Musical pairing – Bright Summer Moon by Dave Pingel
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Our recent trip to Salt Lake City may have been fast and furious but it was also A LOT of fun! Rather than stay at a hotel in the ‘burbs, we decided to rent a loft in the downtown area that was within walking distance of good restaurants and the hustle-bustle of the city. And boy, did we hit the jackpot, people!
Located in the Arts and Entertainment district, the loft is an open floor plan in the Warehouse Condominium building that was once home to ‘Twirl Town Toys’ before its conversion in 1997. The unit has been completely renovated in a contemporary design that has kept the original brick walls throughout and wide-planked floors in the kitchen area. The kitchen is fully stocked with pots and pans, dishes – even pantry items like olive oil, balsamic vinegar and coffee – big bonus: a stackable washer-dryer and dishwasher. A wide-screen television is mounted on the wall that can be viewed not only from the over-stuffed sectional sofa, but also from the queen-sized bed in the bedroom area. And the owners have stocked the video library with plenty of DVDs to unwind with at the end of the day. Comfortable without being fussy, the South-facing windows give you amazing mountain views and allow plenty of natural light so that the space feels light and airy.
The Gateway Outdoor Shopping mall is just a few blocks away as are both the Children’s Museum and the Planetarium. The Gateway has the usual food court fair if that’s your thing, but I highly recommend you try some of the terrific restaurants like Vinto’s about one mile up the road and Cucina Toscana just across the street. An absolute must is a short walk through the parking lot to the award-winning Tony Caputo’s Market and Carlucci’s Bakery – fabulous!
A five-minute drive (or about a 7 block walk, if you need the exercise) takes you to one of the most breathtaking libraries I’ve ever seen. The architecture of the building is enhanced by the surrounding landscape to create stunning views; waterfalls, gardens, modern sculptures – all in harmony with nature. And directly across the street is the award-winning Les Madeleine’s Patisserie. Shhhh . . . I’m going to let you in on a little secret: when you visit, you must, must, must have one of their ‘Kouing-Aman’ (prounounced ‘KOO-een-ah-MAHN) pastries. Ok, so it’s not really a secret but after having one . . . uhm, two myself, I’ve dubbed these little jewels, a ‘food of the Gods’. Trying to describe this delectable pastry is like trying to describe air; you need it . . . you crave it . . . and once you’ve had a taste, you cannot get enough – good thing you can order online! Then again, judging from the way my underwear fits right now, maybe not . . .
There were other Salt Lake destinations on our list but we simply ran out of time – oh well, I guess that means we’ll have to return and when we do, we’ll be contacting Gary to make another reservation at his lovely and comfortable loft in Warehouse Condominium!
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Thanks so much guys!
The cooking class was FAB – made Dim Sum – yummm! Love Dim Sum and always wanted to learn how to make it but was very fearful. The class was small so we had lots of undivided attention!
I just can’t say enough about SLC – everyone should visit!
Such fun! Love the loft – what a fabu idea! And love the video! Makes me wonder why I’ve never yet been to SLC?
Love, love, love that condo! And I can’t wait to hear about the cooking class.
Fun video! Looks like you had tons of fun in SLC. I’ll keep those hot spots in mind whenever we head out that way. Can’t wait for the post about the cooking class – fun, fun, fun!
Great video! I now know what I’m doin’ the next time I’m in SLC! Look forward to the post about the cooking class. [K]
I know Marly – who knew?! It was the first time we stayed downtown and I just can’t recommend it enough!
I can’t read any more – it’s making me too hungry! It all sounds so good. Sounds like you had a wonderful trip. Being from the midwest, I just never realized there was so much to do in Salt Lake City!
Sasa ~ I’m with you 5 . . . in one sitting . . . seriously
Kouign-Amann are so addictive. I had the best ones I ever ate in Japan of all places. I could eat 5, seriously.
Barbara ~ The food was spectacular and SLC is a beautiful city; and yes, the Loft was one of those ‘better ideas’ we had – perfect location!
The video was created with a program from Animoto – head over to animoto.com as they have a ‘free’ section – it’s easy and I have every confidence you can do this!
I loved the slideshow! I wish I was talented enough to do something like that. I’ve never been to SLC so this was fun to watch. I was drooling over the food and The Loft was a great idea…
We took a FABULOUS cooking class at the Viking Cooking School – an entire post about that experience is coming up soon – it was AWESOME!!!
Were you on some sort of cooking show? Caught one pic of you and two other ladies doing some cooking?
Thanks Maria ~ and thanks for all the great tips to experience; we’ll be back so keep me informed of your finds!
I really enjoyed the video! Talk about talent! Very well done. I am proud to say I live in SLC, what a wonderful city. I am so glad you had a good visit. Thanks for including us in the video-we are lucky to be your friends. It was so fun meeting up in real life. We can’t wait until your next visit. In the mean time, I will make sure I visit all the good food spots for you:)