HIRES BIG H

Where: Hires Big H, 427 S 700 E, Salt Lake City

Who Went: Owen and Chelsey

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Fish & Chips, Blue Cheese Burger, and Raspberry Milkshake

What It Cost: $24.90

What We Thought: 

An old, classic Utah establishment with retro decor, friendly service, and seriously good food. 

Also, can I just say this is like one of the least expensive halibut fish & chips I've seen in Utah?? And it's totally a good value because the fish was excellent (moist and not too fishy), the tartar sauce was the bomb (as tartar sauce usually is), and the fries were top notch. Fish & chips can easily go down the "way too greasy" road, but this managed to be just right. YUM!

The burger had all of the components of a classic, old-school burger (fresh, local bun, great tasting patty, etc.) but was pumped up with the blue cheese and bacon. I was stoked that they used gorgonzola, which gives a great mild blue cheese flavor without overpowering everything. The bacon was thick and crispy, and altogether, it was just a great burger.

And this milkshake was just one of the best I've ever had. Fresh raspberry, but without any annoying frozen berry chunks. It was the perfect consistency (not so thick that it's basically ice cream, but not soupy), and seriously the best end to our meal. Although, let's be honest, it was the first thing we tasted...

What You Should Do: I was totally surprised with the mixed reviews with this place -- we had such a great experience! The owner personally greeted us as we came in, rang out our check, and thanked us sincerely for coming. The food came quickly and tasted great. We will definitely be coming here again!

Read other reviews here: 

HABIT BURGER

Where: The Habit Burger Grill, 11380 S State Street, Sandy

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Teriyaki Charburger with Fries, and Jalapeño Bacon Cheeseburger with Onion Rings

What It Cost: $12.29

What We Thought: 

A Santa Barbara classic comes to Utah. I was surprised to find that The Habit was recently rated the best burger chain in the U.S., even above more prevalent choices like In N Out and Five Guys. So, obviously we had to try it! 

It was pretty busy, since it was a Friday night, but we still got our food relatively quickly. The weather was gorgeous outside, so we definitely took advantage of the outside seating! The whole restaurant kind of reminded me of In N Out a little bit -- simple menu, California vibe, low prices, quick service. The biggest difference for me, however, was the burgers were actually amazing! (Sorry In N Out fans...) Their buns were fabulous, the burgers hot, fresh and flavorful, and toppings superb. It was a lot bigger as well, and definitely felt like a great value. I liked how the teriyaki burger still had all of the flavors I wanted, but wasn't too messy, like other Hawaiian/teriyaki burgers I've had in the past.

The fries were the only downside for us - they were a little stiff and nothing too special. Liked the fry sauce though!

The onion rings totally made up for the lackluster fries! Seriously, these were hands-down the best onion rings I've had in Utah, and I am super picky about onion rings! The outside was more of cripsy, golden panko-type crust (as opposed to beer-battered, yuck), and the onions were the perfect width, and they were just awesome.

One little thing we loved here was the pepper bar - next to the condiments, there was a range of various peppers, including jalapeños, which Owen loves on burgers, and extra spicy peppers (habañeros maybe? Couldn't tell, they were green...) that we dared each other to eat while we were waiting for our food to arrive. Fun!

What You Should Do: I wouldn't say its our new favorite burger place, but if you happen to find yourself in the area, it is definitely a solid choice for a delicious burger. Excellent prices + fresh & flavorful burgers = all good in my book.

Read other reviews here:

CHEDDATRUCK

Where: CheddaTruck, Food Truck

Who Went: Chelsey, Owen and the Interns

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Ole' Faithful Burger, Mother Hen Burger, and The Nasty Burger

What It Cost: $8 per burger

What We Thought: 

And the food truck details continue! I wonder how these food trucks will survive during the winter....do they just shut down until summer comes around? If anyone has details on this, I would greatly appreciate it! 

Anyway, I've been wanting to try CheddaTruck for a while now, since they park overnight across the way from my house and I looked at their menu online....it's pretty exciting. Let's just say, one of the burgers is served on a Krispy Kreme doughnut (to be tasted...)

I was not feeling quite so incredibly gluttonous this day, so I went with the Mother Hen burger, which is still pretty intense! Okay, it's really intense. A burger, served on an English muffin, with bacon, muenster cheese, a fried egg, sriracha aioli, and a spring mix of greens. Wowza. It was TOTALLY worth all of the calories I saved up all day! The English muffin was a little small to hold it all in, so it was totally messy, but the flavor of the muffin went great with the breakfast twist of eggs & bacon, and the sriracha aioli was mild, but still interesting enough to give it some pizzazz. The muenster was a nice salty cheese, which was balanced by the greens, and this thing was just a few moments of messy burger happiness.

Owen got the Nasty, which has braised onions, pepperjack cheese, sriracha buffalo sauce and tarragon dressing. Here I got to try the CheddaTruck's regular bun, which was fresh and heavenly. MAN THIS PLACE MAKES GOOD BURGERS. This one was spicy and just plain awesome.

Finally, we tried the Ole' Faithful, which is their basic, "traditional" burger (with braised onions, roasted tomatoes, and the tarragon dressing of course). It was of course fabulous. Hands down, one of the best burgers I've ever tried, and definitely the best one I've ever had from a truck! The regular burger was amazing, but how could you ever get a traditional burger when you have choices like these:

The Green Mile Burger - Mac & Cheese, Roasted Peppers, Bacon, Whole Grain Mustard

The Hipster "Burger" - Brat Haus Veggie Patty, Roasted Tomatoes, Brie, Corn Pudding, Arugula

Kill Me Softly Burger - Bacon, Blue Cheese, Arugula, Cranberry Gastrique, and Krispy Kreme Donut Bun

What You Should Do: Meet me down at the Provo Food Truck roundup, where you can try these guys, and a bunch of other fun places! The roundup is every Thursday from 5-9 at the Startup building in Provo (near the FrontRunner station). Just follow the lines of cars :) But it's so worth it! I definitely recommend trying the CheddaTruck, and you can follow them on Instagram to get updates on where they will be throughout the day!

BUFFALO WILD WINGS

Where: Buffalo Wilds Wings, 92 N 1200 E, American Fork

Who Went: Owen and Chelsey

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Huckleberry Lemonade, Triple Threat Nachos, 15-piece wings with Hot Sauce and Honey BBQ

What It Cost: $38.32 (including tip)

What We Thought: 

Okay, a bit of a disclaimer: I went into Buffalo Wild Wings having the lowest of low expectations for the food and service and everything.

Another disclaimer: I love March Madness. A lot. #favoritetimeoftheyear

So, like crazy people, we decided to go to this restaurant on a Saturday night around 7:30 during March Madness season. Obviously, I was expecting like a 2 hour wait or something, so when the hostess told me it would be 30 minutes, I was pleasantly surprised. We took our little pager with us to Walgreens across the street, bought some nail polish, sat in our car for a bit, and then were buzzed in. 30 minutes on a Saturday night during one of the most popular sports seasons? Not too bad in my opinion.

We started out with nachos that were actually supposed to be a meal I am pretty sure -- don't judge. These were called the triple threat nachos -- on one side, it was regular taco nachos, in the middle, there was buffalo chicken and blue cheese nachos, and the opposite side was nachos with pulled pork. Woof. These were seriously intense! The flavors probably went from our least favorite to most -- the pulled pork was actually pretty good, and the regular tacos were only meh. But altogether, and pretty great thing to snack on while watching the game! The cheese was definitely your typical nacho cheese (as opposed to like, you know, real cheese), but it was a pretty fun, and definitely a good value. We put a regular sized ketchup bottle in the background as a size comparison for you!!

Okay, okay, now onto the real business -- da WINGZ. When we started the meal, we told them that we had never been there before, and they offered to bring out a little sampler of the different wing sauces, that we could sample with french fries. Fun! And a great way to try out some of their more unique flavor choices :) We are boring, so we went with regular hot wings and honey BBQ. And um yeah, they were pretty dang good. Not Nicolitalia's good, but definitely at least Winger's good, and good enough that I would go there again! The 15 piece wings was PLENTY and I felt like it was a pretty decent value for the price - we definitely took some home (dinner tonight?) A lot of people have complained about the service at this location, but we must have had really great luck - we were checked on plenty of times, our food came out quickly, and our server even asked if we wanted another refill of the lemonade to go on our way out!

What You Should Do: Since I love March Madness, and they had all three games going at the same time (plus a Nadal tennis match -- bonus!!), I had a great time at Buffalo Wild Wings. It is a lot of fun to go for a big game, since people realllly get into the game, and they have more screens than I've ever seen, so you definitely won't miss a thing haha. The food is not amazing, but it is pretty good, decently priced, and wings are just delicious, okay? If you don't have somewhere to watch the games this week, you should definitely give BWW a try!

Read other reviews here:

LUCKY 13

Where: Lucky 13, 135 W 1300 S, Salt Lake City

Who Went: Chelsey, Owen and Aaron

Number of Visits: Sadly, only one

What We Ordered: Regular hamburger, Ol' Man hamburger, Celestial hamburger, and three ginger sodas

What It Cost: $24.84**

What We Thought: 

Welp, all I have to say about this is that it is simply the best burger I have ever eaten. 

I feel like there are not sufficient words in the dictionary to describe how incredible the burgers at this place were. Any words I use don't do it justice.

Fresh. Flavorful. Perfect. Fresh. Delicious. No other burger in the world should even exist.

I may sound ridiculous to you, but go there. You will understand. Also, get the fried pickles. They are so fun. Cajun fries and onion rings were also so good though. You really cannot go wrong here.

What You Should Do: I feel like crying when I think about how long I have been in the state of Utah without knowing about this place. Just make sure you're over 21 and bring your ID, because it is a bar, but you don't have to drink if you don't want. JUST EAT THESE BURGERS. now.

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!

BURGERS SUPREME

Where: Burgers Supreme, 1796 N University Parkway, Provo

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen

Number of Visits: 3

What We Ordered: 2 Gyros + Baklava

What It Cost: $12.66 

What We Thought: 

I don't know how they do it, but I swear this place pumps out serious volumes of delicious burger aroma every day to tempt me! Although we've tried the burgers here and weren't all too impressed, we are drawn back time and time again by a rare find -- the delicious gyros! They have a delicious meat spit roasting and rolling in the back, where they shave off thin slices of crispy, flavorful meat to fill these scrumptious pitas, topped with tzatziki, tomatoes, onions and lettuce. I don't know how authentic they are, but the one thing I do know is that they are absolutely delicious! Stick with the original gyros over the chicken -- the chicken just wasn't all that exciting.

And now I want a gyro for dinner.

What You Should Do: Skip the burgers and order the gyros at this classic BYU corner establishment. They're the Greek burrito, and they are dang delicious, and these are the best ones we've found in the Utah County area!

Read other reviews here:

BYU CREAMERY

Where: BYU Creamery, 1209 N 900 E Provo

Who Went: Chelsey, Owen, Monica, Devynne, and many more

Number of Visits: Many, many, many

What We Ordered: Guacamole Bacon Cheeseburger and Garlic Fries

What It Cost: ~$8

What We Thought: 

Well everyone, it's been a crazy summer. Hopefully most of you have not noticed my utter lack of posting, but you know, we all need a summer break every now and then. Between trips to Armenia, France, San Francisco and Portland (twice), I didn't have much computer time or Provo eating time, so you'll have to forgive me. But, now we are back to the grind -- some people already have midterms, BYU's already killed it at the LaVell, and surely some people are already engaged. So let's get to it, starting with a good ol' back to school classic -- BYU Creamery! 

I seriously can't believe I haven't posted about the Creamery yet. I love this place! It's actually my favorite burger in Utah County, and it just has so many good memories and flavors and everything! The burgers are great. They are more of the thin-style burger, and their meat is always super fresh and delicious. Add some guac and bacon -- you've won my heart. I love the texture and taste and everything about them!

Another great part about the Creamery is their flavored fries -- I can never decide what my favorite flavor is! The garlic fries go great with burgers, the spicy ones are so flavorful and fun, and Owen is so pepper-obsessed that we also love ordering the black pepper ones. I would say try them all, but they are pretty filling so you may have to make more than one trip :)

It's sad, but we were so full after this meal that we didn't even get the main event -- the ICE CREAM! But don't worry, I've had it a million times before, and can't say enough good things about it. Their ice cream may be my all-time favorite, competing greatly with Tillamook and all its goodness. BYU Creamery has some amazing flavors -- my top two are Graham Canyon (graham cracker flavored ice cream with chocolate bits, don't think its weird until you try it!!) and Earnestly Chocolate (chocolate ice cream with caramel and marshmallow, another surprisingly amazing combo!), but really you can't go wrong here. Share your fries so you have enough room to get some ice cream -- and my little trick is to always get the "child size." It seems like the same size as 1 scoop, its just the right amount to satisfy your craving, and it's totally cheaper!

What You Should Do: Get in the back-to-school spirit and give the BYU Creamery a visit! They are a BYU classic, and definitely for a good reason. Everything is delicious, and the old-school decor will make you feel like BYU's been around for forever (which it has). Not to mention, you can do a little grocery shopping, and take some creamery ice cream home with you afterwards! Win win!

Read other reviews here:

APOLLO BURGER

Where: Apollo Burger, 452 N State Street, Orem

Who Went: Chelsey, Owen, Devynne & Tyler

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Us - Gyro, Bacon Cheeseburger, Onion Rings, "Cookie" Milkshake. Them - Chicken Souvlaki, Western Bacon Cheeseburger, Strawberry Milkshake

What It Cost: $16.99 for two people

What We Thought:

My next door neighbor Jordan told Owen that Apollo Burger was his all-time favorite burger place, but for some reason I thought that the closest location was in Draper. When we realized there was one in Orem, we made plans to go immediately! 

First off, you guys all know about my obsession with onion rings. So when our tray arrived with this HUGE pile-up of onion rings (it was quite monumental), let's just say I was a teensy bit excited. I mean, that is a hefty looking tray of food for under $20, I gotta admit.

I don't know what they do to their bacon, but seriously, it was the best bacon I've ever had on a burger!! It was super hot and crispy and thick and flavorful and amazing!!! The burger itself was pretty delicious too, but THE BACON! Obviously, the bacon was what really sold me on this burger -- the patty was decent, the shredded lettuce and American cheese didn't really win me over, and the rest of the toppings were just fine. It was a nice and thick bun, which was great and definitely necessary for a burger as big as this one.

The gyro was pretty good - not as good as Burgers Supreme, but definitely juicy and tender and flavorful. It didn't come with any lettuce, but I didn't really mind. The tzatziki sauce was still really good, and it was served in a decent pita as well.

Though the mount of onion rings was enormous, I can't say that they were my favorite onion rings of all time. The batter was less crispy than I usually like, and they cooled off super quickly. Cold onion rings...not so amazing. They were definitely better than the Cannon Center/Marley's onion rings, but they didn't blow my mind or anything.

This milkshake was labeled as "cookie," which we thought was funny - it was definitely an Oreo milkshake, but maybe there are some copyright issues with that or something? The milkshake was on the thinner/more drinkable side, had a really tasty flavor (duh - Oreos and ice cream...), but didn't really have any big chunks of Oreos like I was hoping for. Still a yummy compliment to the meal overall though.

The Western burger was essentially the same burger as mine, but with barbecue sauce and an onion ring on it as well. Definitely for those salt-cravers!

We really didn't go for creative choices as you can see - the chicken souvlaki was basically a gyro, but with marinated chicken instead of lamb. Oh, and it did come with shredded lettuce. I personally liked the additional texture that the lettuce contributed, though it was probably some of the palest Iceberg lettuce I've ever seen! Apollo Burger had many more much more interesting choices than what we went with (especially with pastrami?), and I would be interested to try something more exciting next time!

What You Should Do: Rumor has it that Apollo Burger is run by the same people as Burgers Supreme (can anyone confirm this?), but I have to admit, I liked the burgers here better! The gyro was still better at Burgers Supreme in my opinion (that's the only thing we ever order there!), but if you're in the mood for a decently-priced, juicy, BACON-y hamburger, Apollo Burger will definitely fit the bill!

Read other reviews here: 

Rocky Mountain Drive-In

Where: Rocky Mountain Drive-In, 43 S 500 W, Provo 

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Onion Rings, Potato Twirl, Bacon Cheeseburger & Ranch Burger

What It Cost: $14.49

What We Thought: 

Another burger place, another ho-hum meal. The old-school dining atmosphere and out-of-the-way location gave us hopes that Rocky Mountain Drive-In would be one of those special finds with great food, but unfortunately it only turned out to be average. 

The one thing that was NOT average were these onions rings -- these are no question, the BEST onion rings I've had in Utah! It was so strange because everything else was just normal, but these onion rings were exactly the way I like them - no weird beer-batter breading or sogginess. They had a crisp, crunchy batter exterior and they were the perfect onion ring thickness. I had to bat away Owen's hand because I certainly did not want to share these golden rings of goodness!

The burger was nothing special. The bacon was perfectly prepared and flavorful, but the cheese was fake-tasting and the burger too wimpy and charred. They had fairly decent buns, but flavorless iceberg lettuce and tomatoes. If you are one of those people who like thin classic burgers, then you might go for this, but it just din't really do it for us.

The ranch burger was exactly the same as the bacon burger, except the mayonnaise was swapped for ranch dressing and it had white American cheese instead of yellow. Meh.

Now this little guy was exciting -- they had one on display at the cash register, and I just had to try it because it looked so interesting! It was a potato, sliced and pulled into a long spiral, and then baked I think...it basically tasted like a bunch of thick crunchy homemade potato chips, on a stick. Kind of weird, but fun to eat! Not sure if I would order one again, but it was certainly entertaining!

What You Should Do: First off, if you do decide to go here, do NOT use the bathrooms! They are downstairs, in a dingy little corner and were pretty scary. I probably would also not recommend seeking this restaurant out specifically, unless you are a huge onion ring lover like me. I probably would never go here again, unless I got a super craving for onion rings. I also have heard their milkshakes and scones are pretty good, so you may want to try these as well. But altogether, Rocky Mountain Drive-In is pretty typical, and I feel like there are better burgers here in Utah County.

Read other reviews here: 

Marley's Gourmet Sliders

Where: Marley's Gourmet Sliders, 4801 N University Avenue, Suite 860

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen

Number of Visits: 1.5

What We Ordered: Bacon Jalapeño Burger Slider, Chicken Avocado Slider, Onion Rings

What It Cost: $6/person

What We Thought:

These little mini-burgers seemed to have popped into popularity out of nowhere lately! It's a clever idea I suppose - make the burgers smaller so you feel less guilty about eating them, and then you end up eating even more! Plus everything that is mini-sized is by default cuter, and what could be cuter than itty bitty burger? Well I'm not sure if Marley's is going for the "cute" angle, with their biker-themed decor and everything, but we decided to give them a try anyway. 

I think Marley's is one of those restaurants that some people love and others will hate. If you like a large, fluffy bun to be the star of your burger, then you should give Marley's a try. For me, the bun is not very important, and only is there to keep all the juicy goodness together. I thought the thick rolls that are used as buns here were much too large, especially compared to the thin patty you can see inside. The bun overpowered all burger flavor, and if I was in a burger mood, it wouldn't really satisfy the craving.

Their onion rings were sliced nice and thick, which I enjoyed. It has a nice and flavorful coating, and they were pretty good overall. My only complaint is that they cooled off really quickly, and did not taste very good once cold (they got pretty soggy). The fry sauce was about what you'd expect - nothing too different here.

The chicken slider was actually my surprise favorite. I felt like there was more meat on this sandwich, and the avocado spread helped moisten up the thick bun. The chicken was nicely charred which gave it some good flavor, and overall I thought it was pretty good.

What You Should Do: As far as burgers go, Marley's isn't really one of my favorites in Utah County. The idea of sliders could be good, but overall I thought the buns were too thick and the patties too thin. When you order enough food that would be the equivalent of a regular burger, it ends up being pretty pricey too. One thing that Marley's has going for it is the great variety on the menu - lots of different burger flavors, in addition to chicken, turkey, and breakfast options. If you are the type of person who can never decide what type of burger you want to order, and you like thick buns, then Marley's would be a good choice for you.

Read other reviews here: