J-Dawgs

I'm sure that if you've seen movies or TV shows where the subject is in Manhattan, you've seen someone stop by a hot dog stand in passing, or maybe make some offhanded mention of a hot dog stand at the corner of 5th. They sell cheap hot dogs to the passersby, and the recipient usually eats the dog without a second thought as to the food's origin. Admittedly, the hot dogs in New York are great! They just taste like sodium, carbs, gluten, saturated fat, and everything delicious that people tell you that you're not supposed to eat. But what is really in the hot dog?

You have a classic little 4 or 5 inch long bun made with flour, sugar, and salt... probably some yeast, and you know... bread stuff.

You have mustard which is made of ground mustard seeds, vinegar, paprika, and maybe some sodium benzoate to preserve it.

You have ketchup, mayo, and relish - which are all pretty straightforward

And then you have the dog. We don't talk about the dog. We're scared of talking about the dog because we've heard about what goes into those, and maybe we've seen a YouTube video, and we think we know...

Guess what. The YouTube video you saw is probably real. There are hot dog joints that sell those hot dogs, and they might just be the ones that you just bought at the grocery store.

Don't talk about the dogs, because you know you would rather not dwell on what goes in them...

That rule does NOT apply here.

100% beef. That's what's in the J Dawg.

100% beef, prepared with their unique secret recipe of spices.

That's exactly what you can expect when you bite into one of these dogs.

J Dawgs has their dogs prepared exclusively for them.

Nobody else has this recipe.

Nobody else can make their dogs bloom on the grill like these dogs do.

J Dawgs was started by a broke BYU student who sold his guitar to make enough money to build and furnish a stand in Provo. The recipe rocked, the sauce is the bomb, and so things kept rolling.

In speaking with the management, the sauce has its own tale to tell, and it all starts with Sweet Grandma Marcella. Sometime in the 1950's, Marcella was looking through the newspaper, and she found a recipe for a barbecue sauce that she decided to try. She clipped the article, and began to make what would eventually turn into the J Dawgs sauce.

Today, there is enough of that spectacular sauce made every month to fill a small swimming pool.

When I walked into J Dawgs for the first time, I remember that there were lots of noises happening all at once. Besides the music playing overhead, (UB40 - Red Red Wine) there were families sitting, talking at the tables, friends laughing in the line, and cooks by a hot grill, making those signature criss-crossed cuts that anyone who has visited a J Dawgs would know about. (see picture) It smelled wonderful, and their presentation was great. Look around the restaurant when you go. All of the art (including the murals) is painted by hand.

I ordered a Polish, and opted for just the sauce, some onion, and a long slice of pickle laid inside the bun. Their sauce has a tiny bit of spice to it, but not enough to make it unpleasant to anyone, even little kids. It's a sweeter sauce that compliments the meat in a unique way. The sauce, the dog, and the grilled bun came together to give me a great culinary experience. I had never eaten a dog that I could tell was real meat before that visit. - I'm going to be careful to not understate my surprise by telling you again... These dogs are made of real meat, and it's obvious once it's in your mouth.

I was pleasantly surprised by the simplicity of the food and the consistent quality of the ingredients.

When you visit J Dawgs, make sure to pay attention to the food itself. You won't be disappointed.

Big Island Sam's

UPDATE: Big Island Sam's has closed its' doors, leaving a void in this man's heart.

Once upon a time there was a guy who spent two weeks in Hawaii. While he was there, he went to quite a few restaurants and shacks that not only gave him sustenance, but enlightened his mind as to the foods that Hawaii had to offer.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am that guy and I'm pleased to announce that Hawaii's food has made its way to Utah Valley.
Today I ate Authentic Hawaiian Food, and I highly recommend this food and this restaurant to you.

When I walked into the restaurant, there were two people in the entryway. The first person that spoke to me was the hostess. When I looked around while waiting to be seated, I saw a friendly old man in a flower shirt with a big smile on his face. I'm a friendly guy, so I asked how his day was going. He said it was going well, and wished me a good meal. We sat down and I had a good two minutes to decide what I wanted. I eventually came to the conclusion that  Sam's Loco Moco was going to be my dish. Around a cup and a half of sticky rice, two fresh-pressed hamburger patties prepared with teriyaki sauce, eggs prepared either fried or scrambled, all topped with a hardy beef-flavored gravy...

I've had Loco Moco on a few occasions, but never had the meat been as fresh and had as balanced a flavor as this meat had today.
I opted for scrambled eggs, as I don't often trust that the cooks understand the concept of an over hard fried egg.

I was eating the meal with a friend who lived in Hawaii for a couple of years, and he had requested to meet with the owner if he was there. The waitress said that he was there, and that he would be made aware of the request. When we had eaten just over half of the more than generous meals we had been given, the friendly old man from the entryway toodled over to our table and introduced himself as Sam. After reminiscing for awhile, and finding friends in common with my friend, Sam offered us some kulolo cake. 

Before I took a bite, I knew that there would be fresh fruit, coconut, and truffles, but I had no clue what kind of treat I was in for. Their kuolo cake is now one of my all-time favorite desserts I have had... ever. When it gets to you, you'll see and smell the reason I'm now raving over it. Its base is a moist yellow cake, almost as moist as a tres leches cake which is usually soaked in sweetened milk for hours before adding further layers. Baked into the top of the cake is a thick coconut mix, with fruit flavors, truffles, and enough coconut to chew on, all in a thick syrup, not quite as solid as caramel. They top it with whipped cream, and serve it at the perfect temperature- hot enough to melt the bottom part of the whipped cream, but cool enough to eat it comfortably.

Unlike the shacks I visited in Hawaii, this restaurant passed the under-the-table-gum-test with flying colors.

I hold no reservations referring this restaurant to you. Go, and enjoy.

Please comment with your restaurant review requests.

Fong Fine Asian Dining

UPDATE: Fong Fine Asian Dining has moved, but their address online is current!

When I went to web to find somewhere to eat this week, I found Fong Fine Asian Dining in Pleasant Grove, on State Street. By the account of a few customers, I was to expect great food... but there were some things that they told me that would paint their personal opinions on the restaurant. I was told that the Thai food was to be avoided at all costs, with no specifics on the reason. I was told to set aside 2 hours at the least to eat there, because of the slow service. I take all amateur restaurant reviews with a grain of salt, because they usually base the whole review on whatever experience took them by surprise during their visit - If the noodles looked disgusting, but tasted surprisingly good, they'll base their review on that, and probably rate the place a 4 or 5 out of 5... completely neglecting to acknowledge any other part of the visit. If the meat was too spicy for their taste, they'll base their rating on that, and give them a 2 or 3, forgetting every other part of their visit.

There are two things I'd like to emphasize in this review.

The first: Keep food in perspective. At your favorite Chinese restaurant if you didn't think about the rice, then the rice was good! It served its purpose... which is usually a filler, or in the case of fried rice, it was a side dish, and usually not the cook's favorite part.

The second: Communicate with your service. They have more first-hand experience with the food you're eating than 100% of the reviewers online. Their opinion is valuable, and it could save you from heartache or heartburn.

The Atmosphere:
When I got to the restaurant, there were around 6 people total, at 2 of the 10-or-so tables in the restaurant. There's no doubt in my mind that Fong Fine Asian Dining is a single location, family-owned restaurant. If they have another location that I don't know about, I'd be pleasantly surprised to hear about it. The atmosphere is very personable, and it's definitely not used to mass-service. The food was made to order for the most part, and each food had its own unique taste, unlike many other Asian food places you'll visit. The restaurant itself is in the same building as an ice cream shop, but definitely has its own following and customer base. On the inside of the restaurant, it gives the impression that it's an older building that was rebuilt or refurbished in the past 10 years. It's a black and white color scheme, and the moldings around the windows look nice, and give the place a little character. There are two televisions, one on either side of the room, and the day I visited, they were playing sports. (I couldn't tell you which sport, as they all lump into one in my brain for some reason.) By the time I left, there were about 15 people in the restaurant, and being young adults for the most part, the 2-person dining staff had their hands full, and were visibly flustered.

The Service:
Though they seemed like they were kept on their toes the whole time, I was never without the drinks I  needed, or a friendly face updating me on the preparation of my food. When I complain about service, I complain about the person who communicates with me and waits on me... the person who doesn't actually cook my food. There were two people in the dining area, and it seemed that they were both equally in charge of how things were going at my table. One of the employees, a young man, gave us 120%. He wanted to make sure that we all had what we needed, and he communicated the process to us very effectively and efficiently. That was his job... That's what he does to make his money. Now what amazed me was his politeness. This was a teenager, who was definitely working a rather demanding after-school job, and he bypassed the norms, and what was to be expected, by looking me in the eye, smiling sincerely, and establishing a real, personal, and professional connection. You don't see that often, and that was refreshing. The other worker was also high school age, and did their job, but didn't really try to do anything further - which is fine, except when they neglected to pick up the checks for quite a while. Granted, they took a phone order, and waited on other tables in the mean time, but they also checked their cell phone, realized they had a text, and took care of that before looking towards the table to retrieve the payment.

The Thai food:
By suggestion of the waiter, I ordered the coconut curry.
Taste-wise, this was one of the best curries I had ever eaten. It was rich, and they didn't skimp and use sub-par ingredients with too much oil. It was a well rounded, slightly spicy with a good amount of chicken in it. They did put just as much chopped onion in as chicken, however it was cooked thoroughly, and didn't ruin the other tastes, but rather added another layer of flavor with the sauce and spice. I ordered it in a Bento Combo, with fried rice, a spring roll, and chow mien. The fried rice went very well with the curry, and the spring roll was very freshly prepared, with fresh veggies, and hot as a spring roll could ever be. The chow mien was a shade of red... different from the chow mien that I'm used to. (the picture makes it look a lighter red than it actually was.) It seemed to me that the sauce that they cooked it with was slightly spicy, as it had just a hint of pepper to the taste. It had a pleasing, unique taste, with just the right amount of substance provided by the veggies.

Altogether, the very best part of the meal was the curry, and the best part of my visit was the food.

I'd suggest you go to Fong Fine Asian Dining and try some out for yourself. It's worth the visit.