463. toscanaslc.com

This longtime favorite turns out Italian classics like veal scaloppine, carbonara and a risotto of the day in a chic setting. A tiny cup of complimentary hot chocolate ends the meal.

ESTE PIZZA

Italian & Pizza

2148 S. 900 East, SLC, 801-485-3699; 156 E. 200 South, SLC, 801-363-2366. estepizzaco.com

ARELLA PIZZERIA

Try the “pink” pizza, topped with ricotta and marinara. Vegan cheese is available, and there’s microbrew on tap.

535 W. 400 North, Bountiful, 801-294-8800. arellapizzeria.com

Chic pizza in Bountiful. Arella’s pies appeal to pizza purists, traditionalists and adventurers, with wood-fired crusts and toppings that range from pear to jalapeño.

NUCH’S PIZZERIA 2819 S. 2300 East, Millcreek, 801-484-0448. nuchspizza.com

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A New York-sized eatery (meaning tiny) offers big flavor via specialty pastas and wonderful bubbly crusted pizzas. Ricotta is made in house.

OSTERIA AMORE An offshoot of the ever-growing Sicilia Mia group, the food here is not highly original — expect carpaccio, fried octopus, all kinds of pasta and pizza in the nicely redesigned space.

PER NOI TRATTORIA 3005 S. Highland Dr., SLC, 801-486-3333. pernoitrattoria.com

A little chef-owned, red sauce Italian spot catering to its neighborhood. Expect casual, your-hands-on service, hope they have enough glasses to accommodate the wine you bring, and order the spinach ravioli.

THE PIE PIZZERIA 1320 E. 200 South, SLC, 801-582-5700; 3321 S. 200 East, South Salt Lake, 801-466-5100; 7186 Union Park Ave, Midvale, 801-233-1999; 10627 Redwood Rd., South Jordan, 801-495-4095. thepie.com

Students can live, think and even thrive on a diet of pizza, beer and soft drinks, and The Pie is the quintessential college pizzeria. While the original is a University neighborhood instituion, more locations have popped up around the valley to serve more than just the collegiate crowd.

PIZZERIA LIMONE 613 E. 400 South, SLC, 801-953-0200; 1380 E. Fort Union Blvd., SLC, 801-733-9305; 11464 S. Parkway Plaza Dr., Ste. 100, South Jordan, 801-495-4467; 42 W. 11400 South, Sandy, 801-666-8707. pizzerialimone.com

The signature pie at this local chain features thinly sliced lemons. Service is cafeteria-style, meaning fast, and the pizza, salads and gelato are remarkably good.

PIZZA NONO 925 E. 900 South, SLC, 801-702-3580. pizzanono-slc.com

Small, kick-started pizzeria in 9th and 9th neighborhood has a limited but carefully sourced menu, a small but good list of wine and beer and an overflowing feeling of hospitality.

SALT LAKE PIZZA & PASTA 1063 E. 2100 South, SLC, 801-484-1804. saltlakepizzaandpasta.com

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VALTER’S OSTERIA

SETTEBELLO PIZZERIA

Valter Nassi’s restaurant overflows with his effervescent personality. The dining room is set up so Valter can be everywhere at once. Old favorites include a number of tableside dishes.

260 S. 200 West, SLC, 801-322-3556. settebello.net

224 S. 1300 East, SLC, 385-270-5606. osteriaamore.com

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And sandwiches and burgers and steak and fish.

The menu here has expanded far beyond its name.

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Every Neapolitan-style pie here is hand-shaped by a pizza artisan and baked in a wood-fired oven.

And they make great gelato right next door.

SICILIA MIA 4536 S. Highland Dr., Holladay, 801-274-0223; 895 W. East Promontory, Farmington, 385-988-3727. siciliamiautah.com

A family-run restaurant with a huge number of fans who love the food’s hearty and approachable style, friendly service and touches of show biz—famous for its pasta carbonara, prepared in a wheel of Parmesan. The third in a trio of family-owned restaurants. They all recall Italian food of yesteryear.

SIRAGUSA’S TASTE OF ITALY 4115 Redwood Rd., Taylorsville, 801-268-1520. siragusas.com

Another strip mall mom-and-pop find, the two dishes to look out for are sweet potato gnocchi and osso buco made with pork.

STANZA 454 E. 300 South, SLC, 801-746-4441. stanzaslc.com

Chef Jonathon LeBlanc, brings a happy flair to this Italianesque restaurant. And Amber Billingsley is making the desserts. Va tutto bene!

STONEGROUND ITALIAN KITCHEN

173 W. Broadway, SLC, 801-521-4563. valtersosteria.com

VENETO RISTORANTE 370 E. 900 South, SLC, 801-359-0708. venetoslc.com

This small place, owned by Marco and Amy Stevanoni, strives to focus on one of the many regional cuisines we lump under the word “Italian.” Hence the name; and forget what you think you know about Italian food except the word “delizioso.”

Japanese KAZE 65. E. Broadway, SLC, 801-800-6768. kazesushiut.com

Small and stylish, Kaze has plenty to offer besides absolutely fresh fish and inventive combinations. Food is beautifully presented and especially for a small place the variety is impressive. A sake menu is taking shape and Kaze is open until midnight.

KOBE JAPANESE RESTAURANT 3947 S. Wasatch Blvd., SLC, 801-277-2928. kobeslc.com

This is Mike’s place—Mike Fukumitsu, once at Kyoto, is the personality behind the sushi bar and the driving spirit in the restaurant. Perfectly fresh fish keeps a horde of regulars returning.

249 E. 400 South, SLC, 801-364-1368. stonegrounditalian.com

KYOTO

The longtime pizza joint has blossomed into a full-scale Italian restaurant with chef Justin Shifflet in the kitchen making authentic sauces and fresh pasta. An appealing upstairs deck and a full craft bar complete the successful transformation. Oh yeah, they still serve pizza.

The service is friendly, the sushi is fresh, the tempura is amazingly light, and the prices are reasonable. Servings are occidentally large, and service is impeccable.

TUSCANY 2832 E. 6200 South, 801-277-9919. tuscanyslc.com

This restaurant’s faux-Tuscan kitsch is mellowing into retro charm, though the glass chandelier is a bit nerve-wracking. The double-cut pork chop is classic, and so is the chocolate cake.

1080 E. 1300 South, SLC, 801-487-3525. kyotoslc.com

NOHM 165 W. 900 South, SLC, 801-917-3812. nohmslc.com

A genius Japanese and Korean restaurant specializing in robata and sushi. Chef-owner David Chon is more daring with his menu than most—this is a place for exploring. If you see something you’ve never tasted before, taste it here. Servers are happy to help.

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TAKASHI

FA M E 18 W. Market St., SLC,

801-519-9595. takashisushi.com

Takashi Gibo earned his acclaim by buying the freshest fish and serving it in politely eyepopping style. Check the chalkboard for specials like Thai mackerel, fatty tuna or spot prawns, and expect some of the best sushi in the city.

TOSH’S RAMEN 1465 S. State St., SLC, 801-466-7000. 1963 E., Murray Holladay Rd., SLC. toshsramen.com

Chef Tosh Sekikawa is our own ramen ranger.

His long-simmered noodle-laden broths have a deservedly devoted following—meaning, go early. Now with a second location.

TSUNAMI 1059 E. 900 South, SLC, 385-900-0288; 7628 S. Union Park Ave., Midvale, 801-676-6466; 10722 River Front Pkwy., South Jordan, 801-748-1178; 1616 W. Traverse Pkwy., Lehi, 801770-0088. tsunamiutah.com

Besides sushi, the menu offers crispy-light tempura and numerous house cocktails and sake.

YOKO RAMEN 473 E. 400 South, SLC, 801-876-5267. yokoslc.com

More ramen! Utahns can’t seem to slurp enough of the big Japanese soup—Yoko serves it up for carnivores and vegans, plus offers some kinkier stuff like a Japanese Cubano sandwich and various pig parts.

Mediterranean & Middle Eastern CAFÉ MED 420 E. 3300 South, SLC, 801-493-0100. medslc.com

Get the mezzes platter for some of the best falafel in town. Entrees range from pita sandwiches to gargantuan dinner platters of braised shortribs, roast chicken and pasta.

LAYLA 4751 S. Holladay Blvd., Holladay, 801-272-9111. laylagrill.com

Layla relies on family recipes. The resulting standards, like hummus and kebabs, are great, but explore some of the more unusual dishes, too.

LAZIZ KITCHEN 912 S. Jefferson St., SLC, 801-441-1228. lazizkitchen.com

There are so many reasons to love Laziz Kitchen.

Some are obvious—their top-notch Lebanesestyle hummus, muhammara and toum.

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MAZZA

FA M E 1515 S. 1500 East, SLC, 801-484-9259. mazzacafe.com

Excellent. With the bright flavor that is the hallmark of Middle Eastern food and a great range of dishes, Mazza has been a go-to for fine Lebanese food in SLC before there was much fine food at all.

MANOLI’S 402 E. 900 South, #2, SLC, 801-532-3760. manolison9th.com

Manoli and Katrina Katsanevas have created a fresh modern approach to Greek food. Stylish small plates full of Greek flavors include Butternut-squash-filled tyropita, smoked feta in piquillo peppers and a stellar roast chicken.

PADELI’S 30 E. Broadway, SLC, 801-322-1111. padelisstreetgreek.com

One of Salt Lake’s original Greek restaurants, Greek Souvlaki, has opened a contemporary version of itself. Padeli’s also serves the classic street fare, but these excellent souvlaki come in a streamlined space modeled after Chipotle, Zao and other fast-but-not-fast-food stops. The perfect downtown lunch.

SPITZ DONER KEBAB 35 E. Broadway, SLC, 801-364-0286. spitz-restaurant.com

This California transplant specializes in what Utahns mostly know by their Greek name “gyros.”

But that’s not the only attraction. Besides the food, Spitz has an energetic hipster vibe and a liquor license that make it an after-dark destination.

Mexican BARRIO 282 E. 900 South, SLC, 801-613-2251. barrioslc.com

A slick new taco bar with a slightly punk Mexican theme, Barrio offers the usual selection of tacos—everyone’s favorite food, outdoor seating on nice days, margaritas, beer and a

selection of serve yourself salsas.

BLUE IGUANA 165 S. West Temple, SLC, 801-533-8900. blueiguanarestaurant.net

This colorful downtown restaurant has a charming downstairs location and patio, and has been a Salt Lake staple for decades. Enchiladas, tacos, and “jengo” nachos—piled high on a platter—are all good, as are the margaritas. A nifty addition: phone chargers on every table.

CHILE TEPIN 307 W. 200 South, SLC, 801-883-9255. chile-tepin.com

Popular for its generous servings of Mexican food, this place usually has a line on Friday nights. Heavy on the protein—the molcajete holds beef, pork and chicken—but cheese enchiladas and margaritas and other staples are good, too.

CHUNGA’S 180 S. 900 West, SLC, 801-953-1840; 1895 S. Redwood Rd., SLC, 801-973-6904. chungasmexican.com

These tacos al pastor are the real deal. Carved from a big pineapple-marinated hunk, the meat is folded in delicate masa tortillas with chopped pineapple, onion and cilantro.

LONE STAR TAQUERIA 2265 E. Fort Union Blvd., SLC, 801-944-2300. lstaq.com

Lone Star serves a burrito that’s a meal in itself, whether you choose basic bean and cheese or a special.

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RED IGUANA 736 W. North Temple, SLC, 801-322-1489; 866 W. South Temple, SLC, 801-214-6050.

rediguana.com

All locations are a blessing in this City of Salt, which still has mysteriously few good Mexican restaurants. Mole is what you want.

RIO GRANDE CAFÉ 258 S. 1300 East, SLC, 801-364-3302. riograndecafeslc.com

As bustling now as it was when it was still a train station, this is a pre-Jazz favorite and great for kids, too. Dishes overflow the plate and fill the belly.

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ON THE TABLE

and the breakfast is an institution.

TACO TACO 208 E. 500 South, SLC, 801-428-2704. tacotacoslc.com

THE OYSTER BAR

A tiny, charming taqueria, perfect for pick-up and sunny days.

TAQUERIA 27 149 E. 200 South, SLC, 385-259-0940; 4670 S. Holladay Village Plaza, Holladay, 801-676-9706; 6154 S. Fashion Blvd. #2, Murray, 801-266-2487; 1688 W. Traverse Pkwy., Lehi, 801-331-8033. taqueria27.com

Salt Lake needs more Mexican food, and Todd Gardiner is here to provide it. Artisan tacos (try the duck confit), inventive guacamole and lots of tequila.

Seafood CURRENT FISH & OYSTER HOUSE 279 E. 300 South, SLC, 801-326-3474. currentfishandoyster.com

HARBOR SEAFOOD & STEAK CO. 2302 E. Parleys Way, SLC, 801-466-9827. harborslc.com

A much-needed breath of sea air refreshes this restaurant, which updates their menu frequently according to the availability of wild fish. A snappy interior, a creative cocktail menu and a vine-covered patio make for a hospitable atmosphere.

KIMI’S CHOP & OYSTER HOUSE 2155 S. Highland Dr., SLC, 801-946-2079. kimishouse.com

Kimi Eklund and Chef Matt Anderson are bringing a touch of glam to Sugar House with their high-style, multi-purpose restaurant: It’s an oyster bar, it’s a steakhouse, it’s a lounge. However you use it, Kimi’s makes for a fun change from the surrounding pizza and beerscapes, with dramatic lighting, purple velvet and live music.

MARKET STREET GRILL 48 W. Market St., SLC, 801-322-4668; 2985 E. Cottonwood Pkwy., SLC, 801-942-8860; 10702 River Front Pkwy., South Jordan, 801-302-2262. marketstreetgrill.com

SLC’s fave fish restaurants: Fish is flown in daily

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This is one of the best selection of fresh oysters in town: Belon, Olympia, Malpeque and Snow Creek, plus Bluepoints. Crab and shrimp are conscientiously procured.

Southeast Asian CHABAAR BEYOND THAI

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OH MAI 850 S. State St.,SLC, 801-575-8888; 3425 State St., SLC, 801467-6882, Other Utah locations. ohmaisandwichkitchen.com

Fast, friendly and hugely flavorful—that sums up this little banh mi shop that’s taken SLC by storm. Pho is also good and so are full plates, but the banh mi are heaven.

87 W. 7200 South, Midvale, 801-566-5100. chabaarbeyondthai.com

PHO TAY HO

One of Annie Sooksri’s parade of restaurants, this one features what the name implies: a solid menu of Thai favorites plus some inventions based on Thai flavors.

One of the best Pho broths around is served out of an unassuming house on the southside of Salt Lake City. Pho Tay Ho is the real deal. The family-owned-and-operated noodle house keeps their menu small but full of flavor.

CHANON THAI CAFÉ

An all-star team made this cool downtown restaurant an instant hit. Excellent and inventive seafood dishes plenty of non-fishy options.

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54 W. Market St., SLC, 801-531-6044; 2985 E. Cottonwood Parkway (6590 South), SLC, 801-942-8870. marketstreetgrill.com

My Thai is an unpretentious mom-and-pop operation—she’s mainly in the kitchen, and he mainly waits tables, but in a lull, she darts out from her stove to ask diners if they like the food.

Yes, we do.

1766 S. Main St., SLC, 385-240-0309. photayho.com

278 E. 900 South, SLC, 801-532-1177. chanonthaislc.com

PLEIKU

A meal here is like a casual dinner at your best Thai friend’s place. Try curried fish cakes and red-curry prawns with coconut milk and pineapple.

264 S. Main St., SLC, 801-359-4544. pleikuslc.com

FAV BISTRO 1984 E. Murray Holladay Rd., Holladay, 801-676-9300. favbistro.com

Cross-cultural food with a menu of fusion dishes based on Thai flavors.

INDOCHINE 230 S. 1300 East, 801-582-0896. indochinesaltlake.com

Vietnamese cuisine is under-­represented in Salt Lake’s Thai-ed up dining scene, so a restaurant that offers more than noodles is welcome. Try broken rice dishes, clay pots and pho.

MI LA-CAI NOODLE HOUSE 961 S. State St., SLC, 801-322-3590. lacainoodlehouse.com

Mi La-cai’s noodles rise above the rest, and their pho is fantastic—each bowl a work of art. The beautiful setting is a pleasure. It’s even a pleasure to get the bill.

MY THAI 1425 S. 300 West, SLC, 801-505-4999. mythaiasiancuisine.com

This stylish downtown spot serves a selection of Vietnamese dishes made from family recipes and served tapas-style. Note the pho, which is brewed for 36 hours and served in a full-bowl meal or a preprandial cup.

SAPA SUSHI BAR & ASIAN GRILL 722 S. State St., SLC, 801-363-7272. sapabarandgrill.com

Charming Vietnamese stilt houses surround the courtyard. Sapa’s menu ranges from Thai curries to fusion and hot pots, but the sushi is the best bet.

SAWADEE THAI 754 E. South Temple, SLC, 801-328-8424. sawadee1.com

The menu goes far outside the usual pad thai and curry. Thai food’s appeal lies in the subtleties of difference achieved with a limited list of ingredients.

SKEWERED THAI 575 S. 700 East, SLC, 801-364-1144. skeweredthai.com

A serene setting for some of the best Thai in town—perfectly balanced curries, pristine spring rolls, intoxicating drunk noodles and a wellcurated wine list.

TEA ROSE DINER 65 E. 5th Ave., Murray, 801-685-6111. trosediner.com

FLEMING’S PRIME STEAKHOUSE 20 S. 400 West #2020, The Gateway, SLC, 801-355-3704. flemingssteakhouse.com

Annie Sooksri has a mini-empire of Thai and Asian restaurants across the valley—Tea Rose has been a favorite since 2007 and offers a menu of Thai staples and American breakfast dishes.

This local branch of a national chain has a famously impressive wine list. With more than 100 available by the glass, it has selections that pair well with anything you order.

SOMI VIETNAMESE BISTRO

RUTH’S CHRIS STEAKHOUSE

1215 E. Wilmington Ave., SLC, 385-322-1158. somislc.com

But there’s also Chinese food and a cocktail menu at this stylish Sugarhouse restaurant.

Crispy branzino, pork belly sliders on bai and braised oxtail are some of the highlights to the menu, which also includes the standard spring rolls and pho.

THAI GARDEN 868 E. 900 South, SLC, 801-355-8899. thaigardenbistroslc.com

Paprika-infused pad thai, deep-fried duck and fragrant gang gra ree are all excellent choices— but there are 50-plus items on the menu. Be tempted by batter-fried bananas with coconut ice cream.

KRUA THAI 212 E. 500 South, SLC, 801-328-4401. kruathaislc.com

Curries and noodle dishes hit a precise procession on the palate—sweet, then sour, savory and hot— plus there are dishes you’ve never tried before and should: bacon and collard greens, red curry with duck, salmon with chili and coconut sauce.

ZAO ASIAN CAFE 400 S. 639 East, SLC, 801-595-1234; 2227 S. Highland Dr., SLC, 801-467-4113; Other Utah locations. zaoasiancafe.com

It’s hard to categorize this pan-Asian semi-fast food concept. It draws from Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese traditions, all combined with the American need for speed. Just file it under fast, fresh, flavorful food.

Steak CHRISTOPHER’S PRIME 110 W. Broadway, SLC, 801-890-6616. christophersut.com

The menu is straightforward, chilled shellfish and rare steaks, with a few seafood and poultry entrees thrown in for the non-beefeaters.

275 S. West Temple, SLC, 801-363-2000. ruthschris.com

This former bank building has inner beauty.

Stick with classics like crab cocktail, order the wedge, and ask for your butter-sizzled steak no more than medium, please. Service is excellent.

Eat dessert, then linger in the cool bar.

SPENCER’S 255 S. West Temple, SLC, 801-238-4748. spencersslc.com

The quality of the meat and the accuracy of the cooking are what make it great. Beef is aged on the bone, and many cuts are served on the bone—a luxurious change from the usual cuts.

Vegetarian & Vegan BOLTCUTTER 57 E. Gallivan Ave., SLC. boltcutterslc.com So hip there’s no listed phone number.

Vegan—the boltcutters refer to setting free the animals. Mexican flavors spice up the menu of tacos filled with seitan or mushrooms and there’s a list of agave spirit drinks. The same folks own the vegan ice cream place next door, Monkeywrench.

RAWTOPIA 3961 S. Wasatch Blvd., SLC, 801-486-0332. rawtopia.com

Owner Omar Abou-Ismail’s Rawtopia is a destination for those seeking clean, healthy food in Salt Lake—whether you’re a vegan, vegetarian or omnivore. Desserts are amazingly indulgent— like chocolate caramel pie and berry cheesecake.

VERTICAL DINER

ZEST KITCHEN & BAR 275 S. 200 West, SLC, 801-433-0589. zestslc.com

Zest has sophisticated vegan cooking plus a cheerful attitude and ambience fueled by creative cocktails. Pulling flavors from many culinary traditions, the menu offers Cuban tacos, Thai curry with forbidden rice, stuffed poblano peppers as well as bar noshes and an amazing chocolate-beet torte—all vegan. The menu changes frequently. This is a 21+ establishment.

PARK CITY & THE WASATCH BACK American Fine Dining APEX 9100 Marsac Ave., Park City, 435-604-1300. montagehotels.com/deervalley

Apex at Montage exudes luxury in an understated and comfortable way. No need to tux up for pampered service; the classy lack of pretension extends to the menu—no unpronounceables, nothing scary or even too daring—just top-of-the-line everything. Quality speaks for itself.

350 MAIN 350 Main St., Park City, 435-649-3140. 350main.com

Now run by Cortney Johanson who has worked at the restaurant for 20 years, this mainstay cafe on Main Street is seeing another high point.

With Chef Matthew Safranek in the kitchen, the menu is a balanced mix of old favorites and soon-to-be favorites like Five Spice Venison Loin in Pho. Amazing.

THE FARM RESTAURANT 4000 Canyons Resort Dr., 435-615-8080. parkcitymountain.com

Food is at the forefront of the newly named Park City Mountain Resort, and the farm is the flagship featuring sustainably raised and produced food. Resort Village, Sundial Building, North of the Cabriolet.

234 W. 900 South, SLC, 801- 484-8378. verticaldiner.com

Vertical Diner boasts an animal-free menu of burgers, sandwiches and breakfasts. Plus organic wines and coffees.

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FIREWOOD 306 Main St., Park City, 435-252-9900. firewoodonmain.com

Chef John Murcko’s place on Main Street is all about cooking with fire—his massive Inferno kitchen grill by Grillworks runs on oak, cherry and applewood, depending on what’s cooking.

But each dish is layered and nuanced, with global influences. Definitely a star on Main Street.

GLITRETIND 7700 Stein Way, Deer Valley, Park City, 435-645-6455. steinlodge.com

The service is polished, and the menu is as fun or as refined or as inventive as Chef Zane Holmquist’s mood. The appeal resonates with the jet set and local diners. The wine list is exceptional. But so is the burger.

GOLDENER HIRSCH 7570 Royal St., Park City, 435-655-2563. aubergeresorts.com/goldenerhirsch

A jazzed up Alpine theme—elk carpaccio with pickled shallots, foie gras with cherry-prune compote and wiener schnitzel with carawayspiked carrot strings.

MARIPOSA AT DEER VALLEY 7600 Royal St., Park City, 435-645-6632. deervalley.com

(Open seasonally) Try the tasting menu for an overview of the kitchen’s talent. It’s white tablecloth, but nothing is formal.

(Open seasonally) Don’t miss the lobster chowder, but note the novelties, too. In a new take on the classic lettuce wedge salad, Royal Street’s version adds baby beets, glazed walnuts and pear tomatoes.

VIKING YURT 1345 Lowell Ave., Park City, Park City Mountain Resort, 435-615-9878. thevikingyurt.com

Arrive by sleigh and settle in for a luxurious five-course meal. Reservations and punctuality a must.

890 Main St., Park City, 435-658-3975. mustangparkcity.com

A duck chile relleno arrives in a maelstrom of queso and ranchero sauce. Braised lamb shank and lobster with cheese enchiladas share the menu with seasonal entrees.

The kitchen offers imaginative selections even though the dark wood and cozy ambience look like an old gentlemen’s club. Don’t miss the Dreamloaf, served with Yukon gold mashed potatoes.

THE BLUE BOAR INN 1235 Warm Springs Rd., Midway, 435-654-1400. theblueboarinn.com

The restaurant is reminiscent of the Alps, but serves fine American cuisine. Don’t miss the award-winning brunch.

THE BRASS TAG In the Lodges at Deer Valley, the focal point here is a wood oven which turns out everything from pizza to fish and chops, all of the superior quality one expects from Deer Valley. Open seasonally.

EATING ESTABLISHMENT Claiming to be the oldest, this restaurant is one of Park City’s most versatile. On weekend mornings, locals line up for breakfasts.

Acclaimed Chef Matthew Harris heads the kitchen at this simply brilliant restaurant at the St. Regis—meticulously sourced meat and seafood from his trusted vendors, perfectly cooked.

FLETCHER’S ON MAIN STREET

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1153 Center Dr., (Newpark), Park City, 435-200-8840. hearth-hill.com

HIGH WEST DISTILLERY

1251 Kearns Blvd., Park City, 435-655-0800. blinddogpc.com

2300 Deer Valley Dr. East, Park City, St. Regis, Deer Valley, 435-615-6420. srdvdining.com.

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BLIND DOG GRILL

317 Main St., Park City, 435-649-8284. theeatingestablishment.net

7600 Royal St., Silver Lake Village, Deer Valley Resort, Park City, 435-645-6724. deervalley.com

Chef-owner Briar Handly offers a menu, mostly of small plates, with the emphasis on excellent sourcing—trout sausage and Beltex Meats prosciutto, for example. There are also full-meal plates, including the chef’s famous fried chicken.

American Casual

RIME SEAFOOD & STEAK

ROYAL STREET CAFÉ

136 Heber Ave., Park City, 435-602-1155. handleparkcity.com

This all-purposse cafe serves lunch, dinner and weekend brunch, focusing on bright, approachable American dishes with a kick.

2900 Deer Valley Dr. East, Park City, 435-615-2410. deervalley.com

MUSTANG

HANDLE

562 Main St., Park City, 435-649-1111. fletcherspc.com

Fletcher’s has a casual approach designed to suit any appetite, almost any time. Talented Chef Scott Boborek’s carefully sourced dishes range from burgers to Beef Wellington—with lobster mac and Utah trout.

703 Park Ave., Park City, 435-649-8300. highwest.com

Order a flight of whiskey and taste the difference aging makes, but be sure to order plenty of food to see how magically the whiskey matches the fare. The chef takes the amber current theme throughout the food.

SAMMY’S BISTRO 1890 Bonanza Dr., Park City, 435-214-7570. sammysbistro.com

Down-to-earth food in a comfortable setting.

Sounds simple, but if so, why aren’t there more Sammy’s in our world? Try the bacon-grilled shrimp or a chicken bowl with your brew.

SILVER STAR CAFE 1825 Three Kings Dr., Park City, 435-655-3456. thesilverstarcafe.com

Comfort food with an upscale sensibility and original touches, like shrimp and grits with chipotle or Niman Ranch pork cutlets with spaetzle. The location is spectacular.

SIMON’S GRILL AT THE HOMESTEAD 700 N. Homestead Dr., Midway, 800-327-7220. homesteadresort.com

The décor is formal, the fare is hearty but refined—salmon in a morel cream, or pearl onion fritters dusted with coarse salt.

SPIN CAFÉ 220 N. Main St., Heber City, 435-654-0251. spincafe.net

Housemade gelato is the big star at this family-

Three locations, Salt Lake City, Holladay and Ogden.

Open 7 days a week for dine-in, takeout and delivery through Doordash.

WB’s CBD Oil Isolated Spectrum Citrus

WB’s Eatery, we’re casual in every way; cocktails in the shaker, CBD Oil for dosing...your spot to kickback with friends, and live the lifestyle!

ON THE TABLE

owned café, but the food is worth your time. Try the pulled pork, the salmon BLT or the sirloin.

SQUATTERS ROADHOUSE 1900 Park Ave., Park City, 435-649-9868. squatters.com

784 W. Resort Dr., Midway, 435-657-0180. zermattresort.com

Everyone loves the bourbon burger, and Utah Brewers Co-op brews are available by the bottle and on the state-of-the-art tap system. Open for breakfast daily.

The charming, Swiss-themed resort is big on buffets—seafood, Italian and brunch.

WASATCH BREWERY

ZERMATT RESORT

250 Main St., Park City, 435-649-0900. wasatchbeers.com

Bakeries & Cafés PARK CITY COFFEE ROASTERS 1764 Uinta Way, Park City, 435-647-9097. pcroaster.com

The town’s fave house-roasted coffee and housemade pastries make this one of the best energy stops in town.

WASATCH BAGEL CAFÉ 1300 Snow Creek Dr., Park City, 435-645-7778. wasatchbagelandgrill.com

This was the first brewpub in Utah, and it serves handcrafted beer and family-friendly fare without a hefty price tag. Everyone loves Polygamy Porter, and the weekend brunch is great, too.

Breakfast DEER VALLEY GROCERY & CAFE 1375 Deer Valley Dr., Park City, 435-615-2400. deervalley.com

Not just bagels, but bagels as buns, enfolding a sustaining layering of sandwich fillings like egg and bacon.

The small lakeside spot serves sandwiches and lunch specials, plus it’s a great place to stock up on deer Valley classics to take home—think classic Deer Valley turkey chili.

WINDY RIDGE BAKERY & CAFÉ

WOODLAND BISCUIT COMPANY

1750 Iron Horse Dr., Park City, 435-647-2906. windyridgebakery.com

One of Park City’s most popular noshing spots— especially on Taco Tuesdays. The bakery behind turns out desserts and pastries for Bill White’s restaurants as well as take-home entrees.

Bar Grub & Brewpubs BURGERS & BOURBON 9100 Marsac Ave., Park City, 435-604-1402. montagehotels.com/deervalley

Housed in the luxurious Montage, this casual restaurant presents the most deluxe versions of America’s favorite foods. The burgers are stupendous, there’s a great list of bourbons to back them, and the milkshakes are majorly good.

RED ROCK JUNCTION 1640 W. Redstone Center Dr., Ste. 105, Park City, 435-5750295. redrockbrewing.com

The house-brewed beers—honey wheat, amber ale or oatmeal stout, to name a few—complement a menu of burgers, brick-oven pizzas and rotisserie chicken.

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2734 E. State Hwy. 35, Woodland, 435- 783-4202. woodlandbiscuitcompany.com

Breakfast is the real deal here so pile on the bacon and eggs but if you sleep late, not to worry—burgers, sandwiches and tacos are good too.

Continental & European CAFÉ TERIGO

Italian & Pizza FUEGO 2001 Sidewinder Dr., Park City, 435- 645-8646. fuegopizzeria.com

Off the beaten Main Street track, this pizzeria is a family-friendly solution to a ski-hungry evening.

Pastas, paninis and wood-fired pizzas are edgy, but they’re good.

GHIDOTTI’S 6030 N. Market St., Park City, 435-658-0669. ghidottis.com

Ghidotti’s evokes Little Italy more than Italy, and the food follows suit—think spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna and rigatoni Bolognese. Try the chicken soup.

GRAPPA 151 Main St., Park City, 435-645-0636. grapparestaurant.com

Dishes like osso buco and grape salad with gorgonzola, roasted walnuts and Champagne vinaigrette are sensational, and the wine list features hard-to-find Italian wines as well as flights, including sparkling.

Japanese/Pan-Asian SUSHI BLUE 1571 W. Redstone Center Dr. Ste. 140, Park City, 435-575-4272. sushiblueparkcity.com

Find the yin and yang of Asian-American flavors in Bill White’s sushi, excellent Korean tacos, crab sliders and other Amer-Asian food fusions, including the best hot dog in the state, topped with bacon and house-made kimchi.

424 Main St., Park City, 435-645-9555. cafeterigo.com

WAHSO

This charming café is the spot for a leisurely meal. Chicken and bacon tossed with mixed greens and grilled veggies on focaccia are cafégoers’ favorites.

Restaurateur Bill White is known for his eyepopping eateries. Wahso is his crown jewel, done up with lanterns and silks like a 1930s noir set.

Don’t miss the jasmine tea-smoked duck.

COURCHEVEL BISTRO

YUKI YAMA SUSHI

201 Heber Ave., Park City, 435-572-4398. courchevelbistro.com

Named after Park City’s sister city in the Savoie region of France, which happens to be the home turf of Chef Clement Gelas and is he having some fun with his mother cuisine. Be guided by him or your server and try some French food like you haven’t had before.

577 Main St., Park City, 435-615-0300. wahso.com

586 Main St., Park City, 435-649-6293. yukiyamasushi.com

Located in the heart of Old Town Park City, Yuki Yama offers both traditional japanese dishes and more modern plates. It’s all guided by the steady hands of Executive Chef Kirk Terashima.

Mediterranean REEF’S 7720 Royal St. East, Park City, 435-658-0323. reefsrestaurant.com

Lamb chops are tender, falafel is crunchy, and the prices fall between fast food and fine dining. It’s a den of home cooking, if your home is east of the Mediterranean. Open seasonally.

Mexican & Southwestern BAJA CANTINA 1355 Lowell Ave., Park City, 435-649-2252. bajaparkcity.com

The T.J. Taxi is a flour tortilla stuffed with chicken, sour cream, tomatoes, onions, cheddarjack cheese and guacamole.

BILLY BLANCO’S 8208 Gorgoza Pines Rd., Park City, 435-575-0846. billyblancos.com

Motor City Mexican. The subtitle is “burger and taco garage,” but garage is the notable

word. This is a theme restaurant with lots of cars and motorcycles on display, oil cans to hold the f latware, and a 50-seat bar made out of toolboxes. If you’ve ever dreamed of eating in a garage, you’ll be thrilled.

CHIMAYO 368 Main St., Park City, 435-649-6222. chimayorestaurant.com

Bill White’s prettiest place, this restaurant is reminiscent of Santa Fe, but the food is pure Park City. Margaritas are good, and the avocadoshrimp appetizer combines guacamole and ceviche flavors in a genius dish.

EL CHUBASCO 1890 Bonanza Dr., Park City, 435-645-9114. elchubascoparkcity.com

Regulars storm this restaurant for south-of-theborder eats. Burritos fly through the kitchen like chiles too hot to handle—proving consistency matters.

TARAHUMARA 1300 Snow Creek Dr., Ste. P, Park City, 435-645-6005. tarahumararestaurant.com

Some of the best Mexican food in the state can be found in this Park City cafe. Don’t be fooled by the bland exterior; inside you’ll find a full-fledged cantina and an adjoining family restaurant with a soulful salsa bar.

Seafood FRESHIE’S LOBSTER CO. 1915 Prospector Ave., Park City, 435-631-9861. freshieslobsterco.com

After years as everyone’s favorite summer food stop at Park Silly Market, Freshie’s has settled into a permanent location selling their shore-to-door lobster rolls all year round.

RIME SEAFOOD & RAW BAR 9850 Summit View Dr., Park City. rimerawbar.com

Such a hit on the slopes that Chef Matt Harris took the concept inside and Rime is an anchor restaurant inside the St. Regis, Open Thurs-Sun.

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Southeast Asian SHABU 442 Main St., Park City, 435-645-7253. shabuparkcity.com

Cool new digs, friendly service and fun food make Shabu one of PC’s most popular spots. Make reservations. A stylish bar with prize-winning mixologists adds to the freestyle feel.

KUCHU SHABU HOUSE 3270 N. Sundial Ct., Park City, 435-649-0088. kuchushabu.com

The second shabu-style eatery in PC is less grand than the first but offers max flavor from quality ingredients.

Steak

NORTH SALT LAKE & BEYOND

Eatery is located inside The Monarch, a hip maker and market space for artists. A hybrid space as well, the eatery sells CBD oil, as well as serving up cocktails, bites and boards of meat and cheese.

American Fine Dining

Bar Grub & Brewpubs

THE HUNTINGTON ROOM AT EARL’S LODGE

THE BEEHIVE PUB & GRILL

3925 E. Snowbasin Rd., Huntsville, 888-437-5488. snowbasin.com

Ski-day sustenance and fireside dinner for the après-ski set. In summer, dine at the top of the mountain.

American Casual HEARTH ON 25 195 Historic 25th St. Ste. 6 (2nd Floor), Ogden, 801-399-0088. hearth25.com

BUTCHER’S CHOP HOUSE & BAR 751 Lower Main St., Park City, 435-647-0040. butcherschophouse.com

The draws are prime rib, New York strip and pork chops—and the ladies’ night specials in the popular bar downstairs.

The charming upstairs dining room is a great setting for some of the best and most imaginative food in Ogden. Handmade hearth bread, espressorubbed yak, killer stroganoff—too many options to mention here—this is really a destination restaurant.

GRUB STEAK

PRAIRIE SCHOONER

2093 Sidewinder Dr., Prospector Square, Park City, 435-6498060. grubsteakparkcity.com

445 Park Blvd., Ogden, 801-392-2712. prairieschoonerrestaurant.com

Live country music, fresh salmon, lamb and chicken, and a mammoth salad bar. Order bread pudding whether you think you want it or not.

You will.

Tables are covered wagons around a diorama featuring coyotes, cougars and cowboys—corny, but fun. The menu is standard, but kids love it.

TABLE 25

EDGE STEAKHOUSE 3000 Canyon Resort Dr., Park City, 435-655-2260. westgateresorts.com

195 25th St., Ste. 4, Ogden, 385-244-1825. table25ogden.com

This beautifully fills the beef bill at the huge resort, and the tasting menus take you through salad, steak and dessert for $45 to $60, depending on options.

A bright, contemporary space in Downtown Ogden has a patio right on Historic 25th Street.

The elevated yet approachable menu includes Spanish mussels and frites, ahi tuna and a classic cheeseburger.

PRIME STEAK HOUSE

UNION GRILL

804 Main St., Park City, 435-655-9739. primeparkcity.com

315 24th St., Ogden, 801-621-2830. uniongrillogden.com

Prime’s recipe for success is simple: Buy quality ingredients and insist on impeccable service.

Enjoy the piano bar, and save room for molten chocolate cake.

The cross-over cooking offers sandwiches, seafood and pastas with American, Greek, Italian or Mexican spices.

Part restaurant, part bar, part coffeehouse, WB’s

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An indirect offshoot of Moab Brewery, the Grill focuses as much on house-brewed root beer as alcoholic suds, but the generally hefty food suits either.

Burgers, Sandwiches & Delis CAFFE IBIS 52 Federal Ave., Logan, 435-753-4777. caffeibis.com

Exchange news, enjoy sandwiches and salads and linger over a cuppa conscientiously grown coffee.

MADDOX RANCH HOUSE 1900 S. Highway 89, Perry, 435-723-8545. maddoxfinefood.com

Angus beef steaks, bison chicken-fried steak and burgers have made this an institution for more than 50 years. Eat in, drive up or take home.

Chinese MANDARIN 348 E. 900 North, Bountiful, 801-298-2406. mandarinutah.com

The rooms are filled with red and gold dragons.

Chefs recruited from San Francisco crank out a huge menu. Desserts are noteworthy. Call ahead.

Italian & Pizza SLACKWATER PIZZA 209 24th St., Ogden, 801-399-0637. slackwaterpizzeria.com

The pies here are as good as any food in Ogden.

Selection ranges from traditional to Thai (try it), and there’s a good selection of wine and beer.

ROVALI’S RISTORANTE WB’S EATERY 455 25th Street, Ogden, 385-244-1471. wbseatery.com

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255 S. Main St., Logan, 435-753-2600. thebeehivegrill.com

174 E. 25th St., Ogden, 801-394-1070. rovalis.com

This friendly family-owned place on Ogden’s main drag serves hearty Italian fare and housemade pastry, plus a creative bar menu and live music.

Japanese RAMEN HAUS 2550 Washington Blvd., Ogden, 801-393-0000. ramenhausogden.com

Sergei Oveson’s experience with ramen master Tosh and Shani Oveson’s at Naked Fish shows all over their restaurant in Ogden. Simple but stylish sums the space and terrific is the only word for the ramen. Do not leave without ordering the honey toast even if you think you don’t want dessert.

TONA SUSHI 210 25th St., Ogden, 801-622-8662. tonarestaurant.com

The charming old space on Ogden’s main drag houses a meticulously top-notch sushi restaurant. Owner Tony Chen grows herbs and sprouts in the basement and the plates he presents show an artist’s touch. Ask about the secret menu.

Mexican SONORA GRILL 2310 Kiesel Ave., Ogden, 801-393-1999. thesonoragrill.com

A big, beautiful Mexican restaurant, the kind you see in Texas or New Mexico, Sonora serves great chips and salsa, a famous margarita, several kinds of ceviche and all the dishes you love as well as vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options.

Southeast Asian THAI CURRY KITCHEN 582 25th St., Ogden, 385-333-7100. thaicurrykitchen.com.

Chic and sleek counter service offering bright from-scratch curries and salads plus locally made kombucha.

PROVO & CENTRAL UTAH American Fine Dining COMMUNAL 102 N. University Ave., Provo, 801-373-8000. communalrestaurant.com

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Food is focused on the familiar with chef’s flair—like braised pork shoulder crusted in panko.

Attention to detail makes this one of Utah’s best.

Italian PIZZERIA 712 320 S. State St., #185, Orem, 801-623-6712. pizzeria712.com

THE TREE ROOM 8841 Alpine Loop Scenic Byway, Sundance Resort, Sundance, 866-627-8313. sundanceresort.com

Sundance Resort’s flagship is known for its seasonal, straightforward menu and memorable decor, including Robert Redford’s kachina collection. Try the wild game—spice-rubbed quail and buffalo tenderloin.

American Casual CHOM BURGER 45 W. 300 North, Provo, 385-241-7499. chomburger.com

Colton Soelberg’s (Communal, etc.) low-key highend burger place has an eye towards infusing highquality ingredients into America’s favorite sandwich.

Inexpensive, innovative and delicious burgers and shakes, as we have come to expect from Soelberg who has a knack for elevating comfort food.

THE FOUNDRY GRILL 8841 Alpine Loop Scenic Byway, Sundance Resort, Sundance, 866-932-2295. sundanceresort.com

The café in Sundance Resort serves comfort food with western style—sandwiches, spit-roasted chickens and s­ teaks. Sunday brunch is a mammoth buffet.

STATION 22 22 W. Center St., Provo, 801-607-1803. station22cafe.com

Ever-hipper Provo is home to some cutting-edge food now that the cutting edge has a folksy, musical saw kind of style. Station 22 is a perfect example of the Utah roots trend—a charming, funky interior, a great soundtrack and a menu with a slight Southern twang. Try the fried chicken sandwich with red cabbage on ciabatta.

The pizza menu reaches heights of quality that fancier restaurants only fantasize about. Not only are the blister-crusted pizzas the epitome of their genre, but braised short ribs, local mushrooms and arugula on ciabatta are equally stellar.

Vegetarian GINGER’S GARDEN CAFE 188. S. Main St., Springville, 801-489-1863. gingersgardencafe.com

Tucked inside Dr. Christopher’s Herb Shop, Ginger’s serves truly garden-fresh, bright-flavored, mostly vegetarian dishes.

MOAB & SOUTHEAST UTAH American Dining HELL’S BACKBONE GRILL 20 N. Highway 12, Boulder, 435-335-7464. hellsbackbonegrill.com

Owners Blake Spalding and Jen Castle set the bar for local, organic food in Utah. Now the cafe has gained national fame. They garden, forage, raise chickens and bees, and offer breakfasts, dinners and even picnic lunches.

SUNGLOW FAMILY RESTAURANT 91 E. Main St., Bicknell, 435-425-3821.

This pit stop is famous for its pinto bean and pickle pies. Yes, we said pickle.

Bar Grub & Brewpubs

Indian

MOAB BREWERY

BOMBAY HOUSE

686 Main St., Moab, 435-259-6333. themoabbrewery.com

463 N. University Ave., Provo, 801-373-6677; 7726 Campus View Dr., West Jordan, 801-282-0777; 2731 E. Parley’s Way, SLC, 801-581-0222. bombayhouse.com

Salt Lake’s biryani mainstay has several sister restaurants worthy to call family.

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A beloved watering hole for river-runners, slickrock bikers, red-rock hikers and everyone who needs a bite and a beer, which is nearly everyone in Moab. All beer is brewed on site.

ST. GEORGE & SOUTHWEST UTAH American Fine Dining KING’S LANDING 1515 Zion Park Blvd., Ste. 50-A, Springdale, 435-772-7422. klbzion.com

In the Driftwood Inn, some of the finest food and the finest view in Utah. The kitchen is ambitious— seasonal, vegan, gluten-free are all covered.

Mushroom tart involves mushrooms, caramelized onions, butternut squash and grapes with burrata and basil, but the flavors meld into harmony.

PAINTED PONY 2 W. St. George Blvd., Ste. 22, St. George, 435-634-1700. painted-pony.com

The kitchen blends culinary trends with standards like sage-smoked quail on mushroom risotto.

Even “surf and turf” has a twist—tenderloin tataki with chile-dusted scallops.

SPOTTED DOG CAFÉ 428 Zion Park Blvd., Springdale, 435-772-0700. flanigans.com/dining

Relax, have some vino and enjoy your achiotebraised lamb shank with mint mashed potatoes on top of rosemary spaghetti squash.

VERMILLION 45 210 S. 100 East, Kanab, 435-644-3300. vermillion45.com

Who would expect a fine restaurant with a French chef in Kanab. But here it is, and it’s excellent.

American Casual MOM’S CAFÉ 10 E. Main St., Salina, 435-529-3921. famousmomscafe.business.site

Mom’s has fed travelers on blue plate standards since 1928. This is the place to try a Utah “scone” with “honey butter.”

OSCAR’S CAFÉ 948 Zion Park Blvd., Springdale, 435-772-3232. oscarscafe.com

Blueberry pancakes, fresh eggs, crisp potatoes and thick bacon. We love breakfast, though

Oscar’s serves equally satisfying meals at other times of day.

PEEKABOO CANYON WOOD FIRED KITCHEN 233 W. Center St., Kanab, 435- 689-1959. peekabookitchen.com

Complementing Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, this casual eatery serves vegetarian cuisine—artisanal pizza, local beer, craft cocktails and a rocking patio.

RED ROCK GRILL AT ZION LODGE Zion National Park, 435-772-7700. zionlodge.com

Try eating here on the terrace. Enjoy meltingpot American dishes like smoked trout salad with prickly pear vinaigrette. And you can’t beat the red rock ambience.

WHIPTAIL GRILL 445 Zion Park Blvd., Springdale, 435-772-0283. whiptailgrillzion.com

Tucked into an erstwhile gas station, the kitchen is little, but the flavors are big—a goat cheese-stuffed chile relleno crusted in Panko and the chocolate-chile creme brulee.

XETAVA GARDENS CAFÉ 815 Coyote Gulch Court, Ivins, 435-656-0165. xetava.com

Blue corn pancakes for breakfast and lunch are good bets. But to truly experience Xetava, dine under the stars in eco-conscious Kayenta.

Mexican THE BIT AND SPUR 1212 Zion Park Blvd., Springdale, 435-772-3498. bitandspur.com

The menu stars Southwestern cuisine—ribs, beef and chicken—as well as chili verde. A longtime Zion favorite, there’s almost always a wait here, but it’s almost always a pleasant one with a view and a brew in hand.

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BAR FLY 21 & OVER BARS

L I B A T I O N S

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B A R S

Forget about navigating the state’s labyrinth of liquor laws—the more than 20 bars and pubs listed here prioritize putting a drink in your hand, although most of them serve good food, too.

Restricted to 21 and over. (Be prepared to show your I.D., whatever your age. This is Utah, after all.)

All bars listed in the Salt Lake Bar Fly have been vetted and chosen based on quality of beverage, food, atmosphere and service.

PHOTO COURTESY GRAND AMERICA

This selective guide has no relationship to any advertising in the magazine.

Review visits are anonymous, and all expenses are paid by Salt Lake magazine.

NOT YOUR GRANDMA’S GRAND AMERICA Dinner and a drink for under $30?

With Laurel Brasserie & Bar, the Grand America embraces casual dining

BY AVREY EVANS

W

H E N Y O U H E A R A N A M E like “The

Grand America,” what words come to mind? Luxurious, certainly. Bougie, perhaps. Expensive, historically accurate. While these descriptors are some that the venerable hotel has worked to identify with for just over 20 years, they are now extending a hand to another audience. Their newest dining space, Laurel Brasserie & Bar, opened its doors last November and is already raising eyebrows with its approachable menu prices and uninhibited quality.

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Upon entering Laurel Brasserie & Bar, you’re met with the noise of bustling bargoers, kind waitstaff and the scent of fresh-baked pizza. The joint bar and dining room maintain the integrity of The Grand America, without the blueblooded personality that can make some (me included) feel like they are trespassing on a highbrow dinner party.

The interior is decidedly casual, with upscale modern-day touches reminiscent of an East Coast eatery. The bar area features a two-sided service station that splits an informal barstool-only space and a more private area lined with swanky booths and a fair share of flatscreens. A bay of windows flood the space with light and offer glimpses of the luminescent bar to passersby across the stress.

Food and beverage offerings focus on classic European cuisine with an American approach. Early birds can enjoy traditional breakfast items, or grab a quick coffee-to-go at their in-house patisserie Bonne Vie, open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Lunch is served on the weekdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with menu highlights including Potato Gnocchi, Short Rib Beef Sandwich, and Nicoise Salad, all for under $20. The dinner menu is ostensibly filled with delicious dishes like the Brined Bone-In Pork Chop and the Pan Seared Branzino, but the real star of the show is the Happy Hour menu.

For food, the happy hour menu offers both snacks and full-size meals. The Margherita pizza is well worth its $8 price, and the Pumpkin Arancini (a rice fritter stuffed with mozzarella and aioli) is a can’t-miss favorite. Another

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tip: Don’t sleep on the Pigs in a Blanket.

Everyone’s favorite time of day gets a little sweeter with a $10 cocktail in hand, and most would be surprised to learn that Laurel Brasserie & Bar offers just that. Their reasonably sized drink menu comprises ten cocktails using local spirits and fresh ingredients. The Smokey Paloma was my personal favorite (adding mezcal to any drink is a win in my book). Other stars were the Clover Club and the Great Basin Sour. The libations menu also addresses the nondrinkers by offering four delicious mocktails that use more than two ingredients.

Laurel Brasserie & Bar is a welcome addition to the downtown dining scene, and succeeds at providing a grand experience without the lavish price tag. Visit the bar 11 a.m. to midnight everyday, and stop in for happy hour 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. daily.

PHOTOS COURTESY GRAND AMERICA

BAR FLY

AC

COPPER COMMON

GREEN PIG

The Euro-styled hotel has a chic lobby bar and a secret menu of drinks inspired by movies filmed in Utah, like Dumb and Dumber and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Copper Common is a real bar—that means you don’t actually have to order food if you don’t want to. But on the other hand, why wouldn’t you want to? This bar has a real chef.

Green Pig is a pub of a different color. The owners use eco-friendly materials and sustainable kitchen practices. The menu star is the chili verde nachos with big pork chunks and cheese.

THE AERIE

THE COTTON BOTTOM

HIGH WEST SALOON

Floor-to-ceiling windows mean drinkers can marvel at nature’s handiwork while feasting from the sushi bar. The menu is global with live music some nights.

Remember when this was a ski bum’s town? The garlic burger and a beer is what you order.

The bartenders at Utah’s award-winning distillery concoct different cocktail menus for every season focusing on High West’s spirits, although the bar stocks other alcohol.

225 W. 200 South, SLC, 385-722-9600. achotels.marriott.com

9320 Cliff Lodge Dr. #88, Snowbird Resort, 801-933-2160, snowbird.com

ALIBI BAR & PLACE

369 S. Main St., SLC, 385-259-0616. albislc.com

Located along SLC’s bar line on Main Street, Alibi has a sleek, hip vibe and is generally filled with happy hipsters, especially when they have theme nights.

BAR X

155 E. 200 South, SLC, 801-355-2287. barxslc.com

This was the vanguard of Salt Lake’s new cocktail movement, serving classic drinks and creative inventions behind the best electric sign in the city.

BEER BAR

161 E. 200 South, SLC, 385-259-0905. beerbarslc.com

Ty Burrell, star of ABC’s small-screen hit Modern Family, co-owns Beer Bar, which is right next to Bar X. It’s noisy, there’s no table service, but there are 140+ brews to choose from, plus 13 kinds of wurst.

THE BAYOU

645 S. State St., SLC, 801-961-8400. utahbayou.com

This is Beervana, with 260 bottled beers and 32 on draft. The kitchen turns out artichoke pizza and deep-fried Cornish game hens.

BEERHIVE PUB

128 S. Main St., SLC, 801-364-4268.

More than 200 beers­­—domestic, imported and local—with a long ice rail to keep the brew cold, the way Americans like ’em, are the outstanding features of this cozy downtown pub.

BTG WINE BAR

404 S. West Temple, SLC, 801-359-2814. btgwinebar.com

BTG stands for “By the Glass” and though BTG serves craft cocktails, specialty beer and good food, the pièces de résistance are the more than 50 wines by the glass. Order a tasting portion or a full glass.

CAMPFIRE LOUNGE

837 E. 2100 South, 801-467-3325. campfirelounge.com

The laid-back feeling of sitting around a campfire is what the owners were aiming for, with or without flames. Campfire is a relaxed neighborhood joint with affordable drinks. And s’mores.

111 E. Broadway #190, SLC, 801-355-0543. coppercommon.com

2820 E. 6200 South, SLC, 801-849-8847. thecottonbottom.com

DICK N’ DIXIE’S

479 E. 300 South, SLC, 801-994-6919.

The classic corner beer bar where cronies of all kinds gather regularly to watch sports, talk politics and generally gossip about the city and nothing in particular.

EAST LIBERTY TAP HOUSE 850 E. 900 South, SLC, 801-441-2845. eastlibertytaphouse.com

Half a dozen beers on draft and 20 or more by the bottle, and the rotation changes constantly. The menu does clever takes on bar food classics.

EIGHT SETTLERS DISTILLERY

31 E. 400 South, SLC, 801-532-7441. thegreenpigpub.com

703 Park Ave., Park City, 435-649-8300. highwest.com

ICE HAUS

7 E. 4800 South, Murray, 801-266-2127. Icehausbar.com

Ice Haus has everything you need from a neighborhood bar and a purveyor of German cuisine: a wide selection of pub fare and plenty of seating in the beer-hall inspired location. The menu has a strong number of vegan options.

LAKE EFFECT

55 W. 200 South, SLC, 801-532-2068. lakeeffectslc.com

An eclectic bar and lounge with a fine wine list and full menu. Live music many nights; open until 1 a.m.

7321 Canyon Centre Pkwy., Cottonwood Heights, 385-9004315. eightsettlersdistillery.com

MORTAR AND PESTLE

The distillery is entrenched in and inspired by the history of the Cottonwood Heights area and so are the spirits. Take home a bottle from the store or stay and enjoy a taste of the past at the themed, on-site restaurant.

A small cocktail-forward bar on Edison Street that draws a big crowd on weekend nights. Best to go early.

GARAGE

1199 N. Beck St., SLC, 801-521-3904. garageonbeck.com

152 E. 200 South, SLC, 801-953-0156. curryupnow.com/mortarandpestlebar

OYSTER BAR

48 W. Market St., SLC, 801-531-6044. marketstreetgrill.com

Everyone compares it to an Austin bar. Live music, good food and the rockingest patio in town. Try the Chihuahua, a chile-heated riff on a margarita.

The nightlife side of Market Street seafood restaurant, the Oyster Bar has an is a place to begin or end an evening, with an award-winning martini and a dozen oysters—half price on Mondays.

GIBSON LOUNGE

THE PINES

555 S. Main St., SLC, 801-258-6778. grandamerica.com

Grand America’s inimitable style is translated into a cushy but unstuffy bar, the antithesis of the current hipster style. You can actually wear a cocktail dress to this cocktail bar.

GOOD GRAMMAR

69 E. Gallivan Ave., 385-415-5002. goodgrammar.bar

The crowds playing Jenga on the patio, the decor, full of pop celebs and heroes, and a soundtrack of eclectic old- and alt-rock, makes a space that bridges old and young imbibers.

GRACIE’S

326 S. West Temple, SLC, 801-819-7563. graciesslc.com

Play pool, throw darts, listen to live music, kill beer and time on the patio and upstairs deck. Plus, Gracie’s is a gastropub.

837 S. Main St., SLC, 801-906-8418.

Instagram: @thepines.slc

From the owners of Dick N’ Dixie’s, The Pines is an elevated neighborhood bar with a cool interior and even cooler bartenders. Stop by to taste their solid range of brews, or visit the bar on a weekend for a new wave discotheque.

POST OFFICE PLACE

16 W. Market St., SLC, 801-519-9595. popslc.com

Post Office offers craft cocktails, multicultural small plates and the largest selection of Japanese Whisky in the state. Ask for a “special delivery” if you’re up for a boozy adventure.

QUARTERS

5 E. 400 South, SLC, 801-477-7047. quartersslc.com

Nostalgic for all those Gen Xers and gamer geeks, Quarters features retro gaming pinball and a game

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BAR FLY

TURNING JAPANESE Forget Pappy, Japanese whisky is the next thing

BY JEREMY PUGH

E

V E R Y D AY S O M E F I N A N C E B R O on an expense account discovers there’s something other to drink than Bud Light and Jägermeister and has to tell me about it. Yeah. Bro. Say “the angel’s share” again and order the table another round of $75 Pappy Van Winkle shots. Thanks. I’ve had more ounces of whiskey than days this 25-year-old Goldman Sachs account exec has been alive and there’s not enough of it in the world to tolerate listening to him saying “notes of leather” one more time.

Would ordering a shot of Beam drive him away?

Bro. Forget Pappy. Japanese whisky (no “E”) is the new, although not new, thing and one Salt Lake bar is ahead of the curve. Post Office Place has always had Nipponese leanings,being the next-door sibling of Takashi. But POP General Manager Rich Romney and Beverage Director Crystal Daniels have taken that inclination to the next level and built out a full library of Japanese juice. They back it up with a deep knowledge of the intricacies of booze from a country 5,000 miles away.

Daniels found her passion for Japanese whisky and rice whisky (more on that in a minute) when, like all of us, her palate finally grew up. “When I was young I drank a lot of Scotch because I thought it was badass.” What she discovered with Japanese spirits,

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however, was a wide spectrum that ranges from delicate to intense. “I used to think I needed something that would punch me in the face, but now I enjoy spirits that whisper to me.”

Daniels didn’t stray that far from her youth, actually. See, the roots of Japanese whisky come from Scotland. In the 1920s, Japan was one of the biggest markets for Scotland’s famous spirits and two men, Shinjiro Torii and Masataka Taketsuru, set out to make Japanese whisky. Taketsuru traveled to Scotland to learn from the masters and brought back the knowledge that would meld Scottish technique with Japanese fastidiousness at Japan’s first distillery, the Yamazaki Distillery.

“Eventually, Japanese whisky would taste more in common with Irish whiskey than Scotch,” Romney says. “The Japanese like to consume whiskey with food and the early distillers learned to make their own spirits more nuanced, less aggressive.”

But wait, there is more. It’s called “Rice Whisky” and paradoxically you can only get it in the United States—Takashi even has its own label. Rice whisky is made from shochu, a distilled rice (or grain) spirit made in Japan, but in Japan, there are rules about what shochu can be and it can’t be whisky, even though it can. An enterprising importer saw that shochu makers were trying new things, aging the spirit in various casks for example, but couldn’t sell their variations in Japan, and thus “rice whisky” arrived in America as a whole new category of spirit.

And all of this, a new frontier of whisky, is waiting for you at Post Office Place. A good place to start is POP’s Japanese Whisky Wednesdays when every pour is 20% off. Daniels and Romney will be there as your guides.

“I always ask someone who hasn’t tried a lot of Japanese whiskys what their preference is from Bourbon to Scotch, and can help them discover something familiar but entirely new,” Daniels says.

PHOTO ADAM FINKLE

IF YOU GO Post Office Place 16 W. Market St., SLC popslc.com

called Killer Queen. Drink a sling—or order a La Croix with a shot poured into the can.

WHISKEY STREET

RABBIT HOLE

This stretch of Main was once dubbed “Whiskey Street” because it was lined with so many pubs and bars. A 42-foot-long cherry wood bar encourages you to bend the elbow.

155 W. 200 South, SLC, 801-532-2068. lakeeffectslc.com

Downstairs in Lake Effect, the gaslit Rabbit Hole takes you to a different time, especially on Wednesday nights which are devoted to jazz. The Rabbit is a real listening room—you don’t talk over or under the music. This rare respect and a top notch bar makes this a very unusual hare.

SEABIRD BAR & VINYL ROOM

7 S. Rio Grande, The Gateway, SLC, 801-456-1223. seabird.com

Great little locally owned bar in the Gateway with great views, a fun little patio, friendly bartenders and more style than the place can hold.

THE REST AND BODEGA

331 S. Main St., SLC, 801-532-4452. bodegaslc.com

The neon sign says “Bodega;” drink a beer in the phone booth–sized front or head downstairs to the The Rest. Order a cocktail, settle into the apparently bomb-proof book-lined library, or take a booth and sit at the bar.

THE SHOOTING STAR

7350 E. 200 South, Huntsville, 801-745-2002. shootingstar-saloon.business.site

More than a century old, this is gen-you-wine Old West. The walls are adorned with moose heads and a stuffed St. Bernard. Good luck finishing your Star Burger.

VARLEY

63 W. 100 South, SLC, 801-203-4124. varleyslc.com

323 S. Main St., SLC, 801-433-1371. whiskeystreet.com

WHY KIKI

69 W. 100 South, SLC, 801-641-6115. whykikibar.com

A tropical beach-themed club to getaway at with a fruity drink in a tiki glass (or bowl!) or shake it on the dance floor. Don’t miss Taco Tuesday or the drag shows regularly hosted there.

ZEST KITCHEN & BAR

275 S. 200 West, SLC, 801-433-0589. zestslc.com

Zest offers hand-crafted fresh juice cocktails with the same emphasis on local and organic ingredients as the food—try an original concoction like the Straw-bubbly Lavender Martini.

Beers & Brews SQUATTERS/WASATCH

147 W. Broadway, 801-363-2739. squatters.com 2110 Highland Dr., 801-783-1127. wasatchbeers.com

Salt Lake’s original breweries merged to form Utah Brewers Cooperative—Squatters and Wasatch are the most popular watering holes in Salt Lake.

DESERT EDGE BREWERY 273 S. Trolley Square, SLC, 801-521-8917. desertedgebrewery.com

The constantly changing variety and Beer School set Desert Edge apart from all the others.

A craft cocktail bar and lounge situated right next to its companion restaurant The Ivy. The modern aesthetic pairs well with a classic cocktail and conversation.

LEVEL CROSSING

THE VAULT

Opened by home brewer and photographer Christ Detrick, Level Crossing is long on games (like darts), good food and of course good beer.

202 S. Main St., SLC, 801-363-5454. bambara-slc.com/the-vault

A quintessential hotel bar, with big windows overlooking pedestrian traffic. Special cocktails may be themed to what’s on stage across the street at Capitol Theatre.

WAKARA BAR

480 Wakara Way, SLC, 801-581-1000.

One of the few bars on the west bench, Wakara serves craft cocktails and hosts live music, trivia nights, liquor education and even, occasionally, drag queens.

WATER WITCH

163 W. 900 South, SLC, 801-462-0967. waterwitchbar.com

Three of Utah’s leading bartenders join forces in this charming tiny bar. Whether you want a classic drink, a draft or glass of wine, or a cocktail custom-designed to your taste, this is the place to belly up.

2496 S. West Temple, SLC, 385-270-5752. levelcrossingbrewing.com

TF BREWING

936 S. 300 West, 385-270-5972. tfbrewing.com

TF stands for Templin Family; brewmaster Kevin Templin has a long history in Salt Lake’s beer scene. Expect meticulously made German-style beer and don’t miss game night.

BOHEMIAN BREWERY

94 E. 7200 South, Midvale, 801-566-5474. bohemianbrewery.com

Enjoy the lagers beloved by Bohemian’s owners’ Czech forebears, following the ancient Reinheitsgbot or German Purity Law.

EPIC BREWING COMPANY

825 S. State St., 801-906-0123. epicbrewing.com

Epic exclusively brews high-alcohol content beer.

The brewing facility moved to Colorado, but you can still buy cold beer to-go at the taproom.

SHADES BREWING

154 W. Utopia Ave., 435-200-3009. shadesbrewing.beer

A mom-and-pop brewery supplying many local restaurants—check the website—stop by their tap room.

PROPER BREWING CO.

857 S. Main St., 801-953-1707. properbrewingco.com

From the same proper folks who brought you the Publick House, Proper Brewery and Burgers hugely expands the brewing capacity of the original.

FISHER BREWING COMPANY

320 W. 800 South, 801-487-2337. fisherbeer.com

Fisher takes its name from a brewery originally founded in 1884, but the brews and low-key atmosphere are strictly right now. One of the few in town that has cask ale occasionally.

ROHA

30 E. Kensington Ave., 385-227-8982. rohabrewing.com

254 S. 200 West, 801-521-7446. redrockbrewing.com

The name comes from the owners two names: Rob Phillips and Chris Haas, former brewer for Red Rock Brewery.

A longtime favorite for tippling and tasting—The pub draws on 45 recipes for its rotating selection.

KIITOS BREWING

RED ROCK BREWERY

TOASTED BARREL BREWERY

412 W. 600 North, 801-410-4028. toastedbarrelbrewery.com

608 W. 700 South, 801-215-9165. kiitosbrewing.com

A rising star, Kiitos brews are on several menus around town. But if you stop by the brewery to taste, you can play pinball, too.

Look for seasonal releases of vintage aged sours and high alcohol barrel-aged beers.

UINTA BREWING COMPANY

1722 S. Fremont Dr., 801-467-0909. uintabrewing.com

Founder Will Hamill says, “We make beer. Period.”

Uinta produces certified organic beers and beer in corked bottles.

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LAST PAGE

KOKOPELLI The surest sign you’re in Southern Utah

BY JEREMY PUGH

W

HEN I WAS 14 Y E ARS O L D , I went to Moab

for the first time.

And there he was. Back bent with his rooster’s rake, a “flute” in his hands. The fertility symbol. The sign I was in Southern Utah.

A sand-blasted wastrel, selling items to trap tourists, first told me the story and made it stick. Kokopelli was a trader, he said, plying his wares from Central America to the southern border of Canada. Now, that’s just one theory for why this image is emblazoned on rock walls from here to there. Not even the prevailing one, I’m told.

But I like this first story I heard of Kokopelli. It tracks in my mind, takes him from the realm of primal gods and makes him a mere man with a large footprint.

He brought wonders to your village on his humped back. Shells from shores to where there were none, hides from animals that didn’t stride the native range, trinkets and baubles in a world where trade moved as slow as one intrepid man. A man who could move from north to south across the land with a free pass among oft-warring tribes and the temerity to get through the hard, harsh spaces that separated them.

And the fertility thing? Well, he could also play the flute. Dazzle you all with his song; a Gandalf visiting the Shire bearing musical fireworks that

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blow dragons and faraway places into the imaginations of the hobbits of that time.

The time of Kokopelli. ’Cept Seňor Kokopelli wasn’t the benevolent grandfatherly Gandalf the Grey. He would bed down with your women, pass his, yes, seed on to your tribe. Hence the fertility symbol deal. Perhaps the wanderlust that afflicts us all finds its root in his passing and lascivious ways.

Flash forward to your own most recent drive down Moab’s Main Street.

Where in my own vision this newfangled creature, player of flute, seducer, rake, bringer of magic is reduced to an uncorporate logo for any Southwestern town that will have him.

Coca-Cola’s got nothing on Kokopelli. He’s the original. A brand laid down with a legend’s strength that now ends up an asterisk and affectation for cheesy Southwestern design. His power lost, diminished by overuse and repetition on coffee mugs and bad tattoos on Gen-Xer ankles. But he’s still a reminder of a lost time for us all—a time when we were innocent enough to discover another world in a pile of shells and the song of a flute. A COCA-COLA’S GOT time when we would take the time to write NOTHING ON KOKOPELLI. on our rock walls the story of the time a HE’S THE ORIGINAL. wizard came to town.