I Miss Them More Than They Miss Me

Confession: I miss some of my favorite eating places in Utah as much as I miss some of my favorite people in Utah. I know that sounds shallow, but if you understood how much I love food, you'd know that was a sincere and lavish compliment to the people I love there.

Another confession: I had a secret desire to eat at all of my favorite places in the 55 hours I spent there last week. I guess I knew it wasn't practical, but still--I had hope. In a perfect world, I would have eaten my favorite dishes at the following places and then rolled on to the plane, blissfully bountifully bloated.

One of my first stops would be Cafe Trio and I would order the Garlic Chicken Pizza. And a house salad. And the Spaghetti Pomodoro. And I would draw on the paper tablecloth with my pen while I waited.

At Greek Souvlaki, I would order the Chicken Pita with white and red sauce, along with their divine lemon rice and a big Diet Dr. Pepper.

I would have made my way to Thai Siam for a lunch special with yellow curry. Or green curry. Or Massaman curry. Or all three. Because, you know, I'm only in town for a little bit.

I would only order water to drink at Tsunami, because I would need room in my tummy for the 21 Sunshine Rolls I would order. One for every month I've been gone. It's symbolic. I don't expect you to understand.

I would cleanse my palate with some Split Pea Soup from The Soup Kitchen and 24 breadsticks.

I'd make my way to Thaifoon and have some Mango Chicken and some Evil Jungle Princess.

At Morelia, I would nibble my pebble ice and wait anxiously for my Chile Verde and Bean Burrito. And I would savor the pickled beet garnish on the plate and eat yours if you don't want it.

I would sit in a vinyl booth at El Farol and order a giant platter of Bean Dip, because it's the best. And then I would order a pint of refried beans to carry on to the plane with me.

I didn't think I would miss Spaghetti Factory, but I do. I would order a Manager's Special--half meat sauce and half myzthra cheese.

How could I leave without a trip to Ab's drive thru for a Blackberry Banana shake? I couldn't. And while I'm at it, I'd order some onion rings. With fry sauce.

And then I would wonder if the fry sauce at Arctic Circle still tastes the same, so I would have to find out for myself. With a large side of fries.

I would end things on a light note and visit Yogurt Stop. I would concoct Christian's favorite and fill my cup with vanilla yogurt topped with hot fudge, cookie dough, Oreos, and Andes mints. (Srsly.) (Although, rumor has it that I'm going to have a new favorite yogurt place in town.)

If you live in Utah, will you please eat at one or all of these places? And tell them it's from me? Please, oh, please?

Utah, I Sure Do Love Ya and Appreciatecha

I snuck into Salt Lake late Thursday night and back out Sunday morning. I picked up my rental car at the airport and the employee asked me what I was in town for. I quickly replied, "Work and family," and then kicked myself for not saying, "Business and pleasure," because it sounds so much cooler. Especially with a british accent.

Some (or none?) of you know that I work as a freelance copywriter, and my biggest (sometimes only) client is Mrs. Fields. I have been working with Mrs. Fields for three, almost four, years and I find them to be a great company to work with, especially when I open my front door and UPS is dropping off yet another shipment of cookies. Anyway, I write their gift catalog, their business catalogs, and also their blog.

Friday afternoon, I took part in an event held at Mrs. Fields Gifts. They invited a handful of local bloggers to come and tour the 158,000 square foot bakery and gifting facility. Luckily, not one blogger got lost in that giant space.

The tour is pretty spectacular. It's pretty much just like Willy Wonka's factory, minus all the unfortunate accidents. And Oompa Loompas.

In fact, if you live in or around the Salt Lake Valley, you should take a free tour. It's very cool. And the smell? Well, you can just imagine.

After the event, I got to spend some quality time with both Ryan's and my family and a couple of friends. There wasn't enough time to see everyone, so if I didn't see you, please forgive. Maybe next time?

I got back Sunday evening, just in time to miss Utah's May 24th snowfall. Good timing! As I lifted off the ground nestled between two strangers, I hope you heard me whisper (or Twitter) in the words of my dad, "Sure do love ya and appreciatecha!" Because I do.