Take a Utah food tour without leaving Mesa
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Utah-born restaurant chains have found fertile ground in Mesa, bringing dirty sodas, oversized cookies and fast-casual favorites to the East Valley.
Why it matters: Utah's cultural influence in Mesa gives companies a built-in customer base, particularly for fast-casual concepts catering to suburban families.
Dig in: This Utah food starter pack caters to health-conscious diners and people with a sweet tooth.
Crumbl: This chain known for cookies that taste like cake has two locations in Mesa.
- A quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie led two cousins from Logan, Utah, to start this cookie shop, which rotates the menu weekly.
Swig: Serving 44-ounce dirty sodas, this Utah favorite also has several locations in the East Valley.
- Nicole Tanner, who founded Swig in 2010, coined the term "dirty soda," selling them for $1 at her store by Dixie State University.
- Now, the most expensive dirty soda on their menu is the $7 Dragonada with Sprite, pineapple, dragon fruit, pineapple puree, frozen pineapple and coconut cream.
Costa Vida: Founded by two friends in Layton, Utah, in 2003, this was my go-to spot when I lived in Salt Lake City a few years ago.
- My order is a sweet pork bowl with lettuce, guacamole, pinto beans, roasted green chile salsa and sour cream. Also worth trying are their smothered burritos.
Cupbop: This chain, which started as a food truck in Salt Lake City in 2013, serves Korean BBQ street food in a cup.
- Try the Krunch Bop with chicken katsu over noodles and rice.
Aubergine Kitchen: The menu at this health-forward fast-casual restaurant is inspired by Lebanese, Brazilian and Italian cuisine.
- It's founded by a married couple in Orem, Utah, in 2014.
- Try their gluten-free Power Pasture bowl with roasted tri-tip steak, an egg, seasoned kale, roasted onion, carrot salad, feta cheese and microgreens over a bed of turmeric rice with cashew cilantro jalapeño dressing.
The intrigue: Mesa — settled by Mormon pioneers and home to Arizona's first LDS temple — remains strongly influenced by Latter-day Saint culture.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reports more than 442,000 members in Arizona, which about 6% of the state's population.
The bottom line: You can take a surprisingly complete Utah food tour through Mesa.