Sunshine Cafe:North Salt Lake

Cinnamon Granola Pancake??

I have always had this dream of walking into the same mom and pop diner every morning, having the owner turn the corner and bring out the same meal I order day after day. I would ask her about her life and if anyone interesting came into the diner that day. After chatting for a while, she would ask me to try a new dish she invented and I would tell her it is delicious. While sipping hot chocolate with a giant whipped cream mustache, I would tell her to put it on my tab and that I would check in tomorrow to see if the pancakes are still good :). What would this diner be called? Sunshine Cafe. And where is it located? North Salt Lake.

The diner only seats about 30 people, but if you have to wait, it is worth it (although it is a little awkward standing to wait for  people to finish eating). Adorned with old diner signs, the cafe feels so small town and homey. How impressive is this... the woman who owns the place cooks everything herself. That is amazing! And she is fast! Our food came out in less than ten minutes.

All I have to say is you have to try the Cinnamon Granola Pancake. This pancake and the Apple Pancake from The Original Pancake House are the two best pancakes I have ever had. The granola is caramelized and warm and soft. ah its so good. Plus, it is only $2.75 for this large pancake. What a steal! It is actually probably a good thing I don't live in North Salt Lake anymore or you would be seeing my face in a plate full of cinnamon granola pancakes every single morning.

I took pictures of their menu for you :)

Sunshine Cafe Hours:

Breakfast and Lunch

Monday Through Saturday

7am-2pm

Sunday

8am-2pm

Location:

20 South Orchard Dr. 

North Salt Lake, Utah 84054

801-936-0915

www.SunshineCafeUtah.com

Oh and if you are wondering about the Apple Pancake at The Original Pancake House... Take a look...

This pancake is a mix of caramelized apples and cinnamon, with egg and pancake. It is absolutely giant. I always feel sick because I cannot stop eating it. By the time I am about to throw up, it doesn't even look like i made a dent. 

It is unreal. 

There are Original Pancake Houses all over the place, Salt Lake City, Denver, Boulder.

Here is where they are located in Salt Lake:

Original Pancake House

790 East 2100 S # 400                                                               Salt Lake City, UT 84106                                                            (801) 484-7200

Jack's Wood Fired Pizza:Logan

Jack's = Best Pizza in Logan 
Hands Down

Most of you are like me and have driven past Jack's Wood Fired Pizza everyday wondering if it was any good. Well, a few days ago, it finally got to me. Molli and I entered the small Main Street pizza parlor and could not have been happier. I felt like I found something that no one else had ever discovered. The place was small and quiet, with a hipster feel to it. It was simply decorated, with brick walls and one big fireplace in the back. The two men working were very friendly and laid back. We shared one small pizza and each got a side salad. It was the perfect amount of food. We were full, but not stuffed. 

Here it is:

Chuckwagon Pizza {$11}

BBQ sauce, Savannah's Pulled Pork, pineapple, jalepenos, topped with parmesan cheese

With my favorite pizza topping being pineapple, and my second being anything BBQ, I was immediately excited about this pizza. However, both Molli and I were a little nervous about pork and jalepenos on our pizza, but we went for it anyways. We were not disappointed. The crust was thin, but not the crunchy cracker-style crust, it was thick enough to still be soft. The pork was juicy and the pineapple was cut into thin long strips, so I knew it was fresh and not canned. The jalepenos weren't too spicy and combined well with the fruit. The BBQ sauce didn't overpower the pizza the way Firehouse's does. The cheese didn't slide off with one bite. 

It was Perfect. 

Here is the side salad I ordered: 

Dressing: Huckleberry-Infused Poppyseed 

When my salad was set in front of me, the first thing I thought was...aw man... I thought it was just another salad that they bought at Smith's from a bag, poured it into a bowl, stuck a tomato on it, and called it a fresh salad. Although this may have been the case, the dressing made this salad delicious. Even the name, Huckleberry-Infused Poppyseed, makes my mouth water. It was a sweet dressing, but not overpowering like Pizza Pie Cafe's Raspberry Vinaigrette, which is too much after about the fourth bite. I am glad I ordered the salad because I don't know if the pizza alone would have filled me up all the way. It wasn't the best salad I have ever had, but the dressing was awesome. So if you get a salad, I would suggest trying this huckleberry dressing at least once. 

Jack's also has dessert pizzas. I have talked to a lot of people who have said they are so good. Just reading the description on the menu, I think they look amazing. There are also some lunch and dinner specials that would be worth checking out. Take a look at the menu below and see for yourself:

Jack's Menu

Jack's Wood Fired Pizza is located at:

256 N. Main Street 

Logan, UT

Here is a Map:

Jack's Pizza Location

Hours:

Mon-Sat 11:30-2:30, 5:00-9:00

Phone:

435-754-7523

No-Bake Cake Batter Truffles

Here is the recipe for the most addicting treats on the planet...No-Bake Cake Batter Truffles. They are amazing and super easy to make. Juss and I make these all the time for people and for special occasions and they never go wrong. The only thing we make sure to do is buy some extra white chocolate chips because we always burn the first batch. Melting chocolate is definitely not a strength of ours. 


These treats are fun to get creative with because you can dye them any combination of colors and decorate with icing and sprinkles and they are always cute. We go overboard, as usual, painting sailboats and stick figures of ourselves on them and eventually they turn pretty ugly, but don't be like us they will be beautiful :) 

No-Bake Cake Batter Truffles 

1/ 2 cup unsalted butter {softened}

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup yellow cake mix {dry}

1 tsp. vanilla

1/8 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. sprinkles

16 oz. white dipping chocolate {2 bags of choc. chips}

4 Tbsp. yellow cake mix {dry}

**We use funfetti cake mix and don't add sprinkles- it is easier

Instructions:

1. Beat together butter and sugar using an electric mixer until combined. Blend in vanilla. Add cake mix, flour, salt, and vanlla and mix thouroughly. Add Tablespoons of milk or more if needed to make a dough consistency. Mix in sprinkles by hand. Roll dough into one inch balls and place on a parchment or wax paper lined cookie sheet. Chill balls in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm up. 

2. While dough balls are chilling, melt almond bark in microwave in 30 second intervals until melted. Stir between intervals.{again we use chocolate chips and because we always burn them we double boil instead of microwave} Once melted, quickly stir in cake mix until incorporated completely. Using a fork, dip truffles into almond bark and shake off excess bark by tapping the bottom of the fork on the side of your bowl. Place truffle back on cookie sheet and top with sprinkles. Repeat with remaining balls until finished. {Note: for smoother looking truffles, don't add cake mix to melted chocolate, just leave by itself}

3. Chill cake batter truffles in the refrigerator until serving. Makes around 24-30 truffles. 

4. Try to at least give a few away :) 

Kamin:Logan

Kamin is one place that was recommended to me over and over again by multiple people. It is a Thai restaurant located in a house on the southwest side of Logan. I have been there a couple times and really like the food. This is the first Thai restaurant I have ever been to, so I don't have a lot to compare it to. However, if I were to compare it to something, I would say it is in between Chinese food and Indian food.


Kamin is definitely over priced, with dishes ranging $8-15, but the portions are large. The first time I went, the service was amazing! I got there late at night and the woman serving was probably one of the nicest waitresses I have ever met. We were not rushed at all. However, the second time I went, it was also later at night, the waiter was very rude. Even though we made him an extra $15, he could have potentially ruined my night if I wasn't with such great company. He came back to our table every couple minutes, waiting for us to finish our food so he could give us the bill. I usually feel bad going into restaurants late because I know how it feels to be held after hours, but we were on the verge of lingering in spite of this waiter, that is how irritating he was. So, if you are looking for great service, I recommend the female waitress :)

Okay, here are we go:

Dish One: Phuket Pineapple Fried Rice {11.99}
Jasmine fried rice accented with ham, pineapple, raisins, cashew nuts, and scrambled egg served in a festive pineapple shell

This is a very pretty dish. It is served in a real pineapple. The pineapple bowl alone makes it that much better. Also, this is a big portion of rice. I usually don't like fried rice. I am more of a steamed rice person, but I really like this rice. I love the pineapple and cashew nuts. They are my favorite. The pineapple makes the rice sweet, but the vegetables and ham counteract it. It is very good. If you are not sure about Thai food and want to eat at Kamin, this dish is a safe one to order.

Dish Two: Massaman Curry {$10.95}

Meat, peanuts and potatoes slowly cooked in Thai spices and coconut curry

This curry was my favorite out of the two that I tried. The coconut is what attracted me to it at first. It has a mild coconut flavor that brings out the other flavors in the dish, although I thought the dish was pretty bland overall. The potatoes were overcooked and the dish was a little too salty. The vegetables were decent, but I do think they were frozen. The chicken and peanuts were delicious, and the sauce mixed with the jasmine rice (comes with the dish) was so good. 

Dish Three: Gang Nan-Yellow Curry {$10.95}

Meat slowly cooked until it is soft in a rich yellow curry, very smooth and delicious

This dish was better than the Massaman curry in that it wasn't salty and the potatoes weren't overcooked. However, I liked the flavor of the Massaman curry better. I recommended this restaurant to a kid who went on a mission to the Phillipines. He ordered the yellow curry when he went to Kamin and said it was delicious. I thought it was good, but could have used a little more spices. The portion was large, more than enough to feed me for a couple nights :)

Jasmine Brown Rice {Comes with the Curry dishes}

I am sorry this picture is terrible. This rice is amazing though. However, they only give you about a cup of it for your curry, so if you love rice like I do, I would order a side of rice as well. It is only a dollar and it makes the meal much better I promise. Its brown rice too, so it is healthyish :)

Dish Four: Pad Nor Mai {$9.99}

This spicy stir-fry includes bamboo shoots, bell peppers, onions, and fresh basil

This is a unique dish made mostly of bamboo shoots and tofu. I am not a tofu fan, but I did try the tofu and it tasted a lot more like chicken than it usually does! Court (who ordered it) thought it was good! The sauce tasted a lot like soy sauce which was good! So if you like tofu, then this is the way to go. If not, you can also substitute it for chicken or pork. 

Okay onto my favorite dish of all time at Kamin:

  Mango Sticky Rice {$4.50}

Best Mango Sticky Rice I have ever had. If you like mangoes and rice you will die. I crave this dessert every single day. If I was stuck on an island with nothing but Mango Sticky Rice I would die a happy girl. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture because I devoured it too fast to take one. I am sorry. I guess you will have to go try it yourself :) You will not be dissapointed. It is sweet rice with coconut milk and mangoes. the rice is perfectly fluffy and the milk oozes out of it when you take a bite. 

Try it.

Other suggestions:

1. The Tom Yum Soup is super spicy so be careful, it could give you heartburn. 

2. The restaurant is hard to find. It is located on the west side of Main Street about half a block in on the south side of Logan. It is a small restaurant in a little house.

3. The Mango Sticky Rice may not be on the menu- don't freak out. Just ask for it

4. If you can, sit outside, its pretty. 

Overall, this is a very good restaurant. I don't think it is better than Indian Oven or Tandoori Oven, but it is also not as exotic, and a different type of food, of course. I would recommend going to try it once at least. It is not my favorite restaurant in Logan and it is a little overpriced, but it is pretty good.

Here is the menu if you want to check it out: 

Kamin Menu

Here is where it is located: 

51 W 200 S

Logan, UT 84322

(Drive north on Main street from Sardine Canyon, it is after the Logan River bridge and before all the Downtown Logan Restaurants start- if you get to Chuck-a-Rama you have gone too far)

Hours:

11:00 AM - 3:00 PM

5:00 PM- 9:00 PM