Cache Valley is dairy country, college country and some of the prettiest farmland in Utah. It also makes for a fantastic food day. Here’s a morning-to-night route through Logan, with six stops that show off the best of the valley.
Breakfast: Herm’s Inn
Start at the mouth of Logan Canyon. Herm’s Inn was built in the early 1900s by Herman and Elizabeth Johnson as the first fuel stop outside the canyon, and its original “first chance” and “last chance” signs still hang inside. Jim Laub restored it in 2012, and today it calls itself the “First Chance for Good Food.”
Order: the 16-inch cinnamon swirl pancake (bring friends) or the stuffed French toast.
Where: 1435 Canyon Rd., Logan
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. See hermsinn.com
Coffee: Caffe Ibis
Head downtown for a cup at Caffe Ibis, a Logan institution founded in 1976 by Utah State students Sally Sears and Randy Wirth. Now woman-owned, it roasts organic, fair trade and Bird Friendly certified coffee locally.
Where: 52 Federal Ave., Logan
Hours: Daily, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Late morning: Gossner Foods
No Cache Valley food day is complete without squeaky cheese curds. Gossner Foods, founded in 1966 by Swiss immigrant Ed Gossner, makes about a fifth of America’s Swiss cheese, and its shop sells fresh curds and cartons of flavored shelf-stable milk. While you’re there, look for cheese from Rockhill Creamery in nearby Richmond, which is sold at Gossner.
Read our full spotlight: Gossner Foods: The Swiss Immigrant Who Turned Cache Valley Into Utah’s Cheese Country.
Afternoon: Aggie Ice Cream
Utah State University’s creamery dates back to 1888, and its ice cream counter has been scooping since 1922. Aggie Ice Cream is a rite of passage for USU students and visitors alike. There’s now a second shop at Blue Square, too.
Order: Aggie Blue Mint, a permanent flavor since 2004, or Aggie Bull Tracks, chocolate with peanut butter and caramel swirls.
Where: 750 N. 1200 East, Logan (USU campus)
Hours: Monday to Saturday. Closed Sundays. See usu.edu/aggieicecream
Optional challenge: Angie’s
Still hungry? Angie’s has been a Logan favorite since 1983, serving breakfast all day. Its legendary “Kitchen Sink” sundae arrives in an actual sink, and anyone who finishes it earns a bumper sticker.
More: angiesrest.com
Dinner: Firehouse Pizzeria
Finish with stone-fired pizza. Brothers Neal and Greg Chambers, who grew up on a dairy farm, founded Firehouse Pizzeria in 2001. Sauces are made in-house, and there are now locations in Brigham City and at Bear Lake too.
Order: the Hog Heaven or the Honolulu Delight.
Where: 628 S. Main St., Logan
More: firehousepizzeria.com
Plan your day
- 8 a.m.: Pancakes at Herm’s Inn
- 10 a.m.: Coffee at Caffe Ibis, then a stroll down Logan’s historic Main Street
- 11:30 a.m.: Cheese curds at Gossner
- 2 p.m.: Aggie Ice Cream on the USU campus
- 6 p.m.: Pizza at Firehouse (or the sundae challenge at Angie’s, if you’re brave)
Pick any day but Sunday or Monday, since Herm’s is closed Mondays and Aggie Ice Cream is closed Sundays. Headed north in summer? Add a Bear Lake raspberry shake. And read more Cache Valley stories.
Details in this guide draw on each business’s own website, Utah State University, Visit Utah and the Herald Journal. Hours change, so confirm before you go. Top photo: AdvaitaMakaranda, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.