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.