POP'NSWEETS

Where: Pop'nSweets, 42 E 1230 N, Provo

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Sour Patch Peach, Wunderbar, Mars, & Hello Panda 

What It Cost: $8.54

What We Thought: 

Kind of a freaky picture of me, but we had to tell you about the newest little shop along Bulldog Avenue -- Pop'nSweets. The name gives it all away -- all they sell here is pop and sweets. And a LOT of it. Rare sodas from all over the place, including my all time favorite ginger beer (super intense!) and even bacon soda (ew!). You can get those sodas chilled or even get them prepared as a float with BYU Creamery ice cream! 

In addition to hundreds of sodas, this place has candy bars from all over the world! Mexico, Europe, China, and tons others that I'm sure I am not remembering :) I can see this place becoming super popular with return missionaries who are craving candy from their mission!

I'm not a huge candy person, but obviously we had to try a couple! Let's start with my favorite, the Sour Patch Peaches! Now, everyone knows that the Sour Patch Watermelon are the best candy that you can get out of the BYU vending machines, so I obviously had to try the peaches. Um....why are these not sold everywhere?!?! They were amazing!!!!!!!!!!! So much better than the weird little dudes and even (dare I say it) the watermelons! Its like peach rings with a kick. YUMZ. Next up, Mars bar. Apparently the European Mars bar is basically like a better Milky Way. And it was better. Also a total yum. The Wunderbar, which apparently is the same as the Canadian Starbar, was a chocolate bar with caramel and a crunchy peanut center. It was reminiscent of a Take 5, but without the pretzel, and I kinda liked it! Finally the Hello Panda. They were super adorable, not exactly the tastiest, but still super fun to eat in a eating-panda-heads-kind-of-way.

What You Should Do: If you're a candy-aholic, this is SO the place for you. Obviously its not a place you'd go exclusively for dinner or anything, but I could see it as an excellent place to stop by after nailing it at the Testing Center for a little treat! We didn't try any floats because I wasn't in the mood, but I think its pretty awesome how you can come up with whatever combination float you want! You should definitely stop by and check it out.

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MAGLEBY'S FRESH

Where: Magleby's Fresh, 3362 N University Ave, Provo

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen, Chelsey & Sarah

Number of Visits: 4

What We Ordered: Buttermilk Pie and Carrot Cake

What It Cost: $9.89

What We Thought: 

We went here on our second date. Adorable, I know. Owen told me that they have "the best pie in town" and that we obviously had to try it. His favorite kind was the buttermilk pie. And I got carrot cake because carrot cake is the bomb. And after our second date, this carrot cake became my all-time favorite carrot cake because it was perfectly moist, perfectly carroty, had a great amount of heavenly cream cheese frosting, and most importantly - did not contain raisins. 

Since we had such fond memories of this place, we decided to go back recently for a little dessert following our trip to nearby 180 Tacos. 

We placed our order, and when we got our cakes, we were surprised that it had taken them so long just to cut up a pie and microwave it for a little bit. I mean really, that presentation was just abysmal. And it was a little later in the evening, so I can understand not having a full kitchen staff, but seriously from what we could see, there was just one kid working the register and microwaving stuff in the back. Every time we heard someone order, we heard the microwave go off in the back a couple of times and then they called up the food. For a place with "fresh" in the title, I was a little disappointed. And that pie above? Really? Yikes. Did not look appetizing, and it tasted dry and a little old. Where did the magic go??

The carrot cake also did not live up to our memories. It also tasted like it had been set out on the counter for a couple of days, and was a little skimpy on the frosting. Such a bummer.

What You Should Do: Ever since the other location closed near BYU, I feel like Magleby's has been suffering a little bit. It's not really very fresh, considering the establishment's name, and the scattered beeping of the microwave in the background didn't really do much for the ambience. Let's bring back the goodness Magleby's! What once was a favorite should be restored! Also $10 for two subpar desserts? Meh.

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SAIGON CAFE

Where: Saigon Cafe, 440 W 300 S, Provo

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Egg Rolls, Szechuan Chicken and Mongolian Beef

What It Cost: $22 (including tip)

What We Thought: 

Being from the Pacific Northwest, I have a special spot in my heart for every type of Asian cuisine. And it's so hard to find here in Utah for some reason! Especially teriyaki. Does anyone know of any good teriyaki places in the state of Utah?? I crave it all the time! Anyway, when I saw that Saigon Cafe was one of the highest rated Chinese restaurants in Utah County, I immediately added it to my wishlist. Then Owen surprised me on a date taking me here - what a great guy :)

I heart egg rolls. These ones were about as good as you could expect -- not outstanding but definitely satisfying. The dipping sauce was tangy and delicious, and they were served hot and crispy. So far, a good start. 

I ordered the Szechuan chicken, which had a couple chili peppers next its name, which made me pretty excited. Who knew they were literal chili peppers?! Nonetheless, it was super delicious, just the right amount of spicy, and a good balance of meat and vegetables. And I'm not sure if you noticed the plate above, but it was huge! Definitely plenty of food for dinner and at least one lunch later on...

They also brought us a little plate of fried wontons with some dipping sauce, which was kind of cute, but I didn't really get it. Are you supposed to eat them just like plain? Is it like the tortilla chips at a Mexican restaurant? I don't know. We ate them because we were hungry and they were tasty, but I'm not sure if we were doing it correctly...

Owen got the Mongolian beef, which was super fun with these little crispy white things on top. The meat was super tender and delicious, perfectly cooked, and there was a lot of it! We loved the flavor of the sauce, and the dish as a whole. Yum!

What You Should Do: I don't know...I think Saigon Cafe may be moving up the ranks as my new favorite Chinese restaurant in Utah Valley! I'll have to visit it again to confirm, but it was pretty tasty. It was also a great deal! An appetizer plus two gigantic entrees for around $20 -- not bad. I would definitely recommend Saigon Cafe to anyone looking for excellent Chinese food near BYU.

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SWEETO BURRITO

Where: Sweeto Burrito -- follow the food truck on their Facebook Page

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen

Number of Visits: 1

What We Order: Smoke House Burrito and Original Sweeto Burrito 

What It Cost: $10.78

What We Thought: 

Food trucks! Fun! I mean, there is just something special about ordering food from something on wheels. So obviously we had to test out one of the most visible food trucks in the Provo area (except Waffle Love...is it worth it? The waffles just seem so expensive!)) -- Sweeto Burrito. Fun name, fun looking truck, and its often at Macey's, which is pretty close to my house so yeah. We went there. 

Burritos just do not photograph well.

The pictures are crappy and taken in my car because when its winter time and where else do you eat when you order something from a food truck in 10 degree weather? So I'm just trying to give you all a taste of reality here.

Okay let's start with Owen's burrito -- the original Sweeto Burrito. Obviously we had to try their namesake burrito because it should be one of the best, right? It's kinda similar to the Cafe Rio taco -- its got sweet slow-cooked pork, black beans, lime rice, pepperjack cheese, and a special sauce. Sounds familiar. Anyway, the flavor was pretty good, but it was hard to get into the burrito because the rice was crunchy. Not fully cooked rice is a surefire way to make a burrito pretty undesirable. We kept trying to eat it and then giving up because it's kinda hard to get around that unpleasant texture. I get it that they are working out of a truck. But if you're only doing one thing (burritos), and a lot of burritos on your menu feature the same rice, I would hope it would be fully cooked. Maybe it was just a bad night.

I ordered the Smokehouse Burrito, which has smoked shredded chicken, onion rings, bacon, cheddar cheese and cilantro ranch dressing. As you likely know, I'm a pretty big onion ring fanatic, so the one obviously stood out to me. Sweeto Burrito is definitely a fun place to get crazy combination burritos -- some with tater tots, buffalo chicken, sundried tomato, wonton strips, and a cheeseburger-inspired burrito. But the Smokehouse Burrito just didn't not impress me all that much. The onion rings got a little soggy in the burrito, and the smoked chicken was super dry and in nearly impossible large chunks that were pretty challenging to eat. So much potential, such disappointing execution.

What You Should Do: I really don't want to give up all hope on Sweeto Burrito, since hello, its food from a truck and that is just a lot of fun. I'm really hoping that they will work out the kinks during this slower winter season and that by the time summer hits, they will be pumping out quality, creative and exciting burritos. But for now, there are lots of places to get burritos in Utah County, and I probably wouldn't make this quirky truck a top destination.

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CANNON CENTER

Where: The Commons at the Cannon Center, BYU Campus

Who Went: Every freshman at BYU practically, plus my family :)

What It Cost: $10.75 for adult dinner 

What We Ordered: Ummm...anything and everything (its an ever-changing buffet). And you can always count on Jello...

What We Thought:

Ohhhh....the BYU Cannon Center. I mean, what blog called "Eat BYU" could get away with not talking about one of the most classic university establishments. So many wonderful freshman year memories were made here, not to mention those come by during summer sport camps or Women's Conference. But --- how is the food?

I have to admit, the excitement of all of the many food stations and the possibility of eating as much as you want caused a memory lapse, and I totally forgot to actually take pictures of the food. Shame, I know. But, there is this adorable picture of me and my not-so-little brother above that can give you a pretty good idea about the Cannon Center highlights. Here they are:

1. BYU CREAMERY CHOCOLATE MILK
There is no other chocolate milk on this earth that is as worthy of your stomach as this BYU Creamery delight. It is seriously soooo crave-worthy. And at the Cannon Center, you can get as much chocolate milk as you want. It's true. You can put just twenty cups of chocolate milk on your tray and GO FOR IT. There is nothing I miss more from freshman year than this chocolate milk.

2. Unlimited Waffles and Soft-Serve Ice Cream
Even better when you put the ice cream on top of the waffles, as seen above.

3. Constantly rotating menu
Which they oh-so-kindly post online for you to see, which is pretty great. If you are just a random visitor, like we were, you can check their website and go on a day when the food stations offer items that sound delicious to you. They almost always have some sort of burger, a pasta dish, a couple of soups, one exciting type main dish (it was chimichangas for us! But I've also had salmon, chicken cordon bleu, fajitas, and a whole bunch of other things) and also an extensive array of desserts (some better than others...)

4. Unlimited pre-cut fruit and you don't have to do your dishes
Things you really don't appreciate until you move out of the freshman dorms.

What You Should Do: If you're a freshman who doesn't like to cook and/or likes to eat a lot, you gotta stay in Helaman Halls and get the Cannon Center meal plan. You'll probably get tired of it by the end of the year, but it's pretty great, with an awesome salad bar at every meal, and THE CHOCOLATE MILK! And if you're just in the Provo area, there really is no more quintessential BYU eatery than the Cannon Center, so you have to try it at least once!