Printable View
Sounds like I'm probably going to be attending SPI in Salt Lake City, 9-23 to 9-26. It's at the request of one of my vendors, and he agreed to my requests, (blocking out some "lost" time for me, so I can get away and do some "me" things).
Never been there, so some native help would be great.
Do's?
Dont's?
What to expect for weather, etc?
Don't drink and drive. Utah BAC as of this year is 0.05%. We've already had cases of DYIs after one beer based on that. SLC itself is well covered by Uber and Lyft.
Late September is usually the best time of the year in Utah. Warm but not hot, beautiful colors. This year has been weird and it is very hot around here. Hopefully the temps will come down.
Crime rates are quite low, be alert as usual but it is a less stressful city than others of its size. West Valley is the area of higher crime rates.
There is not much to see from the urban sightseeing standpoint but there is a bunch of restaurants (what cuisine do you like?), cultural venues, and events in the city and around. Some of the ski resorts are likely running the Oktoberfest, Snowbird, I think. All depends on what you like. This week we had Elton John in the town, sold out the Jazz playing arena. Somebody or something is coming to the city all the time. It is generally not that difficult to find a nice hike around these places.
Gun shops are not that impressive. Gallenson's is in downtown SLC, reasonable. Get Some Guns down south has a rental range. Sept 26th is a first day of USPSA Hi-Cap Nationals in St. George, 4.5 hours drive south, and that's where I and number of pf-ers will be. The Limited division will be very interesting this year.
@YVK, thanks. With Uber and Lyft, I won't even bother with a rental. I guess I would like to see the Tabernacle, and as far as food goes, is there anything the area is famous for?
The Tabernacle is in the very center, and LDS Church provides free tours of the Temple Square daily. The Choir performs every Sunday, free admissions of course.
Food:
- Red Iguana, which now how has two locations, slightly a bit away from the center but not too far, is famous for excellent Mexican that's not expensive. There is always 20-40 min wait.
- Takashi is my favorite sushi place and is excellent too. Ichiban is not a bad sushi place too.
- Current is my favorite fish and cocktail place, but it is not only the fish place. Around the corner is Undercurrent, their standalone bar. Few steps from it along 300 East is Gourmandaise, a decent lunch spot that has a French dude who bakes incredible cakes and pastries. Few steps from it along 300 South / Broadway there is an SLC Broadway movie theater, an independent place that plays artsy and low volume films. We go there regularly.
- Bambara is an excellent all around restaurant, and Osteria is a fantastic Italian place run by Valter Nassi, a Toscanian chef. These two are expensive fine-dining joints, usually need reservations, but worth it. When you go to Osteria, you can order from the menu or you can just tell them to feed your a dinner. I do the latter.
I see Osteria on my list already. Corporate CC is gonna take hit this trip.
ETA: Just looked at the menu, oh yeah!!
Come very hungry if you're going to do it Valter's way. By the time they are done feeding you antipasto and pasta you're almost finished, but they are just warming up.