Firehouse Burger in Springville, Utah

Update: Closed due to "other business ventures".

Like:

When Diamond Grill in Salem closed last year, we quickly went on the hunt for a new go-to burger place nearby. We found one and we are happy campers. 

It's essential to have a good burger close to your home, am I right? 

The load of food....

Ladder 41: American Cheese, Bacon, Onion Rings, BBQ Sauce, Lettuce, Tomato, Pickle

The burgers here are well-seasoned and the buns are nice and special; 

an essential duo--burger & bun.

Sweet Fries

Jr. Chief Corndog Meal: comes w/ 1/2 order of fries, Sm. Drink, & a Fire Hat 

BLT Sandwich

Super friendly workers!!

Mixed Berry Pie Shake

Yes, a slice of pie was mixed right in to the shake. The pieces of pie crust were delicious. Make sure you ask which flavors have a slice of pie, because at first I ordered the Key Lime Pie shake, but he informed me that that one has cheesecake chunks, not a slice of pie, so I switched to the Mixed Berry Pie.

Also, I find people are weird about their shakes, and by "people" I mean myself. 

I, for one, like my shakes on the thinner side. I like em' sorta melty. In short, these ones are on the melty side. I like.

1 Alarm Burger w/ Pepper Jack Cheese

Remember, when it comes to burgers, "messy equals good".

2 Alarm Red Devil Burger: Chipotle Mayo, Pepper Jack, Jalapenos, Tomato, Lettuce, Onion 

Yum.

Sweet Tots w/ a Marshmallow Dipping Sauce

Sweet Tator Tots? HEL-lo. I remember the first time the gal at the window said "...and they come with a marshmallow dipping sauce". She had me at "marsh". 

Yuh-um peoples.

French Fries

I like skinny fries. Love these ones!

Located at the very North end of Main St. in Springville. Drive-thru available!

Black Sheep Cafe in Provo, Utah

Favorite:

Have I mentioned that my very favorite cuisine is Southwestern cuisine? Oh it is.

My heart lit up when my sister told me about this new Southwestern restaurant in Provo. Basically I almost dropped the phone because no where in Utah County have I been able to find a restaurant that serves some good Southwestern food.

Quickly, in a nutshell, Southwestern Cuisine (Mexican-American cuisine, a combination of my two other favorite cuisines) originated in the Southwestern United States. 

"It comprises a fusion of recipes for things that might have been eaten by Spanish colonial settlers, cowboys, Native Americans,^[1] and Mexicans throughout the post-Columbian era; there is, however, a great diversity in this kind of cuisine throughout the Southwestern states."

So this particular restaurant is of the Native-American Southwestern cuisine. Yum!

Black Sheep Salad - Organic green mix with candied walnuts, dried cranberries, red onion, spice-dusted aged cotija cheese, and a prickly-cactus pear vinaigrette.

Lightly dressed, this salad was fresh & light. Very delicious vinaigrette.

Green Chili Stew - A variety of fire-roasted chiles, slow-cooked pork, and braised vegetables.

This big bowl of stew was very hearty & comforting. You can tell they fire-roast their own chiles on a daily basis. The smokiness really comes through--on all their dishes really.

Fry Bread to dip in the Green Chili Stew

The frybread was incredible. Perfectly cooked--must be the perfect recipe. 

I don't think I can have any other frybread ever again. 

*Eating good frybread ruins you for enjoying bad frybread.*

Bleu Burger - Grilled burger stuffed with bleu cheese, topped with fresh greens, grilled onions, hog jowl, and a red wine reduction wrapped in  homemade nanniskadii bread. Side of Southwestern Street Corn.

Their burgers are cooked medium which pretty much makes them super good. Also, that folded-over nanniskadii bread is soft and keeps the burger in place nicely. Drooling just thinking about it.....

Navajo Taco Trio - Tapas style. Small versions of the traditional Black Sheep Pinto, Red Chili Beef (Tender slow-cooked beef covered in red chili sauce and topped with black olives, green onions, and cotija cheese), and Green Chili Pork (Tender slow-cooked pork in green chili sauce and topped with queso menonita, diced tomatoes and cilantro).

Again, best Navajo tacos I've EVEReverever had. Of course, we've all had Navajo tacos, but I promise you, not quite like this. Never eat them with ground beef and ranch again.

Pork Chop Sandwich - Spiced and grilled center cut pork chop topped with a fire-roasted pasilla chile and adobo mayo, wrapped in homemade nanniskadii bread. Served with Cumin-Garlic Sweet Potato Fries

This sandwich was deeeeelicious!

The sweet potato fries were very good. A reviewer on Yelp said they were soggy; not so, they were soft, but not "soggy". You can order them extra-crispy, but I quite liked them soft, especially with their AMAZING chipotle-lime dipping sauce.

Orange Habenero Crème Brulee - A rich and creamy orange infused custard with a subtle hint of habenero and a crisp flame-caramelized sugar top. Carrot Cake - Topped with a cream cheese icing.

Delicious desserts. In the crème brulee, the heat from the habenero was very subtle indeed. Perfect.

P.S. - "Fine Custom Native American Jewelry Making & Repair" and "Pottery Workshops" located in a corner of The Black Sheep cafe.

Boudreaux's Bistro in Payson, Utah

Favorite:

I'd like to officially make Boudreaux's Bistro the very first post-worthy restaurant in the South end of the valley--in Payson! 

Very, extremely worth the drive.

"Home to the best Louisiana cuisine around! Louisiana cuisine, also known as Cajun and Creole, consists of gumbos, red beans and rice, Creole sauce, jambalayas, and etouffees. Our food is prepared fresh daily, from scratch, with the highest quality ingredients and fresh Louisiana seafood available. Many of our products are shipped direct from Louisiana to bring you the bold and unique flavors of the food we serve."

Hushpuppies

This place smells AMAZING.

Alligator Sausage Pasta $8.75 - Sauteéd Alligator Sausage in a creamy garlic sauce with rotini pasta.

Beautiful colors; spicy; yum.

Shrimp Étouffeé: Shrimp stew w/ onions, bell pepper, & celery, served over rice. Full: $6.25

Fried Shrimp Po'Boy $6.75

Crunchy & delish.

Pick 3 $8.25: Red Beans w/ Smoked Sausage, Shrimp Creole, Jambalaya

I could not decide what was my favorite of the three things I tried in the above picture. Seriously, I kept switching my favorite. And LOVE that you can try three things for under ten dollars.

"This kind of Southern comfort food is part of Sorensen's heritage; he grew up in the New Orleans area and trained at Cajun Culinary School."

Read more: http://www.heraldextra.com/business/local/cajun-bistro-opens-on-payson-main-street/article_bf04c674-0031-57ee-9ac3-28f27113fb97.html#ixzz1rwVOGMds

Fried Candy Bar $3.00 - Milky Way

Beignets (3) $2.25

This was my first experience eating a beignet. I expected it to taste like a donut or fried bread and was wondering what all the fuss was about in the South (although I'd always desperately wanted to taste one). To my surprise, not at all did it taste like a donut or fried bread. These beignets were so soft & pillowy & deliciously coated in powdered sugar. I guess what they tasted like was a beignet! I'll be ordering these to-go so I can messily eat these in private. Pure heaven.

From their Facebook page: "Hey ya'll! Just a reminder to get your crawfish boil tickets! The cost is $20.00. It's all you can eat 'till it's gone! Secure your spot today, call or come in! Bring your friends, they can order off the menu too! See you APRIL 21!!!!"

I have never been to a crawfish boil. I'm so curious!! I just may be attending...