Where no one is a loser: Sunset Coffee- Sandy

I was introduced to this place in high school when a friend of mine vigorously supported (stalked) a kid who occasionally played live music here. It brings back fond memories and still fulfills a coffee house void in my hometown. My inner food snob is so embarrassed that I love this place. Honestly, their coffee is just not that good. Stick with a hot latte and you’ll get something drinkable.Sadly I once took the advice of the barista there and ordered a “stevie wonder’. This drink is supposed to be cream, espresso and chocolate (sounds delicious right?). The “chocolate” was Hershey syrup (blasphemy!) and it tasted like this supposedly extra special drink was what would happen if I accidentally dropped my espresso into my lil' brothers home mixed chocolate milk. I googled "stevie wonder drink" and only came up with some shooters made w/ chocolate liqueur so i'm not sure if that's the inspiration. In any case this take on it seems to be a Sunset Coffee original. If you like Hershey's syrup I know Robbie orders it religiously and suggested asking them to add caramel if that's your thing. I also go back and forth on their iced drinks. Typically they are too sweet for me but there is something about them that makes me reconsider and order an iced caramel latte once in awhile. The food leaves something to be desired, costco giant muffins and sometimes stale bagels wrapped in plastic. They are pretty chill about people bringing in their own food so lucky me I keep coming back.

The thing about Sunset coffee is that it’s sooo chill. I believe that it is owned by a church (?) or some other community group. It seems like everyone knows each other and the customers and staff are super super friendly. The crowd is very eclectic, high school to middle aged, kids, parents, nerds, alternative, SLC counter-culture and everything in-between. If you don't fit in here you probably can't go anywhere.One of my favorite social groups that have a permanent appearance are the fantasy card players. It is seriously awesome that 30+ dudes love playing magic enough to meet at the coffee shop on a Tuesday afternoon to duel their decks. They also get an A+ for having awesome board games. There’s plenty to entertain you: checkers, chess, I think i saw Sorry once, books and usually a newspaper or two you can scrounge. They have Free WiFi of course and plenty of outlets :P -plus they’re open late (at least until midnight.) The patio has a beautiful view of the valley that really shines at sunset. There are tables all the way out onto the grass so anyone who wants to can enjoy the view without fighting for a table. Keep in mind people come here to just hang out so expect to get friendly with your table neighbors- you’ll be sitting next to them for hours.

Even as I write this I’m shaking my head. Why do I like this place???? I guess it’s something about the sum of all it’s parts. This is the most reliably packed coffee shop I’ve been to out here in suburbia so I am not the only one to think so. I guess it just goes to show you don’t have to make gourmet coffee if you're delivering on something else. Too bad the other places in town that serve crappy brew don’t seem to get that. I <3>