Lemon Garlic Chicken

Now, here's a meal that's actually healthy to boot, for those times when we've had too many dinners in a row smothered in gravy. It does happen eventually.

Here's what you'll need for lemon garlic chicken:

1/3 C chopped Italian parsley
1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1 Tbsp grated lemon peel
3 cloves garlic
3 Tbsp butter
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 C chicken broth
Salt and pepper

In a small bowl, stir together parsley, oregano, lemon peel, and garlic. Set aside. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat butter in saucepan over med-high heat and brown chicken, cooking on each side for about 3 min. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. Take the pan off the heat, stir in half the herb mixture and the broth and return to heat. Bring to a boil, scraping the pan to get all the good stuff off the sides and bottom. Get the chicken back in the pan. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for about 8 min. Serve chicken with a little bit of the pan sauce and sprinkle the remaining herb mixture on top, and you're in business.

Deadly Good Sundae

It's a good night when we have an awesome dinner and then your spouse says, "Let's go get stuff to make some half-baked cookie sundaes!" We ran to Harmons, picked up some vanilla ice cream, Pillsbury chocolate chunk dough, and marshmallow cream topping and added it to something special we bought at a farmer's market in LA: chocolate raspberry cabernet fudge.

Now, a cookie ice cream sundae is never a bad idea, but this chocolate raspberry cabernet fudge from B.R. Cohn is out of this world. We highly recommend buying it and slathering it over everything in sight: ice cream, berries, cake, etc. Or just take a spoon to it. You won't regret it. It's rich, smooth, wonderful, and decadent.

You can purchase this magical chocolate cabernet sauce here. We also look forward to trying their caramel chardonnay sauce someday. It's good to have goals.

Restaurant Review: Marina Kitchen in San Diego

One of the secrets of ComicCon: the nearby hotels are some of the coolest places you can hang out. We spent several evenings lounging in the Marriott Marquis and Marina bar, surrounded by bustling attendees and celebrities, and we loved taking a break from the Con to lunch at the Marina Kitchen, also located at the Marriott. 

For lunch, we couldn't help ourselves but start with their warm potato chips, which are covered in cheese and crispy prosciutto, with a chive crème fraiche on the side. The warm housemade chips in and of themselves were excellent, but add all that other goodness? Forget about it. It was love.

(warm potato chips)

We had the flat iron steak salad with butter lettuce, arugula, and roasted tomatoes. The touch that made it above and beyond: a house-made balsamic bleu cheese dressing.

(flat iron steak salad)

We also had a mahi mahi sandwich. It was simple, with avocado, lettuce, remoulade, and fries. The piece of fish was large, juicy, and perfectly cooked, with a lovely bun and crispy fries.

(mahi mahi sandwich)

We highly recommend visiting the food establishments at the Marriott Marquis and Marina during ComicCon. There are always celebrities, interviews, and people ready to make friends. But the place is also a great destination during the non-ComicCon season. The Marina Kitchen is streamlined and comfortable, with a beautiful view of the ocean. And the food has an attention to detail that makes it far above what you'd expect from a seemingly simple menu.

Chicken Thighs with Mushroom Wine Sauce

We love chicken thighs. They're usually pretty inexpensive, and it's a nice, rich piece of meat that's difficult to screw up. They're also smaller than chicken breasts, so they cook faster and you can get more of a crispy surface area on the outside.

Here's what you'll need for chicken thighs with a mushroom wine sauce:

1 1/2 Lbs boneless chicken thighs
Salt and pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 clove garlic
3 Tbsp flour
1 C chicken broth
1/3 C chardonnay
1/2 C cream
1 Tbsp parsley (or Italian seasoning mix)

Take your pretty chicken thighs and sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add chicken and brown the outside (about 2–3 min a side) until it has a gorgeous golden crust. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside. Brown mushrooms in skillet and then add the garlic. Stir in flour until blended. Then stir in chicken broth and chardonnay. Add that chicken back to the skillet, reduce to low heat, and simmer for 20–30 min. Stir in the cream and heat through. Sprinkle with parsley or Italian seasoning before serving. Get ready for a party in your mouth.

*Note: we served this with baked asparagus. So easy: place asparagus with salt, pepper, and olive oil on a baking sheet at 400 degrees for 15–20 min. Done.

Travel Post: Rama in San Diego

After a long first day at Comic-Con, we debated whether to brave the superhero-clad crowds in the Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego or just call it a day and order room service. Let us tell you, we were so glad we decided to go out and experience this awesome thai food.

The atmosphere was dark, nice, and romantic. Large french doors opened to a cool night patio and the place was doused in lots of warm, inviting colors. And the best part: it wasn't too crowded, and the service was fantastic.

We had several simple dishes that were handled with care. The crispy calamari was indeed crispy, coated in a tempura and panko mix. The genius part: they served the calamari in a funnel with a doily, so any excess oil spills off and allows the full crispiness of the calamari to shine. The zesty dipping sauce was good, too.

(crispy calamari)

We also ordered the garlic-crusted chicken. Now, this isn't a dish we would've picked off the menu, but here's another sign of a great restaurant: the servers are actually helpful. When we asked for a recommendation, our server suggested the garlic-crusted chicken, and though the dish sounds simple, it was flavorful and fantastic-- not at all oily or greasy. It was a perfectly balanced dish.

(garlic-crusted chicken)

We're big fans of all things duck, so the other dish we ordered was not such a hard decision. We got the drunken noodles (flat rice noodles with Thai basil, tomato, chili garlic, and kai lan) with duck. It was unbelievably satisfying. This place knows how to go easy on the sauce and let the flavors of the meat and veggies be the star.

(drunken noodles with duck)

We can definitely see this place becoming a Comic-Con tradition. Rama is located at 327 Fourth Ave, San Diego and their website is http://www.ramarestaurant.com/ .

Best Burgers and Fries

The secret to the best burger and fries, just like any dish, is in the ingredients. With an American staple like a cheeseburger, it's easy to slap meat on a bun and call it good. But with a little extra effort, what ends up still being a very easy meal can be lightyears better. So, here are some suggestions.

As you can see, we don't kid around. We use American cheese, baked and crispy bacon, grilled mushrooms, buns from a bakery, and romaine lettuce. Simple things make it mind-blowing. We toast the buns in the oven and we're not scared to use a huge, flattened patty ('cause the thing shrinks in the pan). We also have a secret weapon: Red Robin seasoning.

We put a dash of this seasoning on both sides of our patties, and it makes a world of awesome. We refuse to make burgers without it.

For fries, we cut potato slices as thin as we can, and we love using russet potatoes or sweet potatoes. We coat the fries in olive oil, give them a nice cover of Red Robin seasoning, and put them on a non-stick baking sheet. Bake them at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes, and make sure to stir them up halfway through baking to make sure they get nice and crispy golden on all sides.

The other secret to our fries and burgers: the Utah original creation, fry sauce. We often buy Hire's brand (pictured) or Stephen's (we do not like Some Dude's Fry Sauce-- it's chunky and weird). We can't explain the magic behind fry sauce. It's a delicious concoction of ketchup, mayonaise, and zesty mystery.

Now we've given you all our secrets. Go forth and make good burgers, young padawan.

Travel Post: The Paramount in Boston

When we travel, our vacation largely centers around food. We think a big part of exploring and experiencing a city is tasting it. So, before traveling, we research online, compare menus, and collect restaurant recommendations from friends. This led us to one of Boston's most-loved breakfast spots: The Paramount.

This place doesn't have a lot of frills. It's simple, good food. You bask in the glory of a giant chalkboard covered in delicious descriptions, order at the counter, and have your food brought to your table.

The menu item that really stood out to us: the banana and caramel french toast. Behold it in all its glowing beauty. The french toast was cooked to perfection, and it was a wonderful excuse to have dessert for breakfast. We couldn't have asked for anything more.

Check out The Paramount at http://www.paramountboston.com. It has a couple locations in downtown Boston: one in Beacon Hill and one in South Boston.

Chicken Divan

In reality, this isn't quite chicken divan; it's our more delicious version of chicken divan.

What you'll need:

3 pounds chicken breasts
3 C fresh broccoli (or frozen broccoli if you prefer)
1 box quick rice (we use Rice-A-Roni chicken and broccoli)
1 C mayonaise
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 C dry white wine (we use pinot gris)
1 C grated cheddar
2 Tsp lemon juice
Dash of curry powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 C breadcrumbs
1/2 C fresh grated parmesan
Butter for greasing pan

Bake chicken breasts at 350 degrees for 25–30 min on a baking sheet. Once it's done cooking, cut into chunks or shred. Cook fresh broccoli in a vegetable steamer for 7–8 minutes (or cook frozen broccoli if you prefer). Cut broccoli into chunks. Make your quick rice according to the instructions on the box.

Mix soups, mayo, white wine, cheddar, lemon juice, curry powder, and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add chicken, broccoli, and rice to the mixture.

Grease a 9x13 inch glass baking dish. Add the mixture to the baking dish and spread evenly. Sprinkle breadcrumbs and parmesan on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Then broil for a couple minutes to get a nice golden brown crust on top.

Enjoy ecstasy.

Lamb's Grill

If The Wild Rose is the shining example of how to use sauces to enhance a meal (and it is), then Lamb's Grill is the example of how not to use sauces. This restaurant has a certain amount of charm-- it's been open since 1919 and it has a charming old-timey bar with leather chairs. Unfortunately, beyond the bar, the restaurant looks worn and run-down, and its dinner menu leaves a lot to be desired. Not only that, but when we went for dinner, the place was empty, and we still had way below-par service from our waiter.

Now, the food here isn't awful by any means, but for the price, it doesn't do it for us. These dishes are fine, but they lack any sort of finesse, and they don't really require any cooking talent. Every dish is smothered in a similar gravy sauce that's greasy and tastes like it's been sitting around, waiting to be poured over various dishes throughout the day. You can even see the grease and staleness in the pictures below.

Also, just for the record, we ordered beef bourguignon, but what Lamb's calls beef bourguignon is not actually how we imagine the dish. Traditionally, beef bourguignon is a meaty stew with vegetables, but we were served a piece of meat with gravy over it, masking and overpowering the flavor of the meat.

(beef bourguignon) 

(braised lamb shank)

Yeah... we won't be back. We would love to support such a long-enduring Salt Lake institution, but we can't bring ourselves to support this food.

Lamb's Grill is located at 169 S Main Street, SLC. Their website is www.lambsgrill.com.

Swedish Meatballs and Garlic Spinach

Ashley's grandmother was very Swedish, and she inherited the stereotypical rosy cheeks, blonde hair, and blue eyes. But she also inherited some Swedish recipes-- ones that we've tweaked and made easy peasy. We love this recipe because we can usually make it from stuff we already have on hand.

What you'll need:
1 pound ground beef
1 egg
1/2 C bread crumbs
2 Tbsp milk
1 medium onion
3 C water
1 box quick rice (or white, if you prefer)
1 envelope Liptons onion soup mix
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 C flour.

For the spinach all you need is
1/2 bundle of fresh spinach
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil

Finely chop the onion. (We think this is a good time to tell you an onion secret. If you put your onion in the freezer 30 minutes before chopping it up, you won't cry like a baby when you cut into it. You're welcome.)

In a large saucepan, bring 3 cups water to a boil and add the onion soup mix. Add half the onion. Let simmer for about 8 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine half the onion, the ground beef, milk, bread crumbs, 1 clove garlic, and egg. Mix together. Roll into dollar-sized balls. Roll the delicious balls of meat in flour until coated on outside. Then drop them into the soup mixture in the saucepan. Turn them after a couple minutes. Slowly add about 1/2 C flour while stirring until smooth. Then cover and let it simmer (about 10-12 minutes, until meat is cooked and sauce thickens).

Prepare rice according to the instructions on the package (we usually use Rice-A-Roni butter and herbs flavor for this dish).

For the garlic spinach, get ready for the easiest side dish of all time. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Finely chop 2 cloves garlic and add to pan. Let the garlic reach a nice golden brown. Then add the spinach, stirring constantly. It only takes about 6 minutes for the spinach to cook and take on a nice garlicky flavor.

Serve meatballs and pan sauce over rice and get your pretty green spinach on that plate, too. Try not to drool.

The Wild Rose

The Wild Rose is one of the most surprising restaurants we've ever had the pleasure of stumbling upon. It's located in a strip mall in South Jordan of all places (The District, to be exact), not exactly a location that screams class or originality. And the decor is all over the place. It looks like someone took a 12-year old to IKEA and said, "What do you think looks classy?" There's weird twigs, mismatched furniture and artwork, and dark walls. But none of that matters, because this place has perfect food, wonderfully sophisticated and harmonized. We've tried several dishes, and while we've never had anything below par, we definitely have some favorites that we keep coming back to.

We always start with the pork belly, and we get the jalapeno grits on the side. We've eaten a lot of pork belly, all over Utah and on both coasts, and this is the best we've ever had. It's perfectly cut, succulent with a strip of fat, and a light BBQ demi-glace on the side. The sauce doesn't overwhelm the pork, and it's a beautiful dish. We order it every single time.

(kurabuta pork belly)

We don't always order a salad because we get a lot of food, but the house salad is our favorite: fresh greens with apples, candied pecans, and a balsamic/basil emulsion.

(house salad)

All their dishes are well-balanced in a rare way. Most of them highlight reductions or demi-glaces that complement the dishes rather than overwhelm them, enhancing flavors of the meat rather than masking them. Their rack of lamb has a white wine and dijon reduction with blueberry mint chutney and asparagus.

(australian rack of lamb)

Okay, the crown jewel, the best of the best, a shining dish, and one of the best dishes we've ever had ever is the beef tenderloin. It's served with a port-demi glace with a hint of dark chocolate and a pad of a creamy bleu cheese. The pairing of elements is out of this world-- perfectly harmonized and balanced. It sounds like a strange dish, but it's the money-maker. We would cross oceans and deserts for this dish. Superb.

(tenderloin of beef)

The Wild Rose is located at 11516 South District Dr, South Jordan and their website is http://wildrose-district.com/index.html. 

Spaghetti with Meatballs

Whenever we make homemade spaghetti, it reminds us of Goodfellas, and we're pretty sure this recipe would make any Italian grandmother proud. It just so happens that this recipe is insanely delicious and pretty healthy: 400 calories per serving (4 servings per recipe).

1 pound lean ground beef
3 portobello mushroom tops, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 C parsley leaves
3 fresh sprigs thyme
1 small bunch fresh basil
1 egg white
1 28-oz can tomatoes
1/2 C low sodium beef broth
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
12 oz whole wheat spaghetti
Parmesan

Take a third of the onion and mushrooms and mix it together with the beef. Add egg white and 1 clove of garlic. Then roll the mixture into dollar-sized meatballs.

As a side note, the best way to deal with garlic is to take an unpeeled clove and hit it with the broad side of a knife. This makes it easy to peel and it brings out some of the oil and flavor before you dice it up.

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add remaining onion, garlic, and mushrooms. Cook until onion and garlic is golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add meatballs and brown the outside. Once meatballs are browned, remove them from pan. Stir in tomatoes, broth, basil, thyme, and parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to simmer. Add meatballs and continue to simmer, covered for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the instructions on the box.

Serve sauce and meatballs over pasta. Sprinkle with parmesan. Bask in the glory of your creation.

Eggs Benedict

After throwing out the hollandaise sauce and several failed eggs on the first try, we made some pretty awesome eggs benedict. It's funny, because on Archer, he yells at his lovers and butler alike, "Seriously, how hard can it be to poach an egg?" as he throws their clothes over his balcony. Upon viewing this, we laughed. But it turns out poaching an egg is pretty damn hard. You gotta get a system down.

So, here's what you need for a delicious plate of eggs benedict and parmesan-stuffed tomatoes.

For the Benedict:
-English Muffin
-2 eggs
-Round cut Canadian bacon (or breakfast meat of choice)

For the hollandaise:
-2 egg yolks
-1 Tbsp and 1 1/4 Tsp lemon juice
-1/2 pinch fresh ground pepper
-1/8 to 1/4 Tsp Worcestershire sauce (depending on how tangy you want it)
-1 1/2 Tsp water
-1/2 C melted butter
-1/8 Tsp salt

For the parmesan tomatoes:
-Tomato
-Fresh grated parmesan
-Breadcrumbs

Slice a tomato in half and gut a little of the inside. Then fill it with parmesan and breadcrumbs and place on a baking sheet (amount of parmesan and breadcrumbs will depend on the size of your tomatoes and your preference-- we use a lot more parmesan than breadcrumbs, probably a 1:3 ratio). Place on baking sheet and cook at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes.

Time to tackle the hollandaise sauce. Stir the egg yolks, lemon juice, Worcestershire, and seasonings in a saucepan over low heat and keep stirring briskly all the time, or you will ruin this sauce. Trust me. Slowly add half the butter while still stirring until it's melted. Then add remaining butter, and the water and keep stirring that sauce until it has thickened.

Cook your meat in a pan. Toast your english muffin. And then poach your eggs. Put about an inch to an inch-and-a-half of water in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer. Add a dash of lemon juice to the water. Carefully crack your egg in the water (if the water's not hot enough it will disintegrate and if it's too hot your egg will get lost in a rolling boil). Watch your egg carefully and take it out of the water when the part around the yolk is cooked to a white color. Lift your egg out of the water with a slotted spatula, allowing the water to drip off.

Then put your meat on your english muffin, top with your egg and hollandaise sauce and get that tomato on your plate. Yum!

Community Food Co-op

We started doing a thing. We're now participants in the Community Food Co-op of Utah. Their website is here. But their website pretty much sucks and doesn't do the thing justice, so allow me to explain it to you. Through the Co-op, every two weeks you can fill out an order form and pick up food at various locations all over Utah. This food is good and this food is cheap. Essentially, you're buying produce, meat, and other foodstuffs straight from the producer, so it's fresher and cheaper than a grocery store. You don't have to order every time, and you don't have to pay a membership fee (though a $10 donation once a year is encouraged-- our total price below includes a $5 donation and we plan to pay another $5 on our next order). You're also encouraged to volunteer your time to the program.

Not convinced of its awesomeness? We got all the stuff you see here: 2 pounds of carrots, 4 apples, 4 mangoes, a small watermelon, 2 bundles of broccoli, a bundle of spinach, a head of red leaf lettuce, 2 pounds of honey, a jar of peanut butter, a package of mushrooms, a package of strawberries, a package of blackberries, 4 pounds of ground beef, 2 pounds chicken breasts, 2 pounds of bacon, and a loaf of honey wheat bread for $52. Yes, it's true. It's all unbelievably delicious and all of it is from local producers.

We're now huge fans of this program, and we're already planning our next order. It entails some grass-fed, all natural steak. Mmmm.

Aristo's

We're huge fans of Greek food, but we've both had dishes at Aristo's that have left us disappointed with humanity. Their pastitisio makes us sad (they go overboard on the nutmeg), and we hate to brag (not really), but we make a better version of the dish at home. However, Aristo's has a couple of really shining dishes. 

Their dolmathes (lamb, beef, and rice wrapped in grape leaves) is excellent and so is the tzatziki (sauce consisting of yogurt, cucumbers, and garlic) that comes with it. Om nom nom.

(dolmathes)

But their crown jewel is the kotopoulo yemisto, which is breaded chicken stuffed with sautéed spinach and feta, topped with a creamy mushroom scallion sauce. We usually lunch at Aristo's, and even though this dish isn't on their lunch menu, we always request it, and they happily oblige.

(kotopoulo yemisto)

Visit Aristo's at 244 S 1300 E SLC, and their website at www.aristosrestaurant.com.

Ashley's World-Famous Quiche

Okay, it isn’t so much “world-famous” as much as it is famous amongst our family and friends. But still, that’s quite a feat. We have very discriminating peers. They would tell us if it sucked (probably).

The secret: this is waaaay easy to make. This blog post might as well be an ad for Bisquick, which we use for an awesome crust. Dudes, you may think you’re not a true cook unless you’re making all the things from scratch, but there are some things that usually turn out better from a pre-packaged mix (unless you’re Wolfgang Puck), so let your inner turmoil go and give in. We live in an age of delicious mixes, just begging to be taken advantage of.

What you’ll need:

1 ¼ C Bisquick Mix

¼ C butter at room temperature (don’t ever use margarine for anything, ever)

2 Tbsp boiling water

1 ½ C half-and-half

3 eggs

½ Tsp salt

A round cake pan

2 bowls for mixin’ stuff

A pan for boiling water

Courage

You’ll also need:

Bacon (enough to satisfy you—we usually use a pound)

Cheese (Swiss or cheddar or a mix—we use more than most humans would. Usually about 2-3 cups—as much as we can cram in. We'll die happy.)

If desired:

¼ Tsp cayenne pepper (a little goes a loooong way)

¼ C green or yellow onion

½ C mushrooms

(Beware: the more veggies you add, that’s less room for cheese and bacon!)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Boil a few cups water in a small pot (you only need 2 Tbsp but some of it will evaporate). And cook your bacon (either fry it in a pan or bake at 400 degrees for 15 min).

2. Mix together Bisquick and butter until it forms a crumbly mixture. Then add the hot water while mixing quickly. Keep mixing until dough forms (we usually get our hands in there to make the dough even and pretty). Grease a round cake pan and press the dough into the bottom and completely up the sides. It's okay if the dough looks thin.

3. Then mix eggs, half-and-half, salt, and any other crazy seasoning you wanna add.

4. Drain the grease from the bacon and put it in your round cake pan over the dough. Add a nice layer of cheese and any other veggies. Then pour your egg mixture over the top. Then we add a ton more cheese, for good measure, until there's a nice cheese layer over the top.

5. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 min. We usually bake it for 35 min and then broil it for 30 seconds to get a nice golden crust on top.

6. Eat like a barbarian. 

Cucina

This is the secret of The Avenues. We went to Cucina on a whim and were blown away. Although, we made the mistake of ordering side dishes with our main course-- the portions are huge and these photos don't really do them justice. Everything was delicious, the service was lightning fast (although we were there for a late lunch, not peak hours), and we have zero complaints.

The winner of the day was a ham, cheese, and squash pie in a flaky, golden crust. This was to die for, though it was a special and not necessarily always on the menu. When you walk in, there's a counter gleaming with all sorts of beautiful dishes made daily, and these rotate.

(ham, cheese, and squash pie, with caprese salad)

We also had coconut salmon with an orange glaze, which was cooked perfectly, and the orange glaze was not overpowering or too orangey. This was a delicious, huge piece of fish. We were very surprised by the portion size for the price. Can't be beat.

(coconut crusted salmon w/orange glaze with chicken pesto pasta)

Check out this place for yourself. Cucina is located at 1026 E 2nd Ave and their website is www.cucinadeli.com.

Chicken Parmesan

We take every opportunity possible to incorporate a cheese-breadcrumb crust into a meal. For those of you who don't know us, that statement might sound hyperbolic. But like Ron Swanson's famous bacon and eggs bit, this is literal. One of our many breadcrumb-cheese crusted dishes is chicken parmesan. It's a chicken breast, dipped in egg, then dipped in a breadcrumb-fresh grated parmesan mixture, and then, yes, pan-fried to deliciousness* in olive oil (or EVOO as one annoying little brunette with weird boobs calls it on Food Network).

We cheated on this dinner and just used an inexpensive, pre-made spaghetti sauce. And don't turn up your nose; it was awesome. We added some fresh minced garlic to the sauce, boiled some spaghetti noodles, tossed a baguette in the oven, added some feta-stuffed olives from Harmons (OMG YUM), and called it good. Really good.

*Sometimes it's difficult to cook a thick chicken breast all the way through in the pan. If it doesn't seem like you're able to cook it through, just throw it in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes after frying it. This keeps things hot, anyway. Just don't forget about it, or you'll end up with overcooked chicken, which is one of the most disgusting things in the world (again, not hyperbolic).

Eva

Eva is one of our favorite restaurants in SLC (dare I say, possibly even our favorite, considering the price and quality). This is sophisticated, carefully-crafted food for a ridiculously inexpensive price. We recommend going for Saturday brunch and trying the loukamedes, which are delicious pieces of heaven (kind of a mix between donut holes and beignets). And for brunch, also go for the brunch pie (ham, gruyere, and egg pizza pie topped with hollandaise).

(loukamedes)

Dinner at Eva is every bit as delicious. On weekends, it's packed, and they don't take reservations for parties under 6, so if you're looking for a romantic, candlelit dinner-for-two in this tiny European-style restaurant, come early and put your name down.

For dinner at Eva, we always go nuts. It's so inexpensive, we end up getting a good mix of small and large plates to share. The most important thing for you to know: order the tri-tip bruschetta. It will revolutionize everything you thought you knew about bruschetta. Served with good slices of parmesan, aioli, and radicchio, it's savory, tangy, rich, and perfect.

(tri-tip bruschetta - one slice pictured, an order comes with 3)

Another must-try is the oddly named dish, Oink, Oink, Oink. The important thing to note is that it's three different kinds of pork: succulent pork belly, pork loin, and bacon, served with candied garlic and a celery-apple salad.

The Greek mac and cheese is another favorite. You can't go wrong with homemade mac and cheese with bacon, all wrapped in a flaky phyllo pastry.

(greek mac and cheese)

The lobster ravioli (served with mushrooms and shrimp) and the spinach and potato gnocchi (served with a truffle oil white wine cream sauce) win for the best pasta dishes here, both rich and creamy.

(lobster ravioli)

We haven't had much at Eva that we haven't liked, but there have been a few duds. We've had glazed pork ribs with arugula and almonds, and they were mediocre. The well-marbled pieces on the bottom were excellent, but the pieces on top were dry and overcooked. Additionally, Eva is not a place for dessert. Eva's the go-to place for decadent brunches and dinners. We've ordered three desserts here, all of which were completely unimpressive and underwhelming. So skip the dessert and order an extra small plate instead.


Eva is located at 317 S Main St, SLC. Visit www.evaslc.com/ for more information and to peruse their menu.


WARNING: I've gotten feedback from people who've said they've repeatedly gotten awful service here. While I've never had awful service, I've certainly never had excellent service. As a rule, the place is packed on weekends and you have to set aside quite a lot of time for dinner. Generally, weekdays and Saturday afternoons are better.

Meats and Cheeses

The easiest dinner in the world: assorted meats and cheeses. For a wide variety of the aforementioned, we recommend Caputo's, Pirate-O's, or Harmons. This time we made a quick and easy Harmons run and got some freshly sliced coppa and prosciutto, then added a strong bleu cheese and a sharp gouda to the mix. And we couldn't resist stopping by the olive bar, where you're able to mix-and-match an assortment of olives and pay by the pound. We paired it all with a fresh loaf of Harmons' garlic bread.