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Jan 28
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Valentine’s Day in Utah

What To Do With Your Boo: Valentine’s Day Eats and Activities

By Eat & Drink

Valentine’s  Day is coming up, and the pressure is on to find the perfect date night for you and your partner. Thankfully, Utah has no shortage of food and fun suited to all different tastes. Whether you’re looking for an intimate, three-course dinner, a night of dancing, or anything in between, the beehive state has you covered.

WHERE TO EAT ON VALENTINE’S DAY 

Alpine Distilling Social Aid & Pleasure Club 

Try your hand at spirit infusion at Alpine Distilling in Park City. The expert distillers will offer advice and encouragement to couples trying out new flavor combinations. Stop by their Social Aid & Pleasure Club after for a special cocktail menu, and the barrel release of Alpine’s Triple Oak Whiskey. 
364 Main Street (lower level) Park City, UT 84060

Bambara and The Vault

The eclectic Hotel Monaco downtown hosts two delightful dining experiences inside, Bambara and The Vault, both offering special Valentine’s items this year. For $75 per person, Bambara’s four-course menu features items like mushroom tortellini, hamachi crudo and Utah prime beef tenderloin. At The Vault, couples can enjoy a dozen oysters and a bottle of bubbles for $80, the perfect pre-dinner treat. Reservations available on their website. 
202 South Main St., Salt Lake City, UT 84101

The Chocolate: A Dessert Cafe

Surprise your sweetie with something sweet this Valentine’s Day with desserts from The Chocolate. Pick from a variety of baked goods including heart-shaped cakes, chocolate raspberry mini cupcakes, chocolate cheesecake bars, cookies, and even a Valentine’s Day-themed cookie decorating kit. Orders for Valentine’s Day sweets must be in by Feb. 10.
9120 S Redwood Rd, West Jordan, UT 84088
212 State St, Orem, UT 84058

Copper Canyon Grill House & Tavern 

Enjoy a romantic evening in the heart of downtown at Copper Canyon. Located inside the Radisson Hotel, the restaurant is offering a special three-course dinner for one-night only. Menu highlights include New York strip, lobster mac and cheese, grilled branzino and pappardelle ala lentil ragu. $69 per person, reservations available here. 
215 W South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101

Franck’s

Franck’s is offering a prix fixe, 7-course meal plus dessert from Feb. 13 through Feb. 18, featuring items such as spruce tip and togarashi crusted prime strip, duck tataki and chilled shellfish tart. Prices are set at $155 per person.
6264 S. Holladay Blvd., Holladay, 801-274-6264

Fleming’s Steakhouse and Wine Bar

From Feb. 13–17, Fleming’s is offering a special surf-and-turf Valentine’s Day menu. Feast on a shareable 16oz chateaubriand and 12 oz North Atlantic lobster tail, pair it with truffle mashed potatoes and finish with a dark chocolate cherry tart. $220 for two, available in a single serving for $106 per guest. 
20 S. 400 West, #2020, SLC, 801-355-3704

Hearth on 25th

Located on Ogden’s Historic 25th Street, Hearth on 25th is offering a special 10 course Valentine’s Day dinner this year. Available Friday and Saturday, dinner highlights include shiso tart, duck consome and elk loin. $80, optional drink pairing for $50.  Book a reservation on their website hearth25.com. 
195 25th St STE 6, Ogden, UT 84401

Hyatt Centric Park City 

Enjoy a prix-fixe Valentine’s day dinner with your S.O. at the Hyatt Centric. Menu highlights include lobster ravioli, seared sea scallop, French onion tart and more. $79 per person. Call 435-940-1235 for reservations. 
3551 North Escala Court, Park City, UT 84098

Laurel Brasserie & Bar

Treat you and your boo to an elegant staycation at the Grand America Hotel. Now offering Valentine’s day stay and dine packages, couples can book a one-night stay with either dinner or brunch featuring a special prix fixe menu. Reservations available on their website.
555 S, Main St., SLC

Log Haven

Lovebirds rejoice! Log Haven is hosting their annual Three Nights of Passion from Feb. 14 through the 16. The loved-up weekend will feature live music, specialty cocktails, mocktails and a special menu. Valentine’s day is already booked, but there are still openings on Saturday and Sunday. Call 801-272-8255 to book. 
6451 Mill Creek Canyon Rd., SLC, 801-272-8255

Montage Deer Valley 

Steak or sushi—take your pick and visit the stunning Montage hotel in Deer Valley whose Apex Steakhouse and Yama Sushi are both serving delectable Valentine’s Day offerings. 
9100 Marsac Avenue, Park City, UT 84060

Magleby’s in Springville and Siempre 

Magleby’s is hosting two Valentine’s Day buffets this year at their locations in Springville and Draper. Highlights include prime rib and a decadent seafood arrangement.  
Siempre—1283 E. Mike Weir Drive Draper, UT 84020
Springville—198 S Main St. Springville, UT 84663

Mar | Mutanya

The Spanish-style restaurant in the downtown Hyatt Regency Hotel has an outdoor dining experience just in time for Valentine’s Day. Private snow globes on the restaurant’s patio can accommodate up to eight people and offer stunning views of Salt Lake’s cityscape, as well as keep guests warm in the Utah winter.
170 S W Temple St, SLC, 385-433-6700

Pago Group

The Pago Group is offering several Valentine’s Day options in Salt Lake.

Pago on 9th & 9th 

Pago’s 16th annual Valentine’s Day Tasting menu will be available for one day only, with highlights like broiled snow crab, Idaho morels, bison NY Strip steak and old fashioned chocolate cake. Optional wine pairings available. $120 per person. Book a table inside or on their outdoor heated patio here. 
878 S. 900 East, SLC, 801-532-0777

Finca, a Spanish restaurant specializing in tapas, is offering a special Valentine’s Day menu on February 14th only. The coursed meal begins with a choice of plato de queso or olivos, followed a choice of tapas like patatas bravas and ensalada de naranja. Main courses include braised lamb shank and crispy halibut. $85 for food, $40 for wine. 
1513 S. 1500 East, SLC, 801-532-3372

Pendry Park City 

Inside the Pendry, Japanese steakhouse and sushi restaurant KITA is offering an exclusive four-course prix-fixe menu. Double down on the loved-up experience by indulging in a relaxing couple’s massage at Spa Pendry, or some pre dinner cocktails and live music at Apres Pendry. $250 per couple, reservations available here.
2417 W High Mountain Rd, Park City, UT 84098 

Rouser 

Inside Salt Lake’s sexiest new hotel, the Asher Adams, lovers can spend a loved-up evening enjoying a special Valentine’s Dinner. The hotel’s contemporary restaurant Rouser has created a menu with many stars, like the King Crab Caesar, wild mushroom agnolotti and Chilean Sea Bass. Menu available Feb. 14-16th, $180 per couple. 
2 S 400 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84101

Spencer’s Steaks & Chops

Spencer’s offers romance and delicious meals year-round—their newest speakeasy spaced called Rare Room is an ideal setting to spice up date night. The restaurant offers special Valentine’s day cocktails through the end of February, pair one with the millionaire’s bacon and braised ossubucco.  
255 S. West Temple, SLC, 801-238-4748

STK Steahouse

Downtown Salt Lake’s STK is offering a special Valentine’s Day menu from Feb. 10—16. Highlights include 6 oz. wagyu filet, imperial kaluga caviar, chocolate lava marshmallow cake and more. Reservations available here.
111 S 300 W #101, Salt Lake City, UT 84101 

Urban Hill

Urban Hill, an ever-popular dining destination and recent James Beard semi-finalist, is hosting a Valentine’s Day dinner. The Granary District restaurant is offering a four-course tasting menu for $95 per guest and an optional wine pairing for an additional $45 per guest. 
510 S 300 W #100, Salt Lake City, UT 84101

VALENTINE’S DAY ACTIVITIES

What: Love Sucks Burlesque Brunch 
Where: Undercurrent Bar
When: Feb. 16 at 11 a.m. to 4 p.m .
Calling all the singles, Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be a downer! Undercurrent is hosting an exciting brunch with three courses and live burlesque performances. Tickets available here. 

What: Galentines Night Out
Where: Kiln at the Gateway
When: Feb. 13 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. 
Grab your gals and head to the Gateway for an evening of mingling and fun. Featuring mocktails, temporary tattoos, a photobooth, charm bar, craft station and vintage shopping, this event is the ultimate girls night out! 

What: Valentines Tea
Where: The Grand America
When: Feb. 1—Feb. 17 
Toast with your S.O. at The Grand America’s annual love-day high tea. Hosted throughout the month of February, the quintessential high tea features house-made pastries, savory tea sandwiches, heart-shaped treats and more. Seatings from 12 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Adults $50, kids 12 and under $35. 

What: Lots to Love at Gardner Village
Where: Gardner Village
When: Feb. 1—Feb. 28 
Celebrate your loved ones all-February-long at Gardner Village. The West Jordan shopping center is hosting paint nights, horse-drawn carriage rides, escape room adventures, five-course meals and relaxing massages on various dates. Visit their website for the complete schedule. 

What: Cellar Club Valentine’s 
Where: Tracy Aviary, inside the Chase Mill. 
When: Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. 
Hosted by Wine Academy of Utah’s Jim Santangelo and Eat Drink SLC, this month’s Wine Takes Flight series features a multi-course dinner by Chef Heather Joy, live music and three beverages. 

What: Valentine’s Swing Dance Class
Where: DF Dance Studio
When: Feb. 14 at 8 p.m.
This year, skip the roses and chocolates and instead treat your partner to a new experience. Fun and romantic, DF Dance Studios is hosting a “Boost & Heart Swing” class for couple, no experience necessary. 

What: Hearts Ablaze
Where: Millcreek Common
When: Feb. 14 at 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. 
Curate your perfect Valentine’s day with a variety of activities hosted at Millcreek Common. From pizza making class to ice skating and wood burning art, there’s a little something for everyone. The venue will also be hosting a free live performance from Hot House West at 9 p.m., and will have a selection of food vendors on-site. Learn more here.

What: Cupid’s Cabaret
Where: The Pearl on Main
When: Feb. 14 at 8 p.m. 
Prepare to be dazzled at this seated variety show featuring burlesque, drag, aerial and musical performers. Performances by Ms. Meredith and Jenna Tea, Jax Creative, London Skies, Lilia Maughn, Violet Ends and more. Tickets available here. 

What: Cupid’s Clue Quest: A Valentine Adventure for Singles
Where: Residence Inn Salt Lake City Downtown
When: Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. 
Hosted by Cupids Clue Quest, this unique event begins with filling out a compatibility questionnaire by Feb. 7th. After receiving a special delivery by mail containing the first clue, guests will gather at the hotel for an hour of mingling, live music, food and more. By 8 p.m. the games will begin with a puzzle, games and a mysterious scavenger hunt. More information here. 

What: Sips Under the Sea 2024: Kisses and Fishes
Where: Loveland Living Planet Aquarium
When: Feb 14 from 7 p.m to 10 p.m.
Enjoy an elevated aquarium experience with a semi-formal evening of small bites, signature cocktails, live music and romance-themed education stations. 21+ only, tickets available on their website. 

If you and your boo are total foodies, consider visiting one of the restaurants recently named a James Beard semifinalist, find them all here.

Jan 27
Love0

Hot House West Swing Orchestra at Kingsbury

By Music

When Hot House West Swing Orchestra performed at Kingsbury Hall last Thursday (January 23, 2025), one thought hit early and often: this band has done its homework.

And that’s a calming notion, a reassuring one. It makes sense, too, when someone in the band shares that there are at least a handful of horn-playing and upright bass-slapping professors in the band. Or when they share a list of musicians’ names and inspirations from the 1930s that they hold fast to (a little homework for everyone gathered to study later).

Seeing 15-16 talented musicians gather together and look a lot like a photo of an old-time radio program from the 1930s brought to life was enough of a spectacle all by itself. But the songs and arrangements they shared were a rare delight, as they dipped their toes in big band and Gypsy jazz and western swing. Playing together sounded like hours and hours of devoted practice (or, you know, homework).

The show was full of unbounded enthusiasm. Perfectly executed saxophone and drum solos. Violins. Poignantly beautiful solos (Melissa Chillinski’s “Cowpoke” was a long chance to hold breaths, and choose not to fight back happy tears). There was improvisation, syncopation, multiple sets of maracas being shaken, and a lot of blessed variety to accompany their joy.

As the concert neared its tail end, the band invited a university dance group to surround them and show off all their dance moves for a few songs in a row. In a more perfect world, the audience would have been able to join in and move as well. The sounds that The Hot House Swing Orchestra creates come together in an unbounded, energetic way that makes you move, and forces it, even. Good news, though: future performances now on their performing schedule will allow for lots of dancing, which is precisely how it should be.

Photos by Nathan Christianson (IG: @npcplus)


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Jan 27
Love0

Review: Jimpa at Sundance

By Sundance

“A genuine and emotional story of a multi-generational queer family that celebrates the joy and challenges of navigating supporting the current generation growth while honoring the previous generation’s struggles,” reads the official synopsis of Jimpa, a film premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
Jimpa follows Hannah (Olivia Coleman), an Australian filmmaker, who is in the process of casting a film about her father, Jim (John Lithgow), and his life’s journey as a closeted gay man who marries, has two children, comes out, lives with his wife as they navigate an open marriage and supportive co-parenting until she’s 13, when he moves to Amsterdam and lives the rest of his life. Hannah’s focus of the film is to showcase how her parents navigated their complicated situation and showed kindness over conflict. It’s a film “without conflict.” 
At the same time, Hannah and her husband Harry (Daniel Henshall) are traveling to Amsterdam to visit Jim, bringing along their nonbinary child Frances (Aud Mason-Hyde). Frances loves their “Jimpa” (the name he chose for himself when Frances was born because being called “Grandpa” felt too old) and has been struggling to find community and acceptance within their small Australian town and school. Frances, who is only 16, has decided that they want to stay in Amsterdam with Jimpa and spend their last year of high school in a place that offers more adventures, excitement and acceptance. Harry doesn’t want to allow that (Frances is still a minor) and Hannah is hesitant. Jimpa, while being a dazzling force of nature, is someone who takes up all the oxygen in the room and always lets down the people around him. Hannah has been struggling with this since she was a child, though Jim is her hero and struggles to ever say anything less than praise about him. 
Jim has spent his life since coming out as an LGBTQ advocate and activist. He protested, marched and litigated for equality and acceptance. He sat at the bedsides of gay men as they died of AIDS. He has spent his life living as HIV positive. 
Frances is in awe of Jimpa and his group of gay friends. They offer a window into the past and a promise of a future of acceptance, love, and celebration. But as Frances spends time with them, Jimpa begins to mock their gender identity, question their sexuality and go on long rants against anyone who isn’t binary: gay or lesbian. Exhausted by having to constantly justify their existence, Frances turns to Hannah for support, who eschews taking a stand or making a choice. Hannah is nothing if not a complete people pleaser, always sacrificing her comfort and point of view to try and make others feel good and never have to face consequences for their actions. 
Jimpa is a complicated and complex character. He, at once, champions the rights of marginalized groups, gives of himself to everyone around him, and radiates love while also being narrow-minded about others’ experiences that don’t mirror his own, uses people around him for his own emotional needs before moving on or casting them aside, and looks for every opportunity to loudly declare his views and how right they are under the guise of “having a debate.”
In fact, we open the movie with Hannah talking about how Jimpa got his name—choosing a new name because the one society prescribed him didn’t fit—and yet he struggles, “provocatively,” to believe others can do the same when their gender, identity or name at birth don’t fit how they feel.
As the movie goes on and background conflicts simmer and begin to boil, everytime there might be a chance to confront the issues everyone is dealing with, the movie consciously decides to pivot and avoid that confrontation. Hannah is making a movie about a story without conflict, and Jimpa attempts to tell a story that acknowledges the conflict inherent in the story without ever addressing it. The choice to do so is an authorial one and makes for an interesting experience, if somewhat frustrating as it sidesteps emotional catharsis and character change. 
Jimpa is deeply personal and autobiographical. Sophie Hyde, the Director/Co-writer, based the story on her father Jim and his relationship with her and her child, Aud (who plays Frances in the film). The real Jim passed away six years ago, when Aud was just beginning to explore their identity and sexuality. So the conversations between the two, in the film, didn’t happen in real life, but by imagining what they could have been, Sophie found the story: 

Sophie Hyde, director of Jimpa, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Thomas McCammon.
Sophie Hyde, director of Jimpa, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Thomas McCammon.

“My child Aud (they/them) seeks out LGBTQIA+ elders. They look up to my dad even in his death. Just at the end of my dad’s life, my child was finding ways to articulate their own experience of sexuality and gender. They came out as queer, and then nonbinary. They began to seek out others who would understand them in ways that we might try but not always fulfill on, and they started to stand up for and support others who didn’t have families that would be open to do the same.
But what they didn’t get to do, because my dad’s death at 68 made it impossible, was discuss fully with him what it means to be LGBTQIA+, what it means to put yourself on the frontline of an ideology war that is arguing about your very right to be, to self-identify, to take up space. They didn’t get to debate with him the changing language for identity or find out about the AIDS-crisis-years from his personal point of view. They didn’t get to share with him their feelings or hear about his. And so I imagined this conversation that they never had the chance to have.
And that conversation led to this film.”

The movie presents an interesting conversation with itself in context of its autobiographical nature. We’re watching Hannah as she’s presenting a fictionalized version of Sophie’s life and relationship with her father and child. And Hannah is incapable of taking a stand, of voicing an opinion, of pushing back against Jim’s hurtful behavior. I spent the movie wishing she would stand up against her father in defense of her child. And she never does. And yet, knowing this story is being told by someone who experienced some version of these events, it becomes a way in which the director is taking a stand, of voicing an opinion, of pushing back against Jim. 
Olivia Coleman does a masterful job of playing a character who outwardly admits to little emotion besides smiling and trying to keep everyone happy, all while exuding this simmering rage, frustration, desperation, fear, love, and desire that lives just beneath the surface of her skin. John Lithgow perfectly encapsulates Jim—someone who is charming, warm, funny, cocky, condescending, and self-absorbed at the same time. Each person contains multitudes, and our two leads do an incredible job portraying those complex and often contradictory aspects of humanity.

Aud Mason-Hyde brings a quiet serenity to the film, doing an incredible job of showing the apathy and disaffection of Gen Z while giving us a powerful sense of the suppressed emotions they’re feeling. They’re quiet and reserved and keep things close, but have a fierceness in their eyes.

I especially want to call out the character of Harry and Daniel Henshall’s performance. Harry stands as an island in the movie—a character who knows what he wants, voices an opinion, and defends his beliefs. There are several quick, little moments in the film where Jimpa misgenders Frances and Harry, from often across the room or apartment yells out “THEY!” to remind Jimpa who his child is and that his child deserves to be respected and recognized. It’s a small moment that happens a few times, but each time it made me cry and made me wonder what it would be like to have a parent who fiercely understands and defends you. 
Coming in at 130 minutes, Jimpa could use a stronger edit, tightening up the scenes and sharpening the focus between the three leads. It’s frustrating at times and even if it purposefully makes choices that mute the emotionality of the story, it’s still so personally and beautifully crafted, it left me thinking and talking about it for days.

Read more of our ongoing Sundance coverage of the festival and enjoy all of our arts and culture coverage. And while you’re here, subscribe to our print magazine and get six copies a year of Salt Lake magazine.

Jan 25
Love0

Review: DJ Ahmet at Sundance

By Sundance

Georgi Unkovski’s thoroughly entertaining DJ Ahmet brings us a familiar story of country mouse-city mouse teen romance inventively recast in a rural, predominantly Muslim community in North Macedonia. 

Ahmet lives with his father and younger brother, Naim, who make a sparse living from their small herd of sheep and sell tobacco. At the film’s opening, Ahmet’s father withdraws the boy from school so he can help out more at home. It’s another coming down in the world in the wake of his mother’s death, not just a tragedy but a stigma to some in the mostly tradition-bound community. “You should be here with us,” Ahmet’s father tells him, and Ahmet, never one to shirk his duties, submits without argument. Though father and sons appear stoic beneath their shared cloud, each has his separate way of expressing grief. In Naim’s case it’s remaining mute, a decision Ahmet empathizes with, but which the father misunderstands as an illness or a curse, leading him to carry the younger boy off to a healer most days, leaving Ahmet to tend to business.

Through this business, we begin to learn of Ahmet’s way of coping with his mother’s death, as well as his cleverness, generosity, and tech savviness. If Ahmet doesn’t seem to have big ambitions for himself, he is nevertheless a young man in a contemporary world, no corner of which remains untouched by social media. In this remote village, he more than most, it seems, is riding the incoming waves of the future-present and he can be inspired, to a point, by the lives and imaginations of others far away. 

In another early scene, arriving at a neighbor’s home to retrieve Naim—both adorable and an unfailingly precise and genius comic sidekick—Ahmet is introduced to Aya, a young woman who’s just come from Germany for an arranged marriage. Ahmet is stricken, as is Aya, and the illicit romance is on. The love story moves rapidly, the chemistry between Ahmet and Aya, and its endpoint, as obvious to the community as it is to the viewer. There are twists, but they are less the point of the film, it seems, than its broader narrative of expanding freedoms and finding one’s voice through music and dance as well as through everyday intimate dialogue, in finding the courage to speak up for others in a community that, despite the permissiveness it allows around its traditions, remains committed to these and its minor hierarchies when pressed.

In addition to its deft direction and editing, DJ Ahmet triumphs due to its casting. Arif Jakup, a local kid from the village where the film was shot, is reminiscent of Buster Keaton in his timing and comic responses. One pursuit scene actually culminates with him performing a Keatonesque physical gag. But Jakup is hardly stonefaced. The pursuit scene is driven by Ahmet’s real desperation and compassion, emotions that give DJ Ahmet a depth it might not have as a more pure romantic comedy. The soundscape of the film is another win, deftly intertwining strains of folk music with the danceable pop that binds its leads together, and then opportunistically amplifying the latter from a rebellious bleat emerging from low-grade speakers into a thumping and joyous score. 

More than a film about the pleasures and pains of first love, DJ Ahmet is also a fun and loving ode to the bonds of family and community, of understanding and enjoying their comfort and support without allowing them to tie you down—not quite. 

Read more of our ongoing Sundance coverage of the festival and enjoy all of our arts and culture coverage. And while you’re here, subscribe to our print magazine and get six copies a year of Salt Lake magazine.

Jan 24
Love0

Review: LUZ at Sundance

By Sundance

Flora Lau’s labyrinthine second feature LUZ takes place in a near future, or perhaps an alternative present, in which the virtual reality game LUZ attracts players from all over the globe. 

Is it a game? Luz’s participants refer to “playing,” as in, “I’m going over to my friend’s house to play.” As in “playing with friends.” As in being with other people. And there is a certain, limited amount of community in the game world, in such places as a virtual bar where players gather, not to drink the inaccessible liquor, but to show off their weapons and fashion—one might consider the former as accessories to the latter—some of the most notable choices to be made as one constructs an online identity. In Luz, the game, it seems, you can’t help looking like yourself, but you can choose your tools and clothes. You can also choose your world from a menu of alternatives, ranging from the urban to the arboreal. None of these environments are entirely fantastic or enhanced—except that they seem much emptier than reality, cleaner in the sense that no humans, no sentient life at all, populate the landscape, just a handful of other players briefly passing through. There are no obstacles to overcome in Luz, though there are puzzles. No bosses to defeat, though there is, apparently, at least one goal: to locate a translucent deer that wanders all the worlds, leaving behind it a trail of light, a signal that you’ve just missed it. The buck is a mysterious figure of great beauty and grace. Strange then that most players pursue it with weapons in hand as if they aim to kill it. Is it an innate human impulse or a requirement of the game, this form of winning? And what would happen if the buck were caught and turned into a trophy?

In the game world and the other, non-game one we’ll call Reality, LUZ the film, tracks two central pairs: Wei, a dissolute father, seeking to reconnect with his long-estranged daughter Fa, and Ren, a young art gallery employee adrift in disenchantment, and her stepmother Sabine, a gallery-owner living in Paris, suffering from an unknown illness. Like the mystical buck of the game, both Fa and Sabine are elusive prizes, physically and emotionally distant, magnetic, and necessary. Though Wei and Ren’s real lives touch in other ways they don’t suspect (they’re both residents of Chongquing), they meet by chance in a fantasy forest in Luz, the game, an encounter that initiates a more and less tangible partnership in their respective quests. Whatever fulfillment Wei and Ren can hope for, they discover, requires a new tactic, the only one that might win Fa and Sabine’s trust and love, bind the other to them, making both pairs whole. In this sense, LUZ is a film about contemporary isolation, not just in the real, bustling, alienating landscapes of the media-saturated, post-industrial metropolis (represented here by Chongquing and Paris—the latter seeming quaint by comparison), but also in the virtual worlds of social media and the film’s imagined tech environment, which promise community but can’t escape the chilling qualities of allowing participants to fulfill personal fantasies in a communal space without boundaries or responsibility. You join the quest for the buck as the “you” you want to be, but your fellow hunters only ever seem to appear at the edges of your vision, dark, armed apparitions with unknowable intentions. They could as easily be enemies. Or, worse, they may have no interest in you at all. You’re alone. Again. Worse still, you’re divided: your body is in a room somewhere while your eyes and mind are in fantasy, insensitive as much to the pleasures as to the pain of real life.

This is to say that Luz is also a film about spaces, how we inhabit these with others, and the value of presence. What good are the wonders of the real or the virtual if they aren’t shared? Visually, Lau’s film seems not to prefer one over the other, focusing instead on the concept of shared experience, wherever this may occur. The real, lurid night world where Wei works is far more enticing to the eye than the virtual forest or even a real, sunlit beach. And when a character states, “It’s beautiful,” what she seems to be referring to is a smog-obscured downtown, observed across the tracks of a noisy monorail just outside the window. But what’s really beautiful, LUZ wants us to understand, is how humans connect, how emotion, and love for another, is developed and expressed communally in all our unbeautiful worlds. 

LUZ is a hypnotic film of ideas, which is to say its pacing can be slow, and what is said is maybe sometimes overly obvious, and what is unsaid might be better presented in subtle dialogue by its entirely capable performers, including Isabelle Huppert, as Sabine.

Some of the film’s most challenging moments for the performers, one assumes, as much as for the viewer, are those when we watch Ren or Wei, eyes hidden behind their VR glasses, seeing a world we don’t. It’s one thing to perform what you, the actor, is seeing. But for us out here in the dark, how should one also perform that kind of absence, obscurity, and isolation while still providing the emotional content we expect? Maybe the image itself is the answer—a body insensitive to its immediate environment, dead to the (real) world, is loaded with a crushing pathos. 

Read more of our ongoing Sundance coverage of the festival and enjoy all of our arts and culture coverage. And while you’re here, subscribe to our print magazine and get six copies a year of Salt Lake magazine.

Jan 24
Love0

Thee Sacred Souls at the Union

By Music

California’s Thee Sacred Souls boldly answers the question, “What if our lead vocalist was a dead ringer for Bob Marley but sang as beautifully as Marvin Gaye?”

When the band visited Salt Lake City’s Union Events Center on Wednesday evening (Jan. 22, 2025) to perform as many gorgeous songs as possible in a short hour and a half, they brought a whole vibe. And that’s vague enough to mean a lot of things. Yes, there were very tall bongo drums being pounded on. There were a couple of easy-to-smile-at backup singer types whose arms danced perfectly in sync. Occasional sax and trombone and trumpet? Yes, yes, and yes. The vibe was all of that, but a lot more, too.

The vibe also came with faded flowing blue jeans and dimmed lights. It sounded like an old slightly staticky late-night radio or a lightly scratched soul record. It had falsettos that made girls scream (and always right on cue). It felt like a lot of love, and some couples acted on that, exploring the ample open floor spaces by dancing together. It felt like kindness and courage, too, as singer Josh Lane often took it upon himself to leave the stage and join the thrilled masses, clambering over barricades, everyone singing and swaying and pointing their phones towards him together. Why sing “Lucid Girl” from afar if you don’t have to, anyway?

As far as moments to remember go, the kind that comes in the magic of an encore, the one you are grateful you didn’t miss by sticking around to the tail end, “Can I Call You Rose?” was a perfectly orchestrated cherry on top of all else. Everyone agreed as they helped the band sing it. They understood. This was nobody’s first rodeo. Go, team!

When the Daptone label sadly lost Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley the following year (RIP to both late greats), it was like a ship losing both anchors. Both were quickly familiar voices in that world and likely its two most bankable rising stars. Their large shoes were left behind several years ago to be filled, but they fit Thee Sacred Souls pretty perfectly. The band’s only two albums into their brief journey (and one is as deeply likable as the next), but Wednesday’s display solidifies this now-formed truth: the people don’t just like all Thee Sacred Souls are doing; they’re hungry for it. They can’t get enough. And that’s part of that overall vibe, too.

Photos by: Nathan Christianson (IG: @npcplus)


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Jan 23
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Utah Chefs and Restaurants with 2025 James Beard Nods

By Eat & Drink

This week, the semi-finalist list for the 2025 James Beard Foundation (JBF) Awards was announced, and Utah once again made an impressive showing with eight distinguished semi-finalists. As the JBF describes it, “2025 marks an incredible milestone: the 35th anniversary of the James Beard Awards®. Considered to be among the nation’s most prestigious honors, the James Beard Awards® recognize exceptional talent in the culinary and food media industries, as well as a demonstrated commitment to equity, sustainability, and creating a culture where all can thrive.”

In exciting news, and in honor of the Awards’ milestone anniversary and in acknowledgment of the constantly evolving independent restaurant scene, the 2025 Restaurant and Chef Awards have expanded to spotlight the world of beverages. This year, three new categories debut: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service, further recognizing excellence in the industry’s dynamic and ever-growing drink culture. 

Utah received some solid recognition this year in terms of semi-finalists. While Utah has been oft overlooked in the general categories compared to the major metropolitan areas on the coasts, this year, there are four semi-finalists from our state in the general categories and four in the Mountain region.

Here’s a tip of the glass, a big congratulations to our Utah locals, and a nod to the other talented chefs in our region. 

James Beard Award Outstanding Restaurateur

Lavanya Mahate, Saffron Valley Restaurants, Salt Lake City, UT

Lavanya Mahate, Saffron Valley Restaurants. Photo by Adam Finkle.

Outstanding Restauranteur in the James Beard culinary world is like being nominated for best director at the Oscars. And Lavanya has been directing a delicious show at Saffron Valley, starting with her original Avenues location and expanding to the U of U, South Jordan, Sugar House, and Riverton over time. She has always been one to mentor others, give back to the community, and expand her horizons as a restaurateur. Saffron Valley even makes one of our favorite food crushes: Dosas. 

Visit: saffronvalley.com

James Beard Award Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker

Adalberto Diaz, Fillings and Emulsions, Salt Lake City, UT

Adalberto Diaz has been feeding our collective craving for sweets for years. “Chef Al” is self-described as a tenacious tornado. Fillings and Emulsions is a Willy Wonka-esque dreamscape (if Willy Wonka made macrons) disguised as a Cuban Pastelería. With perfectly laminated dough, brightly colored pastries, and even a few savory Cubano sandwiches thrown in, we are delighted to see the team here get one more culinary feather in their hat. Read all about Cuban Coffee Culture at Fillings and Emulsions. 

Visit: fillingsandemulsions.com

James Beard Award Outstanding Hospitality

Manoli’s, Salt Lake City, UT

Manoli and Katrina Katzanevas, Manoli’s. Photo by Adam Finkle.

At his namesake restaurant, Chef Manoli weaves in and out of the kitchen, the bar, and the dining room with a calm presence that is opposite of blustery TV chefs. In the most basic sense of the word hospitable, warmth and genuine hospitality are effused into everything, “friendly and welcoming to strangers or guests, and a pleasant or favorable environment for living in.” If given the opportunity, we’d all go live at Manoli’s. Manoli’s was also the 2024 Best Restaurant in the Salt Lake Magazine Dining Awards.

Visit: manolison9th.com

James Beard Award Outstanding Bar

Water Witch, Salt Lake City, UT

Waterwitch owners Sean Neves and Scott Gardner, Pictured with Bar Nohm’s Clifton Reagle and Chef David Chon. Photo by Adam Finkle.

The witchy boys are at it again. Water Witch is a SL Mag watering hole of choice. We love their quirky, small, warm, and welcoming niche bar. It is intimate without feeling too swanky, with great cocktails that don’t feel pretentious. You can tell the bartender, “I’m feeling like something gin-y and booze-forward with a splash of the tropics,” and you will get a fantastic beverage out of it. Get one of their cocktail recipes here! 

Visit: waterwitchbar.com

James Beard Award Best Chef: Mountain From Utah

Mike Blocher and Nick Fahs, Table X, Salt Lake City, UT

Nick Fahs and Mike Blocher, Table X.

Table X Bread was a semi-finalist last year in the bakery category. We were so excited to see the restaurant itself land on the list this year. As one of the most innovative restaurants in Salt Lake City, dining at the X is a whole sensory experience. From the beautiful interior design, stunning pottery, and food that is palate-pushing and unique, this is the perfect place for experiential diners. They were our 2023 Best Restaurant for the dining awards. And make food crushable bread for both the restaurant and the public. 

Visit: tablexrestaurant.com

Andrew Fuller, Oquirrh, Salt Lake City, UT

Angie and Andrew Fuller, Oquirrh. Photo by Adam Finkle.

Chef Andrew Fuller in the back of house and Angie Fuller in the front of house are the dynamic duo behind Oquirrh in Salt Lake. The small dining space exudes warmth and neighborliness with a menu that ebbs and flows with the seasons to include local ingredients and Andrew’s current food obsessions. It is a must-stop for the culinary aficionados. They were also our 2023 Outstanding Restaurant of the Year for our dining awards.

Visit: oquirrhslc.com

Matthew Harris, Tupelo Park City, Park City, UT

Maggie and Matthew Harris, Tupelo. Photo by Adam Finkle.

Matthew Harris at Tupelo is all about the proteins. The menu features elk, pork cheek, and rabbit in bold preparations. His shrimp and grits are some of the best we’ve ever had. Period. The menu is sophisticated, and somehow, it still feels homegrown. Check out their 2024 Cocktail Contest submission. 

Visit: tupeloparkcity.com: 

Nick Zocco, Urban Hill, Salt Lake City, UT

Brooks Kirschheimer and Nick Zocco, Urban Hill. Photo by Adam Finkle.

Urban Hill landed on everyone’s radar in late 2022 when it opened. From there, the accolades for the restaurant and forNick Zocco have piled up, including a nod as a James Beard finalist in 2024. We are so excited to see Nick back in the line-up. Read about our very first visit to Urban Hill. 

Visit: urban-hill.com

Best Chef: Mountain From (CO, ID, MT, WY) 

Joshua Adams, Campione, Livingston, MT

Salvador Alamilla, Amano, Caldwell, ID

Benjamin Barlow, Stanley Supper Club, Stanley, ID

Erasmo Casiano and Diego Coconati, Lucina Eatery & Bar, Denver, CO

Rémi Courcenet and Nathan Whitley, Terroir, Boise, ID

Brandon Cunningham, The Social Haus, Greenough, MT

Cal Elliott, The Avery, Boise, ID

Linda Huang, Hummingbird’s Kitchen, Bozeman, MT

Porter Koury and Jacob Scott, Sitti’s Table, Cody, WY

Bo Porytko, Molotov Kitschen + Cocktails, Denver, CO

Paul C. Reilly, Coperta, Denver, CO

Hosea Rosenberg, Blackbelly, Boulder, CO

Nick Steen Gullings, Walkers Grill, Billings, MT

Kenneth Wan, MAKfam, Denver, CO

David Wells, The Tasting Room at Chico Hot Springs Resort & Day Spa, Pray, MT

Penelope Wong, Yuan Wonton, Denver, CO

Check out the 2024 James Beard Award Semi-finalists from Utah.  

Jan 23
Love0

Food Crush: Filet and Marrow Tartare at Felt

By Eat & Drink

Welcome to my latest food crush, where I highlight local dishes that stand out because they’re one-of-a-kind, the best execution of a classic, delightfully retro comfort food or simply so delicious they’re impossible to forget. Much like a real crush, these plates live rent-free in my head.

I love proteins in the raw, from sushi to carpaccio and tartare. With minimal ingredients and a beautiful presentation, I love getting to the actual (ahem) bare-bones flavors that come with a simple raw dish. But bare-bones differs from what you’ll find in my latest food crush. Felt Bar and Eatery’s filet and marrow tartare is served on the bone. And it is anything but simple and exceptionally crush-worthy. 

Felt is the hot new urban bar that arrived on Main Street in Salt Lake City last year. Appropriately named after the building where it resides in the Felt Building, the interior wraps you in black ceilings, warm wood, leather, and concrete. With Utah culinary veterans Richard Romney, formerly of Takashi and Post Office Place, and Travis Herbert, the former corporate chef for Fleming’s, this gem of a watering hole has quickly become a must-visit. 

The biggest reason to visit Felt again and again is for their unique take on the classic steak tartare. Most tartare dishes are made with top round or sirloin and are ground or chopped fine. Instead, at Felt, they use the filet, the tenderest part of the tenderloin, and do a rough chop.

Roasted bone marrow is mixed in as the binder rather than the usual raw egg yolk. It makes for a rich flavor and a smooth mouthfeel. The bone marrow dresses up the filet with a butter-like beefy essence that catapults the dish into an entirely new territory. 

Lest the dish become too hefty, Chef Herbert mixes in a house-made beer mustard as a tangy counterpoint. Fried capers add some brine and a much-appreciated crunch. Finally, toast points with charred grill marks are the delivery method to get meat to mouth. 

The table pairing for the bone marrow tartare is the fresh torched sablefish. The smokiness from the ever-so-slight char stands up to the bold flavors in the beef. Think of sablefish as the salmon of whitefish—luxuriously fatty and oh-so-delicious. The four generous slices at Felt Eatery and Bar were expertly kissed by a blowtorch, a common technique at sushi bars. What was uncommon at Felt Eatery and Bar was the yuzu ponzu, mango miso dotting the plate, and the cucumber wasabi sauce. I generally avoid wasabi when eating sablefish—it can overpower the delicate sweetness of the fish itself. The perfect foil to the heat of the wasabi is the blended-in cucumber to make a sauce rather than an aggressive dab of green.

If You Go

Felt Bar and Eatery
341 S. Main Street
feltslc.com

Jan 23
Love0

Review: Collective Soul at The Union

By Music

When nobody was looking, Collective Soul’s Ed Roland casually slipped into the Big Lebowski portion of his long career and it’s a beautiful thing to witness.

When the band came back for another round of all it does best in Salt Lake City at The Union Events Center on Monday (January 20, 2025), their lead singer did so while wearing a white suit that looked comfortable enough to double as pajamas. (There were no slippers to complete the ensemble, but they were checked for.) Having grown an impressively white beard to go with now long, primarily gray hair, he felt more familiar than he ever has, and I discovered why: Ed honest-to-god both looked and sounded not unlike my own uncle, the one whose voice sounds like he replaced meals with gravel decades ago.

All of that’s to say that he’s more comfortable than ever. He’s still doing every part as engagingly as the rest of the band can. While he may be less of an energetic showman than when he was 20+ years ago, he’s earned every right to switch gears in his approach this far into things. The band can offer a massive hit like “Shine,” a song with the power to unite a crowd, then drop a couple of songs that’ll be released later in 2025 (part of an already-recorded double album). If he wants to pause all else to talk about how those tunes were birthed inside Elvis Presley’s house, that’s his prerogative. So is doing covers of favorites from bands like AC/DC and Aerosmith, just because. Making the performance feel as warm and fun as the early ’90s hits like “The World I Know” and “Where the River Flows” still sound is another glorious part of Ed embodying the relaxed grandeur of becoming The Dude.

Maybe that’s somehow part of what keeps the band fresh. Collective Soul is this living thing with a still beating heart at its center, so change can and does often happen. If they want to throw a guitar solo in where there was never one before, it happens. Paring down a tune to guitar and vocals and getting real quiet? Sure, why not? But they’re having too much fun to be labeled a paint-by-numbers nostalgia act.

Then again, that could all be my, like, opinion, man.
Photos by Kevin Rolfe of @utahconcertreview


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Jan 22
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8 Salt Lake City Restaurants that Closed in 2024

By Eat & Drink

With thin margins, rising costs, staffing challenges and construction woes, the challenges for some local restaurants proved insurmountable in 2024. Here are a few (of many) Salt Lake City restaurants that we are still mourning.

SLC Eatery—Closed Sept. 2024

One of the most innovative restaurants in town, Chef Logen Crew led a creative team with beautiful service and plating like a piece of modern art, local ingredients and a distinct flair. With true class, they stayed open for an extra 30 days to give their staff a chance to find new jobs. They hope to continue with private parties, supper clubs and pop-ups.

Salt Lake City Restaurants
The Local. Photo by Dan Campbell.

The Local—Closed Sept. 2024

As a food hall, The Local struggled to gain traction, with many of the local vendors leaving and receiving backfill from brand-owned venues. They hope to re-open as an event venue down the road. 

Taco Taco—Closed Summer 2024

Downtown Salt Lake City’s first L.A.-style taco counter, Taco Taco was serving squash blossom tacos with a full salsa bar amidst Mexican luchador masks starting in 2014. The original owner sold the restaurant in early 2024, and the concept quietly closed down soon after.

Stanza—Closed Oct. 2024

I lived next door to Stanza from the day they opened in 2016. Their house-made pasta was revelatory, and their affogato with house-made gelato was worth the trip alone.

Beehive Distilling Bar—Closed March 2024

While the distillery remains open, the lovely bar is sadly closed to the public. We are still mourning this beautiful watering hole/meeting spot.

Tradition—Closed Spring 2024

Salt Lake City Restaurants
Tradition’s former dining room near Liberty Park.

Known for its pies, Southern-leaning fare and herbal cocktails, Tradition transformed a former eyesore garage into a vibrant neighborhood dining spot across the street from Liberty Park. They shuttered their doors suddenly and without notice, even to their employees—a tasteless ending to a formerly delicious spot. 

Good Grammar—Closed June 2024

One of our gems of a downtown cocktail bar, was always on the cutting edge of pushing the cocktail envelope during its eight years in business. The space closed and flipped quickly, and we are excited to see what’s new.

Pig & A Jelly Jar—Closed Aug. 2024

After closing their Holladay location in 2023, the Ogden and Salt Lake City locations closed a year later. They made us all love chicken and waffles, with Frank’s Red Hot Sauce and real maple syrup on top.

To combat the bad news, we wanted to take a moment and share the stories of several local restaurants that have adapted, moved, transformed or doubled down on staying
the same to stay in business. Find three restaurants that thrive through grit and great food, here.