Best Local Food in Salt Lake City
Red Iguana - A dive restaurant with valet parking?
Recognize the guy with the spiky hair and sunglasses? He’s kind of a big deal. This is arguably the most popular, top-rated restaurant in Salt Lake City. The Red Iguana was started over 40 years ago and has a very long list of awards from many sources, including the ultra-famous Food Network cable television show hosted by Guy Fieri, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.
Located one mile west of Temple Square, the center of Salt Lake City, in a somewhat undesirable and lower-income part of town, Red Iguana is a dive restaurant that offers valet parking! It’s just that popular, and has been for decades. Probably 95% of the people who try their food love it, and the other 5% are from Texas. Put this at the top of your list of where to eat in Salt Lake City, it is absolutely a local favorite and over the years it’s perhaps the most iconic restaurant in Salt Lake City.
Be forewarned, wait times can be long on weekend nights. Their tagline is “Killer Mexican Food That’s Worth the Wait!” Certainly the founders didn’t speak with a marketing consultant when they decided to use the word “killer” to brand their Mexican food…at a dive restaurant…in a questionable part of town. Red Iguana has been so successful that a second location was built just two blocks from the original, it’s known as Red Iguana 2. The food is identical while the building is much more spacious. Technically there is a third location in the food court at City Creek Mall, but skip that one—it doesn’t live up to the namesake. Trust us and just make the 1-mile trip to the west side, the wrong side of the tracks (it’s really not too bad), and it just may be your favorite meal in Utah.
Crown Burgers - Greeks, Burgers, Medieval Castles?
A charbroiled beef patty with cheese and lettuce, piled high with hot juicy pastrami, the best-seller Crown Burger sandwich is named after the restaurant itself…and Adam Richman, host of the popular Travel Channel show Man V. Food, loved it so much that he had the DOUBLE version on his show…one stacked on top of another. Just one is plenty, Adam! Crown Burgers was started in 1978 by a Greek family and now has several locations throughout northern Utah each owned by a sibling or relative of the original founder. The popularity of this pastrami burger was so legendary that it actually spawned many imitators such as Apollo Burger, Atlantis Burger, Astro Burger, Olympus Burger (are you seeing the Greek trend?).
Another must-try is a local favorite condiment called Fry Sauce. We claim to have invented it here in the 1940’s by mixing together two main ingredients, ketchup and mayo, to create a dipping sauce for french fries (we also put it on hamburgers, hot dogs, etc.). For many decades, nobody outside of Utah had ever heard of Fry Sauce but now it’s starting to spread beyond Utah. And visitors are telling us that it’s delicious, but basically just Thousand Island dressing. In any case, make sure to try the Fry Sauce if you pick up a Crown Burger. There’s a location downtown just two blocks from Temple Square and it’s decorated like a Medieval Castle, which adds to the fun.
Ruth’s Diner - Breakfast in one of the Oldest Restaurants in Utah
Featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives in 2008, this restaurant originally began in 1930 as Ruth’s Hamburgers until their landlord informed them the building they were located in would be demolished in 1946. That’s when the spirited founder Ruth Evans (described as “a spirited woman whose language could make a gangster blush!) got creative and took an old trolley streetcar and converted it into a diner (and an apartment for her and her Chihuahua dogs!). Originally sitting on the undesirable west side of town, she decided to move it up beautiful Emigration Canyon above Salt Lake City. Today Ruth’s Diner remains one of the most famous restaurants in Salt Lake City, though it is a little bit of a drive from the downtown hotels. Plan on at least 15 minutes for the 7 mile drive due to traffic lights.
The most famous item has to be the Mile-High Biscuits, which can be eaten as a side or ordered in an entree such as the Biscuits and Gravy. Breakfast is actually such a popular meal at Ruth’s that it’s served until 4:00 PM! Other long-time favorites include the Baked Mac and Cheese and Ruth’s Meatloaf, which also has an Early-Bird Special from 4:00-5:00 PM. Seating inside the renovated trolley car is fun or an outdoor patio gives a special experience surrounded by the mountain atmosphere.
Maxwell’s East Coast Eatery - New York-style pizza in a New York-style historic building
Located in the historic Boston Building at 9 Exchange Place in Salt Lake City, Maxwell’s is a very well-known local restaurant to grab a slice of New York style pizza, with many fun speciality pizzas to choose from. The 114-year old building’s architecture is straight out of New York City because it was in fact built by the same person who helped create New York City's first steel-frame skyscraper, the very famous Flatiron Building. This Boston Building and its twin sister the Newhouse Building were actually Utah’s first skyscrapers!
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives featured Maxwell’s East Coast Eatery during Season 19. The Chicken Parmigiano is one of Maxwell’s bestsellers and Guy Fieri loved the 10-ounce meatball you can add to any pasta.
