Greg's

For some dumb reason, I have been procrastinating posting about this restaurant. I called Miss Nemesis, and she was kind enough to email me some of her pictures from the evening. She complied very quickly, and I sat on my keister and didn't do a thing about them. Nem, I apologize! ::hanging head in shame:: Nemesis, her sisters Jenny & Megan, Kristeee, Jaime & Jake, Shelly, and myself all got together and went to dinner since Nemesis was going to be in town for the weekend. Anyway, here we go on a Culinary Adventure!

Greg's Restaurant for those who know about and frequent it, is known as "The Best Kept Secret in Utah Valley." I have actually been told this by a few people, and it is not just my extremely biased opinion! Greg's Restaurant is located in the McKay Events Center on the Utah Valley State College campus. The restaurant is run by the Culinary Arts Students, and is only open during the course of the school semester. During the Fall semester, they feature International Cuisine, and develop menus from regions all over the world, such as French, Italian, Thai, Japanese, etc. During the Spring semester, they feature American Regional Cuisine, and develop menus from regions all over the United States such as Tex Mex, Central Plains, Pacific Northwest, American Steakhouse.

The price is only $16.95 per person, and they only accept reservations. They have reservation times every Thursday and Friday night ranging from 6-8 p.m. It is a five course meal, served in various creative plate presentations. You can expect to pay $30-$50 on average at other fine dining establishments in the state. You get your choice of one item from each of the following categories.

Our theme/region for the evening was Pacific Northwest. For some reason, we didn't get any pictures of the salads, but you get your choice of that too! Here is how our evening went:

Appetizers:

• Trio of Grilled Bell Pepper & Eggplant Terrine
• Deep Fried Salmon Croquettew/Caper Dill Tartar Sauce

• Mussels in Thai Coconut Broth

Soups:

• Red Lentil Soup w/Walla Walla Marmalade
• Green Pea Soup with Crab and Mint

Entrees:

• Blackberry Barbecued Breast of Chicken w/Creamy Potato Salad, Shoestring Potatoes & Chinese Broccoli w/Crispy Garlic
• Roasted Morgan Valley Lamb Top Sirloinw/Thyme Merlot Reduction, Spicy SweetPotato Hash Browns & Zucchini & Snow Peas w/Basil

DESSERTS:

• Chocolate Mocha Something w/Cream & Cookies & Chocolate Shavings (Can anyone remember what this was really called? Nem was the only one who ordered it)!
• Panna Cotta w/Strawberry Gelatin & Black Pepper Tuille

Key Personel:

Here is a copy of their menu this week, so you can get an idea of how menus vary.

"This Is Very Different From Downtown Provo"

That was the quote from a friend of mine when she walked into "The Pie Pizzeria" in Salt Lake City on Saturday. This person is as goodie-two-shoes as one person can be. I found this place through my friend Shameonyou21. I do not know where she heard about it from, prolly her sissy or something like that. It is a little underground establishment up on the University of Utah campus just a little bit North of their football Stadium.

"The Pie Pizzeria" really isn't like any place you have ever been before if you are from Utah County. The ambiance is dark, the music is loud, there are sports playing on the two TV's on either side of the dining room, and they serve alcohol!

I remember when I was in school, my fellow classmates and I were working up in Salt Lake at the Salt Palace for a few days one week. I suggested we all go here for lunch after our shift one day. There were a few of my classmates who were not LDS and ordered a beer to go with their pizza lunch. Another of my classmates was just recently returned from her LDS mission. She got so uncomfortable that she asked me for my keys to go sit in the car while we finished eating!!!

I personally love the ambiance. Maybe I am not as ultra-conservative as some others are either, but the darkness adds to the fun I think. You place your order right as you walk in the door, and they take your name. You go find your seat, and in a few minutes, they call you over the intercom and tell you to pick up your order (or in the event you ordered a whole pizza and not their express lunch by-the-slice, they will tell you that your "PIE" is ready).

I order their Cheese-Pull-A-Part every time I go. It is essentially a no-sauce cheese pizza with a top crust. Mmm, cheesy breadsticks!!! Their pizzas are heaped with cheese, and loads of toppings. If you just sort-of like a topping, this is probably the place where you will either learn to love that topping, or just learn to hate it all together!!! They have a wide selection of regular pizza toppings, plus a selection of gourmet toppings such as sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, feta cheese, and much more.

Here is a copy of their menu if you wish to check it out. I love this place, and if anyone who couldn't go, and wants to go, just give me a shout!!!

Happy Bunny

For Christmas, a friend of mine gave me a poster of something called "Happy Bunny." The reason she gave me this poster, and the reason she knew it would be a hit, was because one day in the 7Eleven getting hot chocolate, I noticed a "Happy Bunny" calendar. I shared it with the others in our group because it is full of pictures of these colorful cartoon bunnies with little sayings or comments. These aren't ordinary comments you must realize. These are rude, and insulting statements toward you, if you are the one reading it.

Rude and insulting=FUNNY right? In my strange, twisted world that I live in, it usually does! The picture to the left is from a UK based store online, and apparently, they can be even more mean than the ones found in the US, so I didn't put all of those on my list.

Listed below are a some of the excerpts from the poster that is now hanging on the wall in my room:

· LIKE I NEED YOUR APPROVAL
· Nobody’s perfect. I’m as close as it gets
· I’m cute. You’re not. Seems so unfair
· Please put all questions in the form of a compliment
· You’re dumb. I like that
· It’s not your fault. I’m blaming you anyway
· Ok. I’m perfect. Now stop staring
· You go girl. And don’t come back
· This has been fun but I have to barf now
· Not listening
· Life. Get one
· I’m cute let’s put me in charge
· I’m not spoiled. I deserve all my stuff
· I’m happy, don’t wreck it by talking
· Me pretending to listen should be enough for you
· Its not my fault your icky
· Let’s not bore each other. you start
· Don’t make me open a can of pout
· I am only mean to those people who tell me to be nice
· I hear the other ucky people calling you
· Let’s be friends, I’d like a dumb friend
· Kids are the future. Frightened?
· It’s sad your own mom dresses you like that
· I have a dream, and in it, something eats you
· Does it hurt being so dumb?
· So beautiful to look at, so easy to annoy
· Nobody ever suspects me
· I like to scare old people
· Crazy doesn’t even begin to cover it
· Boys lie and kind of stink
· You’re ugly and that’s sad
· I hate everything
· I just don’t listen
· Hooray for guys with money
· You smell like butt

Which one best fits you/which one is your favorite/which one would you most like to use on someone you know??? The second one down from the top is definitely me!

Lobster Bits

I go here often, but this is my first official visit since I became a self proclaimed restaurant critic. Kristee and I braved the Provo chain, and for the most part was very pleased. She ordered the eggplant parmigian, which turned out to be more like a manicotti. Eggplant wrapped around cheese and covered in marinara sauce. She let me taste it, and it was a surprisingly good twist to a usually very simple dish.

I ordered the Ravioli Pescatora. It is basically a seafood ravioli (mixture of crab, shrimp, lobster, and cheese) in a lobster cream sauce. Normally it is garnished with a chiffonade (thin cut strips) of basil, and tiny salad shrimps. This particular instance was tiny bits of lobster!!! Very nice surprise! There are very few things so far in my experiences that have made me want to lick my plate clean. This is one of them. I let Kristee try some too, and in fact, she came back for more later in the meal! Neither of us could finish our entire meals, so we got to-go boxes. We left them on the table when we left. CURSES!!!

For some reason, I am just cursed with bad experiences with friends at restaurants. They can usually go a million times and not have one single problem. The minute they go with me, all of a sudden there is a problem. Either the waiter, the menu, the food, the hostesses, you name it!

I seem to have better luck at the Provo restaurant than I do the American Fork restaurant. I also think the Provo one tastes a little better too. I will still probably go to the A.F. one since I have a few friends that live out that way, but I think I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Provo.

PROS: Authentic Italian feel in the ambiance. Good food. Average service. All you can eat foccacia bread (you'll have to ask for more if you eat the basket they give you, but they'll give it to you).

CONS: Wait service is average. Hostesses rarely have a clue (AF). Servers take your food and box it up for you (some people might like that but it bugs me). Chiffonade of basil is a lousy garnish. Rule #1 in plating and garnishing is that you don't garnish with something someone won't actually eat. I can't really even call it a chiffonade, these are usually giant uneven strips plopped right in the middle of the dish. It is almost as bad as another restaurant and their giant sprig of parsley that has no purpose whatsoever!

New Beginnings

As most of you already know, there have been many changes going on in my life. For those who don't know, here's the scoop.

I have moved again. Again you ask yourselves? Why yes, again! I am now in an apartment in Provo. In Provo you ask yourselves again? In Zoobieville? What was I thinking you say to your selves under your breath? I'll tell you what I was thinking!!! I was thinking that the good ol' Family Stake Singles Ward has finally worn me out. The thought of moving back home scared the ber-geez-ies outta me! I am in a new ward with a very much established R.S. so that fear is (hopefully) gone. The really ironic part is that it is also the 7th ward. (The old ward was the same).

I have two roommates; Erin & Debbie, and they are BOTH engaged. I knew Erin kind of from my friend who I bought the contract from. I didn't know very much about her, but I knew she was engaged when I moved in. Debbie just got engaged this past Sunday. Everyone (esp. my Dad) tells me that I better stick around because there must be something in the water. 3 marriages in less than 2 years time. Must be a record!

I am not entirely sure how to handle it, but maybe just because I am the newbie around here, that things seem a little extra awkward. But hey, what do I know, maybe they just REALLY ARE more awkward! I am still not used to having roommates even without all the awkwardness. I have my own room and my own bathroom, so that helps, but I think as time goes on, things will settle down and we'll probably just be friends, rather than roommates. They seem like they are way cool like that. I have felt very welcomed, and they are very friendly. Even told me they will help me scope out the Elders Quorum!!!

The Minor League Baseball team in the area offered me a fairly decent position (after I told them how they really needed me and how they couldn't do this without me.). I had to turn them down though, because with all of the new responsibility (about double plus some from last year) I only got offered $8.50/hour. I made $8 last year, and this year would have been a good add to the resume, but I was an intern last year, and that was all I cared about. I wanted to keep my mouth shut, try to ignore the idiot above me and just do my thing. I don't think these guys expected me to come into the interview with such an opinion!!! "Someone who thinks for themselves...don't know how to handle this situation." "Let us get back to you with your exact position responsibilities, and wage."

This year however, I have my degree, more experience and knowledge about the food industry than the two front office boys the mgmt. wants to run their concessions. I didn't have enough experience in concessions in their eyes, which is true if it was all about being the most qualified person for the job. I admit, compared to some, I may not have been. The killer in the whole thing, was that they wanted these two guys to be over the concessions on top of what they already do for the front office. Since these guys don't know anything about food service, or concessions at all, they wanted me to teach them how to do the ordering and stuff. I did it last year, but yet, I am not qualified enough. How does that work exactly?


I got a raise at The Spot. First one in like 6 years so it makes it really hard to actually break away from the family business and get a job in my field of study since I actually have a degree to my name. I hate being a grown up!!!

MMM SUSHI

A couple of weeks ago, Shameonyou21, and her boyfriend (whom we'll call) Randoval took me out for my birthday dinner. Actually it was more Randoval taking the two of us out. He left town the day she and I went up to Black Angus, so Randoval said he would take me out when he got back into town. After much deliberation, and veto's from everyone involved we finally decided on Tepnayaki Japanese Steakhouse in Lehi.

This Japanese steakhouse is not simply a restaurant, it's also culinary entertainment! Guests sit at communal tables surrounding Japanese-style teppan grills while skilled chefs prepare meats and veggies in a flurry of flashing knives and spatulas. The house specialty--and most dramatic option--is a simple stir-fry with fried rice or noodles on the side, although sushi also is available at almost all of the locations. The Provo location being the only one that does not have a sushi bar.

It is quite the performance when the chef lights the grill on fire to start the meal, and also a flaming volcano onion. Some don't like the end of the meal because regardless if you ordered shrimp or not, he always saves a few to toss at you to catch in your mouth. Maybe these people don't have good hand-eye coordination, or whatever, but I sure like it. They will throw chicken at you instead of shrimp if it is the shrimp part you object to, and not the actual throwing part!

When I go there with Shameonyou21, we almost always just get sushi. It's quick, easy, and there is never a wait for a table. You just walk in and sit right down. We end up gorging ourselves, and loving every minute of it.

Among our favorite choices are: the Rainbow, Mars, Green Tiger, Crunch, and the California rolls. The beef kushi appetizer is really good too!!!

PROS: Walk right in and sit down at the actual sushi bar, or in the sushi bar area. They are reasonably quick in making the rolls, and the prices are very reasonable as well.

CONS: When eating in the tepanyaki area at the tables with the chefs, you will have to most likely have a bit of a wait. At least 30 min. every time I have gone. At all locations your party will not be seated until your entire party has arrived. I don't blame them for this, but it is kind of a pain when half of your party makes a habit of being late like my brothers do! If you don't have at least 8 people, you will have to share the table with other people you don't know. Depending on how good (or uncoordinated) your chef is, you could have shrimp down your shirt, up your nose, or on your shirt. Also, it has been known to happen, that the food has flown into water glasses from the table adjacent to yours! WATCH OUT!!!