Every year the list is different. We don’t do categories, we don’t fill in forms, we don’t count votes. We just pick our brains and everyone else’s for the coolest, newest and unexpected superlatives in the Beehive State. Every year we surprise ourselves and are delighted at the discoveries. You too will be surprised and delighted. And, no doubt, disgruntled. Because we left out one of your favorites. Let us know. 

Rockwell, Ice Cream – Justin and Summer Williams had a Dream about ice cream. Well, who doesn’t sometimes?? But the Williams made their dream come true at Rockwell’s  where they make superpremium flavors every day. Think Biscoff, Snickerdoodle and the traditionals Van/Choc/Straw. rockwellicecream.com

Best Workout for Hello! My name is Elder Price!, Rx Fit’s Weekly “Missionary Workouts” – Only a fitness facility in Utah County would think of creating a “missionary workout.” From its two locations, one in Springville and one in Provo, Rx Fit designs 20-minute do-anywhere subscription fitness workouts. Sent via weekly emails, missionary workouts don’t require gym equipment, yip-yipee class instructors, or worrying about wearing dirty P-Day clothes. Created for actual missionaries —because we are all brothers and sisters—these workouts are also available to gentiles. And best of all—they’re free! rxfit.health/index.php/missionary-workouts/

Comedy Clean Enough for Utah County (and the world), Dry Bar Comedy Club – Modern comedy tends to the dark side of dirty. But the jokes at Dry Bar Comedy Club are clean enough that you can bring your 10 kids. It turns out there was a huge hankering for PG comedy not just in Provo but everywhere. Well-produced YouTube videos are rivaling giants like Comedy Central in views (102,307,857 and counting) and Dry Bar has become a must-play venue for touring comedians who usually play blue but will clean up their material to play the club. Oh my heck! 295 W. Center St., Provo, drybarcomedy.com

Best Re-use. Plus, Pancakes, Tru Religion Pancake and Steakhouse – We wept, we wailed, we gnashed our teeth when the venerable Lamb’s restaurant, a Main Street fixture since it opened in 1919, was passed over by SLC restaurateurs and dismantled. What can we say but thank God for Tru Religion? The pancake and steakhouse opened its dark mahogany doors in Orem and revealed the classic booths (with hat racks!) tables, chairs, bars, doors and woodwork hails from the former Lamb’s Grill. 360 S. State St. Suite 158, Orem, trureligionpancakeandsteakhouse.com

Best Hip Family Sport, Ghost Long Boards – Skateboarding has not historically been considered a family sport, but neighbors and business partners Russ Warner and Brent Johnson are on a mission to challenge the stereotypes of skate culture. Their company is Ghost Long Boards. Located in Cedar Hills, it makes plexiglass longboards designed to get the whole family outside and active. 4240 W. Mesquite Way, Cedar Hills, 801-599-7447, ghostlongboard.com

Check out more of our Best of the Beehive winners here.

Every year the list is different. We don’t do categories, we don’t fill in forms, we don’t count votes. We just pick our brains and everyone else’s for the coolest, newest and unexpected superlatives in the Beehive State. Every year we surprise ourselves and are delighted at the discoveries. You too will be surprised and delighted. And, no doubt, disgruntled. Because we left out one of your favorites. Let us know. 

Best Way to Explore Inner Demons, Red Mountain Resort’s Despacho Fire Ceremony – Okay, so you’ve been watching too many episodes of Sabrina the Teenage Witch and are contemplating worship of the Dark Lord. Yikes. Here’s where can you regain and discover the courage to cast off those inner demons for good. Get your sorry soul down to the Red Mountain Resort and join in a Fire Ceremony. Also, the resort’s heavenly spa amenities like a nature-inspired salt scrub and agave body wrap couldn’t hurt. 1275 Red Mountain Circle, Ivins, 435-673-4905, redmountainresort.com

Best Little-known Champion Sport Arena, The St. George Area Sports Commission – In 2017, Alan Francis captured his 22nd world title, cementing his reputation as the greatest horseshoe pitcher of all time. Francis is from St. George, and he has the advantage of one of the best home courts in the country—the largest (and newest) Horseshoe Pitching facility in the Western U.S. The 30-court complex is in J.C. Snow Park. 300 E. 900 South, St. George, stgeorgesports.com

Best Art Residency in a Ghost Town, Shamble, Cisco, Utah- Cisco really is a ghost town, a classic Western railroad relic. Eileen Muza, an artist and the only resident, lives in a Winnebago parked by the shambles near Canyonlands. She’s gradually restoring the place with found objects. And she’s offering it as an artist’s residency. The artists will be provided with a $500 stipend, a private outdoor kitchen, and studio space in an old Winnebago camper with skylights and a private deck. Check out eileenmuza.org

Best Restaurateur Relocation, Kathie Chadbourne Goes to Kanab – The beloved eccentric restaurateur who brought us Avenues Bistro and created the Avenues Bistro on Third, has moved her unbridled enthusiasm to Kanab. Kanab is becoming an interesting destination (see p. 50); part of it is Chadbourne’s Peekaboo Canyon Wood-fired Kitchen. Chadbourne’s new place is vegetarian, but cocktails and a cool patio provide their own spiritual umami. 233 W. Center St., Kanab, 435- 689-1959, peekabookitchen.com

Best Street Food Without a Street, Magnolia Street Food – It’s a food truck going nowhere. Parked in Boulder, Utah, the blue bus offers all kinds of locally sourced picnic foods—breakfast, sweet potato, picadillo, mushroom and all kinds of other yummies stuffed into burritos, plus sodas and sides. Eat at the picnic table or take it on the road. Anasazi State Park Museum, 460 N. Highway 12, Boulder, 801-643-3510, magnoliasstreetfood.com

St. George Pistachios – Who knew? The warm, high desert climate in Southern Utah is perfect for pistachio trees. The Red Rock Pistachio Orchards—20 acres of trees—are in Hurricane, just west of Zion National Park. Harvested, sun-dried, salted and roasted, the nuts are packaged and sold directly. rpistachios.com

For more of our Best of the Beehive winners click here. 

Every year the list is different. We don’t do categories, we don’t fill in forms, we don’t count votes. We just pick our brains and everyone else’s for the coolest, newest and unexpected superlatives in the Beehive State. Every year we surprise ourselves and are delighted at the discoveries. You too will be surprised and delighted. And, no doubt, disgruntled. Because we left out one of your favorites. Let us know.

Most Scenic Ski Run, Stein’s Way at Deer Valley – Some skiers are in it for the steeps, the deeps and the thrills, but a lot of us are just here for the views. Stein’s Way traces its way down the ridge of Bald Mountain, overlooking the Jordanelle Reservoir and surrounding mountains. You’ll enjoy the immaculate grooming too. There’s no better place to get lost taking it all in. 2250 Deer Valley Dr, 435-649-1000, deervalley.com

Best Boot Fitter, Cole Sport Resort Center Park City Mountain – Ski boots can be either vice-like instruments of torture designed to give you frostbite or the single most important piece of equipment to help you ski better. The difference is in finding and crafting the right fit, and nobody does that better than Cole Sport. Their boot fitters are trusted and recommended by ski instructors and patrollers—you know, the people who spend all day every day in ski boots. Go where the pros go. 1385 Lowell Ave, 435-649-4600, colesport.com

Best Way to Stay Current on Beehive Film Culture, Park City Film Series Made in Utah – Park City has been tangentially associated with the film industry ever since Sundance came to town, but more homegrown talent and local projects hit the  screen each year. The Park City Film Series Made in Utah program puts on local showings of Utah-made films so you can stay up to date with what the Beehive state’s creatives put on the big screen. parkcityfilm.org

Best Parking Space for your Sundry Wellness Needs, Bonanza Drive in Prospector – Ditch your car in Prospector Square—there are numerous public lots off Bonanza Drive—and explore the bewildering mixture of new age and traditional wellness establishments populating the area. You can therapeutically freeze yourself at Cryo Lodge or warm yourself in a sensory deprivation float pod at Float Park City in the very same building! You’ll be walking distance from three different acupuncture facilities—Longevity Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, Stillpoint Healing Center and Mountain Sage Natural Health and Acupuncture—and four different chiropractors—Phillips Chiropractic, Namaste Chiropractic, Park City Chiropractic and Chiropractic Works of Park City! Leave your peer-reviewed concerns at home and come seek your own path to wellness.

Best Recovery Breakfast After A Long Night, Biscuits and Gravy from Woodland Biscuit Company – Park City is as well known for its après scene as it is for its mountain-based adventures. Combine those good times with high elevations, however, and you’re in for some rough mornings. Nothing alleviates the ill-effects of irresponsible choices quite like biscuits and gravy from Woodland Biscuit Company. 2734 E State Hwy 35, Francis, 435-783-4202, woodlandbiscuitcompany.com

Best Mountainside Dinner Entree, Mushroom Stroganoff at Silver Star Cafe – Silver Star Cafe has elevated roots cuisine, a patio with inspiring mountain views and live music Thursday through Saturday evenings, but nothing tops eating their wild mushroom stroganoff with balsamic cipollini onions and house-made späetzle on a pleasant evening. It’s one of those rare instances in which the gluten-free, vegetarian option is the best on the menu, regardless of your dietary inclinations. 1825 Three Kings Dr., 435-655-3456, thesilverstarcafe.com

Best Artsy Bang for Your Buck, Kimball Art Center – The galleries lining Main Street have some gems to be sure, but the eye watering price tags attached to bland artwork destined for the vacuous interiors of mountain-contemporary palaces makes the Kimball Art Center all that much more important to Park City’s community. Where else can you see Warhol’s artwork free of charge in a podunk ski town? 1401 Kearns Blvd, 435-649-8882, kimballartcenter.org

Best Brunch Spot For Your Out-of-Town Big-City Friends, Harvest – Looking for a spot to take cosmopolitan visitors who are convinced Utah is some uncultured backwater? Harvest has the minimalist-chic atmosphere, elaborately-crafted coffee drinks and avocado-based menu options to make even the most cynical urbanites feel like they’re dining in Williamsburg. In all seriousness, it’s the best pre-lunch meal you’ll find near Main Street. 820 Park Ave, 435-604-0463, harvestparkcity.com

Soul Poles – Now that old-school, fluorescent one pieces have been commoditized and rendered un-ironic, the idiosyncratic skier needs a new way to stand out. Soul Poles let you customize your pointy sticks with personalized laser engraving, artistically painted bamboo shafts and colorful grips and baskets. Plus they’re made right here in Park City from super durable, sustainably-harvested bamboo. 1490 Munchkin Rd, 888-612-7685, soulpoles.com

Best Shear Indulgence For Her: Lunatic Fringe – With cutting edge cuts, coloring and styling, personalized, attentive service and a hipper-than-it-should-be vibe, Lunatic Fringe is the place to be for luxury hair care. Throw in a complimentary beverage, and what more could you ask for? 4343 UT-224, 435-658-0298, lunaticfringesalon.com

For Him: Billy’s Barber Shop – Come for the old-timey barber chairs, classic aesthetic and excellent, modern haircuts. Stay for the life-changing satisfaction of a hot shave. There’s nothing better. 509 Main St, 435-901-2475, billysbarbershop.com

Check out more of our Best of the Beehive winners here.

Every year the list is different. We don’t do categories, we don’t fill in forms, we don’t count votes. We just pick our brains and everyone else’s for the coolest, newest and unexpected superlatives in the Beehive State. Every year we surprise ourselves and are delighted at the discoveries. You too will be surprised and delighted. And, no doubt, disgruntled. Because we left out one of your favorites. Let us know.

Best Unexpected Dessert, Strawberry Nachos at Last Course – It’s really tough to ruin nachos, but it’s also a challenge to up the ante and create a new type of nacho. Last Course does it with their incredible Strawberry Nachos. Dip white, milk, and dark chocolate “chips” into decadent strawberry “salsa” and officially put nachos in both the savory and sweet columns of your food brain. 835 W. East Promontory, Farmington, 801-410-4708, lastcourse.com

Hive Winery Raspberry, Honey Wine – Ah, mead. The drink of ancient warriors and those who lived before modern booze making provided us with limitless options. The Hive Winery is resurrecting honey-wine and giving it new life. Stop by their tasting room and sample the award-winning, and mouth-watering, Raspberry Honey Wine before the secret gets out. 1220 W. 450 North, Layton, 801-546-1997, thehivewinery.com

Best Savory Waffle, Honey Chipotle Pastrami at Waffled – The savory waffle is a divisive food, but Waffled, an innocuous booth in the middle of Station Park, can mend the relationships of savory waffle lovers and sweet waffle purists. The Honey Chipotle Pastrami Waffle brings out the dense heartiness of the liege waffle while melding flavors so good you’ll run back for seconds. Believe it. 25 N. East Promontory, Farmington, 801-447-9175, waffledeats.com

Best Sensory Overload, Allegiant Nonstop – Clearfield is stepping up their entertainment game with new additions to the newly named Allegiant Nonstop, formerly G4CE. Their 100,000 square foot building features go-karts, laser tag, arcade games, virtual reality, bowling, mini golf, escape rooms, play zones, a restaurant, snack bar, soda bar and frozen yogurt station. Our heads started spinning just listing all they offer. 1400 E. 700 South, Clearfield, 801-416-2388, playnonstop.com

Best Way to Lose Your Voice, Cannibal Roller Coaster – Adrenaline junkies, rejoice! While many lament the absence of a Six Flags in Utah, Lagoon has one major entry into the roller coaster hall of fame. Featuring the steepest vertical drop in North America, Cannibal also holds the world record for tallest beyond-vertical drop on any coaster. Prep your pipes and enjoy the ride. 375 Lagoon Dr., Farmington, 801-451-8000, lagoonpark.com

For more of our Best of the Beehive winners click here. 

Every year the list is different. We don’t do categories, we don’t fill in forms, we don’t count votes. We just pick our brains and everyone else’s for the coolest, newest and unexpected superlatives in the Beehive State. Every year we surprise ourselves and are delighted at the discoveries. You too will be surprised and delighted. And, no doubt, disgruntled. Because we left out one of your favorites. Let us know.

Make Salt Lake Co-working spaces are all the rage but Make Salt Lake is different—it offers you tools, space and instruction so you can make it yourself—anything from woodworking to metal craft to electronics to welding. Make yourself the master.
makesaltlake.org

Best Tacos Down South, Daniel’s – The concept of a taco: Small enough to eat out of hand. Simple enough to sell for cheap. Flavorful enough that small is big enough. Daniel’s tacos are all this and don’t need to be more, but they are. They’re fresh, for one thing. Plus you can order oysters, horchata and beer. 1017 N. 900 West, SLC, 801-521-9404. tacosdanielutah.com

Best Way to Live a Happy Life, Order in from Happy Dumpling – All dumplings, all the time and if you like dumplings like we like dumplings, these will make you very happy indeed, just like the logo promises. It’s so easy! Go to the website, check the maps to make sure you’re in the zone and place your order. They take weekend orders up until Thursday mornings. 3359 S. Main St., 801-635-4818, happydumplingslc.com

Best Excuse to Buy a Sari, Salt City Studios Bollywood Dance Class – How do they swivel their hips like that?? The gorgeous, sinuous dance used in Bollywood films is a style unto itself—a combination of belly-dancing, Indian folk dancing and modern jazz. The point is though, when you add it all up into a five-week workshop at Salt City Studio, you’ve had an amazing workout. You don’t need prior dance experience or a partner, just the urge to take some exercise that makes you happy. 1321 E. 3300 South, SLC, 801-699-6809, saltcitystudio.com/bollywood-slc

Best Thing to do in a Brewpub Besides Drink Beer, TF Brewing’s Game Night – Beer is not enough anymore. Brewpubs must have entertainment and while the Big Game of the moment is draw enough for some, there are those of us who are tired of balls—be they thrown, kicked or bounced. And we are certainly Trivia’d out. The questions are too culture specific, or too stupid. TF Brewery offers an alternative pastime to go with with your ale. Actually, several of them. A game sommelier brings a whole menu of board games so you can settle in, sip and learn how to do something new and pointless. 936 South 300 West, SLC, 385-270-5972, tfbrewing.com

Check out more of our Best of the Beehive winners here.