After Utah's thrilling wins in the newest MICHELIN travel guide region, we’re holding out hope that another Utah restaurant will take home a star in the future.
Hell’s Backbone Grill is a perfect example of the MICHELIN criteria — innovative, consistent, sustainable, and well worth the trip.
If you know me IRL or have gathered anything from reading this newsletter, I’m an indoor cat. So I’m not making many trips to Southern Utah for hikes or camping. That said, I WOULD make a trip just for Hell’s Backbone and the connected Boulder Mountain Lodge.
The Boulder, Utah, restaurant is a longtime destination for farm-to-table dining, with offerings made from ingredients grown at its own organic farm or from local suppliers. The menu changes with the seasons, so you'll have a new experience with each trip.
The restaurant has been serving diners in the heart of southern Utah since 2000, when chefs Jen Castle and Blake Spalding decided to build a restaurant around their shared commitment to food, community, and sustainability.
Over the years, it has become part of Boulder’s community fabric and an advocate for the landscapes surrounding it. The restaurant’s commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship is woven into its operations, and Castle and Spalding became vocal advocates for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Their work has earned national attention, including multiple James Beard Award nominations.
In 2025, after 25 years of renting the property, Castle, Spalding, and longtime team members purchased the Boulder Mountain Lodge and restaurant, giving this beloved Utah institution a new chapter.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
What I’m ordering: Black powder biscuits (and buying mixes to give as gifts), Three Sisters posole, butter dipped farm radishes, trout ‘n herbs, summer buttermilk pie.
