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The 2002 Winter Olympics cast Salt Lake City in a new, contemporary, more diverse light. Visitors discovered a panoply of cultural influences, brewpubs, ethnic flavors, and progressive chefs. Salt Lake City may not have the depth of restaurants seen in other big cities, but there are a couple of outstanding choices for nearly every budget and cuisine. Restaurants like Lamb’s Grill Café, Hire’s Big H, and Ruth’s Diner trace their roots back five-plus decades, and their colorful proprietors are more than willing to share the history they’ve witnessed from their kitchens. Returning LDS missionaries have brought back their favorite flavors from Asia, Europe, and Latin America, with impressive results. Seafood, Japanese, Tibetan, Indian, Spanish, and Italian are all suitably showcased in Salt Lake eateries, and when all else fails, there are great burgers and Rocky Mountain cuisine, a fusion inspired by frontier big game, seafood fresh from the great Pacific ports, and organic produce grown in Utah’s fertile valleys. You'll also find creative wine lists and knowledgeable service. Bakers and pastry chefs defy the 4,400-foot altitude with rustic sourdoughs and luscious berry-filled treats. Multiple weekly summer farmers' markets are thriving, and chefs are building more and more of a food community.
It's worth the 15-minute drive north of downtown Salt Lake to sample what may very well be the finest small-batch ice cream in the Rockies, or at least Utah. Innovative flavors at this bustling shop in cheerful downtown Bountiful include lavender studded with chunks of honeycomb and mango sticky rice. Offerings change according to which ingredients are available in season.
Begun by a pastry chef from acclaimed HSL restaurant, this off-beat artisan icecream shop turns out exceptional all-natural soft-serve ice cream in a riot of interesting flavors (brown butter, spruce tip with salted caramel, apple cider sorbet, olive oil), along with "composed" cones with interesting toppings mixed in—like house-made cake bits, gingersnap cookies, and honeycomb. If you're looking for sweet picnic treats, pick up a pint or a slice of ice-cream cake.
For a sweet treat, stop by this friendly ice-cream parlor and candy shop. Jerry Hatch uses his mother's secret recipe for creamy caramel, and each piece of chocolate is hand-dipped and sold by weight.
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