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Scones in Utah are not like scones anywhere else, so erase that image of the dainty British baked good typically spread with jam for afternoon tea. Utah scones are a deep-fried, puffy bread, eaten with powdered sugar and honey and butter, usually, more akin to a Native American fry bread than anything else. (To this former Jersey girl, they also seem related to the fried-and-sugared boardwalk funnel cake, but also think beignets.) They are, plain and simple, fried dough served with indulgent fixings. And they’re delicious.
Interestingly, they seem to fall more often within the purview of casual restaurants than bakeries, where cookies, sweet rolls, and pastries rule.
Where: Our scones, pictured in a to-go container, are from Chubby’s (multiple locations including 336 S. Main St., Pleasant Grove, map), a place otherwise known for its burgers and Cajun food. But the sides menu lists scones, and while we have a hard time imagining these besides a main meal—they seem better off as a tasty dessert or even an indulgent breakfast—in Utah they list these besides fries and mashed potatoes.
When:Mon-Thurs, 11am-9pm; Fri, 11am-10pm; Sat, 11am-9pm
Order: Scones ($3.29) as a side dish, although we ate ours as a dessert to go (and leftovers for breakfast!). These scones were delicious, circular pillows of hot fried dough, dusted with powdered sugar and served, by request (because a local filled me in), with honey butter as a dipping sauce. Oh my goodness. If you can imagine liquefied butter shot through with honey, well, that’s honey butter. It was amazing.
Alternatively: If we’d had more time, we would have driven down to Leslie’s Family Tree (77 W. Main St., map) in Santaquin, as every local we met recommended the enormous scones there. The restaurant is also known for its supposed paranormal activity tied to a bloody local history.
In a similar vein, in Provo, there’s the popular Native American Southwestern restaurant Black Sheep Café (19 N. University Ave., map), where you can try fry bread (and green chile stew) as well as Navajo tacos, which tops fry bread with beef brisket and black beans.
