There is no better guide for a city than someone who lives there, so we asked Brad Wheeler, a long-time musician and radio personality, about his attitude to culture, food and drink in the city he calls home.
Brad Wheeler is a lot of things: DJ at KUAA 99.9 FM, a radio station in Salt Lake City owned by the Utah Arts Alliance, program director and music director of the station, blues musician who plays medium harmonica, and list Willie Nelson and jazz saxophone legend Joe McQueen among the artists he has played with, and teacher who estimates that he has taught about 20,000 children to play harmonica in recent decades. But most of all, he is an inveterate lover of Salt Lake City, his hometown for decades. We checked with him to get his recommendations on where to eat, shop and listen to music and where to go if you just want to dodge.
EAT your heart
If there’s one thing Brad wants to let everyone know, it’s that Utah has the largest Mexican restaurant in the world, not just for the food. “Ohio may have the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but we have the red iguana. More famous musicians have walked through the doors than I can tell you,” he says. The recent Ramon Cardenas, whose parents founded the restaurant, is the patron saint of the red iguana—and possibly also the patron saint of the Salt Lake music industry. As the legend says, his parents came from Mexico and opened the restaurant in 1985. While they were playing, he would go to concerts and if he liked the band, he would pile them into his hot rod after the show and drive them to Chow’s restaurant. He placed ads everywhere in punk magazines. A cult classic was born.
It is so popular that when a second one opened around the block in 2011, the queues were immediately as long as the first one. And his fans are so loyal, says Brad, that on the day when someone collided with his car at the restaurant, queues formed around the car.
But this is not the only place where Brad insists on taking his guests out of town. Caputo’s Deli is at the top of the list, but the Italian sausages here are not even half as big. The store has the largest collection of artisanal chocolate bars in the country—over 300 and more. And if you plan to be in the city for a while, sign up for one of the chocolate tasting classes. But wait-there’s more. This is the only place in the country that has not one, but two cheese cellars for aging. As proof of their superiority, Brad notes that Cristiano Creminelli-a superstar in Italy for his salami-identified Salt Lake City as his home base, not only because the pigs he walked in Spanish Fork, a nearby town, were perfect for his meat, but also because the Caputo Caves were an ideal aging facility.
A paradise city for music lovers
Let’s be clear: the heavy metal store sells far more than just heavy metal vinyls and CDs. Brad announces that owner Kevin Kirk is one of the biggest fans of rock and roll, and he has put together such a great selection that it is known all over the world. In the early 1990s, Alice Cooper and members of the metal band Slayer were seen wearing T-shirts of the store’s brand during a television interview and a magazine report. Kurt was overwhelmed by orders-by phone. Now people all over the world are wearing their T-shirts and hoodies and musicians like the Athenian alternative-country band Drive by Truckers are rocking when they are shopping in the city and even doing quick acoustic sets. There’s also Randy’s record store, one of the four oldest record stores in western Mississippi, and another of Brad’s staples for excellent vinyl-both well-known and obscure. Keep an eye on the monthly sale. “It’s unreal,” assures Brad, who is known to his listeners as “Bad Brad”.”
This is not the only reason why Salt Lake City is a destination for music lovers. There are a number of options for those who are looking for live shows. Garage on Beck is a great place in the middle of an oil refinery, remember: concerts—ranging from rock to jazz-are usually sold out, and the parking lot is a very narrow area. However, upon arrival, you will be rewarded with commission potatoes, a fried potato feast with jalapenos, cheddar cheese, bacon, green onions and a cornflake crust. It is a Mormon tradition that has completely disappeared.
For something a little more low-key, but not by much, there are three clubs downtown that are three blocks apart, and Brad supports them each for their own reasons. The Metro Music Hall is a medium-sized venue for local and national artists, the depot is a renovated former Union Pacific depot, which now mainly hosts DJs and rock shows, and the complex is, not surprisingly, a multi-venue complex that hosts notable musicians as well as sporting events.
Travel
The music is so deeply rooted in Brad’s sense of being that he measures the training times by the length of the CDs. Salt Lake City is two and a half CDs away from the canyons and rock formations that characterize the Capital Reef National Park. The mighty Moab is three or four CDs, depending on how fast you drive, and the Zion National Park is five or six. And they are both a must-see in Utah. “These are places that change the way you look at the world—they change it from the outside to the inside,” he says, who is still fascinated by landscapes despite his decades-long visit. Chalk with an incredibly varied landscape. “One minute you’re in an Alpine forest, like something in Switzerland, and the next minute it’s like a scene from Dr. Seuss. Or Mars.”
A little closer to the city is Snowbasin, a resort known for its 3, 000 hectares of terrain, much of which is suitable for skiing. However, it is actually a year-round destination with swimming, concerts, tram rides and alpine slides in the warmer months. Regardless of the weather, Brad recommends stopping by the movie stars saloon on the way to the resort. It is the oldest bar in western Mississippi and proudly remains true to its vintage roots. Here you will find burgers cooked on electric stoves, a jukebox with slices and much more. Those interested in ancient history should drive about 30 minutes east for a day in Park City and explore the mining heritage.
And if they are, if the even older story is their speed, the scene in the Bonneville salines is pretty much of paramount importance. Tens of thousands of years ago it was a huge salt lake and today, with the disappearance of the water, it is one of the shallowest places in the world, a fantastic playground for cyclists, kitesurfers and hot rod lovers. Not far away is the Peril Cave, an archaeological site that Brad, who has studied archaeology, is happy to recommend. Some of the oldest weaving mills in the world were discovered there. All this contributes to the secret glory of the place.
“It’s like you’re in a Fleetwood Mac video—you’re right where there’s nothing,” he says. “It’s big and flat and everything is out there.”Get sandwiches at Caputo and prepare them for a day.