Salt Lake City with your best friends

Now that I’ve gotten over the insane beauty of Moab, let’s get into my real motivation for coming through Utah – soulmates. I actually have 2 soulmates and Stephen is not one of them. You’re probably thinking soulmates, isn’t that the same as best friends? Well, yes and no. I am lucky enough to have a few amazing friends from several walks of life (i.e., NYC apartment living, that time I worked at Starbucks, rowing) and I love them all with a fierce obsession. Which is totally fine. I don’t like a lot of people, except for the people I already like and they know who they are. Well my soulmates are my 2 best friends from college and our friendship is one of weird obsession mixed with aggressive support of absolutely every single thing each other does. Ashley and Kelly were freshman when I was a senior at Occidental and from the moment I met them, I knew there was something there. That feeling you get when you crush hard, yeah that happened. Except with soulmates your crushing on their hilariousness, their fierce loyalty, and just all-around badassness. I don’t choose my friends lightly, so making the cut is a big deal. Consider yourself lucky. When I was a senior I had just come back from an amazing summer in New York City, was not excited about playing water polo, and just generally really excited for graduation. I was ready to GTFO. And then Ashley and Kelly happened. Ashley is fiercely competitive and so awkwardly hilarious, and then there was Kelly, who never thinks she was anything special, except she is smart, loyal, and seriously one of the most amazing people I will ever know. #luckiest. Oh. And they both really love food, so you know, obviously best friends for life. We played water polo for Oxy and while we loved the team, we hated the coach. Actually it’s how we all got through it, and then I left, and they had to deal with that themselves.

Well seven years later they both ended up in Salt Lake City and now that I’m not on the other side of the country, our soulmate life can continue. And if this isn’t actually me living my best life, I don’t know what it. Our first night there it was a reunion of the crazy Oxy girls with their men and dogs. Ella was being a little bitch to my friend’s dogs, who are adorable and sweet. But they eventually got along (I think). With Take-and-bake pizza, lots of beer, wine, and brownies made by me, it was a perfect way to open up the reunion weekend.

But in my adventures in Salt Lake, I’ve discovered that it is actually a really great place. Most of the times were spent eating food, and drinking beer and wine – like I said, SOULMATES – but if you ever find yourself in Salt Lake City and are looking for goodtimes, here are some pretty good ways to have an adventure:

Foods & Drinks

Red Rock – This is an awesome brunch spot, but mostly because they have “unlimited” mimosas. Which essentially means they bring a bottle of bubbly to your table and a small carafe of OJ (and let’s be honest, you only need a splash anyway) and you just go to town. Perfect for classy people such as ourselves.

Gelato place – because the next logical stop after brunch is more food. But gelato is dessert so it doesn’t count.

Bar X & another awesome drink bar – While I may be a simple girl and am usually fine with wine & beer, I love a good crafted cocktail. Bar X is a dark bar next door to a beer hall. It definitely seems like seedy things can happen here but the best this is ordering a “Roulette” which is when you let the bartender make anything. I said I like gin and he proceeded to make some delicious things. We ventured to another very cool prohibition era themed bar and I do not remember the name but I do know that I ordered several delicious drinks. Mine mostly consisted of bourbon or gin. And it really doesn’t get any better than that.

Penny Ann’s Café – After a weekend of food and drink what you need is more food, but Penny Ann’s is not to be missed. It’s a typical diner except the serve the MOST AMAZING pancakes in the whole world. Seriously it’s like eating a cloud of sugar and angel babies. Not that I advocate cannibalism, but I think if little cherubs were a snack they would be these pancakes. And splurge for maple syrup. It’s worth it.

Utah is much more about visiting the amazing friends in my life but after severn years, to be reunited with the most perfect friends ever, it’s a place worth coming back to.