Salt Lake City
I am lucky enough to call Salt Lake City my home for three months! This city is known for being founded by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (less formally known as the Mormon Church) in the mid 1800s, led by Brigham Young. When building the city as a grid system like a compass, they planned to have Temple Square as the meridian. So, the block catty corner to the temple would be 100 East, 100 South. It makes it easy to know where you are located in town. FUN FACT: the beehive is the state symbol (you can spot it on highway signs) because Mormons were said to work like worker bees; organized and FAST. Other noteworthy aspects of this city are having an international airport in town, the most incredible skiing mountains in the world just a short drive away, and FRY SAUCE. I lived here during the late winter months, so most of the information here will be winter-related.
What to Do
Temple Square
The first thing anybody says what to do in the city of Salt Lake is to go to Temple Square, which is the headquarters for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, less formally known as the Mormon church. The Temple is off-limits to those who are not a part of the church, but the Square has many other buildings to see including the tabernacle choir rehearsal space, the conference center which is where the choir is broadcasted for Easter and Christmas, and the BeeHive House, which is where Brigham Young, the explorer, was housed when he was head of the church. Directly across from Temple Square is a large upscale shopping center. It is closed on Sundays so be aware of that!
Hunt for the Best Fry Sauce
Fry sauce is a dipping sauce for french fries, which became a thing in Utah in the 1950s when Arctic Circle, a burger restaurant (now a chain) came up with the idea of a fry sauce. Go there if you want the original but there are others that have evolved more and have a lot more flavor. The base flavor of most of the fry sauces are ketchup and mayonnaise, and most have incorporate pickle juice into their recipes to give it a little bit of a kick.
See a Theater Production
There are many theaters in town, and we were thrilled to see a show called Putting it Together at the Pioneer Memorial Theater on University of Utah’s campus. We even got to hang out with Broadway’s Judy McLane who starred in the show. To our surprise, we also got to meet Foreigner band member Domenick Allen, whose daughter was also in the play.
Where to Eat
Coffee Garden
This coffee shop reminds me of being in Washington; the coffee is excellent, it is always filled with people excited about good coffee, and the food is also good too! This is nearby University of Utah’s campus and is on one of their cute main street areas. I really liked their lavender vanilla honey latte with oatmilk which was recommended as the locals’ favorite.
