Murray Journal | August 2024 by The City Journals

OWNERS OF WOODY’S DRIVE-IN PASS THE RESTAURANT TO A NEW GENERATION

By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com

Wouden won’t miss the long hours, the hot days behind the grill or the daily stream of small disasters he dealt with as the owner of Woody’s Drive-In in Murray (6172 S. 1300 East).

What Wouden will miss are the relationships he created with the community and his customers, and the people who stop by Woody’s just to say hello. After 35 years, Wouden and his wife, Christine, are hanging up their aprons and handing the keys of Woody’s to new management.

The 1950s-themed restaurant is a staple in the city. With its classic burgers, above-the-rim shakes, zucchini fries, mozzarella sticks, fried pickles and French fries handmade fresh every day, it takes a process (and hundreds of pounds of potatoes) to create the food items on Woody’s menu.

“It takes a lot of work,” Wouden said. “If everything was frozen and simple, then maybe I could just work there part time. The great thing is, over the last five years or so, our business really has picked up a lot.”

Wouden and Christine met while they both worked as managers for Arctic Circle. After they married, they wanted to merge family time and work time. They opened Woody’s, creating a place where everyone could work together. It was never about getting rich or franchising the Woody’s business model. It was about raising a family and building something they could be proud of.

Wouden’s official retirement started July 1 and he is interested to see what a summer can feel like when he’s not working behind the grill all day. Traveling is at the top of his

Continued page 19

years of Woody’s Drive-In. The owners, Pieter and Christine Wouden, have

over to Joe Hansen. (Photo courtesy of the Wouden family)

A Commitment to Faith-Based Care at Holy Cross Hospital – Salt Lake

By: Rev. Dr. Godwin Nnamezie

At Holy Cross Hospital – Salt Lake, and in all our Holy Cross Hospitals along the Wasatch Front, we have a steadfast commitment to caring for the mind, body and spirit of our patients, families and employees. To fulﬁll this commitment, we pay particular attention to how we serve through our actions, decisions and behaviors.

As Market Mission Director with 20 years of Mission experience at CommonSpirit Hospitals, I have had the unique privilege of working alongside our leaders, employees and providers, ensuring we integrate our mission, vision and values in all we do. Through my work, I strive to make the hidden presence of Christ seen, heard and felt through every interaction we have with one another and those we serve.

Being part of our Holy Cross Hospitals means serving within a faith-based ministry, where our employees are invited to live out their life purpose in a unique and powerful way. Everyone has something inside them that propels them forward, that gives them drive, that leads them and that they want to share with others – this is what it means to be powered by faith!

The hospital can be a frightening environment for so many of our patients, as well as a high-stress work environment for our employees. Being a faith-based ministry means we continue to expand our spiritual care program. The program allows for our hospital chaplains to help alleviate fears and stresses by providing emotional and spiritual care support and ministry. As a Holy Cross Hospital – Salt Lake patient, receiving faith-based care simply means you can expect compassionate, healing care delivered by those who are guided by and committed to the ideals and beliefs of our founders, the Sisters of the Holy Cross, and our ministry.

A quick look at our faith-based roots that run deep here in Utah shows that the Sisters of the Holy Cross accomplished feats of great worth and permanence during their years of service. There are generations of our patients who encountered the Sisters and received care from them at our Holy Cross Hospitals. It is so humbling to listen to their stories and ﬁrst-hand accounts that left such an impact on their lives.

The strength of the pioneering Sisters was their willingness to serve their God

and the sick and needy, no matter the race, creed, or economic status. The Holy Cross Sisters’ legacy of courage, passion, life purpose, dedication, selﬂessness and regard for their fellow human beings are many and beautiful – and one we strive to uphold.

While the theme of faith and service rings true throughout our hospital walls, it also extends out into the community through collaboration with our partners. Our community health needs assessment and community beneﬁt program help us better understand our communities so we can work to improve the health of the people we serve.

It is my hope that you when you walk through our hospital doors or interact with us in the community that you feel our commitment – powered by faith, fueled by humankindness – to you and our community.

Learn more about the services, care providers and mission-driven work of the Holy Cross hospitals and CommonSpirit Health at www.holycrossutah.org.

Orthopedic care with compassion at its core.

Our physicians provide the most advanced care and treatment options in orthopedics, including hip and knee replacement, total joint replacement, and sports medicine. We are committed to creating personalized treatment plans and providing extraordinary care to every patient.

As CommonSpirit Health, we make the healing presence of God known in our world by improving the health of the people we serve, especially those who are vulnerable, while we advance social justice for all.

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Rev. Dr. Godwin Nnamezie

Market Mission Director Holy Cross Hospitals

From using crockpots and air fryers to ordering groceries and meals from third party delivery services, we all strive to lessen the time it takes to put a meal on the table. New York Post reports “Americans spend more than 400 hours a year in the kitchen.”

Linda Lederman, a kitchen competence coach and graduate of Rouxbe Cooking School and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, provides tips and tricks when it comes to meal prepping and time-saving hacks in efforts to continue the vital practice of having dinners around the table. Lederman said, “Research shows that when you have a sit-down family meal, your kids do better in school, they have better communication skills, they have better social skills, and believe it or not, they're less likely to abuse illegal substances.”

What’s her first tip to reclaiming the dinner table? Evaluating your schedule. This includes your spouse’s schedule and your children’s schedule too. Once you identify your timeframe allotted for your meals in a given week you can then start planning out your meals whether it be for an open evening allowing a more time-intensive meal, or a quick turnaround night of needing to repurpose leftovers from the night before. Lederman emphasized that “each family will have a different lifestyle, there is not a one size fits all.”

In efforts to meet the needs of your schedule, Lederman suggests using a variety of time savers including:

• Meal prepping. This is where you prepare ingredients so you can quickly use them throughout your week. Examples Lederman shared include prepping lettuce (paper towel in bowl, washed lettuce, then covered with another paper towel and lid to absorb moisture) so that it’s ready to eat throughout the week for salads, burgers and sandwiches;

Meal prepping tips and tricks

By Holly Curby | hello@hollycurby.com

and cooking hamburger meat to use throughout the week in tacos, spaghetti sauce and in a casserole. This helps avoid having to prepare items before each meal.

• Sheet pan dinners, one pot meals or crockpot meals. All of these methods require minimal cooking steps and equipment needed, therefore saving time cleaning up at the end of the meal.

• Batch cooking. This is where you make at least double of a recipe so that you can quickly pull it out to use at another time. This method is used for breaking down into smaller portions for your family to be able to grab and go as needed, or even to freeze for future use.

When it comes to freezing items, Lederman suggests freezing foods such as broths (fish broth or chicken broth), soups, and even sauces like tomato sauce and pesto sauce which she recommends repurposing by putting on chicken breasts, adding to a turkey bacon sandwich, or even putting in a pasta. “Avoid freezing vegetables though,” Lederman cautions, “and make sure you put freezer foods in small portion sizes so when you pull them out you aren’t having to eat them for days.” Smaller portions of broth and sauces can be put into ice cube trays with a little olive oil to be able to pull out as needed when adding a little flavor to soups, stews, and when sautéing or roasting vegetables. Of course, all freezer items should include the date the food was made and a labeling of what the item is as once the foods are frozen they often resemble another food.

When it comes to saving both time and costs in shopping for your meals, Lederman suggests seeing what you have in your pantry, refrigerator and freezer first and then making a list so you don’t buy excess items.

“You’re not only getting rid of your food waste,” Lederman explained, “but

you're not wasting food and you're reducing your food costs because there's no waste.” Not only does she suggest adding to your list items that are staples for you and your family such as always having pasta on hand if you and your family use pasta in many recipes, but she also suggests writing your items down on your list by category of like-minded foods such as fresh produce, dairy, meats, frozen foods, and canned goods so that your shopping time is drastically reduced.

For more meal prepping tips and tricks, as well as for Lederman’s free “Easy One Dish Dinners” eBook, check out Holly’s Highlights podcast Season 3 Episode 14 wherever you listen to podcasts including Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Amazon Music, TuneIn+Alexa, iHeartRadio, Pandora, and www.hollycurby.com. l

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Larry K. meal preps meat to be served at a graduation celebration. (Photo courtesy Holly Curby)

Many restaurant patios in Salt Lake County offer a chill spot for diners and their dogs

Theweather is warm and we all know what that means…patios are great places to dine.

If your dog enjoys relaxing in the warm breeze during the summer, they’ll love tagging along to restaurants, but not all restaurants allow dogs on their patio.

The Salt Lake County Health Department announced which Salt Lake County bars and restaurants have been approved to allow dogs on their patios this summer. Dog owners will be happy to learn that more than 40 bars and restaurants in the county have received the regulation variance for the 2024 season that legally allows them to welcome pups into their patios, according to a news release.

The variance only applies to dogs, not any other animal, and it doesn’t affect the rights of people with ADA service dogs to bring their animals into the public areas of a food establishment, the release stated. Emotional support animals, however, have to stay out of the dining room.

Businesses are required to post signs notifying customers that dogs may be allowed on the premises. Dogs won’t typically be allowed in the dining room, so dogs (and their humans) will need to use separate entrances. The approval is good for this summer season only, it may change again next year, so remember to keep an eye on your favorite restaurants for future dog endeavors.

Fisher Brewing Company

Fisher Brewing Company has grown since it opened in 2017 at 320 W. 800 South in Salt Lake City’s Granary District. With several outdoor spaces including two front patios, a back patio, a central patio, and now a new rooftop patio, guests have more places than ever to kick back and relax with their furry friend.

The rooftop is the conclusion of an expansion that began in 2021 and included adding a second main-floor bar, canning production area, and event spaces in a building next door, as well as a patio along the front of the building.

The rooftop patio features a shipping container that has been repurposed into a bar, retractable awnings for shade, tables, benches and views of the city.

Tea Zaanti

Tea Zaanti is a tea and wine bar at 1944 S. 1100 East in Sugar House. The surrounding mature trees, strings of lights, large shade umbrellas and numerous places to sit make for a great experience to grab a cup of tea, a glass of wine, or a bite to eat. Tea Zaanti recently started carrying bagels from The Bagel Project on weekends.

While the weather is warm, Tea Zaanti will be hosting live music on the patio every Friday at 5:30 p.m. Every other Thursday night they hold a wine tasting, and the $15 admission includes a menu item and a sampling of two different hard-to-find natural wines.

This makes for a great experience to en-

By Bailey Chism | bailey.c@thecityjournals.com

joy with your friends and not have to worry about leaving your dog at home.

Red Rock Brewery

Red Rock Brewery has several locations around Salt Lake County, including one near Fashion Place Mall in Murray at 6227 S. State Street.

Red Rock Brewery first opened its doors in 1994 with high-quality craft beers and food. The brewery has been named “Brewpub of the Year” by Brewpub Magazine and “Large Brewpub of the Year” by the Great American Beer Festival.

You can stop by the brewery with your furry friend and enjoy one of their 30 core, seasonal and special release brands of beer.

TF Brewing

TF Brewing opened in 2018 at 936 S. 300 West in Salt Lake City’s Granary District. The patio started out much smaller than it is now, but the owners acquired the building west of the brewery in 2019 and were able to enlarge their outdoor space into the wide expanse it is today.

It’s filled with long wooden tables, Adirondack chairs, shady umbrellas, trees, potted plants and fire pits, and is decorated with strings of lights. During the weekends, the patio fills up quickly, but once you secure a seat for you and your furry friend, you can stay for as long as you like.

Evenings are filled with people chatting and playing games like cornhole, chess and Jenga; music playing; and dogs lounging. Most Sundays, when the weather is warm, you can enjoy the patio and listen to Slow Pour Sundays, a DJ set featuring only records.

Mountain West Cider

Mountain West Cider’s patio, The Garten, at 425 N. 400 West, is one of few outdoor gathering places in Salt Lake City’s Marmalade District. And recently, it got a bit of an update.

The Garten closed at the end of 2022, but officially reopened for the season with the Queer Food Festival earlier in May. The Garten has a new look that patio lovers will appreciate. There’s now enough seating for 200

people, and the addition of extra bathrooms, shade sails, umbrellas, and new landscaping with trees.

Bring your dog and enjoy live music every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and join in on Bingo on Tuesdays.

For a full list of restaurants allowing dogs this summer, go to the Salt Lake County Health Department’s website. l

Red Rock Brewing Company, at 6227 S. State St. in Murray. (Bailey Chism/City Journals)

Fisher Brewing Company, at 320 W. 800 S. in Salt Lake City’s Granary District. (Photo courtesy of Fisher Brewing Co. Facebook)

The avenue to sweet success for local candymaker AvenueSweets is paved with golden caramel

By Ella Joy Olsen | e.olsen@mycityjournals.com

She’d only been selling caramels and nougat, handcrafted one copper pot at a time, for a year, when Agnieszka Jones received a call from Martha Stewart. Yes, the Martha Stewart, indicating the magazine, “Martha Stewart Living” would like to feature the nougat from Jones’s little startup candy shop, AvenueSweets, in a dessert recipe.

“I thought it was a joke or something, and I kind of cringe every time I think of how I responded,” Jones recalled. “I told them I was going on vacation and asked if we could do it the next month.

“They said, ‘Well, I guess we don’t have to do it at all.’ That’s when I was like, ‘What am I thinking?’”

The call from Stewart was extra special for Jones for a number of reasons. A longtime reader of the magazine, and watcher of the show, Jones was somewhat of a Martha Stewart fan-girl. And like Martha Stewart, Agnieszka Jones (Agnes) is from Poland.

“I always felt a kinship with her [Stewart]. I used to travel to Poland every summer, with the kids, and I would imagine meeting her on the plane,” Jones said. “It was silly, but she also loves her Polish heritage and featured a lot of Polish dishes. I especially like her because of that.”

Agnieszka Nalecz-Mrozowska (Jones) spent her early years in Warsaw, but fled the country as a political refugee with her family in 1980. This was during communist times, just before martial law was instated to combat the surging, and eventually successful, solidarity movement against the Soviet Union.

Jones was 11 years old.

She (and her parents) left under the guise of going on a short vacation to Austria and took only a couple of suitcases. Austria was a neutral country for political refugees and the family of three stayed for one year, eventually making their way to the United States and settling in Salt Lake City. “My dad loved the mountains in Poland, so he decided on Utah.”

When she left Poland, Jones didn’t speak any English, but “at that age you learn quickly” and she was able to start at Judge Memorial High School at age 14, as a freshman, eventually graduating from the University of Utah. It took her seven years, in total, to become a citizen.

Jones stayed at home with her children while they were young, and each holiday season she cooked up eagerly-anticipated caramels and nougat for friends and neighbors, but when her youngest went to kindergarten she decided to take her hobby, stir things up, and make it a job. One that would be flexible enough that she could be home when her kids finished each school day.

“Sweets are part of the Polish culture,” Jones said. “Candy shops, pastries, gummy candies, ice cream on every corner.”

One of her first creations was a soft almond nougat. Although nougat is a traditionally Italian candy, Jones’s version reminds her of a chewy candy sold at fairs when she was young. And her caramels taste like krówki, which means “little cow” in Polish. They are firm at first, then chewy in the center.

With the encouragement of family and friends, she began. However, she was at a loss when it came to naming the company.

“A friend told me to name it Sweet Agnes,” Jones chuckled. “But that sounded like the name of an adult film star to me.” Even still, she needed a name to get a business license, so Jones settled on AvenueSweets, simply because she lives on an avenue in Sugar House, and the name stuck.

Next, she created a website and started cooking nougat and caramel one pot at a time. She’d cool the candy on a couple of cookie sheets, cut pieces with a double-handled cheese knife, and wrap each piece of candy, by hand, in waxed paper.

The first candies offered on the website were almond nougat and two flavors of caramel: golden and chocolate.

Soon after, she added a pumpkin spice caramel to the product list. This was in 2005, just one year after Starbucks debuted their quickly-becoming-popular Pumpkin Spice latte. “Sunset Magazine” grabbed the trend, featured the AvenueSweets’ pumpkin caramel in their autumn edition, and things started to get spicy.

Then, when Barack Obama was elected in 2008, because he’d indicated sea salt caramel was his favorite flavor, Jones added it to her menu. Again, she captured a trend. “We made it in honor of Barack, and now it’s by far our best-selling flavor.”

It wasn’t long before it seemed the little company had potential, so Jones’s husband Bruce took a risk, quit his job and started marketing candy.

“It’s fun to work together,” Jones said. “It’s true we spend every single day together, but we have different roles, and we complement each other. He handles marketing, customer service and sales. I pretty much just make the candy.”

It was Bruce Jones who realized that caramel and nougat candies would be good products for shipping and delivery, as they are a sweet, easily sharable treat that packages beautifully, and (most importantly) won’t melt on a doorstep.

As such, AvenueSweets doesn’t have a local retail storefront. Their bread-and-butter (so to speak) is earned via corporate gifting, gourmet food baskets and private labeling.

It’s likely you’ve had an AvenueSweets’ handcrafted caramel at one of several national restaurant chains, gourmet grocery stores, coffee shops, National Park giftshops or airport

giftshops, and haven’t even known it was a product made in Utah.

That said, you can order their products directly from their website (free shipping on all U.S. orders) at www.avenuesweets.com, or they sell a limited product selection via Amazon, or you can find it in the “local products” section at the Salt Lake City Airport.

One of the avenues to AvenueSweets sweet success is continual innovation. These days one of their most unique offerings is a vegan or dairy-free line of products which includes a variety of caramel flavors, various brittles, and a sea salt caramel sauce, sold by the gallon bucket to vegan bakeries.

They also have seasonal flavors including chocolate peppermint, the popular pumpkin spice, apple and butterscotch marshmallow. As a nod to other local companies, they use Baba Black Lager from Uinta Brewery for their beer brittle.

The commercial kitchen is located in South Salt Lake and AvenueSweets employs a staff of about eight full- and part-time employees, with more seasonally, when they ramp up production for Mother’s Day, then again for the holiday gifting season. l

started making handcrafted caramels for family and friends, then turned

holiday gift tradition into a business which sells confections all across the country.

Candy maker Lucy Lisle works over a copper pot, the traditional cookware for slow-cooking caramel. Local candy maker Agnieszka Jones, co-owner of AvenueSweets,

her

(Ella Joy Olsen/ City Journals)

Agnieszka Jones co-owner of local candy company AvenueSweets consults her recipe as she experiments with a new caramel flavor. One of the secrets of her success is continual innovation. (Ella Joy Olsen/City Journals)

Ice cream for breakfast? New trend delights kids and adults alike

By Bailey Chism | bailey.c@thecityjournals.com

Thismay be the best news you get this summer: yes, you can have ice cream for breakfast. It’s no longer just a fantasy we had as kids. A rumored scientific study, some social media attention and a nifty kitchen gadget have taken everyone’s favorite summer dessert and turned it into a breakfast trend that’s delighting both kids and adults.

The trend first grabbed the spotlight a few years ago when it was reported a Japanese study found people who ate ice cream immediately upon awakening showed signs of reduced stress and heightened alertness.

Ice cream lovers everywhere were eager to scoop up this information, even though news agencies were unable to verify the study or its results. Still, lovers of the frozen treat determined the rumors worthy enough to change up their morning meal.

Then in 2021, the Ninja CREAMi Ice Cream Maker hit the market and became an instant social media sensation. The blender-size appliance claims to be able to quickly turn just about anything into a creamy frozen ice cream treat.

Add your ingredients—milk, cream, sugar, fruit, dairy-free milk alternatives, natural sweeteners, no-or-low calorie sweeteners, protein powder, flavor extract, chocolate, nut butter—press a button and watch as the mixture turns into ice cream.

Social media’s sweet influence

Next, enter TikTok. The platform’s track record of turning simple food preparations into global phenomena is unmatched.

Try searching “ice cream for breakfast” on TikTok. What you’ll get is an endless stream of videos about how to make Ninja CREAMi concoctions that range from rich and indulgent to low-carb, high-protein, no sugar and other health-conscious mixtures suitable for the most important meal of the day.

From unknown TikTokers to well-known social media influencers like Dylan Lemay and Alexis Frost, it seems like everyone on the internet is enjoying a bowl of sweet, creamy ice cream for breakfast. Even Nancy Pelosi, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, has openly shared her love for starting her day with ice cream.

"I have it for breakfast," Pelosi told Ruthie Rogers on her podcast “Ruthie's Table 4.” "It's a great way to start the day. I don't have it every day, but I have it often."

If celebrities like these are starting their days with a scoop, you know it's a trend with legs.

Sweet breakfasts are nothing new. In the United States, French toast and waffles get drenched with maple syrup. In France, pastries like pain au chocolat are breakfast staples.

In Thailand, breakfast might be sweet sticky rice drizzled with sweetened condensed milk, and in Japan, you’ll find fluffy, sweet

souffle pancakes. So, while ice cream for breakfast might seem revolutionary, it’s really just a twist on the longstanding and global tradition of sweet food in the a.m.

The breakfast-worthy frozen treat market is hot

Luckily for those ice cream lovers who want to enjoy a healthy-but-indulgent breakfast, the supermarket freezer case is loaded with options. You’ll find products that keep fat, calories and sugar low. Some offer significant doses of protein and other nutrients, and many are dairy-free and vegan.

Halo Top makes low-calorie, high-protein, dairy-based ice cream. Arctic Zero offers a similar product that is dairy-free. Famous for rich yogurt and healthy overnight oats, Noosa now offers frozen yogurt boosted with probiotics.

Good for the mind

While the nutritional value of ice cream may be debatable, there’s no doubt that enjoying a favorite treat now and then can have a significant, if not short-term, positive impact on your mood. According to Rupa Health, small indulgences release feel-good neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine that boost happiness and reduce stress levels. So, that morning scoop may be just the pick-me-up you need.

Rachel Engelhart, a registered dietitian and certified intuitive eating counselor, told The Healthy that she advises her clients to fill their plates with nutritious foods, but also allow themselves to enjoy favorite treats like ice cream or chocolate in moderation.

"So many of my clients are hard on themselves and rather judgmental around their food choices, and it negatively impacts their mood," she said. "Sprinkling our day with a delicious

The ice cream for breakfast trend is shaking up the industry. Across the United States, ice cream makers are creating new breakfast-themed flavors to meet consumer demand.

Baskin-Robbins recently launched a flavor called breakfast in bed—pancake and maple syrup ice creams swirled together with fluffy pancake pieces and ribbons of blueberry compote. And the supermarket brand Blue Bell's "I heart cereal" flavor features fruity cereal-infused ice cream with confetti sprinkles and bits of sugar-coated fruit cereal.

If you want to make your own breakfast ice cream, the internet is overflowing with recipes for classic custard-based ice cream, nochurn ice cream and healthy Ninja CREAMi recipes.

coffee, a yummy dessert or one of our favorite restaurant meals is also an important way to positively impact our mental health."

The future of breakfast is now

As the ice cream for breakfast trend gains traction, it's clear this isn't just a summer fling. With innovative appliances like the Ninja CREAMi, social media's viral influence and a growing market for health-conscious frozen treats, our morning routines are getting a delicious makeover. So, when breakfast time rolls around, why not enjoy a sweet, creamy, cold scoop of joy? After all, who says you can't have dessert first? l

5 excellent outdoor dining options in Salt Lake County

By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com

Warm weather ushers in the chance to dine al fresco, surrounded by beautiful scenery, friends and family, and good food. Salt Lake County is home to dozens of eateries that feature patio dining and these are some of the best.

Millcreek Pizza House, 1357 E. 3300 South, Millcreek

Spend a pleasant summer evening sitting on the patio of Millcreek Pizza House. Located at Millcreek Common, it’s a relaxing way to enjoy a meal, have a drink, watch roller skaters and wall climbers, and enjoy local entertainment. Choose from handcrafted pizzas with fresh-made dough and quality meats, vegetables and cheese. Options include a pesto-based mushroom pizza, a classic Margherita with fresh basil and balsamic reduction, and a BBQ chicken pizza with spicy sriracha ranch sauce. There are also gluten-friendly options, garlic bread, salads and refreshing drinks. Learn more at Millcreekpizzahouse.com.

Tuscany, 2832 E. 6200 South, Holladay

For something more upscale, the patio seating at Tuscany creates a romantic dining experience with beautiful flowers, stone walls, intimate lighting, delicious

food and fine wines. Inspired by Italy’s stunning landscape and captivating cuisine, Tuscany’s patio is a hidden treasure where diners can enjoy a summer meal. The menu includes a fried green tomato appetizer, chicken pesto pizza, beef entrees, lamb chops, house made pasta and specialty cocktails. Top off the meal by sharing a slice of Tuscany’s decadent chocolate cake with chocolate ganache layers and vanilla bean gelato. For more information, visit Tuscanyslc.com.

Oasis Cafe, 151 S. 500 East, Salt Lake City

Visiting Oasis Cafe is about taking a step back from busy schedules and into a retreat for the senses. Its flower-filled patio, or the covered breezeway, are calming places to enjoy a friendly brunch, a scrumptious dinner or cold-pressed juices on a warm summer evening. Brunch options include coffee cake, breakfast burritos, omelets and applewood smoked bacon. Tasty appetizers, creative salads and hearty dishes can be found for dinner. The dessert menu features chocolate cheesecake and lavender panna cotta. Oasis Cafe also supports local breweries and merchants. Visit Oasiscafeslc.com to learn

more.

Royal on Ridge, 14886 S. Traverse Ridge Road, Draper

Executive Head Chef Carlos Padilla invites diners to elevate their experience by enjoying an evening on the patio at Royal on Ridge. Located at Suncrest, high on the East Bench in Draper, the Ridge offers spectacular mountain views to accompany brunch, lunch or dinner. Favorite menu items include Royal Short Rib Pasta, chicken enchiladas and handmade pizza fired in a Stefano Ferrara wood-fired brick oven. Live music every Thursday night and for Sunday brunch creates a fun atmosphere. An extensive drink menu features cocktails, wine and beer. To learn more,

visit RoyalOnRidge.com.

Ruth’s Diner, 4160 E. Emigration Canyon Road, Salt Lake City

Just a few minutes up Emigration Canyon, Ruth’s Diner’s outdoor patio offers live music at 6:30 p.m., from Thursday through Sunday. This year marks the 94th anniversary of the diner, where locals go for Mile High biscuits and cinnamon roll French toast. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served with hearty items like chicken fried steak, grilled Idaho red trout, butter squash carbonara and Ruth’s famous dessert menu. The diner offers soda, wine, beer and specialty drinks like Ruth’s Killer Bloody Mary. Visit RuthsDiner.com for more information. l

Murray spring athletes receive All-State honors

Headlined by a runner-up performance by the Murray boys soccer team, the Spartans had some strong performances on the field and court this spring.

The Murray boys soccer team advanced to the state finals in Class 4A, falling 4-3 to Ridgeline to barely miss out on a title. The Spartans were 15-3 overall and 8-2 in Region 2, placing second there too.

Four Spartans were All-State performers in the spring, led by First-Team player Abdul Malik Shaher. The senior forward was a prolific scorer, registering 20 goals. He also added nine assists on the year.

On the All-State Second Team was Carlos Nieto-Rosales, a sophomore forward. He totaled nine goals and six assists to bolster an offensive attack that scored 59 goals on the season. Junior midfielder Preston Lawson also made the Second Team. He contributed 10 goals and five assists. Another Second-Team All-State performer was junior midfielder Jason Adams. He will be back as a senior in 2025 ready to build on a junior campaign in which he scored three goals and led the team with nine assists.

Baseball

The Spartans had a good season on the baseball field too. Playing in Region 4 of Class 5A, Murray won the league with a 16-2

By Josh McFadden | j.mcfadden@mycityjournals.com

record (sharing first place with Cyprus) and went 21-6 overall. Murray won two games in the super regionals in the state tournament before falling in two bracket play games.

Second-Team All-State honors went to senior third baseman Easton Floyd. He hit four home runs, two triples and 12 doubles. He also drove in 39 runs.

Two other players were honored as AllStaters. Senior infielder Cooper Wilson and junior designated hitter Sam Brousseau were Honorable Mention. Wilson hit three triples and eight doubles along with driving in 35 runs. Brousseau hit three home runs and eight doubles while collecting 36 RBI.

Softball

On the softball field, Murray had a good year. Competing in Class 4A’s Region 10, the Spartans won the league by going 10-1. Overall, Murray was 15-9 this past spring. The Spartans won two games in the 4A regionals but fell in the super regionals, ending their season.

The top player for Murray this season was a youngster—freshman Summer Stewart. The pitcher/infielder will be back as a sophomore in 2025, looking to build off a memorable inaugural season with Murray. She did it all for the Spartans. On the mound, she struck out 71 batters and posted a 5-4 re-

cord. She was also dangerous from the plate, where she hit a pair of home runs, four triples and seven doubles. She accumulated 25 RBI as well.

Boys volleyball

Murray was second in Region 10 in boys volleyball, posting a 9-3 record. The Spartans were 14-9 overall and went 2-2 in the 4A state tournament.

This was the first season of boys volleyball as a sanctioned sport in Utah, and one Murray player received All-State honors for his play on the court. Junior libero Alex Cushing led the team this season and was named Honorable Mention. He’ll be back for the 2025 season. l

Carlos Nieto Rosales, with the ball in white, made Second Team All-State this past spring. (Photo courtesy Bryan DeMann)

The Wine Academy of Utah uncorks wine education

By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com

In the world of fine dining, wine often takes center stage. However, understanding the realm of wine can be intimidating. Jim Santangelo founded the Wine Academy of Utah in 2008 to help demystify the complexities of wine, offering knowledge to help both enthusiasts and professionals.

“People want to be more empowered,” Santangelo said, “and they want more of an experience emphasis. You sit down and look at that wine list, or see all these great products in the wine store and you’re going to increase your own experience through knowledge.”

Whether someone is looking for a wine certification, a tasting tour or an in-home wine education experience, Santangelo hopes to increase wine knowledge, one sip at a time. He’s seen a heightened interest from consumers in the academy’s courses when, in the past, hospitality professionals made up the majority of attendees, but now, that mix is about 50/50.

The Wine Academy of Utah offers two certification courses, approved through the Wine & Spirit Education Trust. The WSET Level 1 course is a one- or two-day program that introduces students to food and wine matching, and storing and serving wine.

The WSET Level 2 is a 10-week course for people in the retail, sales or hospitality industry and for serious wine consumers who want to expand their knowledge.

“The first step in becoming a wine expert is knowing your geography,” he said. “If you’re talking about Spain, know where Spain is in the world. Know there are different regions in Spain and know that it’s connected to France. That helps establish a good foundation to place all your wine knowledge.”

Originally from upstate New York, Santangelo came to Utah to attend college in 1994. He started working at the Stein Eriksen Lodge in Deer Valley and fell in love with the hospitality industry. Santangelo continued working

at high-end restaurants, gaining experience and building his wine knowledge.

Intrigued by how wine can enhance a dining experience, Santangelo decided to become a certified Sommelier and wine educator. By bringing his knowledge to Utah wine enthusiasts, he’s found a way to educate through fun experiences and adventures.

The Wine Academy of Utah also offers monthly whisky tastings at The Westerner (3360 S. Redwood Road) that include a professional lecture and free country swing classes. Regular Cigar & Spirits tastings introduce people to the etiquette of cigar smoking. The academy also participates in a variety of wine tastings for organizations like Tracy Aviary and The Leonardo in Salt Lake.

“We provide fun, educational and entertaining events in these consumer tastings,” he said. “I’m just really proud to be able to do that.”

For those beginning a foray into the world of wine, Santange-

lo offers in-home tasting events, catered to educate in the comfort of home. The tasting includes all beverages and glassware, tasting notes and a presentation from a certified Wine & Spirits specialist for up to 18 guests. For more information, visit WineAcademyofUtah.com.

“Having a Sommelier in the

6 spots to treat your pup during National Dog Month

More and more restaurants seem to be offering treats, both sweet and savory, for customers’ furry family members. Around town in Salt Lake County, there are plenty of places that offer free or low-cost items to celebrate your pet for National Dog Month in August.

Whipped cream “Pup Cups”

Starbucks isn’t just a well-known place for toddlers to tag along with parents to get a cake pop, but for furry friends to snag a free treat. Most locations offer a cappuccino-size cup with whipped cream called a “puppuccino” by the franchise and deemed “pup cup” by customers. Just ask the barista for it when you get yourself a treat, free of charge.

Matt Young from the West Jordan location of the chain Culver’s, said the franchise also offers pup cups with whipped cream and an outdoor patio where dogs can enjoy them.

The burger restaurant Freddy’s has also been known to give away free pup cups.

Custard and ice cream

All Shake Shack locations offer a treat for their customers’ furry friends. For purchase, pet-parents can buy a bag of gourmet dog bones or a “Pooch-ini” made with the franchise’s dog-safe custard, topped with a Milk Bone, said Riverton’s Shake Shack manager Gregory Jensen.

The staff at this particular Utah location are especially dog-friendly, said Jensen. If you go through the drive-thru and let them know you have a dog in the car, workers will give a free Milk Bone treat and your dog might be added to

By Rebecca Olds | rebecca.o@thecityjournals.com

the dog wall of photos inside the restaurant. Most locations lack a drive-thru like the Riverton store, but usually have a patio of some sort.

Some Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream locations offer what they call “Frosty Paws” or “Dogsters” for four-legged friends which is ice cream specifically made for dogs and comes in a variety of flavors to choose from, including peanut butter. A single-serving Frosty Paws is available for $3 at the Sandy and Cottonwood Heights locations of the franchise and can even be ordered for delivery.

Ground hamburger “Puppy Patty”

The burger joint In-N-Out offers a more savory offmenu item for the furry family members of its customers. Marielena from customer service said most stores offer a “Puppy Patty'' which is an unsalted version of their normal hamburger patty. In Utah, she said these cost owners just more than a dollar. l

comfort of your own home really spices up a cocktail party,” he said. “You’re having a complete and natural discussion about something that’s been around for thousands of years, and how it can change based on cultures. You’re there having a great conversation and enjoying a beautiful product.”l

The Wine Academy of Utah offers courses, tastings and certifications for consumers and professionals who want to learn about wine and spirits. (Stock photo)

Shake Shack’s Pooch-ini is made with custard and topped with a Milk Bone. (Courtesy of Riverton Shake Shack)

Serving Local Families Since 1885

COMPASSIONATE FUNERAL PLANNERS

During one of life’s most diﬃcult moments, you deserve the utmost respect, kindness, care, and guidance. Seven generations of Larkins have been devoted to serving Utah families in their time of need, and that unique experience enables us to guide you in preparing services for your loved one with consideration and respect.

LOCATIONS ACROSS THE WASATCH FRONT

Larkin Mortuary 260 East South Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84111 (801) 363-5781

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Larkin Mortuary Riverton 3688 West 12600 South Riverton, UT 84065 (801) 254-4850

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Passionate about giving back to our community! Jenn Kikel-Lynn, Broker/Owner (801) 641-1571

• 4th Generation Murray City resident

• Murray Female Business Owner

• Salt Lake Board of Realtors “Good Neighbor” Award Recipient

• Salt Lake Board of Realtors Top 500 Agents & Hall of Fame 5x Award Recipient

• Utah Business Magazine “30 Women to Watch” Award Recipient

• Founder of a Local Non-profit for Suicide Awareness

8 Utah restaurants that serve up unique desserts

By Rebecca Olds | rebecca.o@thecityjournals.com

Utahis full of sweet treats and there are whole stores dedicated to gourmet cookies, cheesecakes, milkshakes and more. But for many, a good dessert is better when it accompanies a good meal, and it’s even more interesting to the palate if it’s something that’s new.

Here are eight restaurants across Davis, Salt Lake and Utah counties that not only bring good food to the table, but follow up with delicious and lesser-known desserts. The list is for all price-ranges, starting with the most expensive on the top. Prices range from $3 to $14.

ANTICA SICILIA - TORTA DELLA NONNA

Italian desserts at Millcreek’s Antica Sicilia are made fresh daily by restaurant co-owner, Giuseppe Mirenda’s mom, Margherita D’Alessandro. He said he doesn’t know of anyone else in Utah who makes the dessert.

“It’s the cake my grandma used to make all the time,” said Mirenda.

The recipe for the torta della nonna or “Grandma’s cake,” is an olive oil cake served at the restaurant made of fresh ingredients with a zabaglione sauce. The restaurant serves 40 portions of the cake every night, and is almost always sold out before close.

LIBERTANGO - PERA AL VINO

This Argentine steakhouse in Sandy promises you a taste of the fancy life. Libertango also has some desserts you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else in Utah. Their pera al vino is a sliced pear soaked in a red wine sauce paired with vanilla ice cream. They also offer a guava marmalade and mozzarella stuffed empanada drizzled with citrus and honey yogurt.

MUMBAI HOUSE - KHEER, KULFI, GULAB JAMUN

Traditional homemade Indian desserts at Mumbai House in Salt Lake City feature cardamon, golden raisins and rose syrup. Kheer, cardamom rice pudding with cashews and golden raisins; kulfi, a homemade Indian ice cream with cream, pistachios, cashew nuts and cardamom seeds; and gulab jamun, a pastry soaked in rose syrup, are all available to satisfy your sweet tooth at a good price.

VIETOPIA

BISTRO

- CHÈ 3 MÀU

Vietopia Bistro in Farmington Station offers a wide variety of Vietnamese cuisine, including a dessert known as “chè 3 màu” or “three colors dessert.” Made in distinct layers, there are sweetened red and mung beans on the bottom, usually green pandan jelly, and a white sweet coconut sauce.

AUBERGINE KITCHEN - COCOA AND PEANUT POWER HAYSTACKS

As a healthy vegan, gluten free and no sugar added option, Aubergine Kitchen (var-

Margherita D’Alessandro makes all of Antica Sicilia’s desserts fresh daily, including her mother’s recipe of olive oil cake referred to by the restaurant as “torta della nonna,” or “Grandma’s cake” in English. Antica Sicilia first opened in 2016. (Rebecca Olds/City Journals)

ious locations) has you covered for dessert. The haystacks look almost like a power bite sweetened with dates rather than sugar, so you can get your sugar fix without the processed sugar.

CHICHO’S FLAVORS - DESSERT EMPANADAS

Caribbean food, such as found in the Dominican Republic, can be found on a food truck that drives around Utah. Although it’s technically not a restaurant, this one had to make the list. Chicho’s Flavors offers sweet options of the traditional empanada full of coconut, pineapple and apple.

99 THAI FUSION - MANGO STICKY RICE

When you think of rice, you may not think of something sweet. But a traditional Asian dessert with real mango, coconut milk and sticky rice from 99 Thai Fusion in Layton may change your mind. It’s also one of the healthier dessert options out there if that’s important to you.

THE SMOKED TACO - CHURRO FRIES

With three locations in Utah County, The Smoked Taco has a fun spin on a classic Mexican dessert. Churro fries bring all that you love about churros in a more bite-sized form. Plus, who doesn’t want some added whipped cream and a caramel drizzle on top? In the past, the restaurant has even had a strawberry and Nutella specialty flavor.

Attorney

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Administrative O ce

Human Resources.................... 801-264-2656

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Administrative O ce .......... 801-264-2614

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POLICE DEPARTMENT

Administrative O ce .......... 801-264-2673

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Administrative O ce .......... 801-264-2730

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PUBLIC SERVICES

Administrative O ce 801-270-2440

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Green Waste Trailers ........... 801-270-2440

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Water, Sewer, Streets .......... 801-270-2440

Zoning Enforcement ........... 801-270-2426

UTILITIES

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MAYOR’S MESSAGE

Well, summer is in full swing and with it comes a lot of activities that we look forward to doing. This time of year gives us so many opportunities to get out and experience this great City and State. Most of which we nd that we are travelling and spending a lot of time in our cars.

A few days ago, I was out in Murray when a driver of a car became enraged over what he felt was a slight to him. It was alarming how quickly his anger turned towards those around him. All I could think of was that no one had intentionally cut him o and sometimes we don’t know who has directed someone to take the action that they did. I’m sure the heat doesn’t help our attitudes and tempers. After this experience I thought about how we can work at being better drivers and not letting our anger and frustration cause us undue trouble. Road rage is dangerous, it’s also illegal. The rst thing to do when being confronted by an aggressive driver is to keep your cool. This can help to defuse the situation.

Another important decision is to avoid confrontation. As hard as it may be, if you are being tailgated, cut o , or being yelled at you should get out of the way and avoid escalating the situation. If you feel threatened or if the situation becomes dangerous, call 911. Let the police help keep the situation from getting out of control.

I think we can all relate to dealing with stress and frustration. Keep in mind other drivers could be having a bad day or dealing with stressful circumstances. You can help by not engaging in dangerous and aggressive behavior. Take a step back and think of what is most important to you and those who may be travelling with you. Your goal

Billing Questions 801-264-2626 murray.utah.gov FREQUENTLY REQUESTED NUMBERS

CALLING ALL CRAFT VENDORS

‘TIS THE SEASON BOUTIQUE

Date: Monday, Oct. 14

Time: 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Cost: Vendors $30-$40; Free for Public

Application deadline is Thurs, Aug 15

More info available on our website

CHEF OMAR LIMON

DAILY LUNCH

Date: Tuesday through Friday

Time: 11:30 a.m. – noon

Cost: Cost is $5; prior reg. not required

CLASSES

CERAMICS

Date: Tuesday and Thursday

Time: 9:00 a.m. – noon

Cost: $1.50 each class plus supply cost

GRIEF SUPPORT

is to arrive at your destination safely. Here is a checklist of what to do or not do if you nd yourself faced with an aggressive driver:

• Remain calm: Try to keep your emotions in check and avoid getting caught up in the heat of the moment.

• Avoid confrontation: Don’t engage with the other driver or respond in kind to their aggressive behavior.

• Get out of the way: if possible, move to a di erent lane or exit to avoid the other driver.

• Don’t make eye contact: Avoid making eye contact with the other driver as this could escalate the situation.

• Don’t make gestures: Avoid making any gestures or facial expressions that could be interpreted as aggressive or confrontational.

• Keep your distance: Try to maintain a safe distance from the driver to reduce the risk of a crash.

• Report the incident: If the situation becomes dangerous, call 9-1-1.

• Gather evidence: If possible, take note of the driver’s license plate number, make and model.

Road rage has become a serious problem that puts all of us at risk. Knowing what to do can help to keep us safe. Yes, it is hard to let the situation go when we feel frustrated or threatened in these situations. Is it worth it? The best thing all of us can do is to prioritize our safety and the safety of others on the road. Let’s enjoy our summer travels and BE SAFE!

Date: Friday, Aug. 2 and 23

Time: 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Cost: Free

HISTORY: VIKINGS

Date: Tuesday, Aug. 13

Time: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Cost: Free

NUTRITION: COOKING FOR ONE

Date: Tuesday, Sep. 3

Time: 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Cost: Free

VITAL AGING: GRIEF AND LOSS

Date: Tuesday, Aug. 27

Time: 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Cost: Free

DANCE

BEGINNING LINE DANCE INSTRUCTION

Date: Tuesdays

Time: 1:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.

Cost: $5 for the month; register now LINE DANCE INSTRUCTION

Date: Tuesdays

Time: 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Cost: $10 for the month; register now THURSDAY EVENING SOCIAL DANCE

Live Music provided by Tony Summerhays

Date: Thursdays

Time: 7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.

Cost: $5

FITNESS Daily Fitness Classes – check our current newsletter for the schedule and fees

Message from the Council CITY COUNCIL

It’s a pleasure serving in the Murray City Council for the past six months. I’m really enjoying representing District 1 and helping make decisions that will continue to keep Murray as one of the best cities in the state. Being involved in local issues is one of the most important things we can do that will a ect our everyday lives. Today, I’d like to extend an invitation to you, as a Murray citizen, to become more involved with local politics. Let me share my story with you so you can see that anyone can get involved and make a di erence.

I’m not a politician by nature, I am a former teacher who considers teaching to be the heart of who I am, I spent 22 years in the classroom. About ten years ago, however, I realized that we as citizens need to be more involved in politics, so I attended my rst neighborhood caucus meeting. I was chosen by my neighbors to be the state delegate for our precinct. It was such an honor. I felt like I nally had a voice in politics. And that was something that I had never felt before. You see, I am an immigrant to America; I moved here in my youth escaping a military dictatorship.

I was born and raised in Argentina, of an Argentine mother and an American father. I attended elementary school in the public school system there and had a very happy childhood. But in the early 70’s, politics began dividing the country and soon it became a politics of extremes, country began lurching from left to right and back many times. As it is in most such cases, immigrants became the easy target for extreme politicians and my dad, a foreigner, was forced to leave the country and return to the US. He found a job in Idaho Falls, Idaho and rented a small home. Four months later, in March of 1977, we joined him and began our American journey as immigrants.

Learning the language and the culture was a challenge. Most people were very nice to us. But a few were not. We were sometimes

teased in school by other students who were intolerant of our different language and culture. Some people would also give us a hard time for speaking Spanish to each other and said some not-so kind things to us. But we were not going to let that get us down. We kept a positive outlook and leaned on each other during the hard times. Our family worked hard, opened a small pizza place in Rigby, Idaho, and together we established ourselves in that community. I eventually learned English and graduated with honors from high school. I served my high school as a Student Body Vice-president and lettered in two sports, football and track. I knew the importance of education so I began to research options for studying.

I received a senatorial appointment to the US Air Force Academy and attended a year at the USAFA Preparatory School before being admitted as a cadet at the Academy. It was an honor to be able to study in one of the top universities in the nation and to also serve my country. Although I didn’t graduate from the Academy, I learned a lot about our government and military during that time. I knew that I would serve my country and community in some way during my lifetime. After a two-year LDS mission to Monterrey, Mexico, I married Jennifer Packard. I went on to receive my bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah and my master’s degree from Washington State University. My career brought us to Utah in 2000 and we chose Murray as our hometown. We raised our 5 children here and they all graduated from Murray High School. These experiences prepared me to be where I am now, serving you in city council.

We are at a crossroads in the future of our city, county, state, and country. The world has changed so much in the past decade, some for good and some for not-so good. There has been no greater time to be part of the decision-making of our city. Many ask how they can be more involved. Here’s what I suggest: Look up our agendas online and then show up at city council meetings, Committee of the Whole, RDA, or any other public meeting. The Committee of the Whole is a great place to hear us discuss upcoming city council agenda items. This is where you can hear our position and views. This gives you a chance to consider what we’ve discussed and send us your opinions. I’ve received very few emails or calls regarding issues in my six months in o ce. This leads me to believe that I’m either representing you so well that you feel no need to reach out or that you feel like your opinion carries no value.

I want to encourage you, as our citizens to get involved in our community and in politics. Send comments to your city council members on issues that you see posted on our agenda. Talk to us, let us know what you think. We want to hear from you. We live in one of the greatest countries in history. We have a unique chance to be involved in politics and make a di erence in our community. We love to hear from you, even if we disagree, because it helps us understand better the needs of our constituents. Let’s work together to keep Murray as one of the best cities in the state. We look forward to hearing from you.

Paul Pickett, District 1

City Council District #1

Paul Pickett

801-743-0911

ppickett@murray.utah.gov

Council District 2

Pam Cotter

801-541-8364

pcotter@murray.utah.gov

Council District 3

Rosalba Dominguez

801-382-9674

rosalba.dominguez@murray.utah.gov

Council District 4

Diane Turner

801-635-6382

diane.turner@murray.utah.gov

City Council District #5

Adam Hock

801-557-1346

ahock@murray.utah.gov

Executive Director

Jennifer Kennedy Office: 801-264-2622

jkennedy@murray.utah.gov

Telephone Agenda Information 801-264-2525

MURRAY CITY ANNUAL SAFETY FAIR

Free Evening of Fun for Everyone

Join us for a fun, educational event with activities, dispalys, food trucks and live demonstrations for the whole family. See up close the landing of a medical helicopter, observe SWAT Team demonstration, a vehicle extrication and a house re burn demonstration and much more!

Monday, Aug 5 • 6 - 9 PM

Murray Park • Pavilion #5

292 E Murray Fark Ave

HAUNTED TALES CONTEST

Be part of Murray’s haunted history! In 1874, the first grave was dug in Murray Cemetery. 150 years later, this graveyard is filled with spooky stories. Do you dare to make yours one of them?

Murray students K-12 are invited to chronicle their creepy creativity in this year’s writing contest. Winners will dig up prizes and all finalists are doomed to be recognized by our scary city. Be part of frightening Murray families forever (bwa-ha-ha-ha)!

2024 Entries Due: October 7, 2024

Writers Showcase: October 28, 2024

6:00 PM at the Murray City Senior Recreation Center (10 E 6150 S) Participants and families are invited to the showcase for awards. Costumes encourage!

For more information, float over to: murray.utah.gov/1649/ Haunted-Tales

Questions? Conjure help from Rowan Coates at: (801) 264-2589 or rcoates@murray.utah.gov

AUGUST 2024

list with trips planned to Amsterdam and Iceland.

“After 35 years of, I don’t want to say ruining every summer, but probably being a little bit jealous of the fun other people get to have while I’m slaving away behind the grill, I thought, you know, maybe it’s time to get out of the business,” he said.

A going away party was held at Woody’s for the Woudens where they were given a picture yearbook to remember moments from the past 35 years. They were able to hear from customers about the memories that had been created at the family-owned restaurant.

“Customers were coming in from all over the place,” Wouden said. “I was able to go out and visit with them, some of those people were from 35 years ago. A group of high school kids from ’89 came in and said, ‘We were your first high school group.’ Of course, I remembered them. High school business was half of my business.”

With four children and 10 grandchildren, the Woudens will have plenty of opportunities to connect with family, and they’re excited to turn Woody’s over to Joe Hansen, the property owner and family friend. Hansen said it’s humbling to take over a 35-year-old community institution and he’s feeling a bit of pressure to get it right.

“The Wouden family has been absolutely amazing to work with over the past 10 years, and I’m grateful for their friendship in and out of business,” Hansen said. “I’m really excited for the future of Woody’s, the ability to revive things and also continue to deliver the beloved food that people know, love and expect.

“The last thing I told Pieter after we finalized ‘the deal’ was that I would make him proud. That’s my goal and if I can accomplish that, I know I will have been successful.”

For more information, visit WoodysDriveIn.com.

Christine and Pieter Wouden owned and operated Woody’s Drive-In for 35 years, offering classic burgers, shakes and fries. They recently sold the business and are ready to enjoy retirement. (Photo courtesy of the Wouden family)

SLCC Culinary Arts inspires future food professionals

takes more than the ability to create good food to earn a culinary arts degree. For more than 25 years, the culinary arts program at Salt Lake Community College has taught chefs and hospitality experts how to blend creativity, science, flavors, experience and traditions.

Drawing inspiration from global cuisines, incorporating techniques that reflect cultural heritage and introducing courses that teach hospitality, sustainability, and business management, SLCC’s culinary arts program covers it all, and interest in the program has grown over the last few years.

“We see people with a greater desire to follow their passion and they know they need to get started somewhere,” said Jeffrey Coker, executive chef and interim dean at the Gail Miller School of Business. “At the community college, we have a great program, great faculty and great staff. We're a very family-oriented program.”

Coker knows the industry. He spent 16 years at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Los Angeles, working his way up from chef instructor to executive chef and director of education at the school.

He helps each student craft a course of study to help them reach their goals. Whether they want to become a baker, a food writer, a restaurant manager or own a catering business, the SLCC program provides the necessary foundational skills for students to be successful.

“We have smaller class sizes,” Coker said. “We really get to know our students. Our faculty and our staff are focused on creating unique experiences for those students and getting to know them as they prepare them for careers in industry.”

By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com

At about $15,000 for an associate of applied science degree (including tuition, lab fees and uniform costs), the culinary arts program is an affordable option for students. Plus, scholarships, grants and other funding options to help reduce that cost, including concurrent enrollment for high school students.

Located at the Miller Campus in Sandy (9750 S. 300 West), the school provides a kitchen with modern equipment, 10,000 square feet of training space and a dining room to practice presentation and service. This year, they added a greenhouse to the campus, donated by a graduate of the program.

There are also 30,000 honeybees on site. Students harvest 40-50 pounds of honey during the season and work in the on-site garden for a complete farm-to-table experience.

“Every year, the garden looks a little bit different. The students are involved from the planning, the preparation, the plotting, the harvesting of seed, to the transplanting of seed and maintaining the watering schedule,” Coker said. “Not only are we promoting and building on the foundational skills that students need to be successful, but we’re giving them the relevant topics that are taking place in industry today.”

But a food career isn’t just about creating delicious dishes, it’s creating an experience where guests feel included. Learning professional techniques and practices of hospitality provides a deeper connection with guests and helps develop a valuable reputation in the food world.

“People are not customers. They are our guests,” Coker said. “This is the cornerstone of everything we believe. It is

something that I’ve maintained as one of my steadfast principles in my 30-plus years being in culinary arts and hospitality, and it’s something that I pass along to our faculty and our students. They need to learn to embrace the concepts of hospitality.”

For more information about the program, visit slcc.edu/ culinaryarts. l

Students in the Salt Lake Community College Culinary Arts program learn foundational skills to help them become successful in the food and hospitality industry. (Photo courtesy of SLCC)

The Dough Lady sweetens Salt Lake with homemade cinnamon rolls

By Collette Hayes | c.hayes@mycityjournals.com

People in Utah seem to love sugar, especially a brown, buttery cinnamon roll loaded with fresh homemade blueberry jam, lemon curd, and a thick slather of cream cheese frosting melting into the warm, sweet dough.

“Sugar is our love language; we also want to be buried in butter!” The Dough Lady, Amy Lund said. “I love pulling something freshly baked out of the oven. It makes a home smell so deliciously comforting.”

Lund grew up baking with her mom and sisters. Classic comfort treats, from chocolate chip cookies to brownies and cinnamon rolls, could always be found in the kitchen. After high school, Lund left her home in Sandy and moved to Utah State University, where she received a Public Relations and Marketing degree, which proved valuable after she married and started a business selling take-and-bake frozen cinnamon roll dough.

"I got a new job in March of 2020 working in brand strategy and wasn’t loving it,” Lund said. “Covid hit, and everything became extremely stressful. My outlet for stress has always been baking, and I was baking a lot. My husband became increasingly concerned and finally said, ‘We've got to get all of these treats out of the house.’”

At this point, Lund and her husband Eric began to figure out a business plan to sell cin-

namon rolls. In November 2020, the Lunds launched their idea for a take-and-bake frozen cinnamon roll business with only a KitchenAid and Bosch mixer on their kitchen countertop to fill orders.

“I was so nervous, scared, and vulnerable the first year we began the business,” Lund said. “While working full time, I sold frozen cinnamon roll dough off Instagram and to family and friends.”

With a large following on Instagram, the business exploded and proved to be a huge success. In October 2021, Lund finally slipped off her corporate shoes to focus on building what is now known as The Dough Lady, housed in a shared bakery kitchen in Woods Cross.

Still using the basic family cinnamon roll recipe, Lund has improved it by incorporating the best baking ideas from several recipes. The rolls are sold in packs of four and come in a variety of flavors, including cranberry orange, fresh peach, gingerbread, and the staff favorite, brown butter chai.

“Frozen dough has kind of a tricky shelf life,” Lund said. “I did a lot of testing, and the rolls are best baked within a week after receiving them for optimal rise. Tuesday is a favorite day of the week for our staff. It’s flavor testing day, where we create and test new flavor ideas. Cinnamon is still our best seller, but it’s

followed close by blueberry lemon.”

Interested in warm, freshly baked cinnamon rolls for breakfast or lunch at your office or private event? The Dough Lady caters from Bountiful to Provo with a minimum order of four dozen rolls. Need cinnamon rolls on hand for a late-night snack or early-morning comfort breakfast? That's no problem. Frozen dough can be purchased from The Dough Lady’s website. Perhaps you’re on the go and want to stop in at a local coffee shop and grab a freshly baked roll. The Dough Lady has you covered. The aroma of fresh cinnamon rolls wafts through several locations across the Wasatch Front.

“We deliver our fresh rolls to a variety of coffee shops around the valley,” Lund said. “You can always find a fresh roll somewhere— from Roots Coffee and Co. located downtown and in Sugar House, to Frankie and Essl’s breakfast shop by Liberty Park, The Neighborhood Hive in Sugar House, The Fox Shop in Holladay where we deliver fresh and frozen rolls, the local farmers market downtown, Cheryl’s Bagels in Bountiful, and we even do pop-ups at Jolley’s Corner in Salt Lake.”

According to Lund she never expected to be in the cinnamon roll business since it’s a labor-intensive dessert to bulk produce, but as she says, “Nothing is quite like eating a warm,

In October 2021, Amy Lund finally slipped off her corporate shoes to focus on building The Dough Lady—a business known for its homemade cinnamon rolls loaded with fresh ingredients. (Photo courtesy Amy Lund)

cinnamon roll right from the oven.”

For more information about The Dough Lady’s cinnamon rolls visit doughladyslc.com. l

Italian restaurant owner Giuseppe Mirenda bases life on food, faith and family

Assoon as Giuseppe Mirenda steps through the door of his newest restaurant called “Basta Pasteria,” wearing two Italian flags on his collar and a “Jesus Saves” hat on his head, he is immediately greeted by an employee with, “Good morning chef.”

The title “chef” demands respect but also had an edge of camaraderie as both men grinned and Mirenda leaned in for a handshake and a hug with his employee.

“I couldn’t do this without them,” Mirenda said. “I'm kind of like the gasoline: I'm the one that sparks everything together, gets everybody moving…you can see me in the line, running food, serving tables, whatever is needed on that day to be able to better help my team.”

Basta Pasteria is the third of Mirenda’s multi-award-winning restaurants he’s opened over the past 10 years in Salt Lake County including Sicilia Mia which opened in 2014 and Antica Sicilia which opened in 2016.

Antica Sicilia is one of four restaurants in the state of Utah to receive an award from the Distinguished Restaurants of North America and has received a plethora of Best of State awards.

Family

Mirenda’s family and Italian background are the basis for all of his cooking and something he loves to share with each customer.

His connection and passion with food started as a young boy living near Sicily, Italy where his family was in the restaurant business. He grew up cooking and eventually went to culinary school before immigrating to the United States in 2012 where he met his wife. They have two daughters together.

Today, some of the dishes still served in the restaurants are from recipes that have been passed down from generations while other dishes show his modern-unique flair.

“My grandma is always my judge,” Mirenda said, “She's 83 but she still comes to the restaurant.”

Every day, his grandmother and mother Margherita D’Alessandro prepare the day’s desserts in the morning. The Torta della Nonna, or Grandmother’s cake in English, is a particularly special recipe that has been perfected by his family for generations.

“It's kind of very weird that certain things work in a family, but I am not allowed in the dessert kitchen area,” he said with a laugh. “So that recipe is being passed to my mom now.”

The olive oil cake served with gelato is the restaurants’ most popular dessert and is even available at the more casual-dining experience at Basta.

Mirenda emphasized the importance of making every customer feel like family from the moment they walk through the door.

“I want people to feel like they're coming home, you know?” he said.

Food

Mirenda takes care of the savory dishes

By Rebecca Olds | rebecca.o@thecityjournals.com

while his nonna and mom take care of the dessert.

All the ingredients are either sourced locally for quality, or like the flour to make the pasta, come from Italy.

To spice up the menu, different dishes are featured in rotating specials every Thursday and Saturday and include food with his own flair on traditional Sicilian dishes—including octopus, both boiled and fried.

“So you have a tender octopus on the inside, which is melt in your mouth, but you have a very, very nice and crispy charcoal outside, but it's then served in Mediterranean sauce, which is made out of yogurt, capers, parsley, dill, Parmigiano and lemon,” he said.

Other specialties include the steak and Genovese, a short rib ragu.

But the most popular dinner item on the menu Mirenda said is the carbonara which entices about 40% of guests every night.

Carbonara as a dish that originates from Rome, but in unique Antica Sicilia fashion, the pasta is spun tableside in a wheel of Parmigiano cheese rather than the traditional Pecorino cheese. Antica Sicilia manager Bryton Quick said each 80- to 90-pound cheese wheel is split in half for the tableside service and lasts four to five weeks.

“[Carbonara] is traditionally not a Sicilian dish, but it is a Sicilian thing to use Parmigiano over Pecorino,” Mirenda said. “I've been criticized many times because people from Rome use only Pecorino but it works and for me and it tastes 100% better.”

To bring fresh pasta like the carbonara to a wider audience, Mirenda opened Basta in February to cater to a different price point and atmosphere than his other two restaurants.

“In my experience, I think it's needed to understand what the experience of a customer is, and I think that's why Antica Sicilia and Sicilia Mia are such a big staple for Salt Lake City—it's because I care as much as the food, as much as I care about my service,” Mirenda said.

Basta even has some of the same dishes as found in his other restaurants, including the gnocchi sorentina, margherita pizza and olive oil cake. But it’s the overall “casual vibe” and quick 10-minute cooking experience that differentiates the new restaurant from the other two and allows him to “lower the price considerably.”

“People haven't seen this concept here in Utah,” Mirenda said. “[Customers] are enjoying the fact that they can get a good meal…and it takes about 10 minutes for fresh, homemade pasta.”

Mirenda said Basta has the potential to change the game for “fast food” by offering an affordable version of fresh pasta made with fresh ingredients.

“In Basta there is the idea of growing this brand into maybe something that will grow in different states,” he said. “I see Basta becom-

ing a global brand.” Faith

Having more restaurants has been a dream of Mirenda’s for some time and he even opened another restaurant before 2020, but when COVID-19 hit, he had to close it and called the time “a very, very dark part” of his life.

His “Jesus Saves” hat is just a small implication of his beliefs, but he said without his faith and belief in Jesus Christ, it wouldn’t have turned out as good.

“I try not to force it out on anyone, but I think it has helped me tremendously to be close to him because he has helped me in many ways,” Mirenda said. “Throughout my professional life, there's been many turbulences, and I think there's no other way I would have either come up from it or being able to go through without him.”

Mirenda said no other physical restaurant locations are currently in the works as he and his team continue to improve the experiences people are already having at Antica Sicilia and Sicilia Mia, and watch the new open-kitchen concept blossom with Basta.

“I think they are two staple restaurants for Salt Lake City, and we're gonna keep it that way,” he said. “When you come in the door, it's all about the customer. It's all about how your experience is going to turn out…I think that's been the No. 1 goal all along.” l

Restaurant owner, chef and Italian immigrant Giuseppe Mirenda opened his third Italian restaurant in Utah called “Basta Pasteria” in February. (Rebecca Olds/City Journals)

Antica Sicilia, opened in 2016, offers fresh, homemade croutons on top of the Caesar salad prepared tableside. (Rebecca Olds/City Journals)

Claudio Trevisan heats the half of a 80- to 90-pound wheel of Parmesan cheese to prepare the carbonara, the most popular dish on the menu. (Rebecca Olds/City Journals)

Torta della Nonna at Antica Sicilia on June 28. (Rebecca Olds/City Journals) Torta della Nonna or “Grandma’s cake” is a house favorite dessert. This olive oil cake is made fresh daily by owner Giuseppe Mirenda’s grandmother and mother with a recipe handed down for generations. (Rebecca Olds/City Journals)

By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com

Tea shops are enjoying a surge of popularity throughout the country, and Salt Lake is no exception. These five shops in the area offer more than just a cup of tea; they blend artisanal teas with unique social experiences from tea parties to live music.

7BUDDHA TEA HOUSE AND DESSERTS (4913 STATE ST., MURRAY)

This trendy tea house in Murray offers a unique menu of drinks from boba to slushes. Its signature beverages include the Pinky Lychee with red dragonfruit and lychee with aloe vera or crystal boba topped with sea salt milk foam. There’s also the popular Matcha Red Bean Milk Tea or the Mango Matcha Latte. Refreshing spring teas include Just Peachy, Mango Paradise or Strawberry Plum Tea. It’s always a new taste experience when you stop by 7Buddha. Learn more on Instagram @7BuddhaTea.

AUNTIE RAE’S TREATS & TEA PARTIES (4704 S. HOLLADAY BLVD., HOLLADAY)

Inspired by author Jane Austen, Auntie Rae’s is a journey to a time when tea service was a ritual and conversation a skill. An outing at Auntie Rae’s shouldn’t be rushed, but savored as an indulgence. Themed birthday parties at Auntie Rae’s include a Princess Tea with crowns, sandwiches and tea service. The shop also hosts murder mystery tea parties for small groups. With an elegant high tea menu, a fun garden tea option or afternoon tea with finger sandwiches, scones and dessert, Auntie Rae’s is sure to become a family favorite. Visit AuntieRaes.com to learn more.

SODABOBA (10309 S. REDWOOD RD, SOUTH JORDAN)

If you combine boba tea, tasty menu items and support for local musicians, you

get SodaBoba. Taiwanese boba drinks are available in many flavors including cookies & cream, pineapple passion fruit, honeydew milk and matcha brown sugar. Plus, the finger-food menu offers savory pork potstickers and tempura shrimp, Korean street food favorites. But newcomers to SodaBoba must try the Croffle, a waffle-croissant hybrid with toppings that include Nutella, chocolate syrup, dulce de leche and cinnamon almond. The shop regularly holds free concerts highlighting musicians in the area. For more information, visit SodaBoba.net.

TEA & BROWN (5486 S. 1900 WEST, TAYLORSVILLE)

One of the newest tea spots in town, Tea & Brown is making a splash with its teas made from imported ingredients, using the traditional hand-shake method. Tea enthusiasts will find a range of flavors, from classic teas to brown sugar boba, bubble tea and fruit blends. Fan favorites include the Red Guava Golden Oolong Tea, the Mango Pomelo Frappe, the Black Tea Latte and the Cocoa Matcha Teaccino. Online ordering is available. More information at TeaBrownTaylorsville.com.

TEA ZAANTI (1944 S. 1100 EAST, SALT LAKE)

With dozens of loose-leaf tea varieties, like vanilla hazelnut and strawberry oolong, Tea Zaanti is a must for tea lovers. Favorite teas include the Nutty Matcha Latte, the Choco Tea Latte (with chocolate pu’reh) and the ceremonial matcha, sourced from Japan. Tea Zaanti is also the only tea and wine cafe in Salt Lake, boasting the best wine prices in the state. With a focus on small producer wines, the restaurant offers wine-by-theglass or bottle. Menu items include a charcuterie platter, soups and sandwiches. Visit TeaZaanti.com to learn more.

New Viewmont principal aims to engage students and community while making learning fun

By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com

When some of the older Viewmont Elementary students walk through the doors this coming fall, they may be taller than their new principal.

However, the 5-foot-1-inch principal is strong—and smart.

Lia Smith, formerly Lia Del Priore, was a second-team All-American on floor for the University of Utah gymnastics team. She excelled in the classroom, being a three-time Academic All-Conference athlete.

“I’ve always wanted to be a role model to students,” she said. “You can be great in school and in extracurricular activities.”

While Smith’s competition days may be over, she still is in the classrooms, helping students excel.

“I’ve never been afraid of trying new things; if it’s good for kids, then it’s always worth exploring,” she said.

While this is Smith’s first time being principal, it’s not her first administrative position. She has spent the past two years at Hillcrest Junior High as an administrative intern, performing many of the same duties as an assistant principal. She also spent time at Viewmont as part of her administrative program.

“I love the elementary kids. I feel like my energy and their energy is much the same,” Smith said. “I love Murray (School) District. I knew I wanted to stay in Murray and when this position opened, it was an easy application to submit. I knew the teachers; I knew the building; I knew the secretary and the custodian. I know a lot of the people in our community, so I was excited.”

The position became available after Jennifer King stepped down; she served as Viewmont’s principal for six years. She has moved on to become an instruction coach for South Summit School District in Kamas, Utah.

“I’ve been a sponge learning from Jenn and from everybody who has been in the building for a long time. I know the PTA is strong, I’ve met with the SCC (School Community Council) chair and with some of the BLT (Building Leadership Team) members, our social worker, and we’re talking about having more community events,” Smith said in June. “It’s been a struggle, post-COVID, so we’re wanting to get the community back involved and bring the fun into learning.”

Plans already are on for a welcome-back movie night, a fall fundraiser which will be a bubble run, a winter pancake breakfast and to continue with a spring family game night.

“I got to be a part of that this spring; I

was dunked by the kids,” Smith said. “I’m excited for the bubble run. Parents and teachers can bring out bubble machines and we hope to have a foam machine at the finish line, to make the fun run even more fun this year.”

Other plans are to “amp up incentives and our Eagle experiences for our PBIS (positive behavioral interventions and supports) system so we’re motivating kids and rewarding them with things that don’t necessarily cost money,” she said. “It may be getting to be the PE teacher’s shadow or lunch with the principal or some fun things to engage students in the school.”

Smith also is charged up about the classroom art cart which will be implemented in the fall.

“Parents can volunteer to do an art experience, where they will be teaching different styles of art to our classes,” she said. “It’s a way to engage students with art and also to involve parents or other community members.”

Even with the additional fun in learning, Smith will keep an eye on the students’ academics.

“We have continued goals to increase our math and our reading scores. We are using the bulk of our funds for interventionists to come provide individualized support, which is important for student learning and student growth,” she said.

Smith didn’t become an administrator to leave the classroom.

“I became an administrator because I wanted that leadership opportunity, but I still love teaching and would be happy to teach, especially math. Math is my jam. That’s what I taught and I’m excited to be able to sit down with some of our kids and help with math intervention. I want to work with the teachers and hear what is going on in their classrooms and how I can be a support to them. I’ve found myself blessed to be in leadership roles because I have great logistical and communication skills and a good vision for educational leadership so I’m looking forward to using them to help the Viewmont community,” she said.

Smith earned her math education degree and her English-as-a-second language endorsement at the U. She taught at Northwest Middle School in Salt Lake School District for four years and served on the school improvement committee. She then taught math three years at Murray High. When some Spartans came to her after a cheer coach quit, she stepped into that position to lead the team. In August 2023, Smith earned her Master’s in Administration and Leadership through Southern Utah University.

“At Murray, I co-taught math classes with a special education teacher to make it less of a barrier to graduation for a lot of our kiddos. They did great. We need to talk about how we can increase students’ involvement in academics, activities, athletics, every part of the school, and specifically, for students with special needs,” she said. “We need to look at what we do and how we can improve school for them.”

Working with students is her high -

light every day.

“I love getting to know the kids. I love seeing their successes. I’m thrilled with every grad(uation) announcement or with an invitation to a soccer or baseball game. I get to know the kids whether it’s their school experience or what they do outside of school,” Smith said. “That’s what I love.” l

Former three-time Academic All-Conference Ute gymnast Lia Del Priore Smith will welcome students back to school in the fall as Viewmont Elementary’s new principal. (Photo courtesy of John Smith)

Paris Baguette Café opens first location in Utah

By Bailey Chism | bailey.c@thecityjournals.com

ParisBaguette Café opened its doors in May, marking the first of the franchise in Utah.

Paris Baguette is a South Korean bakery and café chain offering a variety of pastries, sandwiches, salads and beverages. Paris Baguette has 4,000 units worldwide with 160 in the United States and more on the way. The new location is at 950 E. Fort Union Blvd.

Su Kim, the franchisee over the location, immigrated from South Korea to pursue her master’s degree. She’s been in the financial industry working for Goldman Sachs for over a decade. Recently, she wanted to branch out and do something to benefit the local community, leading to her decision to open the bakery café franchise.

“Growing up back in my hometown, that store, Paris Baguette, was everywhere in the neighborhood given that the brand itself originated from my home country,” Kim said. “So I was very familiar with the brand and the product that it offers and the environment of the café itself.”

Kim said since opening day, she has seen continuous support from the community. On their first day, the café sold over 3,000 products and over 600 people. That continued as the week went on and Kim said she was blown away by the reaction from the community. She spoke about a family that brought

their own game to the café and had fun while drinking coffee and enjoying the pastries.

“It’s exactly what my family had done back home,” Kim said. “It reminded me a lot of those memories, great memories of our childhood, and seeing the smile on every guest. It was just amazing.”

Paris Baguette is working to expand through meaningful partnerships, hoping to have 1,000 locations in the U.S. by 2030.

Eric Lavinder, the CDO of Paris Baguette Café, said it was a natural progression to move from California, to Nevada and finally to Utah. He said it was a “long time coming,” but they didn’t want to move too fast and not have the café be the best it could be.

After the café in Midvale opened, he said it exceeded their expectations for how well it would do. Lavinder said they always hope for their café’s to do well, but the Midvale café went beyond their expectations.

It can take a year or longer to open one of their businesses, and they take their time with it. Lavinder said it’s “important to do it right the first time,” no matter how long it takes the franchise owner.

Both Lavinder and Kim want to see the café expand into different parts of Utah, both looking at areas in Salt Lake City for the next location. l

Paris Baguette Café is a South Korean bakery and café chain that offers an assortment of pastries, cakes and drinks. (Bailey Chism/City Journals)

Paris Baguette Café is a South Korean bakery and café chain with only one store open in Utah. (Bailey Chism/City Journals)

Paris Baguette Café opened in Midvale on May 6. (Bailey Chism/City Journals)

THANK YOU!

We have an amazing community. Thank you to everyone that participated in our “Day of Action” Summer Food Drive. With the partnership of Cameo College and your help, we raised over $1800 in food donations for the Murray Children’s Pantry. We also loved seeing many of you cheer us on at the Murray 4th of July Parade. What an incredible experience.

PAID FOR BY FRIENDS OF MIKE BIRD

SCAN HERE TO LEARN MORE Republican Candidate- House District 35

When kitchens go wild: Inspectors share their craziest encounters

By Shaun Delliskave | s.delliskave@mycityjournals.com

It's

a sunny Tuesday morning, and while most of us are just settling into our plans on where to eat out for lunch, Salt Lake County’s food safety inspectors are already knee-deep in their daily adventure of culinary compliance. Yes, while the rest of us imagine inspectors merely walking through restaurant doors, ticking off checkboxes on clipboards, and nodding sternly at chefs, the reality is far richer—and sometimes downright absurd.

"Every day is like opening a new episode of a sitcom," one inspector said. "You never know what you'll walk into."

Formally, food safety inspectors have the title of Environmental Health Scientists. To protect the privacy of the food inspectors and the errant restaurants they audit, their names have been withheld.

Consider the inspector who once found a pigeon wandering the kitchen. "It had been let in through a garage door during a food delivery. The operator was chasing it around with a broom," he recalls. And that’s not the strangest encounter. How about the portable cement mixer, still caked with dried cement, being used to batter chicken? Or the restaurant that thought buying turtles from PetSmart to make turtle soup was a bright idea? Yes, that happened too.

Despite these bizarre incidents, most restaurant inspections are more routine. Inspectors don’t secretly hope for calamity. "We actually hope to find clean, well-maintained restaurants," one inspector said. "It’s a good day when we don’t have to shut anyone down or issue a fine."

But let’s not kid ourselves: not every inspection is a smooth ride. "We call it the ‘fire drill,’" explains another inspector. "The manager or owner’s eyes get huge, and they start ordering employees to do all sorts of tasks to cover up potential violations.” While they’re barking orders like they're trying to win an Oscar for Best Director, one can only imagine the frenzy in the kitchen as employees scramble to hide evidence of unsanitary conditions. “It’s rarely successful and sometimes leads to more violations,” he said.

And then there’s the matter of timing. Restaurant owners often grumble about inspectors showing up at the most inconvenient moments. "We’ve heard complaints like, 'You only come when the refrigerator is broken,' or 'Did Obama/Biden send you?' and 'Did Trump send you?'" shares another inspector.

Despite the chaos, inspectors occasionally find hidden gems. "I’ve had the opportunity to learn about a lot of unique dishes and cuisines," one inspector said. Temporary events and mass gatherings often showcase dozens of cuisines and cultures, offering a culinary education that goes beyond the typical American diner fare.

But don't be mistaken, despite what people think, inspectors never sample the food. "A lot of people ask us if we taste-test during inspections. We do not. Our job is to ensure food safety, not to rate the flavors," one inspector clarifies. They also refute the notion that they’ve become overly cautious eaters. "I still eat out regularly. I’m just more aware of the risks," an inspector said.

The job isn't all about playing food police. It’s also about helping restaurants meet standards creatively. "Some try the distraction method—sending multiple people to accompany the inspector in hopes of dividing their attention," an inspector said. "Others send all food handlers on break, essentially halting food service during the inspection. Neither method works particularly well."

Inspectors also encounter interesting repair solutions in new or remodeled restaurants. "We’ve seen some very innovative plumbing and equipment fixes," one inspector recalls, "but we always try to guide them to ensure safety and compliance."

When asked what advice they would give to restaurant owners to smooth out inspections, inspectors unanimously suggest being present during the inspection. "Know about the issues firsthand," one says. "Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Correct violations immediately when possible; it shows you take food safety seriously and improves your inspection report."

For the public, the key to dining safely is awareness. "Look for the health department permit," one inspector advises. "Each permit has a QR code that links to the most recent inspections of that restaurant. Google reviews are not always reliable for safety concerns. It’s worth checking the past inspection reports if you’re curious."

The public can also visit the Salt Lake County Health Department’s website to view inspection reports at slco.org/health/ inspection/.

The ultimate goal for both inspectors and restaurant owners is the same: to ensure that patrons enjoy safe and delicious food. And while the road to this goal is often paved with unusual, funny, and sometimes downright bizarre experiences, it’s all in a day’s work for Salt Lake County’s restaurant inspectors.

As one inspector wisely concludes, "We want customers to be safe, and we want businesses to be successful. And if we get a good story out of it every now and then, well, that’s just a bonus."l

A Salt Lake County food safety inspector checks the temperature of tomatoes. (Photo courtesy of Salt Lake County Health Department)

The Pie Lady shares the love through slices of pie

By Sarah Brown | sarah.brown@mycityjournals.com

JennyJensen is a mom whose children attend the same school as mine, and until now, I’ve only known her as the Pie Lady. This story allowed me to get to know her more personally, and of course provided an excuse to order pies.

Her flavor selections are all delectable. I landed on the perennial blueberry favorite and raspberry cream cheese, regular double crust.

Jensen said that one of the reasons she loves to bake pies is the “togetherness and community” it brings. “I love that pie is meant to be shared, meant to bring people together…to share something delicious.”

She welcomed me into her kitchen, perfect for a television set—I could envision her hosting her own baking show—yet homey and warm.

We talked while she put together my blueberry pie. She pressed the crust just so, gently poured in the filling, formed the delicate lattice and sprinkled sugar on top before placing it in the oven.

Her pie making journey started with a New Year’s resolution. One season she told herself, “I’m going to learn how to be really good at one thing.”

She jokes with family and friends, that “my pie making is the only New Year’s resolution I’ve ever stuck to.”

Jensen was a teacher, and then when she became a mom, she wanted to be home and raise her children. In this life stage, she found herself in the familiar motherly space of what can be at times a quiet and lonely experience. She needed something for herself.

She chose pie making for sentimental reasons.

Jensen has fond memories of baking with her mother, who made it a point to bond with her daughter through the activity. She had lost her own mother at a young age, missing out on those memories.

It is also a meaningful way she connects with her husband’s family. His great-grandmother was a family legend for her pies. Jensen inherited all of her recipes.

“I just dove right in,” she said. She researched recipes, watched videos and tried different things. She had taste-testing gatherings (and still does). She’ll gather friends and families over to taste pies and help her to discern what to do better. She continuously amends and annotates her recipes to get the perfect tasting experience.

She started baking in 2011, primarily selling pies through word of mouth.

Soon people were asking for pies for holidays and birthdays.

Around Thanksgiving, her home is a full assembly line. “I’ll sell like 100 pies,” she said. She has a system in place. Crusts are premade and stored in the deep freezer; some fillings can also be premade; and every

table in her home (dining, kitchen and popup tables) along with her spacious counter, are used for assembly.

The isolating experience of the pandemic encouraged her to find a way to connect with others through pie making online. Her teaching background equipped her to lead group baking classes, which she initially did for several companies.

“Everyone would bake together from their kitchens on Zoom,” she said, which fostered the sense of togetherness.

Pie orders still commonly come through referral, but orders also come through her personal Instagram page, where she offers tutorials and instructional classes.

“It’s different every time and fun to get to know people and share this thing I love.”

Occasionally, families will have some semblance of an old family recipe they’ve tried to make but it’s never turned out quite right. They’ll ask Jensen to try and recreate it, and she does.

It means a great deal to her, to “have people that trust me to make these family recipes for them.”

It becomes a way of honoring ancestors, she says. “The smells and tastes evoke so many memories.”

Jensen will also create new pie recipes, for her own family and others, to remind them of loved ones, melding flavors of their favorite treats.

She talked about her own family’s favorites, called Dad’s Pie. Her father, whom she lost a few years ago, loved Hostess Raspberry Zingers, so she created a Raspberry Zinger-inspired pink coconut cream pie with Nilla wafer crust.

In her home, pies are always in progress, and the kitchen is a centerpiece to their daily rhythm. She hopes it’s something her kids will look back on and remember.

Jensen doesn’t view her pie making as a career. She remains open to the idea of going back to teaching. But her pies have given her freedom to be with her family.

It’s also been personally fulfilling. The practice of making the pies, and in particular, seeing the finished product, is rewarding for her.

“I like the sight of it, the feel of it— there’s this beautiful, wonderful thing at the end. You feel you’ve accomplished something.”

She uses quality, fresh ingredients every time. “I put a lot of time into making it just how I want it to be,” she said.

The blueberry pie she was making for me needed time to bake to perfection, so she hand-delivered it later in the day.

I took the pies next door, and my neighbor and I divvied out slices. l

The Pie Lady Jenny Jensen creates the lattice crust top for a fresh blueberry pie. (Sarah Brown/City Journals)

Fresh chilled raspberry pie ready to take home. (Sarah Brown/City Journals)

You can help change the tone of political discourse

The recent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump has been a wake-up call for many people in our country. And it’s about time.

For too long, we have given in to the money-making schemes of cable news stations, social media companies, politicians and others who profit off of strong emotions like fear, anger and hate. They are all attempting to capture your most scarce resource…your attention. And that captive attention is worth billions to them in advertising revenue.

A few years ago I mentioned to the campaign manager of a political candidate that I wished his candidate would tone down the rhetoric and talk about real policy rather than just throwing “red meat.” He told me that the red meat gets him on cable news and when that happens they get more political donations. What a disappointment.

Our country was founded on passionate disagreement, debate and compromise, but we are losing the ability to have hard policy conversations without calling names, using pejorative language and taking things personally. We need to learn how to disagree in a better, more productive way.

My four children each have very different political leanings. One leans to the left

Aimee Winder Newton Salt Lake County Councilwoman| District 3

and cheered on Bernie Sanders when he ran for president. Another is more libertarian. One loved Donald Trump. Another is more of a classic, Reagan-esque conservative. A few years ago I decided that if the Newton family could learn how to “disagree better,” anyone could.

It has taken practice. Not all of my kids are willing participants in my experiment all the time. But we’ve gotten to the point where we can have political discussions without someone stomping out of the kitchen or calling someone names. That’s progress.

Here are some of my tips on how to practice this with your family and friends:

1. Be a listener. Honestly, this is the most important way you can positively contribute to political discussions. Don’t just listen to better form your own argument, but

listen with the intent to understand. Show genuine curiosity. Try to truly see the other person’s perspective and understand their ideas. Repeat back to the person what you heard them say.

2. Don’t be sarcastic or make diminishing comments. It’s easy to want to do a “gotcha” or mock someone’s perspective, but that doesn’t help you build relationships and certainly doesn’t convince someone of your viewpoint.

3. Share the time. Some people want to dominate a conversation. Make sure you are spending more time hearing another viewpoint than sharing your own.

4. Don’t associate your identity with your political views. Our identities as parents, siblings, Jazz fans, and neighbors should all matter more than our political identities.

5. Finally, don’t consider it a failure if you fail to persuade someone of your view. Sometimes people change their minds and sometimes they don’t, but the relationship should stay healthy regardless.

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I truly believe that the future of our nation depends on us learning this skill. American democracy depends on us assuming some good faith behind people and positions we think are wrong. We need to tamp down the anger, the rhetoric, and the hostility toward our fellow men.

While we need politicians to do this, we also need you to help us do this. Our kids should grow up in a country that models kindness, empathy and healthy debate. Strong feelings are great! It’s how you share them that matters.

Groovy grub

The Utah food scene in the ’70s was abysmal. The state’s greatest culinary achievement was Arctic Circle’s fry sauce, followed closely by green Jell-O salads filled with pineapple or shredded carrots or (retching noises) cottage cheese.

I was a kid during that decade and my mother was a whiz at preparing trendy 1970’s cuisine. She mastered the crushed-saltine meatloaf. She casseroled the heck out of tater tots, cream of mushroom soup and ground beef. Her chicken-fried steak (hamburger patties covered in smashed cornflakes and slathered with A-1 sauce) was a weekly staple.

In a rush, she’d chop up a jarful of dried beef, mix it into a cream sauce and dump it on toast. The sodium content of that meal is still wreaking havoc on my kidneys.

Going out to dinner was a luxury for our family, which included me and four siblings. So that left Mom with the difficult task of feeding six people every night with whatever we had in the cupboards. Mom would sit at the table, clenching her jaw, and I knew better than to complain about the tuna and potato chip casserole. But I still did.

Eating at a restaurant was an event. I have vague memories of eating at Restaurant Minoa, a Greek place in Salt Lake, wearing my Sunday best and feeling very adult when

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I ordered the halibut (which I didn’t eat because I found a fishbone and refused to eat, and my parents got mad and we never went back).

I also remember trying Chinese hot mustard for the first time. I smothered my char siu pork in the creamy sauce, put it in my mouth and regained consciousness three hours later.

Most of our dining out was at places like Shakey’s, with its deliciously crispy pizza crust, or A&W drive-in, with food trays clipped to the car window and frosty mugs of root beer. There was also Dee’s Hamburgers in Murray that featured a creepy clown sign and cheap burgers.

Church dinners played a big part in my childhood. The potluck free-for-all was a Russian roulette of food poisoning. We knew whose overcooked ham was sprinkled with cat hair, and how to avoid potato salad that had been left in the sun. But the dessert table was fair game with its chocolate sheet cake,

spice cookies and lemon bars. I didn’t even care if they were covered with Siamese fur.

We also subsisted on Mormon wedding fare; miniature paper cups filled with butter mints and peanuts, and grape Kool-Aid spiked with 7-Up.

But my favorite childhood dining memory was going to Chuck-A-Rama with my grandparents. We’d go on Sunday (which mom didn’t approve of but which wasn’t a sin if you were with your grandparents) and the all-you-can-eat buffet was laden with piles of fruits and salads and meats and desserts, gleaming under fluorescent lights like an offering to the gods.

We’d load our plates and eat until we were dizzy. Then we became Grandma’s partners in crime. Although signs at ChuckA-Rama said taking food home was strictly forbidden, Grandma told each of the grandkids to get a fried drumstick or chicken breast, and a scone. She’d wrap the food carefully in napkins and walk out of the restaurant as nonchalantly as Al Capone. Now, the bland food of my childhood is replaced with tasty cuisine from all over the globe. But I often miss my childhood dinners with everyone sitting around the table. Although it’s still a hard “No” to tuna casserole, with or without potato chips.

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You can help change the tone of political discourse

Aimee Winder Newton Salt Lake County Councilwoman| District 3

Groovy grub