The Banana Leaf in Provo

The Banana Leaf Restaurant in Provo. Went there last night for my birthday. I really enjoy finding new places, little treasures that are not yet well known, and this one is at the top of my list of favorite restaurants now.

It's located at 409 N University Avenue in Provo in a former flower shop, which left behind a very cozy and warm atmosphere that the new owners have embellished on nicely. The restaurant itself is a mix of Sri Lankan and Singaporean cuisine, completely family owned and operated. The Chef, Jet, learned his craft from his mother, who taught him to not alter the original recipes, but to serve his customers an authentic meal. The Selvaratnam Family owns restaurants in Sri Lanka and Singapore, and are no strangers to crafting delicious food. The tradition continues here in Provo.

We were seated at a table by a window, in the small front room where a gas fireplace kept things warm and festive. The decor was a mix of old world victorian and sri lankan. Seemed very fitting for an area of the world that was once occupied by Great Britain in the Victorian era. There were three or four small dining rooms, with about six tables in each room. The matre di gently corrected us when we thought the music playing was Bollywood (Hindi style pop music), and educated us a bit in Collywood. I actually think I like it better than Bollywood, it seems lighter and a much more pleasant choice for dining.

It wasn't very long at all before Chef Jet came out and introduced himself and the philosophy of the family restaurant. He is obviously proud of what they have created, and that they have not Americanized the food, which is sadly what so many ethnic food chefs and restauranteurs believe they have to do in order to be successful in an American market.

We do love our herbal teas, and their tea master came out to answer our questions about Sri Lankan and Singapore style tea blends. In the end I had the ginger ceylon and Andy had the mango. Delicious.

Andy, being the adventurous one tonight, gave the avocado juice a try, and shared with me. So good, light and refreshing. It just felt good to drink it. I was surprised that a drink made with avocado would be so delicious.

Andy also ordered item #1 on the menu, the tikka masala. Being a masala junkie, he would be a great judge of how it stood up to Indian masala. Well, it was fantastic. Served alongside Paan, a Sri Lankan bread, and spiced mildly, the flavors were rich and delightful. For most customers ordering the dish medium spiced about 4 or 5 in heat level, which is how Andy ordered it, is not too spicy, but, he did decide that next time he will go 8 or 9, it just wasn't as hot as he likes it, and he doesn't normally like more than a medium spice.

Being my birthday I felt completely warranted in ordering the most expensive item on the menu, the Chili Crab. It was 18.99 and for the price I was so surprised at how delicious it was. After having been born and raised in Baltimore, I am not a bit timid about cracking into a crab in it's shell, but, for some, it might be intimidating, and I recommend some instruction from your server in how to get into it without sending pieces flying. Once you get inside that shell you won't be disappointed. Served alongside a rice dish and a pineapple salad, it was a wonderful selection, and one that I will probably order again even if they do raise the price. The server, who was also the Chef's wife, placed a bowl of water on the table to keep my hands clean, and it was much appreciated.

After dinner we were presented with the dessert choices, which I was a bit disappointed there weren't some offerings from Sri Lanka or Singapore. They offer a strawberry cheesecake, chocolate mousse pie, and a belgian chocolate platter. I had the cheesecake, which was a huge slice, I had to have Andy finish it for me, and he had the mousse pie, which he dubbed very chocolatey and finished every bite. Apparently the pie is made by a cousin, and she does a great job. I'd like to see it a bit higher, as it was fairly thin, but, the flavor was very good.

Overall the restaurant is a major hit for us, and highly recommended. The prices are comparable to other restaurants in the area, but the mere fact that you get such an authentic meal in Provo sets it above so many others who claim authenticity but sell out to what they believe is the American palette.

This place is a great date night choice. For two, eating what we wanted, and getting dessert, our bill came to right around $50.

Texas Roadhouse Restaurant

Last night Andy and I went to the Texas Roadhouse Restaurant in Orem by the University Mall. We'd been there twice before, and had liked it over all. This time, not so much.

Friday and Saturday nights are not the best night to be just walking into any restaurant expecting immediate seating, and we knew we were looking at about a 45 minute wait. Upon walking in the area around the door was jammed with people trying to either get out or hold their place in the non existent line. We forced our way in, and then I pushed up to the counter where three, count em, three girls were working the reception area. I asked about a table for two, and one of the girls said it would be a 30 minute or 55 minute wait. Not wanting to push for which one it was going to be, or if we had a choice, I just said okay and they took my name and gave me a number, telling me to wait in the "corral" and watch the flashing black board for it to come up. Then to find Katie, I only saw a Katherine, so I presumed that was who she was referring to. I found Andy and told him the drill. We walked into the jammed room where various size groups of people were waiting their turn, and saw a small opening on one of the benches to sit down. There was a TV on one wall with a football game on, and a small black screen on another wall that was placed low enough that you had to crane your neck to see around the other people standing in the room, watching for your number. Ours was 154. The number on the screen was in the 600's.

If that wasn't confusing enough, the next number to come up was in the 300's and then 142. Then more 600's, some 300's, and so on, but, mostly the screen was blank. We patiently waited, and after a full hour had passed, our number came up. We were starving by then, and rushed to make sure we weren't passed by for not getting to the reception desk fast enough. The entry area was still jammed with people, some of which had had their numbers come up before us, and that wasn't very comforting, but, Katherine took our number and told us to go sit under the second lamp post and someone would come get us. She pointed to another bench, this one in the pathway from the kitchen to the dining room. This bench had at least three other couples sitting on it, and she told us to just ask them to squeeze over.

We sat again, this time for about 20 minutes, as baskets of bread and drinks went past. We were never offered a drink, nor did we notice a manager addressing the chaos, or making any attempt to help manage the growing frustration among the waiting customers. In fact, I never saw any member of management at all.

Finally, we were taken to a table, which was still being wiped down as we approached. The cleanup crew were fast, but, left a peanut on the bench, and as I sat, I quickly moved my jacket under me as the seat was still wet. I'm really hoping at this point that whatever was wet on the seat came from the cleaners and not the previous diners, or one of their children perhaps.

Our waitress eventually came to take our drink order, by that time we had already had more than enough time to know what entrees we wanted, so, we just started ordering our dinner. Meanwhile the obligatory line dancing began, with clapping and yelling, all done by the wait staff, the diners didn't seem particularly impressed or interested. Still, the noise made it difficult for Andy to hear our waitress as she literally shouted the salad dressing selections.

We had ordered mild boneless chicken wings for the appetizer, and each ordered the 10 oz ribeye steak for the main course. We both also ordered the stuffed sweet potato. I ordered green beans as my second side, and Andy ordered a side salad.

After our order was in I made my way to the restroom, and to my disgust it was a mess. There were not only peanut shells all over the floor, but, an assortment of toilet paper scattered on the floor of all of the stalls. One of the seats had something questionable on it, and I was not at all sure I even wanted to use any of the others. I felt like I needed extra hand sanitizer when I came out.

When I got back to the table I was starting to look forward to those wings, and tried not to eat too much bread while we waited. The music was loud, and for some reason the bartender felt the need to turn it up even louder. Suddenly a waiter appears with our entrees. Not our appetizers, our entrees. Trying not to put too fine a point on things we just rolled with it, but, I wasn't so sure our steaks were up to par. They were very thin, and when I cut into mine, which I had ordered medium rare, it was definitely not the pink juicy steak I was expecting. It was more medium, and pretty dry. Andy had ordered medium well, and his was also very thin and dry. The sweet potatoes were okay, but, my green beans were salty and unpleasant, and quite clearly canned beans.  The wings never arrived.

With no desire for dessert, we paid our bill and left, but,not before filling out a comment card, which incidentally had no place to drop them. So, I put it on the reception counter and we left, pushing our way through the crowd at the front door.

Perhaps this was a rare incident, perhaps not. Still, I doubt we will be giving them a second chance to disappoint us when we are out to have a nice time and a good dinner.

I'm giving the Orem Texas Roadhouse Restaurant two points for overall experience, two points for food quality and preparation, four points for service, and one point for guest treatment.

The price is good, averaging about $15 for an entree.

My suggestions for them to improve the point value. Expand the facility for more seating, expand the waiting area to keep the entrance clear (this is an emergency access and exit so this isn't just for comfort, it's also for safety), provide the option for drink service and snacks in the waiting area (if you are okay with peanut shells in the bathroom you can't complain about a mess in the waiting area.  Consider lowering the music volume to allow for conversation, eliminate the kitchy line dancing (it's annoying and not entertaining enough to make it worth having your servers tied up when they should be waiting on the guests), consider something other than sports programs as the only option on the multiple tv screens throughout the restaurant (even a news channel would be something, but, you might want to get some classic movies or comedies, something fun for people that aren't interested in watching the game).  Have a more orderly method of handling the wait, for instance, many restaurants will take the cell phone number of the guest and will call when it is nearly time for their table to be ready. This allows the guest to sit in the comfort of their car, or wander the close by mall stores during that 30 to 55 minute standard wait.

All in all, I wish we had done what we originally planned to do and tried out the brand new restaurant in Provo, the Banana Leaf. We will be heading over there next time, so watch for the review.

The Date Night Critic

Long ago a ritual was created wherein couples, both married and unmarried, engage in a regularly planned outing known as Date Night. No one knows exactly where or when this ritual began, or who invented it, but, the masses have embraced it, and in so doing, have faced the challenge of planning and carrying out this ritual in the hope, on the part of the unmarried couples, to become married couples, and conversely, the married couples hope to stay as such.

The rules are simple. One partner (boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife) in the couple , the planner, is expected to initiate the date by asking the other partner to join them in some sort of activity. The other partner is expected to agree. The planner is further expected to coordinate where this activity will take place, what day and time, and if there is a cost, they are also expected to pay. The latter rule is subject to modification depending on the couple's budget and any agreements between the partners to share in the cost of the date.

Which brings us to the reason for this blog...The Plan.

The preferred activity planned most often is the Dinner and a Movie Date, but, the options are limited only by the planner's imagination and creativity, and of course, the available budget. I have seen or heard of some extremely inventive planners, but, they are few and far between. Most planners fall into several categories.

The Last Minute Planner

The Stuck in a Rut Planner

The Failure to Plan Planner

and my personal favorite, The Pass the Buck Planner

While every date night planner will have some success in keeping their relationship alive, the degree of life acheived is in direct porportion to the degree of effort expended. In the case of the majority of planners, the results are minimal. They lament that they don't understand why their partner seems dissatisfied when they are doing what they think is expected of them. They may have started out strong, but, at some point they slipped. How can you tell if you are in one of those categories? Ask yourself;

Do I wait until the day-of to make dinner reservations? Do I find myself rushing to get ready because I had other things to do that day that ran later than expected? Am I frequently settling for showtimes or bookings either later or earlier than I had wanted, or have to change plans entirely due to complete inavailability? Does my partner often have other plans on the Date Night that I didn't know about? Is my budget for Date Night out of control?

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you are a Last Minute Planner.

Do I have the prices at the concessions stand memorized? Does my partner order without using the restaurant menu, right down to the side dishes? Do I find myself not remembering how I got to the date location because I have driven the route so many times it's automatic? Is the budget for Date Night amazingly similar week after week? Is my list of choices for Date Night less than four things?

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you are a Stuck in a Rut Planner.

Does your partner have to ask you how they should dress within hours of the date? Do you find yourself asking your partner what they want to do? Does your partner often take over the task of planning for you? Do you often forget about Date Night altogether?

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you are a Failure to Plan Planner

Do you often have your partner make reservations for you? Do you rely on your partner to have enough money just in case you don't? Have more than two dates in the last six months been a group event planned by someone else? Do you consider visiting friends or going to an event that you like but your partner does not share your enthusiasm for to be a date?

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you are a Pass the Buck Planner.

Believe it or not, there really is hope for your future as a Date Night Planner, but, it will take some study and some practice before you can expect to shed your current title, or titles as the case may be. Your approach to planning a date will have to be renovated, and you may even have to fake it for a while, but, believe me, the rewards will be well worth it.

This blog will provide tips, tricks, advice, and critique of local and area date locations and events. I will try to keep it as current and useful as possible. And for those of you who are young, unmarried men, the timing couldn't be more critical. Our social networking world has taken away from your entire generation the ability to truly date. It seems you only know how to hang out, pal around, just chill. The art and science of courtship is faltering and that is why so many are finding it easier to go online, to dating websites, just to find someone. It's easy because it is a familiar place. Face to face courtship and flirting is so much harder, at least until you get the hang of it. Once you learn just a few techniques it will become easier, familiar, and even fun.

So, let's get started.