We are going for the first time, and I want to know what to see and what to avoid.
The best shopping, as in LDS shopping...
Best 'nice' dining experience
Best casual eating place
What are some of the 'can't miss' things?
We are renting a car so we will be driving around...
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Oh, so much to comment.. we must talk sometime...
You should eat at the top of the Joseph Smith Building... there are two restaurants... one is fancy and the other you can wear jeans (I think you can at the other one too, it's just pricey). Both are pretty cool. Obviously, you need to hit the distribution center... good deals all around. I think some more.....
If you need me to haul any Mormon mechandise back from SLC, let me know.
Whenever you are free (ha ha) give me a call. But other than the fact that you have to pump, drive to the hospital a few times a day, corral a toddler, nurse a sleepy premie and then pay attention to that guy that got you into this whole wonderful mess :)....just hide the Barry White CD's for awhile...
OK, that was raw...so sorry....
Fun in SLC:
1-Pretend to be nonmembers and loiter with missionaries.
2-Fill out referal cards with fake info.
3-Wear an Iron Maiden T-shirt while singing primary tunes down the street.
4-Set out a tip box on a street corner and do the Napolean Dynamite dance.
5-Set a poster sign outside the Inn at Temple Square that reads "Jensen Family Renunion!" and see how many people show up.
6-Tell the locals you're there for the Olympics and ask where the next venue will be held?
Loads of things to do in SLC!
Casual dining: Tony Caputos downtown. It's a great italian sandwich place that has a fun food market next to it. Also, if you go on a Saturday, it's right next to Pioneer Park, where they have the farmer's market in the morning and have a lot of cool hand made things as well as fun local food.
Citrus Grill: It's fresh and fun and fairly inexpensive. I'm pretty sure they have one downtown.
They have the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy, which has sharks and stingrays and jellyfish and a lot of other fishies...but it's kind of pricey for an exhibit you can get through in a half hour.
This is the place park. I haven't been but heard it's pretty fun.
Thanksgiving Point has a lot of things to do, like gardens to walk through and places to eat and little shops.
Fancy Pants Restaraunt: I second the Joseph Smith Building, although they have a lot of reception rooms and such, which probably means a lot of people, but if you don't mind sharing an elevator with newleyweds making out, you'll totally enjoy it! I also hear that the new Joseph Smith movie is great, you could watch that. Also, there's a lot of fun places downtown where you can eat, or you can drive up to Park City and eat at Butchers, which is a great steak house, or go to any of the other eateries. They are all pretty good up there!
Two words: CAFE RIO! Best casual dining in Utah hands down.
Best shopping: Gateway Mall in Downtown Salt Lake. They have great stores and great restaurants.
Joseph Smith Building: The Garden is by far the better of the two restaurants. It's also the less expensive one. The roof is fun but hte food isn't that great for the price you pay - $30 a person. They also have a little cafe down at the bottom that has the best sandwiches ever and fabulous pot pies and desserts.
Joseph Smith building also has a distribution center in the basement.
LDS Shopping - In orem there is what we call "mormon square" - it has the distribution center, deseret book, an organization store, a food storage store, missionary mall, Knee Shorts, etc. It's also down the street from University Mall which is a great mall.
Other restaurants that are great: Bucca di Beppo, PF Changs, Johnny Carino's, Rodizio Grill, Tucano's, Z Tejas, did I mention cafe rio? :)
Thanksgiving Point is fun but the gardens aren't really in their prime and the rest of it is better for little kids.
One fun thing to do is take the tour of Welfare Square and also the humanitarian centers - the humanitarian tour is very humbling. It's a neat experience.
If I think of other things, I'll add more! have fun!
Ok, so I'll admit to snooping your blog to tell you things I'd check out.
For fine dining, I would recommend going to the Foundry Grill at Sundance. Definite ambiance, delicious food, a little Utah beauty- it's great! Or, Harvest at Thanksgiving Point. Another delicious restaurant that we go to for special family occasions.
Sadly, you can no longer take Lupe's suggestion to set up your sign for your family reunion at the Inn at Temple Square, because it's been torn down. Actually, a lot of the downtown Salt Lake life is currently gone while they're rebuilding everything to be newer and cooler. But of course, temple square is still there and a must do. I think it would be great to go and see the Joseph Smith movie as was already suggested. Also, if you have any Utah temples that you think are great, now would be the time to go. Maybe even to Salt Lake or Manti for a live session if you've never done one before.
And maybe I'm biased as an alum, but I think some time in Provo around BYU is a must see. Walk through campus, eat some ice cream from the creamery, BYU bookstore is full of LDS shopping (and some good deals when you hit sales), it's a win-win.
Have a fun trip. I'm originally from the East coast, and I remember being soooo overwhelmed the first time I came to Utah, but I've been here since my BYU days and I'm still doing ok :)
Thanks for everyone's help! We hit a few of the Mormon sights and did a little shopping too. We had some great takeout from the Blue Iguana. Maybe because we were staying in the middle of downtown..the people in general were very rude. Thank goodness for Temple Square! I should have given all you Utahns a holler, because we were appalled at the coolness and lousy service we got at various places.
This is probably more indicative of being in the downtown area with people that probably are not native, than the people of Salt Lake, but it was a shocker for this Southerner!
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