Curryosity Review

Melody and I had received a coupon for Curryosity to get a "currito" half off with the purchase of another "currito".  So, we decided we should give it a try.  Cheri wasn't quite able to make this trip, but we are planning on going back with her shortly (then I will add her comments).
We arrived at Curryosity and thought it was going to be a quick one kind of curry place, but we were surprised and happy to find that not only do they do multiple ways to serve their curry, they do multiple kinds of curry.  We were met by the Manager Scott, who was very polite and enthusiastic.  He had us try all 9 of their currys so that we could decide on which one we wanted.  The options for their curry originate from Thailand, Bangladesh, West Africa, and Cambodia.  A few are mild, a few are medium and a few are spicy, so literally everyone can find something that they like.  They have a few different options for how to eat your curry, either in a bowl with rice or in what they have called a "currito".  More or less, it is a burrito made out of Naan bread stuffed with chicken, rice, grilled peppers and grilled onions.  Since we had the coupon, we decided to both get the currito, and let me tell you now, we were not disappointed!  I chose to get the Green Chile Curry and Melody got the Peanut Curry.

Green Chile Currito

Peanut Curry Currito

As you can see, these items are very large!  I loved it.  Not only did we get a great lunch, but we also had a some leftover for a snack later or dinner later.  Aside from the size, the flavors were amazing.  The Naan bread was the perfect container for the stuffing and putting the curry on top made it all meld together and each bite was exciting.  The Green Chile was a spicy curry and the spice built upon itself, which I loved.  The Peanut curry had a slight sweet undertone, which Melody and Mahayla both enjoyed.  We also got fresh spring rolls with peanut sauce.  These were incredible.  The spring rolls were a good size and the peanut sauce was amazing.  Melody said that she hadn't had spring rolls like this since she lived in Seattle.  I had never had spring rolls this good ever!  

Now that you have seen what we got and how we liked it, what else about Curryosity?  Well, the whole restaurant was clean and well kept, the staff were very nice and friendly.  We liked that Scott wasn't just standing in the background, but on the front lines talking with people, giving his input and serving us.  The atmosphere of the restaurant was amazing.  The tables were clean and stylish.  The music that was playing was usually oldies, which I loved because that's what I grew up on.  Scott would check on us and make sure that everything was great.  I think our only issue with Curryosity was the windows at the front.  Cars that are parked in the parking lot would reflect light into your eyes, which we can't quite say it is the fault of the restaurant, but that was part of the experience.  We would say other than that issue, this was a great experience.  This is a restaurant that is quick, polite, delicious and fun.  It is one of those places that you will go back to constantly.  The prices are really not bad at all.  The currito is about $6 and the bowls of curry start at $7.50, which before 3 PM it is all about $1.50 cheaper.  So, with prices, people and places, this is a place that everyone that even considers curry to be somewhat tasty, go give it a shot.As a side note, we have already gone back with a friend of ours and as we mentioned we are taking Cheri with us.

Thus far, 

Melody has given Curryosity 4.5 Forks out of 5.

I also gave Curryosity 4.5 Forks out of 5. 

Curryosity Facebook

Hickory Kist Review

Do you work in Downtown Provo?  Are you looking for a quick, tasty lunch?  Hickory Kist should be your number one choice!  Knowing that this small shop was mainly a sandwich shop, I was expecting to find something like Gandolfo's or something of the sort.  However, it was a bit better.  As we walked in, it felt like a quick lunch place with a relaxed atmosphere.  The walls are adorned with pictures of Don Corleon, The Rat Pack, Jim Morrison and Led Zepplin.  Their menu is posted up on the back wall large enough for anyone to read and see exactly what they are ordering.

So, we check out what they have and decide to choose a variety of things to eat.  I choose the "Reagan Ruben", Cheri grabs the "Frank Sinatra", Melody picked up the "Mojo Rising", and then Mahayla got two types of soup, Creamy Broccoli and Chicken Noodle.  We didn't get Mahayla a sandwich because they were pretty large and didn't want to waste most of a sandwich. :D

Mojo Rising

Reagan Ruben

Frank Sinatra

The soups I thought were really good.  I like a sweet broccoli soup and it was spot on, although Cheri and Melody didn't.  The chicken noodle was pretty good, Mahayla enjoyed it.  Although, it was a bit salty, it still had a nice flavor.  The sandwiches however were AMAZING!  I have never had a sandwich of this caliber. The ruben had a nice zingy zip to it and was a great mixture of sauerkraut and pastrami.  The Frank Sinatra was delicious.  The fried egg was cooked perfectly and really blended with the rest of the toppings.  The Mojo Rising reminded us perfectly of Jim Morrison, not only because of the name but because it was complex and enjoyable.  Another thing was these sandwiches were HUGE!  You can order a half or a full, and the full filled me and Melody said that she should have ordered the half as she wasn't able to finish her sandwich.  That really is something that I love, when you order something and it fills you up!  

Now that you know how the food tasted, let's talk about a few other details.  The cost of HK is actually fairly decent.  It is about the same price as a Gandolfo's Sub, but you can get it much quicker.  For instance, when we first walked in, a woman walked in after us, but we weren't ready, so she went before us.  She mentioned that she was in a huge hurry and needed her order very quickly.  The gentleman said he was going to take our order and then hop right on her order.  He grabbed what we wanted and started right in on her order.  Within 5 minutes her order was complete and she was on her way.  This is pretty quick for Downtown Provo eats.  So, we have quick, good price, and the sandwich maker was very polite, had a sense of humor, and wasn't just about getting us fed and kicked out as soon as we were done.  He also had a beard which gave him brownie points in my book.  Overall, this is turned out to be a wonderful experience.  The location is prime for lunch in Provo.  However, there were some small issues that we noticed.  Most of their sandwiches were based around turkey, we would like to see more variety of meats.  Some of the salt/pepper shakers were dirty, and some tables could have used a wipe down.  We took a picture of our salt/pepper shakers for reference. 

While this can be a huge issue, I can see why it may not be too large of an issue.  I see most people coming in and grabbing their order to go versus sitting down and eating.  But, that doesn't give an excuse to have dirty things here and there. This by no means is something that we are going to say that would make us never go back, in fact that brings us to our rating of HK.

I give HK 4 forks out of 5.  I really would love to go back and try the different sandwiches.

Cheri gives HK 3.5 forks out of 5.  She says it is a solid sandwich place, but the dirty tables and shakers deter her. 

Melody gives HK 4 forks out of 5.  Melody says that she would like to go back and try with me. 

Next week we are planning to try Nellie's in Provo.  We have been waiting for this place to officially open and it has been open for a little bit now!  YAY!  Excited to see what they have to offer!

HK Home Page

HK Facebook

Do you review?!

Hey guys!  I have decided that if you are ever at a restaurant, whether in Utah or out of state and would like to review it, do it!  All I would need is the names of who you had there, pictures of the food you ate, and a review.  I'll give you credit and put it up on the blog.  Let me know guys!

Wild Ginger Review

So, it has been a good while since I posted anything.  Sorry guys, life got crazy and we didn't really have time to go anywhere.  But, we did finally make it to Wild Ginger, a Japanese sushi/regular cuisine restaurant.  Walking into Wild Ginger was really amazing.  It was quiet, calm, and peaceful.  Personally this is my favorite type of restaurant, a place that just seems relaxed and not in a huge rush all the time.  First impressions are really looking up on WG.  We walk in and greeted by a very polite manager and he shows us to our table.  So, looking amazing and fast service, I like this place already.  We sit down and start to look over the menu (which actually looks really cool) and realize that while the covers look amazing and really fit with the restaurant, they have WAY too many options outside of All You Can Eat Sushi.  The menu literally had 12 pages filled top to bottom with options of what you could order.  This not only scares us just a little bit, but as Gordan Ramsey always says, the larger the menu, the poorer the quality.  So, we are let down just a little bit, but this is what I do.  I go to the places and try them for my loyal and amazing followers. Here are the pictures of our excursion, then back to the review. (Technical Issue with pictures.  Just posting an album from ImageShack.  Sorry)Food

We decide to do the AYCE Sushi and to get a bowl of rice for the baby, as she isn't a huge fan of sushi yet.  We are told that we get a bowl of soup as well with our sushi and have three options; Hot and Sour, Eggdrop and Miso.  I like this already as each of us has a different type of palette and each of us gets a bowl of the different types of soup.  Our soups come out within a few minutes of us deciding and we dig in.  Cheri had the Hot and Sour, but as she said they nailed the sour, but not so much on the hot.  Sad times, maybe the Eggdrop will make up for the falter.  Melody had the Eggdrop and said that it was kind of bland.  She is used to Eggdrop having either a slight salty taste or a fishy taste.  Maybe the Miso can make up where these two have dropped off.  Sure enough, the Miso was actually really good.
On to the Sushi!  We had ordered many rolls, some spicy, some regular, some deep fried and some nigri.  The sushi came out just as we were finishing our soup, so we dive in and check them out.  Everything tasted delicious.  The spicy rolls were spicy enough to make you want more, but not spicy to the point of saying you were done eating.  Executed to perfection.  The deep fried rolls were not soggy or overcooked, but just had the perfect amount of crunch.  Everything was the perfect size for popping into your mouth, (which as a side note if the sushi maker makes rolls that are too large for you mouth, it is considered to be an insult in Japan.)  Everything seemed to be going perfectly.  And we were very happy as we left.
Fast forward about an hour.  Melody and my stomach start to make some noise.  These are not hunger noises, these are I NEED A BATHROOM noises.  Not going into details, I called Cheri after a few minutes and ask her how she is feeling.  She as well is having some stomach/tummy issues.  So, the experience went from being amazing and happy to sad and displeased.
Overall, this experience was kind of a let down.  We had thought that we had found our new sushi place, but have decided that that would be a bad idea.  If enjoying an overall experience leads to sitting in the bathroom for the rest of the day, I would rather go somewhere else.  Altogether, the price wasn't horrible (roughly 14-19 for sushi depending on time of day AKA lunch or dinner), the food tasted delicious, the atmosphere was peaceful, and service was incredibly fast.  All of these things still do not override the fact that we had stomach problems following eating at WG.  Would I risk going back, probably not.  I would rather play it safe than sorry, personally.  Or if you have an Iron Gut, go on in and enjoy what is WG.  For this experience, we have all decided to give Wild Ginger 1 Fork out of 5.  We just simply wont be going back.
As for what we are planning for the next review, we will be keeping it more American Cuisine with Hickory Kist.  A sandwich, soup and salad place on Center Street in Provo.  Looking forward to a great meal and some great conversation.
Wind Ginger Facebook

Business Cards!

So, finally, I have ordered business cards for the site!  I will be giving them out to everyone that we visit and hopefully it works for us!  Look forward to another restaurant review before Moanday.. I mean Monday! :D

Thanks for viewing, and as always, give us ideas or comments back!  Follow the blog and let us know of any improvements you may want to see!

Black Sheep Cafe

We decided to go to Black Sheep Cafe today for our blog.  We had two visitors with us, Adam and James.  So, a full table of five adults and one child.  Looking over the menu was difficult, not because it was huge, but because everything sounded delicious.  What was nice was there were options for those who do not eat meat and for those that eat meat.  Although, there was no mutton, so we were a bit sad.  We kind of expected to find something with mutton of some sort.  But, we ordered a few different things to represent this restaurant.


My first thought going to a restaurant that is said to have Native American food is thinking of Navajo Tacos.  Which BSC had four options, all of which were ordered and tried.  So, who ordered what?  James ordered the Black Sheep Navajo Taco.  Adam ordered the "Goat" Burger.  Cheri got the Navajo Taco Trio.  Melody ordered the special Pulled Pork Navajo Taco.  Mahayla got to taste everything we got, plus had a Honey-Butter Frybread and Grilled Squash.  I ordered the Green Chile Pork Navajo Taco extra spicy.  

 James with his Black Sheep NT.

 My Green Chile Pork NT.

 Melody's Pulled Pork with Jalapeno coleslaw NT.

 Cheri's NT Trio.

Mahayla's Honey-Butter Frybread! Half gone. Hehe

Pros
The Green Chile Pork NT was delicious.  The balance of spice and flavor was amazing.  Each bite had sizzle, but still wasn't just straight heat.  Cheri also tried the Green Chile Pork NT and loved it.  The Honey-Butter Frybread was amazing.  Mahayla ate most of it and we finished it off among the rest of us.  Adam said that his "Goat" Burger was, "Stone cold bumping."  Which according to Adam, Hip Hop culture says that is amazing.  Melody loved the Pulled Pork and said that she could see why it was the special.  James said that his Black Sheep NT was delicious and full of flavor.  The best part of everything was the Navajo Frybread.  The frybread was by far the best we have ever had.  This really made the meal that much more delicious.  


Cons
As was mentioned, Adam felt that there should have been mutton on the menu somewhere.  Which we were told eventually there would be.  Also, the Red Chile Beef NT seemed to lack a certain something.  It tasted fine, just didn't have that little boost to make it amazing.  The Black Sheep NT from the Trio had beans that were a bit undercooked, but not horrible.  The Black Sheep NT from the Trio also lacked a bit of that boost as well.  It tasted very plain.  Nothing that sparked anything in any of us.  It also lacked a bit of flavor and just seemed plain.  The beans on Melody's NT were as well undercooked.  The Grilled Squash was actually zucchini.  I know that zucchini technically is squash, but if I wanted grilled zucchini, I would have ordered grilled zucchini. Cheri mentioned, "For Native American food, it seems like everything played off the frybread.  I would like to see a Buffalo burger, instead of just variations of the navajo taco. I'd rather have my ass burned off like it was last week (see Spice Grill), than have my ass fall asleep like it did last night."


So, overall, the experience wasn't horrible.  The service was good.  The atmosphere was nice and relaxing.  I liked that they also had a small shop attached to the restaurant to purchase little gifts.  Just so you know, the prices range from 10-15$ for entrees and you leave full.  So, the bang for you buck is pretty good.  However, I have a large issue.  I feel like we showed up on a day that someone had called in or something like that.  We just felt like there was something missing and I would hate to give a horrible review to a restaurant that is missing a key element on the day that I go in.  However, I feel that restaurants shouldn't have that much of a difference from day to day.  If someone calls in, it shouldn't really affect the whole place.  Also, I feel that there was tons of hype built up about BSC.  I think this may have made my judgement a bit harsh because I was expecting this 5 Star Restaurant quality in Provo, Utah.  I would love to go back and see if this happens again.  So, I will plan to do a redemption one of these weeks to see how things are going.
Also, we are introducing a rating scale, we call it "The Fork Scale".  This scale is from 1-5, where 1 is horrible and 5 is amazing.
I give BCS 3.5 Forks
Melody gives BCS 2.5 Forks
Cheri gives BCS 2 Forks


As far as next weeks travels, we are going to go to Wild Ginger on University Ave. in Provo.  It is an all you can eat Sushi restaurant, and we love sushi so, we have high hopes. 

Black Sheep Cafe Facebook

Suggestions

I would like to just run a quick post by you guys and ask for suggestions on places that you want to go, but haven't been able to for any reason.  Just give me the name and area, I'll look into doing it for you.

Thanks for following and viewing guys!