Taste organic, sustainable cooking in the middle of nowhere  

Boulder, Utah, a sleepy farming community 4½ hours south of Salt Lake City, is home to roughly 150 Mormons—and Hell’s Backbone Grill, run by two practicing Buddhists devoted to fresh, sustainable cooking. The owners, Jen Castle and Blake Spalding, fell in love with the incredible beauty of Boulder on a visit and opted to stay and create one of the West’s most improbably located gourmet restaurants. The locally sourced menu and sophisticated wine list have been hailed by critics as far as New York and London, and by just about every traveler who comes through Boulder. But the traditional community was initially skeptical. To warm things up after opening in 2000, Castle and Spalding threw an ice cream social. Practically the entire town showed up, and the event has been an annual tradition ever since. If you can’t make the schlep to Boulder yourself, give their Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream recipe a try.