A Vegan in Utah

With its outdoor recreation especially with its five national parks, Olympic athletes and a rich history, Utah has a lot to offer not to mention strange nature formations we see around every corner.

We landed in Salt Lake City International airport and drove to Bryce Canyon national park along Scenic Byway 12, which is 123 miles long and runs west to east. It has the prestige of being named the second most scenic road in the country. We were booked at Bryce view lodge which was modest but comfortable accommodation. The Bryce view lodge was part of Ruby’s inn and was less than a mile away from fun activities such as horse riding, bike rentals, restaurants and general stores.

We enjoyed the hike in Bryce Canyon national park. We just did the 1.3 mile Navajo loop hike which gave me some serious fitness goals but enjoyed it all the same. We then drove to Zion national park the next morning. Amazed at how majestically different Zion was from Bryce. The park supposedly houses what are some of the most scenic canyon views in the country. In just a 229 square mile radius, resides enormous Pine and Juniper covered plateaus, narrow sandstone canyons, the windy Virgin River, and many seeps, springs, and waterfalls.

We were bummed at not being able to do the Zion Narrows which is a walk through the Virgin river  as Zion was under a flash flood watch and we were advised against taking this walk through the water as the flash floods were strong enough to move boulders and cars, as the ranger noted.  We however did the Emerald Pool hike which gave us a view of the waterfall at three different heights. We also did the Riverside walk which was an easy walk alongside the Virgin river.  We stayed at the Driftwood lodge at Zion with a spectacular view of the mountains.

The Gastronomical Part of the Trip!

Utah turned out to be a gastronomic delight for someone like me on a restricted Vegan diet. Almost every eatery had some variety of options for me.

For lunch near Salt Lake city’s airport we stopped at the Vertical Diner which was an exclusively vegan restaurant and everything on the menu was either gluten free or could be made gluten free. Options like Vertical Tacos with jackfruit and a Guac n roll burger where the burger was made with cashews, almonds and garbanzo beans. I chose the magical wok which was a Sesame coconut curry with sautéed vegetables, tofu and toasted cashews served with brown rice which was delicious.

For dinner we chose The Pizza Place in Tropic near Bryce Canyon which served a Cauliflower crust pizza with onions, green  peppers, mushrooms  and spinach with no cheese which was filling and good. I had ordered a 10 inch pizza. For larger sizes they had Udis gluten free crust option.

Breakfast the next morning was available for free at the Ebenezer’s barn and grill right next door to our accommodation with gluten free vegan options. I had boiled eggs( I am able to tolerate the whites), yogurt (which seems to agree with me as well), fruit and Quaker instant oatmeal.

Lunch that day was at the Rustlers restaurant again in Tropic near Bryce where I had the Taco plate which was three corn tortillas overstuffed with veggies which was super delicious and a side of guacamole (what’s a taco without guac?) and a side of sweet potato fries.

Dinner was at Thai Sapa at Zion.  Again a super yummy dinner which was Yellow curry with sweet potatoes and vegetables in coconut milk gravy served with brown rice. We also had the vegan Tom Yum Soup. Our waiter paid attention to my ‘no meat’ request and brought me the sweet and sour sauce rather than the fish sauce which was thoughtful of him.
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The next morning breakfast was at Oscar’s café and again thanks to my body’s ability to tolerate eggs I had an egg white omelets and iced Coffee with oat milk.

We had a late lunch after our hike at Cafe Soleil where they had gluten free sandwiches as well as gluten free Pizza. I had a Portobello Mushroom, Roasted red peppers and Spinach sandwich in which the chef had thoughtfully added a light layer of marinara sauce in order to compensate for the pesto which was in the original sandwich. It was so good that I packed another similar sandwich for my road trip back to Salt lake city airport the next day. She also made me a mixed berry and banana smoothie with oat milk which was very refreshing.

Ended the night with a Quinoa, Greens, Cucumber and Avocado salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette at Bit and Spur restaurant in Zion. On our walk along Zion park boulevard I checked out Feel Love Zion bakery where I got to sample vegan Soft Serve Swirl ice cream and noted  that they served yummy vegan baked goodies including Scones, Donuts and Muffins.

Back in Salt lake city airport, I had lunch at Garbanzos Mediterranean Restaurant where I was treated to a healthy plate of Rice, Salad, Baba Ghanoush, a Citric flavored Hummus with Falafels. Everything was clearly labelled vegan and gluten free and I didn’t have to ask anyone any embarrassing questions.

I was so anxious about my trip to Utah almost reconciling myself to eating salads and chiding myself all through my flight why I hadn’t considered an Airbnb and tugged along my Instapot. I feel so content after my trip that I am now certain that travelling on a gluten free vegan diet is not just doable but can be pretty fabulous!

Go to the page on global vegetarian cuisines, you are interested to know about vegetarian and vegan cuisine from various countries.