Lindsay and Drew Sparks had a dangerous idea. What if they stepped away from their demanding tech jobs, Zoom meetings, and day-in-day-out office life? After a lot of back-and-forth, they decided to go in a totally different direction and start a pretzel company in Salt Lake City.
“We wanted to start something ourselves from scratch,” says Lindsay. “We love the European/Bavarian-style soft pretzels.” So Lindsay and Drew started on a journey of research, testing, hard work, leaning on supportive friends, and back to testing again. After a lot of experimenting, they arrived at their perfect soft pretzel recipe: One with Bavarian roots. They use a lye bath instead of a baking soda bath to yield the characteristic dark, shiny crust and a unique biting taste. It gives the pretzels a very crispy exterior with a soft area crumb inside. Drew and Lindsay opened Dangerous Pretzel in December last year at the Post District, tucked on the southwest side of the development near Melancholy.
With a cherubic devil as the mascot and a bomb in the logo, Dangerous Pretzel’s tagline is ‘ruin dinner.’ And fair warning, it is entirely possible to ruin dinner with these substantial pretzels. “Pretzels are dangerous. You can’t just eat one,” says Lindsay. “It’s so validating when we hear customers say, ‘Oh, these are so dangerous.’ That’s exactly the concept we wanted.”
You will find some classics on the menu: a good salty pretzel and a sweet cinnamon sugar pretzel. But you will also find pretzels that are a meal unto themselves. The Spicy Bee Pretzel has hot peppers buried in white cheddar topped with hot honey. The BBK, aka “Brush Before Kissing” pretzel, is a blend of parmesan herbs and garlic butter for a true date night disaster that is truly delicious. The Bootlegger Pretzel is bourbon and maple bacon. And the Devil’s Delight is a nod to pizza with pepperjack cheese, pepperoni and sliced salami. Mini pretzel “bombs” are the dangerous version of donut holes.
Pretzels are good. Pretzels with something to dunk are better. And the housemade dipping sauces add a little zing. The House Mustard is admittedly “mustard-ish,” while the Sweet Cream pairs perfectly with the Saint pretzel or the Bootlegger pretzel. Hot ranch (“hotter than assless chaps”) and the Dangerous Dip (a cheese sauce with some spice) round out the assortment. Lindsay’s favorite dip is the cheese dip. “We didn’t want it to be a nacho cheese; beer cheese can get a little grainy. So we do cheddar, sharp cheddar, pepperjack and fresh jalapenos that add heat without making it too spicy.”
Lindsay explains how they take five basic ingredients (flour, salt, yeast, butter,and water) through extensive testing to develop their flavors. “We created a rack that goes on top of the oven and holds the steam in. The pretzels go through twice, once with the steam cover on and once with the steam cover removed. It’s something we figured out ourselves.”
When it comes to the flavored pretzels, Lindsay, Drew and all the employees have a list of different flavors they would like to try. The most interesting ones get tested over time. The plan is to switch out to special or seasonal flavors on a regular basis. “We have a rack in our fridge that’s just for research and development,” Lindsay laughs. “This week, for example, we tested 11 blueberry basil flavored pretzels.” She acknowledges that some of the flavors are a little controversial and outside the typical pretzel realm. “We are okay with some of our flavors being a little polarizing.” But the goal is that everyone will find at least one great pretzel to love.
The “BBK”, aka “Brush Before Kissing” pretzel, combines a healthy dose of parmesan and garlic; perfect for date night. Photo by Adam Finkle.
Another bonus: You can get a beer with your pretzel.
“I always tell people that we are the opposite of a pub or brewery,” says Lindsay. “At a brewery, the beer comes first, and the pretzels second. The pretzels are always an afterthought. And for us, the pretzel is the star, and the beer always comes in second. We tried to keep the beers as local as possible.”
They make a point of carrying beer from breweries outside Salt Lake City. “Helper Beer is newer, but we always stop there on our way down to Moab and go to that brewery,” Lindsay explains. “We feel like they are outstanding, but not a lot of people carry them up here.”
Now that they are open, Drew and Lindsay have lots of plans, like working on gluten-free and vegan options for pretzels. They’re testing out a homemade marinara along with other new flavors. Eventually, they would like to expand and do late nights along with a special late-night menu.
“It’s been really cool to see the response from our community,’ says Lindsay. “People are so generous and willing to support us and give really amazing feedback. We want to hear from our customers!” ]
If You Go
Dangerous Pretzel
352 W. 600 South, SLC
dangerouspretzel.com | @dangerous.pretzel
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