Bangkok Grill Orem Utah

Dropped by Zurchers today and as it was lunch time we decided to give the little Thai restaurant (Bangkok Grill) next door a try for lunch.  I have to say I was pleasantly surprised that a little hole in the wall place in a strip mall would have such delicious food.

First off the decor is very lacking, I wouldn't even call it minimalist, just almost non existent.  The only other customers were a small family of four and the place felt a bit dark.  The ceiling is industrial with pipe work and girders exposed, and the lighting was definitely more modern than Thai or even Asian for that matter.  Everything about the place just screams of a restaurant that is struggling to stay open.

We sat in a booth, and were immediately attended to by a very friendly server.  For drinks we ordered watermelon lemonade, which was nice, refreshing, not heavy at all, and not too sweet.  We started with Thom Ka Gai (coconut soup) which was amazing, I couldn't stop eating it.  It comes in a turnine shaped like a bundt pan with a flame in a spoon underneath.  We scooped up bowl after bowl.

We ordered separately for entrees, my daughter ordered Pineapple Curry and I ordered the Pad Priaw Waan (sweet and sour stir fry)  Both dishes were served with rice, and both were so delicious.

Thai Drift Restaurant in Orem

http://www.thaidrift.com/

Follow the link to the Thai Drift website.

This restaurant was recommended to us by our daughter's friend who lived for two years in Thailand and said this was the most authentic Thai food she has found in Utah.  I whole-heartedly agree.

The food is amazing, delicious, and very refreshing especially when compared to other Americanized versions of Asian cuisine.  Instead of the heavy, starchy, gloppy food often promoted as Asian, the ingredients are respected and the recipes are reasonable.

The menu itself is large, and varied.  Each of our eight person party ordered something different, so we had a pretty good cross sampling of the menu's offerings. We also shared a large bowl of the Galanga Coconut soup, usually called Tom Kai Gai.

The prices are reasonable, the service attentive without being intrusive.  My one suggestion would be to silence the doorbell they have going off in the back.  It's annoying and distracting.

Good Wood Barbeque Company-Orem

Good Wood Barbeque-Orem

After being pushed and prodded by a coworker to try out the Good Wood Barbeque I decided to go there for my hubby's birthday. 

It was a Tuesday night but surprisingly the restaurant was busier than we expected.  The atmosphere is far from a barbeque place, and more like a mid range restaurant, which raised my expectations of the menu.  The prices were mid range as well, so I really had high hopes and after the raving my coworker did I was prepared for a treat.  Sadly, that was not my experience.

We started with the Spinach Artichoke dip appetizer, which was described as being served with Pico De Gallo, but, it was not.  That was a disappointment and things didn't get much better after that.

I ordered the two meat platter, brisket and pulled pork with mac and cheese and vegetables.  At $15.00 I was expecting something very tasty, but, the pork was a pile of sloppy shredded pork covered in a sweet sticky sauce, and yet it was still dry.  The brisket was also very dry, and rather than fall apart tender it was sliced, clearly not slow cooked the way it should be.  The sauce was non existent, so, I used what was provided at the table, and that was again so sweet it was not even pleasant.  The mac and cheese tasted like a pre-made bland frozen dinner.  Very disappointing, and in the end I didn't eat much, took it home, but, couldn't even muster up the appetite the next day for a re-heat.  I tossed it out, easily ten dollars worth of food in the garbage.

My daughter ordered the ribeye steak, and she was happy with it.  She felt it was nicely seasoned, and done the way she ordered it.  So, score one for whoever cooks the steaks there.  The price though was pretty high at $16.00 and if you want onions or mushrooms on it that will cost you extra.

The husband ordered the ribs, West Texas half rack.  He thought the taste was bland and the sauce didn't help.  He also had ribs left over and not because there are so many on the plate.  The one thing he ordered that he liked was the Key Lime Pie.  I doubt that they prepare their own pies, so, props to whichever bakery or supplier they got it from.

Because it was his birthday the restaurant said he could have a slice of their Sheet Cake for free, which my daughter and I shared, well, tried to share.  It was heavy, syrupy, and so sickeningly sweet.  Thankfully it was free.

Overall I give this restaurant a passing grade for anyone who likes highly sweet food, but doesn't care much about the quality of the barbeque itself.  I go back to my previous review of the Smokehouse Barbeque just west of the Good Wood Barbeque.  So much better, perfection in barbeque, and the prices are so much better.  No, you won't get the somewhat fancy decor or the hard working waitresses, but, what you will get is real barbeque.

As for Good Wood, well, it may be good wood but it's poor barbeque.  I am giving them 3 points for ambiance, 4 points for service, 4 points for menu selection, and 2 points for food.  My suggestions for scoring higher points- re-work the way you are preparing the meats to make them tender and juicy, perhaps chat with the guy that owns the Smokehouse to get his advice.  Also, instead of slathering everything with a sweet sauce, consider offering your guests a choice of several sauces on the side, not everyone wants all that sugar and it doesn't help your barbeque taste.  True barbeque is served without sauce.  If it's truly good and tender it doesn't need it. 

The Wall at BYU

Brigham Young University has added a new eating establishment to their already wide variety of restaurants on campus.  The newest addition, The Wall, is located in the Wilkinson Student Center on the first floor southeast corner by the games center.  My daughter, a student at BYU, and I stopped in this week just to check it out.

The atmosphere is much like a sports bar, without the alcohol of course, which seems to have put some students off as they find that to be a problem, which I really do not understand.  The place is clean, sparkling and fun.  I especially liked the counter, with comfy stools and congenial staff.  Activities include the many flat screen tv's for enjoying a sport event, the stage for band performances and karaoke, and the tabletop video games.

The menu includes delicious fries, and a wide range of Italian sodas.  I recommend getting the half scoop of ice cream in a basic Italian soda, it makes all the difference.












This place is just fun and relaxing, and I plan to return to try some of the menu's other offerings.  For points I give this place 4 points for atmosphere, 3 points for service (make it a habit to allow customers to order from the counter), 5 points for food quality, and 4 points for menu selection.

La Jolla Grove

La Jolla Grove in Provo

Chef Kent Andersen has done an amazing job with the menu at La Jolla Grove in the Shops at the Riverwoods here in Provo.  We have long been told how good the food is at this restaurant, but, it took us a while to give it a try.  Thank goodness we were open to it on one of our recent date nights.

It was a weeknight, so the crowd was pretty quiet, and we arrived right at the start of dinner service.  The ambiance is nearly en-pointe but could use a bit of tweaking when it comes to where the wait staff spend their down time.  Having them standing around at the back right next to several tables makes it feel a bit more like a family style restaurant than the upper market establishment they are going for.  Still, we can overlook that when the food is as delicious as this menu offers.

We started off with Italian sodas.  Frankly, most places will give you this huge glass full and it just overwhelms the rest of your experience.  La Jolla Grove offers slender flutes.  For appetizers I ordered the Balsamic Marinated Stuffed Mushrooms and shared with DH.  So delicious, and just right for sharing.  The mushrooms sit on a bed of spring greens, and the balsamic glaze is perfect.  The mushrooms are large, with a tasty stuffing of gorgonzola cheese.

For our next course we each had a bowl of soup.  I ordered the Potato and Garden Leek Soup, and DH ordered the Mushroom Soup.  To be honest, we would have both been just as happy with each other's choices as we were with our own, and we took turns sharing sips from each other's bowls.  The soups are so good, I would have been happy if that was all we had.  But wait, there is more deliciousness to come.

For entrees we chose from different sections of the menu.  I chose to order the Shrimp Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes and Spinach from the pasta menu.  The sauce is perfection, and the pasta cooked just al dente as it should be.  Everything about this dish made me so glad I chose it.  After already having an appetizer, soup, and Italian soda plus sharing some of the bread rolls, I was glad to have room for this entree.  The spacing between service of each course was just right, and the portion size makes the experience much more pleasant than the usual American sized offerings that leave you feeling over full and needing a take home box, which in my opinion should not happen on a regular basis in any restaurant.  If you find most customers leaving with boxes in hand it is a signal that the portion sizes are too large.

DH ordered from the Signature Entree's menu, ordering the Roasted Chicken Marsala.  He was very happy with his choice, and after sampling some of his dish I could understand why.  Very light and full of flavor, the chicken was juicy and tender, the sauce was not too heavy, and the accompaniments were perfectly suited to the other flavors on the plate.


Our choice of dessert was to share the Berries and Cream, which was enough for both of us simply because we had already had so many courses.  While we did enjoy this dessert, next time we will need to try the famous Lemon Cake.

The wait staff was attentive without being pushy or intrusive, the location is romantic especially on nights when live music is playing in the gazebo just outside the front door.  I just wish the clientele showed more respect for the class of restaurant they are enjoying and dress up a bit.  Wearing jeans and flip flops to a place that takes itself this seriously is just disrespectful.

I would give this a high rating in all categories and highly recommend La Jolla Grove.  Prices are reasonable, and the variety on the menu is wide enough to please everyone.   As for breaking it down by the numbers, I give this place 4 points for atmosphere, 5 points for food quality, 5 points for menu selection, and 5 points for service.

Wild Ginger

The name intrigued me, but, I didn't take the time to try this place until this past week.  We took the whole family to Wild Ginger for some Chinese food and some sushi.  The restaurant is in a great location, right on University Avenue in Provo, and has plenty of parking in the back.

Inside the restaurant is clean and looks new.  We went on a Wednesday, so, there weren't a ton of people, which suits me fine when I take the younger kids with us.  We were seated immediately by, I believe, the owner, a really nice Chinese man.  While he has a thick Chinese accent, he is easily understood, which is so nice since most people will avoid an ethnic restaurant if they feel they may embarrass themselves or the wait staff if there is a miscommunication.  No problems here.

We were waited on very quickly, and actually needed a bit more time to decide than we were given, the servers kept coming over and asking if we were ready.  It's not a huge deal, we just felt a bit rushed after the third or fourth time.

Evidence of their customer service is in their honest appraisals of the menu offerings.  The owner volunteered that we should order a single order for our two little girls and have them split it.  That was a nice bit of customer service.

The menu is plentiful, and has an authentic Chinese section, that we may try next time around, but, we were really not up for anything adventurous this visit.  We had several sushi rolls, different kinds of soups, and six different entrees, plus drinks.  Be aware, the cups are huge, and they do not have children's size cups.

The soups were good, not crazy amazing, but, tasty.  I would have liked more than one wonton in my soup, but, truthfully it was fine.  Everything was very good, and the entire meal is served family style, so we all were able to share each other's entrees.  For two children and four adults, we had dinner and soups, plus the four sushi rolls for just over $100.   I felt the prices were in line with the quality and quantity.  The owners are very friendly and easy to talk to.

I give this place 3 points for atmosphere, 5 points for menu selection, 3 points for service, and 4 points for food quality.

We will be back to this little gem, and this time, we will try that authentic menu.