Episode 91 Street Gang Chocolate Wars

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Episode 91 was super full of delicious food and wizardry!

Last week we had the honor of being the first guests to grace the counter top at Viet Pham’s brand new concept restaurant, Pretty Bird Chicken! The official opening was February 21st. Located on Regent Street just next to the new Eccles Theatre, it is a small and very quaint space. We got to talk to Viet and interview him while he and his chef’s cooked the Nashville hot chicken thighs for us! We tried the thigh and the boneless thigh sandwich. Hard to say what was the favorite because all of our plates were pretty close to clean when we left! You may know Viet from Food Network shows such as Iron Chef, Extreme Chef, and The Next Food Network Star. Viet has been perfecting his Nashville chicken for 5 years and it is so exciting to see it come to fruition. We had Viet on almost 14 months ago and he told us how he was going to be opening Pretty Bird Chicken and we are so grateful it has finally made it to Salt Lake! Viet’s Nashville chicken comes in four heat levels: Mild, Medium, Hot, & “Hot Behind.” Pretty Bird is open from 11 AM to 9 PM Monday-Thursday and until 10 PM Friday & Saturday.

All of us at the New Utah Podcast give this 8, very enthusiastic, thumbs up!!

                  

Our guests this week are one of a kind in Salt Lake City and in Utah! Steve and AJ of The Chocolate Conspiracy stopped by, with chocolate in hand, and gave us a lesson in how good, natural chocolate is and can be made! Once upon a time AJ started by peddling his chocolate bars as a natural foodie chocolate guy on the mean streets of Manhattan, he was rejected by Steve while Steve was working at a local natural goods shop. After much determination, AJ adjusted his recipe and came back strong and The Chocolate Conspiracy is now selling in over 12 states,  including Hawaii! What makes their chocolate so unique? First of all AJ knows his food and the science behind it. He has created a dark chocolate bar out of a non-roasted cocoa bean and honey! No dairy, no soy, no gluten, and no refined sugar. You hear that people with allergies and dietary restrictions? You can eat these bars!! Then you have Steve who has helped build and get the Chocolate Conspiracy name circulating and in your mouths.  AJ, Steve, and their small supporting staff have partnered up to create chocolate bars for Utah locals; Fisher Brewing Company, Aceda Honey, Hip and Humble, and Orchid Dynasty. We don’t want to give away the whole interview, but they also just made the list of Best Chocolate Shop in Every State from the Daily Meal. You can find them online at EatChocolateConsipracy, at the local farmers market on Saturday’s, on Instagram, on Facebook, and on Twitter.  They host a ton of classes, so follow them so you can go!

 

Today (Feb 23rd) starts the second year of Wizarding Dayz! We had founder, Val Cameron-Walker from episode 34, stop by for a few minutes and talk to us about what is different this year and how they have grown! They added a large amount of workshops and panels including masters of dueling, a Jedi panel, a puppetry class, and truth about the new Lord of the Rings series from TheOneRing.net! They added a HUGE Narnia wardrobe, an actual real live tattoo artist doing geeky tattoos, a trading post where you can bring anything to trade, and of course their book exchange is back! They collected over 3000 books they donated last year and this year will even be bigger! Bring in your books for exchanging or donating. Look for our friend Hraefn and his Ravenhenge! Tickets are still available. Please go support this amazing event in our community. Click on the picture below for more information!

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Music: Bootleggers Dance by local Utah Band Folk Hogan