Monday, March 3, 2014

Eats

Not many families have their professional family photos taken
in eating establishments . . . but we do! Why?
Because we love to eat!
So I thought I would do a little post about our favorite places!

Vietnamese
I started off with Oh Mai because . . . OH MY it is our current favorite!
The garlic ribeye steak banh mi sandwich - S8 on the menu - will change your life!
Honorable mentions: Any of the bun noodle dishes and the Pho soup is good too!

Asian
We found J Wong during the Salt Lake Dine-O-Round a couple of years ago and it is our new favorite for Chinese food. We like the Tangerine Chicken and the Honey Glazed Walnut Shrimp!
For a quick Chinese food fix we like the Kung Pao Beef! And the cut oranges they have for your beverages along with the lemons - quite unique and quite good.
The girls and their cousins and Aunt Perky frequent The Jasmine the most and say they have the best Bento Boxes. I like the Walnut Shrimp (this is becoming a theme)!

Burgers
Hires (Downtown)
There is no place like Hires!
We discovered Salt City when Mark changed offices and started working in the Southern part of the valley. These are burgers with options and we like that!
Cubby's (Provo)
Cubby's is where the above picture (photo cred: Griff Jones) of the Wightman's eating, was taken.
Not necessarily a burger place per se but it has some good sandwiches which are beef! It also has some great salads and sides.

Sweet Treats
Oh my goodness! The pastries! They also have great lunch and dinner fare.
Their French Country Picnic Plate is great as is their Salad Trio.
Cookies!!! The best! Penelope is the one for me!
Seriously, you will start drooling if you just look at the web site!
If you served your mission in England - as I did - you will love Elizabeth's. 
Scones, pasties, shortbread, trifle, and Cadbury! Enough said!

Mexican
Frida Bistro is quite expensive and in the sketchiest part of town but so, so good! 
Mark loves the Pork Carnitas!
Our #1 when it comes to Mexican food. Their Chilie Verde anything is the best.
Sonora Grill (Ogden)
This is our newest place! We went there on our first 2014 Temple Tour at the suggestion of Courtney.
Honestly! Get the guacamole - even if it is $10.

Breakfast
Yummy breakfast, fun atmosphere and just the right proportions.
The Egg and I (St. George)
I guess one has opened in Salt Lake as well but I have not yet tried it. 
Some St. George things are only St. George things! Courtney and I love the Athena Scramble.
Sadly this little place is closed currently due to a fire.
It is also a bit historic for us Wightmans. 
Mark's grandfather had a grocery store years ago in the same location. 
We have only done breakfast here and I had the Ham Hash and it was excellent! 
The owner of Left Fork used to be the executive chef at Red Rock Brewery which is also on our list.
Basically all their breakfast fare is yummy. Anything with hollandaise sauce is great!

Greek
I think Aunt Perky introduced us to Aristo's and it has become one of our very favorites!
We always have to have the appetizer that has 3 dips, hummus, skordalia, and tzatziki with pita.
The stuffed chicken is also yummy.
Mad Pita (St. George)
When we go to St. George - which we do quite often - 
we frequent Mad Pita at least once and maybe twice!
The combination sampler is a MUST followed by the fish fillet sampler.
Only two drawbacks - they don't serve Coke and there isn't one in Salt Lake!

Pizza
Longtime favorite! Garlic cheese pizza!
Pizza Factory (St. George)
I know there are Pizza Factory's all over but they are not all created equal!
Get the deep dish Garlic Ranch Chicken Pizza, salad bar and a breadstick.
This place is small and popular but it is worth the wait.
Their calzones are great - the Round Up is a favorite.

Middle Eastern
Everything is yummy at Mazza! My Mom loves the Chicken and Cauliflower Kabseh.
Mark's fave is always one of their lamb dishes.
Mark and I tried The Banana Leaf once before a BYU football game and I was sold!
Everything is served on a banana leaf! And it was so great!
But I can't remember what we got, so that isn't much help.
They have the best Chicken Tikka around.

Miscellaneous
This is a strange little out of the way place but they have phenomenal 
chocolate peanut butter pie!
What a great addition to Salt Lake! They use as much local ingredients in season as possible.
When we went we got a chicken entree that was great but what I remember most
was the 3 vegetable dish - one of which was shaved brussels sprouts with lemon and garlic.
Always a go to! They have wonderful halibut and if you get the complete meal you get ice cream with it!
However my new favorite is the shrimp louis salad! So good!
It is a brewery but we don't go there for the brew! They have great home made soft drinks though.
Everything at Red Rock is good! Horseradish mashed potatoes - you can't go wrong!
The fish sandwich is a hit as well as the Red Rock Burger.
Their warm shrimp salad is so, so good!

Italian
We have become pretty much Italian food snobs since Paige is now a real Italian.
I like the Gamberoni al Pomodoro. We also learned our new fave salad at Cucina Vanina which
consists of arugula, fennel, and shaved parmesan cheese, with a lemon, garlic, and olive oil dressing.
A favorite lunch place downtown. Cucina has a great curried chicken salad that I find it hard not to order when I visit. They also have wonderful sandwiches.
If you don't know about Pazzo Vita you probably would never happen upon it.
They have the greatest chicken parmesan sandwich and they have a wonderful hamburger and it is close to home so you can't beat that! Oh and they feed missionaries for free!
We first discovered Setebello when they opened because it was started by missionaries that had
served with Mark's Mom and Dad on their mission to Italy.
They make a great pizza and Paige thinks their Misto Antipasti plate is the most authentic
we have found!

I know this is TMI about all the place we love to eat,
but it was fun preparing it.
And now I am hungry!