Salt Lake City
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Salt Lake City, founded by the Mormon Pioneers in 1847 welcomes new pioneering Couch Surfers to discover our quirky, but basically friendly culture. Please feel free to add your own content, based on personal experiences!
Contents |
Tips
Getting around Salt Lake City is easy -- IF YOU HAVE A CAR !!. Seriously, our mass transit system is in the words of my most recent Couch Surfer, "rapidly developing". The light rail (TRAX) system is always improving and is good for going downtown and to the University of Utah, and soon the airport. The Bus System [1] is somewhat infrequent and not geared towards sightseeing.
Understanding the street system. I recently had a couch surfer look for her bank so she could use the ATM. She ended up at 400 South and 400 West, when she needed to be at 400 South and 400 East. Sound confusing? It's not really. Here's what you need to know:
The Mormon Temple is the Center of the Universe. Okay, maybe not the universe, but it certainly is the center of the street system here. Pick any address in Salt Lake, and it tells you how far away from the temple you are, and in what direction. Example: The downtown library[2] is at 210 East 400 South, excatly 2.1 blocks east of the temple, and 4.0 blocks south of the temple.
The street that runs along the south side of the temple is called (strangely enough) South Temple Street. Go one block south, and you cross 100 South. Go two blocks south, and cross 200 South and so on. These streets are also commonly known as First South, or Second South, etc.
The same goes for the streets North and West of the Temple; West Temple Street, 200 West, 300 West etc.
Instead of an "East Temple Street, and 100 East, we call them Main and State Street, but after that, it's the same as all the rest, 200 East, 300 East and so on.
When my couch surfer was at 400 South and 400 West, she was 4 blocks west of the temple, when she needed to be 4 blocks east of the sacred monument! That crazy couch surfer!
So, you alway know where you are at (in relation to the temple) and where you have to go (in relation to the temple) and how many blocks you have to travel in the north-south or east-west directions. For those of you who can't tell direction, remember this; The closest mountains are to the East.
Drink
Our strange Liquor Laws
UPDATE OCTOBER 2009 The legislature recently passed new laws to make it easier to get a drink here, and do away with the Private Club System. You no longer have to purchase a membership to enter most of these, although a few still maintain a member's only policy, and others may now charge a cover to get in.
Actually not that strange. You have to be at least 21 to drink here. You can buy low alcohol (3.2%)beer and coolers at most grocery and convenience stores. Wine, stronger beer, and other liquor can be purchased at the state owned and operated liquor stores[3].
Many restaurants have liquor licenses, some sell only beer and wine, others may have full licenses to sell mixed drinks as well. You have to order food, or at least appear like you intend to order food to get a drink in a restaurant. You can't just order a cocktail. It's easy enough, just ask for a menu, and then ask for a drink while you decide. If you change your mind and decided not to order food, the restaurant can't be blamed for that!
We also have bars and taverns and private clubs. After decades of only being able to sell beer, many bars changed to "private clubs". Bar owners found the state didn't harass private clubs like the Elks Club, or the Rotary Club, when they sold alcohol to their members, so they adopted the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" mentality. So they sold cheap "Memberships" to their customers, and got around many of the liquor laws. This is why, when you want to go out to your favorite bar, you are asked if you are a member. Members can invite several guests, who were not members. I remember the good old days, when going to a new establishment, the greeter would ask if you were a member. I would respond with, "No, do you think there is anyone here who would sponsor me?" The greeter would then point to one of the "regulars" and say, "See Joe over there? He's your sponsor." That meant if anyone asked, I was a guest of Joe's, that's how I got to get in and order a drink without having to buy a membership. Sadly, those days have just about gone, as crackdowns occurred. I think it's still worth a try. If you are just visiting, they sell fairly inexpensive temporary memberships. I still prefer to just by "Joe" a drink, and become his friend, and therefore his guest, but I guess that's the couchsurfing mentality.
If you want more clarification, here are more links:
- Visitor's Bureau site on Liquor Laws [4]
- SLCTRAVEL'S Liquor Law explaination [5]
- Utah Dept. of Alcoholic Beverage Control official Liquor Law site [6]
Foodsurfing
Here are some of my favorite restaurants. I bring my couch surfers to all of these, and haven't had any complaints yet! Other's out there, please post (or send to me)[7] your favorites too!
- El Rey de Oros.[8]The cheapest most delicios tacos in town. A little Spanish is helpful, but not necessary. For 3 bucks you can get 3 small tacos and a drink. I love the Horchata (pronounced OR-CHA-TA) which is sweet and tastes like rice pudding. My favorite are the pork tacos, called Tacos Al Pastor.
- Thai Siam [9] I love the lunch special here. For 6 or 7 bucks you get two items from the lunch menu with rice and an egg roll. I usually get the green curry something-or-other, and a chicken or beef dish. I don't remember that the pad thai is anything special. It's got minimal decor, but it's pleasant and the service is usually speedy, although they are very busy during lunch.
- Cafe Med [10]Housed in a former Pizza Hut building (I know because I went to Granite High School just up the street) Cafe Med has affordable, tasty and exotic dishes from the Mediterranean. I almost alway order the Turkish yogurt posta, and always have leftovers to take home. The pita bread and hummus are delicious! It's not the easiest place to get to without a car, but can (and should) be done.
- Cafe Trang [11]Trang has been around for decades. It's the first Vietnamese restaurant I remember. I don't think I would know bad Vietnamese cooking if had it, but Trang is tasty and the prices are reasonable if not downright cheap!
Couchsurfing Adventures
A day long driving trip I took with Michael from Switzerland.
On a July 2007 Sunday morning, Michael and I started out by eating breakfast at the Emigration Market[12] He was especially impressed with the large stack of pancakes and bottle of colored syrup. Perhaps they don't hve these in Switzerland.
Next, we headed out to visit the Great Salt Lake. From the Saltair building, it was possible to walk out on the salt crust to the waters edge. We took some interesting photos. We then drove to the marina, and filled up a water bottle with brine shrimp. My 7-year-old friend's sea monkeys had recently all died, so I though some fresh ones might perk him up.
After that, it was a 45 minute drive up to Park City to see the sights and have a beer at the Wasatch Brew pub. I've alway said the best thing about Salt Lake is Park City!
Next, we drove up past the old Ontario mine and headed for Guardsman Pass. Michael felt at home in the Alpine setting and we saw a couple of deer. To my surprise it clouded up and we got a cool summer thundershower albeit brief.
On the other side of Guardsman's pass, we drove down Big Cottonwood Canyon towards Brighton. We stopped at Silver Lake[13] and hiked (walked really) on the trail around the lake. One of the highlights of the walk was seeing a moose standing in the water eating plants, and he was just a few feet from the trail.
A quick drive down Big Cottonwood canyon, put us on Wasatch Blvd, and we headed back home. The whole trip took about 6 hours, but could have taken much longer if we had done some more hiking.
Other Things to Do
Some things I'd recommend checking out:
1. Antelope Island - this is a big island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake. There are wild Bison/Buffalo that live out there, some trails, and some really cool views of the snow-capped mountains.
2. Temple Square - This is the 16th most visited tourist attraction in the nation according to Forbes traveler. Temple Square is the headquarters of the Mormon church and they have free guided tours that includes the history of Utah, Mormonism, etc.
3. Ski Resorts - If you're a big skiier/snowboarder, it never hurts to get a day on the best snow on earth.
4. Park City - Park City is a cool, small mountain town.
5. Kennecott - The world's largest open pit copper mine. This mine has produced more copper than any mine in the world, is one of the engineering marvels of the world, and is more than ¾ of a mile deep and more than 2 ¾ miles wide at the top. I've been there several times, and it's truly amazing. The scale is almost unbelievable.
Here's what some of our SLC Couchsurfers have recommended to visitors posting on our little SLC Group page:
Ellen Young said: Sam Weller (bookstore and coffee shop) is pretty fun and that's across the street from the Gallivan Center. http://www.slcgov.com/publicservices/gallivan/calendar.html Check that out- nothing might be going on, but I enjoy that area. It's at the heart of downtown. Temple Square is pretty great, it's the best in the Winter (twinkle lights). You do have to be LDS to enter the actual Salt Lake Temple, but trust me- the outside and the surrounding buildings are what there is to look at. I'd suggest a tour if you like that. If not, I prefer to wonder around and take a look for myself : ) Sunday evenings there are choirs playing at the Tabernacles. I would head to "The Aves." Near 1st Ave. and E St. there is a local chocolate place, called "Hatch Family Chocolates." http://utah.citysearch.com/profile/10384248/salt_lake_city_ut/hatch_family_chocolates.html Jack Mormon Coffee is also on E. Street- they know what they're talking about! Blue Plate Diner is good for breakast (weekends will be hella busy). Brewvies is a movie theatre that serves beer. If you wanna see a movie haha. The State Capitol buildin is cool and Ensign Peak (hike) is near there, with a great view of the vally. http://www.localhikes.com/Hikes/Ensign_Peak_7160.asp
Jonathan Moore says: I would definitely recommend (as always)Gilgal Sculpture Garden for a quirky place to see Mormon-themed sculptures: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilgal_Sculpture_Garden http://www.gilgalgarden.org/
As far as food, I'd recommend One World Cafe, a place that specializes in Organic food, and allows you to pay what you think the food is worth into a box, and is served cafeteria-style, so you chose you portions. http://www.oneworldeverybodyeats.com/
Heather Fischer says: This is the Place is the LDS version of Williamsburg basically it is an historical park depicting the time period when the pioneers first settled the Salt Lake Valley.
Near This is the Place is the Hoogle Zoo, Red Butte Gardens and the Fort Douglas Military Museum. All of Which is on the East side of the University of Utah.
I love the Urban Lounge for good concert from all types of bands well known and local acts, its on 241 south ans 500 east.
Go to cityweekly.net they if you want to check out some local bars, they have listing of bars, and a great events calender.
If you'd like to see the mountains in Utah, the Snowbird Ski Resort Aerial Tram is a great start. Snowbird is up Little Cottonwood Canyon about a 20 minute drive from the city. I operate the tram!
If you like Mexican food The Red Iguana is my favorite place to eat Mexican food. It's on 736 W North Temple. Always packed and a line out the door. Go early to avoid the wait.
We have quite a feew local breweries many have restaurants; The Bohemian,(Where the brewers Bobby and Kyle work, Squatters, Red Rock, and Desert Edge are great. You can take a tour of the Unita brewery which isn't far from downtown.
The Salt lake Art Center is great, when I was there they had a great expedition on American art. 20 S West Temple.
You can check out the Olympic Cauldron at the U of Utah Stadium they also have a small museum there too.
A great place to have dinner is up Emigration Canyon at Ruth's Diner. Great diner food in a gorgeous canyon.
There is a large Greek population in Utah and some great Greek restaurants my favorite is Aristo's on 250 south and 1300 east.
I also work at the Utah Museum of Natural History and have a few extra passes for the museum, I work in the Anthropology lab, we have great exhibits on local Native American culture and an extensive Paleontology collection. If you'd like to go let me know.
The Salt lake city Library is a very cool building and also has great views from the roof garden area, you can see all of the valley and mountains from the roof. Its on 400 south and 200 east.
If you want more info on bars and clubs in Salt Lake let me know, I also know alot about the surrounding mountains and canyons if your interested in some hiking or just taking a drive let me know.
A recent visitor, Andy Wright from Denver said: We are buying the $20 pass http://www.visitsaltlake.com/visit/activities/connect_pass/map/ to get into all of the following places: Clark Planetarium, Temple Square, Discovery Gateway, Utah Museum of Natural History, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Red Butte Garden, This is the Place Heritage Park and Utah’s Hogle Zoo. All along a 6.3 miles trail. Looks like there is no need for a car, a few bus rides will be perfect actually.
