Brick & Mortars In Utah Update

It's been a good, good long time since I did one of these. I got to thinking and went back and checked and the last one I see is April 2015, which is longer even than I was thinking. I recently did a sauce roundup sweep and so with everything fresh (and yes, I bought something at every single stop) in mind, let's get into things. All of these shops, by the by, are reviewed on my Yelp account, which should be attached to this page, on the right, I do believe.

Burn Your Tongue - Quilted Bear - Newgate Mall, Ogden, UT

I debated with myself for a while...do I pick the perennial baddie of Grove Market or my newer favorite of Pirate O's, but the re-design of this place and the dedication to heat won the day. This section has tripled its previous space inside the store and there is now more hot sauce and hot snack goodness there than ever before, all the way down to powdered mixes. I am a big admirer of dedication and BYT is clearly dedicated, offering maybe not quite as much shelf space overall as Pirate O's, though more than Grove, but definitely more variety than either of the other places. This is on regular rotation and consistently has new and exciting stuff, as well as keeping a good amount of solid ringers. I don't know that any sauce-only or hot food-only brick and mortar realistically has a shot in a state where the citizens tend to favor bland above all else, but if there is one that has a chance of making it that way, it is this one. He also travels a lot and does tasting and farmer's markets and so on, so if you're only going to hit one on this list, make it this...well worth the drive.

Grove Market - Salt Lake City, UT

The sauce selection, sorely in need of revamping, has been largely re-tooled. There's still a lot there I don't like and would never consider buying, but interestingly, this place is veering away somewhat from the super-hots, as in the extract absurdly hot ones. There is little space, but it is definitely maximized, with a pronounced selection for the available space, which was gratifying to see. This used to be the only game not only in town but anywhere around, so it was refreshing to see them make those kinds of changes. Truth be told, I don't lean on this one anymore for hot sauces, but they also make one of the tastiest and still best sandwiches known to man and have an awesome and somewhat dizzying amount of snacks and drinks. It is a long-favorite and so much so that I don't even mind (much) the atrocious parking and the narrow, borderline claustrophobic aisles. I have never once stepped into this store and stepped out without buying something, which speaks volumes.

Pirate O's - Draper, UT

More of a Euro/quasi-Scandinavian import store than anything else, this is the definition of hodge podge shop. They were formerly reliable with sauces, but have seem to have set their sights squarely and somewhat only at the novelty sauces. Tons of shelf space was there, but much of it was empty, which makes me wonder if they're between shipments or if something else is going on. There is still enough other stuff to make any visit worthwhile (where else can you find candy-coated insects, if you want that, I guess and their soda selection is dazzling), but they have drifted pretty far away from being reliable on the sauce side of things.

And that's it...some of the Kroger outlets are carrying the Private Selection line of house sauces, some of the Fresh Markets and Harmon's will have a good-for-a-grocery-store selection, but none are up to the level of these 3, who still stand alone, atop the heap and in the order listed above. All of them are definitely worth a visit, but as a final note to this, I've spent more in my last trip to BYT than the other 2 combined over the last 2 years...in fact, in my final ringing endorsement, I will further note that I have ceased buying sauces online entirely, in favor of brick-and-mortars and that is largely due to BYT.