Out of Your Rut- Polynesian Cuisine

Well, I am again writing in anticipation as today's lunch will occur at 11:00. There is a little place called Sweet's Island Place down by D.I. where I will be dining today and I am actually quite excited. People have given the restaurant great reviews and say it is a lot of food for a great price. So, the real review is coming... just didn't want anyone to worry. AND, if you have been there, let me know what you suggest i eat before 11:00!

The deed is done. First thoughts? I really enjoyed the food. I ordered the Kalua Pork with rice and pineapple. I guess you could say that it wasn't too exotic (compared to the things people tried) but it was a first for me and was very tasty. PLUS it was one of the cheapest plates I have ever got while eating out. They have a student discount which meant that my total was a wallet pinching $4.30! I thought it was great value for what I got. The only down side was that they had the Hawaiian radio going which happened to be a super obnoxious talk show. Other than that... I would go again.

Rut 4 - Cristina Gonzales

I wanted to try Thai food long time ago, so this was the opportunity to do it. I went with a group of friends to Thai Evergreen in Orem, which is really close to Walmart (in case you want to go).
Funny story about this. None of us knew what those dishes looked like and the menu they gave us didn't have any pictures, so when I saw "curry" I thought that it was going to be kind of the curry that you buy at Teriyaki, but no. I tried the Massaman curry which is the last one in the picture, it looks like a soup... It wasn't bad at all, it was just different. In fact all of the dishes were good, but all were sweet (the waiter said most of Thai food is like that, sweet).

It was interesting trying to imagine how the dishes looked like before order them, and then see how they actually look. What I learned from this assignment was that most of the times we limit ourselves to judge things on how they look, and not on what they actually are. Probably if I would had looked at the picture first I've wouldn't order what I did. Also I think that we have to be open to possibilities and not locked in the same old routine, cause other wise we'll become boring and we don't want that right?

Rut #4-Rob Witt

I have had Indian food before and have thoroughly enjoyed my experience with it. However, while in class I remember a few of you mentioning how Chicken Tikka Masala was one of y’alls favorites. I couldn’t recall ever ordering that specific dish and so after a fantastic day of hiking Mount Timpanogas on Saturday, I was craving something delicious and decided I would try that out for my new food.

A friend and I went to Kohinoor up on State and Orem Center Street (an old roommate had recommended it). And after eating there I would recommend it as well. We ordered some Samosas for appetizers, which was something I had never ate before. They were filled with all sorts of veggies. Dipping them in chutney gave them a nice kick. There was a minty chutney that I didn’t get that into, I favored the one with a bit more spice, or just the plan Samosa.

My main dish, the Chicken Tikka Masala, was superb! Such rich flavors, and a solid balance of Masala spices brought the dish to life. This dish not only hit the spot after hiking Timp, but also as left overs for dinner today.

Rut #4: Emily Jacobsen: Indian Palace

I have never had Indian food before so I decided to go to Indian Palace on Center Street in Provo.( I see it every time I go to Sammy's for pie shakes but have never been.) I'm just gonna say it... I think I hate indian food! I loved the host/owner guy and the whole feel of the restaurant, but curry-type chicken is definitely not making my list of faves. I guess that's not entirely true, the guy did recommend a strawberry something drink which I liked, and I liked the flatbread and the rice pudding (although its not as good as tapioca.) But the tortilla chip whatever it was, and the piece of food at the front of the plate I did not like. After stirring the food around on my plate for a while, I got hungry enough I did eat parts of the chicken chunks... so I guess I wouldn't DIE if I was stranded in India... but I might just have to survive on rice pudding.

Tyler Nelson - Bombay House

I went to Bombay House. I have never had Indian food before. It was a fun experience. I really liked the look of the whole restaurant. I asked my brother his opinion on what to order because anything on the menu would have been a first for me. I ended up ordering the Lamb Boti Kabob Masala
- boneless lamb barbecued in tandoor oven, then cooked with, onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, cream, and spices.

It was good. At first the smell of it along with the look of it threw me off. I will admit that I was nervous to try it. It was hard to try something that I hadn't eaten. I was glad that I did though because it ended up being pretty good. By the end of the meal I was using my Garlic Naan as a spoon to eat the rest of it. This was a great assignment. You never know what will happen when you try new things. If you haven't tried Bombay house go give it a try!

rut 4 kristen scharf

Last night i headed over to Great China. I glanced at the menu and picked something I had never heard of before. I believe it was called Moo Goo Gai Pan. It wasn't weird food like I had hoped, but delicious nonetheless.
It was really liberating to pick something off the menu in one second flat. Normally at restaurants I spend way to much time stressing between options trying to figure out what it is I really want. Blind ordering may be my new thing. What this says about me is that I've found one more thing in life to not worry so much about. Just get something new, you may love it!

New Food-Summer Holm

After going through the list of things i've yet to eat, my husband reminded me that I have never eaten a hot dog--and Jdawgs was theee place to have my first hot dog. It seems crazy that i have never eaten a hot dog before, but my mother refused to have them in her home and i guess the idea stuck with me after i left. Also, i was incredibly scared of hot dogs because of how they looked and smelled and everything else. Anyways, i took the plunge and ate my very first hot dog. To my surprise it wasn't as bad as i was expecting (i did take my first bite while plugging my nose). I couldn't eat the whole thing, but i did take a leap and try it! I'm not sure if i would have one again, but i do feel more like a true cougar, having ate at Jdawgs!

Rut#4-New Food-Laura Coalwell

I tried several different foods over the past few days:

-sweet potato fries at Guru's (I tried a bite of one a while ago and wasn't that impressed, but this time they were surprisingly really good, especially with the dipping sauce).

-the Maui Wowie chicken wrap I got with my fries

but I was most excited about...

-Southwestern Mac n Cheese from Schnipper's in New York City!

Mainly because it was in New York City, but also because it was really good! It had roasted poblanos (little green peppers) in it and I had to ask the server what those were.

It was a little spicy, but also kind of sweet and really cheesy.

Mac n Cheese is definitely a favorite of mine, so it's fun to try other varieties.

I love trying new food, especially in new places.

I'm planning on trying lots of other new foods this week while I'm here!

Rut 4 - Japanese Fried Veggies (Scott)

I went to the Japanese restaurant Yamato in Orem. While a little shabby on the outside, the inside of the restaurant was great. Plus the cool part was the the booths were built so that you can sit cross-legged and pretend like you are actually in Japan eating Japanese food. Alas, the space under the table was not big enough for me to sit in such way so I had to just sit the regular way.
I ordered Tempura, which I had never heard of or eaten. It consisted of a variety of fried vegetables. It was pretty good, especially with the special sauce stuff that came with it. Surprisingly it was pretty dang close to regular southern fried vegetables. I thought it would be really good with BBQ sauce instead. Maybe some fried catfish, hush-puppies and slaw, but that's for another time...

Anyhow. Even as I was looking at the menu I was so tempted to fall back into my old routine and get orange chicken or perhaps some BBQ. Maybe just some sushi. But no, I turned my back on those old Panda Express-esque ways and got something new.

Rut 4 - Elise Meservy- An El Salvadorian Experience

After at some point in my life being tricked or dared into eating octopus sushi, squid jerky, part of a fertile duck egg, and a habanero pepper, I realized i preferred the latter to all previous. So, for this new food adventure I decided to try some more Latino food (because i LOVE it).

So, I went here:




El Salvador Restaurant, located on center street.

Where I coincidentally ran into some old friends whom I never would have seen.
They helped me pick out:



(bean and cheese pupusas)

which I accompanied with this:



As strange as this sounds, I have never had a Jarritos before. I am not the biggest soda drinker (and actually I felt a little sick after drinking this even though it was tasty).

The Pupusas were delicious but I think I prefer just a plain Bean and Cheese Burrito from Robertos (a Las Vegas/Cali Mexican chain). I'm a tortilla fan all the way. I even make sure to go to the Tortilla Factory in California Adventures when I go, so I can get a free tortilla.

I'm glad I had this experience though because it was fun exploring and learning a little bit more about Central and South American food, people, and cultures.

Rut 4 - Hawk

I tried trout for the first time.

No, not the trout shown above; for two reasons...

A. That fish is a mutant.
B. The girl nor the fish are anyone I know personally. (thank you Google 'trout' search)

I hate seafood and fish. There, I said it. Its true - I would rather eat baby ducks than have to eat shellfish or anything else that carries it's home around on its back. They can't be trusted.

My sister is in town and she went fishing and caught a bunch of trout and brought them back and cooked them; realizing that this assignment was due this week I accepted the challenge of eating one.

Surprisingly enough it didn't taste fishy at all; but seeing as I never eat fish, apparently I don't know the tricks and secrets of eating them (like how to get all the bones out of the meat in one step) instead I looked more like a bear trying to claw the fish apart and ended up with fish bones in pretty much every bite. So that part, not as fun.

I learned that not all fish is disgusting; some actually taste like a slightly soggier version of chicken. I also learned that bones are overrated; I mean really, how many ribs does one fish need?!

"Food is an important part of a balanced diet." -Fran Lebowitz (McKenna)

I experienced deep-fried tofu.

What did I learn from this experience?  Fried tofu has a taste and consistency reminiscent of a sponge.  The dipping sauce was delicious.  Together, they weren't half bad.

What does the answer to the previous question say about me?  I'm willing to give new foods a chance.

Have I changed in any way?  I have less money in my wallet as a result of buying this.  (But that's okay! Life was meant to be lived, food was meant to be eaten, and money was meant to be spent :P)

Ping Pong - Andy Morrison

I didn't realize that ping pong was such an actual sport. I mean I knew they had it at the olympics and all but I always thought ping pong was on the same level as foozeball (sp?) or pinball. Boy was I wrong!

Asians are silly aren't they? I love Asian humor for what it is--kind of super weird. I worked with Asians on my mission over time just learned to accept the Asian sense of humor. Being funny in Vietnamese is very different from being funny in English. I thought this movie was pretty dang funny in typical Asian style. It reminded me of this Hong Kong movie called Shaolin Soccer. Its kind of the same movie but with soccer instead of ping pong and with super powers. As I kid I was a huge kung fu movie fan, so this movie kind of brought me back to the good old days of reading subtitles and watching Asians do stupid things.

All in all a good movie.

Abby Young: International Cinema Rut 4

Ping Pong has got it going on.

I was lovin up this film. From the slow motion action shots and close-ups of the ball grazing the net, to the dripping of sweat and tears to the dramatic pounding of the piano keys in the critical moments of the match, ping-pong has never been more intense. Yet at the same time there was silly humor and inspiring relationships that really made this movie meaningful. I loved the hero element of the movie. I love that Peco only became his best when he realized his worth, something that Smile knew about Peco all along. The movie wasn’t really about ping-pong, it could have been synchnronized swimming but the message would have been the same: it’s not about winning. It’s about being a hero to someone else and having the passion and drive to do well at something, simply because you really love the way you feel when you do it.

#4 New Food -- Marie Lewis

So today, I did something that I have never done.

Well three things actually.
1) I went to The Four Seasons on University Ave.
2) I ate tofu.
3) I ate a mussel.

Here's some back story:

On Friday, I texted my roommate, Cate, and asked her if she would accompany me on a woman date to go to a restaurant I've never been and eat something I've never eaten. She replied: Dear Marie, Have u ever had sushi . . . Or Chinese hot pot? I hadn't eaten either before, so I agreed.

This afternoon, we hopped into her green jeep, turned on some decidedly American music, and drove to a Chinese restaurant. The Four Seasons to be exact. We entered a room, all decked out in Chinese paraphernalia. with many tables bearing hot pots. A Chinese man came to greet us. He invited us to sit at a table for two on the opposite wall from his only other patron. He asked us what kind of soup we wanted: a little spicy, medium spicy, spicy, or very spicy. Cate loves spicy food. I am less of a fan

Cause it always makes your nose run.

And then people stare at you. As you fruitlessly try to get the snot off your face without touching it.

So we got the little spicy variety. Because Chinese hot pot comes with dipping sauces . . . which are really spicy . . .

and make you cry.

If you're a baby like me.

After he brought around the soup, we went to the ingredients bar and chose several things: pork, chicken, potatoes, zucchini (my mother will be proud), broccoli, potato noodles, rice noodles, tofu squares, and then two little mussels (one for me and one for Cate).

We brought all of our ingredients back to the table and slid them carefully into the pot of now boiling soup so as to not splash scalding juices onto our faces (which because I'm clumsy, I did anyway). Then we waited. Cate taught me a few simple Chinese phrases (she's in a Chinese class) and because I didn't know any Chinese, and I felt all out of place, I taught her a few Korean phrases which I learned yesterday from my co-worker.

I don't know if they are legit phrases. Or if he was just messing with me.

And then we ate. The moment of truth was here. The mussel was already on my plate. Looking all menacingly and gross. Like a bottom feeder. I imagined that all sorts of nasty things had been through its organs. And I was going to put that in my mouth!! Then I poked at it a little bit, and actually saw its organs. Looking all organ-y. It reminded me of my first visit to Tucanos. And the chicken heart that I had reluctantly tried. As you bite into it, you can feel yourself crunching through its aorta. That is the grossest feeling of EVER!! And I imagined feeling that way as I squished through this bottom-feeding mussel.

That was the worst part.

Imagining it.

Turns out, mussels aren't so gross. They aren't delicious. I don't want to line my refrigerator with them. I won't be starting a mussel farm anytime soon. But they aren't gross.

And tofu--I thought that stuff was for vegetarians and people who hate themselves--Not bad at all.

I will probably invest in a return trip to The Four Seasons.

Things I learned about Myself:
1) I ate a whole mussel. I am Super Woman.
2) I could earn a lot of free meals by eating stuff other people won't.
3) I like trying new things.
4) I am more concerned with texture than taste.
5) I need to learn Chinese.