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My Salt Lake City

Ages ago there was a quasi-meme running around the blogosphere where bloggers would describe the best things about their town for any potential visitors.  Well, last week–even in my auto-pilot stupor–I racked my brain to come up with a morning’s worth of activities in my adopted hometown.  (How is it possible there isn’t one of those posts for Salt Lake yet?  Better question, how is it possible I can’t find anyone’s My Town posts?  Where are you hiding them?!)  Ya see, I needed to come up with a solid itinerary; Jen from Operation Pink Herringhad a meeting in Salt Lake over the weekend and I had approximately 6 hours to show her my town, in style.  Clearly, this is not enough time to truly see any city, but we did our best.  I picked her up before 7:00 am, and with a quick stop at Starbux, we headed out on our adventure. 

Dude, we got a TON done!  I took her up to Snowbird Ski Resort–which, for the record, was 40-something degrees–and drove as far up Little Cottonwood Canyon as Roxy would go without inflicting damage.  Goodness, it was gorgeous!  But, I have a question; when did it become fall?  There were patches of orange and yellow and red everywhere I looked and Jen & I could see our breath. 

The rest of the morning included a quick stop at Gilgal Gardens, which houses a bunch of odd-ball generally bible-themed art, and a sphinx.  Yes, we have a sphinx.  We also wandered around Memory Grove which is part war memorial garden, part park, and part canyon, and just happens to be my favorite place in Salt Lake.  We also hit up Temple Square and then set out for the highlight of the day, lunch at Cafe Rio.

Again, non-Utahans my not understand…but Cafe Rio is the best. food. ever.  I love it so much I attempted to create the sweet-and-spicy pork goodness for one of my Whip It Up posts.  I was excited and, admittedly, a little nervous to introduce an “outsider” to my beloved slow-cooked Pork Barbacoa. 

I didn’t have anything to worry about, Jen thought it was fabulous.  Crisis avoided, we can still be friends.

So, back to My Town, and a (finally) successful google search for the format of this non-meme.

My Salt Lake City

Age: 25

Occupation: Sales Monkey

I lived there for: 7 years (really?  wow.)

I lived there because: Initially to go to school, now because I love it.

My neighborhood: The Avenues

My favorite restaurants: Cafe Rio, Gandolfos (although only the one on Main St. downtown), Market Street Grill. (Clearly, I like to eat…)

If you go to these restaurants, be sure to order: Cafe Rio – Pork Barbacoa salad or burrito; Gandolfos – my favorite is the Philly Cheese steak with extra sauce and extra tomatoes; Market Street Grill – order anything, steak, fish, shrimp, whatever…try anything!

My favorite museum: University Museum of Fine Art and their constantly dazzling exhibits. 

My favorite tourist destination: The mountains, Little Cottonwood Canyon or the Alpine Loop.

Best insider spot: Antelope Island; beaches, buffalo and brine shrimp.  Oh, and gorgeous views.

My favorite area: Memory Grove, a bonafide canyon less than 2 minutes from downtown.

Best place to go shopping: Model Citizen is fabulous, and so are it’s neighbors.

When you visit, don’t forget to pack: A jacket and a camera to take into the canyons/mountains, it gets chilly at night!

But leave room in your suitcase for:

The one local cuisine you should try when you’re in town is: Besides Cafe Rio, you should definitely try “Fry Sauce”.  Ketchup, Mayo and BBQ sauce mixed together…it is heaven for fresh french fries!

The best way to get around: You can walk around downtown, but the city is so spread out driving is really the best option.  (Call me, Roxy would love to give you a little tour!)

If I had to describe this city in one word, it would be: Surprisingly-stunning (ok, it’s two, so shoot me.)

I tell my friends to stay at: With me! 

The one thing most outsiders don’t know about this city is: There aren’t crazy-looking polygamists wandering around the streets.  There are stunning mountains surrounding the entire valley.

They say “Virginia is for lovers.” So fill in the blank: Salt Lake City is for outdoor appreciaters/enthusiasts….ever hear of “Greatest Snow on Earth”?  Yeah, that’s our slogan.  Do you ski?  Come visit!

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