SALT LAKE CITY — We’ve only got a few weeks of summer left — the last day is Sept. 23 — so to honor the fleeting season, here’s a look at some of the new restaurants that opened in Salt Lake City over the summer.
Benji’s Bar-B-Que Shack
If you want fresh barbecue at midnight, look no further. Benji’s Bar-B-Que Shack, which opened in early May, is open 24 hours a day. Yes, you read that right. This place is literally always open.
The new restaurant specializes in Georgia-style meats, as well as sides such as collard greens and sweet cornbread. They’ll even give you a free drink and white bread with every meat order. The shack also includes a separate soul food menu — called Ella Lee’s Soul Food Kitchen — that has all kinds of soul food delights (hush puppies, fried catfish and so much more). Oh, and there’s also a butcher shop.
Address: 3245 S. State
Blue Copper 2000
The Marmalade neighborhood’s reclamation continues at Blue Copper 2000, a new coffee shop by local specialty coffee company Blue Copper Roasters. Blue Copper 2000 is the company’s second coffee shop in Salt Lake — the other being the stylish Blue Copper Coffee Room off 900 South. The menu at their Marmalade location includes coffee, handmade pastries and seasonal drinks.
Address: 401 N. 300 West
Ginger Street
One of downtown’s more buzzed-about openings this summer, Ginger Street specializes in Southeast Asian street food. Think steamed pork buns, crispy duck rolls and various curries. The decor and overall vibe is stylishly hectic, with a disco ball, lots of lanterns and 1980s pop culture memorabilia galore. Bring your energy to Ginger Street because these restaurant owners surely are.
Address: 324 S. State, Suite 150
Maize Tacos
Downtown’s Regent Street, nestled just behind the Eccles Theater, is quickly becoming a culinary hot spot. Among the side street’s new eateries is Maize Tacos. They make more than just tacos, but you’ll want to go for the delicious handmade corn tortillas, which are thicker and fluffier than what you’d find at a taco truck.
Address: 135 S. Regent St., Suite G
Normal Ice Cream
Salt Lake’s most popular soft-serve joint now has a brick-and-mortar location. Normal still operates its food truck inside Trolley Square, but its commissary off 900 South and 200 East now doubles as a storefront. The new location offers different ice cream options than the Trolley Square locale — so hey, feel free to double up. “I want to make them different enough that you could essentially go to both places in one day,” Normal founder Alexa Norlin told the Deseret News in February. “I’m not trying to compete with myself.”
Address: 169 E. 900 South
Rockwell Ice Cream
Normal Ice Cream might have some new competition. Provo’s best ice cream spot, Rockwell, just opened a new place in Sugar House. Instead of soft serve, Rockwell offers that more traditional ice cream texture, with all-natural ingredients (never artificial) and a wide variety of creative flavors that also taste classic. This place is really, really good. Our Rockwell favorites are Honey Comb, Biscoff and Muddy Buddy.
Address: 2121 McClelland St.
Honorable mention: Shake Shack
This place isn’t in Salt Lake, but it’s still worth mentioning. The popular fast food chain has finally arrived in Utah — in Sandy, specifically — and we think it lives up to the hype. Shake Shack’s signature sandwich, the ShackBurger, recently won our Salt Lake burger competition, where it was pitted against eight other similar-styled local burgers. This place is the real deal. Don’t fight it.
Address: 11020 S. State, Sandy
