Rubio's - Not Just Fish Tacos

My husband summed it up well when he tried my leftovers, "Oh, it isn't another Cafe Rio."
Last week Rubio's invited a few of us bloggers to try their delicious food. We were stuffed of delicious burritos, tacos, salads, and their variety of salsas. I knew about Rubio's long ago becuase my mom said they are her favorite fish tacos ever. (and she lives in Hawaii! She has had good fish.) But they have such a variety of flavors and dishes. My favorite dish was their roasted vegetable salad. With all this chicken, avocados, and a delicious dressing for 320 calories. I keep tellingi everyone that because I can't believe it. But it had so much flavor you didn't feel like you were eating 2000 calories less than some other fresh mex salads in town. They have other great options for the health conscious eater - grilled fish or chicken tacos, whole wheat tortillas, 4 different salads. They are great to substitue anything for anything if you want. I love that.

Everything I tasted was delicious, fresh, and full of flavor. They were nice enough to donate a free meal to one lucky winner.

Sorry, this giveaway is now closed to see the winner, click here.
To win, leave a comment on this post by midnight, Monday, July 26th to enter.
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Restaurant Review: Sammy's

While driving down Center street in Provo, I have seen Sammy's and keep thinking, "i need to try that place!" It is pretty new and I didn't know much about it. But, I am always up for new things. I was super excited when Sam (aka Sammy) invited my family to come try out their food. He now has three more loyal customers.

Sammy's is located just of Center Street in Provo at 27 North 100 West. Not too far from the freeway exit for all you travelers who need a delicious lunch stop. They have a delicious menu of burgers and fries. 
 

I had Robi's South of the Border Burger. It was delicious. I love guacamole on any burger. But one that is cooked just right makes it even better. 

I also ordered the sweet potato fries - delicious! Some of the best sweet potato fries I have ever had. And Sam introduced us to a new dipping sauce - caramel. I know! But it is good!

While we waited for our famous dessert - we checked out the wall of fans. Hope I am not disclosing anyone's identity. But this place is covered with devoted fans - once we tasted the shakes, we had no question why!

Do not be decieved - that case is where all the magic is born. Pie. Yes a slice of pie goes into the shakes. To be honest, I was a little skeptical at first - but I am converted. Little peices of fruit and crust in each bite! Mmm. And don't worry - they don't blend it too much, you still get the texture of the pie.

Here they are folks. Mode a la Pie! We got half sizes to try more flavors - these are Apple Pie and Banana Cream Pie. Both divine. My favorite was Banana Cream - and I don't usually like Banana stuff.

And you can taste it!

Head over to Sammy's soon. Their famous Pie Shakes (what I call Mode a la Pie) are divine. But they also offer Cup shakes (with Sweet Tooth Fairy Cupcakes), malts and more. You can preview the dessert menu here.

Restaurant Review: Cafe Trio

I really have lucked out with the restaurants I reviewed this month. So far - some of the best food in Utah!

Cafe Trio invited my husband and me to try out their restaurant. I was super impressed. The environment was warm yet modern. I was impressed with the knowledge of the servers and the perfect timing of the food. And the food! Everything we ate - we devoured, or wish we could! So delicious. Here's a look at the food we ate.

Creamy Tomato Soup - delicious, tastes so fresh yet so warm. My husbands favorite thing of the night. 
Rosemary Flat Bread - with warm goat cheese, sundried tomatoes, roasted peppers, and caramelized onions. I think this was meant for me - this has all of my favorite ingredients. My husband wanted to lick the bowl (Don't worry, I stopped him, it is too nice of a place to put a bowl up to your face)
Mixed Green Salad - all the ingredients were such a compliment to the other. I was surprised at how much I liked the red grapes in the salad. Fit perfectly.

Baked Penne - a favorite for Trio diners. The chicken was perfectly cooked. I loved trying it. I would never get to make this exact dish at home because my husband won't eat mushrooms. Was a classic dish. Still thinking of the prosciutto in it.
Shrimp Risotto - this was a special for the night, but man! we lucked out. The shrimp was enormous and perfectly cooked. The risotto was fabulous. I am not a risotto professional - but this tasted perfect. Oh! And those leeks. I have never had leeks like that before - yum.
Apple Cobbler - My husband's favorite dessert. The apples were just how I like them - a little on the crunchy side. My mouth is still watering. Mmm. That was good.

Go try out this place. I think I may take my Mom for Mother's Day. Perfect for any lunch or dinner.
Cafe Trio has two locations:
Downtown: 680 South 900 East Salt Lake City, UT
and Cottonwood: 6405 South 3000 East Salt Lake City, UT 

Restaurant Review: Frida Bistro

Have you heard of Frida Bistro or Rico Products? Frida Bistro was new to me and is pretty new to Utah. It was opened last December by the owner of Rico Products. If you live in Utah you may notice some Rico products in your local grocery store.

Frida Bistro is an upscale Mexican Restaurant. They invited my husband and I to come try out some of their tasty dishes. Everything we tasted was delicious. Nothing would be sent back to the chef. In fact, I wish there was more. My only complaint was that we didn't try the desserts.
Frida doesn't burn your mouth with overly spicy foods, because they want you to be able to taste all the flavors. I was grateful, each flavor was complex and highlighted well.
Frida Bistro was truly some of the best Mexican food I have ever had. My husband, (who lived among Hispanics for 2 years) said the tamale was the best he had ever had. For lunch a dish ranges from $7-14. It is worth every penny!

Instead of chips and salsa they offered these palate cleansers. I wish I could remember what they were made of. The bread had tomato and the cream cooled your palate. The pumpkin seeds had a little spice, just to let you remember that you were about to embark on delicious, flavorful heaven.
We then had an appetizer of turkey mole and handmade tortillas. Perfect.
For our second course we had Poblano soup and a Biznaga and Beet salad (biznaga is  dried, sweetened cactus meat). For our main course we had a vegetarian friendly tamale - it was filled with the goodness of artichokes and asparagus. (And you know how I love those veggies)
Go try it out! So delicious. Trust me, you will be so happy you will "Make Love to you Food"

Oh did I forget to mention... Frida Bistro is giving away a $25 gift certificate to their restaurant! Yes, it is true. You lucky ducks!

Please comment on this post by 11:59pm, Friday, April 9th to enter. Sorry this giveaway is now closed. Congrats to Emily!
for extra entries: (leave a new comment for each entry.)
1. Tweet, Facebook or Blog about and link back to this giveaway. (post the link to verify)
2. Add the Redhead Recipes button to your sidebar. (post link to verify)
3. Become a follower of Redhead Recipes.
4. Become a fan of Redhead Recipes (with name to verify)

Sorry this giveaway is now closed. Congrats to Emily!

Happy Birthday to Me

We have quite a few February birthdays in our family. Mine was actually on the second, but I just got around to posting about it. My husband was very thoughtful and surprised me with an overnight babysitter (Thanks Grandma) and a night at a nice hotel in downtown Salt Lake City. I also got to do my favorite thing twice that day - try new foods!

For lunch we had Pho at the Pho Noodle House in Orem. It was so good. Plus, it was cheap. This enomous bowl was $7 and my husband and I could have shared.

 

So fun too - you get to put in what you like (of course for me that means everything - basil, jalapeno, both sauces, cilantro, lime...)

Then for dinner I had Mole at the Red Iguana. I had never had mole before. My husband served a mission for our church in Los Angeles speaking spanish. So a lot of the Latins gave him mole. He said everyone's is a little different. So I asked the waiter if I could try the sauce. I was expecting one sauce - there were at least 6 on the plate. All were delicious and so different. He let me do half and half - Amarillo (the spiciest - proud?) and negro (one of the sweeter, more traditional chocolate.

This was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten. My nose did run, but oh, I loved every bite.

Macky's

Of all the shrimp trucks, or even all the food trucks, this is the best. Macky is a genius. The shrimp is perfectly good, perfectly flavored, and Macky is just so nice. Oh and the shrimp is raised/farmed just up the road on the north shore - minutes from my parents house. You can't get much fresher than that!
This is Macky - he stands outside and welcomes everyone, "Hello, welcome to Macky's!" (say with an Asian accent)
While you wait for your food - enjoy the local fauna - chickens, they're everywhere!
This is the lemon pepper shrimp, my mom's favorite.

Oh beautiful coconut shrimp, thank you for being so delicious!

Look at that coconut in the batter. That sauce on top is a perfect compliment.

Macky's is located on the south end of Haleiwa. If you are in Hawaii it is worth the drive from Honolulu. And while your there - have a Matsumoto Shave Ice, the first ever Shave Ice.

Dole Plantation

A common tourist attraction on Oahu is the Dole Plantation. Here you can take a train ride and learn about pineapples and pineapple farming, or find your way through the worlds largest maze. For us, it is the best ice cream shop.

Before sampling the great treasures inside, we walked around the courtyard where there were many types of pineapples from all over the world. One interesting thing about pineapples - they look the same from the time they blossom to the time of harvest (18 month later!).

This is the goodness we came for - pineapple sherbet (they call it pineapple whip) in pineapple juice. Mmm Mmm Mmm!

A few seconds later, it looked like this. If you don't have time for the train or the maze, make time to get one of these (or any version of the pineapple whip!).

Sharks Cove Grill

It's funny, in Hawaii - half the restaurants are placed inside of a truck. And surprisingly enough - they are some of the best restaurants. This is one of the first we went to.


Everything in Hawaii is very relaxed, laid back. Get your own silverware, condiments, and water. Everything on the menu is delicious. I got a skewer of teriyaki chicken and one of shrimp. I am sorry I didn't get a picture of it... I ate it quickly and then gasped that I forgot to include you in the experience!

Oh, and the best part - the view!