Episode 91 Street Gang Chocolate Wars

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!

We will ALWAYS love your “likes” BUT don’t forget to click that little SHARE button (or retweet) *sharing IS indeed caring* You can find us and subscribe on Soundcloud, Stitcher, or Itunes, and Google Play and TuneIN. Leave us a review and Follow us on the Twitter @tnupodcast or on Facebook The New Utah Podcast

LISTEN HERE: The New Utah Podcast

Music: Bootleggers Dance by local Utah Band Folk Hogan

Episode 86: Help! Our Trees are Budding!

Climate change is real. It is January in Utah and today is suppose to be 60 degrees. Our trees are budding and we are hoping that our flowers don’t start to break through the soil.

We did a lot of restaurant chat this week. Jessica visited a new burger joint in Sugar House, which unfortunately is not local to Utah, but alas BGRSugarhouse was still tasty! Jessica really did appreciate that they cut their jalapenos length wise instead of just small slices and also that they are the only BGR on the west coast! Chris and Bre went to ChopFuku Asian and Sushi in Taylorsville (follow them on Instagram too). Jeremy was super bummed to find out Iggy’s isn’t carrying Wasatch Brewery Blueberry anymore. Another cool restaurant we talked about this week, and definitely need to visit, is Bhutan House Restaurant. Opened by a family who spent over 20 years in a refugee camp, they have made their restaurant a home in Sandy, Utah. KSL.com ran a story about the family and their journey. You can read that story by clicking HERE.

Sundance Film Festival starts this weekend. Are you heading up? If you haven’t gotten tickets, or you weren’t able to, download the Sundance app and check out the e-waitlist for opportunities to try to get them! If films aren’t your thing, but you love people watching and celebrity spotting, then head up to Park City this weekend when everything is bustling. Also, if you can get a ticket, make sure to support local film, Quiet Heroes, about the struggle of having only one doctor available during the early AIDS/HIV crisis in Utah and her fight to save the population in Utah while everyone else turned their backs.

Chris schooled Jessica with a side-eye on BitCoin this week. Apparently it isn’t actual mining…

We’ve talked about other Utah Dark sky parks but did you know that Torrey, Utah is now one of only 18 dark sky communities in the WORLD? If you want the perfect place to see the stars and planets in Utah, besides Jessica’s house, then Torrey should be on your destination list!

Utah Legislature session starts on the 23rd! There are so far over 1200 bills that are filed. Some of the focus areas include medical marijuana, education, transportation, tax code, and the count my vote. Utah Business has a little more information on these issues, and we will be tracking progress over the next couple months. If you are passionate about an issue make sure you are calling your representative which you can find at le.utah.gov.

If you haven’t done so already, Wizarding Dayz tickets are available for the February 23rd-24th 2nd annual event! We had them on last year, check out episode 34 with creator Val Cameron!

LISTEN HERE: The New Utah Podcast

Music: Bootleggers Dance by local Utah Band Folk Hogan

Episode 83. Part 2 our recap of City Weekly Best of 2017: The Readers Edition

Happy End of 2017! It seemed like this year went so fast but at the same time it was never going to end. Our final show of the year (episode 83) we wanted to attend to part 2 of our City Weekly Best of 2017 recap: The Readers Edition! You can catch our run through of the staff picks on episode 77.

We still stand firm with our statement from last year, We do not approve of people voting for corporate stores that aren’t based in Utah. We have plenty of awesome locals. We also want to add to this; hey readers, there are PLENTY of amazing places and people in Utah that you are missing out on because you are voting for the same place every year. *coughCafeRiocough* *coughCupBopcough* *coughWaffleLovecough* One of the things we really love is that City Weekly includes a cool space in each county in Utah every year.

We at the New Utah Podcast extend a challenge to you for 2018, Expand your Utah horizons! Use these lists as a guide and get to know Utah a little bit more intimately! *covering eyes*

The magazines are not available anymore, however, you can find the link HERE and you can scroll on your phone while you are in your bathroom to get inspired for your next Utah adventure. Use this list to explore a part of Utah you might not have thought of visiting. Restaurants you may have not thought about eating at. Parks you haven’t visited. Artists you haven’t admired their work yet. And so on. Take a listen to this weeks episode, we definitely covered our loves, what we thought should be added, and what we were confused made the list.

We would love to hear what you would add to the ballot!

This week we also said goodbye to one of our podcast buddies, Chris and Bre’s dog, Lia. She joined us for many episodes and waited out the door patiently for us to finish recording many episodes. She will be missed.

LISTEN HERE: The New Utah Podcast

Episode 80 Art Activism, Gas Masks, and Poop.

You know it’s going to be a great episode when the guest starts out by saying they will gladly talk about how many times they poop and masturbate in a day. And when Chris tries his hand at an Irish accent. And when Jessica ruins the episode by talking about what we weren’t suppose to talk about.

This week we were honored to be joined by art activist and photographer, Cat Palmer! You may know her as the artist that re-created Leonardo’s Last Supper, but with amazing people in Utah. This past weekend you may recognize her “Go Home Trump” and “Dump Trump” installation from the Utah State Capitol pre Trump visit. Let’s help her make it viral by sharing and crediting her work!

CatPalmer.com

cat palmer utah

Cat gave us insight to her inspirations, her love of gas masks, an upcoming project that she has been working to make happen, and of course, her rad mom!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, she doesn’t shoot landscapes.

Here is a list of some of her favorite locals:

Olio Skin and Beard Co.

Cat also let us know that she doesn’t attach her name with organizations, even though she is very active in the activist community. However, she is very passionate about Salt Lake Clean air. They have their Winter Solstice Salt Lake Clean Air Fundraiser on Dec. 17th

You can pick up Cats work on her website CATPALMER.com, at the Urban Arts Gallery, and the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art. You can find her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

And a big thanks for James for letting us use his house!

LISTEN HERE: The New Utah Podcast

Music: Bootleggers Dance by local Utah Band Folk Hogan

Episode 79 Driving your feel goods with the Dude.

Episode 79 was filled with SO much information it is hard to pick where to begin.

This week we had activist/volunteer/former Mayoral candidate/veteran and just a dude, Josh Cameron, sit down and have an in-depth discussion with us. We trampled on politics, the political climate, his service in the military, why he leans the way he does politically, his activism throughout Utah, and of course his Jay and Silent Bob drinking game! What more could one ask for in a visit?

**DISCLAIMER: If puke stories gross you out, you might want to skip this one. Between Josh and Chris’s hot car drinking stories, well, maybe just don’t eat before listening?

Josh’s passion for politics haven’t been jaded by his drinking games. He is doing what many protestors out there are not doing and that is acting. He ran a campaign for West Valley Mayor, he is involved in the WOLF-PAC (and we don’t mean like the kind in the movie, The Hangover), he is a precinct chair for the Democratic Party in his district, and he is strategically thinking about his next role in our community. He does have a day job too, doing research with USTAR. Josh is currently volunteering with a new app called, Our Voice Initiative, which is a space where candidates anywhere in the country can get their policies, ideas, and issues uploaded. Voters can then take a quiz based on policies and then they can make a more educated vote, versus just voting for a candidate. You can find Josh on Twitter, his YouTube channel, and on Facebook

We look forward to having Josh back as the mid-term elections roll around. Our reminder, it is super important to vote for local candidates over our POTUS. Start small.

Looking for amazing Christmas lights? Utah has plenty, from top to bottom! The Desert News listed 30 Christmas Light events around the state, click HERE.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2517/4150381423_14bbeee9c9.jpg

LISTEN HERE: The New Utah Podcast

Music: Bootleggers Dance by local Utah Band Folk Hogan

Episode 77 Part 1: Our recap of City Weekly Best of Utah 2017 the Staff Picks

Music by local Utah Band:Last year we had so much fun going through all the picks for City Weekly’s Best Of Utah edition that we are back at it! This year’s magazine is gorgeous! We loved that it was a separate magazine from the actual publication.

This week we went through our personal favorite’s on the staff picks list for 2017! Even if you don’t agree with the places or people that were picked, the write-up’s alone are worth reading!

There are WAY too many favorites for us to post, so you will just have to listen this week!

LISTEN HERE: The New Utah

Music: Bootleggers Dance by Folk Hogan

Utah’s One Thing: Chris Provost Dad Joke Teller and Salt Lake Comic Con MC

At the end of every New Utah interview we like to ask our guests, “What is the one thing that you would tell someone visiting Utah they had to do before leaving?”

Episode 60 we had the honor of hosting the host of all hosts, Salt Lake Comic Con and dad joke teller, Chris Provost! Chris had a couple of things in mind when we asked him what the one thing he would tell people visiting Utah would be. First he said you have to try fry sauce. Fry sauce is a Utah staple! Sometimes it is just ketchup and mayo mixed together. Sometimes there might be a little pickle juice or spice added to it. Chris also said do donuts in the winter in an empty parking lot, and in the summer time go down “I Street” in the Avenues as fast as you can. He promises you will get some air. His final thing that someone must do while visiting Utah would be, is to visit Zion. He said seeing it for the first time will make you lose your breath.

We love your “likes” BUT don’t forget to SHARE (or retweet) *sharing IS indeed caring* and to subscribe on Soundcloud, Stitcher, Itunes, Google Play, and TuneIn. Follow us on the Twitter @tnupodcast or on Facebook The New Utah Podcast

LISTEN HERE: The New Utah Podcast

Music by Folk Hogan, Bootleggers Dance

Episode 75 Utah Anime Banzai Adventures

Wrapping up our visit to the Utah Halloween Expo, we share our interview with Demented Design Studios this episode! They came all the way from New Orleans to the Utah Halloween Expo and they brought some of their amazing props. From clowns, to big old slabs of meat (which were used in Constantine), and hanging flesh, to face pies!!! We loved talking to them while they were in town and we sure hope they come back because they were an amazing asset to the expo!

Episodes 75 also took us, a bunch of noobs, to the Utah Anime Banzai in Layton, Utah! This was their 13th year as Utah’s premier anime convention. We were super excited to be there and wasn’t quite sure what to expect! To give you a lay of the land, the convention center is rather small, which is nice because it makes it an intimate event. There are panels, a gaming room, an artists room, rooms where they are showing anime films and shows, and a huge cosplay contest just to name a few of the events.

We had a chance to talk to one of the head volunteers/staff to get an idea of the size and why they do what they do. Walking around the event we noticed that about 85% of the patrons were dressed up! So awesome to see a community so tight knit, even though all the anime they were there for is different. Lo and behold we also ran into our favorite cosplay-er, Victor Sine! It was fun to chat with him for a minute. Having a podcast room at the Anime Banzai made us feel super important. We tested out some Japanese treats like mochi, some custard buns, and gummie candies. Last year we met the super talented and busy movie/tv script supervision and prop designer, Crit Killen. We finally got to sit down with him for a moment and talk to him about some of his projects! With over 85 film projects under his belt, we can’t wait to have him back to go more in depth. We are so excited he is local!

LISTEN HERE: The New Utah Podcast

Music: Bootleggers Dance by Folk Hogan

Episode 73: Our Adventures at the Utah Halloween Expo 2017 Part 1

Welcome to part one of our adventures at the Utah Halloween Expo and Show 2017! We were so grateful we were asked to come back to podcast at the show for their second annual show. This year the floor was bigger, our favorite SY-FY Channel Face Off guests were back, and we even went on a paranormal investigation with local team M&L Paranormal! (that episode will air soon)

Local Utah Author, Eliza Crosby, gave us some of her time. She talked to us about her first book, “Murder on the Pitch.” How she wrote two paranormal books based on local lore, “Whispers of Minersville” and “Curse of the Lost Love: Return to Minersville.” Eliza also gave us a glimpse into writing “The Eyeball Mysteries” and following her son around to get a feel of a pre-teenage boys life.

Some of our favorite highlights this year included David Ace’s Faces. David is a local custom mask maker based in northern Utah. Make sure you check him out, and yes, he does take orders on his Etsy Shop!

We sat through hair battles, local FX make-up competition, and our favorites guests from Sy-Fy’s Face-Off! This year Mel Licata, Ben Peter, and New Utah Podcast alum Yvonne Cox sat down with us and talked about coming back to Utah and being part of the UHE again. Of course we can’t forget one of our all time favorite Germans, Robert Lindsay! He did his interview with us in full make-up! Robert talked to us about his trip to China to teach special effects make-up and his love for karaoke!

We will be getting our investigation and the rest of our interviews up over the next couple weeks! STAY TUNED!

LISTEN HERE: The New Utah Podcast

Music by local Utah Band: Bootleggers Dance by Folk Hogan

Episode 68 Non-Alcoholic Beer… No one wants it.

First of all, we at the New Utah Podcast, do NOT endorse giving booze to homeless.

This week we got to take a tour at Sugarhouse Distillery! We started off our night with owner, James Fowler, giving us a tour through the process of production for their vodka, rum, and bourbon/whiskey. Then he sat down with us in his shop and chatted with us. Did you know that Sugarhouse Distillery was one of the first 3 distilleries to open in Utah after the prohibition!? They are also a grain to glass distillery. What is that you ask? Take a listen. James gives a list of other local distillers that are also on the grain to glass list. He does apologize if he left anyone out. Mic pressure you know.

Sugarhouse Distillery is very unique in Utah. James outsources his grains from local farmers down in Delta, up in Brigham City, as well as other cities. If he has used all local he can then he reaches out of state. The farmers have even developed a relationship in that they have started to grow in the off season for him as well. We love that this distillery understands the importance of local and the importance of the purity of their product.

Sugarhouse Distillery is in the process of going through a re-branding and bottles are starting to leave their production line this week! Hopefully they should be on shelves in the liquor stores soon. This also means it’s a good time to scoop up the old flat bottles! (collectors items you know!)

Follow them on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to stay up to date with new product releases and specials.

new utah podcast sugarhouse distillery

We’ve talked about it before. This month is suicide prevention/awareness month. Here are the numbers again for you for the hotline if you or someone you know needs an ear to listen:

National: 1-800-273-8255

Utah: (801) 587-3000

Events this week:

Out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention Walk at Liberty Park at 9am on the 16th

Urban Arts Festival at the Gallivan Center this weekend 16th and 17th.

We will ALWAYS love your “likes” BUT don’t forget to click that little SHARE button (or retweet) *sharing IS indeed caring* You can find us and subscribe on Soundcloud, Stitcher, or Itunes, and Google Play and TuneIN. Follow us on the Twitter @tnupodcast or on Facebook The New Utah Podcast

LISTEN HERE: The New Utah Podcast

Music by local Utah Band: Bootleggers Dance by Folk Hogan