Your favorite restaurants to take out of towners

Utah’s James Beard Award Semifinalists

Congrats to all the Salt Lake City James Beard Award Semifinalist restaurants and bars: Bar Nohm, Table X Bread, Log Haven, Mazza Cafe, Urban Hill, and Valter’s Osteria. What’s your favorite on the list? [James Beard Foundation]

• Related: Why Utah restaurants aren’t getting Michelin Stars. [City Cast Salt Lake 🎧]

Longer Days Ahead

Seasonal depression be damned, every day through March we’re gaining 2 to 2.5 minutes of daylight. That’s over 70 minutes in February and 80 minutes in March. As a summer baby, that sounds like a win for me. We’ll take what we can get. [KSL]

Professional Hockey in Utah?

The Smith Entertainment Group, led by Ashley and Ryan Smith (Utah Jazz owners), has formally proposed that the NHL bring professional hockey to Utah. The plan includes a new arena and highlights Salt Lake City’s 2034 Olympic bid as one of the ways the NHL would thrive here. [Salt Lake Tribune]

The Stanley Mug Origin Story

The Stanley 40-ounce Adventure Quencher is a $45 cup that adds up to so much more in our cultural imagination. According to reporting from The Cut, the Stanley mug has become a status symbol in middle schools. City Cast Salt Lake podcast host Ali Vallarta investigated the origin story with Deseret News columnist Meg Walter, because Utahns saw this coming … when we created the problem. [City Cast Salt Lake 🎧]

Tomorrow, I’m putting together a list of some of the best restaurants in Salt Lake to take people who are visiting from out of town. Here are a few Hey Salt Lake reader recs:

Best Salt Lake Restaurants

“Best not cheap: Valter’s Osteria, Cucina Toscana, and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse.” — Tracy K.

“Thai Time in Murray! Try their khao soi, cashew stir fry, and fried dumplings.” — Elisa G.

“For Mexican seafood dishes, my favorite is Mariscos Ensenada restaurant.” — Veronica T.

“Best restaurant in SLC: Hires Big H!” — Alexandra F.

Is your favorite missing from the list?

How Stanley Drinkware Built an Empire in Utah

The Stanley Adventure Quencher is hotter than ever and the internet’s latest obsession. Headlines and think pieces abound about why people are waiting in long lines for the colorful, 40 oz. tumbler. But in Utah, we’ve been ahead of the curve for two years now — and we may have even created this monster. Deseret News columnist Meg Walter joins host Ali Vallarta to explain the phenomenon.