Located between Yellowstone/Grand Tetons and the Grand Canyon and Zion national parks, Salt Lake City is the gateway to the state’s ski resorts, recreational areas, and national parks. Host of the 2002 Winter Olympics, skiers can enjoy the world-class facilities, and music lovers simply must take in a concert by the world-renown Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Visitors can find a multitude of plays, concerts and other special events to spice up their nightlife. And for the amateur paleontologists, there are plenty of places throughout the state to see everything from dinosaur eggs and fossils to tracks and life-sized dinosaur skeleton displays.
Utah Museum of National History takes the visitor on a journey through the world of natural and cultural sciences, featuring Native American artifacts, dinosaurs and hands-on activities for the children. The museum also has a working paleontology lab where one can refine their skills, discover a buried dinosaur fossil, and even touch a real fossilized dinosaur bone.
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Fort Douglas Military Museum is a national historic landmark and Utah military history museum. The museum is located within the grounds of the University of Utah, consisting of three buildings with a library, exhibits, artifact storage, workshop and administration offices. The buildings themselves date from 1863 to 1875 and feature indoor as well as outdoor exhibits, a cannon and tank park, gift shop and self-guided tours.
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Heber Valley Historic Railroad takes the visitor on an historic journey across Heber Valley, around Deer Creek Lake and through Provo Canyon. Featuring loads of special excursions like the Comedy Mystery Tour, Moonlight ’n Fire, Sunset BBQ Special and many more, the train runs year round and even features a Polar Express for Christmas.
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Pioneer Memorial Museum has six floors loaded with displays from the era of the earliest settlers to the valley through the joining of the railroads at Promontory Point. Pioneer artifacts include dolls, handwork, weaponry and art. A separate structure called the Carriage House features a mule-powered streetcar, pioneer wagon as well as other transportation devices. Admission is free but donations are appreciated.
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Raging Waters has over a million gallons of water-logged fun. The park features such attractions as Waimea Wave, a water rollercoaster, the Blue Thunder, a double tube ride that takes one through twists and turns in an intense white water ride, Splash Island for the little ones, Dinosaur Bay for lots of Jurassic fun for the kids and much, much more.
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Mr. Z’s Italian Restaurant offers reasonably priced Italian food with simple sauces and flavors, serving such tasty delights as Chicken Marsala, Veal Scaloppini, Spaghettini al la Mr. Z, and much more
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Q4U Smoked Barbecue Restaurant & Catering was voted one of the top ten best barbecue restaurants in 2003. It serves ribs on the half and full slab, Southern Fried Chicken, and Pulled Pork along with Chicken, Pulled Pork, Beef, Hot Link Sausage and Catfish sandwiches, sides and much more.
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Cedars of Lebanon offers an excellent choice of lamb, beef, vegetarian and chicken dishes from the Middle-Eastern countries of Morocco, Israel, Lebanon, and Armenia.
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Mill Creek Café & Eggworks is a great place to go for breakfast where the atmosphere is fresh and clean, the food good, and the prices reasonable. Menu items include three and four item omelets, eggs benedict, French toast, pancakes, waffles, chicken fried steak and much more.
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Eggs in the City is a small but trendy place with booths, tables, bar seats and even a small outdoor patio for the diner’s pleasure. They specialize in three-egg omelets made exactly the way the hungry guest wants them along with cheese blintzes, corned-beef hash, and Irish porridge served with caramelized brown sugar, walnuts and bananas.
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The Dragon Diner serves up Chinese food with one of the two owners having learned his culinary skills in Hong Kong. The menu is expansive for both lunch and dinner, offering a huge selection of Chinese favorites for the whole family.
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Little American Hotel is the place to go for Sunday brunch for the past forty years. Serving brunch in the Grand Ballroom, there is a delectable array of food offered from fresh baked breads to omelets made-to-order, crispy salads, fresh seafood, pork, beef and lamb and even a dessert table with European-style pastries, cobblers, tarts and other favorites.
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Bohemian Brewery is not the typical brewery and restaurant. The restaurant is a mix of Eastern European Urban and Rustic with Czech pop art decorating the walls and a vintage scooter collection from the world over. Everything from garlic fries and chicken wings to Bohemian Club Sandwiches, Bavarian Brats, Chicken Paprikash, and Blackberry Brandy Chicken is served to tempt the taste buds. Be sure to try some of their Czech Pilsener, Viennese Lager, Bavarian Weir, or Czerny Bock with the meal.
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Salt Lake City seems to be inundated with a multitude of private clubs from nightclubs, dance clubs and even some restaurants. These places are restricted to members only. So before heading off to some of the local night life, it might be a good idea to give the establishment a phone call first to make sure that non-members are invited. It could pretty frustrating to fine oneself venturing from place to place only to find out they are unwelcome. Don’t think that just because a place is listed in the city guide means that it isn’t private because often times it is. The way in is through temporary membership or to be sponsored by a current member.
Many people may have heard, or remember from their visits to Salt Lake City years ago that Utah has a reputation for tee-totaling. While their laws really are not quite as stringent as some of the other states in the union, there are a few things one needs to know if they plan to do any drinking. A restaurant can only sell beer or liquor if it is ordered with food to be consumed by the same person. A tavern can only serve beer that will be consumer on-site. A person cannot order a double in Utah. Liquor shots are limited to one ounce singles and the patron can only have one drink in front of them at any given time.
When getting around the city, Salt Lake City streets were patterned on a Cartesian grid based around the downtown temple. The city’s blocks are usually larger than the typical metropolitan block elsewhere. There are seven blocks to a mile instead of ten. Working around Temple Square, the street to the west is West Temple, to the north is North Temple, to the South is South Temple and to the East is Main Street. Numbers jump up by one hundred for every block. If getting instructions from a native of the city don’t freak out if they say Fourth South or Seventh East, that’s just their way of saying 400 South or 700 East. Each street has a number as well as a name that corresponds with its particular place in the grid. The street’s numbers are listed in the yellow pages.
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For those visitors who like to skate or rollerblade, it would be wise to leave them at home when visiting Salt Lake City. Although there are no signs posted stating it, it is illegal to rollerblade or skate within the downtown area at any time day or night. This includes the wee hours of the morning. Should a violator be caught, the police will make the offender remove the rollerblades or skates and walk barefoot and unaccompanied back to their hotel or car. They are very strict about this rule and it has been said that the police are not very nice about it either.
For those visitors wishing to see the inside of the temple, they should be aware that unless they are practicing Mormons, it is strictly prohibited. Vacationers are free to roam Temple Square but should be aware that church volunteers constantly patrol it. They can be very helpful with regards to any questions a visitor might have regarding their belief system and the area. Just be aware that many of these volunteers are trying to convert people to their religion and can be very persistent. So unless a person is genuinely interested in the church and conversion, it is best that they refrain from contact with these people. Also, never give out addresses or phone numbers unless one doesn’t mind receiving a visit from a Mormon recruiter after returning home from their vacation.
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Murphy’s Bar & Grill is an Irish pub extremely popular with the twenty-one to fifty year old crowd. It features a jukebox with a wide selection of music from Frank Sinatra to the Pogues, a game area, and TVs for sports viewing along with a full lunch and dinner menu. It is a cozy, friendly place where the locals mix with visitors and everyone seems to know each other’s name.
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The Depot, which is located in the Union Pacific Station downtown, has huge dance floors and reportedly the best sound system in the area. With live music, entertainment and fabulous food, it is the premier place to be. The Depot has a twelve hundred person capacity in a four story venue. The restaurant, the Butterfly, is located one floor below the music hall.
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Zanzibar is a small trendy nightclub that features live jazz and blues seven nights a week, just the place to enjoy some wine, cheese, appetizers, and a cocktail as well as some of the best touring groups and bands in Salt Lake City. Featured performers include Colin Robinson, Uptown Hustlers, The Groovers, Blues on First, The Groovers, and many others.
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