Life: So, yeah...food!

I realize I haven't done a great job of keeping you posted about life or food via my blog. Twitter is my new favorite tool for annoying updates about myself and you can find me @kristamaesmith.

But I do have a few things, I would like to share with you.

First in food.

April 5 is officially Cafe Rio Day in Utah. So thank Governor Gary Herbert for giving you a reason to sit down with chips, salsa, guacomole, relleno and margaritas today. Or is that just me?

Meditirina was kind of a let down last time I was there. The house made sangria was delicious and the patas bravas were as delicious as I remembered. However the Drunken Oreos were soaked, not dipped, in port wine, not a reduction sauce. All in all, Manfriend and I still had a good experience, but I think I'll stick with my own Drunken Oreos in the future.

And I'm on a mission to steal the bruschetta recipe from the Meditirina kitchen as well. Balsamic and tarragon soaked strawberries with chevre cheese on top of crisp, buttery bread. Mmmm....so good!

In the past two months Millies and the Soup Kitchen have been mainly responsible for keeping my grease quota. But I've blogged enough about them for you to know how much I love burgers and onion rings from both of these great Sugar House icons.

Second in life...

I'll be graduating May 29 at 1 p.m.-ish at the E Center in West Valley, UT. If you like me enough to read my blog, you are invited. Of course, leading up to that I'll be in a panic about finishing my senior project, writing a research paper, writing a film theory paper, editing the paper and writing a column. So in advance, I'm thanking you for your patience. (Especially, Manfriend!)

I'm in the middle of my application to teach in Taiwan, but I feel good about getting it done on time. Next weekend, I should be able to get the video done. Once I have my passport, I will be elligible to begin training.

Otherwise things are pretty normal. The St. Patrick's day party was fun. We played "Apples to Apples' for forever. Long enough anyway for me to leave and talk with Harry. The sidecars were awesome! The combination of one part cognac to three parts lemon juice is so good! I love the sour tanginess of it.

I'm looking forward to trying an old school daquiri with rum and lime juice, next.

The potatoe skins were pretty good. I completely forgot to add any butter. Luckily, no one seemed to notice. I think they were distracted by the bacon. Or the booze, whatever.

Finally I tested out the Black Magic Chocolate cake recipe Amber recommended. My version didn't come out quite as good. I think because I did a buttercream frosting instead of cream cheese frosting. So next time, Sis, my chocolate will beat up your chocolate. Or at least, taste as good. The cake was easy to bak and did well divided up into a dozen cupcakes and a 9" square cake pan.

The next shindig I'm putting on will be the Mad Men cocktail party. So get out your cocktail wear and tell me your favorite classic cocktail. We'll be partying Don Draper style following my graduation.

I know, you're excited. I am.

Food Review: Fry sauce ruins Millie's fries?

So after taking the week off, I guess we have some catching up to do.

First on the list of places I've been and you get to know about is Millie's Burgers on 2100 South in Sugar House.

I love this little 50s style hamburger shack that's just a short walk from my house. CBC and I went there for some burgers, fries and an introduction to that Utah wonder-fry sauce.

The Millie Burger was just as good as I remember--a quarter-pound of beef with cheese, pickles and fry sauce. Even though the burger was too big for me to finish, I was sad to see it go.

The fries were fresh, crispy and salty decliousness just waiting to be eaten. I think next time, I'll order to go and mix up some of my own fry sauce at home. They just don't seem to realize what a disservice it is to their fries to serve them with overly ketchuped fry sauce.

I warned CBC Millie's fry sauce is serviceable, but not the best ketchup-mayonnaise mixture in Utah. But he was brave and tried out the sauce, I don't think he liked it because the rest of the fry sauce was left for me.

As always the teenagers at Millie's were more than helpful. We had a very nice time in the cinder block restaurant with orange plastic tables. And the whole four other customers who were there at 9 p.m. on a Thursday night seemed to enjoy themselves, too.

Millie's

Ava and I decided to enjoy a little bit of deep-fried goodness in the sunshine for lunch. We walked over to Millie's Burgers on 2100 South and about 1000 East. The servers were helpful and fast.

I ordered the Millie Cheeseburger, onion rings and a coke. The Millie Cheeseburger is apparently Millie's version of the McDonald's Big Mac. According to Ava this means it's a burger, cheese, special sauce, lettuce and pickle on a sesame seed bun. I'm pretty sure the special sauce at Millie's is fry sauce.

The burger reminded me a lot of being a kid and having summer barbecues. Mostly because, it was a little overdone and a little messy. The onion rings were the frozen than fried kind and you've probably figured out by now I'm not a big fan. Millie's does add some spice after frying them so I could handle. Plus, they always give you fry sauce.

As always, the food is good. Nothing spectacular, but for $6 and supporting my local economy totally worth it.

Millie's Burgers

Right off 2100 South and straight to my heart. Ahh...deep fried heaven and fry sauce. Millie's Burgers is the quintessential burger shop. Cheap. Quick. Delicious. Millie's has been in Sugar House since the 50's and not much has changed.

The joint is a small shack positively reeking of deep fried joys, burgers and summer. They have picnic tables outside and small booths inside. The atmosphere is simple, small-town and fun.

The service is exactly what I expect from this kind of diner. The girls behind the counter are friendly and 16. So be prepared to hear a lot of "umm, like, yeah and stuff" with a big smile and small giggles. You order at the counter and they bring the food to your table.

For your perfect summer pig out you can get a cheese burger, fries and a shake for about $8. (Yeah, they are that cheap.) The burgers are delicious made with real beef and cheese and grilled nicely. The fries are pretty good, not the best, but they still beat the McDonald's down the street. The shakes are over-the-top, thick and yummy!

Now for that great Utah tradition...fry sauce. If you aren't a native to fry sauce ways, let me explain: fry sauce is a dipping sauce made from ketchup and mayonnaise. At Millie's (as with most local restaurants) it is served with your fries instead of ketchup.

The key to great fry sauce is the right ratio of ketchup to mayonnaise, buttermilk and pepper. Millie's comes close: this isn't the greatest fry sauce, but some of the best I have found in the Valley.

The onion rings were not up to my beer-battered deep-fried golden brown expectations. They are edible, but you will have better luck with the deep-fried, shoestring fries.

Millie's has an extensive menu of shakes, glaciers, burgers, hot dogs, sodas and almost everything deep-fried, but I suggest you try the basics before branching out.

Millie's is across the street from Sugar House Coffee on the corner of 2100 South and McClelland Street (1050 East.) Share the love, Millie's is best enjoyed with friends and family.