Dos and Don'ts for showing friends around Utah

In January we enjoyed several visits from some of our closest friends. First Steph and Brian came in from Oklahoma. There hasn't been much snow in Oklahoma this year so they enjoyed every minute of snow here! While they were here we tried a new restaurant, a new recipe and we hit the slopes! We skied Deer Valley one day- always a good choice, and they skied Solitude another day. I have yet to ski Solitude but they had all good things to say about it. The only problem they ran into was the bus on the ride up the canyon- which charges non-locals way to much and took way too long to get to the slopes. They said the food was typical ski slope food, nothing like the gourmet choices you find at Deer Valley. Steph and I enjoyed the famous turkey chili when we skied Deer Valley and Brian chose the Bacon Burger, which he said was straight from heaven. I think they got chili dogs at Solitude. The new restaurant we tried was- Rio Grande, located in the old train station near Gateway Mall. It was a bit quirky. For example, there's a ghost legend of 'the lady in the purple dress' who jumped in front of a train to grab a diamond ring that her lover threw on the track, who now haunts the women's restroom. The food was alright, overly cheesy and big portions. I ordered the veggie enchilada, which I could only eat half of. Another night while they were here we tried making our own pizza. I actually cheated a bit and bought dough from Whole Foods. Whole Foods sells their whole wheat pizza dough that they use to make pizzas at their deli and their pizza tastes amazing! Ours however, turned out good at best. It especially didn't look that great. But luckily our kind guests were starving enough to consume most of it! We also took them to downtown and Temple Square on Sunday night. It was nice becasue no one was really there but also unfortunate because downtown looked like a ghost town- not great for first impressions.

Last weekend, our friends Allison and Wade came in town from Texas. They lived here in Salt Lake for a couple of years but then moved back to be with family. While they were here we went to some of our favorite places, which of course includes Desert Edge Brew Pub, in Trolley Square mall near our house. I usually get the Tuna steak sandwich when we go but I branched out this time and got the Turkey Avocado sandwich. By the way, you can't go here and not get some of their house pasta salad and local brew! One morning we walked to 9th and 9th and enjoyed coffee at the Starbucks there and later in the day we stopped by a few of the shops around the area: Hip and Humble, Charlette's, and The Blue Cockatoo. We also enjoyed chips and queso with margaritas at Chili’s, a favorite of Wade and Allison's and the Soup Kitchen; I can never have enough Split Pea soup from Soup Kitchen. We spent the rest of the weekend playing games and Wii. It just felt normal for them to be back in Utah! We hope to get down to Austin soon and have some real Tex-Mex and margaritas!


















If you have visitors come to Utah:

DO
Go to Temple Square on a Sunday (empty with less people trying to guide you around)
Eat at Soup Kitchen and walk around Sugarhouse (cheap eats and a there are still a few fun local stores)
Brunch at Ruth's Diner or Gormandie's Bakery (always solid choices for those who like breakfast foods)
Ski Deer Valley and bring enough money for lunch
Grab coffee at 9th and 9th and hit up some local stores around the area
Lunch or Dinner at Desert Edge, try the local brews and pasta salad

Don'ts
Go downtown on a Sunday
take the bus up Big Cottonwood Canyon
try and make something you've never made before (homemade pizza)

Any additions that I should know about?