New Book

I'm picking the next book we're reading and I'm having a hard time deciding. What do you guys think?

• Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri-- a collection of fictional short stories about Indian (like from India- not Native Americans) immigrants
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins-- a young adult science fiction story of survival
• The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale-- a young adult fantasy book about a princess who is betrayed and must hide her identity to survive until she can reclaim the crown
• Dying for Chocolate by Diane Mott Davidson-- a culinary mystery

HUGE FAT FAIL

Okay...so I am a failure. There is no way I'm going to finish The Host in time. And I don't know if I'll ever finish it. I have to return it to the library in about a week and a half. I still have like 1000 pages left to read. Alright- not 1000, but it sure feels that way. Maybe the next book we read should be shorter.

Just an Observation

Its funny because as I was reading the blog during work (yeah that's bad, but when people aren't calling in there's really not much to do), I notice that you guys do a lot of "food reviews". I don't know why but it just cracks me up. Like you guys should be like critics for restaurants or for people to go out the the restaurant...if that's the case I can do it too!

So I went to Kabuki the other night. Its a sushi place (go figure look at the name). Its one of the restaurants located in the middle of the "high roller/big balla" mall aka Victoria Gardens. Its funny because any sushi place I go to I compare it to Happy Sumo. Anyways back to Kabuki....

The place is pretty neat, but I do have to say it isn't a very spacious place. The ironic thing about this place is that its owned by Koreans, who would've thought? Anyways..it has the asian inspired, but the ceiling is what tripped me out. Its like different, I guess you could say heights, but yeah pretty Modern looking place. But like you go to a place for atmosphere...well I don't. I'm all about the food of course, and that's all that matters.

So sushi selection I would say is like any other sushi place. You know pick whatever from the bar. I do have to say that Happy Sumo had more different types of rolls, but this place is like any normal sushi place. You know have the regulars...like a spicey tuna roll, spider roll. I am a little disappointed because they don't have any signature rolls. I think that's what makes the sushi place "memorable", like you can't get that role unlesss you go to that certain place, you know what I'm saying??? Yeah anyways there's nothing real special. But since its in an "expensive" area they'll always have business.

Straight to the food. Now for appetizers, the give you complimentary edamame, which I freakin' love, I could snack on those things forever...ugh...anyways I've become a fan of soft-shell crap and so I always get a spider role. Its sooooo good, and then I had a regular Cali roll. Then I shared a plate of ribs, and its the type of ribs that asians use....I forget what they're called, but yeah that. It was pretty good, it had that charred taste to it, like it was barbequed. MmmMMMm. Then for desert there was mochiko. It was ice cream balls surronded by this rice flourish type of dough. I love mochiko, especially when Dad makes it or Lola (my grandma).

The service was pretty good. All the workers or majority of them are asian, so for the most part they're courteous and on top of their tables getting food and what not. Its funny because the server looked like she was 12, lol Like our cousin de ette... or Lois is her name.

So overall as a "rating" its okay, but really you can cut better deals with sushi somewhere else with the same amount of quality and such, but on the other hand, I didn't pay for it :p

Cheesecake Factory

To celebrate the my "quarter-of-a-century" birthday, Ty took me to Cheesecake Factory.


I almost feel like I shouldn't be writing this review. Mainly because... geez... it's CHEESECAKE FACTORY!

Cheesecake Factory could do without my reviews because I have never ever had a bad experience at any Cheesecake Factory. Granted, I have only ever been to three in my life. Two, more than once.

Usually, I eat the Pesto Chicken Pizza at Cheesecake Factory, but I was very disappointed to find that they no longer served this there! :( Pesto is by far my most favorite sauce. AND pizza is my most favorite food (next to sushi... MMMMM).

Because my favorite dish was no longer available, I decided to opt for something else that I love: FISH TACOS. Now, when you say "fish tacos" I don't mean a fish stick in a flour tortilla. NO. If you're making tacos... UNLESS its a chicken soft taco from Del Taco, you really should never use flour tortillas.

The fish was cooked very well, and seasoned amazingly. They gave me three fish tacos that were sized reasonably well. Mmmm. My mouth is watering as I write this. I also had some beans & rice to go with my tacos. Especially for not being a mexican restaurant, I was very impressed with it. I have NEVER had anything bad from Cheesecake Factory.

In addition to the amazing food, our waiter was very exceptional. Respectful. Timely. Even during "busy" hours (I don't know when they're slow...), he was very attentive to our needs.

Five stars for them!

The Host

So I don't know if we were supposed to read the book together....or whatever, but I finished it. I actually finished that book back either in September or August. Stephenie Meyer is the bomb. They say that she's the new JK Rowling. But yeah The Host was most enjoyable. Now as far as commentary on the book...well I'll let the rest of you to comment on the book.

As always with Stephenie Meyer I think that she starts off with this "I-don't-know-if-I-wanna-read-this" kind of vibe (or maybe its just me). The book was slightly slow at first but I do say, after the first section of the book it just gets real good. I can't just pull stuff out to talk about the book, partially because its been a while since I've finished, and partially because I forgot. Maybe I should read it again :P.

Five Guys

So, I miss In-N-Out. I haven't had an In-N-Out burger in years. Okay- 2 years, but that's long enough. I have been on the hunt for a comparable burger here in Utah and have come up short handed every time.

I was excited when I heard about this new burger joint opening up near us. I heard rave reviews from a few people. Could this be the one?

Chris and I headed down one Saturday night to check it out. We got there around 5:30 and it was extremely crowded. Like, hover-over-people-finishing-their-food-so-you-can-get-their-table crowded. I thought, good sign. Their menu is similar to In-N-Out, but they have more choices for toppings. You can also get a bacon cheeseburger which isn't an option at In-N-Out. No milkshakes at 5 Guys though. :(

Anyway, to the food. I would give them a 3 out of 5. I was a little disappointed. It didn't live up to the hype in my opinion. In-N-Out is still my favorite burger joint (in UT, I would probably say Crown Burger is my favorite). It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't fabulous either. We'll probably eat there every once in a while. One thing I would recommend is to get a junior size burger unless you want a lot of meat. I was surprised that the cheeseburger I ordered had 2 hamburger patties on it. And order a regular size fry. The large was too big for Chris and I to finish.

So until (if ever) In-N-Out comes to Salt Lake (pretty puh-lease! if anyone important is reading this), we'll probably hit up 5 Guys or Crown Burger when we need a hamburger fix.

Dolce Cafe & Bakery

So, I went home to California last weekend to get engagement pictures done. Ty & I took a trip to Dolce Cafe & Bakery with Jake & his girlfriend, Maria.


I originally planned on halving a sandwich with Ty so we could eat dessert, but we both ate a ton earlier that day at BJs (which I also highly recommend, for pizza... definitely NOT for their fish tacos... it was like a fish stick in a flour tortilla. TWO faux pas when you're cooking "Mexican food").

We had a turkey sandwich that was grilled. I don't remember what else it had... perhaps some pesto? I don't know, it was good is all I really remember. I'm a bit sad I wasn't hungry enough to eat dessert. One thing I did notice, is that the environment was not limited to, but seemed to breathe predominantly the gay culture. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't bug me to be around them. But it seemed artsy and there was a huge group of ladies who... appeared to be living that lifestyle. Just something you might wanna know if you choose to go here and you happen to have issues with that.

All in all, it was quaint... and the food was good. Yum.

Blue Plate Diner

I went to lunch with my friend, Ann, last week and we chose to go to the Blue Plate Diner in Salt Lake. I'd heard they had good diner fare and that they did. I read some reviews on-line before we went and they were either really positive or really negative. It seems to be a big favorite amongst the locals.

I would probably give the place 2.5 out of 5 stars. The service was incredibly slow, but they were busy that day. Being busy also meant really loud. Sometimes it was a bit difficult to hear what Ann was saying. I ordered the eggs benedict with avocado, spinach and mushrooms. It was pretty tasty and the portioning was rather large (I didn't even finish all of my food), but I don't think it was worth the $9 it cost. There was no attempt to pretty up the food. I admit that isn't my forte either, but they could at least try if I'm paying nearly $10 for an entree. I guess they did attempt- there was an orange slice laid on my country potatoes. And I was expecting avocado slices...not avocado mash. I'm curious as to what other fillers they had in there. There was a fair amount of spinach and mushrooms so that was good. The hollandaise sauce was yummy. I would definitely recommend the eggs benedict. Just not the avocado, spinach and mushroom one. Maybe the vegetarian or the original.

I might go again, but it would have to be at a less busy time of the day and I would have to be in the mood for diner food and slow service.


Blue Plate Diner
2041 S 2100 E

Mikado

This is where we go to sushi most often. Chris is too scared to try a different place. The last time we went there though, I wasn't that impressed. Maybe we went at a bad time, but the rolls just weren't that great. Chris' favorite is the Connect roll and I usually get the Salmon Crunch. Then we pick one or two more rolls. This last time we got a California roll and the Pink Flamingo. It makes for a nice, light meal that is also fairly filling with the edamame we also order.

They are opening another location at South Towne which is nice because it's closer to us. Hopefully our lackluster experience doesn't become a trend or we'll have to find a new sushi joint. A Sushi Ya just opened in Cottonwood and I believe that's Makamae's favorite place for sushi especially since it's all you can eat. Perhaps we can give that one a try. All you can eat makes me a bit wary though.

Kneaders

So.... I love Kneaders. Can I say their all you can eat french toast is my all time favorite thing to eat for breakfast???

I would give it five stars... THREE thumbs up :)

I'm also thinking of having Kneaders cater for me *someday*... whenever I get married ;)

I would highly recommend anything off of their menu. Go carbs!

PS We, as sisters, decided to make this blog not just a review for books, but also a place to review restaurants, movies, venues, etc.... which is why this random comment about Kneaders is here :)

The Host

The Sanchez sisters decided to read a book together and use a blog to discuss and read the book.  Whether or not you choose to read this blog is up to you.  I love Stephenie Meyer's works (I have only ever read her Twilight series, and I am anxious for her to write the Twilight series from Edward Cullen's point of view).  

The Host sounds like a weird book, I'm not sure I understand it fully, but I have only read a few pages.  I think "yah, this does sound weird...." But I also thought that Twilight sounded weird and freaky.  

We'll see how this goes.  :) Any comments (please don't spoil the story for us though) are welcome!