Despite Mormon nondrinking culture, brewpubs caught on in Salt Lake City and are often the most convenient places to enjoy good food and drink. Note that by law all draft beer in Utah is 3.2 percent alcohol. Beer with a higher alcohol content is considered hard alcohol and is sold only by the bottle in liquor stores.

The state's oldest brewpub is Squatters Pub Brewery (147 W. Broadway, 801/363-2739, www.squatters.com, 11 a.m.-midnight Mon.-Thurs., 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Fri., 10:30 a.m.-1 a.m. Sat., 10:30 a.m.-midnight Sun., $7-18). In addition to fine beers and ales, the pub (part of Salt Lake Brewing Company) serves sandwiches, burgers, and other light entrées in a handsome old warehouse. In summer, there's seating on the back deck.

Very popular and kind of a scene, the Red Rock Brewing Company (254 South 200 West, 801/521-7446, www.redrockbrewing.com, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sun.-Thurs., 11 a.m.-midnight Fri.-Sat., $8-27) offers steaks, pasta, salads, and sandwiches, including an excellent variation on the hamburger (baked in a wood-fired oven inside a bread pocket). There's often a wait to get in the door, but the food and brews are worth it.

Desert Edge Brewery (700 East 500 South, 801/521-8917, www.desertedgebrewery.com, 11 a.m.-midnight Mon.-Wed., 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Thurs.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-1 a.m. Sat., noon-10 p.m. Sun., $10), in Trolley Square, is also known simply as "The Pub." The inexpensive menu offers sandwiches, pasta, Mexican dishes, and salads all day; some of the ales are cask-conditioned. The atmosphere is retro industrial chic, and there's a second-floor outdoor veranda.