Park City and Sundance!

I gave you all a hint of my trip to Utah, but here is just the first of a few posts on our full experience!  Our friends Amanda and Noah, who are new-ish residents of Salt Lake City, had dibs on tickets to the Sundance Film Festival.  While we had tickets to two different films, one of them overlapped with the Patriots game, so we gave those to a non-New England group (which now seems like a poor choice, but hindsight is always 20/20, right?).  Amanda also got us tickets to the shorts programs, which started at 11:30pm, leaving us with plenty of time to explore Park City.

Sundance!

Lots of animal statues that required some photos...

Amanda and I recreating a childhood photo :)

Java Cow - where I had a Keri Russell spotting!

Fun Mode of Transportation

Nick and I outside the Egyptian Theatre

Banksy was here!

After wandering around Main Street, popping in and out of all of the shops (including some very expensive fur stores - $30,000 for a lynx jacket!), we were finally in need of a break.  We decided to hit up the No Name Saloon, a local hot spot with a fun atmosphere and an extensive beer list.  We got a great table at the front of the restaurant, perfect for further celebrity scouting:).  Because the streets had celebrities scattered throughout, all of us non-celebrities rubber-necked and stared at everyone who walked by just to see whether it was someone worth gawking at - totally surreal.

No Name Saloon

Inside!

We had plenty of beers, and had a few appetizers, including the buffalo chips and salsa.  Their salsa was delicious!  If you find yourself in Park City, No Name Saloon is a great apres-ski stop.

 

As the sun set, we checked out a few more stores, including a home decor store where we managed to buy a set of lucite antlers that are being shipped home even as we speak!  At night, the streets lit up with loads of beautiful holiday lights.

Park City at Night

Lights!

Finally, it was time for our next round of drinks and dinner, big enough to tide us over through the movies later that evening.  During Sundance, dinner reservation can be difficult (if not impossible) to get. Some restaurants charge a cover just to get a seat as a way to keep out the gawking public (like us!).  After a bit of searching we found our way into Tavern, an English Pub-style restaurant below Table One that had a warm and cozy lodge feel to it, with its brick walls and dark wood tables - the perfect place to hang out for the next 4 hours.

Cheese plate!

After a glass of wine we settled into a delicious cheese plate.  The blue and pepper jack cheeses were especially delicious.  Since Amanda and Noah had yet to try bone marrow, it seemed like a good time to put in an order.  The presentation in the actual bone is always striking.  Noah ended up being more of a fan than Amanda, but I was impressed that they gave it a go - the texture can be tough to get over.

Bone Marrow

After another glass of wine it was time for some entrees, which included the steak frites, butternut squash tortellinis, a cottage pie and what has to be the biggest piece of pork belly ever!  The dishes were creatively plated with some more interesting components.  Even better was that the entrees were all flavorful and delicious.

Steak Frites

Butternut Squash Tortellini

Cottage Pie - look at those whipped potatoes on top!

Pork Belly Sandwich!

When the pork belly sandwich arrived, I think we audibly gasped - I mean, look at the size of that belly!  Somehow, having it between two pieces of bread with the cabbage and mustard made it a to-die-for sandwich (literally - I cannot have this often at all!).

Finally, after some coffee, it was time for us to head out to our shorts programs.  We got to see five different films, two of which we really enjoyed: Whiplash and K.I.T.  The others were a bit too much for me, but that may have just been because of the late hour.  Whiplash ended up winning the Jury Award, which was exciting to read about when we got back!  We didn't stay for the Q&A after the films (again, it was late, we were tired), but I can imagine some of the questions people would ask!

We had a great day in Park City and experiencing Sundance- this is definitely an item to cross off the bucket list.  And this was only Utah Day 1!