The Purple Turtle

Address:

85 E State Rd.

Pleasant Grove, UT 84062

Price Range:

Under $10 per combo meal

The Purple Turtle. I'd been wondering about this place ever since I had moved to and away from Pleasant Grove. We finally found an afternoon to go. I know my posts have been rather gooey and lovey-dovey about almost all the restaurants I've tried. I've been lucky to get a bunch of restaurants that I particularly tickled my tastebuds. I'm not going to say that The Purple Turtle wasn't good because I only ate their once, but it may not be a place I choose to go to again for a burger. I may be tempted to try their fish and chips.

It's basically a fast food place/drive in. Expectations shouldn't be high because of such, but for the price, I would say they were definitely a little higher than if i were to go to McDonalds.

Menu:

The Mile High: A 1/4 pound patty with American Cheese and your choice of ham or bacon. Craig went with ham. The ham really completed the burger and added a saltiness I think it needed. He got the plain fries which were just your run of the mill shoestring fries. My opinion about the fries were that they were a little greasier than I was comfortable with, but still tasted like fries. Actually they tasted a little like McDonald fries if I recall, so if you're a fan of McDonalds fries, this is the place for you...other than McDonalds. Craig's opinion was that they were a too salty, which I do see his point. Since they're shoestring and not regular cut fries, there's more surface area than potato so a little salt would have gone a long way. Craig also said that there was a little too much ketchup but the bites that didn't include ketchup were good.

Super Deluxe Cheese: My burger was basically The Mile High, except ham/bacon-less. What I could taste of the burger seemed delicious. I was a hungry girl when we got to the restaurant so I was looking forward to having some food in my belly. Unfortunately, they put way too much ketchup on my burger. I mean, it was literally dripping from my burger. This caused my burger to taste strongly of vinegar. I'm not a huge fan of lots of ketchup, but if you are, this is the burger for you. I also got the sweet potato fries. They were not that remarkable (don't get me wrong, sweet potato fries are delicious) but if I could change some things I would say more salt and a little crispier, they were almost a little too soft. And finally the fry sauce. I'm not from Utah or Idaho so I had never heard of fry sauce until I moved to Utah. Since then I have been to many restaurants with different variations on fry sauce all of which have been delicious in some form or another. The Purple Turtle's fry sauce is not my favorite. It tastes strongly of onions and mayonnaise which I suspect it is, we added a little ketchup to it and that seemed to help. All-in-all, not my favorite fry sauce.

I was bound to run into a restaurant that I wasn't too impressed with. I'm hoping that I am wrong and whenever I go back there I will find something to my liking. The service was a little friendlier than what you would find at a fast food restaurant but not to the point where it really made a difference. I did mention to our cashier that we had never been there and she didn't really seem to care and seemed a bit reluctant to interact with us, but what can you expect from a fast food restaurant. So this isn't a bad review, this is just a review where I am not as impressed with the food as I've been at other places. If you try it and find something good, let me know, I would love to be wrong!

Sushi House

Address:


705 S 500 E
American Fork, UT 84003

Price Range:


All you can eat Lunch: $13.95
All you can eat Dinner: $18.99
Additional Menu Items: Under $10

This is definitely one restaurant I've been excited to share with people. I usually share it with as many people as I possibly can I love their sushi so much. It's Utah, you're not going to find fresh out of the ocean fish, but this place is pretty fresh and their rolls are fantastic. We always get the all you can eat Lunch because we feel it's more worth our money. With the Dinner, it feels like there are too many choices and to fully explore the dinner menu, it's not worth the extra money. Lunch's rolls are still pretty extensive and we sat and did the math one time when we went with some friends and everyone ends up walking away with approximately $23 of sushi in their bellies.

Menu:

(Top going clockwise then center) Spider Roll, Crystal Shrimp roll, Vegas Roll, Tuna Nigiri, Salmon Nigiri, California Roll

(Bottom) Funky Roll and two Godzilla Rolls (yeah...it's that good)

I'm sorry but I cannot recall absolutely every roll we ordered (yeah we ordered that many) but I can tell you about a few of our favorites.

Crystal Shrimp: This is usually our sinker for when we bring new mouths to this restaurant. It's their house roll and is fantastic. When we went with some friends of ours on a separate occasion we ordered three on one plate (we figured we would order it every time anyways). They don't tell you what's in it because it's their house roll but what we figure is tempura shrimp with some lovely sweet sauce that it just drips with. If you're going there, get it.

Godzilla Roll: This is a regular for us as well. This go around we ordered two of these on one plate. It's a tempura fried roll with tempura dipped tuna, their house special sauce and topped with some hot sauce. It's spicy and crunchy and warm. Very much a comfort roll. I would also like to note that unlike many other places when they say "tempura" they really do mean tempura. Not this pancake batter "tempura" that too many places have sold out with. Ick.

Spider Roll: This roll is a new find and love. It involves deep fried soft shell crab, cucumber, eel, and onion with some mayo sauce. It may not have a super note worthy sauce, but the whole roll compliments its self and is delicious none-the-less.

Their Lunch and Dinner menu also include Nigiri or Sashimi (or raw fish on a ball of rice for those that only know it by sight). Personally, I'm a fan of the Nigiri. I trust it, I've never gotten sick from it, it's pretty good for being in a land locked state.

So those are just a few of the rolls we love. There are plenty more and the list is pretty delicious. If you've been looking for a good sushi bar, I would and always highly suggest Sushi House.

Sweet & Savory

Address:


182 W Center Street
Orem, UT 84057

Price Range:


Under $10

Website

Crepe hot-spots have been popping up around Utah lately. We decided to give this one a try. It was conveniently located and had a coupon to it. Therefore, it won the favor.

Menu:


City Hunter: Craig decided the City Hunter was the Crepe for him. It had breaded chicken, lettuce, tomato, cream cheese, bacon, BBQ sauce, and ranch. Those sound like a weird combination however, it worked. It was tender and savory and even a little sweet thanks to the cream cheese. It came with a side of seasoned potatoes which completed the meal nicely. There is an option to add a salad or a soup for an extra $1.75 but we were full enough with just the crepe and seasoned potatoes.

Chicken Cordon Bleu: This Crepe was filled with chicken, ham and swiss (obviously). However, it was topped with a very nice alfredo and a hand full of bacon pieces. I really liked this crepe not only because chicken, ham and swiss go together perfectly, but because the crepe surrounding it doesn't weigh it down at all. It helps keep everything together and soaks up the alfredo sauce so that every bite includes the flavor of Parmesan cheese and heavy cream. These were also served with roasted seasoned potatoes and together were just enough to make me full.

The place seemed really clean as do most new restaurants. The staff were friendly and accommodating and the menu was varied in that it not only featured savory and sweet (ah ha!) crepes but it also provides pastas and desserts for those that want something a little different. If you're looking for another niche restaurant, try sweet and savory!

The Mongolian Grill

Address:


484 S 1750 W Suite G
Springville, UT 84663

Price Range:


Under $10

Craig and I are fans of Mongolian Grills. A few years ago we were looking for one and found this was the closest one.  We decided to try it and as far as we were concerned this was one of the better ones (Craig has been to some bad ones apparently).

Menu:


What else? Mongolian BBQ! When you order the BBQ you get a choice between hot and sour soup or egg drop soup and a spring roll with sweet and sour sauce and your choice of brown or white rice.

Now if you know me, you know i'm not a fan of buffets. At all. But with Mongolian BBQ it's different. The food is set out buffet style but the meat is frozen (and stays that way) and the noodles and vegetables are kept cool on ice. They have a variety of meats ranging from lamb to crab and everything in between as well as a large variety of vegetables and sauces.

They serve Chinese food as well but we've never tried it because we've been so hung up on the Mongolian BBQ.

The service is nice but I would say they aren't the quickest. The hostess that brings your drinks and takes your initial order has always been timely but when we're doing the Mongolian BBQ sometimes the cook isn't there and it takes a little while for him to get out there and warm up the grill so there have been times when we're standing there waiting for them to get to the grill. When there's a lot of people they'll already be there but if there aren't that many customers the place seems quite empty.

In all, the place seems to be a quiet and clean restaurant with fantastic Mongolian BBQ. It's super cheap so if you're looking for another cheap date, try the Mongolian Grill!

The Chocolate

Address:


212 S. State St.
Orem, UT 84058

Price Range:


Individual Servings Under $5
Whole Cakes $15-$45

Website


Dessert Cafes and Specialty Dessert shops have become quite popular around the United States. I can see the novelty and The Chocolate is not an exception.

Order:


Caramel Brownie: Craig ordered the Caramel Brownie and if described in a word, I would say: Rich. Compared to most brownies it was very dense and sweet. I would expect a caramel brownie to be very sweet, however dense? I'm not sure if I'm a fan of dense brownies. If that's something that tickles your fancy, however, you may have found your brownie place.

Berry Trifle: I got the Berry Trifle and it was just delightful. The berries were fresh which is a pretty rare thing during the winter months and the Bavarian cream was actually quite light. The yellow cake they used was a perfect compliment to the dessert. It added a needed weight that if the cake wasn't a little on the heavy side, the dessert may have just floated away.

The Chocolate is indeed a delightful little place run out of an old house that's been gussied up to look charmingly vintage. There are couches to sit on which gives it a very casual ambiance. Upstairs there is an internet cafe for those that want to bring their computers to get some work done. Because of it's casual feel,  It allows for patrons to get as comfortable as they want which means that maybe louder behavior is tolerated there. That may be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what kind of person you are. Craig and I weren't too impressed by it because even when we went upstairs we could still hear the group down in the front room. They also provide complimentary water with lemon on each floor.

It truly is a charming place to be experienced, although they do provide take out orders for those that want to enjoy their sweets at home. If you're looking for a fun dessert cafe, The Chocolate is a lovely place to relax and enjoy a sugar rush.

Osaka

Address:


46 W Center St
Provo, UT 84601


Price Range:


Under $10


We decided for our date this week we would go get some Japanese food (not sushi). We chose Osaka off of a recommendation from my sister and were not disappointed.


Order:


Each of our orders came with the choice of a salad or miso soup. We both got the miso soup and it was pretty good miso soup, once it gets cold, though, i wouldn't recommend it, so eat it quickly!

Gyoza: We started with an order of Gyoza which is basically a Japanese potsticker. They're steamed dumplings filled with pork and vegetables and served with soy sauce that's been mixed with rice vinegar. They were fresh and soft and definitely a good way to start the meal.

Gyudon: I ordered the Gyudon which is a Don-Buri (a meat over rice in a bowl) served with beef and onions with sweet soy sauce and sesame seeds. It had a light, sweet flavor to it which would be best for those that have sensitive palates (aka known picky eaters).

Ok, I realized after I ate it that I had forgotten to get a picture...but the picture to your right is more or less what it looked like (minus the pickled ginger on the side)

Beef Sukiyaki: Craig got the Beef Sukiyaki which was a dish that was brought out hot in a small frying pan looking dish. Beef Sukiyaki consists of thinly sliced pieces of beef, tofu, onions, cabbage, and jelly-like noodles in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine. It's flavor was more bold and obviously soy sauce, compared to mine, but it wasn't strong enough that it was off putting. For the adventurous type, I would suggest any of the sukiyaki on their menu.

The service was very prompt, polite and intuitive. It was a quiet restaurant, but from their wall of celebrity thanks, seems very popular. I was told they have rooms where you can kneel and eat your food, per the traditional fashion, however, Craig and I were too shy to request the room so we were happy to accept the booth we were given. If you're looking for something new to eat and enjoy your restaurants to be very quiet and reverent, I would suggest Osaka.

El Salvador Restaurante

Address:


332 W Center Street
Provo, UT 84601

Price Range:


Under $10 (Papusas cost about $1.50 each!)

Order:


With El Salvadorian food, there's only one thing you should really be getting: Papusas. They're fantastic. A papusa is basically a corn pancake/tortilla filled with either beans, cheese, pork, or all of the above. They're served with a mixture of cabbage, carrots, basil, and hot sauce with additional hot sauce on the side for those that can handle the heat. We love them. I think ordering two papusas a person would be enough for a meal.

We've ordered plantains there once as well, however, I found them to be sweet but a little on the tart side. Craig loved them as they reminded him of the time he spent in Mexico, but they were served with cream and beans and he adored them.

Warning to those that are not familiar with El Salvadorian fare. Rice (spanish or otherwise) is not part of their diet. So don't try and order rice there because they won't want to say no and it'll take forever for them to find some rice for you. How I know this? We took some friends there and one of our friends decided she wanted some rice anyways and asked. They, of course, wanted to be obliging but were scrambling to find a way to satisfy their customer. Luckily the friend changed her mind before they went to the store and ordered beans instead.

This situation, though, is a testament to how fantastic their service is. They are seriously the nicest people in the world and work really hard to make you feel at home there. Also, for making the papusas fresh ( I know, right!) they get it done quickly, even on a busy night.

So if you're like Craig and I and love dates for under $5, I would suggest getting some delicious papusas from El Salvador Restaurante!

Thai Village

       

Address:

208 W Main Street

American Fork, UT 84003

or

410 N University Ave.

Provo, UT 84601

Price Range:

Under 10$

Website:

www.thaivillageprovo.com

This is our favorite Thai restaurant. If you're familiar with the Provo and Orem area, you'll know that there are quite a few to try, our suggestion would be Thai Village. Recently they opened a new location in Provo, so if you don't want to make the trip up to American Fork, they have one a little closer to home.

Order:

Pad Thai: The mark of a good Thai restaurant is always going to be whether their Pad Thai is worth ordering. Thai Village accomplishes such a feat. For those who don't know what Pad Thai is, it's a noodle dish made with rice noodles, eggs, fish sauce, tamarind sauce, some sort of protein and served with peanuts and a lime. A friend once described it as the cheeseburger of Thai food. I don't think he was too far off. It's hard to mess up such a dish, but it has been done. Fortunately not by Thai Village. The Pad Thai is definitely noteworthy when going to Thai Village.

Massaman Curry: For those curry lovers and even for the skeptics, Massaman Curry would be the way to go. It's so sweet and nutty you can hardly believe it's curry! Made with coconut milk, peanuts, cashews and potatoes and various sweet spices such as cardamom and cinnamon, Massaman Curry is a sweet dish served with rice and certainly an dish one can order with no regrets except for perhaps the little extra loving it will add around the waist when eaten in excess.

Thai Village is a family owned restaurant which means their service is rather personal and attentive. Their decorations are quite beautiful and diverting. You can't help but look around you when sitting in the restaurant. Make Thai Village your next stop if you have Thai food on the mind!

Maria Bonita Mexican Grill

Address:

171 West 800 North

Orem, UT 84057

Price Range:

$5-$15 an entree

You can tell a good legitimate Mexican restaurant when you can hear the cook singing along with the Mexican radio station that's playing in the back. It's been a while but Craig and I FINALLY got to go on a date of our own since our second child was born.

Order:

Each order came with a rice and chicken broth soup to start as well as the standard chips and salsa.

Pork Carnitas: Craig chose the Pork Carnitas without regrets. Though I'm not a fan of pork, this pork was sweet and moist. It was served with sour cream, guacamole, tomatoes, onions, and cilantro to add as toppings. They gave him beans and rice (as per ALL good Mexican restaurants) and a spicy roasted jalapeno pepper (which he ate of course). He was able to finish the plate, but he was VERY full when he finished.

Beef Chimichanga: Two words. Fried burrito. Can anyone really go wrong with that? I asked the waitress which dish she would suggest and this was the first dish she listed off. She DID suggest the pork chimichanga, but as stated above, i'm not a big fan of pork. However, if I had known the pork was going to be as moist and sweet as it was, I would have gotten the pork version of this dish. The beef was well seasoned and moist and complimented the beans and rice it was served with nicely. If you're like me and skittish about pork, the beef chimichanga would be an excellent choice.

The service was friendly and helpful. They spoke pretty clear English, as well. It was a little more laid back. A couple of the servers were eating at the table next to ours, which was no problem for us but if that's something you're not a fan of, be warned.

If you're looking for a laid back delicious Mexican restaurant in Orem, UT, Maria Bonita's is the place to go!

Chen's Noodle House

Address:

435 E. 1150 S. Orem, UT 84097

Price Range:

Under $10

Chen's Noodle House is Craig's and my go to Chinese restaurant for delivery. Although it is Americanized, we love the food and the service is fast and friendly. It's right next to University Mall and is a lovely place to go if you're looking to dine in after a stop at the mall.

Order:

Cheese Wonton: Craig and I had never really tried cheese wontons before so this time we gave them a try. They're little pieces of heaven. Fried wonton wrapped around seasoned cream cheese and served with sweet and sour sauce. I can see nothing wrong with that sentance.

Mu Shu Chicken: For those that have not had Mu Shu anything, it's a dish NOT served with rice but served wrapped in a thin pancake. They give you the two separately so you can build it how you want it without being left with a soggy pancake. The dish consists of whatever meat you choose (in this case chicken) with cabbage, carrots, eggs, scallions, and dry sherry served with hoisin sauce. Chen's Noodle House is extremely generous in their portions so there is enough to go around and then some. It has a perfect mix of a sweet and salty flavor when mixed with hoisin sauce that you can eat them without the pancakes and still enjoy it.

Beef Lo Mein: Lo Mein, often confused with Chow Mein (thanks Panda Express), are soft noodles mixed with a soy type sauce, green onions, carrots, cabbage and a meat. In this case we chose beef. I prefer the beef to the chicken because the fat in the beef makes the beef juicier and very tender rather than the tough and sometimes dry chicken. Whenever we get the Lo Mein it seems like the box will never empty, no matter how much we eat. We appreciate the large sizes as we love Chinese food.

Fast, delicious Chinese food = Chen's Noodle House

Period.

The Bohemian Brewery

Address:

94 Fort Union Boulevard Midvale, UT 84047

Price Range:

$10-$15 an entree

Website

This past weekend some friends of ours, Craig and myself attempted to attend Oktoberfest up in Snowbird, however, when we arrived they were evacuating everyone because of an unforeseen complication. We decided that since we were denied the food and joys of Oktoberfest to venture down to Midvale and visit The Bohemian Brewery. I had heard good things from various friends about the food and decided we should try it.

Order:

Classic Reuban: $9 This Reuban consists of rye bread, swiss cheese, sauerkraut and pastrami instead of corned beef. You can tell a good reuban by how fresh the sauerkraut is and I would say this reuban is definitely one of the better in it's class because of the sauerkraut. You can tell The Bohemian Brewery's sauerkraut was fresh because the cabbage still had a slight crunch to it and as far as flavor, it was some of the sweetest sauerkraut I've ever had. Nothing like the overly "preserved" sauerkraut you find at the store in the jar. Also the pastrami was not too overpowering as one might think and complimented the mixture of sauerkraut and swiss nicely. Another fantastic thing about this entree is that it's served with The Bohemian Brewery's signature garlic fries. They were so fresh and garlicky, you could smell the garlic from right outside the restaurant. If you're in the mood for a traditional sandwich, the Classic Reuben should be taken into serious consideration.

Bavarian Brats: $12 This simple entree consists of two Bavarian bratwursts served with sauerkraut, mustard, and seasoned potatoes. The potatoes were cooked O'Brian style and lightly seasoned so as to not steal the show from the bratwursts. The bratwursts were stuffed with just the right amount of meat and seasonings as to give it a sweet yet slightly spicy flavor. The sauerkraut complimented the brats perfectly with it's sweet and slightly sour flavor by allowing the brat to still hold it's own spicy flavor.

Pierogies and Bratwurst: $15 This was Craig's choice and he did not regret it one bit. Another dish that included the above described bratwurst was complimented with four cheese and potato stuffed pierogies. These pierogies were delightfully heavy like much of Bavarian food but was lightened up by the dill flavored sour cream that accompanied it. They were served with sauerkraut and bacon sprinkled on top to give them a salty flavor. This dish is definitely a good choice if you're looking for more than just a bratwurst.

Bohemian Goulash: $15 I chose the Bohemian Goulash because I knew I would regret it if I didn't get an authentic Hungarian dish. I am without regret. The meat was the first thing I noted with my first bite of this goulash. It was so tender it practically fell apart in my mouth. The vegetables in the goulash were tender but not mushy, which is a hard feat when braising meat for as long as i'm sure they braised it. And the sauce was perfectly spiced with paprika that it wasn't too spicy but just enough to know that there was some in it. Alongside the goulash was served a mini loaf of soft, almost gooey, bread. All in all, a fantastic choice for a cold day.

Service:

The service was laid back and warm. When I asked for suggestions, the server was quite helpful and willing to describe the different entrees that I was having a hard time deciding between. Also, my drink was never empty, which means a lot since I always seem thirstier at restaurants.

All together, it was a fine dining experience and Craig and I can't wait to go back!