The South in the City of Salt

Squeezed in between two decimated buildings, across the street from Murphy's Downtown is a tiny new restaurant well worth the wait. The Bayleaf Cafe was originally slated to open in fall 2008, they finally opened their door in early September 2009. I don't know what happened in that extra year, but I'm sure happy they got it together an opened up.

This place is brought to Salt Lake City via Georgia. Everything from the decor to the menu screams the South to me. The cafe has a simple, clean elegance to it that makes their all night cafe tag line seem wrong. But it's not, Downtown officially has an all night restaurant that isn't Denny's--count your blessings. The one TV on the back wall seems out of place with the ambiance and decor, but give their Downtown Salt Lake City location I can't blame them for adding ESPN.

Although the wait staff is fairly new and inexperienced, they are helpful, friendly and happy to see you. The first visit I made was with Man-boy and we showed up buzzed. The waiter was chill and let us take our time ordering. At the waiter's suggestion I ordered the fried pickles to stave off my greasy, midnight, drunken food craving.

The pickles were the perfect fix. The chef uses a thick, crisp pickled battered in a spicy flour mixture. The pickles are deep fried just long enough for the batter to crisp then served with a side of fry sauce.

Pure deliciousness! I like pickles, but I normally wouldn't eat them without a hamburger. This appetizer I would happily eat as a meal, again.

And I did. The second visit I made to Bayleaf was with T. This time our waiter acted a little ADD. I'm not sure what was going on, but he seemed to have difficulty focusing on the waiting part of his job. He was exceptionally friendly and really sweet, just not waiter-ish.

Again, I ordered the fried pickles. Why explore the menu when you already know the best dish they serve, right? T had the hot wings to go with the football game on TV.

Once again, I loved the fried pickles and was completely happy with the dish. I have to try and make my own.

I couldn't resist the hot wings though. They were spicier than I expected. This place is so Southern, they serve drinks out of Mason Jars and sweet tea unless unsweetened is specified. I expected the usual definition of hot from the South as in mild. Nope, these wings were hot. The sauce had great flavor and was served with a fantastic blue cheese dressing (I'm guessing Lighthouse) and messy. Just the way great wings should be.

So for providing two lovely experiences I have to give Bayleaf mad props. I will be back again, not that I'll be venturing far from the fried pickles.

Film review: "And I thought could it be? A four man wolf pack?"

Hey, "The Hangover" is finally at the dollar theatre. You have no excuse to not watchi it now.

So basically, this movie is just awesome. I have never laughed so hard during a film in my life.

There are way too many funny lines for starters. From, "Dude, there's a tiger in the bathroom!" to "When's the next Haley's comet?" to keep anyone from cracking up. I especially love, "I think he looks like a Carols, too." But it just keeps going, every line is funny.

The actors did a superb job of making you believe the craziness of their Las Vegas visit. Not to mention, some of the best cameos I have ever seen in a film. Mike Tyson as himself is about the funniest thing in this comedy. And I cannot get over Bradley Cooper. I love this man! I'm going to meet his gorgeousness in real life and giggle madly.

The funny film manages to have a story line that is interesting although, like most comedies it is a thin attempt to hang a number of hysterical scenes together. Luckily, the way the director, cinematographer, writer and/or producer (there are way too many people making a single film to give only one of them credit) decided to show the story make the story line less necessary than most films and they begin right where they end so the audience is left with a sense of closure.

But finally where this film really blew me away was the camera work. When it comes to comedy, I'm a cynical disbeliever. I expect to see basic camera work, obvious jokes and obnoxious characters. Not with "The Hangover." The crew did an exquisite job of putting together interesting shots on a well-lit set with an amazing set design. The opening and closing shots visually tie the story line together while both are well-executed and artistically interesting. Pretty amazing for a summer blockbuster film.

The day this is on DVD it's in my movie collection. I still crack up every time someone mentions wolves because they are now a "four man wolf pack."

Food: Savory sweet breakfast

After a late night and an even later morning, I was craving breakfast with some serious punch so I came up with the savory and sweet combination of pancake eggs.

I've seen the "breakfast sandwich" on The Park Cafe menu, but I thought it sounded a little strange. Turns out, it's the perfect fix when you're starving for breakfast at 1 p.m.

First, for the pancake I threw together the Krusteaz mix (1/2 Cup mix with 1/2 Cup water) with a little cinnamon (about 1 teaspoon) and a little nutmeg (just a pinch).

Following Alton Brown's rules of pancake mixing, I whisked it four times clockwise and three time counter-clockwise. He says this keeps the dough soft and I concur since following this rule the texture of my pancakes has improved tremendously.

Next I poured the batter on my hot, buttery skillet.

Then I heated up a baby skillet for some egg frying. I used a little bit of spay-on grease and cracked the egg directly into the pan. I tossed in a pinch of Kosher salt and a dash of fresh ground pepper.

Back to the pancake side of the stove. When the dough on top started to bubble, I flipped the pancake to reveal a nice even golden brown crisp. My dad says the dough should bubble, burst and leave a hole in the dough. It's the best way I know to check a pancake is cooked without a lot of messy flipping.

I added just a drop of water to the frying egg and covered the pan. This is the key to properly frying eggs in my kitchen.

Then I removed the perfectly cooked pancake just like my dad taught me and slathered it with butter and syrup just like my mom would love.

Next I turned the flame off the egg and let it hiss for a couple minutes before sliding the egg on to the syrup drenched pancake.

Then into my tummy in about five minutes. This was such a delicious combination. I loved the salty sweet combination of syrup and salt. Plus the egg yolk mixed with the cinnamon, nutmeg pancake really well.

Now I'm off to enjoy a huge mug of coffee with loads of cream and sugar. Happy afternoon morning!

Life: Where I've been and other stories

First, where I've been.

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything. I was busy planning a film premiere that went really well. We're currently workshopping our next narrative film and hammering out a contract for a short documentary.

Then I have this paper to put together every couple weeks. It gets better every issue, I promise. I've even managed to write a few articles in the paper myself over the past months.

On Oct. 1 my beautiful niece, Sarah Anne was born so I had some serious family time. Big E even taught me how to make tamales. They were so delicious! My roommates and I couldn't stop eating them. Plus, they let me do tons of homework while I was visiting and I finally got caught up.

Second, the other stories.
There's even a theme! All my stories today are about men (boys?).

Up first is Man-boy.
He is fairly young, especially for the men I'm usually interested in. We work together and I knew he was interested months ago. We went on one coffee date and it didn't go very well. He's one of those guys who I like as a person and I think he's a good friend, but when it comes to attraction there is absolutely nothing between us.

I thought we were being friends and hanging out (as in drinking a couple beers and no physical contact every couple weeks) until I found out he told Ice we're dating. I'm not really sure how to handle that. I think the conversation will go like this:

Me
"Hey Man-boy, you know we're not dating, right?"

Man-boy looks at me like I'm crazy.

Me
"Because that would actually require you asking me out on a real date, physical attraction and spending time alone together. Three things that don't exist in this relationship."

Man-boy will either yell or leave. And it's quite possible he'll quit, which means I'm left doing his job and mine. Ah, me. Grown up responsibilities.

So this week I get to break up with someone I didn't even know I was dating.

Then there's Ghost.
I liked Ghost awhile back and I still kind of do. We had a more or less non-existent relationship. We liked each other, but neither of us was willing to make any effort to actually be in a relationship. At best, you could say we functioned as each other's booty call.

Then Ghost moved and I thought, "Well that's that. It was interesting-kind of wish it could've been something more."

Although in a different city, Ghost hasn't moved on. He text me the other day and wants things to go right back to how they were-only long distance. I'm not sure I'm okay with that.

What do I say? "Hey, I'm feeling more emotionally stable then I was nine months ago. So I'm not really up for that shitty feeling being a booty call leaves me with anymore. But if you want to try an actual relationship then I'm on board." I can see it now like a romantic comedy directed by Quentin Tarantino with slightly less blood.

And finally, there's T.
I actually like T. We met a few months ago and when he first asked me out, I said, "no." It was a bad time for me emotionally because of Ghost and I was out of town. Then he asked me out again and the second time, I said, "yes."

The date was great! We had a good time. We talked about everything from football to religion. We bonded over fried pickles, barbecue chicken wings and beer, pretty much the perfect Salty City date. I was totally ready for date number two.

And then he tells Facebook, "I really wish I could get over a girl." Awesome! At least when he never called, I wasn't surprsied just disappointed.

So between filmmaking, editing, writing, school, work and kind of-ish dating I haven't had much time for talking about food. I promise I still eat, I love beer and I've gotten really good at reheating leftovers in the microwave.