Today’s neighborhood guide is brought to you by Deseret News features writer Meg Walter.
My family and I live right on the edge of Sandy and Draper. I love my neighborhood for two primary reasons: The food and the access to the mountains.
The Food
Be not dismayed by the chain franchise corridor of 123rd South. Instead, ask yourself, “What Would Lisa Barlow Do?” The answer is she would visit four different fast food drive-thrus to accommodate the tastes of all four members of her family, and a special treat for Baby Gorgeous. But if you’re not on a strict Taco Bell/Del Taco/KFC diet, there are plenty of hidden culinary gems.
🥯 Try Rich’s Bagels for breakfast. I’m partial to the salt bagel toasted with plain cream cheese, but the egg sandwiches are impossibly tall and beloved by many, including the senior men who congregate at Rich’s early every morning.
🍟 Grab a bougie lunch at Cultivate Craft Kitchen. Try the “english chips” (a blessed union of fries and tater tots) and the chicken lollipops with whipped blue cheese.
🍜 Then have dinner at Makanmakan, an Asian fusion restaurant that serves primarily street fare. The Singapore street noodles are transcendent. You will absolutely need a reservation on the weekends, and sometimes the restaurant is mysteriously closed. That’s just the way it is.
The Mountains
Everytime I drive east to head home, I turn a corner and *Extreme Emeril Lagasse voice* Bam! I’m pummeled with an unbelievable view of our mountainscape, our proximity to which provides an abundance of recreational opportunities for the seasoned mountaineer and the slow stroller alike.
🍂 Hiking the Bear Canyon Bridge is an ideal way to spend an afternoon, especially in October during the height of leaf-changing season. If you are hiking without children, the endeavor will probably take an hour round trip from the trailhead. If you are hiking with children, especially the kind who like to claim their legs suddenly stopped working, it will take much, much longer.
🏔 Snowbird is like ten minutes away (if it’s not the weekend and there’s no avalanche danger) and offers something for everyone, even those who abstain from winter sports. You’ve seen the Cliff Spa on a million different Instagram posts, for good reason, and in the summer the mountain turns into a miniature amusement park with a coaster and a slide.
Have a bagel, hike a mountain, and enjoy the best SanDraper has to offer.
- Bonus: Meg Walter knows pop culture. We had her on City Cast Salt Lake to talk about Real Housewives, Stanley cups, and MomTok. [City Cast Salt Lake 🎧]
