Pantrucas

Address:



3161 N Canyon Rd
Provo, UT 84604

Price Range:


Entrees between $5-10

Website

My cousin and I were out for a girls night and decided to try something new. She was looking on yelp.com to see what was cheap and highly rated and Pantrucas fell into that category.

A pantruca is a type of dumpling common in Chilean culture that is usually eaten in soups (specifically beef based soups). You guessed it, this restaurant is a Chilean restaurant.

Menu:


Peach Juice: This was absolutely wonderful. You could hear them making it in the back. It's fresh pressed juice, they have other flavors like pineapple and mango but we were in a peachy mood and it was worth it. I highly suggest splurging and getting the juice if you go.

Beef Empanada: We ordered one to split because it would have cost us extra to get fries with our sandwiches and we decided we wanted to try the famous empanadas that were served here. It was very well done. We got the beef kind and it had little pieces of hard boiled egg in it which was surprisingly good because it added more moisture to the beef. They had cheese empanadas and ham and cheese empanadas too, but the owner said the beef was more popular. If I go here again, I may just get this next time.

Churrasco Palta: This was the sandwich my cousin got. It was beef with tomato and guacamole sandwiched between two pieces of fresh made bread. It was fantastic. I really enjoyed the bread with this sandwich because it was slightly tough on the outside and nice and soft on the inside. Also, the guacamole in both sandwiches was mixed with their house "salsa" (i'm sure they had another name for it, but it escapes me). which made the guacamole a little spicy and very flavorful. It's not too spicy that it's overwhelming, but just enough to sass your tongue a bit.

Avo Palta: The Avo Palta is the same sandwich as the Churrasco Palta except it was made with chicken instead of beef. The reason both of us went with the sandwiches is the owner said that the sandwiches were the most popular on the menu, aside from the empanadas. We weren't disappointed with the sandwiches. I would suggest them to those going to try this restaurant. Next time I may try something different, though, because the rest of the menu looked really good.

Pantrucas is most certainly a Mom and Pop restaurant. They run it, they cook, they clean, they serve and because of that they keep abnormal hours. You really have to make sure their open when you're planning on going because sometimes they take days off or afternoons off. I believe the prices on the dishes they serve are a little more expensive than what you get. However, this is no doubt due to the fact that they keep such inconsistent hours. They were very friendly and very personable. We felt that they cared about how our experience was and whether we enjoyed their food or not which, in all honesty, is what every restaurant hope s to achieve. I enjoyed the food that they made and would suggest if you are in the mood for a sandwich or empanada, try Pantruscas.

Spicy Corea

Address:


43 N University Ave.
Provo, UT 84606

Price Range:


Entree's Range from $10-15

I had never tried Korean food until my cousin introduced it to me. She lived in Korea for a little over a year on a church mission and learned to love it. She felt it necessary to share the love and I am very grateful to her. Korean food usually includes kimchi which is very high in nutrients. So I feel like a better person inside when I eat it. I craved it almost constantly when I was pregnant with my second so I've learned to grow very fond of it.

Menu:


Bulgogi: This is your average Korean BBQ beef. It's fantastic, though. It comes with onion and carrot and is marinated in this sweet soy sauce that makes it taste heavenly. It was what sold it for Craig who is a little...choosier...with his meals than I am. The meat is sliced nice and thin, marinated in the soy sauce and then barbecued until it's nice and tender. For the pickier eater I would highly suggest this.

BiBimBap: This is a usual for me and I like it with either tofu or beef. This time I decided I was in the tofu mood. It's basically a rice bowl with TONS of vegetables, kimchi and hot sauce you add yourself depending on how spicy you want it. It's topped with an egg done sunny side up. I love it, It makes me feel healthy and depending on how much sauce I put in it, it gets pretty spicy. For those a little more adventurous and open minded, I would suggest BiBimBap.

Before mixing                                      After Mixing        

As traditional with Korean meals, there are mini "side dishes" that usually consist of kimchi, sprouts, potatoes, omelets and various other kinds of vegetables. It varies from time to time, but they're a nice little addition to whatever you're eating and gives you a chance to try new things.

We always enjoy coming here, the service is friendly though could afford to be a tad more prompt and the food is cooked fast. I've never had a problem when coming here and hope if you try it you won't either!

Gloria's Little Italy

Address:


1 East Center Street Suite 100
Provo, UT 84606

Price Range:


Entrees start around $17

Website

I apologize for how late I've been in posting. Holidays are busy times for everyone so I will treat my readers with a double post.

We had been hearing about this place a lot since it opened and we decided to treat ourselves and give it a go. We went with some friends of ours that have grown out of Utah Valley and are moving to Portland to a grown up job. Poo.

Menu:


Tomato Basil Soup: Craig and Brad both decided to get the soup. Little did I know when they said soup they really meant a cup of sauce. This soup was very unlike other tomato basil soups I've had. It didn't leave that acidic flavor in your mouth like most tomato soups do if you eat too much of it. This soup resembled sauce so much they ate just about then entire thing with bread alone. It was absolutely fantastic and I may just get a straight up bowl of it next time I go.

Salad: So I got the salad and the only reason I'm bothering writing this is because the waitress suggested I try the caesar salad dressing. For those that are caesar salad fans (TRUE caesar salad fans) you may enjoy this dressing. It took on a more anchovy flavor which is very true to the traditional dressing. For those of you who don't enjoy the flavor of canned fish, I would suggest another dressing. I may give the Italian a try next time.

Cappelletti Portofino: Craig and Karen got this decicious dish. It included beautiful handmade cheese tortellini with a mixture of their ragu and pesto sauces. It was divine. The pesto was right on target instead of made with too much basil as most restaurants do to cut the cost of pine nuts down. The ragu (or otherwise known as bolognese) complimented the pesto surprisingly well and was NOT too overpowering as I was afraid it would do. Ragu's usually such a showoff.

Lasagna Ragu: Brad chose the lasagna which I usually think is a cop out with Italian food because it is one of the most commonly known dishes. However, this lasagna was unlike many others that I've tasted (and I've tasted a few lasagnas in my day) the Ragu was sublime (see above post) but it played such a beautiful part in the ensemble I could forgive it's pushiness. The noodles, however, were the first things I noticed. Most lasagnas consist of slightly al dente noodles. This isn't a bad thing, it holds the lasagna together and keeps the layers from mushing together, however, Gloria's lasagna noodles were absolutely tender. I don't know if it's the bechamel sauce that does it the extra favor or the perfect amount of time that she cooks it in the oven, but it turned out fantastic. I was very impressed and would actually suggest people get the lasagna if they're not in an adventurous mood.

Gnocchi with Rosata: If I could name one of my favorite comfort foods, it would be gnocchi. Gnocchi is pasta made with mashed potatoes and formed into little balls or pellets. I would make it when I went home for lunch when I was in High School. I had heard many great things about Gloria's gnocchi and decided I should probably give it a try. I was not disappointed. Since I don't have a food mill I hand mash my potatoes. Gloria seems to push her potatoes through a food mill so they are so perfectly mashed there are absolutely no lumps. It helps make the gnocchi take a much more uniform shape. The best part is, since the gnocchi were in smaller and more uniform pieces, they weren't as heavy when settling into your stomach so you could enjoy the whole plate and not hate yourself afterwards for eating so much. But I haven't even gotten to the sauce. With her gnocchi you get to choose from a list of her sauces. I chose the Rosata because she had won an award for it in 2009. It was her Pomorola sauce with a little cream added to it which made it absolutely divine. It wasn't heavy like most cream based sauces and was the perfect balance between a red sauce and a white sauce that It complimented the gnocchi extremely well. I loved it and highly suggest this meal if you go to Gloria's.

Cannoli: I LOVE cannoli. I can't help myself when I'm around them. These little angels were delightful. They are filled with a ricotta and marscapone cream mixed with chocolate chips and (if you want) cherries on the ends. We opted for no cherries, but they were absolutely lovely none-the-less. The cream was stiff enough it didn't drip out the ends of the fried shell but it wasn't too stiff that you were weighed down by the extra starch. They are a little spendy, but if you go to Gloria's Saturday nights after seven, desserts there are half off. You're welcome.

The service was prompt. The atmosphere was absolutely wonderful. They had a guy playing the accordion (and NOT in the annoying way). He played a large variety of songs varying from a number of operas to the Godfather Waltz to even Disney movies. The lighting was dim but it was still enjoyable and there were a number of different rooms including rooms for large parties so you could be as loud as you wanted and nobody would really know. All in all, if you are looking for real home-made Italian and you don't mind paying a bit more for it, I would try Gloria's Little Italy.