Museum of Art Café

Since this site is called Eat BYU, I figured that it would only be appropriate if I reviewed all of the places to eat that are actually on BYU campus! We started with one of my favorites from freshman year -- back when I had a good old meal plan and ate at this place probably once a week.

Where: MOA Café, 452 Museum of Art, BYU Campus, Provo (just north of the HFAC and east of the ASB)

Who Went: Chelsey & Devynne

Number of Visits: A ton throughout my BYU career, but 1 in this past year

What We Ordered: Fontina Cheese Panini, Turkey Harvest Croissant, Pumpkin Soup, Truly Berry (1/2 salad) Salad, Carrot Cake, Red Velvet Cake -- they were having a 2 for 1 deal on desserts since it was close to Valentine's Day. Awesome!

What It Cost: $12.91 (me - I got the cakes) + $8.71 (Devynne)

What We Thought: 


I think that the main reason I loved the MOA café so much as a freshman was because it seems like an escape from campus. When you feel like you spend your entire life at school but you don't have a car (like me freshman year), sometimes you just need a break. The MOA café is on the corner of campus, kind of tucked away in some trees and reflection pools, and you get to walk through the museum entrance to head upstairs to this little lunch sanctuary.

Despite the convenience of it being right on campus, there are of course some drawbacks. The service is notoriously slow, it's way overpriced, and since it is run by students, and not restaurant professionals, the presentation and meal assembly is not always perfect. My Turkey Harvest Croissant was as yummy as I remembered from freshman year -- I love the combination of the tart, crisp apples against the light shredded turkey, all put together with a sweet cinnamon sauce and buttery croissant. It's no wonder I ate this at least every other week my first year here.

The Fontina Cheese Panini was a little different than I remembered. First off, the presentation was just abysmal. The bread looked pathetic, and the sandwich itself looked so puny on the huge plate it was served on. Plus the green basil of the filling matched the green plate, so it was just kind of sad. I am pretty sure that this sandwich normally comes with some sundried tomato spread which was obviously lacking on the smooshed lunch we received -- luckily the girl who sat next to us got some of the red filling on the same sandwich, so we must have just missed out somehow...

We both went with the combo option ($7.99), so I got a soup with mine, and Devynne got a half salad. My pumpkin soup originally came without the apple relish on top, but when I went back and asked about it, they apologized and happily gave me a nice large dollop of the sweet topping. I'm a huge sweet & salty fan, so I really like this comforting fall-ish soup, but Devynne thinks it's kind of gross, so I guess it depends on your taste preferences.

The berry salad was crisp, refreshing and delicious. They didn't skimp on the berries, which was awesome, and it was a great mix overall. One thing that drives me crazy about the MOA café is their stupid salad bowls. They are slanted on one edge, which makes it impossible to mix in your salad dressing without spilling salad everywhere. There are a couple of options to alleviate this issue that I've discovered -- 1) Get your salad to go. They will put it in a styrofoam box and it will be much easier to mix it in the box than in that bowl. Plus (at least in my past experiences) they make the to-go salads bigger than regular ones! 2) Ask them to mix the dressing in for you. 3) If you forgot these options like we did yesterday, just dump your salad out on a plate and mix it there! Less pretty, but better tasting :)

Oh, the desserts. This is the best part of the MOA café to me. Insanely overpriced, but very pretty and very delicious. This is the best thing to congratulate yourself on campus after kicking butt on that organic chemistry exam.

I love carrot cake. Not as divine as Magleby's, but still amazing.

What You Should Do: Go. Of all the places to eat on campus, this one has my favorite atmosphere and you don't have to make reservations or anything. Plan on spending an exorbitant amount for lunch, but you've earned it. They don't really change their menu that often anymore, so probably once a month would be a reasonable maximum number of visits if you eat on campus often. Unless you love the Turkey Harvest Croissant as much as I do!

Roll Up Crepes

Where: Roll Up Crepes, 1605 S State Street, Orem

Who Went: Trip 1: Chelsey & Kirsten (my sister-in-law), Trip 2: Chelsey & Owen

Number of Visits: 2

What We Ordered: Trip 1: Southwest Chicken Bacon Crepe & Turkey Pesto Cranberry Crepe. Trip 2: "The Awkward First Date" (Bananas Foster Crepe with Vanilla Ice Cream) and "The Break Up"  (chocolate ice cream, Oreos, chocolate syrup - I'm pretty sure that is what the name of the crepe was, but they don't have the dessert menu updated online so I couldn't check)

What It Cost: $10.67

What We Thought:

I'm pretty sure that crepes are the new "hot thing" and there are crepe shops popping up all over the place in this area. This was one of the first, so of course we needed to check it out. To be honest with you, I can't really figure out what the actual name of this place is -- Roll Up Crepes, The Roll Up, and Roll Me Up Crepes are all options, so if anyone knows for sure, you should fill me in! 

The shop itself has some unique decor -- I described it as quaint, Owen thought it was just creepy. Take your pick I guess. The first time I went, I visited with my sister-in-law for lunch right after it opened. It wasn't too busy and we got our food pretty quickly which was good, and I actually enjoyed it a lot. I thought that the combination of turkey, cranberry and basil was a nice mix, and it was pretty filling. Kirsten's was the best - I was worried that it would just taste like a burrito in a weird tortilla, but it tasted fresher and lighter, with a spicy and flavorful sauce. It was a fun trip and I looked forward to going there again.

Then last Saturday evening, I convinced Owen that instead of frozen yogurt, we should stop by Roll Up Crepes for dessert. It was pretty busy, so we tried to order quickly and grab a seat in the rather crowded restaurant. I was pretty excited for my Bananas Foster crepe because I love caramelized bananas, and I was interested to see how ice cream would taste inside a crepe. 

This was what I got:

One skinny pathetic banana on top of some weirdly crunchy caramel, and wayyy too much butter spilling all over the place. And no ice cream to be found. I was a little confused because the crepe itself looked way too thin to have any ice cream inside, so I opened it up and found nothing. I was really looking forward to that ice cream (and I paid for it!), so I kind of pushed myself up to the front, showed the girl at the register my plate, and told her that someone forgot to put my ice cream with the crepe. "Are you sure you ordered one with ice cream?" she asked me. Are you kidding me? How rude! She totally didn't believe me, so I had to get out the menu and show her the one that I had ordered and point out where it said that it came with vanilla ice cream. Then she told me, "Oh, well, we are out of vanilla ice cream." I feel like that would have been a good thing to tell me when I had ordered. She just looked at me like "What do you want me to do about it?" so I asked if I could get a different kind of ice cream. They had butter pecan, which went fine with bananas foster, so I got that kind after many huffy and disgruntled looks. She didn't want to put on gloves to get me some ice cream, so she called up someone from the kitchen and I had to wait there awkwardly and embarrassed while 10 people were waiting behind me in line.

So once I finally got my ice cream, I dug in to my fairly destroyed crepe and discovered that it was nothing special. Basically the only flavor I could taste was all the butter that pooled around my plate, and I felt super heavy and gross afterwards.

Owen's was a little better, thankfully, because it's pretty hard to go wrong with chocolate and Oreos. The presentation was boring, and the flavors were also a little boring, but it was fine and satisfied the craving for sweet. Meh.

What You Should Do: Go if you have to. I would recommend going for lunch and getting a savory crepe, but I was so humiliated by the whole ice cream incident that I probably won't be going again. It doesn't matter how good your food is if the experience and customer service are a huge disappointment.

Sub Zero Ice Cream

Where: Sub Zero Ice Cream, 1774 N University Parkway, Provo

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen, Devynne, my uncle Spencer

Number of Visits: 2

What We Ordered: Various flavor combinations...I got mint ice cream (custard cream) with Junior Mints. Another time I ordered mine with soy milk instead.

What It Cost: Since my uncle paid, I don't remember the exact total, but it was about $4 a person

What We Thought:

Okay, it's time to come clean. I'm a total science nerd. I can actually claim to have made liquid nitrogen myself (on more than one occasion)...and it is awesome. Does it make the best tasting ice cream with the best consistency and texture? Nah. But it is the most fun way to make ice cream? Absolutely.

Sub Zero makes the whole "going out for ice cream" experience more entertaining by instantly freezing the various creams and flavorings right in front of you with a fun cloud of smoke. I don't know how they do it all the time without freezing their hands off, but it's a blast to watch.

Like any good ice cream place, they have a gazillion flavors that take you 20 minutes to decide between. They also have a gazillion different mix-ins for you to choose from (1st one free, can pay for additional), so plan on spending at least 40 minutes there if you're super indecisive like me...You ALSO can choose the fat content of your ice cream, ranging from premium (14% milk fat) to skim, soy, or rice milk. I've tried both ends of the spectrum -- just remember there is a reason normal ice cream has fat. It tastes good (and creamy and wonderful and delicious). But the soy kind wasn't too bad either. If you're vegan, then this is a great place to check out for a sweet treat!

sorry these pictures are so crummy...they are from my freshman year!

What You Should Do: Go for the experience. It doesn't taste like normal ice cream would of course, but it's still good. Plus, if you (or your date) have never seen ice cream made this way, you're missing out! Go science!

Cafe Paesan

If you live anywhere near the Utah Valley area, or if you know anyone in the Utah Valley area, you surely have heard the fame of Cafe Rio. But many less people know about their Italian counterpart - Cafe Paesan. There is only one location for Cafe Paesan currently, but it's a nice change of pace if you like the Cafe Rio attitude and Italian food.

Where: Cafe Paesan, 69 S State Street, Orem

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen

Number of Visits: 3

What We Ordered: Siena Spicy Chicken Pizza, Spicy Apple Braised Pork Salad with Creamy Pesto dressing, Homemade Pasta with Paesan Italian Sausage and Rosa Sauce

What It Cost: $15.91

What We Thought:

There are two things that I almost never order at restaurants -- Italian food and salads. Normally I feel like these two things are relatively easy to make at home, so why would I pay way more for someone else to make it for me? But of course I broke all of the rules when we went to Cafe Paesan since I know of the wonder of Cafe Rio salads. Since their pork is so amazing at the Mexican counterpart, I went with the apple braised pork, and the salad comes with fresh tomatoes, other vegetables (like zucchini), a piece of flatbread (I went with whole-wheat), croutons, and toasted sweet potato strips on top. I thought the creamy pesto was a good choice -- a nice compliment to the sweetness of the pork. Though it wasn't quite as juicy and saucy as the Cafe Rio pork, it was still pretty tasty, and the guy who made my salad LOADED on the meat, which is always appreciated. In the future, I would probably ask them to mix the dressing in, since the bowl is a little small to do it on your own. I'm still not sold on which way to have the flatbread -- at Cafe Rio I love it in the base of the bowl so I can wrap up the final remains of my salad into a little burrito. But with this salad, the flatbread got a little soggy towards the end, and wasn't as satisfying as I had been hoping for.

The pizza crust is rolled out and grilled right there in front of you, then they load it up with toppings and toss it into the oven. The whole process is a little slower than Cafe Rio, but since the restaurant is WAY less busy, you don't mind. Plus the decor is much more cuter and cozier, with Italian paintings and lights strung around the shop. The spicy chicken pizza has great flavor, is loaded with cheese and pesto, and they serve it with these sweet and hot peppers on the side. The pasta is also admirable -- freshly made, soft and rich. Owen always begs for us to get the pasta with Italian sausage and the creamy red Rosa sauce.

What You Should Do: Go! The Cafe Rio franchise, though sometimes deemed overrated, knows how to do fresh, flavorful food fast. This Italian twist keeps up that reputation, and is definitely worth a visit or two.

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.

Friday Giveaway!

I was waiting to do this giveaway until I had reviewed this AWESOME restaurant, but today's lunch plans fell through, and honestly, I can wait any longer!

Here at Eat BYU we are excited to be doing a giveaway for one of our favorite BYU-area restaurants of all time -- Mountain West Burrito! They have great food, aim to serve fresh and organic ingredients, and have great customer service. I'm not even vegetarian, but I cannot get enough of their roasted vegetable chimichanga. It's the best!

So we are going to be giving away a $20 gift card to Mountain West Burrito! Here is how you can enter!

1. Become a follower of EatBYU.com (mandatory entry)

--additional entries--


2. "Like" Eat BYU on Facebook!

3. Follow @EatBYU on Twitter

4. Share this giveaway via Facebook, Twitter, your blog, or anything else!


Please post each entry as a separate comment, increasing your chances of winning!

Giveaway will close at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, February 10th -- so you have a whole week to enter, to get your boyfriend/fiancé/husband to enter, and to tell all of your friends about it! And surely they will take you out to eat with the gift card if they win...you're the one who told them about, right?

Winner will be chosen at random, using Random.org

Good luck!

Wallabys Smokehouse

Where: Wallabys Smokehouse, 131 N State Street, Lindon (they also used to have a location in Provo, but it's closed now)

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Beef Brisket, Fresh Garden Salad, Hand Pulled Pork, Smashers

What It Cost: Free (was at a catered event), but would have cost $22.68

What We Thought:


If you're going to only have a few things on the menu, those things better be amazing. Wallabys is known for its smoked meat, especially the shredded beef and pork. We sampled their food at Owen's mission reunion, and I have to say, I was pretty disappointed. Maybe it's because I grew up helping my dad with catering events, but I have pretty high expectations for catered food. Catering events are great advertising -- you want your food to be so good that people are intrigued enough to come to your restaurant in the future. There should be great presentation, helpful customer service, and plenty of food.

Wallabys had none of that.

The food was 35 minutes late, and was sloppily thrown into a few heating dishes on a table. They ran out of their famous "smashers" (mashed potatoes but with a cheesy Australian accent) before everyone was able to make it through the line, and if you forgot to try something on your first sampling, forget about seconds. The worst part was that they made it seem like it was our fault, telling people to take smaller amounts of the food so everyone could have some.

The food was okay...the beef brisket was a little too salty for me (sadly, most beef brisket is), but the pork was pretty juicy and tasted good on top of the smashers (for those who were lucky enough to get some). The fresh garden salad with housemade dressing was acceptable -- the lettuce wasn't too wilted but there wasn't anything interesting or unique about the salad toppings.

What You Should Do: Go if you have to. Now that they aren't located in the Alpine Village apartment complex, I don't think that it is worth the drive, but if you happen to be in Lindon, you'll get full and won't feel like you're getting ripped off. The prices are fairly decent and the portion sizes are large, but....the quest for decent barbecue near BYU continues!

Hickory Kist

Where: Hickory Kist Deli, 42 W Center Street, Provo

Who Went: Owen

Number of Visits: 3

What We Ordered: Various sandwiches and sliders

What It Cost: $2 c/o Qualtrics, but would normally cost about $5

What We Thought:


If you know anyone who is into computers or sales, you should definitely tell them to work at Qualtrics. It is a wonderful company that treats its employees fabulously. They take care of their employees so well that Owen (my husband) often ends up with free or highly discounted catered lunch 2-3 times a week. Though this may not be the best for the waistline, it is great for the site, so I asked him to share a little bit with us about his most recent lunch experience. He emailed me his thoughts, and titled the email "Hickory Kist never ceases to disappoint." Here's what he said:

I was expecting sliders, I got a sandwich on slider bread.

Listen to this description of the sliders that come with this meal and note how appetizing they sound:

"$2 Tuesday on 1/31 will be sliders, potato salad and a cookie from Hickory Kist.  Each meal will come with an Italian Muffaletta slider, a Buffalo Chicken slider and a Miami Pork Cuban slider (the 3 sliders are the equivalent of a 6 inch sandwich)"

This is what I really got:

Italian Muffaletta slider = baloney with some pickled preserves.

Miami Pork Cuban slider = pork (not even close to as good as cafe rio - too sweet, not spicy, no flavor) and a few strands of pathetically chopped lettuce.  Quite disappointing.

This one was the best:

Buffalo Chicken slider  = turkey, a single pickle chip, mayo and mustard - no chicken, no buffalo sauce. It was a turkey sandwich.  I was actually looking quite forward to the buffalo...

About the potato salad, you could get better from ANY grocery store, even Alan's.

The only possible redeeming quality of this meal was the cookie.  It was soft and chewy and tasted fresh, unlike anything else in this styrofoam box.

I would not say the food is gut-wrenching, but I would never go there by choice. When I think of sliders, I think of a juicy GRILLED hamburger or chicken breast, not sandwiches. And if you are going to surprise me, at least TRY to make it better. Everything I have ever had from them, especially this meal, has left me disappointed and wanting. 

What You Should Do: Avoid. Who calls a dry slice of turkey on a stale roll a slider? Huge disappointment, and I don't want you to have to endure the pain I've suffered. That's why we're here for you. 

Magleby's

Where: Magleby's Restaurants, 1600 N Freedom Blvd, Provo (right under the Courtyard Marriott hotel)

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen

Number of Visits: 5

What We Ordered: Blackened Chicken Pasta, Banana Cream Pie, Sliced Turkey & Avocado Salad, Petite Filet Medallions, Wonderful Halibut, Buttermilk Pie, Carrot Cake, Famous Chocolate Cake

What It Cost: ~$35/meal

What We Thought:


This was where Owen & I went on our second date. He thinks that I'm the chatty one, but he could not stop bragging about how amazing Magleby's pies were. So as a late-night treat, we stopped in and he ordered a buttermilk pie and since I had to keep things interesting, I ordered a towering slice of carrot cake instead. Neither dish let me down! I've never had a buttermilk pie before -- it was rich, creamy, custardy and smooth. The top was perfectly browned, and the crust was soft and buttery. But my carrot cake definitely won out that night. It was an ideal balance of fruity and nutty and earthy, and just the right amount of delicious cream cheese frosting for me (I'm a huge frosting lover). I crave this carrot cake more than most desserts, and once Owen brought me a slice on his way home from work to help make up for a particularly crappy day - I've never tasted anything more comforting and wonderful.

The desserts never disappoint. They are known for their pies for a good reason - the banana cream pie we partook of once actually tasted like bananas, which was surprising and fantastic!

Their food is also good, but nothing outstanding. They boast about using local ingredients and creating everything from scratch. Although this lends itself to nice, fresh flavors in their meals, it does lead to quite a restricted menu. After going twice to actually eat food (and not just desserts), I feel like I've tried everything I wanted to, and there's not really any reason to go back. Try the blackened chicken pasta (a creamy and smoky flavor in a light alfredo sauce) or the halibut (well-seasoned and cooked to perfection), and make sure to fill up on the flaky, delicious parmesan garlic rolls! I need to find a replicate recipe!

What You Should Do: Go. Go once to actually eat there, and return many times in the future to sample their amazing desserts! You can also stop by Magleby's Fresh, which has a slimmer selection of sweets but is open later.


Great news: They also have a Magleby's birthday club!

Eva

Where: Eva, 317 S Main Street, Salt Lake City

Who Went: Chelsey, Owen & Jarom (my brother-in-law, who also happens to be a vegetarian)

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Spanakopita with Spicy Feta & Balsamic, Spicy Chickpea Shells, Spinach & Potato Gnocchi, Greek Mac & Cheese baked in Phyllo Dough, & Chocolate Pots de Créme

What It Cost: $57.00 (including tip, for all 3 people)


What We Thought:


Friday afternoon, I went over to my friend Katie's house and helped her with her new little baby, Eva. As I was holding Eva and playing with her, I said, "Tonight I am going to eat at a restaurant named after you, baby Eva!" However, somehow, in her little baby mind (she's only 7 weeks folks), it must have gotten processed as "Tonight I am going to eat you baby Eva!" because her eyebrows got all scrunched up and she began to wail. Back to you mama Katie!

When we walked into Eva, I knew right away that it was a good pick. It had a dingy yellowish sign outside the unassuming front door, but once we stepped inside, it was bustling with servers rushing plates, laughing and chatty diners, and LOTS of people for its tiny square footage. It was clear that this was one of those trendy & hip places that not a lot of people know about (so exclusive), which always makes me a little wary to begin with (see Sammy's). We told the casually dressed hostess who came up to us that we needed a table for three, and she informed us that the wait would be between 45 minutes-1 hour, but that she would take our names & number down if we wanted to go grab drinks or something. Of course there would be no grabbing drinks for us, but we agreed to give her my number and she said she would call us when a table was available. 

This is where I would have done things differently. Instead of wandering outside in the cold with our measly jackets, we should have planned ahead and gone shopping at the Gateway or ice skating or something. There are loads of things to do nearby, but since we didn't really have a plan, we just kind of walked around for a while until our faces froze off and we decided to check back in with the restaurant. We kind of awkwardly stood in the way at the front of the restaurant (the entryway was only about 2 feet long) and it ended up being over and hour & a half until we were seated, but fortunately our stomachs were so frozen that we kind of had forgotten how hungry we were by 8:45....

We were seated at a table in the corner of the restaurant near the kitchen, where the overhead lamp light was burned out and it was all very dim. Normally I wouldn't really mind, except I was trying to take photos of the dishes and it was a little crammed. Our appetizer arrived quickly, and all complaints in our mind vanished.

I'm a huge Greek food lover -- we had Mediterranean fare at our wedding, and though my sister was so kind and thoughtful to grab a plate for me, apparently all of the spanakopita was already out before she could snag some for us. I knew we had to order it here so I could show Owen the wonderfulness of this flaky spinach-filled dish. The spanakopita served to us at Eva did not disappoint. The phyllo dough was crispy and flaky, perfectly enveloping a mixture of cooked flavorful spinach and spicy feta. An acidic balsamic glaze complemented the rich and warm flavors of the pastry's insides, and we couldn't get enough of it. Absolutely wonderful.

Jarom, my brother-in-law, was pleased to see all of the vegetarian options on the menu, and decided to go with the spicy chickpea dish with tomato sauce, basil, and cashew cream. The term spicy was no understatement -- this dish was hot! But the wonderful kind of hot, where it's surprisingly zippy while you are taking your bite, but your mouth isn't still burning after you finish your taste and it leaves you with a pleasant aftertaste. A unique and filling vegetarian dish that we would highly recommend -- Owen loved it so much, he finished what Jarom couldn't eat after wiping clean his own plate!

You're going to judge me for this one -- macaroni & cheese, Chelsey? Really? But lately I've had a craving for cheesy pasta that would not be satisfied with any ordinary boxed meal. This mac & cheese was mixed with fresh tomato, bacon and arugula, and was sandwiched between layers of perfectly crisped phyllo dough. Talk about comfort food to the most delightful extreme. Every bite was soft, warm, rich and inviting, and though I could feel the heavy cheese sauce adding inches to my waist with every luscious morsel, I couldn't stop myself. 

What? A dish that's not topped with chopped basil?? I know, you are shocked. Owen ordered the spinach & potato gnocchi that was served with parmesan, truffle oil, mushrooms, peas, and a white wine cheese sauce. "A flavor punch in the mouth" was how Owen described it. Though he personally found it a little too rich, I thought it was utterly decadent and perfect: soft pillowy gnocchi, smoky mushrooms that didn't make me want to gag (a big accomplishment), sweet crisp peas, vibrant green spinach, all mixed together with an intense and indulgent sauce. It doesn't really photograph well, but my was it delectable. 

 And to round out our meal, we sampled their chocolate pot de créme -- a perfect ending to our meal. The chocolate mousse base was thick, sweet, had the perfect consistency, and was rich enough to complement the light and fluffy cream on top. The fruit served along with it was dulcet and ripe, a perfect pairing. I was a little disappointed in the lack of flavor of the pistachio cookie in the center, but nothing could really ruin the purity of the chocolate base. I also would have preferred chopped mint rather than two leaves artfully placed, because although they look pretty, no one really wants a large mouthful of mint leaves.

What You Should Do: Go right now! But make sure to do it right -- have one person run into the restaurant and leave your name & number, and then go shopping or do something fun instead of wandering in the cold. There is a parking lot right across the street (be sure to bring cash for it, no cards accepted) so you'll be able to rush back when they call you, and you'll be able to enjoy your night of mouthwatering Mediterranean dishes!