Bar Guide 2013 

Page 5 of 12

Friday 6:45 p.m.
Legends Sports Bar & Grill ^
X-Treme After-Work Enjoyment
It’s disgustingly hot outside. However, sitting in this air-conditioned sports bar with a few co-workers, enjoying a frosty stein of Coors Light and watching the X-Games, feels pretty good. “Sweet tail whip!” I yell, but no one at my table hears (or cares). It’s cool; I’m used to being ignored. Apparently, Legends pops off a little later for karaoke, but right now, I’m enjoying this post-work atmosphere—especially after somebody orders a bunch of tasty little street-taco thingies. “Huuuge backy, brah!” I yell with a mouth full of spicy chicken. No response. I guess I’m the most extreme dude in this place.
677 S. 200 West, Salt Lake City, 801-355-3598, WhyLegends.com

Friday 7:15 p.m.
Brewvies Cinema Pub
Munching at the Movies
Besides perhaps at a small airport, Brewvies is the only bar where the entire crowd of drinkers migrates at once. We’ve just followed the stampede from the billiards area into the theater for the 7:15 showing of This Is the End. The food is always good here, but the real enjoyment of ordering is waiting to see our number light up on the bingo board. It’s like our pizza is the star of the show! And then I put it into a violently delicious retirement.
677 S. 200 West, Salt Lake City, 801-355-5500, Brewvies.com

Friday 7:35 p.m.
Three Alarm Saloon
Joes, “Average” and “Sloppy” Varieties
The dude smoking out back looks biker-mean, but he’s happy and welcoming—he might’ve opened the door for me if I hadn’t beaten him to it. I have an icy stein of Hefeweizen before me within a minute; within five, I’m talking about ribs and old-school funk with Andre. He says he’s an ass-kicker on the grill. The cook touts her sloppy joes. I’m tempted; they smell great. Postscript: The parking-lot taco cart is reDONK.
7273 S. State, Midvale, 801-562-5252

Friday 7:45 p.m.
Sugarhouse Pub
More Room for Everyone
From pub to super pub, the expanded Sugarhouse Pub is simply more of a good thing, providing two full bars, three pool tables, foosball and lots of comfy seating for neighborhood loyalists. The pub is buzzing with 20-somethings, seasoned couples, work buddies, second dates and future missed connections. With more parking for bikes than cars and no food other than pretzels and brats, this central Sugar House spot caters to its surrounding neighborhood, but now it’s big enough to welcome everyone … and their friends.
1992 S. 1100 East, Salt Lake City, 801-413-2857

Friday 8:15 p.m.
Cheers to You Midvale
Don’t Cha Have Needs?
“I call this place a hole-in-the-wall,” says a septuagenarian barfly perched between long-haired, tatted me and a guy with a tall, sharp mohawk. Between pulls off a sweaty Pabst tallboy, Elder points and laughs at us both. The Pussycat Dolls’ “Don’t Cha” plays on this Free Juke Friday. Two guys enter and ask ’Hawk if it’s his first time here. One tells Seventysomething, “If you ever need a hooker, ask me.”
7642 S. State, Midvale, 801-566-0871

Friday 8:30 p.m.
Fiddler’s Elbow
Sports Bar for the Bar Fan
On this night, the only way to tell who’s here for hockey, soccer or just to hang out is to wait for a goal to be scored and watch the reactions—or lack thereof. Fiddler’s eschews the austerity of the modern sports bar, instead embracing the culture of those who care as much about the bar as they do about who is playing on the screen. But that’s not to say they aren’t paying attention. When the U.S. National Team notches the winner over Jamaica, the cacophony makes it clear it wasn’t just the menu that drew the crowd.
1063 E. 2100 South, Salt Lake City, 801-463-9393, FiddlersElbowSLC.com

Friday 8:45 p.m.
Olde Towne Tavern
That Secret Watering Hole
A prospective patron with an expired I.D. is being told to leave. Another hears he can’t have his next drink until he drains his current glass. This quaint little beer-only crackerbox is run by sticklers for the rules. It’s understandable; this is clearly the patrons’ secret watering hole, but the scenes are interestingly juxtaposed with outlaw country (Johnny Cash, The Highwaymen). Hank Jr.’s “Family Tradition” prompts a brief singalong among the six patrons. That must be OTT’s anthem.
7662 S. Main, Midvale, 801-566-3172

Friday 9:20 p.m.
A Bar Named Sue On State
That (Other) Place Where Cash Is King
As with the Highland Drive original, Cash is king here. Brilliantly rendered murals based on iconic photos of The Man in Black adorn nearly every wall. The one behind the stage—the big F.U. shot—is perfectly placed. My gut growls upon hearing I can get Sue’s same killer bacon cheeseburger and whiskey chips on a newly expanded menu. Beyond my daily caloric limit but knowing I’m unable to resist, I beat a retreat. See you on my next cheat day.
8136 S. State, Salt Lake City, 801-566-3222, A-Bar-Named-Sue.com

Friday 9:28 p.m.
Burt’s Tiki Lounge ^
Old-School Punk, Earplugs Optional
Warning: Don’t come here looking for tiki lamps or lounge music. Do come here looking for bands that live up to tonight’s headliners with names the likes of Verbal Abuse and Handicapitalist—and bring your earplugs. Greg, a patron-turned-bartender, assures me between serving drinks that Burt’s scene changes nightly with the music. Sometimes it’s a metal crowd, sometimes an electronic-dance crowd. But from all the posters on the wall—featuring past bands like Chopper and the Decomposers & the Dollyrots, I think we all know whose home this is.
726 S. State, Salt Lake City, 801-521-0572, Facebook.com/Burts.TikiLounge

Friday 9:30 p.m.
Stockman’s Bar
Sharing a Drink With Your Babysitter
Tucked away on a portion of Main Street far away from Layton’s family-friendly, chain-restaurant center, this nearly windowless, white-clapboard structure seems unwelcoming to the uninitiated, but the inside atmosphere is friendly and, for some, the center of town. A Stockman’s first-timer who grew up in the town is greeted by the sight of a former babysitter at the jukebox, and soon welcomed by the offer of a shot on the house from a friendly guy at the bar; Layton drinkers gotta stick together. Gutted in 2012 for an expansion and remodel, the bar is still undergoing some final steps of construction, but the air conditioning is working, so the regulars are once again gathered at the pool tables, counting down to the opening of the long-awaited rooftop patio.
80 N. Main, Layton, 801-544-8102