Utah national parks. What to eat for (US only) picky eater?

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  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,478 Member
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    Haha, I can imagine! I hear a lot of complaints from mountain rescue here about people walking into the 'hills' in completely unsuitable clothes, find out the weather conditions are quite a bit different than in town 300-400m lower and there's actually a windchill that brings the temps down to quite a bit below freezing. And then they shout for help that they are on an unknown bleak peak, wearing brown or black clothes and are thus difficult to find.

    Getting lost isn't the biggest problem for me as I always have a proper handheld gps with me, with batteries to last for a few days and a good map. But running out of food/water, or injuring myself would be a bad thing.
  • BruinsGal_91
    BruinsGal_91 Posts: 1,400 Member
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    Machka9 wrote: »
    yirara wrote: »
    Sorry to all Americans: I'm generally not too keen to visit your country. But anyway, I'll be visiting Salt Lake City for a conference later this year and decided to add 7-8 days of visiting a few national parks. My plan is: 2 nights each Zion, Bryce and Capitol Reef.

    You'll love Bryce Canyon ... it's my favourite out of the selection you've made.

    We stayed at Ruby's Inn when we were there. They have at least one restaurant which wasn't too bad. As I recall, there was a decent salad bar.
    https://www.rubysinn.com/

    @Machka9 it was my favourite too (closely followed by Arches). We were there in September and also stayed at Ruby's Inn.

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  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,478 Member
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    UtahDon wrote: »
    Hi Yirara,

    I'm very familiar with all the areas you are traveling in, I visit them at least annually and usually more frequently. Let me make some specific recommendations for you to consider.

    While you are in Utah, you should try Creminelli cured meats, Beehive cheese and Amano chocolate. All are local and have won awards internationally. They are available at Caputo's or Harmons below.

    Salt Lake City:
    There is an Italian market downtown called Caputo's. It is excellent and has a fantastic selection of cheeses, cured meats, canned and fresh olives, and artisan breads. You can even grab a sandwich there, it will feed you twice. :)

    Driving south as you leave Salt Lake to head to Cedar City, you will pass a grocery store called Harmons on 123rd south. It's right off the freeway. They have an excellent produce, bakery, and cheese selection.

    For one healthy restaurant at a modest price, look for Rumbi's Island Grill. They sell a small rice bowl that is literally just brown rice, grilled meat, veggies, and sauce (I get it on the side). It's also under $10. There are several around Salt Lake area. Teriyaki grill is another local chain with basically the same menu and price.

    Cedar City:
    Don't plan on much beyond regular grocery stores here. There is a great wood fired pizza restaurant here called Centro Woodfired Pizzeria. It's not too pricey and very good.

    Bryce/Capital Reef:
    There is really nothing in this area. You'll find very basic supermarkets and lots of touristy crap. Interestingly, there are two fantastic restaurants in Boulder, a little town between Bryce and Torrey. One is the Burr Trail Grill, the other is the Hell's Backbone Grill. Very unexpected in such an uninhabited area, I highly recommend either if you can time it to grab a meal in Boulder as you travel between the parks.

    General Recommendations:

    I'd leave Salt Lake with a small cheap cooler stocked with meats, cheeses, olives, and produce. I'd have enough bread for the entire trip, but I prefer good bread stale to mediocre bread fresh. Your shopping options are pretty basic once you leave Salt Lake, St. George by Zion's being the only exception.

    I'd rather be in Capital Reef than Moab over Memorial Day. Expect crowds in Zion and Bryce at that time, Capital Reef is under-appreciated and should be less crowded. Canyonlands and Arches are amazing (I'd love to ride the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands with a geologist) but they will be crowded that time of year.

    I don't know you, but I can assure you that there are world class athletes who manage to stay in top form in Utah while eating locally. It's a VERY outdoorsy place, and while you will certainly find plenty of huge greasy American portions (we have The Cheesecake Factory for example) many very healthy and fit people live, train and eat here year round.

    If you are hiking Zions, don't rule out Kolob Canyon. It will be much less crowded. Also, there are several places on the Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monument that will be less crowded than Bryce (Spooky Gulch, Peek-a-boo gulch, Calf Creek Falls). The Burr Trail is an interesting one hour side trip as you drive through Boulder.

    Best wishes on your trip! I'd be glad to answer any questions I can.

    --
    Utahdon

    Utahdon! Thanks a lot. I'd love to drive you around Canyonland if I could. It's not easy to find people who don't try to run away when I get into full rock mode :D

    Thanks a lot for all this great advise! I can't eat too much meat at once (yes, some of my worries about N. America in general are due to not wanting to, but are not being able to eat too much of certain food without getting sick) but I'll try to track down the cured meat you mention. It sounds delicious. And the chocolate as well. People often say that chocolate in the UK is pretty bad, but there are a few local brands that are divine. I'm sure the same is true for the US. Local chocolate has just been added to my shopping list as well :)

    Ok, with your restaurant recommendations in Boulder I think my lunch is sorted as well, or my dinner, depending on when I pass through :) Also many thanks for the Escalante tipps. Much of my trip is still open, and I will probably improvise and decide there and then on what to do. My driving days really only consist of getting to the next hotel at the next park at this moment. Either I go there in the morning, or stay another day in the previous park, or visit something along the route.
  • sugaraddict4321
    sugaraddict4321 Posts: 15,744 MFP Moderator
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    One other food tip I forgot to mention - most restaurants in the USA serve salads with grated cheese and croutons on top, which can add a lot of calories. I ask them to leave those off. Also the servings of salad dressing can be quite generous. I ask them to put the dressing on the side. As mentioned before, you might think this is being nit-picky and you don't want to upset anyone, but servers there are accustomed to modifying orders to make customers happy.

    Remember to tip your servers - with few exceptions, tips are not built into the wages in the USA. Utah follows the federal minimum wage for tipped employees, which means your server makes $2.13 per hour before tips. Here's a page that shows you how it is for each state: https://www.dol.gov/whd/state/tipped.htm
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,478 Member
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    @sugaraddict4321 Yes, I know about tipping and I'm biting my tongue not to comment on that. My question is though how much would be a realistic tip? And how much would you tip if you get a voucher in a restaurant for breakfast?
  • MichelleWithMoxie
    MichelleWithMoxie Posts: 1,817 Member
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    yirara wrote: »
    @sugaraddict4321 Yes, I know about tipping and I'm biting my tongue not to comment on that. My question is though how much would be a realistic tip? And how much would you tip if you get a voucher in a restaurant for breakfast?

    Typically tipping 15-20% of your bill is sufficient.

    I hope you’re able to navigate the food obstacles successfully, and enjoy your trip!

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,478 Member
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    Thanks a lot.
  • BruinsGal_91
    BruinsGal_91 Posts: 1,400 Member
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    I can second @utahdon’s recommendation for Hells Backbone Grill in Boulder. We stayed in the hotel next door and damn near changed our plans so we could stay there longer. Sitting on the verandah and eating dinner while watching the hummingbirds flitting around was magical.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    yirara wrote: »
    Sorry to all Americans: I'm generally not too keen to visit your country. But anyway, I'll be visiting Salt Lake City for a conference later this year and decided to add 7-8 days of visiting a few national parks. My plan is: 2 nights each Zion, Bryce and Capitol Reef.

    Now, the problem of food! The big reasons I don't like to visit the US is indeed the food*. I looked at restaurants near my lodges, and.. it's exactly what I thought it would be: massively big, fatty, and very meaty. The alternative seems to be something with mushrooms or molten cheese, both of which I don't eat. I generally prefer a small amount of meat/fish (<100gr raw), big pile of veggies and simple boiled rice or other starches without butter, sauce, cream, etc. Kids menues seem better suited for me, but I doubt I could pass as under 12 year old ;) Breakfasts seem equally troublesome as I prefer proper bread/flat bread/baguette with small amounts of cheese/meaty things and a piece of fruit, rice, dal, rice soup, or similar things. Again no big amounts of meat, no pastry, no celeral-type things.

    Added to that: I'm on a budget. I could of course order a steak, but I find it difficult to justify to spend $25 plus tax for a huge slab of meat of which I only eat a small amount. Plus: It's usually starches and proper bread that keep me going throughout the day, not protein or fats (makes me tired, and I get hungry again very quickly as I don't digest fats well).

    Argh!

    Any suggestions?

    *don't get me wrong: I travel a lot, and find something delicious and local to eat everywhere I go. The US though remains difficult for me.

    I don't know what is available in that area but if I were traveling I'd get a cooler and stop buy a local grocery store to cover some meals.
    You can certainly go to a grocery store and even some gas stations and buy things like salad, breads, fruit, sausage, canned tuna, canned beans, trail mix, granola bars, peanut butter, instant soups. I live in a small town in a rural area and we have a bakery and a Walmart with grocery with a deli. The local gas station here sells sandwiches, pizza, drinks and stuff too. There are some small non-chain restaurants or shops that do not have web sites. I don't think most restaurants care if you order a kid's menu item for an adult or without mushroom or cheese.

    A local visitors bureau or chamber of commerce might be able to help you find places to eat near where you will be. Our small town chamber of commerce and visitors bureau has a facebook page so maybe places in the area of the parks will too.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
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    I don’t eat out much. If it’s an option I would go to a grocery store and bring a cooler to pack your own meals.
  • sugaraddict4321
    sugaraddict4321 Posts: 15,744 MFP Moderator
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    @yirara - If the service is below average, I still tip 10% because I think sometimes servers have an off day and it's not their fault if the kitchen messes up. If the service is good, I generally tip 15%. If it's great 20% or more.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,994 Member
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    yirara wrote: »
    @sugaraddict4321 Yes, I know about tipping and I'm biting my tongue not to comment on that. My question is though how much would be a realistic tip? And how much would you tip if you get a voucher in a restaurant for breakfast?

    I start at 20% for good service and adjust up and down from there. You don't need to tip on the tax (i.e., look at the price of food and drink before tax to calculate tip).

    If you get a voucher, you'll still likely see a menu to order from. Tip on the value of the meal you order -- that is, what it would cost you if you didn't have the voucher.
  • Cbean08
    Cbean08 Posts: 1,092 Member
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    Always tip at least 15% of the original cost of the meal before any vouchers or coupons. The server still deserves to be paid regardless of what type of discount you have for the meal.

    If you go out to drink at a bar, you are also expected to tip, even if all you ordered was a glass of wine or a bottle of beer.

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