Provo Bakery

Today I felt like a traitor. I needed to get some sort of treat to bring to work, and I got raspberry rolls from Shirley's Bakery. After living next to the Provo Bakery (which bizarrely has no website) for months, going to Shirley's seemed like a betrayal. I've eaten and loved so many things from the Provo Bakery. I've sung it's praises to so many people.

But the honestly, the Provo Bakery needs to step up its game. A lot. First, get a website. Second, I keep getting dried out things from them. The more bakeries I go to, the more disappointing the Provo Bakery is becoming. And that's terrible. I say this not to be mean, or as a disgruntled customer. I still love the Provo Bakery. Rather, I'm trying to offer constructive criticism. I feel like I can never go wrong with the orange rolls or the Mexican wedding cakes. But the cookies? The bread? I feel like I can almost never go right with the donuts. Please, improve. I love you.

So, today, I needed something good, and I needed to know it would be good. I've brought all the good things from the Provo Bakery to work, and so I turned to Shirley's. And you know what, it was delicious.

New food weekend

This last weekend Laura and I received a free hotel room in Salt Lake City. So we decided to forego our recent extreme thriftiness and have a good time. And that meant eating at several new restaurants.

First, we ate at Mountain West Burrito. Its a new shop located right in between Provo and Orem. Despite its terrible name and location — it's literally in gas station — I'd constantly been hearing good things about this place, from people whose tastes I highly respect.

So we went and it was pretty fantastic. I got the "half and half" burrito, which had chicken and vegetables, among other (more typical) burrito ingredients. At one point I took a bite and realized there was zucchini in my burrito. It blew my mind. And the chicken was probably one of my top five experiences with restaurant chicken. Ever. So try this place out if you're in the area.

After eating our burritos we drove the rest of the way up to SLC. We went to gallery stroll, which was cool(ish). While we were walking around we saw this place called Gourmadise. We thought it would be a good place for desert, and it was. Though the atmosphere was extremely chaotic and disorganized, the food was delicious. I had the croissant pudding, and Laura had a raspberry tart. Though I would never go back to this place at 9:30 p.m. on a Friday night, I would definitely go back at a time when there was a smaller crowd. (Laura just told me she wouldn't go back to this place because she thought it was overpriced and under-qualitied. I think she just ordered the wrong thing, but take that for what it's worth.)

The next morning we ate breakfast at Bruges, a Belgium waffle place near Tony Caputo's. We both got waffles. We were especially excited to eat at this place because we went to the actual city of Bruges over the summer, and ate Belgium waffles there. Surprising as it might sound, the ones we got in SLC were actually better. There was quite amazing, and filling (despite looking small, we were both full afterward.) I've read some people complain that this place is too expensive. And it was pricey; for two waffles we spent something like $13. So obviously I wouldn't eat here all the time. But on the other hand, I was as full and satisfied as if I had purchased a larger-looking meal. Also, the taste was incredible.

Finally, on our way home from SLC, we stopped and got sandwiches at Flour Girls and Dough Boys, in American Fork. Though sort of out of the way (it's in American Fork, after all), I can't say enough good things about this place. I ordered a ham and honeybutter panini, which was great, but I also highly recommend the apple and brie panini, or the cranberry-walnut-turkey-brie sandwich. The environment is cool (allbeit in a sort of, middle-aged, mom-ish way), and the sandwiches are delicious.

In-N-Out is a Typical Chain Resturant

Recently, In-N-Out infiltrated northern Utah, where I currently reside. It's been a big hit. However, I'm always surprised by the quasi-religious devotion that the company engenders. Its food is decent and, having grown up in California, I've partaken of it many times. On the other hand, it isn't the best out there.

With the company's continued expansion, I think it's important to remember one`` thing: In-N-Out is a chain. Like all chains, it does some things well, but it also does some things very poorly. Generally speaking, it promotes a particular world view that, while perhaps more salient than that of McDonalds et al., is no less generic.

More specifically, In-N-Out, as a chain, works against local communities in a number of ways. Most obviously, it siphons profits back to its California headquarters. Though it reportedly pays its employees well and ranks high in customer satisfaction, the bottom line is that the people getting the richest are concentrated in one central location. In my case, that location also happens to be hundreds of miles away.

In addition, the company competes with and undercuts more unique businesses that are based in the community. Someone will probably read this and complain that if those businesses can't compete they deserve to go under, but what options are available to them when confronted with the billions of dollars and virtually unlimited resources of a huge company? Without any real advertising budget or marketing strategists, it might take years for a local burger joint to achieve profitability. If In-N-Out decides to open a store nearby, they're immediately out of time to win over new customers. Entrepreneurial vigor obviously wilts and with it creativity and diversity. Because of the chain's clout and name recognition, then, consumers don't really have a chance to make informed decisions.

There are lots of reasons that In-N-Out, like all chains, is destructive to local communities, but the point here is that it isn't extraordinarily cool, unique, or better than other companies that are frequently lampooned as "evil corporations" in popular culture. It surely siphons less profits back to its corporate headquartes than McDonalds, but it still does it.

Of course, some people would argue that In-N-Out is a family run business, not a franchise, and that that somehow makes it better. And it's true, the company certainly isn't as big (or as bent on world domination) as other companies. Yet, aren't most huge companies "family run" at some point. Wal-Mart, for example, was started by the Walton family. McDonald's began with two brothers. For In-N-Out's turn, it's not actually owned by the original family anyway, so how exactly is it a family company?

Other devotees maintain that the company embodies admirable values. They cite things like the Bible verses on the food packaging, or the good treatment of employees. To these claims I would say that there is no doubt that In-N-Out is less bad than bigger (and less personal) chains. However, it's also less good than many local businesses, which may espouse the same values.

What is so surprising about this debate, however, is how thoroughly people believe in the image that In-N-Out is selling. Much like Apple Computers (which I use and love), In-N-Out has marketed an ethos of coolness, underdog values, and small-time business. Increasingly, however, the image is simply the result of slick corporate packaging. Compared to local businesses, the company merely puts a facade on a bloated profit-machine. They've essentially duped the consumer into thinking they're better than other chains, when in reality, they're the same.

Ultimately, people have a right to eat what they want. Also, I'll probably eat at In-N-Out again at some point in my life (after all, I don't dislike their food). I'm not arguing that the chain is evil, but rather that it isn't particuarly helpful to non-So Cal towns. Basically, I can't imagine that there is any community anywhere that has an In-N-Out but also doesn't have something better. The Provo/Orem area has quite a few better burger joints (here, here, here, here, here). And, not only do they have better food, but the money they make stays in the community. Though In-N-Out markets itself as hip and small, it's really just pushing these kinds of places out of business.

The Bombay House

Provo’s Bombay House is probably my favorite restaurant in the city.  So much so that it almost doesn’t seem worth writing a review, as so many people already love it and it has received a number of positive reviews from established critics.  However, as the Bombay House continually evolves its menu and Provo continues to experience a fair amount of population turnover, this is one restaurant worth revisiting.

 

The first time I ate at the Bombay House was surprisingly only a year ago.  It had been one of those restaurants I’d always heard about and meant to visit, but had never gotten around to going.  It was popular enough, I figured, that it would be around at least as long as I was.  While that’s probably true, my first visit—with some friends from school—made me kick myself for not visiting earlier.  If you’re in Provo, don’t make my mistake.  Try the Bombay House sooner rather than later.

 

Environment: Never having been to India I can’t say how “authentic” the décor of the restaurant is, though it certainly seems Indian.  It has low lighting, subdued earth tones, and colorful murals on the walls.  Most importantly, it offers a quite, romantic environment.  I’ve always been impressed, for example, with the hosts’ particular attention to seating that balances public and private space.  I never feel like I’m lost in a sea of busy patrons (like I do at, say, the Macaroni Grill), nor do I feel like I’m hidden away to the point of isolation.  When I’ve gone with Laura, we’ve always been given a romantic private booth.  On my most recent visit, in a large group, we were given a secluded but not sequestered area near the back of the restaurant.  The result is an experience that is quiet and intimate, but still lets you feel like you’re in the center of the action.

 

Food: If learning to choose the best items on a menu is a skill that takes years of practice, the Bombay House is the perfect training ground, as virtually everything is superb.  My particular favorites are the Lamb Mushroom and the Chicken Tikka Masala.  However, while I enjoy meat as much as anyone, the very best items are found on the vegetarian portion of the menu.  The Vegetable Coconut Kurma has a faintly sweet character and blends perfectly with the Peshawari Naan.  The Channa Raja, on the other hand, has a darker richness and is better complemented by the Garlic Naan.  However, if I had to choose one dish to eat over and over it would be the Paneer Masala (and indeed I have a hard time not simply eating it over and over).  With homemade cheese, garlic, tomatoes, onions and a bunch of other stuff, this dish offers a creamy sumptuousness that is both filling and immensely pleasurable.

 

Price:  I tend to over-order at the Bombay House.  Several visits ago I spent around forty dollars for two people (including the tip), but ended up with more than half the food in a take-out box at the end of the meal.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and I enjoy having left over for a day or two, but a more accurate price range for two people is probably closer to twenty or thirty dollars.  Each dish generally comes in a small saucer (and is usually a sauce-like consistency), along with a pot of rice (usually shared between two people).  I’d recommend getting some sort of Naan (bread); it’s delicious and I prefer eating the dishes with Naan to eating them over rice.  The last time I ate at the Bombay House Laura and I shared a main course and got two orders of Naan (Peshawari and Garlic).  It left us full but not stuffed and came to just about twenty dollars with the tip.  Another dish would have put it up around thirty dollars, plus a little more for drinks (which, regrettably, we didn’t order that time). 

 

Conclusion: The Bombay House is a rare combination of romantic environment and delicious food.  Its prices are fair and the service well above average.  It offers the perfect place for a date, family, or just a group of friends.  So don’t wait like I did; try the Bombay House soon.  It's located at 463 N University Ave, and is open 4 PM to  10 PM, Monday through Saturday.  

Café Rio

I’m going to go ahead and make some people mad and say that Café Rio is a mediocre restaurant, at best, that substitutes quantity for quality and dupes people into buying food that would be better, cheaper, and more authentic elsewhere.  I know that many people love Café Rio and I don’t mean to upset you if you’re one of them.  But I really can’t figure out what so may people like about huge helpings of mediocrity. 

 

I’ve eaten at Café Rio four times that I can remember.  The first time was because everyone told me it was the greatest place in the world and I wanted to try it out.  After that, I've eaten there because I was with other people who wanted to go.  With each visit I’ve always expected to have my opinions reversed.  After all, how could so many people like a restaurant that has proven so average on my own visits?  Yet each time I visit I come away wondering why dish seems to be more or less the same, and how I couldn’t hear a single word anyone in my party was saying (because the dining area environment is similar to a commercial warehouse or manufacturing plant). 

 

I’ve eaten a bunch of things at Café Rio.  I’ve ordered at least four dishes, plus I’ve usually eaten some of Laura’s food when we’ve been there together.  I can’t say that any of these dishes were particularly bad.  In some cases they had a relatively good flavor.  On the other hand, not a single one was the least bit memorable.  What’s more, the portions are huge.  This isn’t, in itself, a bad thing; however, huge portions are often a warning signal that a restaurant is trying to hide something.  Keep in mind that it doesn’t cost very much to throw more beans and rice or lettuce (or most ingredients, for that matter) on a dish.  On the other hand, what does cost a lot more is hiring more capable chefs or buying more salient recipes.  Café Rio clearly went with the economic approach in this case.  That would be fine, except that I can go get filled up on Mexican food for a lot less at a place like Betos/Rancheritos.  Heck, I could probably even get more bang for my buck at Del Taco, and the flavor and authenticity of Del Taco is comparable to  Café Rio’s.  The problem, then, is that Café Rio’s prices lead me to believe that it will be better than typical Mexican fast food, when in fact it’s a little bit worse.

 

As I mentioned above, I’m not a fan Café Rio’s environment.  It has that commercialized, faux-ethnic atmosphere that seems to be pathetically screaming “we’re watered down for the mainstream American consumer.  You should eat here because we're safe.”  That might be excusable, except that the décor is combined with what seems like an effort to make the restaurant as loud as possible.  Every time I’ve gone to Café Rio I’ve visited a different location, but in each one all I could hear was an annoying din that swallowed up all other noise.  Café Rio falls into that weird niche between fast food and sit-down restaurants, but oddly, its environment is worse than either.  While pedestrian Americana restaurants like Chilies, Applebee’s, Red Robin, etc. are vexingly generic and also offer mediocre food, at least I can carry on a conversation while I’m there. 

 

In the end, Café Rio will fill you up.  Then again, so will a lot places (Chuck-A-Rama, for example, which is of comparable quality to Café Rio).  I’ve also never been to an American city that didn’t have a better Mexican restaurant.  So the next time your out, try something different.  You might be surprised by what you find.