Salt Lake City: Hidden Haven of Awesome Food?

Published on Monday, October 27, 2008, by nicholassday / Edit Post

In an article that’s the foodie equivalent of those annual best places to live stories, Forbes talks to industry insiders for the scoop on America’s up-and-coming food capitals (click on the In Depth link for the slideshow). And quite a few aren’t on either coast.

The list is interesting: Tucson (for its diverse independent restaurant scene), Chapel Hill (farm-to-table galore), Baton Rouge (nouveau Cajun), Memphis (creative regional American), Fredericksburg (Texas Hill Country cuisine), and San Diego (craft beer, natch). Also on the list: Brooklyn. Seriously. I’ll link to Saul Steinberg’s famously myopic New Yorker cover and leave it at that.

But what’s most surprising is Salt Lake City. Forbes claims that “local farmers, cheese makers, bakers, and chefs are turning Salt Lake City into a must-visit destination.” It sounds promising. Of course Chowhounds have been investigating what’s worth checking out there for a while.

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  • Try the Wild Grape, New West Bistro. This has to be the best new startup in Salt Lake City for quite some time. www.wildgrapebistro.com

  • I lived in Utah for 15 years before coming to the East Coast, and I go back every year. Sure, the food is great in coastal cities, but it's easier to do. I can tell you that it doesn't take an rocket scientist (or a registered Democrat) to know good food from bad. It has its problems and its mediocre food like any other state, but the biggest mistake folks make about Utah (and one from which...+READ

    I lived in Utah for 15 years before coming to the East Coast, and I go back every year. Sure, the food is great in coastal cities, but it's easier to do. I can tell you that it doesn't take an rocket scientist (or a registered Democrat) to know good food from bad. It has its problems and its mediocre food like any other state, but the biggest mistake folks make about Utah (and one from which Utahns benefit) is grossly underestimating how awesome it is. That's what keeps its powdery slopes, gorgeous campgrounds, badass coffeeshops and food-conscious microbreweries from becoming overcrowded by snobbish hype addicts from out of state.-COLLAPSE

  • Well, Forbes is to food what Chowhound is to high finance.

    That CH topic is a little stale, but reading between the lines it looks like slim pickings for such a huge population. But then, I don't expect much given the historical demographic.

    The locally sourced food products do look promising. Hope the local population explosion doesn't squeeze them out as in much of California.

  • As a Boston chowhound who lived in SLC for two years three years ago, I was very impressed with the depth and availability of good food. One of the things I really liked, and miss back in Boston was that there were a lot of reasonably priced, easy, friendly "tuesday night" places that had great food. I still crave squatters vegetarian green curry...
    There is a surprising variety of authentic...+READ

    As a Boston chowhound who lived in SLC for two years three years ago, I was very impressed with the depth and availability of good food. One of the things I really liked, and miss back in Boston was that there were a lot of reasonably priced, easy, friendly "tuesday night" places that had great food. I still crave squatters vegetarian green curry...
    There is a surprising variety of authentic ethnic food (peruvian, czech and korean come to mind) perhaps because of LDS converts who moved to the US.
    The high end dining scene is heavily skewed to Park city & ski trade, but there are some good places in town too. There was artisan bread, good cheese, and the farmer's market was pretty amazing.-COLLAPSE