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The 2002 Winter Olympics completely revamped the dining scene in and around Salt Lake City and the rest of northern Utah. World-class chefs flooded the region and remain there today, offering a wide variety of haute dining options that basically appeared almost overnight. Many fine-dining restaurants and ski resorts focused their menus on Rocky Mountain cuisine, an eco-friendly menu, featuring fresh game, fish, locally-harvested organic produce, and artisan cheeses. And of course, budget travelers, too, will have an easy time grabbing a tasty bite to eat in northern Utah.
Northern Utah's Local Specialties
During the 2002 Winter Olympics plenty of jokes circulated about northern Utah's Podunk, pauper's cuisine. Sweet red punch, visitors claimed, was the official state beverage; ice cream northern Utah's most beloved, gourmet dessert. Comedian Bill Cosby declared Green Jell-O (served with sour cream, bits of carrots, and pineapple) Utah's “official state snack” (indeed, the people of Salt Lake City are the nation's top consumers of Jell-O. Funeral potatoes, a baked mixture of canned soup, sour cream, potatoes, and cheddar cheese, topped with buttered breadcrumbs, are on the table at many family and community functions.
There's also a great local recipe for Utah crayfish, called Crawdaddy Zuke. Sliced and diced zucchini, crayfish tails, soy sauce, some salt and pepper, and a buttery coating combine to make a delectable grilled delicacy. And don't leave northern Utah without tasting the famous fry sauce, a mixture of mayonnaise, ketchup, and various spices developed by the Salt Lake City fast-food chain Arctic Circle; few native northern Utahns can eat a burger or fries without it. If the aforementioned local delicacies don't awaken your appetite, then perhaps this will: on a visit to Antelope Island State Park you can try a fresh, juicy buffalo burger at the café at Buffalo Point.
If you'd rather tempt your taste buds with desserts, don't despair. Garden City, on the banks of Bear Lake near the Utah-Idaho border, boasts some of the finest fresh raspberry-vanilla ice cream shakes in the country. So famous are Garden City's shakes, that the New York Times wrote a feature travel article on Garden City's raspberry legacy.
Salt Lake City Dining Overview
Dozens of countries' cuisine styles are represented in Salt Lake City's culinary cache. Downtown you will find (both mom-and-pop style as well as gourmet) Thai, Greek, Afghan, Vietnamese, Indian, Spanish, Middle Eastern, and Mexican cuisine available. Try the area around The Gateway for a vast selection of eateries ethnic and otherwise. If you salivate at the thought of sushi, try the Ichiban Sushi and Japanese Cuisine, housed in an historic cathedral on South 400 East Street, which has been rated for four years as one of the “Top 100 Restaurants in U.S.” by Zagat. If you are a vegan or vegetarian, you will be happy to know that Salt Lake City has several organic and vegetable-only menu eateries. On the other hand, if you're looking to sink your teeth into a big chunk of juicy meat, you'll be pleased to find that steakhouses abound. Pat's Barbecue and Catering on West Commonwealth Avenue was featured on the Food Network, TLC, and the Discovery Channel for its offering of Utah's best BBQ.
Salt Lake City is also home to quite a few award-winning microbreweries. With their homemade beer on-tap and a sumptuous spread of eatables on-table, you can pretty much guarantee a hearty, filling meal at one of these well-loved establishments. For Salt Lake City's best and sudsiest, try Trolley Square on the intersection of South 200 West Street, and West Broadway.
Dining Outside Salt Lake City in Northern Utah
Many white-tablecloth fine-dining locales are located in the Snowbird, The Canyons, and Alta ski resort towns. Reader's choice surveys in Ski Magazine and the Zagat Restaurant Guide have consistently ranked Deer Valley's restaurants first in food and beverage. Mentioned on The Today Show, the Viking Yurt, at The Canyons Ski Resort in Park City, offers five-course gourmet dinners and, in the winter, a snowcat-pulled sleigh ride to the restaurant. Restaurants such as these offer excellent, fresh food, top-notch service, and garnish their gourmet meals with a side order of the area's most spectacular views of the surrounding canyons and mountains. Meals at swanky ski-resort restaurants generally start at around $25 per person.
Provo is a typical university town, so you can usually count on getting a solid ethnic or New American cuisine meal when there. The city's dining options are clustered around Brigham Young University and Center Street. Ogden's Historic 25th Street features a wide selection of restaurants. And don't leave Ogden Valley without stopping at the Shooting Star Saloon. Not only is it the “oldest, continuously operating saloon in Utah,” their Star Burger was voted one of the top five in the U.S. by USA Today.
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