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Jeremy Pugh

Jeremy Pugh is Salt Lake magazine's Editor. He covers culture, history, the outdoors and whatever needs a look. Jeremy is also the author of the book "100 Things to Do in Salt Lake City Before You Die" and the co-author of the history, culture and urban legend guidebook "Secret Salt Lake."

Apr 29
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Great-Chamber

Editor’s Note: ‘I’ve Been Everywhere’

By Community

Growing up In Utah hiking was just how we got places, usually woefully underprepared. (Example: One summer in Logan, my roommate and I spent our time rambling around above Tony Grove looking for caves in the sinkholes up there. He’d tie off a climbing rope and descend until the rope ran out. I stood up hoping he’d get back out. It was pretty stupid).

But the point is, we didn’t say “let’s go hiking” it was more like “let’s go up to Desolation Lake” and a hiking trail was the way to get there. It wasn’t until I got older and got to know a lot of flatlander newcomers that I realized hiking was a “thing.” And, that having a water bottle, a light pack and layers was super helpful. Also a few “summit beers.” 

Salt Lake magazine Outside
Editor Jeremy Pugh atop Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park

Over the last decade, I have gone on a series of magazine assignments that took me to every corner of Utah. I explored the Mighty 5 National Parks during winter, hiking long ambitious trails in each, I followed photographer Austen Diamond on a whirlwind tour of Utah State Parks to capture morning sunrises and starry night skies and spent a week with a BLM archeologist on Cedar Mesa uncovering the mysteries of the ancient peoples whose cliff dwellings are found  around every corner. 

Yep, as the Johnny Cash song goes, “I’ve Been Everywhere” and hiking was how I got there. 

I love showing newcomers and visitors around and helping them find their way. So, as summer approaches we highlight six essential hikes all around Utah (“Oh the Places You’ll Go”) to whet your appetite for exploration. And speaking of appetites, you’ll need fuel for the trail, so we also guide you to the best lunch spots around the city (“Love Your Lunch”). 

Finally, we direct you to the easiest hikes ever—strolling through the crowd at the first festivals of the summer season (“Set Your Clocks to Summer” )—starting with Living Traditions in May. 

If you’re sensing a theme here, you’re right. Welcome to the Outside Issue of Salt Lake magazine. It’s time to get out there and play!

Apr 07
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A Salt Lake Experience Is About to Disappear: Smith’s Ballpark

By City Watch

Sunday afternoon at the ballpark is not unique to Utah. Baseball, after all, is America’s pastime. But we do, in fact, have Sundays and we do have a ballpark. Smith’s Ballpark, the Home of the Salt Lake Bees (for now). And what a park it is, situated perfectly to frame the towering Wasatch Range. There is no better place to be on a Salt Lake City Sunday afternoon soaking up the sun on the first base line, idly watching the boys of summer chase their major league dreams. 

For obvious, Utah-specific reasons,  attendance is low on Sundays and it feels decadent, almost Roman to while away the day in the half-full stands. The Bees are the AAA affiliate of the redundantly named Los Angeles Angels. For these players and the visiting opponents, every play counts. They live and die on each swing of the bat praying to be noticed by the Angels above and called up to heaven—the major leagues, the show. We watch like Caesars on a lazy Sunday afternoon in the Coliseum. With a beer. There’s even a chariot race: the Smith’s Produce Run, a mid-inning promotional sprint around the warning track with costumes—carrot, tomato, eggplant, corn and a banana. We cheer for one of the veggies to go down in the final stretch—one nearly always does. 

Above the drama on the field (real or ridiculous), we daydream and raise our eyes to the mountains to push away a looming Monday. We consider another beer…hmm… maybe a hot dog? 

But Mordor’s Eye is fixed on Rivendell. Baring heavenly intercession, in two years, our Bees will move south and no longer be Salt Lake’s Bees. There has been a ballpark on this spot since 1928 and its final iteration—our beautiful ballpark, the namesake of the “Ballpark District”—will come down. We’re told it will become something else. What that “something else” is no one can say exactly. But we are assured that Salt Lake City’s Sunday afternoons in the ballpark will disappear and one more of the lovely, ephemeral, intangible things that make this place our place will be gone. 

Still, there is at least one more summer (hopefully, two) for us—the fans in the stands, the boys on the field, the carrot, the tomato, the eggplant, the corn and the banana—to spend lazy Sunday afternoons. 

Before the Bees Stadium disappears, the ballpark is hosting one last anniversary celebration of beloved film Sandlot. Learn all about the festivities, and see where the cast is now 30 years later.

Mar 10
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Sweet Sustainability: Spencer’s Rooftop Beehives

By Eat & Drink

When Spencer’s Steak & Chop’s Chef Tony Coppernoll needs a fistful of basil, a sprig of thyme or a dash oregano he heads upstairs to the garden on the rooftop of the Hilton Salt Lake City Center to select from the herb garden that compliments the dishes on the table at Spencer’s. The garden, however is just half of the picture. Coppernoll’s produce is serviced by 40,000 bees buzzing high above the city’s skyline. 

Rooftop Beehives

In 2019, Hilton’s managers were looking to find a way to meet Hilton corporate’s ambitious sustainability goals. Their eyes went skyward to the hotel’s rooftop. Although it offers a lovely view of the city, it isn’t up to code for public or guest access. But instead of just shrugging their shoulders and leaving the roof to the pigeons, they teamed up with local gardeners and beekeepers from Grow Brighter Gardens and The Bees Brothers to design and install a working herb garden and bee combo that would green-up the rooftop and provide practical benefits to the hotel’s kitchens. The first year, the garden’s resident bees produced 15 gallons of raw honey and each year the production increases, says Hilton Salt Lake City’s General Manager Garret Parker. 

Rooftop Beehives

Rooftop Beehives

“We could base our sustainability measures on energy-efficiency alone, but we wanted to do something more unique, Parker says. “That’s what inspired us to implement the beehives. Also Utah is the Beehive State, so it made a lot of sense.”

The Bees’ honey is featured prominently on Coppernoll’s menus in dishes like the Honey Ricotta Lemon Cheesecake and can be requested at the table so guests can help themselves during the bread course or try a drizzle on Spencer’s Millionaire’s Bacon (a don’t-miss menu item).  

Honey Orange Blossom Vinaigrette:

From Chef Tony Coppernoll

¾ cup olive oil

3 teaspoons orange blossom water

6 tablespoons honey

6 teaspoons sherry wine vinegar

6 tablespoons lemon juice

Salt

Black pepper 

Whisk together olive oil, orange blossom water and sherry wine vinegar. Add honey, lemon juice, salt and black pepper (to taste) and whisk until emulsified. Use immediately or refrigerate and store for up to a week.

Spencer’s Steak & Chops at Hilton Salt Lake City Center

255 S. West Temple St., SLC, 801-238-4748, spencersslc.com

Jan 19
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How Utahns Really Feel About Sundance Film Festival

By Film, Sundance

There are few things on the cultural calendar in Utah that are as out of sync with the traditional, quaint Beehive lifestyle as the Sundance Film Festival. Each year, thousands of people in black descend upon Park City like a plague of Mormon crickets: Publicists, industry wonks, filmmakers, photographers, celebrities and their handlers, and a host of hangers-on crowd fresh from L.A., be-scarved, be-turtlenecked, be-satcheled and shod in impractical shoes.

Utah Sundance Film Festival
Poster courtesy of Sundance Institute

Of course, we Utahns love Sundance. It’s a brush with the larger world that all Utahns secretly crave. (See: The Winter Olympic Games, 2002.) Despite the changing landscape of Utah (especially Park City), we maintain our low self-esteem problem—an underdog, outsider stance that hearkens back to the days of Brigham. On one hand, we’re proud of our weird heritage and, on the other, we seek approval like a middle child. We are the Jan Brady of the United States.

Each year, the crowd that arrives from the coast and the local crowd that arrives from the Salt Lake Valley mingle on Main Street to babble in two separate languages. (Park City residents usually bug out during the January invasion—ironically, the perfect time of year to visit Southern California.) The first language is the disdainful speech of the aloof artist, wherein to actually like something is decidedly uncool. The local language is one of unbridled enthusiasm and charming goofiness. We like things here. We really do. I love us for that. 

The Sundancers, however, come with their lists, a hierarchy of A through Z listers. There are clipboards waiting outside of all the private parties, celebrity lounges and concerts. Out there in party land, there are lists upon lists upon lists and rope lines and waiting in the cold to get into someplace only to find that there’s another level of VIP-ness beyond the first gate. There always seems to be another level of even more exclusive and elusive exclusivity beyond—each layered inside the next like a matryoshka doll. I imagine that eventually, you get to one super cool room, containing one super cool VIP. Who could, if there were anyone else there to hear, be heard to exclaim, “I think I won!” 

Welcome back to town, Hollywood. Don’t slip on the ice.

Jan 03
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Editor’s Note: Embrace Winter in Utah

By Community

One of the Reasons I love living in Utah is the changing seasons. (Ever spent a Christmas in Hawaii? It’s nice but weird.) But honestly, out of the list, winter ranks last. It just takes more fortitude, I guess. So each year when it finally descends, I have to relearn how to love it. The best way I’ve found to do that is to get out in it. We live at the base of the Wasatch Range after all and access to its terrain tops the list of why we live here. (It isn’t the bad air, that’s for sure, see page 22.) So I have, over the years, collected a varied group of friends who I can count on to get me out the door—the Sunday ski bunch (Powder-day Saints), the Saturday hiking crew or the Salt Lake concert team. I enlist them to deliberately make me feel bad if all I want to do is hunker inside and grumble. Random mid-week shows at the State Room, midday hikes and ski days are the only way to survive folks. You gotta have a support network.

Winter in Utah
Executive Editor Jeremy Pugh. photo by Chris Pearson, Ski Utah.

And that’s why we wrote this issue’s feature “Winter in the Wasatch”, our guide to helping you find ways to give winter a big ol’ hug. 

But we can’t always be go-getters, so we also wanted to share another tip: eat your way through it. Our cover story (“Six Spots for Comfort Foods,”) takes a look at the delicious and comforting dishes on the menus at some of Utah’s best restaurants. 

And, while we cover a range of cuisines, all have common elements. In order to be comforting, a meal needs to be familiar, approachable and, above all, nostalgic. (Oh yeah, and warm. That probably should have been first.) Comfort, it turns out, is not relative, at least when it comes to food. What we loosely label comfort food is actually comforting because it triggers happy memories that warm more than our bellies.

So. Are you ready to embrace winter now?

Dec 29
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Satire: Learn to Ski!

By Adventures, Outdoors

WHY LEARN NOW? No idea. You’re the one who moved to Utah. You’re like, “Mom. No. I’m not going to turn Mormon. Yes. I know, skiing is dangerous. I’ll take a lesson. Hey, can you pay for the lessons?”

WHEN TO GO? Look out the window. Is there snow in the mountains? This is when people who know how to ski are skiing. We know—it’s cold.

Learn to Ski in Utah - Bearded man
Utahisrad83 (photo by Craig McKay/Pexels)

HOW MUCH? All 15 Utah resorts offer first-timer deals that include, tickets and lessons for first-timers. They want you to learn to ski, just like UtahisRad83 on Tinder.

WHAT ABOUT SNOWBOARDING? We have no idea. It looks like you fall on your face, like literally, on your face, a lot. Just learn to ski already. UtahisRad83 isn’t going to stay on the market forever.

WHERE TO GO? Tough question. Alta and Snowbird both have the reputation of “if you can learn here you can ski anywhere,” and that’s true. Plus, you can put an Alta sticker on your car. (Wait? Did you put an Alta sticker on your car already? You’re not supposed to do that until you know how to ski.) We like Brighton—it’s cheap(ish) and its ski school has been teaching generations of Salt Lakers for, ahem, generations. Solitude is cool too. They have some transferable ticket packs that won’t break the bank. Park City is huge, and Deer Valley is super plush. Snowbasin isn’t as far a drive as you think and Powder Mountain is the best-kept secret in Utah. But really? You do not know how to ski, so what do you know about anything? Just pick one! They all have great ski schools and deals for 32-year-olds who want to ski just enough to meet bearded Utah guys on Tinder.

WHAT TO EXPECT? Mostly the recurring loss of dignity that comes with trying to learn to ski after the age of 10. Prepare to fall in cold snow many times. Post that selfie before you start.

BUT FOR REAL. DON’T LISTEN TO US (OR UTAHISRAD83).To truly find out more about learning to ski or snowboard in Utah (or anywhere, cuz duh, you’ll know how), visit the experts at Ski Utah for a complete list of ski schools and deals at Utah’s 15 resorts. skiutah.com

Dec 20
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Donny & Marie: Utah’s 1970s ambassadors

By Arts & Culture, Film

From 1976 to 1979, Donny & Marie was a hit cornball variety show featuring the young Osmond duo, Donny, 18 and Marie, 16. If you were a young Mormon growing up in Utah, this show was the original must-see TV, because these famous Osmonds were Mormons, too. In 1976, there weren’t a lot of famous Mormons to point to with pride. 

Donny and Marie were it. And, moreover, Donny & Marie was produced here, at Osmond Studios in the south end of the Salt Lake Valley. It wasn’t some Hollywood co-opting of Utah, it was Utah in all its family-friendly, corny glory. At the height of their ’70s powers, Donny and Marie were Utah incarnate, on display for the rest of the world. We watched because all our neighbors watched and because we didn’t really realize how goofy it was.

Each show started out with, yes, an ice skating bit, for some reason, then moved on to groaningly bad comedy skits, more musical numbers, and then the whole “I’m a little bit country, I’m a little bit rock ’n’ roll” schtick. Week after week, Marie would sing a country song alongside Donny (most often in purple), who would sing a rock tune.

But it was fun—good, clean fun—although most of us secretly preferred The Muppet Show, which was somehow more racy. But for me, Donny and Marie were amazing. 

They were (and still are) amazing because they taught me about live television.

To explain: My father went to a live broadcast of the show’s Halloween special at Osmond Studios, which improbably featured a performance by KISS (a band that the pearl clutchers in our midst referred to as “Knights in Satan’s Service”). But I was 5 years old, didn’t know much about Satan and KISS was my favorite band. I played their album “Destroyer” on my Burt & Ernie tape player alongside another great album from the era, “Burt’s Blockbusters.” Plus Gene Simmons blew fire! FIRE! Burt liked pigeons and linoleum. 

So, there I am. I’m watching our teeny black-and-white TV, in my footie-pajamas, waiting for Gene Simmons to blow fire, and my mother tells me that my father is there, right there, right now. What? Wait. What? The producers cut to a shot of the crowd and there he was, my dad, with his ’70s-guy mustache and perm. Right there. On the TV. My Dad, KISS, and Donny and Marie all together inside the TV. My whole world exploded. Dad brought back an autographed picture of Donny and Marie that I kept on my wall for years. It said: “Keep smiling, Jeremy. Love, Donny & Marie.” I doubt Gene Simmons would have been so nice.

Dec 05
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Moulin Rouge! The Musical Dazzles at the Eccles

By Arts & Culture, Theater

The Moulin Rouge is open for business at the Eccles Theater. The Broadway reboot of the 2001 film starring Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman opened last weekend and will play through Dec. 11, 2022. Judging from the packed house on Friday night, this is the season’s hot ticket. 

The film is universally beloved and was natural to recreate in a theatrical setting. It is, after all, set at one of the world’s most famous performance halls, the eponymous Moulin Rouge where the Parisian upper crust slummed with Bohemian artists in Paris’ Montmartre District. But just because something can-can be done doesn’t mean it should-should. The original was a love song to pop legends delivered through director Baz Luhrmann’s MTV-ready lens. The Broadway version seems to think that the songs Luhrmann originally lionized are as interchangeable as singers in a K-pop band. Maybe they are. But die-hard fans of the film who are expecting a note-for-note retread are in for a surprise. 

The play follows the story of Christian (Conor Ryan), a cock-eyed optimist, who arrives in Paris to seek his fortune and is drawn into the world of the Moulin Rouge by the artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, played by André Ward, whose paintings and playbills romanticized and ultimately created the lasting legend of the Moulin Rouge. In a case of mistaken identity, Christian is set up with the Moulin Rouge’s headlining courtesan, Satine, “the Shimmering Diamond” (Courtney Reed). The set-up, however, was intended for the rich and powerful Duke of Montroth (David Harris) whom the Moulin Rouge’s ringleader, Harold Zidler (Austin Durrant) has pinned hopes for the theater’s survival on. So there’s the love triangle. Of course, Satine and Christian fall madly in love thanks to Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s “Your Song,” which is thankfully preserved on the stage.

The Broadway version subs in newer pop anthems and power ballads throughout. A neat trick that the audience seemed to enjoy. It was like a game of name that tune. Trickles of applause came forth as soon as the crowd was able to guess “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele or “Raise Your Glass” by Pink had been swapped in. However, the substance of the changed songs has the effect of changing the plot and characters’ motivations. Still, the cast gamely ensures the show goes on. The production’s two standouts are Austin Durrant and André Ward as Ziller and LaTrec. They provided the bombast and power to back up the show’s true star: The production itself. The set is dazzling, to say the least, and lives up to all the myth and magic of the Moulin Rouge. This, however, has the effect of weighing down the other principles Conor Ryan and Courtney Reed as they live out their character’s love affair. Sorry kids it’s hard to compete with the sheer theatricality of this production. 

No matter. The crowd ate it all up. This, after all, was supposed to be a spectacle and it certainly was. Although much of the movie’s charm is lost in translation, the pomp and sheer over-the-top daring-do remain intact and that is worth a night at the Eccles. 

Moulin Rouge! The Musical runs through Dec. 11. 2022. For Tickets and information visit arttix.org.