Jennifer – Page 28 – Discover Healthy Food

Restaurant Review: Em’s with friends

Introducing friends to a great restaurant is one of my favorite outings. I first went to Em’s with Marilyn – it was her birthday dinner choice. I’d hadn’t heard of Em’s before – but now after going and mentioning it to others – I find that few people know of this gem. In a way, that is good because the busier Em’s becomes, the harder it is to get a reservation.

For appetizer we enjoyed the heavenly smoked salmon and crab rolls. You MUST try these. Wow. Our friends even ordered another serving to go. Yeah, it’s that good.

Salads were fresh and light. A nice way to clear the palate before the entrées.

I had the lobster and prawn Brazilian gumbo. The coconut milk was a surprising under lying flavor to the seasonings.

Bruce had the pork chop. I didn’t try a bite, but it looked really tender and juicy. Might have to try myself next time.

Carolyn had the salmon with creamed cabbage. I had to taste her cabbage – it was like butter. Devine.

Klint had the short rib. Fall-off-the-fork goodness. Might have been the best entrée of the night.

When you plan to attend Em’s, make sure to call for a reservation a few days in advance. Typically you’ll leave a voicemail and then they’ll call you back.

Restaurant Review: Tea Rose Diner – Murray

Meeting friends for lunch in Salt Lake City, so asked them for a restaurant recommendation. They suggested Tea Rose Diner in Murray.

Klint thought that the heat levels were ridiculous. Overall, he didn’t think it was nearly as good as our favorite – Thai Ruby – but was “okay”.

Jen enjoyed the dishes overall, but thought that the level 3 heat was too hot on the Thai Sweet Basil. Totally not into eating hot stuff for the sake of eating spice… rather enjoy the tastes of the food. The Pad See Ew with tofu and heat level 2 was perfect.

One thing that was kind of weird is that they also serve burgers and shakes. Um, ok. Didn’t expect that from a Thai restaurant… Honestly, their name “Tea Rose Diner” doesn’t exactly scream Thai food. Pretty good little joint – maybe we’ll go back.

Restaurant Review: Carrabba’s – Orem

Something about the hustle and bustle of the holidays, just makes us want to eat! And being so busy, seems we’re never home. Luckily, there are some pretty good restaurants around so that we have a variety to choose from when we want to eat.

For a late lunch, we stopped at Carrabba’s in Orem, UT. Haven’t been out for Italian food in a long while… and don’t want to consider Olive Garden as real Italian food.

Klint had the Manicotti and about two loaves of bread with dipping sauce. (Note: Since this edible experience, Klint couldn’t get the dipping sauce out of his mind, so he researched and found the dipping sauce recipe on-line.) Jeanette, the fabulous waitress, even hooked him up with a loaf to go and a small container of the dipping herbs. Now, that’s service!

Jen had the Tilapia Nocciola, which is a hazelnut encrusted grilled tilapia fillet with steamed broccoli. Wow. Really flavorful dish, but also a light meat. Love fish, when it’s prepared right.

Mangia-mangia! (That’s Italian, for “let’s eat!”)

Restaurant Review: Shoga – Orem

Looking for a New Year’s Eve lunch and we stumbled into Shoga – located in Orem, Utah.

Jen had the sushi which was common and expected. Frankly, it’s hard to find good sushi in Utah.

Klint, on the other hand, enjoyed the hugest pile of steak yakisoba. Heavenly tender steak pieces with lots of vegetables. Definitely a dish to get again.

The service was okay. The restaurant was little, crowded, but cool decor. Guess this restaurant would be okay to check out again… Until we find a better sushi joint in Utah County.

Restaurant Review: Seasons Cafe – Palo Alto

Scheduled to speak at 7pm and I gotta eat before! But, not too soon before… because I get a little queasy. Looking for some good protein, light, but tasty. Took a chance on a Palo Alto business park restaurant – Seasons Cafe.

I love a good Chick Cordon Bleu and this was an ah-maze-ing dish! The chicken was tender and bursting with juices. The honey mustard dressing was a light compliment to the crispy honey ham and swiss cheese.

One thing I love about stopping at random restaurants in CA, is rarely will the food be bad. Seasons Cafe delivered a perfect meal so that I could deliver a great message during my speaking engagement. Plus, they let me eat in their dining area, even though they were closed. Class act. Thanks, Seasons Cafe!

Restaurant Review: Blue Skies Cafe – San Rafael

Soup and salad… one of my favorite lunch meals.

Sunny fall afternoons on the patio… my favorite way to consume lunch.

If you find yourself in San Rafael, CA and are looking for a peaceful, yummy lunch, check out Blue Skies Cafe.

Lunch today was Lentil soup and Cobb Chop Salad. Perfect serving sizes. The seasonings in the Lentil soup were really earthy and Mediterranean. I love that they have local products in their food offerings. I’m all for supporting local.

Another bonus about Blue Skies Cafe is that they hire and train people who have disabilities. This program helps these employees gain useful job skills so that they’ll be able to work in other eating establishments – of which, Marin County has many! This is a great example of tax dollars put to good use (at least from what I can tell!).

When you stop by, ask for Laura Lee. She’s my Mom. Tell her that I sent you!

Restaurant Review: Orange – Roscoe

Holy good food, Batman!

If you find yourself in Roscoe, a suburb north of Chicago, you MUST go to Orange. The breakfast was amazing!

We started off the meal with Frushi – this is sushi made only of fruit and rice. Apples were Julienne sliced like cucumbers would be in the center of a real fish sushi roll. Slices of watermelon like tuna sashimi. The dipping sauces were blended fruit concoctions. So beautiful! Didn’t want to eat! But that didn’t stop us!

I ordered a custom-made fruit juice. Order slips on the table where you choose from a long list of options what you want in your fruit juice. I did cucumber, carrot, peach and mango. The flavors revealed themselves in my mouth one-by-one. Wow. A little pricey, but worth the experience to have the juice.

My host, Terri had the Chai French Toast. Even though I don’t drink Chai tea, I had to try a little bite. Ohhh man. An explosion of sweetness with the earthy-ness of tea. She swears by that dish and gets every time she goes to Orange.

My corned beef and potato hash had an assortment of spices that I couldn’t quite make out, but it was delicious! Egg made to order on top – of course I ordered it fried because can’t stand the running yolk. An interesting side of green salad with balsamic dressing made the dish more like lunch or dinner, but I found it refreshing.

I can’t thank Terri enough for taking me to Orange. I think I’ll be telling a lot of people about this little gem in Roscoe. Seriously, go. You will be so happy you did.

Restaurant Review: Rosebud – Chicago

Italian food + Chicago + a good friend = fabulous eating experience.

While on a business trip to Chicago, spent the afternoon and evening tripping around downtown. Of course I asked my friend and colleague, Terri to take me to the quintessential Italian food establishment… off to Rosebud we went. And I enjoyed every bite of the tomatoey-cheesey-tender “Brick” chicken goodness! And the real-deal minestrone soup… heaven in a bowl!

Terri, being the good vegetarian that she is, loved her eggplant parmesan.

Thank you, my dear friend, for giving me a true Chicago Italian food experience! I look forward to going back and visiting again.

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Restaurant Review: Gators – Randolph

Road trip food = greasy joints along the way.

On our way between Grand Tetons and Uinta Mountains, we were hungry for something else than what was packed. So, we opted to stop at Gator’s in Randolph Utah. Perhaps not the best choice.

Klint had the Gator Burger:

1/4 lb patty
Swiss and cheddar cheese
Diced white onion
Shredded lettuce
Thick slice of ham

Overall a tasty burger.

Jen had the Chicken Finger Basket:

Lightly breaded chicken breasts were actually really good. The extra black pepper in the breading was really good and added some good flavor.

But, the fries were DISGUSTING. Limp, mushy, oil tasted old. Not sure why I ate them other than I was hungry.

We definitely agreed that next time, we’ll continue to Evanston, WY and get something more reasonable there instead of stopping in Randolph, population 500.

Restaurant Review: Ruchi Indian – Folsom

Ever want to know where there is good food? Ask a local.

I’m in Sacramento area and consulting with a technology company. Not be cliché, but I asked one of the engineers for a recommendation for good Indian food in the area. I’m glad that she didn’t get mad at me for singling out her ethnicity. Actually, I know that she was pleased I asked.

I picked up an order to go and headed back to my hotel room for a FEAST!

Chicken tikka masala
Vegetable Samosas
Naan
Basmati Rice
Mint curry sauce

Fantastic meal!

If you find yourself in Folsom – which is northeast of Sacramento – go to Ruchi Indian. You’ll be glad you did!