Black Sheep Cafe

Where: Black Sheep Cafe, 19 N University Avenue, Provo

Who Went: Chelsey & Sidney

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Chile Verde Navajo Taco and Bleu Burger

What It Cost: ~$25 (including tip, at lunch hour)

What We Thought:


I've been hearing lots of good news surrounding this new and trendy restaurant Black Sheep Cafe, and decided to check them out with my friend for lunch the other day. We went on a normal weekday at noon, so they weren't super busy, though the service wasn't exceptionally fast. I loved the rustic interior, natural lighting and wood paneling, which really added to the Southwestern feel of the restaurant.

I can't even remember the last time that I had a Navajo taco, but I can definitely guarantee it was nowhere near the level of this one! The frybread was crisp and savory, but not loaded down with grease or heavy at all - probably the most delicious piece of fried food I've had in a very long time! And I loved the sweet spicy green chile pork on top of the taco, which was full of huge chucks of juicy pork and loaded with flavor. There was just the right amount of chopped tomato and cream to balance the whole thing, and even though it was more than filling, I forced myself to eat every last bite because it tasted so good. The one thing I did regret was that since there was so much chile verde topping on the taco, it kind of made the frybread less crisp in the middle towards the end of my meal, so I think next time I would try one of their Navajo tacos with a less liquid topping.

Next up, the Bleu Burger. If it was a little cheaper, it would easily climb the list of my favorite burgers! The beef patty was so thick and juicy, bursting with fresh flavor and tenderness. There was just the right amount of blue cheese on top to give it a nice bite, and was paired with savory bacon, caramelized onions, and fresh mixed greens. I was a little confused as to how a burger fit into the whole Southwestern theme, but served in this unique flatbread wrap, it somehow seemed just right. I really loved the flavor of the sweet potato fries - and the fact that they were actually made with sweet potatoes, not yams (unlike many other alleged "sweet potato" fries)! They weren't as fried or crisp as many people are probably used to, but I thought that they were a perfect balance to this intensely flavorful burger.

What You Should Do: Though it is a little pricier than your typical burger or taco, it is definitely worth it! Black Sheep Cafe manages to manipulate familiar flavors into new and exciting entrées, and I can't wait to take Owen here so he can experience it. The only tough decision will be choosing between the heavenly fried Navajo tacos or the succulent and scrumptious burgers! Who would have thought Southwestern style burgers would be so amazing?

Read other reviews here:

Guru's Café

Where: Guru's Café, 45 E Center Street, Provo

Who Went: Chelsey & Devynne, then Chelsey & Owen

Number of Visits: 3

What We Ordered: SWEET POTATO FRIES, Waldorf Salad, Chicken Avocado Wrap, Burrito Grande with Carne Asada, Pan-Seared Salmon Rice Bowl

What It Cost: Trip 2: $15.00, Trip 3: $28.00

What We Thought: 

Those fries. Those wonderful, amazing, life-changing, sensational sweet potato fries. These are the things that dreams are made of people. Specifically, my dreams. Of all food items to be found in restaurants near BYU, I crave these sweet potato fries most. They are crispy and crunchy and perfectly fried on the outside, with the perfect density and soft sweetness on the inside. And paired with that southwestern sauce? Heaven. And they definitely give you your money's worth - the serving shown above is only a small order of fries, and the large is enough to feed 1.5 people a full meal! The best part about them is that I don't ever get tired of them...even the very last bit of sweet potato goodness on the plate is as incredible as the first. I don't care if you buy anything else from this place, but you MUST get the sweet potato fries! Now!

On this trip, I also ordered the pan-seared salmon rice bowl. I have to admit, I was actually a little disappointed with this. I was grateful that I ordered the half-size rice bowl - even with the half-size, I ended up taking a sizable portion home with me. There was a good mix of fresh vegetables in there, but the red pepper sauce was not super flavorful and the salmon was disappointingly fishy. I liked it on the brown rice, and it was pretty filling, but it didn't blow me away and I probably wouldn't order it again.

Owen loved his Burrito Grande, and hardly even let me take a bite of it. It had a different flavor than I was expecting - very fresh and Tex-Mex flavor. And it certainly was grande...with plenty of salsa and other flavors to compliment it.

We've also had the chicken avocado bacon wrap (a special) and Waldorf salad and loved them both. Their wraps are pretty big and filling, and I would definitely recommend them over the rice bowl. And the salad...wow. The salad was great, full of fresh produce, deliciously creamy bleu cheese, and the most delicious candied nuts.

What You Should Do: Hop in your car and drive down there to get yourself some of those AMAZING FRIES! Trust me, you won't regret it. They were even able to remedy the sweet potato fry damage that Sammy's caused my husband, which was really a miracle. They have a wide variety of food options (including vegan and vegetarian), so if you're looking for a place to go with a group where there will be something to please everyone, I would recommend giving Guru's a try! I've heard their breakfast is wonderful, so I'll be trying that next!

Read other reviews here:

Sammy's Cafe

One reason I really wanted to start this blog is because I am tired of reviewers always agreeing with what's popular. What kind of food critic just agrees with what everyone's saying on Urbanspoon or something else? Some restaurants are popular because they are actually good. But there are a few restaurants that are popular for no good reason at all -- they are just trendy and receive a lot of hype, but are either overpriced, or have poor service, or just aren't worth it. And I want to warn you about these ones so you don't get your hopes dashed like I did! Here is one of those hope-dashing experiences...

Where: Sammy's Cafe, 27 N 100 W, Provo (just off of Center street, between Univ Ave and Freedom)

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Raspberry Cheesecake Shake, Sweet Potato Fries, The Promo Burger, El Paso "Burger" (WARNING: They sneak chicken burgers in there on the menu and you may not even notice it, just like me, and you will be very sad when what you ordered is not actually a burger, but a sissy sandwich instead)

What It Cost: $19.50

What We Thought: 

Let me just say that I was really excited to try this place. BYU students are crazy about a few restaurants -- J Dawg's, Cafe Rio, The Pie (even though it's in SLC...), and Sammy's is one of those few. We went on a pretty warm day in the summer, which was the first of our mistakes. The tiny place was PACKED -- even the crappy picnic tables they set up outside were full, and it was way hot in there. I'm pretty sure that the place would not pass general health code standards because while we were waiting for our food, we noticed fruit flies cruising lazily from the garbage can (which was open and right next to where we were supposedly going to eat) to the kitchen and to the restaurant guests. Not very appetizing.

We started out with a Raspberry Cheesecake shake, since they are "famous" for their pie shakes. What an underwhelming experience. The only thing different between this shake and something you might pick up from McDonald's is the price. There was no evidence that this beverage once was a pie, and it was super runny and overall disappointing for the $4.29 price tag. We slurped it up in 15 seconds and then proceeded to wait in the fly corner for another 15 minutes until some more food was ready.

Then we got our fries, which I fully blame for Owen's hatred of sweet potato fries (fortunately, this was recently remedied by Guru's...more on that later!). These were too thin, too crunchy, and too flavorless. The fry sauce was okay, nothing special but not gag-inducing, but Owen refused to eat any more of the fries, much to my great sadness. I am a huge sweet potato fry lover, and this was Owen's first time having them. Bummer.

Owen ordered "The Promo" burger, which was pretty much your basic bacon cheeseburger. Meh. Everything tasted fresh at least, but nothing blew my mind. The burger itself was a little overdone and dry, but it was alright. And it was served with sweet pickles -- when will restaurants learn that EVERYONE PREFERS DILL? Sorry, personal vendetta there...

And I got El Paso burger. Like I mentioned previously, I had a blonde moment and didn't realize this was a chicken burger, so I was pretty put out when it arrived. For a chicken burger it was fairly decent I guess -- the avocado mash on it compensated for the lack of flavor in the chicken, and I really wish I could have tasted that pepperjack cheese I paid for. 

What You Should Do: Go if you have to. It's not BAD really, it's just not that great. Just because you throw the word "Famous" in front of your restaurant's advertising campaign doesn't make you have good food, I'm sorry. I think people just go there for the hole-in-the-wall, I-went-there-before-anyone-knew-about-it appeal, and sometimes people just think food tastes better if it's more expensive. If you want a pie shake that actually tastes like it contains pie, drive down the road to The Malt Shoppe instead and order the Jumble Berry Pie shake. Nothing else on their menu is really that spectacular, but the Jumble Berry Pie shake is a diamond in the rough my friends.