When I was in my mid to late twenties, I received a phone call from a casting director’s assistant because I had applied to the reality show “I Survived A Japanese Game Show.”
Applying to reality shows was something I did regularly in my 20s, but for some reason, this submission piqued the casting’s interest enough to give me a call.
The reason was my response to one of the questions. I don’t remember the question exactly now. Still, my answer was something like this: if you grab a map of the southeast United States and take a metal math compass, place the point of the compass on top of where I’m from in North Carolina, then put the pencil on top of the Outerbanks, draw a circle, and I tell you now that I have only been outside this circle for a school trip to Washington DC and to Disney World for a family vacation in the late 1980’s.
Of course, I didn’t make it onto the show, and going to Japan would have blown up my “where I have been” circle. But whatever.
The size of my circle of existence remained relatively consistent with the North Carolina geography I mentioned to “I Survived A Japanese Game Show” casting for my remaining 20’s, then shifted the boundary slightly north in my 30’s, and then drastically reshaped this boundary in my 40’s. Hell yeah!
My life song is that I had the time to travel, but not the money, in my 20s. By my 30s, I had a bit of both, but still didn’t travel much.
Now in my 40s, I’ve visited more places in the past few years than in the first 40 years of my life. I owe it all to finally meeting the special lady in my life, with whom I want to explore the world with.
I’ve been to South Florida and the Gulf of Mexico and traveled across the pond to Scotland.
And last week, I went to Utah for a work / professional conference. Visiting downtown Salt Lake City (SLC) marks the farthest west I’ve ever been in the United States. Take that circle of my existence.
After spending several days out there, I’m convinced that Downtown SLC is dope.
Most of my time was spent inside the Salt Place Convention Center and within a 5- to 6-block radius of the Hilton, but I really enjoyed exploring SLC when I wasn’t in conference sessions or socials.
My explorations and discoveries consisted of walking around downtown and checking out several bars and restaurants. I saw some cool stuff and visited some really brilliant spots. Some of the highlights include:
My favorite place to get a beer was Red Rock Brewing. Their Golden Halo Blonde Ale is heavenly.
The coolest place where I had a drink is called Lake Effect.
Gracie’s turned out to be my favorite place to eat. Their delicious Garlic Burger features Angus beef, white cheddar, lettuce, tomato, caramelized onion, pickles, garlic dill puree, and chimichurri.
I had the best sour cream donuts at Cupla Coffee. Yum!
The coolest thing I experienced was the Thursday night social at the University of Utah Stadium. There was a band and a drone light show featuring a T-Rex with a moving mouth, and we were able to go onto the field. I really geeked out being on their field.
I try to approach new places with an open mind. Open mindedness is crucial when it comes to eating local food and cuisine. Just like I did with Haggis in Scotland, if you don’t do this, you could miss out.
Haggis is one of those well known Scottish dishes that I already knew about, but sometimes local cuisine crosses your path. Be adventurous and try the damn food, even though it doesn’t sound appealing to you.
I got introduced to Utah Fry Sauce, which sounded incredibly delicious, and I’m eager to try making my own version at home.
Utah Fry Sauce is a fantastic sauce for dipping fries, tator tots, and chicken. Before trying it, I read on The Google that this sauce is essentially ketchup and mayonnaise.
I was instantly obsessed and curious about this sauce.
So I posted the following question on Threads: “What exactly are the ingredients in Utah Fry Sauce? Does anyone have a good fry sauce recipe?”
It was no surprise that all the posts mentioned ketchup and mayo as the founding ingredients.
Other ingredients mentioned in the replies included adding pickle for a bit of zing, buttermilk, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and garlic powder.
Someone shared their recipe, which I’m definitely going to try at home:
- 1 tablespoon Heinz Sweet Relish
- 2 tablespoons mayo
- 1 tablespoon Heinz ketchup
Heinz needs to send this loyal customer a gift box.
Growing up in North Carolina, I’m used to living in a place with higher humidity, but landing in Utah was the first time I experienced a dry climate. So this was another first for me.
I had always heard about dry and humid heat, but couldn’t really comprehend until now. I definitely experienced dry and itchy skin, chapped lips, an irritated throat, and dry eyes. Luckily, no bloody nose.
Every morning, I woke up thinking I was going to get sick.
I drank tons of water because I felt dehydrated, and I went through tons of Chapstick that I snagged from one of the vendor tables.
Needless to say, I kind of dug the short period I spent in dry humidity. I’m not sure how it works year-round, but it sounds appealing, especially coming from a place with high humidity and heavy sweating.
Utah is in the Mountain Time Zone, which is two hours ahead of North Carolina, and another newest thing to me. I’m talking about adjusting my daily schedule to a different standardized time.
Starting my days in SLC two hours before the usual Eastern time wasn’t too challenging.
I just went to bed when I got tired, no matter what the clock said.
The mornings were more difficult. I set my alarm for 6:30 AM, but my body woke up an hour and a half before the alarm, which initially annoyed me. However, I then realized that I’m waking up like normal.
The two-hour difference didn’t significantly impact my eating habits or meal times. Most of the meals I had in Utah were similar in time to when I normally eat in North Carolina, and the conference provided plenty of snacks like Chex Mix and cookies, so I probably never got super hungry.
I want to reiterate that downtown SLC is dope. Where, at least, were the areas of downtown I explored.
Downtown SLC was clean and thriving, with some fantastic architecture and design woven into its buildings and streetscapes. I definitely noticed some of the negative aspects of big-city downtown life that people often harp on, but I never felt unsafe. Not once.
One of the most beautiful aspects of Downtown SLC was its surroundings by mountains. You crossed and looked down a street, and there were tons of snow-covered peaks. I loved how the streets disappeared into the mountains.
Going back to Utah is in my future plans. But next time, I want to do a more outdoor oriented, nature-centric trip.
I don’t ski, so that’s out.
I want to see the Great Salt Lake properly.
Maybe I’ll check out one of the “Mighty Five” national parks (Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands).
The Utah dessert also sounds like an amazing must-do.
If you’re still reading this, what are your top recommendations for things to do in Utah when I return? What attractions within the Beehive State should I not miss?
Please let me know in the comments, through social media, or by email.
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