How About Some Chinese-Joy Luck

I think it had been about a year or two since i'd had some sit-down Chinese food. What a way to make my resurgence! A couple cream cheese wontons, some General T'sao and Sweet n' Sour chicken later and i remember why Bountiful was such a great place to live.  Joy Luck in Woods Cross is my all-time favorite Chinese restaurant.  The food and the service are always fantastic! This is consistent with their mission: 

"Joy Luck believes the ultimate goal is to make you and your stomach tickling, dancing and delighted with JOY.  Therefore, we choose only the freshest ingredients along with our superb customer service to make your dining pleasure the best dining experience.  To complete your meal, draw your LUCK with a complimentary fortune cookie."

Ha ha, i love how it's worded! Those aren't really the words i'd use to describe how my stomach felt, but i was joyful to be eating those cream cheese wontons as we waited for one of our guests to show up.  

Anyway, i would recommend those wontons for an appetizer along with some Hot & Sour Soup. General T'sao Chicken and Strawberry Chicken are two of my favorite dishes to order along with the Ham Fried Rice! Mmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about it all!  

The "cherry on top" is that most dishes are under $8 and can feed up to two people!! And Chinese left-overs are delicious so don't be afraid to order an extra dish for some variety!

For hours of operation and a full menu with prices along with the address and phone number log on to www.joyluckwc.joyluckfoods.com

What's All This Talk About "Five Guys"

Is it just another burger joint? I've heard nothing but good things about Five Guys, the 23-year old burger chain that started in Arlington, VA. We've got three locations here in the Salt Lake Valley: Sandy, Midvale, and West Valley. The burgers are delicious and with over 250,000 ways to order one here, it would be pretty tough not to find something you like. Five Guys only uses fresh meat, never frozen. I guess that's a big deal??? And you won't find any oil except for peanut oil anywhere in the store. After reading up a bit on Wikipedia.org about peanut oil, i found that peanut oil is also a big deal like Ron Burgundy. According to Wikipedia: "Peanut Oil is a monounsaturated fat, as such it may be substituted into a diet to reduce the negative health effects of eating trans fat and saturated fat." If you haven't checked out those negative effects in a while, you might wanna do so. The food is fantastic and Five Guys is doing us all a favor by keeping it healthy. Thank you Five Guys. Anyway, try the burger with A1 sauce and the fries, cajun style. You won't be disappointed.

Happy Sumo: Quality Sushi

You can always count on Happy Sumo to get it done!  I always enjoy eating sushi here.  As many of you already know, i'm always up for trying new things.  I try to order new dishes every time i go out. Sushi is great because since i usually order two rolls, i can get one of my favorites and then try a new roll as well.  Tonight, i had dinner with a buddy of mine and we started with an amazing appetizer followed by three delicious rolls.

For the appetizer, we had the Dragon Scales: spicy tuna delicately pressed between two Japanese shiso leaves then lightly tempura fried, served with green scallions, and ponzu, and eel sauce. Just a little dip in some soy sauce and cha ching! It's money!

Then we ordered two of our favorite rolls along with one new specialty roll.  Our waitress recommended we try the Sweet Pea Roll which was an excellent recommendation.  It wasn't like any special roll i've ever had before. It actually had honey on it and i really didn't know if i would like it.  Needless to say, it had a unique flavor, but it was awesome!  The Sweet Pea Roll is made with crab salad, cucumber & lime, topped with avocado, honey, togarashi and red jalapeno. I'm so glad i've learned to not be afraid of trying new foods! I've learned to love so many different flavors.  One in particular is sushi made with lemon and lime in it.  Lemon or lime and sushi is an incredibly delicious combination...

That leads me to my other favorite roll that has thin slices of lemon on top.  The Rising Sun Roll is a definite winner made with salmon, avocado, and cream cheese topped with spicy crab, green onions, lemon, and eel sauce.  I don't know how to describe it, but the contrast between the lemon and the spicy crab is absolutely mouthwatering.  If you haven't tried a roll like this, let this compel you to do so.

Last but definitely not least, we devoured the BSCR (Baked scallop california roll) which is a California roll topped with baked scallops, spicy Sumo sauce, tobiko and green onions.

Oooh man! I relished every bite tonight! It blows my mind how eating sushi can be so gratifying!  Anyway, if you haven't been to Happy Sumo in awhile, i think it's about time you go. If you need any suggestions, feel free to ask.  Even better, if you have any suggestions, please share them by commenting below.

Happy Sumo locations!

More Happy Sumo reviews!

Musumeci's Italian Deli

I have to admit i don't think i would have entered this hole-in-the-wall deli had it not been for a good friend of mine, Jonathan Tietz. We were in downtown Salt Lake when he suggested we grab a sandwich.

First of all, we couldn't even find the place. He hadn't been there for a long time. We drove around the block twice because we kept passing it.  Then, once we found it, we opened the front door and had to walk down a sketchy hallway to this mafia-style back dining room where only two customers were seated eating some pasta. So then we both had to go to the bathroom pretty bad so we go down into the basement where the bathroom was. Water was dripping from a pipe above the ancient, rusted out toilet. There was a bucket placed on the side of the toilet under the leak. Wedged between the pipe and the wall was an old paper cup folded and creased just right so the water would trickle down it and fall directly into the bucket.  Needless to say, the bathroom experience didn't help with the feeling of remorse that had been creeping up on me since i entered this hole!  I recommitted myself with some self talk by telling myself i had probably eaten in worse places while on my mission in Costa Rica.

So next we enter the ordering area where it looks like a father and heavy-set son, in his 30's, are busy cooking up pasta and cleaning up the place. I walk up to the counter, and as i always do when visiting a new restaurant, i ask the son what he recommends. Out of his mouth came the most dreaded words an abnormally indecisive person could ever anticipate, "Everythings good."  I was thinking, "Why thank you so much Mr. Helpful!" Anyway, i could tell he was probably tiring a little from working in a sandwich shop for his father for the past 15 years.  I brushed off his abrasiveness because i felt had no idea the hell he'd been through.  So i said to myself, "Screw it! I'll just take whatever Jonathan gets." And that's what i did. I ended up with a pastrami sandwich topped with provolone.  I ordered some banana peppers and a few other veggies to put on the sandwich as well, but i was done with this guy.  I just wanted to eat quick and get out.

We were told to wait in the dining area and our food would be brought out to us.  The guy that looked like the father ended up bringing the food out and proudly placed each sandwich down on our table. We dug in!

The sandwiches was delicious. This place uses all sorts of imported meats and cheeses. The bread was soft and tasty.  I'd like to go back to try some of the pastas. 

In my opinion, this isn't a place to take a date. It's more of the type of place you go if you ever need to order a hit on someone or discuss some other type of illegitimate business deal you don't want anyone overhearing you talking about. Of course i say all this in jest.

Musumeci's definitely could use a facelift, but it has character. It's a little on the dirty side. I'm not sure how far above the cutoff they were when the health inspectors came by, but they've been in business for 15 years. The food was great and i didn't notice any sicknesses or strange growths on my body after eating there. It was a memorable experience, and there aren't a ton of places you can go these days to have such a unique dining experience. Go check them out! It really is delicious food for a reasonable price.

For more info: click here!

Roxberry-licious!

There is a new smoothie joint in town! Say goodbye to Jamba Juice. Ok, maybe I shouldn't dis on Jamba. Although, I don't recall ever having a
smoothie from Jamba Juice that I ever loved. Roxberry hasn't let me down either of the two times i've been! For all my Bountiful friends, Roxberry is a lot like Keva Juice!

Roxberry has 100%-fruit smoothies and 100% pure orange and carrot juice for all the health conscious people out there.  You've got smoothies like Pomegranate Perfection, Mango Magic, and Simply Peach (All 100% fruit. No sherbet!)

For those of you that don't mind a little sherbet, you've got Passion
Paradise, LOL Lime, Raspberry Rush and about twenty other Options to
choose from made with an assortment of sherbet, fruit, and juices.

My Favorite??? Passion Paradise for sure! It has passionfruit-mango juice,
strawberries, peaches, and orange sherbet. It is more on the sweet
side, but has a little tartness to it too, if you like that sort of thing.

If you're not in a fruity mood, they have P-Nut Butter Blast,
Chocolate Crave, or Rootbeer Freeze. They also sell freshly baked
rolls and homemade jam!!!

I've only been twice, but each time was delicious! I would highly
recommend trying it out. The prices are reasonable for a smoothie joint and they really know how to blend. Raspberry Rush and Passion Paradise are both
delicious! I'd be interested to see what you think of some of the
other smoothies and treats they have. Enjoy!

For locations: Click Here

For the menu: Click Here

My Favorite Eating Establishment - Bombay House

I thought it was about time to do a post about my favorite restaurant in Utah... The Bombay House in Provo right across from the Provo Library. We have eaten here three times in the last couple months. Everything 

is delicious! I'm no expert on Indian food so I can't compare it to any other Indian restaurants.  All i can say is everything is FILLED with flavor.

The first dish i ever had her

e was the Chicken Tikka Masala which is a "boneless chicken barbecued in tandoor oven, then cooked with bell pepper, onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, cream and spices." Very Very tasty. Really good accompanied with the Indian flat bread they serve called "Naan" or the "Onion Naan."

The last two times i've been to Bombay House i've ordered Chicken Makhani -- boneless tandoori chicken cooked with onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, cashews, cream, and spices. This dish is very similar to th

e Tikka Masala, but i like it a little bit better. I don't know why so don't ask.

Rachel always orders the Chicken Curry which is also very flavorful, and a little bit different from the Makhani and the Tikka Masala. The curry is cooked with boneless chicken, onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes and curry spices. It isn't as creamy as the other two dishes. 

I know it doesn't sa

y that any of the dishes have cilantro in them, but it seems like cilantro is used in most 

of the dishes and even the rice. It is just a subtle taste, but i know it's there. I'm a cilantro fan so it's heaven to me. Anyway, take my word for it! If you try this place and don't like one of the dishes i mentioned, we probably shouldn't be friends! No, i'm just kidding, but seriously i don't see how anyone could dislike the Chicken Tikka Masala. The only reason you might not like the Makhani

 is because it has cashews and i know some people don't like nuts.

One thing to keep in mind about Bombay House is that the meals are big. They are made to share if you have an order of "Naan bread." Two people can share one order of Naan and one dish. The food is a 

little pricy unless you share: $13.00 for a plate, plus $2-4.00 for the bread.

Try the Mango Lassi to drink! It's a creamy mango flavored yogurt drink that "raises the roof!" You might want to s

tay away from the Rose Milk, though if you like trying new things it is quite the experience. It really does taste like a rose blended with milk and sugar! The other drink i tried was the Indian Tea which is a special tea blended with milk and spices. It would be perfect on one of those bitter cold and wet winter nights... just add lots of sugar!

This place is the bomb! It is a must eat! Please post your experience if you've been here or remember to come back and leave your input after you go try it out. I'd love to hear what other plates everyone likes.

Click Here for the menu.

Click Here for more reviews and a brief history 

Click Here for locations

I Finally Made it to Flying Sumo in Park City

Mark said the best sushi place in Utah was the Flying Sumo, so i had to check it out... It was pretty good. I don't think i can say it was the best i ever had, but the rolls were pretty good, the fish was fresh and the atmosphere was cool.   I must have a thing for the Rainbow roll. That was my favorite of the three i was able to sample.  The other roll i really liked was the Chuck Norris. Something that made this particular time special was being there with most of my family. My brothers Spencer (11) and Jeff (16) tried sushi for the first time. Even though Jeff hates fish, he was a good sport and tried a little. Spencer seemed to love his California roll and was daring enough even to try my Rainbow roll... he loved that too! Sushi is just a wonderful thing! I didn't try sushi until i was in my early 20's!!! How is it that i missed out for so long?