Many publications do “best of” issues (which sometimes are pay-to-play, FYI). But we take a different approach. Every year, we create Salt Lake magazine’s Best of the Beehive Issue by assembling our little coterie of writers and folks we know about town to talk about the things that tickle us, surprise us, and inspire us and just say, “yep, that’s the best” all around.
Because how is anything “The Best?” It’s a subjective term after all. But we know it when we see it. And the goal here is to pack this issue with a list of, well, stuff, to tickle your intellect, fill your belly, spark your imagination and inspire ideas for exploring the place where you live. We reflect on the talk of the town—newsmakers and civic upheavals—that inspired both cheers and jeers. We pile it all together into an always-incomplete list to create a snapshot of life in the Beehive in the Year 2025.
I love the randomness of this issue. The idea that a little pie shop in Veyo or a Cat café in Salt Lake is the “best of” anything brings a smile to my face. Because, in this world of data-mined listicles and focused searches to find the “best” toaster, or whatever, the idea of merely browsing—just wandering down the bookstore aisle and waiting for something to catch your eye—seems like a lost art. Oftentimes, the things we cherish most in our lives are those very things that one day just caught our eye.
This idea is the basis of what we do at this magazine. We make a pretty paper book six times a year, designed for you to browse. And we’re certain that inside these pages are plenty of things that will catch your eye.
Don’t blink. You just might miss the best thing you never knew you were looking for.
