If you live in Utah and have never tried Maddox chicken, shame on you. Shame! Shame shame shame!
Maddox chicken is AMAZING. When we lived in Idaho, one of the primary reasons that we vacationed in Utah was so that we could eat Maddox chicken. I’m not kidding.
So, if you have not been there (SHAME)…Go. Either drive up to Layton (698 North Main Street Layton, UT) or, if you’re ambitious, go to the original restaurant in Brigham City (1950 South Highway 89 Brigham City, UT) and order the chicken breast with mashed potatoes, a roll, and a corn pone. You will not be disappointed.
The breading on the chicken is light, crispy and salty. The meat inside is juicy, tender and flavorful. The mashed potatoes are the real McCoy…somehow managing to be chucky and creamy at the same time. Do yourself a favor. GO TO MADDOX!
Friday, June 17, 2011
Orange Leaf - Highland, UT
Last week we went to Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt in Highland. It’s one of those self serve yogurt places that seem to popping up everywhere. (Rather like the mushrooms in my backyard, actually. Where are they all coming from??)
Anyways, it was…fun. The yogurt wasn’t out of this world wonderful. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t BAD. It’s just that the quality of the actual yogurt itself didn’t make my eyes pop out of my head. (Unfortunately, the price did.) What made this place enjoyable was the fact that you could design your own dessert with as many flavors as you wanted and there was no one there to say boo. I got cheesecake, raspberry and chocolate yogurt with cookie dough balls, cheesecake chunks, strawberry bobas and hot fudge on top. The great thing is that you’re charged by the ounce so you can get as many toppings as you want without paying an exorbitant extra charge. My dessert was delicious. However, it wasn’t delicious because the ingredients were superior or the quality excellent. It was delicious because of my mastermind in combing the exact flavors that I wanted. (That’s right, I’m taking complete credit.)
It was a fun place to go and it was very yummy, however for the price ($8.00 for two cups of yogurt!!) I would choose Golden Spoon over Orange Leaf every time.
Anyways, it was…fun. The yogurt wasn’t out of this world wonderful. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t BAD. It’s just that the quality of the actual yogurt itself didn’t make my eyes pop out of my head. (Unfortunately, the price did.) What made this place enjoyable was the fact that you could design your own dessert with as many flavors as you wanted and there was no one there to say boo. I got cheesecake, raspberry and chocolate yogurt with cookie dough balls, cheesecake chunks, strawberry bobas and hot fudge on top. The great thing is that you’re charged by the ounce so you can get as many toppings as you want without paying an exorbitant extra charge. My dessert was delicious. However, it wasn’t delicious because the ingredients were superior or the quality excellent. It was delicious because of my mastermind in combing the exact flavors that I wanted. (That’s right, I’m taking complete credit.)
It was a fun place to go and it was very yummy, however for the price ($8.00 for two cups of yogurt!!) I would choose Golden Spoon over Orange Leaf every time.
Maria Bonita - Orem, UT
Spencer and I are Mexican food connoisseurs. Spencer served a Spanish speaking mission in San Diego, California so he KNOWs his Mexican food. In fact, Mexican food is more standard at our house than American food is. That being said, we are very particular when it comes to dining out at a Mexican restaurant. Our normal places to go are Los Hermanos (a Utah classic) and El Azteca (super delicious). Last week, however, we were in the mood for something different. We had a coupon for a buy one get one free meal at Maria Bonita’s in Orem (800 N State St) and we figured we’d give it a try….
…. O_o
Oh my goodness….
Maria Bonita….
Whoever she is, she is the goddess of Mexican food….
We go inside the restaurant and immediately this lady (I’m assuming the owner…perhaps Maria Bonita herself?) greets us with such enthusiasm that we feel like we’re her long lost friends. She shakes our hands and leads us to our table, calling me “Princess” and Spencer “Champion.”
We’re seated, we place our order, and they bring out chips and salsa. (The salsa was excellent. It was very fresh and was bursting with cilantro. Mmm.) As we’re waiting for our food, several other couples come into the restaurant and the same lady (Going forward, I shall call her Maria…even though I’m not sure that’s who she is) greets them with the same zeal with which she greeted us. In fact, she hugged most of them. As we saw customer after customer hug this lady, Spencer and I began to feel very confused (insert cocked eyebrow here).
Anywhooo…the waitress brought out two little bowls of soup for us. I have never been served a soup before a meal except for egg drop soup at Chinese restaurants so I was confused, however Spencer got excited as soon as he saw it.
“I have seen this stuff since my mission!” he exclaimed. Apparently, it is very common for Latinos to serve this type of soup with their meals. It wasn’t anything fantastic, but it was very authentic. It basically consisted of a broth and rice. That’s it. Not to exciting, but adding spoonful of their yummy salsa to it made it super delicious.
Then come the entrees…. I had ordered a combination plate that included two beef enchiladas and one beef tamale. The serving dish was more of a platter than a plate. Spencer and I are both aghast at the serving sizes.
“The plate is very hot, Princess,” Maria warns.
I take my fork. I cut into the tamale. I raise the bite to my mouth. I achieve nirvana.
Seriously, I pity the Indian Buddhists who starved and meditated for days on end trying to achieve a state of spiritual peace and tranquility. All they needed to do was come to Maria Bonita’s. Not kidding. It was that good.
The tamale is spicy and tender. The outside is actually fluffy, not dense and heavy like so many others are. Oh it was so good. The enchiladas are amazing. The rice is perfect. The beans…Oh the beans. How can I even begin to describe the beans. I cannot think of any words powerful enough to describe the goodness of these beans. They are tender, smooth and packed with yummy pork flavor. I’m salivating just thinking about them.
We leave the restaurant in a state of satisfied awe. How could food have tasted that good? I now understand why all of those people hugged Maria when they came in. I wanted to hug her as I left! How can you not feel love and camaraderie towards someone who can provide you with a culinary experience like that?
…. O_o
Oh my goodness….
Maria Bonita….
Whoever she is, she is the goddess of Mexican food….
We go inside the restaurant and immediately this lady (I’m assuming the owner…perhaps Maria Bonita herself?) greets us with such enthusiasm that we feel like we’re her long lost friends. She shakes our hands and leads us to our table, calling me “Princess” and Spencer “Champion.”
We’re seated, we place our order, and they bring out chips and salsa. (The salsa was excellent. It was very fresh and was bursting with cilantro. Mmm.) As we’re waiting for our food, several other couples come into the restaurant and the same lady (Going forward, I shall call her Maria…even though I’m not sure that’s who she is) greets them with the same zeal with which she greeted us. In fact, she hugged most of them. As we saw customer after customer hug this lady, Spencer and I began to feel very confused (insert cocked eyebrow here).
Anywhooo…the waitress brought out two little bowls of soup for us. I have never been served a soup before a meal except for egg drop soup at Chinese restaurants so I was confused, however Spencer got excited as soon as he saw it.
“I have seen this stuff since my mission!” he exclaimed. Apparently, it is very common for Latinos to serve this type of soup with their meals. It wasn’t anything fantastic, but it was very authentic. It basically consisted of a broth and rice. That’s it. Not to exciting, but adding spoonful of their yummy salsa to it made it super delicious.
Then come the entrees…. I had ordered a combination plate that included two beef enchiladas and one beef tamale. The serving dish was more of a platter than a plate. Spencer and I are both aghast at the serving sizes.
“The plate is very hot, Princess,” Maria warns.
I take my fork. I cut into the tamale. I raise the bite to my mouth. I achieve nirvana.
Seriously, I pity the Indian Buddhists who starved and meditated for days on end trying to achieve a state of spiritual peace and tranquility. All they needed to do was come to Maria Bonita’s. Not kidding. It was that good.
The tamale is spicy and tender. The outside is actually fluffy, not dense and heavy like so many others are. Oh it was so good. The enchiladas are amazing. The rice is perfect. The beans…Oh the beans. How can I even begin to describe the beans. I cannot think of any words powerful enough to describe the goodness of these beans. They are tender, smooth and packed with yummy pork flavor. I’m salivating just thinking about them.
We leave the restaurant in a state of satisfied awe. How could food have tasted that good? I now understand why all of those people hugged Maria when they came in. I wanted to hug her as I left! How can you not feel love and camaraderie towards someone who can provide you with a culinary experience like that?
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