Utah
Why don’t Utah restaurants display simple letter grades like other states?
From New York to California, you’ve probably seen them hanging in restaurant windows yourself. Plain cards denoting a restaurant’s compliance (and supposed cleanliness in the mind’s eye of a customer) with local law. If you’ve watched this year’s finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm, you might well be having you’re very own Larry David moment. Why no letters? Where are the letters? The letters! I need the letters!
The answer to why Utah lacks this system is surprisingly satisfying, and for once, in an often head-scratching Beehive – makes complete sense. To get to the bottom of the matter I recently spoke to Jeff Oaks, Bureau Manager at Salt Lake County Health Department.
First, though, let’s quickly recap how the process for inspection works here in Utah. Any establishment in the state offering food or drink can expect anywhere from one to three visits per year from their respective county health department. The frequency is dictated by the perceived risk of the food and drink offering; a coffee shop without refrigerated products is considered a lesser risk to consumers, than a restaurant handling a more delicate product, sushi for example.
As you might expect, visits by health inspectors are made without announcement. In talking to Oaks though, the veteran inspector is keen to stress the department isn’t looking to catch businesses flat-footed. “Many of us, myself included, have worked extensively in the industry. We understand the day-to-day challenges business owners encounter. We know that dropping by during a lunch rush – well, the environment might not be the perfect pristine moment in time.”
Following an inspection, comes the rating part. Oaks goes on, “Like other states, here in Utah we use a system where each violation comes with a points-based penalty, reflecting the severity of the infraction. One, three, or six points can be handed out for each failure during an inspection. The larger point penalties are given for serious failures of safety. After the inspection, the total points are tallied up – the lower the overall score the better.” So far so simple, but it’s here that Utah diverges from other states, avoiding potentially misleading glance and go gradings.
As Oaks explained to me, “Violations are not all equal in their potential hazard to diners. Assigning letter grades based on a cumulative total can be very misleading to the public.”
To illustrate Oak’s point, imagine two hypothetical restaurants. We’ll call them Bob’s and Bill’s. Bob’s might have accumulated 20 points during a routine inspection, all borne from minor one-point infractions; a cracked tile here, a light lacking preceise lumen levels there. Meanwhile, over at Bill’s, a seemingly better score of 18 points was doled out solely from six-point violations – more dangerous infractions such as raw meats held at the wrong temperature, or pest infestation run wild.
Under a simpler ABC grading system, rankings are typically delineated by point thresholds – Bob might be graded with a B for his efforts, while Bill could receive an A. Such oversimplification though provides a false sense of security for consumers; after all in our above example, Bob is merely struggling to maintain an older building, while Bill is turning a blind eye to rampant roaches and raw sewage. Where would you want to eat? The devil, as they say, is always in the detail, which is where Utah’s system is particularly advantageous.
“We feel it’s important to offer consumers an insight into this level of granularity”, explains Oaks. “It’s why we operate a QR code-based lookup system where every restaurant’s inspection data can be reviewed on demand and in detail.” Per Oaks info, the next time you enter a restaurant, take a look around. The establishment’s food permit should be displayed. Per 4.1.2 of Salt Lake County Health Regulation (yes I am a stickler for these types of things):
“upon acceptance of a permit issued by the Department, the permit holder shall: (i) Post the permit in the establishment’s primary entrance, window or door, such that it is visible from outside the establishment;”
Remember, that’s the law folks. Emblazoned on the permit you should also find a scannable QR code leading directly to the business’s last inspection report.
It should be noted that the system isn’t yet perfect, but changes are coming. Expect a mobile-friendly system to debut later in the year. In the meantime, feel free to head to the SLCoHD website here. Every one of Salt Lake County’s 5,000+ inspected establishments is listed in detail.
Image credit, ChatGPT/Dall-E.
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Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you! I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC. I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have written in myopic detail about the Salt Lake City dining scene for the better part of seventeen years.
I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV. Pause those credits, yep, that’s me! I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune. I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand. What they’re saying about me: “Not inaccurate”, “I thought he was older”, “I don’t share his feelings”.
Want to know more? This is why I am the way I am.
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By John Coon, The Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY — Stephen Curry scored 27 points, Moses Moody had 26 and the Golden State Warriors beat the Utah Jazz 140-124 on Wednesday night.
Gui Santos had 16 points off the bench for the Warriors. Golden State made 23 3-pointers and never trailed over the final three quarters. Moody led the way with five 3s.
The 140 points scored by the Warriors was their season high.
Brice Sensabaugh scored 22 points off the bench for Utah. Keyonte George had 19 points and seven assists. Ace Bailey also scored 19 points for the Jazz and Lauri Markkanen had 18.
Utah trimmed a 22-point deficit to single digits entering the fourth quarter. The Jazz drew to 108-100 on a pair of free throws from Isaiah Collier with 9:52 left. Curry made back-to-back baskets to restore a double-digit lead.
Golden State used a 20-2 run to go up 136-109 with 3:29 left.
Golden State made it rain from the perimeter early, going 15 of 31 from long distance before halftime. Eight different players made an outside basket for the Warriors in the first half. Buddy Hield and Moody accounted for three apiece before halftime.
Hield buried back-to-back 3s a minute into the second quarter to cap a 19-8 run that gave Golden State a 40-24 lead. The Warriors built a 16-point lead three other times in the second quarter — the final time when Quinten Post made a 3-pointer to make it 64-48.
Golden State expanded its lead to 22 points in the third quarter, going up 91-69 on a pair of free throws from Curry.
Up Next
Warriors: Host Detroit on Saturday night.
SALT LAKE CITY — A groundbreaking documentary — conceived, filmed, and produced entirely by inmates at the Utah State Prison—is giving the public an unprecedented look at life behind bars.
The film, Breaking Chains, follows six incarcerated men and women as they confront their pasts, reflect on their choices, and work toward rebuilding their lives.
The Utah Department of Corrections collaborated with the One Kind Act a Day initiative to secure funding and equipment for the inmates. The result is a raw, emotional film that highlights a little‑known educational program operating inside the prison.
The documentary opens with a stark confession from participant Casey Vanderhoef.
“When I was incarcerated in 2021, I had no more answers,” Vanderhoef says in the film. “I knew I was broken in a way I couldn’t fix.”
Vanderhoef, now living in a halfway house as he completes his sentence, says revisiting his past on camera wasn’t easy.
“There are certainly regretful decisions—and sometimes embarrassing ones—that are definitely part of my story,” he explains.
The project was coordinated from outside the prison by filmmaker and educator Bo Landin, who says the decision to have inmates interview one another created a level of honesty he didn’t expect.
“It’s authentic. It’s raw. It’s emotional,” Landin says. He admits he became emotional himself while transcribing the conversations. “I think it’s important because it is their voice. They are telling us a story.”
The program began with roughly 18 to 20 students learning the fundamentals of filmmaking, storytelling, and production.
The One Kind Act a Day initiative—created by philanthropist Khosrow Semnani—donated the professional equipment used to make the documentary. The Semnani Family Foundation will now support an ongoing media program integrated into the prison’s career‑training and productive‑time initiatives. Semnani hopes the effort encourages compassion in a place where it can be hard to find.
“Human nature is born with kindness,” Semnani says. “But in prison, it’s not there.”
For Vanderhoef, the experience has been transformative.
“As I look back at the mistakes that were made, I have some regret and embarrassment,” he says. “But I have a lot more gratitude.”
Semnani says he recently spoke with U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi about expanding the program nationally, potentially bringing similar opportunities to prisons across the country.
Breaking Chains debuted at the Utah International Film Festival and won the Audience Choice Award. Landin now hopes to promote it at film festivals worldwide in hopes of getting it in theaters for the public to see.
Nina Dobrev‘s bathrobe photo has fans checking in from Park City, Utah, during Sundance weekend. She posted it 18 hours ago, tagged Park City, and wrote, “Final Sundance in Park City, Utah? bittersweet doesn’t begin to describe it…” Nina’s carousel from the Sundance Film Festival reads like downtime between screenings. The post shows about 480.8K likes and 888 comments.
Nina Dobrev shares a bathrobe photo from Utah during Sundance Film Festival
Have a look at Nina Dobrev in a bathrobe:
The “Vampire Diaries” alum wears a plush white hotel robe, loosely cinched at the waist. It falls open at the neckline. Her hair looks half-done, pinned up at the crown, with loose lengths down.
The warm bathroom lighting highlights marble counters and polished wood doors. The photos also landed after she discussed recovering from a dirt bike injury. Fans replied fast, with one writing, “Such a cutie,” another said, “Gorgeous,” and a third added, “THE DIVA”.
Originally reported by Santanu Das on Reality Tea
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