Lucile's: Boulder [Colorado]

When I visited my sister last week in Boulder, we wanted to end the trip with the bang, so what did we do? eat :)


We went out to breakfast at Lucile's. It is a little breakfast restaurant located in a house {reminded me of Logan} in downtown Boulder. For those of you who haven't been to Boulder, you need to go visit it at some point in your life. It is a very unique place. It is beautiful. There are tons of places to hike and many other outdoor activities. Everyone is very healthy there. In fact, I hate driving in Boulder because there are so many pedestrians and so many bikers. The people are a little crazy though, so watch out. Most of them are high, which can be pretty entertaining, but a little scary sometimes.


The people of Boulder take pride in being different from everyone else. Therefore, it has a lot of places that are unique only to that town. Lucile's is one of the many.

Not only is it adorable, the food is amazing. Okay, well the items Jess and I ordered were to die for. Seriously. It may have been the best breakfast I have ever had.


We started out with an appetizer called beignets. They are New Orleans style doughnuts - they looked liked scones to me and tasted like sopapillas. mmm.

Beignets {$4.75}

On the table, there were two jars of marmalade to dip the beignets into. One was orange and the other one was more of a tart flavor, but I am not sure what it was, strawberry something maybe?


After we devoured those, we moved on to our main course...since I am terrible at deciding what to order, Jess and I got creative and ordered two different meals, each eating half. 

Meal number one: Eggs New Orleans {$9.20}

Fried eggplant slices with creole sauce, poached eggs, and hollandaise. Served with grits or potatoes and a biscuit. 

Again, I apologize that all of my pictures have a bite taken out of them. I get too excited to eat and forget to take pictures until halfway through my meal. 

I love eggplant. However, there are not a lot of restaurants that serve it. Most restaurants that do serve it, never cook it very well. I swear every eggplant I have ever had has been soggy. I try to stay away from fried eggplant, too. Just a tip: if you ever go to an italian restaurant that fries there eggplant- DO NOT ask for it not fried because 99% of the time it will be gross. The only restaurant I have ever found with eggplant that is not fried (and actually good) is Romano's Italian Restaurant in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. My sister, Jessica, worked there for a long time and she would always bring me some home. It is layers of UNfried eggplant that is cooked to perfection (not soggy and not crunchy), along with cheese and marinara sauce.  

Lecile's unfortunately fries their eggplant, but I decided to go all out and try it. It was not a mistake. The soft poached egg with the crispy eggplant was a perfect combination. The red sauce provided a little spicy flavor, but it was countered with the creamy hollandaise sauce. Also, it was filling! After finishing this half of my meal, I could only eat half of the second one. 

Lecile's serves grits! The first time I tried grits was in Alabama last year. I only tried grits because I had no idea what they were and I knew they were some kind of famous Southern food. Now, every time I see grits, I order them! They are so good! I have never seen grits on a menu since I went to Alabama, until Lecile's. 

Moving on...to the biscuit... unreal. The picture doesn't do it justice, this thing was HUGE! It was sweet and fluffy and delicious. 

That was only the first meal. Here comes the second:

Second Meal: New Orleans Praline Waffle {$8.45}

A pecan batter waffle topped with pecans, fruit, and fresh whipped cream. Served with praline syrup.

Normally, I don't order waffles at restaurants because I think it is a waste of money. Usually they taste like the ones you make at hotels (which are good), but I don't want to pay $8 for a waffle I can get for free at the Holiday Inn. I like my waffles soft, too, and most of the time restaurant waffles are too crunchy for me. Or maybe it is just that my mom makes the best waffles on Earth and it is hard for anyone to compete with that. Whatever the reason, I usually skip the waffles and go for my favorite- the french toast. Today, I decided to change it up. A pecan batter waffle. It jumped out at me. 

The waffle was soft, but not undercooked. It had pecans in the waffle as well as on top. There were fresh bananas and strawberries on top, along with some serious whipped cream. To top it off, the syrup was to die for! It wasn't your average maple syrup. It was a lighter color and a lighter, sweeter flavored praline syrup. This was definitely the best restaurant waffle I have ever had.

Third Meal: Totally Organic Breakfast {$13.95}

Eggs scrambled with spinach, tofu and ginger topped with sesame carrots. Served with whole wheat toast.

I apologize for the bad quality of the picture... but I guess it goes with the Totally gross Organic Breakfast. Nicole was trying to stay on the lighter side and decided to go with this meal. It was only her second time eating tofu and I think it will be the last. For $14, the only good thing was the toast. Maybe people that eat organic food often would like this meal, but we certainly did not. So if you ever go to Lecile's, don't go when you are on a diet because you will regret it.

Everything about Lecile's makes for a great experience. Located in a cute house in downtown Boulder, with a feeling of a southern home, this New Orleans restaurant is worth every penny- and pound :)  

If you want to check out Lecile's menu, here is the link:

Lucile's Menu

2124 14th Street, Boulder, CO 80302303-442-4743

303-939-9848 FaxMap to Boulder Location

Hours of Operation
7am-2pm Monday through Friday
8am-2pm Saturday and Sunday
Call-ahead seating accepted Monday through Friday. 

Chicago Style Deli:Dallas

Shout out to my best friend Juss, who went to Dallas this week to visit her boyfriend and sent me a picture of this aweseome deli she ate at. She went to a sandwich place called Old World Sausage Company: Chicago Style Deli and said it was the best sandwich she has ever had. So if you live in Dallas or are just visiting, stop by this place. It is located in downtown Dallas, right next to the farmer's market.

Juss got the open face roast beef sandwich which had roast beef, mozzarella cheese, sauteed red and yellow peppers, and sauteed onions, all on a hoagie roll. Looking at some other reviews online, the Roast Beef and the Rueben are both popular choices. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the Roast Beef sandwich. 

Here are some other items on the menu:
Pasta Side, Vienna Hot Dog, and the "Beef" sandwich: 

  "The Best" Reuban Sandwich - Big Enough for 2 people! 

  Here is their website if you would like to look at their menu:

Old World Sausage Website

Here is where they are located: 

Location

Spring Rolls

I am in the biggest spring roll phase right now. They are so fresh and so healthy for you, perfect for summertime :) Since the only place in Utah I have found good spring rolls is Mi La Cai, and it is all the way in Salt Lake City, I decided to go big and attempt some on my own. Since my favorite food is a mango, I decided to try some Mango-Shrimp spring rolls. They were amazing.

Ingredients for Mango-Shrimp spring rolls:

 

Rice Paper

I found this at Macey's, they didn't have it at Walmart

Vermicelli Noodles

a.k.a. Rice Noodles

p.s. you only need to buy one package of each of these, they make a TON

Thai Kitchen Chili and Ginger sauce

Also found at Macey's

Other Ingredients:

1 Cucumber

Fresh Cilantro

Mint Leaves

1 bag of medium-sized shrimp

1 Avocado

2 Mangoes

Directions for Preparation:

Step 1. Boil a pot of hot water- enough to cover the noodles. Once the water is boiled, put the dry rice noodles in a large bowl, pour the water over the noodles, and let sit until the noodles are soft (about 10 minutes) and then drain water.

Step 2. Thaw shrimp in a bowl of cool water

Step 3. Cut the cucumber julienne style, in about

(1 cm wide by 3 in long) ish..I only ended up using half a cucumber

Step 4. cut the mangoes in long slices as well (same as cucumber)

Step 5. Slice the avocado into strips

Step 6. wash and cut leaves off cilantro. Chop into small pieces

Step 7. Wash and chop mint leaves

To make the spring rolls:

Step 1. Get 2 plates, fill one with water and leave the other one empty

Step 2. Take one sheet of rice paper, lay it flat on the plate with water, and submerge until the paper is completely under the water. Push it down for about 3 seconds and then carefully (try not to wrinkle) lay the paper on the empty plate.

Step 3. Immediely grab a small handfull of noodles, fold them into thirds and lay them on the paper.

Step 4. Add a couple pieces of each ingredient (fight the urge to add too many ingredients or the paper may rip)

Step 5. Fold spring roll like a burrito (short ends first and long ones afterward). At this point the paper should be sticky and it shouldn't be hard to hold together.

Step 6. Pour a few tablespoons of the dipping sauce into a dish or on the plate and Enjoy!

If you like peanut sauce, here is an easy recipe:

Peanut Dipping Sauce:

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup cold water

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 Tablespoon white vinegar

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 cup warm water

1/4 cup chopped peanuts (optional)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves (optional)

Directions for Sauce:

Step 1.  Dissolve the cornstarch in 1/2 cup of cold water; set aside

Step 2. Whisk together soy sauce, peanut butter, brown sugar, white vinegar, sesame oil and 1 cup warm water in a small saucepan over medium heat; simmer and stir until sugar has dissolved

Step 3. Stir in the cornstarch mixture; simmer until sauce is thick, 1 or 2 minutes, serve warm. Garnish with chopped peanuts and mint leaves if desired.

Grandma's Bakery:Logan

There was about a span of 4 months last year when I was obsessed with cake pops. Just ask the people sitting around me in my Economics class. They heard more about cake pops that semester than they did problems with the economy. 


For those of you that don't know what cake pops are.. here are a couple examples to get you up to speed: 

Mr. Potato Head Cake Pops

Cupcake Cake Pops

Microphone Cake Pops

Spa Cake Pops

Ice Cream Cake Pops

Rudolph Cake Pops

Just wait: These are what I Really want to make: 

Mustache Cake Pops!!

Mustache and Lips Cake Pops!!

The possibilities are endless

When I finally decided to bake them, I made cake pops almost everyday for about a week, and every single one failed. So, being stubborn and persistent, I bought a cake pop maker, hoping it would solve all my problems..that was a negative. I couldn't figure out how to keep the cake pops on the sticks and make them perfectly round. Anyways, I never mastered cake pops and sadly moved on. 


Last week, a couple girls on my team and I ventured up to Richmond to find a bakery that I read about in the newspaper recently. Supposedly, there is a bakery called Under The Frosting that sells cake pops. I wanted to check it out and see how the lady makes such beautiful cake pops. 


We drove all around Richmond (it took us about 5 minutes haha) and couldn't find the bakery. However, we stumbled upon a bakery called Grandma's. Someone Molli knew said she used to go to Grandma's all the time to get homemade Oreos, so we went in to check it out. 


They didn't have hardly any food there, literally only like 5 items. The girl said they bake everything on Mondays - so if you go  - go on a Monday. Luckily, there was ONE homemade Oreo just waiting for us to devour. After paying for my $.90 homemade Oreo, I split it into thirds and the three of us sat down to eat it. It was GOOD. The top and bottom were chewy chocolate cookies and in the middle was a thick, whipped vanilla frosting, that didn't run down the sides of the oreo (which I was happy about). 


All in all, the day was a success. The little Richmond bakery was a nice surprise. Molli, Alyssa, and I decided we we are going to start our very own bakery right next door to Grandma's (the space is available). So no one steal it :) We're calling it Grandpa's. 


Here is our homemade Oreo. 

p.s.

If anyone knows where to find the Under the Frosting bakery, or if it even exists, let me know :) There is still a little place in my heart for cake pops.

Butcher's Bunches and Cox's Honeyland: Logan

So I was reading an article today in the Herald Journal about a woman who makes sugar-free jams here in Logan. Supposedly, these jams are amazing and are starting to be recognized around the nation. The brand is called Butcher's Bunches. After reading this article in the newspaper...

 Butcher's Bunches Article

...I had to go see what this hype was all about. Liz Kennard's jam, owner of Butcher's Bunches jam, is sold at Cox's Honeyland, which, lucky for me, is only about five minutes from my apartment. I have driven past Cox's Honeyland tons of times going in and out of Logan, but I have never thought to stop there...that was a mistake. I walk in and ask the woman - who was super nice - where the jam was. She showed me to an entire wall of locally made jams. 

Just a little bit about me: I am probably one of the most indecisive people you will ever meet. An old lady once told me it was because I am a pisces... I think that's a good argument. 

So I am standing in front of these jams and they all look delicious... which one am I going to choose? Naturally, I choose the one bottle called "French Kissed" :) Here it is: 

Here is the Butcher's Bunches Website, if you want to take a look at some of their flavors:

Butcher's Bunches

After I was all jammed out, I turn around, and there is an entire wall of of honey! There is cinnamon, vanilla, orange, raspberry, almond, and so many other kinds. I then see a type of honey I have never seen before called Cream Honey. I ask the nice lady what it is and she says it has the exact same ingredients as regular honey, but it crystallizes differently, so it is thicker than regular honey and has a buttery consistency. She then led me to an area where I could try a bunch of different types. After trying a few, I decided to start safe and go with the Cinnamon Honey, knowing that I will be back to get other kinds another time. Here is the Cinnamon Cream Honey:

Finally, there were a bunch of honey sticks of all different flavors, and they were only 25 cents! I got 4 different kinds: vanilla, original, pink lemonade, and strawberry. My favorites were pink lemonade and vanilla. Here is the strawberry one: 

The strawberry honey stick tastes like those gel candies that come in a tube that I used to eat when I was a kid. 

After tasting all that honey and eating two honey sticks, I went home and tried both the cinnamon honey and "french kissed" jam. They were delicious. The "French Kissed" jam was really, really, really sweet . I probably should have expected that, since the bottle said, "white chocolate strawberry"- and it was named french kissed :). Needless to say, it was awesome, but don't eat too much or it might make you sick. Butcher's Bunches has another flavor I really want to try called "Monkey Bizzness". It is a chocolate-banana spread - like nutella and bananas? mmm.

The cream honey was also really good. It is hard in the bottle, so you microwave it and it becomes thinner so you can spread it, and then once it cools off, it hardens again- this is my new favorite type of honey! I was expecting it to taste like the cinnamon honey butter at Texas Roadhouse, it doesn't. I like Texas Roadhouse's butter better than this, but the cream honey is better for you than honey butter. This honey tastes more like christmas than the Texas Roadhouse butter, and it is sweeter. I still want to go back and try some of the other kinds, though, they all looked really good. 

Here is Cox's Honeyland, it is just a cute little place on the right hand side of main street before entering Logan. They also have homemade fudge! 

Here is where it is located: 

Mexican Bakeries: Logan

There are two Mexican bakeries in Logan that I have been wanting to go to for a really long time. The first one is on 1000 North across from Walgreens. It is called La Chispita or "Little Spark". I pretend I am good at Spanish, but I actually went to these two places with Trevor, who told me it meant "little spark". The second one (the better one) is called Rita's Bakery and it is located on 300 North and 25 West, right across the street from the car dealership and the police station.

La Chispita:

Trevor went on a mission to Mexico and said La Chispita reminded him a lot of Mexico in the way the bakery was set up. On one side was the baked goods, where you get a tray and put the food you want on it and then bring it up to the register and they put it in a bag for you when you pay for it. At the register, there are all these authentic mexican candies- like chili powder lollipops! - That was pretty cool. On the other side of the bakery there were spices and peppers hanging everywhere and a refrigerator that had mexican sodas. There was also a place to sit and a place to order real mexican food around the corner.


Another good thing about this place is that it is super cheap! Our bread only added up to be about $2!


Here is what we got:

I would tell you the name of the bread we bought, but I have no idea what either of them are called. I would compare this bread to a ginger snap cookie. Sorry that it is half eaten. We forgot to take pictures until we had already started eating. Late is better than never I guess, right? It was really good, but extremely dry. Both Trevor and I concluded that it was like eating a saltine cracker. We both started talking funny because the bread was stuck to the roof of our mouths. 

This was the bread Trevor ordered. He said it was something he ate all the time when he was in Mexico. It is cooked with cinnamon sticks and orange zest in the dough so that once it is baked, the cinnamon and orange flavor are subtly in the bread. The top of the bread is a vanilla frosting that has been hardened. This bread was a lighter bread. It had a light flavor. However, it was just as dry as the ginger bread we tried. 


Unfortunately, I wouldn't go back to La Chispita because their bread was too dry. It may have been that we went there on a bad day, when the bread was old, but there is another bakery - Rita's Bakery - that is much better than La Chispita. The people are very nice at La Chispita, though, and I do still want to try the food because it looks like authentic Mexican cuisine. There were quite a few people eating there when we bought the bread- so it must be pretty good, right? 


Rita's Bakery:

Location of Rita's Bakery

I went to Rita's Bakery the day after I went to La Chispita so I could compare them. Rita's isn't as nice as La Chispita, but it is bigger and there is more to choose from. Also, Rita's has vegetables and fruits for really cheap and meats and other Mexican foods you can buy, as well as cooked food like tacos and enchiladas in the back of the store. 


Here is what we got:

Again, I couldn't tell you what this is called. It is the same type of bread Trevor and I ordered at Chispita but with strawberry frosting instead of vanilla. It is a light, fluffy bread with bits of orange zest and cinnamon cooked inside. This bread was MUCH better than the bread from La Chispita. It was a lot softer and more moist than the vanilla one. 

I know this bread doesn't look like much, but it was my favorite out of the four we tried. If you like Angel Food Cake, you would for sure like this bread. It tastes exactly like cake. It is spongy and sweet. 


I have never been to a Mexican bakery before, so I didn't really know what to expect. The food was decent, but I would say going there was more for the experience. It is definitely worth it especially because each item is only like $1. I felt like I was in a different country walking in. I wouldn't say I would make a special trip to get any of these again, but I do want to go back to try other pastries to see if there are others that are good. So, if you want to try something new here in Logan, Utah, go to Rita's Bakery. You won't go wrong with the Angel Food Cake, I promise. Also, if you are looking for some Mexican spices or ingredients, go to Rita's because I bet you they will have something you can use. 

Le Nonne: Logan

As you know, I am attempting to go to every single restaurant in Logan. One of the first places I was suggested to eat at in Logan is a little Italian restaurant called Le Nonne. It is located in a small house on 129 North and 100 East.


I went to Le Nonne with two girls on my team, Ashlyn and Molli. We were the only ones in the restaurant at the time. Le Nonne is a little on the expensive side, especially for a college student, so we decided to go for lunch when it is only about $8 a plate instead of $15. Even though it was lunch, the portions were still huge! Here we are :) 

First they brought us out bread with balsamic vinegar and oil. The bread was good, but it wasn't anything spectacular. Macaroni Grill and Cheesecake Factory bread are still at the top of my list. 


The service was really fast; before we could finish the bread, the food was already out. 


Spaghettini Del Ortolano ($8.45):
  Menu description: 'From the garden' this Tuscan version of primavera, uses Jullian-style carrots and celery, zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms and onions that are sauteed with white wine and then added to our homemade tomato sauce. 

I am not a huge pasta fan (except mac and cheese) but this was the best angel hair pasta I have ever had. The vegetables were soft and perfectly seasoned and the noodles weren't soaked in tomato sauce like some dishes are at other restaurants. I am a big eater and probably only ate about a quarter of the plate. But don't worry, I took the rest home and finished it in the course of two other meals. I actually forgot my leftovers at the restaurant and went all the way back to get them because it was THAT good. 

Paillard Di Pollo ($8.25):

Menu Description: This simple style of pounded chicken breast is grilled and seasoned with fresh rosemary. This is a flavorful, low calorie dish. 

Molli ordered the Chicken and Alfredo. In the menu description it says "pounded chicken" and let me tell you, they did a wonderful job at pounding that chicken. It was the flattest piece of chicken I have ever seen. I didn't try the dish because I do NOT like Alfredo, I am not a very picky person, but Alfredo is one of the foods I will not eat. However, Molli said she thought it was really good. The chicken was really flavorful and the pasta didn't have too much sauce on it. The only downside was that, as you can see in the picture, the entire bottom of the plate was filled with oil.. that was a little unappetizing. 

Pennete Al Pomodoro ($7.45):

 Menu Description: This quick and simple dish of pennette pasta is sauteed in our homemade tomato, basil, and garlic sauce. This sauce is found throughout Italy.

Ashlyn ordered the penne pasta with tomato sauce and fresh parmesan on top. I caught her right as she was about to take the first bite so I could take a picture :) I didn't try her meal either, but she said it was really good. There wasn't a ton of sauce on her dish either, but she said it was still very flavorful. I haven't tried any of the other dishes, but i'm guessing the "less is more" theme as far as sauce goes, is how most of the dishes at this restaurant are. 

Overall, the service was okay for being the only people in the restaurant. However, they were putting up shelves in the kitchen while we were there, which may have been the reason the waiter didn't come around very often. The environment is awesome though. I love how the restaurant is in a house. It has a fancy, homey feel to it. I would definitely return to Le Nonne and definetely recommend it to those who love Italian food. I have never had anyone talk bad about this restaurant. I have never been to Italy, but I have talked to people who have, and they said Le Nonne tastes like authentic Italian food, which is hard to find in Logan, Utah. 

Here is a link to their website if you want to check out their menu and see what the restaurant looks like: 

Le Nonne Website