Joe's Cafe

TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 2012

Joe's Cafe

Where: 1126 S. State Street, Orem, UT (near University Mall across State Street)
Distance: 2.7 Miles
Restaurant Type: Single Location
Cuisine: Breakfast/Brunch, Southern/Soul, Burgers
My Frequency: First and Second Time
Who: John and Brent
Food: Pancake Combo, Biscuits and Gravy, a side of Grits, and Orange Juices. Second visit: Mushroom Swiss Burger
Price: $26.70 for two for breakfast with drinks and with tip (plan on between about $5-10 per person, we just tried a lot the first time)
My thoughts:

Joe's Cafe is so small I almost missed it. Look for the orange sign on the left hand side of State Street if you're heading north. It's between a tanning parlor and a dress store. You can park right out front or in the back. This is a one man show and I'm not just calling it that because only one person is working. Joe is the show. From the moment we walked in we knew we were somewhere special.

The interior and decorations are pretty simple. On the wall there are hundreds of pictures of previous guests with our main man, Joe. He really makes you feel at home. We ordered OJ and both times we've been Joe's given us a half glass or so, had us bottom up right at the counter, and then tops you off. This place is beaming with southern hospitality that can't be matched.

You can tell by just looking that these aren't your typical biscuits and gravy. These are straight from the south. The sausage has a perfect spice and is very flavorful. The biscuits are hidden under this heaven of a gravy and are cut ready for perfect bites. Brent tried to order a side of hash browns, but Joe insisted that he try the grits promising that if he didn't like them that he'd give him some hash browns for free. We didn't like the grits, we LOVED them. They are very tasty and a perfect compliment to the biscuits and gravy or the pancakes because they are more mild and not as loaded with butter, but still very good.

These pancakes are out of this world. I feel that pancakes at most places are pretty similar, but Joe's are amazing. They are somehow both crispy and fluffy at the same time. Also you get a ton. This is the '3 stack' which was more than I could handle. You see the pool of butter on the left hand side of the plate? That's just what dripped off. These are the butteriest bits of deliciousness I have ever tasted. Load it up with syrup and the fluffy, crispy, buttery combination just melts in your mouth.

I thought after the pancakes, grits, and gravy, how are these sides going to fare? The eggs and sausage link were both great, but honestly fairly ordinary after the other delectable dishes. BUT the bacon was to die for. Thick, crispy and cooked to perfection. Your heart may not feel great afterwards, but your stomach sure does.

After this amazing breakfast experience, I had to go back for a burger. I was going to wait after what my heart was feeling, but Brent and I only lasted two days. I figured if you have a dream about a place, you should probably go back, right? Brent even tried to go the day in between. The burger was thick and juicy. I added bacon after my experience with it a couple days earlier. It was seasoned very well and the mushrooms were fresh and sauteed perfectly. The garnishes were pilled on the side of my already colossal burger.


Joe-isms:
Because Joe has such a unique personality for this area, I thought I ought to include a section of what I'm calling Joe-isms:


"That's what I'm taking about"
"Slap your momma it's good"
"I appreciate you daddy"
"You better believe it"
"Come on back and see me baby"
"How you want your eggs daddy?"
"What you drinking today"
"Y'all got full? That's my main thing"



Do differently next time:
I went for both Breakfast and Lunch, but I'd recommend breakfast any day of the week. It'd recommend it for every day of the week if health and money weren't an issue. If you're going later in the day and someone's feeling lunch, they'll be happy, but I promise they'll be happier with the breakfast.


The Verdict:
Absolutely Go. This place, the food, and the personality are all worth your time and money. Forget Denny's and IHOP, go to Joe's. He serves breakfast all day (open till 4) so if you have a lazy start to your day and need some soul food to get you going Joe's your man. Even if you're not hungry I recommend going to be called 'Daddy' or 'Princess' by the coolest black guy in town. I promise you won't regret it.

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India Palace

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2012

India Palace

Where: 98 West Center Street, Provo, UT (across from Nu Skin)
Distance: 1.2 Miles
Website: indiapalaceut.com
Restaurant Type: Single Location
Cuisine: Indian, Vegetarian, Seafood
My Frequency: First Time
Who: John, Brent, and Justin
Food: Lunch Buffet
Price: $35.00 for two with drinks and tip ($9.95 buffet, $3.50 for lassi, I think I got overcharged)
My thoughts:

Though India Palace has quite an extensive menu, they serve a selection of these items during lunch (11:30-2:30) in a buffet. I didn't get as many pictures inside as I would have liked, but it has a modern, authentic feel.

The Mango Lassi was one of my favorite parts of the meal. Though the portion was small for the price, it was very thick, creamy and overall delicious.  The staff was very attentive and kept my water full after I was out of lassi. My brother and I joked that there should be an empty glass challenge of some kind. They were so on top of it that our water glasses were always topped off.

The buffet has a large variety of options. Normally my philosophy with buffets is try a little bit of everything and then go back for your favorites. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling as adventurous this time, but did fill up on some really good dishes.

There are a variety of rices, but the one I liked the best had vegetables in it. It was more flavorful than some of the others and had a hint of curry. The was a fried potato circle (I think the Vegetable Pakora) that was crispy on the outside, moist in the middle and seasoned well. My favorite was the Chicken Coconut Korma. It was creamy and perfectly spiced for me. The coconut milk cooled down the spicy curry, but Brent thought that there is too much coconut. The Chicken Tikka Masala is normally Brent's favorite, but was dry this time. The Naan was all pretty typical and a good filler. It's somewhat plain on it's own, but good for dipping in the sauces from the entrees. 

Do differently next time:
Not get a drink. Though it was really good, the meal was more expensive than I'd like to pay for a lunch.


The Verdict: 
Good Choice. Indian food can be hit or miss for me, but India Palace's buffet was a hit. They have a large variety of options and great service.


Other Opinions:

Where: 2250 N University Pkwy, Provo, UT (near Cafe Rio and Zupas)
Distance: 1.5 Miles
Restaurant Type: Single Location
Cuisine: International, Indian, Thai
My Frequency: First Time
Who: John and Collin
Food: Green Curry with Brown Rice, Peanut Curry with White Rice, and Naan
Price: $16.69 for two (just the curries, bread is included)
My thoughts:

Though I was sad to see the classic Doc's Pizza Buffet go, I was excited to try this new type of restaurant for Provo. Curryosity is poised to offer more than just your traditional Indian curry with selections from all over the globe. The service was friendly and they were nice enough to let us try a few different curries before ordering.

The decor is definitely improved from its previous occupant. This open, colorful dining room was inviting and fun. It was a little plain and overly simple, but I think it accomplishes the desired ambiance.

Collin's Green Curry was a disappointment from the first bite. He thought that it came with chicken and wasn't happy to see the beef. It wasn't a good combination of flavor for him. The zucchini was good, but that was about it. The brown rice had a weird flavor and there is a lot of rice in these dishes, especially at the end.

I really enjoyed the sample of the peanut curry so I ordered it. Though the flavor of the actual curry was good, it needed something more to pull off the dish. The chicken was just that, but there wasn't enough of it for me. The dish was filled with flavorless vegetable fillers. I would have loved to see more substance or more flavor throughout. The worse part was that the further I got the more bland rice there was so I ended up not even finishing it.

The naan at first seemed like a decent filler, but got worse as I kept eating it. It wasn't very fresh and had a strange flavor. It was too floury and doughy. I kept eating it because I wasn't very full from my curry, but it was because I was hungry not because I thought it was good.

The Verdict: Maybe not. If you noticed I didn't even do a 'Do Differently Next Time' section because I don't think I'll be going back. Though the space and service is inviting, Collin and I were both very dissatisfied with the food. I would have said avoid if it weren't for the other reviews. Some people seem to like it a lot, so maybe we just caught them on a bad day. Either way we were left with a bad taste in our mouths so we won't be going back.


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