It's open almost all the time - check it out!

So good, even birds want some!

Almost fifteen years ago, my friend Mandi introduced me to "The Bakery" in downtown Salt Lake.  We were both getting over bad boyfriends and The Bakery is a great place to drown your sorrows, so to speak.  The drowning commenced in rice pudding, little eclairs and sometimes even salad with Green Goddess dressing, also a first for me.  The Bakery described in one word -- YUM.  I have visited many times and have never been disappointed - not once.  My favorites include their rice pudding (of course), the pear tart (new), the raspberry tart, the "little brothers" (baby eclairs) and any of their cookies.  They also sell amazing bread (their rye bread is the perfect thing to serve with corned beef) and I noticed something new today -- bread pudding.  Can't wait to go back and try it!  After Abby's flu shot this afternoon, she definitely needed a treat.  So, of course we stopped at The Bakery!  She got two cookies and I got rice pudding (yes, Blair - there is one in the fridge for you!)  When we came out, there was a cookie someone must have dropped in the parking lot, with some very interested birds who didn't want to leave it, even when we were trying to get in our truck.  Yes, it's so good even birds want to eat there!  The Bakery is located on 300 East between 200 South and 300 South in downtown Salt Lake City.  Try it out, you won't be disappointed!  

Sonora Grill - Ogden

So, since Kristin posted her bad sushi experience, I realized that this forum could be used for pans of places as well as praising good eateries. The Sonora Grill in Ogden unfortunately falls into the "panned" category. I say "unfortunately" because I REALLY wanted to like this place. Having grown up in Ogden and watched it's up and down cycles, I am very excited about how downtown really seems to be going through a transformation. I love going to Ogden on a weekend evening and seeing all the restaurants, bowling alleys and movie theaters packed with people. I had been wanting to try the Sonora Grill for a while, since it is located smack dab in the middle of all the great places associated with downtown Ogden.
Jeff and I are also big supporters of locally owned, non-chain establishments and I thought that this place would fall into that category. We went on a Saturday evening, arriving around 6 pm and were told it would be about a 15-20 minute wait. No problem. About 45 minutes later, we were finally shown to a table. I understand that telling people how long the wait will be is a tricky process, by being off by over a half hour bugs! We didn't see a waitress for about 15 more minutes after being sat. By this time, we had already decided what we wanted, but our VERY air-heady waitress wouldn't take our food order until after we had our drinks - EVEN after we told her all we wanted was water. Weird. She eventually brought us some chips and salsa (which were pretty good, with the disclaimer that the chips were big and round and you had to break them into smaller, more bite-size pieces by yourself), and then proceeded to leave us alone, with no water refills for about another half and hour. During that time, she tried to bring us two different other table's chips and salsa, and we would request more water, which finally came with our meals way after we had decided that we would never return to this restaurant. The actual food, once it appeared, was decent, but not spectacular. Service is a deal breaker for me. Even if the atmosphere is cool (it was), and the food is good (and it was), if you can't even manage to feed me in a timely and polite fashion, I am not a happy camper. So in short, don't be fooled by the awesome location and fancy building, the Sonora Grill is no place to go out to eat!

Great Fall Foods in Utah

As long as I can remember, we've been visiting Logan in the fall, for the best food of the season -- namely apples, apple cider and cheese.  Abby & I made a trip today, met Mandy, Tony & Cole and had a great time.  Our first stop was Zollinger's for apples & cider.  Mmmm....the cider is chilling in my fridge right now and I hope I can save a little for Blair when he gets home later.  I'll try.  We also got some apples for Kati's family and a few bags for us.  Blair will make some pie, hopefully tomorrow.  Our next stop was Crumb Brothers, a new spot on the "fall food tour of Logan."  They make incredible bread and we bought two loaves - crusty sourdough for dinner tomorrow and a herb baguette for dinner tonight.  Yum.  We then stopped at the best sandwich shop on the planet (at least in Utah), Logan's Heroes.  I had the hot pastrami (my dad got me hooked on hot pastrami YEARS ago at the Der Ratskeller in Salt Lake) and this one was perfect.  Hot pastrami, mustard, mayo, swiss cheese and pickles on a white sandwich roll.  My mouth is watering, just remembering.  Our last "foodie" stop was at Gossner's for cheese.  We bought "squeaky cheese", sliced Swiss for a future dinner featuring "malibu chicken" and some raspberry honey from Cox's Honeyland.  All great local places - yay!  And, then following a hot tip from my Mom, we stopped at Sumida's Fruit Stand on the way home (on "Fruit Way" - Highway 89) where their squash and pumpkins were very much on sale.  I got four acorn squash, two banana squash, two spaghetti squash and three pumpkins for $3.82.  I LOVE FALL IN UTAH!  YAY!  

X-Treme Sushi-Bountiful

Today Blair called me at work to report there was a new sushi restaurant in Bountiful, X-Treme Sushi at 500 South.  Yes, it was in a strip mall - but so is Tokai, our favorite place so I wasn't swayed by location.  After Abby's daycare Halloween party, we had to try it out.  This is my recommendation:  DON'T GO THERE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!!!!  You can get better sushi at Costco.  And, if that's what you think sushi is, I feel sorry for you.  When we first walked in, we were hit by an overpowering smell of disinfectant.  OK, that put me off a little, but hey - it's a new place, just getting started -- I was going to give them the benefit of the doubt.  We sat down at a table (nice tables, but it was more "fast-food" decor than anything else) and a very nice waitress asked what we'd like to drink (water for me, Sprite for Abby) but they didn't have water.  What?  Who doesn't have water?  They brought us two Sprite cans, no glasses, no ice.  Strike one.  The menu was sparse, but included the choice of a "half-roll" instead of ordering a whole roll, so I was impressed by that.  We ordered a 1/2 Alaska roll and 1/2 Playboy roll, plus two orders of Miso soup.  The soup was served in a square bowl (no, that is not an oxymoron) with soup spoons.  Seriously?  Soup spoons?  Even Abby didn't like the miso soup because...it was too salty.  This is from a girl who LOVES salt (me, too) and I couldn't even take more than three spoonfuls before I was done.  Strike two.  They brought the sushi out right after (thank goodness, I thought) and it looked OK.  I had to ask for wasabi (what?  Ask for wasabi?  What kind of place is this?) and we dug in.  Oh my word, it was so awful.  SO AWFUL!  The rice was DRY, the rolls fell apart and even the "middle" of the rolls weren't good.  The avocado wasn't ripe and was hard to chew and the shrimp wasn't shrimp tempura...it was just shrimp.  Yikes.  Strike three.  I graciously asked for a "to go" container, as not to embarrass the poor waitress, but let's just say that is the LAST time I'll go there.  Maybe people in Bountiful don't know sushi and this place will survive...but a Mikado is opening up next month in the Commons, next to Costco, just down the street.  Let's just say this place will NOT be a problem, as far as competition goes.  I predict they won't be there long.  

Les Madeleine's

I was lucky enough to be invited by my fellow "foodie" friend, Amanda to take a class at Les Madeleine's, an absolutely yummy local bakery.  It's become very famous lately, as Romina Rasmussen (the owner & pastry chef) recently appeared on the Food Network show, "Road Tasted with the Neeley's."  Amanda suggested we go to the class and learn a little more about the "magic" she produces and wow - it was all that and more.  Especially for someone as terrified of baking as me.  We now have recipes for Pumpkin Cheesecake, an Apple Tart, and a Poached Pear Napoleon -- with all the instructions about how to make them like she does.  I've included several pictures to illustrate what an enjoyable afternoon it was.  And, yes -- she has another class coming up in November and yes - you get to eat what you learn to make.  Rock on, foodies!  

The Poached Pear Napoleon

The Apple Tart - isn't it beautiful?

Exciting September Food Events

It's finally September, and I'm posting about those food events as promised. Definitely things to participate in.

The first is the Greek Festival that happens every year on the weekend following Labor Day. This year it starts on September 4 and ends on the 7th. The food is really great and the atmosphere is fun. But, I'd recommend trying to go at a time most people won't. The lines will be shorter that way. It takes place at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral at 279 South 300 West in Salt Lake. They've even got a section of the block set apart for the kiddies.

And my favorite September food event is Dine-O-Round. Actually, it happens twice a year, spring and fall. Here's how it works: many restaurants in downtown Salt Lake offer a Dine-O-Round menu consisting of 3 courses. Sometimes you get to pick, and sometimes not. Most of the time I've found that they'll have it set up so that you can pick between 2 different choices for each course. Sometimes you're really lucky and have more choices. The prices are either $15 or $30, and a few locations offer a 2-course lunch for $10. Some of my favorites from the past have been Bambara, Martine, and Baxter's American. Acme has really good food, but I don't know what their Dine-O-Round menu is like. Here's the website for more info, a list of restaurants, and some restaurants post a menu: http://www.downtownslc.com/events/dine-o-round.htm. Going to some of these places during Dine-O-Round can be completely worth it. For example, at Bambara you definitely save money because 2 people, 3 courses is definitely more than $30 each. But at places like Biaggi's, you get good food, but maybe don't save quite so much. So check it out and try out a new and cool place in downtown SL.

And of course, for those less discriminating palates, but also out for a good time, the Utah Fair starts on September 4 and ends on the 14. I hear there will be deep-fat frying of twinkies and those weirdo frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches... I know I'll be there!

epic

So, my cute parents took me out to dinner the other night to a place called epic (707 E Fort Union Bldvd). The atmosphere was really cool and the food was fabulous. It's a little more pricey but nothing crazy. The entrees ranged from 18-30$. They had a tons of yummy side salads. The appetizers are awesome. We ordered a grilled artichoke drenched in Parmesan and butter. Oh my, so good. They also have tons of cool flat breads with yummy toppings. For dinner, I got the grilled tenderloin with a reduction and the yummiest mashed potatoes. My mom got a chicken Marsala, and holy cow the sauce was so good. My dad got a really good shrimp fettuccine. I would highly recommend this place. We didn't get desserts, but it seemed like a place that would have fabulous desserts.

Finn's

Derk and I were out and about on Saturday morning, and thought it might be fun to get some breakfast. Not something I normally would do because I am a cereal person in the morning, and in fact had already had some. Our first choice was way too crazy busy, and I remembered that some of my friends like this place called Finn's, so we tried that.

Finn's is on 1624 South and 1100 East. And as always, here is their website; check out their history and menu. They're open for breakfast/brunch and lunch. As you might guess from the look of their menu and website, this place is a great place to just chill. We weren't rushed, and had time to sit and really enjoy our food, the setting, and hanging out with each other.

Like I said, I'm not a big fan of most breakfast foods, they're suspiciously eggy. But every now and then I will be brave and try some. And omelets can be OK, especially if they are loaded with other things, which mine was! It was the omelet special of the day and had all sorts of peppers, onions, tomatoes, chorizo sausage, cheese, and even some guacamole. It was actually really pretty good, and lucky for me, the egg was not juicy or squiggly. And it came with some nice hash browns and toast with really tasty jam. If you go, you really must try their mint lemonade. It's amazingly good and dare I say refreshing? Derk had the usual: eggs over hard, sausage, hash browns and toast. And he really liked his food, too. In fact, he's the one who wanted me to remember to write this post. Our experience inspired us to go out for breakfast every once in a while. It's kind of fun!

And while you're there, try some dessert, too. I had the marzipan cake, which was good. Derk tried the red velvet cake, but here's where we differ. For most people, I think the red velvet cake would be great, a nice cake with yummy cream cheese frosting (I tried some and liked it). However, people from Derk's family I would probably recommend they make their own red velvet cake because this one is nothing like what your mom and grandma make!

Connor's Cafe'

So, this is not technically a "Utah" restaurant, mostly because it's in Burley, Idaho.  We went to the Twin Falls Idaho Temple Open House over the weekend and we ate at this place Friday night.  You know it's going to be a great, hometown restaurant when you walk in and there is a picture of the couple who started the place in 1930.  There were truckers and old farmers sitting around the counter and everyone else was seated in booths when we arrived and as our party was quite large, they put some tables together for us in the back.  The menu was huge and included breakfast...served all day.  I love breakfast.  I knew this was going to be great.  There were also seven kinds of homemade pie.  Holy cow, I think we hit dining nirvana.  Most everyone, including the kids ordered breakfast, Blair ordered the T-Bone steak special and Marilyn (Blair's mom) ordered the turkey dinner.  I ordered eggs, toast & hashbrowns and they were wonderful....basic but great!  Anyplace that serves breakfast all day is always going to be #1 in my book.  So, if you're going that way and want some good, old-fashioned, homemade food....stop in Burley at Connor's Cafe'.  It doesn't get better than this!  

TOMATOES

This post isn't really about a place so much as it is about a tip, recommendation, and about where I was at 8:30 this morning. My favorite day of the summer happened today: it was the first day this year that I went to the Farmer's Market. Let me say here that everyone should go and enjoy the closest Farmer's Market to them. And then I will tell you that the best one to be found, at least to me anyway, is the one in Murray. They have it at the Murray City Park right there on State Street and the earlier you get there the better--I went too late once and all the good stuff was gone. My dad and I have always left our house at 8 or 8:30 and have always left quite happy with our purchases.

Why do I love this Farmer's Market? Because it's an honest to goodness market with real actual farmers. The next closest one I've been to in quality of stuff is perhaps the one in Ogden (sorry guys, maybe I'm partial to the one in Murray, too, because that's where I have made memories for so many years). And only go to the one in Salt Lake at Pioneer Park if you absolutely have to--again, entirely my opinion, but there you have it. I went to check out the one in Murray today and yes, there are tomatoes, and green beans, and squash, cucumbers, corn, one guy even had Dutch Beans, raspberries, and more. And when I got home, there was one tomato that was just almost ripe, so of course I had to keep with tradition: every time you get home from the market, you must eat one tomato and peach (if you bought them). And let me tell you, this tomato smelled like an actual tomato, and with a little salt...heaven. I have been waiting all year, since last October, for this moment. Of course I had to share.

So let me once again advocate for going to the farmers markets, and early every Saturday until the end of October, or until they close it, I can be found out in Murray, happily checking out what the farmers in Utah have to offer.

And stay tuned for more fun food stuff in September! And I'm not talking about Farmer's Markets.

Pho Green Papaya A vietnamese and Thai Bistro

So, Billy is always up for a new fun restaurant and he read about this in the Deseret News and it was really tasty. If you're not afraid to head out west (3500 South, 2000 West), I think you will really like it.

We got the fried Quail appetizer. Yes, I have to admit I was pretty nervous. Never had Quail before. But the whole, "it tastes like chicken description" held true for this and it came with the 2 yummiest craziest sauces. Every dish had the best sauces, and I am kind of all about foods that are saucey.

For dinner, we shared the Dinner special, and we wished we would have each done this. It actually is for one and this is what you get. Soup and Salad that were so different and fabulous, gyozo, shrimp crispy roll, and then you get to choose 2 dishes. We chose green beans and I know doesn't sound exciting, but they were so darn good. There were lots to choose from. Now, I have to say, when I go to Chinese places, I am all about sharing. I think their dinner for one options, are very marginal. Not at this place. It was fabulous.

We also ordered a large (so huge, way too much) bowl of their Pho noodle soup. This is actually what they are known for. Billy and I weren't too sure about the flavor. It was a little much. But I guess this is why people go here, so it might be worth trying, but get a small.

So, conclusion, you get tons of really good food and it is very inexpensive.

Go, try it. I Think you will like it.

"Justly Famous Since 1939"

This post may just be inspired by one of my favorite Food Network TV shows: Triple D (Diners, Drive-Inns and Dives), and this weird sort of attraction I have for old, retro stuff. Nostalgia, even though I wasn't alive or around for the stuff to even be nostalgic for it.

About a year ago, I heard about a real, honest to goodness diner that some guy bought in Rhode Island, dragged out to Utah, and planned to restore it and open it in Oakley, UT. I followed its progress because, well, I'd always wanted to go to a real diner and as far as I know, we don't have any in Utah. Nor had I ever eaten at one on any of my (limited) travels. And about 2 or 3 weeks ago, the Road Island Diner finally opened its doors! Check out their website for menu, pictures, history, fun stuff like that.

And it didn't disappoint. Of course, you have to realize that going into a diner, that's what you're getting. I had an apricot glazed pork chop, mostly because I have always wondered what a pork chop with apricot or apple might taste like. It was pretty tasty, and the vegetables and rice that came with it were good, too. Derk had meat loaf (I know, meat loaf, beat loaf...), but he said it was good, but that the potatoes were a little greasy spoon-ish for his taste. We want to go back for breakfast and hamburgers and fries!! It was great, the ambience was fun, the wait staff was dressed up like old timey diner waitresses and bus-boys, and they even have fun diner names like Rosie, complete with old timey hair-dos. Oh, I almost forgot. We also need to go back for the Pig Trough. There's a picture of some people eating it on their picture gallery, it's basically a pig trough with all sorts of scoops of ice cream. Isn't that awesome?! Let me know if anyone's interested in a road trip and we'll plan it!

And the bumper of our car now reads, "I Brake for Diners." :)

Jon's Amazing Dinner

OK, this only counts as a "Utah Foodie" entry because it took place in Utah and was cooked by someone originally from Utah. Many of you know that my brother, Jonathan David just left Hawaii after spending almost 8 years there in the Navy. He's been transferred to Seattle but got some time in the middle for vacation, some of which he's spending here at "home" in Utah. So, Sunday he cooked everyone the most amazing Hawaiian dinner I think I've ever had - and we've been to Hawaii twice. And eaten great food there, both times. The menu consisted of kaulua pork (probably spelled that wrong), coleslaw - Hawaiian style with pineapple, ginger & nutmeg in it (I know, it sounds a little icky...but I absolutely promise you it is the opposite!) fresh cucumbers with dill, and a little vinegar and sugar and crab & cream cheese wontons. Wow - everything was just amazing. The pork was extremely tender (after being slow-cooked for a few hours) and the flavor was amazing. There is nothing that reminds me of Hawaii more than pork cooked like that! The coleslaw was really unique and I was surprised to discover how great the flavors of ginger & nutmeg could be in something like coleslaw. I loved the extra flavor of dill with the cucumbers and the wontons.....holy cow, they were good. They were filled with crab, scallions, water chestnuts and cream cheese. I definitely need his recipe and when I get it, I'll post it here and on the "Favorites" blog. Thank you, Jon for an amazing meal. I still think you have a bright future ahead of you in some kind of restaurant business, but I'll just have to dream about that for a while, eh? I can't wait to see what kind of recipes you are inspired to fix once you've been in Seattle for a while! We will definitely visit for seafood!

Taggarts

I am so excited that I actually went somewhere worth blogging about!
The first thing you need to know about Taggarts is how to get there - it's kind of out of the way. Head east on I-84 up past Morgan - there is a Ranch exit right past Morgan and then the exit for Taggart. That's the best part - about the only thing off the exit is the restaurant and a couple of houses. It's so good - it has it's own exit! :)

I went for dinner - but it would be a great place for lunch as well. First impression was one of casual comfort. And the fantastic display in the front of all the baked goods for sale. Always a plus! There were multiple kinds of cookies, brownies and cheesecakes. I knew I was in a good place.

The menu consisted of a lot of sandwiches, salads, and dinner specials. The prices were reasonable. Most of the sandwiches and salads staying in the under $10 range, with the dishes like steak and shrimp scampi running closer to $20/$25. Not an overwhelming amount to chose from, which I like, but not too limited - I felt like almost anyone could find something they liked on the menu. They also had a couple of strictly vegetarian dishes, which is always nice.

I ended up ordering the Turkey sandwich after debating about ordering their Ham and spiced apple sandwich (next time!). The friend I was with ordered the Taggart burger, which she has had before and absolutely raves about. The best part of both the sandwiches and the burger is that they bake all their own bread products - buns for the burgers and pita bread for the sandwiches. The turkey came nice and warm with melted Swiss, red onion, avocado, and tomato folded in a freshly baked, warm, grilled pita round. It was SOOO yummy. You could choose salad or beer-battered fries with the meal and I, of course, couldn't turn down the fries! They were excellent - large, steak cut and lots of crispy outside covering. Since we were on a "Girl's Night" we couldn't not order dessert - Raspberry and Chocolate Cheesecake. Oh my. They serve their cheesecakes in small rounds - I was pretty full from half my sandwich and most of the fries, I only managed to eat about 1/8 of the total cake. Take home boxes are the best!

The best part was that I left feeling like I'd really like to take Jeff there, or anyone else for that matter, and I ended up telling a lot of people that I talked to the next few days after about it - always a good indication that it was a good place to eat. So, if you are ever in the mood for a road trip into Morgan County, give Taggarts a try!

Thaifoon

By the way...thanks for including me in this very cool website. Great idea! I love it.

So back to importance at hand....food and very good food which Thaifoon has. It is located at the North end of Gateway and it is one of Billy and my favorites. But, you have to order the right thing.

Appetizers:
They are all amazing. In fact, one night we just ordered like 5 appetizers and we were very satisfied.
Shrimp and avacado roll (the one we get the most)
Lettuce wraps(best ever)
crab roll (i can't remember the name, but it has crab in it and the yummiest dipping sauce)

Dishes: the 2 best on the menu
Honey Walnut Shrimp
Evil Jungle Princess Beef

Oh this is making me hungry. Billy and I need a date.

Cupcakes and Crack

Well, not real crack, but apparently that's the nickname for kouing aman, a really quite amazing little treat that not many people or places make. Happily for those of us in Utah, Les Madeleines at 216 East 500 South in Salt Lake City does! (Check out their website for pictures, menu, information, all sorts of good stuff!)

I've had a couple of people recommend the kouing aman at Les Madeleines, particularly Kristin, and since I had to work 9-12 today, and it's practically next door, I thought I'd make my husband stop there with me for a quick treat before heading over to work. The kouing aman (the guy at the shop pronounced it something like queen aman) is one of their specialities and is yummy and crunchy and caramelized on the outside and soft and buttery on the inside. It's not super sweet, which is nice, but holy cow, is it good stuff. It is highly recommended that those interested in tasting this treat arrive at the store probably by noon or call ahead because it goes fast. Derk said they reminded him of a croissant, only improved and more buttery.

I also tried one of their cupcakes, the Gilligan's Island, which was a coconut cupcake with cream cheese frosting and coconut flakes on top. This was a pretty typical cake, with yummy cream cheese frosting on top. I had to go with this one because the buttercream frostings on their other cupcakes looked like the kind that give me the willies. (I have a weird texture thing.) But their shortbreads are really, really good, especially the toffee one. And don't miss their lime-ade. It's really amazing, with a great lime flavor and just the right amount of tartness.

Now on to more cupcakes, and I should say that both of these places mostly make mini cupcakes, so they're just the right size. If you're into really cool, designer looking and tasty cupcakes, I have to recommend Mini's Cupcakes on 800 South and 14 East between Main and State Street in Salt Lake, rather than Les Madeleines. Their cupcakes are crazy good, and even when the frosting is of the buttercream or swiss meringue type I still will eat it because for some reason they avoid the weird texture thing you can run into with these types of frostings. My favorites are the PB Fix (chocolate cupcake with really yummy peanut butter flavored frosting, I know, seems strange but works really well) and the Snowball (vanilla bean cupcake with swiss meringue frosting topped with coconut). Both delicious!! I've tried several others as well, and they were all good. Though I didn't try the margarita flavored one, yes they have one with tequila in the frosting!

Oh, I should mention that both places also do lunch kinds of things, check out their menus for that sort of thing. I have only so far tried their treats, but their lunches sound good. Give them a try!

Tokai Sushi

I can't believe it took me this long to blog about my favorite sushi place, Tokai Sushi.  This is centrally located in Salt Lake, at 1301 East Miller Avenue, which is just north of 33rd South in the little strip mall where there is a Cookie Cutters shop, a pharmacy and a sports car dealership.  We've been going to Tokai for over a year now and it has been consistently good, an important feature!  Sushi is the main menu item, but they have lots of other great dishes.  I will let Derk blog about that, as he doesn't order sushi when we go with he and Christine!  

Some of my favorite sushi rolls are below:

• Alaska Roll (salmon, crab, asparagus & avocado, wrapped in soybean paper).  For sushi beginners, this is a good place to start.  When we introduced Abby to sushi, we started with all rolls with soybean paper, which is a nice alternative to seaweed.  
• Crunch Roll (Shrimp tempura, crab & avocado, with tempura powder on top).  We almost always order this.  I am a BIG fan of shrimp tempura and the tempura powder on top makes it just crunchy enough.  The sauce served with this is also totally yummy.  
• Imperial Roll (Crab, cucumber, avocado and cream cheese with salmon and lemon on top).  I had to be introduced to this one, because I was afraid of the lemon on top.  DO NOT be afraid of the lemon!  When you pop one of these in your mouth, you have all those great flavors happening at the same time - crab, salmon, avocado, cream cheese and then you get this little kick from the lemon!  Truly amazing.  
• Playboy Roll *my favorite* (Shrimp tempura and crab, topped with tuna, salmon, avocado and tobiko (fish eggs) - this has the yummiest sauce that makes me want to lick the plate when I'm done!  No, I haven't done this in public...but I do admit I have when we've done take-out at home!  
• Black Crunch Roll (Shrimp tempura, crab, avocado and eel on top).  When Abby first tried this, we told her the eel was chicken, so she would try it.  Now, it's all she wants to eat!  And, if you've never tried eel, try this roll.  You'll be hooked for life.  

The most expensive of the rolls is the Playboy at $11.45, with most of the others between $8.45 & $9.95, so not too expensive.  Their appetizers have been uniformly good - we usually get the edamame (they serve this with a wedge of lemon, which when squeezed over the edamame makes it truly yummy!  I like it with a LOT of salt, as well).  Their tempura vegetables & shrimp have the crispiest tempura with a light sauce to dip it in, and the miso soup is hot and filled with yummy chunks of tofu (that is Abby's favorite part).  Perhaps one of the best features of Tokai is the free dessert, served at the end of the meal, usually either tempura strawberries or tempura bananas, with whipped cream & chocolate syrup.  The perfect end to a perfect meal!

Overall, if I had to pick my favorite "neighborhood"restaurant, this would be it.  Great food, nice people and a great location (only 20 minutes from work and surprisingly only 15 minutes from home, on the freeway and I-80!)  I highly recommend it!  

Glitretind Restaurant at Stein Eriksen, Deer Valley

Blair & I had the great experience of spending our anniversary at the Stein Eriksen Lodge in Deer Valley Friday night, thanks to a great website deal that included our suite, a 3-course dinner at the Glitretind Restaurant and 20% all spa treatments.  We didn't have time for the spa, but WOW was the food incredible!  I will attempt to describe it in the most mouth-watering terms I can.  I started out with the "Surf & Turf" first course, which consisted of charred Kobe tartare, wild gulf shrimp & argula salad with crispy root vegetables.  I was a little hesitant about the tartare, as I'd never tried it before but it was incredible.  The meat was charred on the outside and rare on the inside, with just a small spoonful of creamy horseradish sauce on top.  The gulf shrimp were tender and delicious and the arugula had just the right "bite" to complement the shrimp.  The crispy root vegetables were thin strings of fried carrot & potato and were a nice diversion from the tartare.  Moving on to the second course - I had seared Maine sea scallops and a braised pork belly with baby artichokes, lemon basil and a horseradish butter sauce.  Once again, I was a little hesitant about the pork belly having never tried it but it delicious!   It tasted like a thin, crispy version of a pork roast.  Mmmm...my mouth is watering just remembering it!  The scallops were seared on the outside and tender on the inside and you can't ever go wrong with scallops!  Delicious!  For dessert, I had the Wicked Velvet Cake with orange mousse, two kinds of ice cream and a crispy macaroon.  I literally have never tasted flavors like that before!  The cake was crumbled with the mousse and ice cream on the top and I really should have swallowed my pride (pun intended) and took a picture because the presentation was beautiful.  I highly recommend this restaurant and highly recommend the website package that included the room AND dinner.  I believe they offer it every spring, so mark your calendars now! 

Welcome to Utah Foodies!

Welcome to our new blog, Utah Foodies.  This site is dedicated to all the food that Utah has to offer.  This is great time of year to start recommending great places to eat and for posting great recipes.  If you want to know were to find great food in Utah, to coin a phrase....This is the Place!  Please check back frequently for new restaurant reviews, recipes and just general food information.

Welcome!