Omakase at Naked Fish Japanese Bistro, Salt Lake City Utah

There are some people who view food as fuel, as a time you stop to renourish the body three times a day.  And then there are the kind of people who wake up thinking about what they are going to have for dinner, and all the meals in between they will partake in to hold them off until this magical hour of the day called dinner.  If you've been reading this blog enough, you probably know I lean heavily on the latter.  When I heard about the Omakase at Naked Fish, my dinner driven brain was beyond excited to experience this event first hand.  And I can't think of a better way to celebrate a special event than 9 amazing courses, several which are revolved around my true love, seafood. 

Red Butte Garden - Salt Lake City, Utah

  I hope you are all having a fantastic week.  It is quite warm here, 90s all week getting a little hotter each day until we reach 100 on Sunday.  Hot, 0% chance of rain....Perfect beach days, well you see, without the beach.  Well, there is no beach so lets talk about a garden.

A few weekends ago I went back to visit the gorgeous Red Butte Gardens.  Being a U of U student, I get free entry into the garden, so I love to stroll through the garden during the different seasons and enjoy the flowers.  

You can read and see the pictures from my September 2014 visit.  

Red Butte Garden

300 Wakara Way

Salt Lake City, UT 84108

May 1-Aug 31: 9 am-9 pm*

Entrance Fee: 

Members: Free

Adults (ages 18-64): $10

Seniors (ages 65+): $8

Military w/ID: $8

Children (ages 3-17): $6

Children (under 3): Free

U of U Faculty/Staff: $8

U of U Students: Free with valid ID

Garden Stroll SLC

Downtown Garden Stroll

"Five artist-designed temporary public parks have "popped-up" on Main Street from South Temple to 200 South. The Downtown Garden Stroll opened Saturday, April 4 with the unveiling of the pocket parks. This month long event will feature diverse floral arrangements, each with a unique experience, to welcome the spring months to downtown.

From Temple Square to 200 South, planters, storefronts and mini-parks burst with the colors of spring. The goal of the Downtown Garden Stroll is to build upon one of the premier urban gardens in the west, at Temple Square." (DowntownSLC)

The Rose Establishment, Salt Lake City, Utah

The Rose Establishment is really a darling place.  That is the best word I can find to describe it, darling.   It is in a beautiful brick building right next door to Pallet, downtown Salt Lake City (an amazing restaurant high on my list of MUST GO TO's).  

1918 meat packing plant to adorable coffee shop.  It works.  

We often pass this quaint coffee shop on our way to the Farmer's Market or coming back from the mall there.  While it is sort of on the edge of downtown, the edge closest to the homeless shelter and some interesting areas, it is well worth the walk on the "wild side".   

(http://theroseestb.com/

They have a great website which makes me happy.  Love it when companies welcome the 21st century and hop on the social media and online bandwagon (restaurants that don't have your menu online... get your shit together).   There are several veryyy cool things about this place.  First off, the space.  It is trendy, and quaint, and just about everything you want in a downtown local coffee shop.  I really love the art, all the light, and the paper cranes in the skylight window. 

 Their pastries, and basically all of their food looks absolutely divine and some of it is placed in the glass casing to make you drool while you order your coffee.  We usually cave and order a scone.  But the best part?

Coffee.  On.  Nitro.  

Creamy cold coffee on Nitro tap is my favorite.  It sounds bizarre but I promise you it is oh so good.  And how fun is it to try something as different as coffee on tap? If you are in Salt Lake City, avoid the 35 Starbucks and GO LOCAL.  Amazing pastries, yummy food, and high end coffee in a picturesque setting.  Make your way over to The Rose Establishment. 

 You will be glad I sent you .  

Check out the menu here!

Meditrina Salt Lake City, Utah: Small Plates and Wine Bar

 First off, let me admit.  I have never been a fan of "small plates".  Why? I don't know, I guess I just really love BIG plates.  I love having a yummy honkin plate of food in front of me to devour (Remember- this is why I run- mostly why).

I will say though, small plates are starting to grow on me.  I first gave them a shot here in Salt Lake City at Eva's downtown and was impressed.  The small plates were unique and fun to share.  My sister Ashley gave me a Living Social deal to a place called Meditrina, a Mediterranean restaurant about 5 minutes away that serves Small Plates and Wine.  With my busy life and love of cooking, I waited until  the day before it expired to use it, only to find out that Tuesday, the day I tried was the one exception due to "Endless Tapa" specials that day.

Okay, so we went back Wednesday instead and oh I will definitely be back for endless tapas.

Really delicious, but a little overpriced at $15 for that small amount of cheese and a few slices of bread. 

Heaven-  That sauce those onions those potatoes.... heaven.

Sorry for the fuzzy picture but blueberry and perfectly cooked charred octopus together.... my favorite dish of the night! 

All the food was absolutely delicious.  We were really excited to find out about "Endless Tapas Tuesday".  For 25$ you get endless tapas (with an extra charge only on the duck and octopus - which was my favorite!).  By all that yummy goodness for 25$ sounds like a steal I need to be a part of! Don't forget to look for their Living Social deal too, good for every night BUT Tuesday.  This would be a really great place to come with friends, especially on a Tuesday.  

Spring in the (Salt Lake) City

I am finally getting caught up with my Salt Lake City Trip.
I figured instead of stupid captions, I would just share all the beautiful pictures I took on a sunny April Monday in Salt Lake City.  

Temple Square full of brides taking wedding pictures, Memory Grove park with lots of runners and dogs, and a quick trip up to the Capital.  

Enjoy the beautiful pictures and soon 

the blog goes back to running and all things Marathon
:)