CAFE FRESH

Where: Cafe Fresh, 498 S State Street, Orem

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen

Number of Visits: 2

What We Ordered: Border Salad, Turkey Cranberry Sandwich (another time: Tomato Basil Soup)

What It Cost: $16.17

So, I've shopped at Good Earth Natural Foods a couple of times, because you know, there's always that one weird recipe that needs some obscure ingredient like xanthan gum or coconut flour, and they are the place to hit up for that. But I never really got interested in the little Cafe Fresh attached to the natural foods store until one BYU football game where I was FREEEEEZING and wanted something to warm me up, and hot chocolate just didn't sound right, and I bought a tomato basil soup from a little Cafe Fresh stand at the stadium. I don't know if they still do football games anymore, so I don't want to get your hopes up, but at that moment, that soup was EXACTLY what I needed and it tasted sooo good. After that, I naturally wanted to see if the rest of their menu was noteworthy. 

I ordered the Border Salad, which comes with all sorts of excitement like brown rice, black beans, roasted corn, jicama, sunflower seeds, and jack cheese. The salads all come with a side of a roll, but I asked if I could substitute it for fruit, which they did, but for an additional cost. The salad had a great mix of greens and it was enormous, and for some reason, they decided to serve it in those annoying slanted salad bowls that look really pretty, but are terrible for actually mixing the toppings and dressing in. Which would have been a problem except there was a more pressing issue in my way -- they had run out of forks! It was very odd. So we had to wait around for a while until they could find forks, which I thought was weird that it took so long, since they are basically located inside a grocery store which surely sells some sort of fork. The fruit was fine.

Owen got the turkey cranberry sandwich, which is served on German rye bread. And it was just the type of sandwich we both love -- the kind that you look forward to making after Thanksgiving with your extra turkey, and the bread was just the right amount of heartiness to support all of the sandwich's inner goodness. It came with salsa and chips on the side, which were tasty as well.

What You Should Do: I have to admit, I'm a little divided on this one. It's places like this that I wish I could give half stars, because I probably would give 2.5 stars. The service was not great (who runs out of forks, when half of your menu is salads and you aren't even very busy?), but the SOUP and Owen's sandwich were so good. My salad was also pretty good -- I thought the sunflower seeds were a little weird, but I'm a jicama-aholic (say that 10x fast), so I was mostly sold. I'm going to say I like it. It's not the best soup/sandwich/salad joint, but if you're already on your way buying chia seeds or Veganaise, then you won't be disappointed for a quick lunch.

Read other reviews here:

Mountain West Burrito

Since we're doing this whole giveaway thing, we figured we ought to tell you a little bit more about the place! 

Where: Mountain West Burrito, 1796 N 950 W, Provo (looks like an old gas station, don't blink as you're heading up State Street or else you'll miss it!) 

Who Went: Owen & Chelsey

Number of Visits: 5

What We Ordered: Roasted Vegetable Chimichanga & Burrito, Chicken Burrito, Steak Burrito, Carnitas Burrito

What It Cost: $15.50

What We Thought:

To me, there are two different kinds of good food: 1) food that tastes good while you are eating it, and 2) food that makes you feel good. Mountain West Burrito satisfies both of these things, which is what makes it so wonderful. I may be cheesy and lame, but sometimes I'm all about the organic/natural thing. It just makes you feel good to know that the food you are eating is free of harmful chemicals and was raised humanely (insert joke about raising vegetables humanely). Mountain West Burrito uses almost all locally grown, organic vegetables (avocados have to be shipped from the Glenn Annie Organics farm in Santa Barbara, CA since it is way too cold here...), organic and pasture raised chicken breast, natural angus steak, and pork from Utah family farms. You don't have to wonder where your food has been and what's it's gone through -- it's posted right there for you on their take-out menu. 

And not only is it good for the earth, but it tastes dang good as well. Let me ask you -- when was the last time that you DIDN'T feel guilty about eating a chimichanga? Never, right? (Unless you're a dude of course...) Well for me, it was last Friday night. This may sound like the most hypocritical meal, but I can't get enough of their roasted vegetable chimichanga. Healthiness, deep fat fried...just how I like it. Their vegetables taste fresh and are roasted to perfection, and just look at the perfectly crispy golden tortilla. Words cannot express.

Owen's much more of a burrito kind of guy, and you gotta admit, food always tastes better when it's wrapped in foil. Okay, not always, but in this case, it's amazing. Also, their tortilla chips that come on the side are top notch -- we watched them getting fried up right in front of us, so they are served fresh, crispy, and warm, and the pico is pretty good too. If you like it spicy, you have to try their green hot sauce. We like to drizzle it all over our food, but warning, it's pretty darn hot!

It looks a little messy and weird on the inside (note to self: half-eaten burritos are not the most photogenic), but trust us, this is worth the trip. The carnitas are perfectly seasoned and juicy, the chicken tastes different, fresher, like it was a happier chicken in its life. Okay maybe that's an exaggeration, but it is pretty scrumptious. We were a little disappointed with the steak burrito when we tried it - though its natural and angus and everything, we felt like it was lacking in flavor and not very tender. Stick with the chicken, carnitas, or roasted vegetable. It also is lame that you have to pay extra for the sour cream and guacamole, but don't go without it! The guac is fresh and buttery delicious, and the sour cream is needed to balance out all the flavors.

What You Should Do: Enter our giveaway, and go there for free! But even if you don't win, you should still go right now. The only thing we are worried about is that the restaurant has recently changed owners -- the friendly founder Joe has decided to "travel slowly through Mexico," and the Heirloom Restaurant Group (they run Pizzeria 712 and the Communal) has purchased it (read about it here). They say they are striving to maintain the same ideals and goals as the original owner, so we'll let you know if anything changes! Don't miss out on this fresh, locally supportive, gratifying Mexican goodness.