Taste of Thai, Utah (Jordan Landing)

   Thai food. For most people who have never tried it, it's usually grouped up there with "asian food, but weirder" in the mind. But this could be further from the truth. Thai food is usually a lighter tasting, lighter feeling food than it's Chinese cousin. Don't get me wrong, I love Chinese food (American, authentic--you name it), but it can sometimes sit a little heavy after you are done eating. It seems that Thai food is more on the lighter (and easier on your stomach) side of things, with the bonus of having a large part of their food being similar to Chinese! So hunker down and take a look at what we found at the Taste of Thai:

Emily

Allan: Emily, what did you get tonight at a Taste of Thai?
Emily: Basil Stir Fry and Sticky Rice and Peanut Sauce. 

Allan: Alright cool, cool. Why did you get it? What was good about it? 
Emily: It's my favorite.

Allan: What was good about it?
Emily: What was bad about it?

Allan: I don't know that's why I'm asking you!
Emily: It was good! I just like stir fries with lots of broccoli and vegetables, and I love sticky rice. Dallin created a monster when he brought me to Thai food.

Allan: Alright, then is there anything else you wanted to add? 
Emily: No.
Allan: Okay, then how would you like to rate your meal?
Emily: 5.

Josh and Kira

Allan: Josh, what'd you get here tonight?
Josh: I got Drunken Noodles and Padthai.

Allan: Alright, how was everything?
Josh: It was pretty good. I've only eaten Thai food once, so I had to try it again and it was pretty good--I liked the Drunken Noodles better. 

Allan: Alright, anything special about it that you wanted to add? 
Josh: The shrimp was delicious. The shrimp was the best part about it. The sauce on the shrimp: really, really good. 

Allan: Didn't you say [earlier] that if you had a choice you'd ask for just the noodles, and just the shrimp?
Josh: More noodles, less vegetables, yes. 

Allan: Sounds good, what would you rate your food tonight?
Josh: 4 out of 5.
Allan: And you and Kira both kind of shared it tonight?
Josh: Yes.

Marc

Allan: Markelous, what'd you get tonight?
Marc: I had yellow curry. 

Allan: Yellow curry--was that it?
Marc: Oh and sticky rice with custard--MMmmm. And then I got sticky rice with my curry. 
Allan: Alright, then did you want to rate those two things differently? Or did you want to rate everything altogether? 
Marc: It's gonna be a total of [5].

Dallin

Allan: Dallin, what did Dallin get tonight Dallin?

Dallin: I got the chicken Padthai, with extra chicken, and a side of Peanut Sauce to put on the top of it. because that's how it's the best.

Allan: Alright, cool. How was everything? Did anything stand out, or how was Thai food? 

Dallin: Thai food's my favorite food, the peanut sauce is what stands out for me--I smother it on everything, it's pretty delicious, it's my favorite food. 

Allan: Good stuff. Was there anything that stood out about the meal?

Dallin: Mostly just the portions and the noodles, I love pan fried noodles. 

Allan: Alright, how would you rate your food?

Dallin: 5 tacos.

Matt Baugh

Allan: Matt Baugh, what food did you get tonight Matt Baugh?

Matt: Tonight I got the Red Curry with Chicken, it was delicious. A little watery, but it was still a great value for $6.99. I love curry, so this is a good place for it. I think there are better places that I can get good Thai curry, but this is a really, really good Red Curry here. I also kind of had an impulse buy and got the drunken noodles which is probably my favorite noodle dish of all time. It's really delicious, it's a little hot if you can't handle it, so yeah, you should get it. 

Allan: Okay, so how would you rate your food then Matt?

Matt: I'd give it 3 and a half tacos for the Taste of Thai, mostly because it's not the best Thai in the state. The best Thai in the state is [Simply Thai] in South Jordan.

Allan

Allan: So first off, let me start by saying that I am 95% sure that I have never had any kind of Thai food before, so going here was definitely a new experience for me. Anyway, I got the Cashew Nut Stir Fry and because it's stir fry, so [I figured] it's pretty safe and similar to Chinese food I've had before, so I thought "okay, maybe I'll step into it that way." And it was a really good choice! 
   It came in a a little dish, and I thought this doesn't look like a lot of food, and then I realized that "oh, you're supposed to have it with the sticky rice they bring out for you." So I just kind of had it like old school-style, you know just pour the rice onto the plat, put the stir fry on that, start eating it... Really. Good. Like I was definitely pleasantly suprised--the cashews accentuated it very well. there was this, kind of soy sauce that they mixed everything up in, but everything just went together very well. As for my first experience with Thai food it was definitely a good one. I'd have to give it 4 tacos. 

   Thai food, from what I've gathered from my friends, is basically a mix of Asian and Indian food. Meaning that their food as dishes that lean both of those directions. I've had authentic Pakistani food before (a gentleman from Pakistan that I knew cooked a few meals for me from his country), and so I was worried that since this leaned more towards Asian-style food that I wouldn't like it, but I was dead wrong. Not only was it a light, but filling meal, but I think that how your food settles in your stomach is another way you can determine how good it is, and Thai food settles lightly. For those of our group that haven't eaten a lot of Thai food, we look forward to testing out many other Thai restaurants in the future. In the meantime, Taste of Thai gets a 4 out of 5 taco rating.

"The Tin Roof Grill" (Sandy)

   The Tin Roof Grill has been around for about 7 years now, but this is the first time (for the majority of our group anyways) that we have been here, which is a shame because after this visit, it feels like we were missing out on some really great food! 
   The Tin Roof Grill has a fairly wide range in it's menu, with a "brunch" that goes for the first few hours after they open, and a normal menu with items ranging from gourmet pizzas, to pastas, to sandwiches and even a little Thai food. Put that together with their fairly big appetizer menu and you have a good selection to choose from.

Danielle

Allan: K, I'm here with Danielle. Danielle, what'd you get tonight?

Danielle: So I had a bit of every appetizer, which was the potato wedges, the flat bread, the goat cheese and the pot stickers, and I give them all 5 [tacos], and I recommend all of them.    And then for my main course, I had the Margherita Pizza, and it was absolutely delicious. It was like loaded with cheese and it had only had a few tomatoes and a bit of the garnish, but that was fine, and it worked out really well.
    And then I got a marinara dipping sauce on the side for the crust--because it does have a good amount of crust on it, which I'm okay with because I love the crust and I love marinara sauce. The marinara sauce wasn't spicy, but it had [a] little bit of a kick in it, like just a little tiny bit--which I liked. And [the] crust had like this delicious garlic butteryness inside of it--like cooked inside of it that [was just] wonderful and perfect. And so overall I give it a 5.

Allan

Pot Stickers

White Bean & Steak Pizza

Danielle: Okay Allan, what did you get? And tell us about it.

Allan: I got the White Bean and Steak Pizza here. Apparently it was recommended by the staff--it was [also] on the food network before, so it kind of intrigued me and it was a pizza--I really like pizzas a lot. When it came out and I started eating it, I wasn't quite sure--I wasn't quite in the right mindset for it, because it definitely doesn't taste like a traditional pizza, it tasted (and looked) more like a really, really fancy flat bread. 
   There was a bean paste in it, there was a pesto sauce and some sauteed onions, and I think some sun-dried tomatoes were mixed in there too--and these steak pieces on every slice, 
(very delicious) and the steak was cooked very well with [everything]. I had them add cheese to it, because (you know): pizza mindset--and it didn't come with cheese. And the flavors were not ones that really popped out, not like extreme[ly], but the whole meal experience overall with it was very savory. It was a very savory meal, a lot of interesting flavors that went together to accentuate the meal very well.

Danielle: Alright, how do you rate it?

Allan: I'd give it 5 tacos.

Kevin

Baked Goat Cheese

Pasta Acsiutta

Allan: Kevin Newsome, sir.

Kevin: The [he**] you want?

Allan: I want you to tell me, and everyone, what you got tonight.

Kevin: I got, for an appetizer, the Baked Goat Cheese--which was fabulous. It was spicy, which was a little weird, so I didn't like that as much. But it was still really good.

Allan: Wait, the cheese part, or the marinara part?

Kevin: The marinara part that was surrounding the goat cheese. 

Allan: I don't know! It's goat cheese! I don't know what to expect when I hear "goat cheese."

Kevin: And then for my meal I got the pasta [Asciutta], it was pretty good--the marinara wasn't my favorite. I have a hard time with marinara at places, and so yeah...

Allan: Okay. How would you rate your food then?

Kevin: I would rate the appetizer like a 4 and a half, and then the pasta-stuff with sausage and chicken at 3 and a half.

Pasta Asciutta

Baked Goat Cheese

Colby

Allan: Colby! What'd you get tonight, friend?

Colby: The Cheese Pizza.

Allan: The Cheese Pizza. So when I hear "cheese pizza" I don't think of anything very imaginative--like getting a burger. But each place, has their own style, how was the cheese pizza here?

Colby: It wasn't round  pizza it was [a] rectangle. But it was pretty good, other than on the edges it should have had a little bit more cheese on mine--'cause it was the "Cheese Pizza" I was expecting a little more cheese. But it was pretty good overall--I'd probably give it a 3 and a half, for a pizza.

Ashlee

Allan: Ashlee, what did you get this evening?

Ashlee: I got an appetizer that was the potato wedges and I got pesto pasta (gluten-free).

Allan: How was everything?

Ashlee: It was good overall, I wasn't like, blown away or anything, but it was good. I loved the potato wedges--they were really good. But the thing with the pasta--the pasta was good, but I think they used too much sauce on the pasta, it was like, drowning in it, and it made the noodles way soft.

Kevin: So is it better or worse than Spaghetti Factory?

Ashlee: I like Spaghetti Factory better.

Allan: How would you rate this food?

Ashlee: I'll give it--overall I think I give it four tacos.

Jolene

Allan: Jolene is new to this blogging experience for Taco Tuesday. She is a "foodie"--from what I hear. So let's see what she got tonight and her opinion about it.

Jolene: I got the Flat Bread, which came with a white bean spread, and pesto, and olive tapenade--I thought that was really good, each of them individually were good, but mixed together it was delicious as well, and I liked it a lot--it had good consistency and I think it looked like the same dough as the pizza.

Allan: I was going to say, when I saw the pizza come out I saw the same [thing too], like "hey its the same thing as the flat bread," which I'm okay with, because they cooked it really good. What'd you get for your meal?

Jolene: For my entree I got the Fettuccine Alfredo. The pasta was cooked well--it came with garlic broccoli, I thought it would be more "garlic-ey," and I though it needed a little bit of salt. But other than that I really liked it.

Allan: Okay, cool. Is there anything else special you wanted to add about either of those?

Jolene: My favorite was the Flat Bread, I really liked the spreads that went on it, I'd get it again.

Allan: Alright do you want to rate your whole experience altogether, or would you like to rate your appetizer and your meal separately?

Jolene: I'll do it together. I'd give it, overall, 3 and a half tacos.

Matt

Kevin: We're here with, Matt Baugh. Matt Baugh what'd you get?

Matt: Tonight for the appetizer I got the Asian Ribs and I also got the Italian Meatball sub. The Asian Ribs were not nearly as good as I thought they were going to be, but then again I shouldn't be that disappointed because it's not a barbecue spot. They were grilled instead of barbecued initially, if a lot of you need clarification for grilling and barbecuing, there's a huge difference between the two--but that's a whole 'nother subject.
   The Meatball sub was delicious, it was made with homemade marinara--I could taste it already--with pine nuts and roasted green and red peppers, it was delicious. There was also some diced tomatoes as well. The meatballs I could tell were also homemade, and the roll was also homemade--it was delicious. Overall, because of the weak Asian Ribs, I have to give them a little bit of a dent on that. But I'm going to give 3 and a half tacos out of 5 tacos. Overall it was a pleasant experience, but next time don't get the ribs.

Kevin: And there you have it.

Allan: Would you rate your appetizer or your meal separately?

Matt: If I had to rate the appetizer separately, I'd definitely give it 2 tacos out of 5. If I had to rate the actual entree I'd definitely give it 4 out of 5 tacos.

Asian Ribs

Meatball Sandwich

   The Tin Roof Grill had a very open atmosphere, even a large part of the kitchen was open to the main seating room too. This was another place (besides the Blue Plate Diner) that Guy Fieri had visited at one time, and I think he gave it a high rating with good reason. Most of the appetizers, with the exception of the Asian Ribs, were super amazing. The Margherita Pizza and the White Bean & Steak Pizza were particularly fantastic as well. So if you ever felt like hitting up the Tin Roof Grill, go for the gourmet pizzas, or if you even came just for the appetizers you will have a fantastic meal.

Great Scotts! What's this?!:

Look how happy Kevin is! See why below!

   It's a plug for TacoTuesdayReviews.com! For those of you who are unaware of this (still being developed) website, it's a place that you (yes you) can write out your own reviews! Think Yelp.com meets Cracked.com. It's going to be a website where you can review about anything you choose!
    We are in the process of building our Yelp-style reviews, so please check it out, and send us your feedback so when we launch in the fall, you can help be the deciding factor in: (insert food/games/movies/tv/music here) when someone is out prowling for highly rated products or services.
   We are also looking for some outstanding reviews that we can feature when the website goes live, so feel free to try your hand, or even leave a link in the "write your review" section on TacoTuesdayReviews.com!

Your (free) one-stop shop for reviews. 

The Asian Star Part II (Midvale)

Asian Star PART II

    If there is one genre of food that this group is most picky about, it's definitely Chinese food. Especially for some of our group who had an experience at a Chinese restaurant where, as they were entering, they also people carrying out a dead person of the restaurant (this really happened--needless to say, they were sick later that night). This is just one of many instances that keep us on our toes when it comes to Chinese.
   The Asian Star has usually treated our stomachs very well, which is why when it comes time to eat some Chinese (which they also some Mongolian, Cantonese and Mandarin as well), this is the place we usually turn to. So come, let us see what experiences we got from this trip in this weeks review:

Lettuce Wrap App

Cashew Stir Fry with Pork

Danielle

Allan: Danielle, so what did you get today?

Danielle: So I got a half order of the Lettuce Wraps for an appetizer, and then I got the Cashew Stir Fry with Pork.

Allan: Okay. Did you want to review them [separately]? Or altogether?

Danielle: Probably just all together, 'cause it'll be the same. The lettuce wraps were really good, I like them a lot, I feel like I've had better. But I still really, really like them enough to get them when I'm here. And then the Cashew Stir Fry comes with zucchini, celery, carrots and I think that's it. It's all just tossed in this.... sweet sauce--I don't know what it is. But it's really good, and it's the first thing that I got when I [first] came here, and I've had it like three times, and I always get it and it's yummy.

Allan: Alright. Anything else you wanted to add?

Danielle: Oh, the lettuce wraps have like a beef center, that's the kind of meat it comes with.

Allan: Ah... Okay. What would you rate your [meal]?

Danielle: I think I would rate them at... I don't know. See, here's the problem, listen: previously I would have given the Cashew Stir Fry like a four/four and a half. But I had [some] of Allan's Honey--... Whatever he got--that he'll tell you about in his [review]--and that's just, like stellar. And compared to that, this is not even.... I'm just saying that my opinion has changed because I have been exposed to a bigger palate of flavors. I give them a 3.

Marc

Anthony: Marc. What'd you get?
Marc: It's like ramen noodles.

Anthony: What's it called?
Marc: Beef and Broccoli on Pan Fried Noodles.

Anthony: Tell us about it.
Marc: It's like ramen noodles.

Anthony: Alright. Ramen noodles with broccoli and meat on top?
Marc: Yup.

Anthony: You have rice on the side?
Marc: Yup.

Anthony: You like it?
Marc: Yeah, it's okay.

Anthony: What'd you do to top off your meal to make it better?
Marc: I put sweet and sour on it.

Anthony: Sweet and sour? Sweet. Would you get it again?
Marc: Hmmmm, I don't like the crunchy parts of it.

Anthony: So it's crunchy noodles.
Marc: Yup.

Anthony: So it's like uncooked ramen noodles?
Marc: Yeah.

Anthony: That's weird. How many tacos, out of five, would you rate it?
Marc: 2 and a half.

Anthony

Pot Stickers

Broccoli with Beef Stir Fry

Allan: Anthony, what did you get this evening?

Anthony: I got the Pot Stickers as the appetizer, and Broccoli Stir Fry as my main entree.

Allan: What kind of meat did you get with the Broccoli Stir Fry?

Anthony: Beef, it's what's for dinner.

Allan: How was it? Is there anything that stood out?

Anthony: The beef was pretty good, and the broccoli I love. So it came with beef, broccoli, fried shrimp, an eggroll, two cream cheese wantons and then fried rice. Wontons are always good, they always stick out to me. The meal was pretty good--the only thing that affects my rating is I felt like the food was sitting out for a little bit before they brought it out to me, because the shrimp tasted old/cold, and so did the rice. So out of 5 tacos I give it 3 and a half.

Dallin

Danielle: Dallin, tell us what you got and how you liked it, and rate it and such.

Dallin: I got the Honey Walnut Shrimp with lettuce wraps for appetizers. The shrimp were huge--that's my favorite part about it, and they were sweet and tasty. Lettuce wraps are amazing here, the rice is okay--I hate the spring roll, I hate those things with a passion. This is one of my favorite restaurants, I always come here, I love it every time I come here. I'll give it 4 out of 5 tacos.

Emily

Dallin: Okay, I'm here with Emily LaBrum of the Taco Tuesday group. So what'd you get Asian Star?
Emily: General Tao's chicken [with] lettuce wraps. 

Dallin: What else?
Emily: And spring rolls, and pepsi, and egg drop soup.

Dallin: And what's your favorite part of this giant meal?
Emily: The lettuce wraps.

Dallin: Why are the lettuce wraps your favorite part?
Emily: Because it's healthy.

Dallin: What make's it healthy?
Emily: Lettuce.

Dallin: Lettuce. There you have it. Okay, out of 5 tacos how many tacos will you give this Chinese food?
Emily:  I give it 4 [tacos].

Josh

Josh... In the middle of a "nam flashback

Danielle: Josh, what'd you get?
Josh: I got the Sesame Chicken and lettuce wraps.

Danielle: Yes, tell us how you liked it.
Josh: I come here all the time and it's my favorite. The chicken is really good and the food is plentiful. And the lettuce wraps--I got those for the first time and they were really, really good; very crunchy and delicious. So the only thing I don't really care for is the soup--it's okay--I eat it because it's there. So yeah, I give it 5 out of 5 tacos because I love this place.

Kira

Josh: Okay Kira, what'd you get? And what'd you think about it?
Kira: I got the Sesame Chicken Platter and lettuce wraps as well for an appetizer, and it was really good!

Josh: What part of your meal did you like best?
Kira: The lettuce wraps.

Josh: Why the lettuce wraps?
Kira: The extra sauce that you [can] put on top was really good--it made it a little bit different than some of the lettuce wraps I've had before, so I really enjoyed it. 

Josh: And how many tacos do you give it out of 5?
Kira: I'm gonna give it 5.

Josh: Cool.

Kevin

Curtis: (Singing Taco Tuesday intro music). Kevin, hey buddy, how was your meal? What'd you get?
Kevin: (-Barely intelligible-) 

Curtis: "I'll translate: He got the dinner platter with the Sweet and Sour Chicken." How was it?
Kevin: (-Slightly intelligible-)

Curtis: He said it was "Alright." How many tacos would you give it Kevin?
Kevin:  I would probably give it 3 and a half tacos.
Curtis: Thank you.

Ashlee

Kevin: Ashlee, what did you have?
Ashlee: I had the Tangerine Chicken.

Kevin: How was it?
Ashlee: It was good, I liked it. 

Kevin: Why?
Ashlee: Because it was really good. It tasted good, there was lots of food. 

Kevin: That is good. Out of 5 tacos what would you give it?
Ashlee: Rating. I give it 4 tacos.
Kevin: Thank you Ashlee, thank you, thank you.

Curtis

Jules: I'm interviewing Curtis, he's my hostage here, his words are hostage to me. What did you order?
Curtis: I got the Tangerine Chicken--spicy. 

Jules: And how was your Tangerine Chicken?
Curtis: It was good. I really liked the red sauce that was on there--it was really good, I liked it a lot. And the vegetables that came with it were really good also.  

Jules: What kind of vegetables did you have? Like a medley of vegetables? Or just broccoli?
Curtis: I had mainly peppers on there, just because I ordered it "spicy." And so I guess they thought maybe they should just put peppers on there, but some of them were really stale and oddly cooked. It--it was alright. 

Jules: And was it spicy?
Curtis: No, not really.

Jules: And what did you have for dessert?
Curtis: No dessert, but I give this 3 and a half tacos.
Jules: Alright, with 3 and a half tacos we end this hostage transmission.

Miranda

Curtis: (-Taco Tuesday into music-) Taco Tuesday Reviews, I'm Curtis with Miranda. Miranda, what'd you get today?
Miranda: I got the Vegas Roll 

Curtis: The Vegas Roll--Sushi. And how was it?
Miranda: It was really good. But it was a little cold.

Curtis: A little cold. Did that ruin the whole thing for you?
Miranda: No, I'd rather have it cold. 

Curtis: Okay. So anything special about it? And what would you give it out of 5 tacos?
Miranda: 3 and a half.

Allan

Danielle: Allan, I was super jealous of your meal. Tell us about it.

Allan: I got the Honey Nectar Pork. [I've] thought about getting it before, but I decided to finally go ahead and do it this time. And it was pretty good, I mean it was literally a honey sauce they coated the chicken with.

Danielle: The tagline lies, because it says "Sweet and Sour," but it's definitely not sweet and sour.

Allan: Yeah, nothing on the plate had a sweet and sour kick to it. It came with brown rice, two wontons, a spring roll and a shrimp, fried-thing. But yeah, there wasn't anything sweet and sour about it at all, it tasted really good. I usually like rolling the chicken in the rice that comes with it. And there was a soup I got before that--I don't want to even bother reviewing that, I mean, it was kind of, eh... so-so. I think a lot of the soups we got here tonight weren't that impressive. Meals were all pretty good. I think that I would probably rate my food at 4 tacos.

Danielle: I give his chicken 5 tacos. Just the chicken, I don't know about the rest of it. 

   There were quite a few interesting ups and downs in this visit. From listening to everyone's review on their food, it sounds like the reason this visit didn't get a higher rating was because some of the food came out cold. Which could be chalked up to the fact that we had about 13 people in attendance this time. Still, even with the food not being the best this time around, I have no doubt that if we feel the need for some Chinese, this will be the place we would come back to. 

   If you do decide to visit the Asian Star, be sure to get Lettuce Wraps with sauce on the side for an appetizer (and don't confuse the sauce for a soup, you will be laughed at). As far as food goes try the Honey Nectar Pork or the Sesame Chicken. Although, your probably pretty safe (as far as good tasting food goes) picking just about anything on the menu. With everyone's ratings for this visit, the average comes out to about 4 tacos:

The Asian Star Menu can be found HERE

But wait! There's more to this blog this time:

"Taco Tuesday Reviews"

  Feel inspired to write about an experience you had? Then look no more! You can give your own feedback on TacoTuesdayReviews.com! It's a place where you can write a review about anything you want: good food, bad food, dog food. Good jobs, bad jobs, high-income jobs. Cats, lawnmowers, race cars--maybe you can even write a review about cats racing lawnmowers?.... I'd read that. But you get the idea.
    Right now we are trying to collect as many reviews as we can so that we can showcase your review when the site fully launches in September! So check it out!