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Kate MacLeod was classically trained on the violin as a young child but now she plays the fiddle. “A fiddle costs a few hundred dollars and a violin costs a few thousand,” she jokes. “It really comes down to style. There’s no difference between the instruments.”
MacLeod’s style is a unique Americana-meets-Celtic, with a touch of her Quaker peace-making sensibilities thrown in for good measure. Fresh off an 11-week artist-in-residence program at the Pendle Hill Quaker Study, Retreat and Conference Center in Pennsylvania, where she created “peace motivating and inspirational music,” she’s more ready than ever to take on the folk tradition of uniting people through music.
To that end, the singer-songwriter-and-composer has released songbooks containing sheet music so that others can learn to play her compositions. “I’m putting these pieces in a book so that people can play them themselves so that they can be part of music,” she says, “It’s living and breathing music.”
MacLeod says her advice to anyone who wants to play or compose music is simple. Do it. “I create music based on what I see and feel around me right now and I believe people can create music in the space they are in,” she says, adding, “Don’t sit on the sidelines—create. Music is supposed to enrich your life.” —Christie Marcy
Michelle Moonshine didn’t know she was a musician—she thought she just liked music. “When I was 16, I went to a music festival and met a bunch of people like Tony Holiday and Talia Keys,” she says. “I was like, ‘Wow.’ It was the first time I’d ever seen real live music, so after that, I would sneak into Hog Wallow to see their shows, then I started hanging out with Tony Holiday and watching him play all the time and I started playing guitar and singing.”
It turned out, she’s a bit of a prodigy. She started sneaking into the bar around October and picked up a guitar for the first time in December. She had her first gig on St. Patrick’s day a few months later. And not long after that, she was on tour with Holiday. MacLeod says her advice to anyone who wants to play or compose music is simple. Do it.
Moonshine has been a working musician for eight years—she quit her last 9-5 job to pursue music full-time the week she found out she was expecting a child four years ago. “I played the whole time I was pregnant,” she told Salt Lake magazine, as her son sat beside her watching cartoons on her iPhone. “I played until December and I had him on January 1. I had a big belly and a guitar and he would just kick and kick and kick.” Her music still bonds them, she says. “If he doesn’t like what I’m listening to he tells me to ‘Play a mommy song’—he wants to listen to my music all the time.”
It’s hard to describe Moonshine. Her voice is equal parts Gillian Welch and Alison Krauss. Even Moonshine isn’t sure how to explain it. “I used to say honky-tonk but without a drummer, we’re not that,” she says. “I say Americana now. It’s a blend of everything. It’s super safe.”
What she and her bandmates—guitarist John Davis and bassist Bronk Onion round out the trio—lack in drummers, they make up for in songwriting. They primarily perform original tunes, though, she says they don’t rule out covers. “I’ll ask for a list of ten songs from people and if I like the tune I’ll learn it and then I know it forever,” she explains. “We even did Beyonce for someone walking down the aisle at a wedding once.”
“It just makes sense to me,” she says of her music. “It’s kind of crazy how everything came together. All my friends were doing a lot of drugs—two of them died and a bunch went to rehab. I was in the same boat and then I started playing music. Music saved me for sure. It’s an obsession.” —Christie Marcy
Between ever-present COVID risks and the punishing Utah cold, staying home and curating your own soiree can be as alluring, if not more so, than going out. If this is your path, after the guest list is settled, finding simple, delicious cocktail recipes should be next on your list. Is it possible to make a concoction that guests will love, and that won’t be daunting to create? We posed this question to some of our favorite spirit gurus. Here are three creative winter cocktail ideas (that even you can manage). Cheers!
Darby Doyle; Food writer and cocktail historian @darby.doyle “Around the holidays I get a little nostalgic for the tastes of home. For this Kentucky gal, nothing brings me back to Louisville more than sipping a classic Boulevardier with friends. Think of it as a whiskey-soused Southern spin on an Italian Negroni, with rye or bourbon taking the place of gin. Share the local Utah love by using Sugar House Distillery 100% rye, fermented and distilled from grain sourced within 100 miles of the West Temple-based distillery, or High West Bourbon whiskey.”
Candied Orange Boulevardier by Darby Doyle (Photo by Darby Doyle/Salt Lake magazine)
Candied Orange Boulevardier
1 ½ ounce rye or bourbon
¾ ounce Campari
¾ ounce sweet vermouth
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass filled with ice. Stir for 30-40 revolutions. Strain into a chilled coupe glass; garnish with a candied orange round.
Jacob Hall; Alibi Co-Owner “I like easy variations on traditional cocktails. This is a simple Gimlet variation with lemon instead of lime and with a raspberry syrup instead of a traditional simple syrup. The rose and juniper from the Beehive Distilling Jack Rabbit Gin plays well with the raspberry syrup.”
Roller Derby by Jacob Hall of Alibi (Photo by Darby Doyle/Salt Lake magazine)
Roller Derby
1.5 Beehive Jack Rabbit Gin
.75 Fresh Lemon
.75 Raspberry Syrup
Shaken, Coupe, Up, Raspberry Garnish
1 cup raspberries
1 cup super fine sugar
1 cup water
Combine raspberries, sugar and water in a pan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
Chelsea Nelson; Ritual & Craft “Distillery 36’s Spiced Rum is perfect for winter with cinnamon and clove. The grapefruit makes for a delicious punch that isn’t too sweet. This punch can easily be the hit of the party without being too boozy. The cranberry syrup also adds some sugar without being sweet. Rosemary garnish also makes it super aromatic.”
Perfectly Pink Punch by Chelsea Nelson (Photo by Darby Doyle/Salt Lake magazine)
Perfectly Pink Punch
1 bottle Distillery 36 Spiced Rum
1 bottle dry white wine
24 oz ruby red grapefruit juice
Juice of 3 fresh grapefruits and two oranges
6 oz cranberry orange simple syrup
Grate fresh cinnamon and nutmeg
1 tsp whole cloves
Combine and refrigerate for 6 hours. Serve over ice and top with grapefruit sparkling water. Garnish with grapefruit, cranberries, and a fresh sprig of rosemary.
For more recipes, bar news and updates on drinking in SLC, read our Bar Fly section.
Up until he was 23 years old, Morgan Snow’s sole ambition was to become a professional baseball player. But after playing college ball in Myrtle Beach, S.C. and after several attempts with pro-MLB tryouts, he decided to let go of his big-league dreams. Soon after this life-altering choice, Morgan bounced around a bit and found himself working the door at a dueling piano bar. A friend and co-worker started teaching Morgan how to play guitar. Adjusting to life without baseball, music became his new outlet, “I started to practice guitar for hours a day and getting lessons every night after the bar shift.” In 2005, Morgan’s guitar guru was killed in Iraq. Years later, one of the Triggers & Slips’ first songs “Old Friends,” was inspired by this friendship that gave Morgan a new purpose and direction.
Triggers and Slips started simply with Morgan on vocals, guitar and harmonica and continues to develop and evolve. For instance, Four Letters, Triggers and Slips’ self-titled album, brings a modern take on honky-tonk. By the third album (The Stranger, expected to be released in Fall of 2019) Morgan has added a full-on six-member band. The new record was recorded live to tape in single takes, which Morgan says gives the music spontaneity and freshness.
“You need to be prepared, being live, there are no go-backs,” he says.
These sessions took place at Man vs. Music Recording Studio under the guidance of legendary local producer Mike Sasich, who has lent his skills to local bands like Thunderfist, Joe McQueen and others. The album comes across (deliberately) like a group of friends at a party, jamming together in the living room until the wee hours. Morgan says they really wanted to stumble upon “those subtle imperfections that come through. That’s what people fall in love with.”
Along with Morgan, Triggers and Slips is John Davis- lap steel, dobro, electric guitar, harmonies and occasional lead vocals, Greg is on the Midgley piano and organ. Tommy Mortenson plays bass, Eric Stoye on drums and Page McGinnis on guitar, and mandolin. Morgan jokes: “I like to be the least talented person on the stage, and so far, I feel like I have been able to achieve that.”
“You are an expert on safety, but you no longer feel safe. You have just moved to a small college town to teach architecture, but you realize that your nightmares have followed you. And now, uncertainty lies around every corner.”
Egress, which will premiere in Utah at Salt Lake Acting Company next week, is described by playwrights Melissa Crespo and Sarah Saltwick as a “provocative psychological thriller” that draws the audience into the mind of a woman struggling to face her fears.
The story follows the main character, You (Reanne Acasio), an architect and professor who specializes in egress, meaning exits and safety in a building. You had a traumatic experience a year ago and moves to a small college town in Texas for a fresh start, while two other characters, Man (J.C. Ernst) and Woman (Vee Vargas), push her to make a choice that will hopefully put her traumatic stress behind her.
Director Colette Robert says You is a character that will speak to individual audience members—literally. Over half of the play’s dialogue is directly addressed to the audience.
“I hope they go on a journey with You. I hope they connect to her,” Robert says.
Crespo and Saltwick address contemporary social issues through You’s story. Robert says the play tackles the theme of gun violence as You struggles with the idea of safety and how it relates to gun ownership.
“No matter what you believe in terms of gun control, I hope you can connect to the story and potentially see a different side that you didn’t think about before,” Robert says.
Continuing their tradition of partnering with local organizations whose missions align with the themes of specific productions, Salt Lake Acting Company is partnering with the Gun Violence Protection Center of Utah for Egress.
The new play recently received its world premiere at Amphibian Stage in Dallas, and was initially presented to Utah audiences through Salt Lake Acting Company’s virtual New Play Sounding Series Festival in March 2021, directed by Robert as well.
The New Play Sounding Series Festival gave the play the legs it needed to move forward. Robert says she fell in love with the play last year, but that it has been so much better working with the play in-person and returning to live theater.
“It’s been really awesome to have a play that I already really loved and to be able to bring it to life,” Robert says. “I’m excited for audiences to come and see it.”
In-person performances for Egress will be performed in Salt Lake Acting Company’s Upstairs Theatre from Feb. 2-20. The production will then stream on SLAC Digital from Feb. 21-March 6.
In Utah County, the jokes have been rated G for all audiences.
A Mormon, a Catholic and an atheist walk into a comedy club…and the Diet Cokes they order are the dirtiest punchlines in this story because this club is in Utah County. Ask anyone who has made their final exodus from Utah County and they’ll tell you the culture of Happy Valley leaves much to be desired, but the strange milieu of prevalent cultural influences were the perfect conditions to create a petri dish in which the bacteria of a burgeoning comedy scene can grow. A squeaky clean comedy scene, the germs of which have become Utah County’s main cultural export, partially thanks to the viral nature of social media. We endeavored to discover the secret of the scene’s evolution and laud the success of the comedians, performers and content creators at its core.
Tanner Rahlf
How did Tanner Rahlf get into stand-up? He needed friends. His first lonely year at BYU-Idaho, Rahlf found his way to open mic nights in Rexburg where he found his birds of a feather.
“There is something wrong with every comedian,” he says. “When I started doing comedy in Rexburg, the college had started a club for people with depression and we all joked that there was already a club for people with depression. It was everyone doing stand-up at open mic nights.”
From there, he moved on to BYU in Provo and once again, not knowing a soul, found his way in the then-flourishing stand-up, sketch comedy and improv scenes. With friends he met at ImprovBroadway, Rahlf co-founded a sketch comedy group called The Darned. And, as the name implies, the group mostly works clean.
“Sure, offensive humor can be very clever,” he says and often works blue, but he understands the culture that creates an audience for clean comedy. “I grew up Mormon, having to censor myself, and so I know there are people who won’t like a certain kind of joke and I can work within those parameters.”
But, like all of the comedians we talked to, he doesn’t think clean comedy is lesser than other types of humor.
“I kind of love and hate Jim Gaffigan fans,” he says of the famous comedian known for his all-audiences brand of humor. “They’re like ‘he’s just so clean,’ but I watch what he does as a comedian myself. He’s not good because he plays clean. He’s good because he’s a great comedian.”
These days, he hosts the standup nights at ImprovBroadway and believes that just as sketch and improv comedy in Utah County have blown up, stand-up is the next big thing.
“You can feel it in Provo,” he says. “There’s something about to burst. I’m seeing some of the funniest stuff at the open mics that I’ve ever seen. It’s palpable. Audiences are craving more standup. There is a joy and a rush for the audience and the comedians. Like we’re all in on the same joke together.” —Jeremy Pugh
Naomi Winders
Photo by Adam Finkle/Salt Lake magazine
Naomi Winders came up through what is now an established channel. The writer, actor and comedian is in her second season on Studio C, a wildly popular show on BYUtv that is considered the gold standard of clean sketch comedy. She got her start in Divine Comedy, a student-run BYU campus group that is often scouted by Studio C producers.
“Not everyone who is in Divine Comedy goes on to appear on Studio C,” she says. “But the Studio C producers often look at Divine Comedy actors when they are casting because they know we perform clean comedy at BYU.”
Winders hasn’t ever played blue. All of her comedy has been in the family-friendly realm.
“I work with a lot of people from Los Angeles and New York that have struggled to transfer to clean comedy,” she says. “But that’s the only kind of comedy I’ve done. It’s not a lesser form of comedy. It actually opens up even more topics. Raunchy humor falls into cliche easily. Jokes tend to be about sex, drugs, drinking. In the clean comedy realm, we’re mining other subjects and looking for the absurdity of everyday life.”
A lot of the appeal for clean comedy audiences is that the whole family can enjoy it together, but that doesn’t mean it’s “little kid” humor.
“You see the type of jokes that are being fed to kids on Disney or Nickelodeon,” she says. “They’re not very clever. It’s like they think the things that adults think are funny kids won’t. But kids are smarter than you think and creating a comedy show that doesn’t rely on raunchy humor creates a universal type of comedy that anyone can relate to.” —JP
Dry Humor @ Dry Bar Comedy Club
If you share the wrong thing with the wrong person online, you can get into trouble. That was one of the modern pitfalls Dry Bar Comedy was trying to avoid when it started bringing shareable, comedic content to social media. Dry Bar produces one-hour, “clean” stand-up comedy specials at their club (also dry) in Provo, takes their top comics on tour around the country, and in August launched a streaming app (Dry Bar Comedy+) where you can watch them all.
Keith Stubbs is the person responsible for booking the slew of comedians necessary to support the release of three new specials each week. Stubbs is a stand-up himself—with his own Dry Bar special—and owns the Utah comedy institution Wiseguys Comedy, which he’s run for a couple of decades now. It’s that experience that tells Stubbs when a comic has what it takes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2zsmXHAqg8
“I book Dry Bar comedians that honed their craft at places like Wiseguys open mic nights,” says Stubbs. You get just three minutes to make an audience laugh at their open mic nights. “It sounds like nothing until you’re up there, then it feels like forever,” says Stubbs. “It takes a lot of work to become a good comic. And a lot of rejection. After they’ve worked hard and had some success, Dry Bar gets the comedians that take off.”
While Wiseguys takes all kinds, including some big-name, potty-mouthed headliners, Dry Bar deals exclusively in the clean stuff. But for Stubbs, himself a “funny for everyone” kind of comic, it’s not about dirty or clean, “It’s just funny. That’s the idea.”
After 10 seasons, Stubbs says Dry Bar is looking to expand into other projects beyond stand-up specials, like scripted, sketch and improv comedy.
Salt Lake City, Ogden, West Jordan and Las Vegas locations
Dallin Blankenship
Photo by Adam Finkle/Salt Lake magazine
If you are a parent of young children, the dilemma that brothers Peter and Tyler McKellar faced will feel familiar.
“We both have kids and realized that there was something missing from our lives,” Peter says. “Parents often get stuck watching kid shows and, as adults, it’s mostly painful. We wanted to make something that would make both kids and parents laugh.”
The McKellars dabble in stand-up and improv but their day job work is in advertising. They had been producing commercials that involved puppets. That’s right. Puppets. A light bulb went on.
“We set out to make something for parents like us,” Peter says. “Something with puppets.”
That something wasNine Years to Neptune on BYUtv, a show with a cast of 11 puppets and two humans who set out on an expedition to Neptune. Sort of.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TOYPv-bqac
“The space thing is really just a way for us to confine a number of characters in one space,” Tyler says. “It’s a workplace comedy that throws together a bunch of strangers who have zero experience or qualifications for being in space. It’s basically a mash-up of Gilligan’s Island and The Office.”
The tradition of creating universal humor through the universal silliness of puppetry goes back to Sesame Street and TheMuppet Show, says Dallin Blankenship, Nine Years to Neptune’s puppet captain (yes, that’s an actual job title). Blankenship studied under Micheal Earl, the Muppeteer (also a job title) who you would only recognize as the front half of Snuffleupagus. (Snuffy requires two Muppeteers.)
“I learned from Earl that there are two kinds of Muppets, order and chaos. Neptune offers this juxtaposition between humans and puppets, Blankenship says. “The humans are creating order and the puppets are creating chaos.”
And, that battle between chaos and order, Blankenship says, is something we can all laugh at. —JP
Chris Miller
Photo by Adam Finkle/Salt Lake magazine
Chris Miller is the preeminent historian of the clean comedy scene in Utah, although he prefers to call it “G-rated Comedy.” In his early 20s, Miller was making his career as a voice and TV and film actor. Lincoln Hoppe, a writer and performer in BYU’s first comedy company, The Garrens Comedy Troupe (which performed from 1993 to 2001), invited him down to Provo to teach and coach the students.
“What ended up happening was they taught me improv,” Miller says. “They put me on stage and threw me into the deep end. Apologies to anyone who saw those early shows but things took off. That was 33 years ago, and I was there for all of it.”
Miller moved around the scene and eventually landed at ComedySportz, a franchise with locations in LA, Chicago and, surprise, Provo.
“Provo’s ComedySportz was full to the rafters,” Miller says. “I’d guess I’d call that the tipping point. We had this critical mass of audiences who understood what we were doing and a format that keeps things moving. We had full houses of these enthusiastic audiences who knew why they were there.”
Miller thinks that the appeal of clean comedy is that comics and writers are meeting audiences where they are and not trying to push them into places that they don’t want to go.
“It’s like serving tea,” he says. “If you offer them tea and they say, ‘no thank you,’ you don’t pour it down their throats and insist they will like it. We practice consensual comedy.”—JP
Natalie Madsen
Photo by Adam Finkle/Salt Lake magazine
When Natalie Madsen arrived at Brigham Young University as a freshman in 2007, she says there wasn’t much of a comedy scene back then. “That was a while ago,” she says, admitting to aging herself. (She and I are the same age, so at least she didn’t call herself“old.”) “There was ComedySportz, but there wasn’t a lot else…There were certainly no comedy shows on BYUtv.”
“When I first started, it was kind of small, and to watch it grow throughout the years has been rewarding,” she says. Rewarding because Madsen is one of the founding members of the group that, arguably, got the proverbial ball rolling. Along with her compatriots in BYU’s sketch group, Divine Comedy, Madsen helped create the BYUtv show that would become a clean comedy juggernaut: Studio C.
“At the risk of sounding conceited, I think Studio C has helped the comedy scene in the area grow,” says Madsen. “If this would have been the scene when I first came, I would have been surprised. Divine Comedy was so fun, but we never thought we could get paid to do it.”
After eight years on the air as part of Studio C, Madsen and some of her other castmates are still getting paid to do it. They went on to create JK! Studios and the comedy web series Freelancers. Because of Madsen and company’s family-friendly jokes, they’ve attracted an army of devoted young followers.
“We’ve always had the philosophy that we just write what we think is funny. It just so happens that kids and teens really like it. But, we never sat down and said ‘let’s write a show for 13-year-olds.’” Madsen says their young followers are highly effective fan ambassadors, proliferating the clean comedy content on social media and converting friends and family. “It’s one of the best things about doing comedy—seeing how many people we can reach.”
As far as what they deem “appropriate” for their particular brand of comedy, Madsen confesses, “It’s a gut check. We were all raised in religious backgrounds, so we wanted to stay away from swearing and sexual content, and stick with things that our parents, siblings and kids could watch.”
Still, no matter how squeaky clean your comedy is, there’s always someone who wants it to be even more sanitized. “We did a sketch with a homeschooled character, and we got opposite reactions from people who had been homeschooled. Some said ‘Oh gosh, this is hilarious and dead-on,’ but others were offended that we were perpetuating a stereotype.”
When Studio C did, arguably, their biggest sketch—Scott Sterling hit in the face with the soccer ball—people complained about that, too. “They told us, ‘this is too bloody, this is too realistic,’ but we were really proud of it,” says Madsen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F9jXYOH2c0
Madsen’s philosophy? “If we get feedback from people who are offended, I just kind of forget. Don’t paint yourself into a corner. Everyone has different standards. If we catered to our audience’s standards, we wouldn’t even be able to make a show.”—Christie Porter
“This is a much more difficult decision this year than last.” The editors of Salt Lake, along with Francis Fecteau of Libation SLC, had a lot to discuss while deciding the winner of our 2021 Cocktail Contest. We evaluated how these cocktails engage the senses—the visual presentation, the aroma and, most importantly, the taste. We mused philosophically about what makes a cocktail great and debated our personal preferences. We considered which cocktails were particularly unique, which were well-balanced and which we wanted to order again and again.
Fecteau, who was also on the panel for our 2020 Cocktail Contest, said that this year’s entries represented an exciting leap forward. None of the 12 cocktail creations were exactly alike. They featured unexpected flavor combinations and inventive uses of local spirits. Some took us on a summertime trip to the islands with tiki-inspired drinks, while others evoked the coziness of fall. Plenty gave new life to unconventional ingredients, from beets to parsnips. Bartenders used homemade shrubs, eye-catching garnishes and other personal touches to make these cocktails unmistakably their own. This contest proved how many places there are to get a great cocktail in SLC—and was a testament to the creativity and passion of the bartenders behind these delicious drinks.
It was a close call. All month long, the competition for number one was neck and neck, but ultimately Eli Larson Hays’ rich and smooth concoction garnered the most votes in this close contest. The Alta Pervuian gets its name from the Peruvian Pisco Logia, which is coupled with brandy and balanced by a sweet and nutty orgeat syrup, tart yuzu juice and a dash of chocolate bitters. The toasted sesame seed rim makes for a pretty presentation as well, solidifying this crowd-pleasing cocktail’s status as our readers’ favorite.
As the days get darker and colder, this bright, inviting cocktail provides necessary counterprogramming to a Utah winter. Starring a shrub that balances the sugar rush of pineapple juice with the kick of ancho chiles, bartender Maddy Schmidt’s Dead Man’s Party is pure escapism. Our panel kept returning to the addictive mix of sweet and spicy that made this drink an approachable yet complex favorite. One sign of its greatness: Dead Man’s Party actually gets better as the ice melts. The result is a cocktail that is well-balanced, creative and, most importantly, a lot of fun to drink.
We couldn’t resist sneaking in one more winner. Both judges and readers agreed that Lake Effect’s cocktail Second Iteration is a highlight of this year’s contest. Christopher Stephenson’s creation was less than 300 votes behind the reader’s choice winner, and our panel also appreciated this one-of-a-kind drink. Stephenson, a self-described “booze nerd,” combined two surprising local spirits—Holystone Distilling Bosun’s Navy Strength Gin and Sugar House Distillery Rye—with a manuka honey and marigold tea syrup for a daring, complex and downright delicious cocktail.
Honorable Mentions
There was a lot to love about the entries in this year’s contest. Here are a few more of our favorites that almost took the crown.
This cocktail’s fall spice rim and earl grey syrup highlights classic fall flavors while the combination of Velvet Falernum and lemon juice ties the drink together with a light touch.
This high-concept creation earned our respect for pure chutzpah. Inspired by a cozy fall viewing of a good scary movie—did you catch his The Big Lebowski reference?—Jacob Sanders’ daring flavor combination includes butter, tarragon vinegar and, of course, sarsaparilla. The drink is garnished with a marbled shard of sugar, resembling edible stained glass, that we used to amp up the sweetness.
This easy-to-miss bar tucked behind Curry Up Now should be your next not-so-secret hangout spot. Cozy yet chic, we were more than happy to linger at Mortar & Pestle while sipping Fire and Earth, a surprisingly sweet beet syrup cocktail.
Stoneground Kitchen bartender Joel Aoyagi was a sentimental favorite for naming his drink after our late editor Mary Brown Malouf. The Malouf daringly used a labor-intensive syrup made from roasted parsnips in a nod to Mary’s frequent quip after trying a drink flavored with beet juice: “Beets! Why doesn’t anyone make a drink using parsnips!” Joel Aoyagi answered the challenge with a tasty, drinkable cocktail that succeeds far beyond the concept’s novelty.
That’s a wrap on our 2021 Cocktail Contest. Thank you to Alpha-Lit SLC and The Shop for assisting us with the photoshoot. Thank you to Libation SLC for sponsoring this year’s prizes. Thank you to each of the 12 bars and restaurants for participating in the contest and to the bartenders for sharing their time and talents with us. And thank you, especially, to our readers for coming back to vote again and again and for supporting local food and drink. Cheers!
Check out our 2021 Blue Plate Awards, honoring people making a positive impact in the food and drink community.
Get out of the cold and discover art and design in the Sonoran Desert
Scottsdale, Arizona is Phoenix’s posh neighbor, dotted with gated communities, resorts, spas and fancy hotels. While Arizona, in general, remains best known for retirees, snowbirds and a particular brand of “Don’t Tread on Me” conservatism, a new generation is taking up residence in the area, drawn there not for golfing but for art, architecture and design. These design nerds are taking note because of the legacy of two giants of architecture—Frank Lloyd Wright and Paolo Soleri. The two rivals represent a yin and yang of design philosophies. Their apprentice compounds—Wright’s fastidious Taliesin West and Soleri’s chaotic Cosanti—are magnets for a revival in interest in the area’s older homes and buildings, especially mid-century projects from the 1940s to ‘60s. Scottsdale’s stuffy reputation is giving way to a second look from a younger generation and winter is the perfect time to explore the new scene. Because Arizona in the summer? No, thank you.
Frank Lloyd Wright came to Arizona in the 1930s to create a space where he could work in peace and train his apprentices. He built Taliesin West(named in concert with his Wisconsin workshop Taliesin East) in what was then the middle of nowhere 26 miles from Phoenix. Wright and his students built everything at Taliesin West by hand, using materials that could be harvested from the surrounding desert. He invented methods to work with, instead of against, the terrain. “There were simple characteristic silhouettes to go by, tremendous drifts and heaps of sunburned desert rocks were nearby to be used,” Wright said. “We got it all together with the landscape.”
Today Taliesin West still inspires architecture students to discover Wright’s methods, which, in a tradition dating back to its earliest days, once required acolytes to live in a tent in the desert and design and build their own desert shelters to live in. Wright was a madman for order and this National Historic Landmark is a marvel of thoughtful design and building. Not a blade of grass is out of place. The site offers tours daily. 12621 N. Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd., Scottsdale
Wright’s Rival
If Frank Lloyd Wright was a madman for order, Paolo Soleri was just plainly a madman. Although his reputation has recently been tarnished by posthumous allegations of sexual abuse, Soleri’s work remains an important part of design history. The Italian architecture student came to Taliesin West in 1946, to study among Wright’s apprentices. But he did not mesh with the monastic environment. He was also challenging Wright on the national stage, winning exhibitions in New York and making the cover of the Rolling Stone of architecture, Architectural Digest. Claire Carter, the curator at The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art(7374 E. Second Street, Scottsdale, 480-874-4666), believes the Italian’s splashy success in New York was a threat to Wright’s near-domination of the American architectural scene. “Soleri was brash, cocky and his work was getting notice in important circles,” she says. “I suspect that wasn’t to Mr. Wright’s liking.” Whatever the reason, Soleri left Taliesin for Italy in 1950, where he would design one of his most important buildings, Ceramica Artistica Solimene, a large ceramics factory on the Almafi Coast.
Soleri could not, however, just let things lie. He returned to Arizona in 1956 to establish his own rival school and workshop, which he called Cosanti(6433 E. Doubletree Ranch Rd., Paradise Valley, 480-948-6145). There, apprentices fire Soleri’s Cosanti Bells, elaborate bronze or ceramic wind chimes, to help fund Soleri’s masterwork Arcosanti.
70 miles north of Phoenix, Arcosanti was an ongoing endeavor to build one of Paolo Soleri’s fantastic cities of the future. Soleri thought big and drafted plans for hundreds of cities, published in his book Arcology— a portmanteau of “architecture” and “ecology,” a term he invented. He began construction in 1970 to demonstrate how urban conditions could be improved while minimizing modern sprawl’s destructive impact on the planet. Acolytes still journey to Arcosanti to join intensive five-week-long workshops where they study Soleri’s work, techniques and continue the city’s construction. Tours daily.
Play
Now that you understand the underpinnings of Scottsdale’s art world, it’s time to enjoy the desert, specifically the Salt River. Yes. A river. The Salt River flows past the cities of Mesa, Tempe and Scottsdale, then south of downtown Phoenix. Birds, river otters and herds of wild horses find their way to the flowing water. Kayak the Salt River with a guided tour from Arizona Outback Adventures(866-455-1601). Or spend a day hiking in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve(18333 N. Thompson Peak Pkwy, Scottsdale, 480-312-7013). For more culture, take a walking or bike tour of the Scottsdale Public Art Program, a diverse collection of artwork from traditional bronzes such as George-Ann Tognoni’s trio of galloping horses to experiential installations like James Turrell’s SkySpace.
Hike Camelback Mountain
No trip to Phoenix is complete without a hike up Camelback Mountain. The 2,706-foot peak looms above the city like a giant kneeling camel, hence the name. It’s pretty tough to keep staring at that peak each day without feeling some primal urge to climb to the top.
There are two hiking trails ascending nearly 1,300 feet to the summit, the 1.4-mile Cholla Trail and the steeper and shorter 1.14-mile Echo Canyon Trail. No matter which you choose, be ready for a steep and scrambly climb to the top. The vertically inclined can enjoy some rock climbing on the Praying Monk, a rounded sandstone formation on Camelback’s northern slope that rises about 100 feet and features several bolted routes and belay anchors.
It typically takes between two and three hours to hike to the top of Camelback Mountain, but don’t let the relatively paltry distance convince you it isn’t a serious undertaking. Unassuming tourists regularly find themselves in peril on the mountain’s rocky flanks, so come prepared.
Dine
Postino restaurant; Photo by Flash Parker/ Arizona Office of Tourism
Scottsdale’s dining scene has mirrored the town’s artistic revival. Take, for example, FnB(7125 E. 5th Ave. #31, 480-284-4777) a haven of local food and growing local wine industry. Helmed by James Beard Award finalist Chef Charleen Badman, known for her collaborations with local farmers, FnB highlights a different Arizona growing region every four weeks. Plus wine. For a marriage of food and architecture (and more wine) try Postino (4821 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, 602-428-4444). Postino’s owners find mid-century modern commercial buildings (think banks, post offices) and turn them into restaurants. Also, their happy hour is bananas—$5 glasses of wine and pitchers of beer before 5 p.m. and $20 for bruschetta and a bottle of wine after 8 p.m. For a taste of Old Arizona, visit the margarita heaven The Mission (3815 N. Brown Ave., Scottsdale, 480-636-5005) in Old Town Scottsdale. Try the Malbec-braised short rib and chorizo porchetta. For a truly exciting dining adventure in the Sonoran Desert, Cloth and Flame (480-428-6028) specializes in hot-air balloon rides that deposit you at a fully appointed table amid the Saguaro cacti, in time for a spectacular desert sunset.
Stay
At the foot of Camelback Mountain lies Mountain Shadows(5445 E. Lincoln Dr., Scottsdale, 480-624-5400). Once the resort to the stars (think Bob Hope and Lucille Ball), the resort fell into disrepair, but its new heyday has arrived, fastidiously renovated in the now-retro decor. For more throwback, visit the Hermosa Inn(5532 N. Palo Cristi Rd., Paradise Valley, 602-955-8614). Hand-built in the 1930s by cowboy artist Lon Megargee as his residence and studio, this hacienda has 34 guest casitas. If boutique-on-top-of-boutique style is more your bag, consider the Bespoke Inn(3701 N. Marshall Way, Scottsdale, 844-861-6715). Bespoke Inn shares a courtyard with Virtù(480-946-3477), a James Beard-nominated restaurant, and with Bespoke Cycles, which specializes in handmade British city bikes.
ROAD TRIP 1: Cliffs, Caves & Grand Canyons
Start: Peach Springs / End: Kayenta
Postcard-worthy vistas aren’t uncommon in Arizona, but these off-the-beaten-path hidden gems let you explore and enjoy all the grandeur of the landscape without the crowds.
Grand Canyon Caverns; Photo courtesy Arizona Office of Tourism
1. Grand Canyon Caverns in Peach Springs
Explore the subterranean realm at Grand Canyon Caverns. A variety of tours are available, both guided and unguided, from short and scenic to deeply claustrophobia-inducing to quite possibly haunted ghost tours. Afterward, dine 200 feet underground at the Grotto Café and ask about sleeping beneath the surface in the master suite.
2. Rock Art Ranch in Winslow
An unassuming working cattle ranch near Winslow is a little off the beaten path but holds a trove of historic art. Tour scores of well-preserved petroglyphs, ancient ruins and a quaint museum of American Indian and pioneer and artifacts.
3. Apache Death Cave on route 66 between Flagstaff and Winslow
In 1878 amid a series of bloody skirmishes between Apache Indians and Navajo, Apache warriors hid with their horses in this cavern to avoid detection. Once discovered, 42 Apache warriors were killed in the cave as retribution for raids on surrounding Navajo camps. The area is considered cursed.
White Pocket in Vermillion Cliffs National Monument; Adobe Stock
4. Vermillion Cliffs National Monument in Marble Canyon
The Wave—the famed sweeping, smooth sandstone formation—is undoubtedly blowing up your social media feed, but with 280,000 acres in the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument there’s plenty more to see that doesn’t require permits or a lottery system. Stunning red rocks, California condors and plenty of solitude are waiting.
Shash Dine Eco Retreat; Courtesy Shash Dine Eco Retreat
5. Shash Dine Eco Retreat in Page
Billed as a “Five Billion Star Hotel” because of the unobscured views of the night sky, the Shash Dine Eco Retreat is glamping at its finest. Luxurious outdoor accommodations mean you won’t be roughing it, and easy access to Lake Powell and Horseshoe Bend is the cherry on top.
6. Arizona Hot Spring Trail in Willow Beach
With a five-mile round trip hike, the Arizona Hot Spring Trail typically isn’t very crowded or particularly arduous. Hike up a rocky arroyo near Lake Mead to the banks of the Colorado where a large natural hot spring awaits.
7. Dome Stargazing House in Williams
A clear top tented dome in the desert is a truly unique place to experience dark skies and uninterrupted star gazing. Heated sheets, warm showers and fire pits will keep you warm on chilly desert nights so you can enjoy nature’s light show each evening.
8. Mystery Valley near Kayenta
Mystery Valley is a stunning yet seldom-visited place on Navajo land. To access the magnificent landscape, you’ll need to hire a Diné guide, who will show you the area and teach you about its history, from the nearby Monument Valley Visitor Center.
9. North Rim of the Grand Canyon
Though it’s closed right now—at over 8,000 feet elevation, there’s frequently snow during the winter months—the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is remarkable and worth the visit. Hike the North Kaibab Trail and stay and in the historic Grand Canyon Lodge or at a campsite with the best view imaginable.
ROAD TRIP 2: Old West, Wilderness & Wine
Start: Benson / End: Willcox
Travel through Cochise County to experience the history of the cinematic American West. Explore natural wonders, visit historic sites like Tombstone and even throw in a bit of wine tasting.
1. Benson
Visit the “living cave” of the Kartchner Caverns State Park where water has carved caverns through the limestone. The Throne Room contains one of the world’s largest stalactites, a 58-foot-tall column called Kubla Kahn. The spectacular speleotherms throughout the formation are still growing. Cabins and camping are available to enjoy the dark skies at night.
Entrance to The Royale in Bisbee; Photo courtesy Arizona Office of Tourism
2. Bisbee
An 1880s mining camp was transformed into an artist community in Bisbee. Board a tram to see the inner workings of the 1,500-foot-deep Queen Mine before visiting the Sam Poe Gallery or getting a craft beer from myriad artisans along “Brewery Gulch.”
3. Sierra Vista
Known as the hummingbird capital of the United States, Sierra Vista is home to the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area. Along with a wealth of hummingbirds, more than 300 other species are common to the area. After birding, head north to the Cochise Stronghold in the Dragoon Mountains. Apache Chief Cochise once used the rugged terrain as a natural fortress, and now it’s a paradise for rock climbers.
Allen Street in the town of Tombstone; Adobe Stock
4. Tombstone
Visit the famed town of legendary lawman Wyatt Earp, including the site of the infamous gun battle at the OK Corral to “walk where they fell.”. Movie and American history rarely meet in such proximity.
5. Willcox
Welcome to Arizona’s wine capital. 75% of the grapes in the state are grown in the vineyards surrounding Willcox. The annual Arizona Wine Festival graces the area, but, even outside festival dates, there are plenty of tasting rooms like the one at Aridus Wine Company.
6. Fairbank and Gleeson
Journey back in time with a visit to a couple of old West Ghost Towns. Fairbank was the transport hub and supply depot for Tombstone, where the old schoolhouse has been reimagined into a visitor center and bookstore. Just 25 miles to the east is Gleeson, where little more than a restored jailhouse and deteriorating relics remain.
ROAD TRIP 3: Route 66 Recon
Start: Lake Havasu / End: Flagstaff
Travel the original mother road. Route 66 is the iconic pathway of American lore where freedom, history and the open road unfold ahead of you.
Lake Havasu City Channel; Adobe Stock
1. Lake Havasu and London Bridge
Start your Route 66 journey in a boat, not a car. A sunset charter up the Topock Gorge aboard the “Serenity Now” with Lake Havasu Boat Tours will provide unforgettable views. While visiting, check out the Lake Havasu Museum and a recreation of the London Bridge.
2. Oatman
From Lake Havasu, head to the former gold-mining town of Oatman. Experience the past with authentic staged old-west gunfights, and keep an eye out for the wild burrows roaming through the area. Stay at the historic Oatman Hotel.
3. Peach Springs to Raft the Grand Canyon
Hop into the water by joining the Hualapai River Runners for a day of whitewater rafting in the Grand Canyon. American Indian guides will take the helm, sharing insight and the history of the people who call the Grand Canyon Home.
4. Seligman for a stop at Delgadillo’s Snow Cap
Enjoy a hefty dose of nostalgia with your burger and malt from Delgadillo’s Snow Cap. The drive-in diner is straight out of a sentimental road trip fever dream. Head just a few doors down to the museum owned by Angel Delgadillo, the “Guardian Angel of Route 66,” to see the preserved artifacts of the mother road’s history.
A hiker in the Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim; Adobe Stock
5. South Rim of the Grand Canyon by Train
You’ve seen it by raft, now see it by rail. Take in the views from the legendary Grand Canyon Railway before staying at the famous El Tovar Hotel in the national park.
6. Flagstaff
Point the car to Flagstaff, where the main drag is Route 66. Learn the history of the areaat the museum of Northern Arizona before touring the Lowell Observatory where Pluto was discovered in 1930. Stay for the night to enjoy the dark skies before turning in at the Weatherford Hotel, famed for hosting presidents, gunslingers and everyone in between.
ROAD TRIP 4: Art Halls, Golf Balls & Cacti Tall
Start: Phoenix / End: Saguaro National Park
From avant-garde artistic culture to iconic natural wonders to impossibly lush golf courses amid an arid landscape, you’ll find a little bit of everything on this tour of Arizona’s center and south.
1. See Art in Phoenix
Start your tour of Phoenix’s art scene with a visit to the Phoenix Art Museum. Then enjoy a new kind of immersive experience at the Van Gogh Exhibition, where massive moving projections of the artist’s most iconic works from “Starry Night” to “Sun Flowers” captivate audiences.
2. Golf in Scottsdale
The unceremoniously named Waste Management Phoenix Open is a fan favorite with notoriously raucous and fun crowds. You can play the very same course at TPC Scottsdale where legends of the game have walked the fairways or any of the area’s 200 some other public courses.
Pima Air and Space Museum; Photo courtesy Arizona Office of Tourism
3. Visit the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson
The Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson is one of the largest non-government-funded museums in the world with more than 300 aircraft spread over 80 acres. See World War II relics like the B-29 Superfortress “Sentimental Journey” and modern marvels like the world’s fastest manned aircraft, a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. The museum is adjacent to the Davis Monthan Air Force Base, which is home to the famed “graveyard of planes.”
4. Colossal Cave Mountain Park in Vail
Just south of Tucson in the town of Vail (no relation to Colorado) is an expansive cave system. The caverns of Colossal Cave Mountain Park were used as homes by Native Americans as early as 900 A.D. and more recently served as hideouts for old west train robbers. These days, they’re a tourist attraction where you can take guided or unguided tours through the caves. Stay and camp among the mesquite trees in Posta Quemada Canyon.
Kitt Peak National Observatory; Adobe Stock
5. Kitt Peak National Observatory west in Tucson
During daytime visits to Kitt Peak Observatory, you can tour the massive optical telescopes and hike to panoramic mountaintops. In the evening you can enjoy incredible stargazing with the naked eye or sign up for telescope viewing programs to see the celestial bodies in space like never before.
6. Saguaro National Park
The giant saguaro cactus is pretty much the most universal symbol of the American West despite only growing in a few select locations. The largest cacti in the country are plentiful along the 165 miles of hiking trails. The park is refreshingly less developed than many others. Wilderness camping is available in the Rincon Mountain district for more adventurous visitors.
In 1845, John C. Fremont and Kit Carson stumbled across an island inhabited with numerous pronghorn antelope, which resulted in them naming the land Antelope Island. The funny thing? Today, the island isn’t known for its antelope, but rather for its bison. In 1893, 12 bison were brought to the island. The herd has grown since then, and reaches about 750 head of bison each year.
The optimal number of bison to have on the island is 500. Since there are no natural predators on the island to maintain this number, Antelope Island State Park puts on a bison roundup each year. The bison are rounded up by hundreds of horseback riders so that they can receive health screenings and pregnancy checks. Once they are all gathered, the park’s biologists select 200 to 250 bison to sell at a public auction. This way, the number of bison will not exceed the park’s carrying capacity, and will have plenty of food to eat through the winter.
The horseback riders participating in the roundup are both very experienced riders, and some public riders who have pre-registered to ride in the event. Starting around 8:30, the riders are gathered together and given a job in the roundup. Riders are asked to go different directions to bring the scattered bison to the other group of riders that will be pushing the bison towards the north. Once the bison are congregated to the Frary Peak trailhead, they are pushed over the hill to the west side of the island and down towards the corrals.
This year, the roundup will be held on Saturday, Oct. 30. The public is invited to participate by riding in the roundup or by watching from a safe distance. The event begins at 9 a.m. and will usually end anywhere from noon to 2 p.m. Bring your camp chair and blanket and come experience a little bit of the Wild West! There are two main areas where the public can go: along the east side road or on the north end of the island. The bison roundup begins on the east side of the island, and then they are pushed to the north end where they are put into corrals for their checkups. Visitors can start watching on the east side of the island, and then hop in their car to follow the action to the north end as the bison are pushed up. Once you get to the north end of the island, there will be opportunities for the public to learn more about the history of the island and the bison. And come hungry: there will be food vendors.
