Terra Mia Ristorante in Orem, Utah

Like:

We quite like this place.

Kid's Pasta w/ Cheese Sauce. Quite tasty!

A nice, open atmosphere. Always friendly service.

Francesca's Pizza. I love those brick/wood fired ovens. They create the best pizza crust.

I love Neapolitan-style pizza. 

At Terra Mia, my favorites are the 4-Formaggi & the Matteo's pizza.

Carbonara Pasta: Made with eggs, pecorino, & bacon.

Great flavor for this Carbonara Pasta dish. The bread is wonderful! And as you can see, they provide olive oil, balsamic, & little plate,s to dip your bread. 

You know how I love dipping bread...

The spaghetti in this dish was cooked perfectly al-dente. You may not know it if you tend to overcook your pasta (which I do); now I know what they mean by al-dente. 

Not crunchy or chewy or mushy or soft.

Left: Nutella Pizza. Right: Hazelnut Italian Soda

I went out on a limb & ordered their Hazelnut Italian Soda. 

I very much like the flavor of hazelnuts, so I enjoyed the soda. 

It was different & I liked it.

Also a great hazelnut-flavor? Nutella, so naturally we ordered a Nutella pizza. Yum.

Have I mentioned that I looooooove gelato? I might even like it better than ice cream. Gasp!

Neapolitan pizza & gelato. Yes please!

....oh, and we'll take a couple of bignès while your at it.....

Two Bignès w/ chocolate & coconut gelato.

Terra Mia is a fan of good deals & giveaways.

This past summer I won a free pizza just for liking them on Facebook!

Taste of India in Layton, Utah

Also located in West Jordan....

Like:

If ever a book I'm reading talks about the local food of the book's chosen setting, I tend to crave that cuisine. 

I recently read "Secret Daughter" by Shilpi Somaya Gowda. I gave it a 3 of 5 stars, but what I liked about it was that the story took place in India and the author frequently talked about, & described, Indian cuisine. I've always liked Indian food (especially curry), but now I love it. Why does it take a book to do that for me?? I'll never know.

So my little family & I were on our way up to Syracuse (almost typed India) for a family get-together, and as we entered Davis County I started seeing billboards that said "Taste of India voted Best Indian in 2011 by City Weekly."

We ordered the Naan (Indian flat bread) Fusion Basket - Naan, Onion Naan, Garlic Naan, & Tandoori Roti.

Right then and there I decided where we were going to dinner. Mark did not mind--he loves Indian food.

The Naan pictured above is perfect to dip into whatever saucy goodness you might order. I love dipping bread & using bread to clean a plate. Don't you? You can practically put my plate back into the cupboard when I'm done with it it's THAT clean.

I ordered the Sweet Lassi; a traditional, tangy, yogurt drink.

Curry Pakora - Traditional Punjabi entree, vegetable fritters dipped in rich creamy curry sauce made w/ buttermilk.

I searched the menu for something I recognized from the book. "Pakora" & "paneer" caught my eye. I ordered the Curry Pakora. The friendly waitress warned us that it might be different than what we're used to. I said, "Bingo, that's why I want it.", plus I love buttermilk. 

We chose the "medium" level of heat. It was perfect.

Let me tell you that we've been dreaming of the Curry Pakora ever since. It was delicious!! DELICIOUS! The waitress was happy we liked it so much. 

Mango Chicken - Fried chicken sauteed with mangoes, sugar, lemon juice, onions, tomatoes and spices.

City Weekly's Ted Scheffler said it well, "I’ve eaten in a lot of Indian restaurants—including my training ground in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens in New York City—and I’ve never had Indian food that to my palate is better than Taste of India’s."