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!