Goodbye SLC
A list of our favorites on our way out the door
After 3 years in Salt Lake City, it’s time to move on. I never truly opened my heart to this place, most of it boils down to timing and the general vibes. We just weren’t compatible. Being from a mid-sized Midwestern city that’s routinely talked down on and overshadowed by its more exciting neighbors, I’m sensitive to how it feels to have an outsider trash your home, so I’ll refrain. I generally like to leave things on good terms anyway, so I thought I’d round up some of what we liked about living here.
You can find most of this stuff on this Google Maps list I made, which is a sneaky good way to get to know a place, according to the NY Times.
Pretty stuff
Let’s start with the natural beauty: there’s a ton of it.
The mountains. I imagine at some point you just kind of stop seeing them, but that never happened for me, thankfully. They’re especially pretty after a fresh snow storm and during basically every sunrise and sunset.
Spring / fall. There’s a brief window in the transition seasons when everything is vibrant and colorful. Every neighborhood comes alive with flowers (I wrote about this a bit before) and driving through the canyons is stunning. If you’re not coming for the skiing or biking, I recommend visiting in one of these seasons!
Memory Grove / Liberty Park / Sugarhouse Park. A few of our go-to parks in the city. Good for picnics and people watching. Liberty Park also has an aviary which we actually never went to but seems pretty cool.
Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre. A cool outdoor venue. Go a little early and walk through the garden while you’re at it.
Big Cottonwood Canyon. Driving through on the way back from Park City is the move. It’s very cool and can be super moody. It closes in the winter so plan accordingly.
Pioneer Park Farmer’s Market. If you’re in SLC from June-October, hit this up on Saturday morning. It’s massive with a little something for everyone. Go early before it gets too crazy.
Hikes. We lived in the Avenues, right in the foothills, so there were a handful of easily accessible trailheads for us, the names of which I never knew. Download a good trail app and explore :)
Day / weekend trips
These trips were hands down my favorite part of living here. Every national park we visited was so different and stunning in its own way.
Park City. When people came to visit, we usually recommended they spend at least one day out in Park City (if not stay there). It’s not as punishingly hot in the summer and the air is definitely better, plus you’re in the mountains vs having a good view of them. Lots of cute shops and resorts and funicular/lift opportunities.
Antelope Island. A short drive from SLC. I took my mom and aunt when they were here to visit and we saw a whole herd of bison, very exciting stuff for us city folk. Do a little research if you plan to hike around though — the bugs can be really bad depending on time of year and time of day.
Arches / Canyonlands / Moab. You could spend a whole weekend in just one but it kind of makes sense to hit them all in one trip. Driving, hiking, and biking around here is like being on Mars or the ocean floor (it was an inland sea 300 million years ago).
Capitol Reef. Some very funky stuff out here, especially if you go a bit off the beaten path. This was another one that felt like being on another planet.
Zion. Just stunning. I feel like you can picture dinosaurs walking around here. Plus there’s a ghost town. Something for everybody. If we stayed in Utah I would’ve pushed for our next family vacation to be here. I had a strong urge to show my mom this place lol.
Grand Canyon / Bryce Canyon. The Grand Canyon literally took my breath away. Ben had me pull my hood down almost entirely over my eyes and he led us to a lookout so I didn’t see it coming. Reader, I gasped. And Bryce is just so funky, don’t skip it.
Jackson WY. Where I saw my very first moose! Very exciting.
Yellowstone. We almost didn’t go to Yellowstone because we thought maybe it was too touristy and we’d be let down…so glad we did. It ended up being our favorite of the parks. I went into detail on what we did / what we saw here.
Coffee
My routine almost every week involved going to a coffee shop on the weekend mornings and doing some writing. Bars aren’t in my rotation anymore so your girl’s gotta get her kicks somehow…these are my favs.
Publik. The biggest and (probably) most popular local chain. If you’re from Milwaukee, think Colectivo. I loved the one in our neighborhood (the Avenues). It’s tiny but so cute with a great little patio and the crew running it are so friendly. I was sad to say goodbye. The one downtown is huge and it’s where we’d usually go if Ben came with me.
Sugarhouse Coffee. This was an early staple for me and I still love them. Inviting and friendly with some good food options and outdoor seating. Speed is not their strong suit so just be prepared to wait a bit if there’s a line for the counter.
Blue Copper. The best local roaster for sure, but the in-cafe vibes are off. Too bright and always felt like I was interrupting something by being there, at any of their locations, which is weird. I love a slightly mean barista too so it wasn’t that, the vibes are just off. Worth the weirdness for the beans though. Grab and go.
The Rose Establishment. Some very tasty food in a cool old building. Right by Pioneer Park if you want to do a farmers market double header.
Chapel. We found this late in our time at SLC and then they up and closed on us! Keeping them on the list in case something new opens here. It was in an old church with massive stained glass windows, long wooden tables, and plush leather chairs. It still smelled faintly of incense. It was on the way to becoming our favorite, I hope they reopen.
Food
You absolutely cannot trust the Yelp or Google reviews. This is a city that largely treats food as a source of fuel, not pleasure. (My dentist here told me he’s annoyed by the act of eating?!? To be fair, dentists are a strange people.) That said, through extensive trial and error we managed to find a good list of regular spots:
Mumbai House (Indian). Honestly, the best Indian restaurant I think I’ve ever been to. It won an award recently for Best Restaurant in the state and I believe it. It’s consistent and delicious. I will miss them dearly.
Slackwater and Nomad East (Pizza). The pizza game here is DISMAL but these two saw us through.
Los Tapatios (Mexican). We were vegetarian going on 7 years when we moved here but the state broke our resolve. The birria tacos were the first meat we had when we broke bad and wow what a way to do it.
La Casa Del Tamal (Mexican). I made the 40-minute round trip for their mole on a semi-regular basis.
Mazza (Lebanese). We went the week it won a James Beard and ended up on the news lol. The chicken and potatoes mutabbak is lights out.
Bar Nohm (Japanese / Korean). A new spot. Great vibes inside, generous portions, tasty food. Head to Waterwitch next door for a cocktail before or after.
Provisions. Great date night or special occasion spot.
The Pearl (Vietnamese). The food is just alright but the vibes are great. Super cute date spot.
Aroon (Thai). A more recent find on our part. The food is really good and the vibe inside is so cute. It seems like a classic family spot. The first time I went to get takeouts a little kid was doing homework at one of the tables and I instantly felt I could trust the place.
Tea Rose Diner (Thai) has a 14-point spicy scale. We generally scoffed at the spice level warnings here but this gave us pause. I’m not too proud to admit that the 2 caused me severe distress.
Jinya (Ramen bar). When you need some tasty, comforting ramen, Jinya is there for you.
Movie theaters & bookshops
Broadway Theatre. Our go-to indie theater. They have some great programming. The last thing we saw here with a special screening of 2001: A Space Odyssey which is a great note to go out on.
Brewvies. Their screens (and audio, tbh) need an upgrade but I didn’t have the heart to leave them off the list. Their programming is a lot of fun.
Weller Book Works. A great mix of new and old with a pretty diverse selection. The staff is friendly and if you’re lucky you’ll be there at the same time as the shop dog.
Ken Sanders. I didn’t have a chance to check out their new location before we left but the old one was your classic labyrinthian style second hand bookshop, full of treasures.
[I somehow don’t have ANY photos of these?!?! Too busy living in the moment…]
Shops
Rewind Vintage. My favorite of the local thrift/vintage shops. It’s not always cheap but I’ve found some good stuff. I rarely have remorse when I don’t buy something but I’ll be forever haunted by a bowling sweater and Marlboro duffle bag I foolishly passed on once.
Decades Vintage & Capital City Antique Mall. I never actually bought anything from these places, but it was fun to look around. Classic vintage and antique shops. Decades Vintage goes back way further than you’d expect from the street.
Cactus & Tropicals. Even if you’re just in town for a weekend it’s fun to walk around, especially in the summer when you need a dose of greenery and humid air.
Stockist. Some good local finds mixed with overpriced fashionable brands. Worth popping in.
Random Salt Lake stuff to do
When you don’t grow up in a place, you more readily notice the things that are a little strange about it...and this is a weird place.
The rodeo. I know this is as classic Americana as it gets, but we didn’t have this back in Milwaukee lol. What a spectacle. If it’s in town when you’re here, it’s worth it.
The Gigal Sculpture Garden. Wanna know what Joseph Smith would look like as a sphinx? You’re in luck! This is a strange, strange little garden that’s worth a look.
LDS stuff. A good portion of the downtown area is LDS stuff. I toured a bunch of it with my mom and aunt when they were visiting and it was interesting! Never did make it to a Tabernacle Choir rehearsal, though it was on my list, and the main temple was covered up in scaffolding the entire 3 years we were here. If you visit and get a good look, send me a pic.
Just walking around. You’re bound to see some stuff that makes you go, huh that’s…odd.
And that, folks, is all she wrote for our time in Salt Lake City. Bigger and better adventures in the PNW await. More on that soon.
This week’s song on repeat
Beyoncé and I spent some good quality time together on the 14-hour drive to the PNW this week. This is my favorite off the new album. Find the whole playlist.