score

sunday morning all you can eat breakfast buffet at the poplar pub $9.70.

stick it in my pie hole

so i think i found my favorite pizza joint in slc. pie hole. downtown salt lake. near a buncha bars and is open til 3am. $1 pbr cans. by the slice. as you all know (or fucking should) my benchmark for a pizzeria is the cheese and pepperoni. both of which rule at the pie hole. i scored a few fresh slices of both the other night and holy shit, it did it for me. while i'm sure people will argue with me that este is better, i really jive with this pizza. the crust has the right amount of chewy-ness. i don't find that in este's pizza. pie hole pizza is just a tad bit thinner than nicolitalia, and a tad bit thicker than este, which makes my little belly very happy. food aside, pie hole hasn't gotten quite as pretentious as este, which gives them a big leg up. i could eat pie hole pizza at pie hole in sweatpants and no one would look at me as if i had broken some rule i didn't know about. the staff are quite friendly and will chat with you. which i value quite a lot. they are vegan friendly for those who need it, and they use their own home-made nutritional yeast based "cheese", which is very tasty for those who've never tried it. for real, go to this pizzeria and have a blast.

http://pieholeutah.com/

more salt lake finds

guess who is going to be keeping super busy with finding new places to eat in salt lake? this guy. my buddy chaz is also a food dork, and he, along with his better half, melody, have done a lot of the leg work here in salt lake for me. the other night we hit up the HAPA taco place downtown across from sette bello. i got some carnitas tacos. killer. the tiniest amount of crisp on the carnitas were oh so awesome. they came with pinto beans and rice on the side. i love me some pinto beans. i also tried out their $5 margarita. it beat out the twilight's margarita by a long shot. HAPA will be where i go get margaritas. i had 2. people kept getting pissed that the kitchen was closed and as we were paying one guy stormed in and shouted the fuck word a lot at the staff. we all decided that was dumb so we gave our server a bigger tip. turns out he knew the guy.

yesterday we hit up koko's kitchen, a little japanese sushi bar downtown right off 6th south. i got some chicken katsu curry (brown curry) and it ruled. pparently the pot stickers are quite killer but the big deal according to meoldy is ramen. i will be eating ramen next time i go.

i can't believe how excited i am about all this. wait, yes i can.

lucking out

so i started working at graywhale's main store in salt lake city, which i'm beyond excited about. for a few reasons.

1. i'm working at the main store, which has a soooo much fun stuff to listen to. like if you're into jazz or world music, you'd be a fool to not peruse. sadly there ain't much wax in the racks. i've found some fun punk and a lot of the garage bullshit i like, some indie stuff too. makes alphbetizing very plesant, and fun. i know my abc's so much better now too.

2. i live very close to the store, so i can walk. it's up hill, so that means i'm gonna have a nice tight ass here in no time.

3. there's this little greek run burger joint RIGHT NEXT DOOR. their gyros rival greek souvlaki #1, mainly because the pitas are toasted and their tzatziki is loaded with dill. just throwing that out there. not to mention they roll out a pretty tasty burger. and the buns they use aren't the typical lawn turd white bread bun. they'r kinda chewy. good fries too. i'm hooked already. the place is called B&D. i have't tried their shakes because i don't care about shakes.

salt lake city: watch your ass

so, i'm in the process of moving to salt lake. bet you thought that'd never happen, but the time has come for me to leave provo behind. sorry provo, i know you're gonna miss me. i'm actually sad about a few things as i think about moving away. here's three of them. you already know what they are because i talk about these three places incessantly. i guess this is my final ode to them.

1. pete's lunch. by far pete's was my favorite place to eat in provo. i never felt more at home at a diner than when i was at MY table at pete's. i wish i could uproot that whole little microcosmic community built up around pete's and take it with me wherever i go. i'm confident i'll find similar diners in salt lake, and i'm sure the fare will be good, but i have a hard time believing that i'm going to find another waitress as good as julie, or chicken fried steak/hasbrowns/toast/2 eggs over medium as perfectly made as the way pete did it. call me nostalgic, but goddammit, for my money no one has ever made me breakfast as good. and guess what, his burgers are up there with the best of them. so is is meatloaf. so are his omeletes. there are a few people who might disagree with me, but they are few and far between. and i usually ignore them. i'm trying not to get too nostalgic over this, because i'm hoping some dumb hungry kid with a little extra cash wanders in pete's, who is kinda shy and makes his way over to the west wall, stops to check out the old prospector (stinky pete) painting and sits down at table 9 so he can get a commanding view of all the other tables and so he can watch a happy chinese guy do what he's been doing with perfection for eons, fall in love instantly with the waitress, and hell, the whole scene and never wants to go eat anywhere else. then he gets his food and it seals the deal.

2.el salvadoran. el salvadoran only comes in second because they don't have pete cooking. i fell in love with salvadoran food because a guatemalan classmate insisted she make me pupusas one night. she made them from scratch, which wasn't hard because she'd grown up making them. thanks karla! it was a while before i had the craving for a pupusa after that, but i was making my way down center street once and peeked in the window and saw what everyone was eating. so i went back a little while later and got myself some, i hate to say it but el salvadoran's were better than karla's pupusas. i kept going, and i became friendly with joe, the really big guy who looks really scary. he isn't. his name is joe. i'm going to miss el salvadoran because of joe, and the little grandmother who makes all the pupusas and tamales. and everyone else who works there and eats there. el salvadoran doesn't need me to keep their business going, they have a strong community of people who go there because they know they'll see other salvadorans.

3. nicolitalia pizzeria. no brainer. my heart is tied to this place in the weirdest ways. i love nick. i love nick's pizza. i love how he does everything wrong and yet, still manages to get everything right. the place is one of the conundrums of the universe. if and when nicolitalia pizzeria goes out of business, the soul of utah county will go out with it. you'll never meet a more honest businessman than nick dellacioppa. you'll never eat better hand tossed pizza, you'll never be more annoyed ordering it, you'll never laugh harder waiting for it, you'll never want the music to change more, and you'll never forget the time nick innocently mispronounced your name, got your order wrong or remembered who you were as you walked through the door.

fuck you provo, you broke my heart. i'll still come back for the food, though.

hello salt lake, just got here, still figuring everything out, but so far you haven't disappointed. i've been frequenting a littl indian market down the road from where bryan and cassie live. they sell a indian soda called limca. it is lime flavored. it is delicious and very refreshing. i've also discovered their pakoras and potato patties and spinach paneer triangles to be totally killer. big daddy's pizza is the best $5 pizza i've ever had. i'm fully expecting my adventures in food to be varied and fruitful. here's to whats coming, y'all!

spice grill, or don'tcha know...

a few weeks ago me, boobsie and bonesy walked over to spice grill, where the rooster place used to be, past all the other happenings downtown, i got a sampler plate and boobsie and bonesy got something else. it was great. most of what i got was fried, which (no brainer) i loved. what initially struck me as odd about spice grill was the overabundance of things on the menu that weren't indian food. burgers, fries, GYROS, and some other stuff. if you know me at all, you'll know the gryo is one of my all time favorite foods. there aren't many places in utah county to get a good gyro (imo the best in SLC is greek souvlaki #1). the tangy tzatziki is a great compliment to the savory lamb "stuff". much to my surprise spice grill has their own approach to tzatziki. they add sugar to the recipe. honest, i've never encountered a sweet tzatziki. also, i'm trying to type tzatziki as many times as possible in this post for a few reasons:

1. so i can remember how to spell it

2. muscle memory?

3. its tastes good

4. because if you're a fan of greek food in the slightest, i want you to go try a gyro from spice grill.

ok, back on track: like any new/small/unhyped resturant in provo spice grill is still working out all the kinks with their business, but you know me, nothing is more important than how good their food is. and theirs is good. really good. they aren't afraid to be inventive without sacrificing a traditional/homemade menu. kudos to them.

they're on facebook

please "like" them!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Spice-Grill/105253749559556?ref=ts

i wonder if i can talk them into making a pizza pakora...

surprises

the other day cassie was surprised that i made breakfast for bryan and myself.

"you're not the only one who cooks for bryan" - me

also, i made breakfast tacos that day.

updating things

i need to update my photo for this blog. any suggestions? i can't make decisions on my own anymore.

taking a big slump.

geez, what a drama queen i turned out to be. reminder: this is not a forum for whining. sorry for the whining. things are working themselves out. hope i didn't scare anyone too much. went to pete's this morning with cassie and newlin. got my old standby. it was super busy today and pete was lookin sharp. saw some familiar faces and got full. super excited for the toga party tonight, it's been a while. i think i'm coming out of a big slump. good for me. good for you. party time.

a culmination of sorts.

dunno why i'm posting this here. i guess its only people i like who read this and only them who probably care at all about whats going on with me. this post doesn't have so much to do with food as it does my shortcomings as an adult. it indirectly involves food i guess, since my financial state dictates my food choices. and here it is: i'm broke. like, really broke. i think i can look back over the last couple of years and see the downward spiral to the place i am now. i guess i kept thinking i could stave off financial responsibility until i got my degree. nope. doesn't happen that way. i've fucked myself financially and i have only myself to blame. i haven't finished college and i don't know if i ever will. i want to, but i don't know if i'll be able to afford it any time soon. i party waaay too much. my friends have all kinda slowed down, but for some reason i felt like it was a great idea to keep pushing myself. dumb. i think i knew this was coming for a while but was too scared to try to deal with it. i've kinda destroyed my body with partying and eating tons of bad food. don't know how to quite recover from it, because lets be honest, i'm good at making bad decisions. also, i'm the master of procrastinating important things that come back to haunt me. and haunt me they do. relentlessly. i ate too much shitty pizza today and i still feel sick. instead of dealing with my problems, my problems have dealt with me. now i have to abandon or sell things that are very important to me and i don't want to. thanks for reading. thanks for being my friend. thanks for the recommendations and taking recommendations. wish me luck

dear fried egg sandwich

you are simple and pure. and digesting.

jambalaya etc

made jambalaya for the first time in a while last night. most of you know about this from tweets and FB and whatnot. what you don't know is that i set the stove on fire during this undertaking. i spilled a little pat of butter on a red-hot element and realized as soon as it happened i realized it was futile to try to save the butter. nothing happened immediately. but a minute or two later i saw flames coming up from underneath the element. in this situation i could have:

1. freaked out

2. looked for a fire extinguisher i know doesn't exist.

3. tossed a towel over the flames

i did none of these. instead, i took a photo with my phone, sent it to a couple of people and then blew the flame out.

i did a few things differently (not completely on purpose) for this batch of jambalaya; mainly i used some rip-off andouille sausage that is supposed to be gourmet and shit. do not buy aidell's andouille if you want andouille. you're better off using polish sausage instead. (sautee the sausage in butter and cayenne. still isn't real andouille, but is better than the crap i bought.) i didn't have rosemary in this batch either. i forgot to look in my spice cab before i went to the store. i can tell the difference, but i don't think anyone else can. all in all this jambalaya turned out pretty good. cassie liked it and she's my benchmark. it was a happy evening at the compound.

i don't think cassie is going to let me be lazy about cooking much longer.

HEALTH

i've been trying to eat healthier the last week or so, and i'm failing at it. i feel like shit all the time and i know i know i know it's because i don't eat well or exercise or do anything right. this isn't a post where i proclaim to the world how dedicated i am to eating healthier and making better food and lifestyle decisions. being healthy requires a lot of work. i hate work. at the current rate i'll probably be eating healthier by 2016. and it would help if my friends wouldn't bring over cheddar jalepeno cheetos. wtf! have you had those? so good. i should probably buy a bag of apples next time i go to the store, but i will probably instead buy chips and salsa. or a frozed pizza. oh what to do.

if you wear fancy pants

you should totally try out nordstroms sandwiches and shit. their coffee is very mediocre, but them sandwiches more than make up for it.

rice king noodle house

go.

holy cow!

i discovered a very versatile condiment today: the chik-fil-a "chik-fil-a" sauce. i believe it is a honey mustard/bbq mix, heavy on the honey mustard side.

i put it up there with nick's house dressing. no joke.

ethical considerations: mountain west burrito

the other day a handful of us hit up mountain west burrito. myself, cass, wiems, gheybin, greg, other meg, and brit p all crowded around a table in a room adjacent to a convenience store (read: smokeshop & beer). for some reason the owner chose that location to open where other tiny resturants had either closed, fled, or bailed completely (lookin at you taco r.). the near steadfast rule in opening a resturant is to never open where another had just failed seems not to deter the owner (haven't quite gotten on first name basis, which everyone should at their fav food spots), who goes about happily greeting, serving and cleaning.

somehow i think he knows what he's done.

here's why:

first he's a good looking white dude, and very affable. the picky locals are drawn towards pretty white men. and he smiles at everyone. he oozes the good kind of confidence.

second, he seems quite business savvy. i've had a couple of conversations with him about previous endeavors and he's helped start and may still be involved with a few similar operations, didn't get that far in convo with him. he's opened places like these in other college towns and he seems to be banking on their model in provo. not such a bad idea.

third, he's smart enough to buy locally, and organic when available, another selling point to the picky locals, not because its more healthy, but because its a buzz they can all understand. either way, we all win, because: his food is killer. it definitely is not autentico mexicano. but it is so good. which brings me to my last point: the staff.

the food at this joint is good because his staff respect and appreciate that he respects them. i don't know if i've ever seen an owner treat his guys with such dignity. the first time me and cassie ever tried him out he was sitting out in the dining room with one of his guys playing dominoes. i'll never forget it. the owner took our order while the other guy made his last move before he got our food ready. to see latino worker treated as a person and not a commodity gives me just the tiniest bit of faith in people. it's really all i need to help keep this place going.

cornel west made this statement:

"A Leftist looks at the world through the lenses of those who are dominated, subjugated, devalued, demeaned and marginalized...."

when i first read it i felt its meaning throughout my body. whether you subscribe to leftism or not, we can find places run by businessmen who believe in helping the marginalized maintain dignity as people, and we should support them.

hey folks, it's been a while.

i noticed the last post was part one of my tour "diary". fail. i don't even remember the rest of tour, so suffice it to say i had good food in portland.

for a second i thought blogger was gonna delete all my stuff because some "thing" changed with the internet and i don't know what goes on inside the internet so i don't know how to describe it. but i guess everything is cool.

the last 6-7 months or so've been pretty strange/rough.

i don't really wanna talk about it. some ups, lotsa downs, lotsa wasted time and money.

i got a new job. so i don't work at nicolitalia any longer. i barely made it through that. graywhale is my new home. i like my new job. i like my co-workers. i like my superiors. i wish it wasn't at the mall.

which brings up my first point:

i have a love/hate relationship with mall food. you can only get chick-fil-a at the mall here. they have pretty good biscuits and gravy. iceberg makes an "ok" burger (the buffalo chips are worth it). free refills all day. i can really only stomach sbarro's cheese slice. charleys subs are very mediocre. i will not pay $2.39 for a hot dog at orange julius. when the chinese food is fresh it is killer. mixed veggies 4 lyfe.

now on to my second point:

i don't really get out much anymore. except to go to petes. pete's and el salvadoran are about the only 2 places i want to eat any more. usually i go to pete's.

which brings me to my third point:

i have my own table at pete's lunch. he called me back into the inner sanctum and asked me what my last name was. had me write it down. next time i came in, there it was. come sit with me at my table sometime.

the 4th and maybe last thing i wanna say:

self loathing is rampant in provo. maybe the world. i can only see its effects in provo. i see it mostly in women, probably due in large part to the self loathing in men, projected onto the women they're around. 2 things can save us. food and music. i think long and hard on these two things on a very frequent basis. the histories of the worlds cultures can largely be documented by their food, their wars, and their cultural output, but not how they treat women.

ok, the 5th:

why the fuck do i know so many women who are scared to eat? i think i know. you know too. if you don't know, it's likely you're a part of the problem, so please stop.

sorry to get serious. i'm meeting my buddy mel for pete's soon. i'm looking towards a new phase in my life and i love you all.