Monday, September 14, 2009

Food tastes better when shared with friends


Art and I spent the weekend (plus a few days) in Salt Lake City visiting our best friends, Jen and Jason. We had so much fun just sightseeing and being together that I forgot to really capture all the great food we got to eat and the many (many, many) bottles of wine we drank.

First of all, awaiting our first night was this:


The best thing about Jen and Jason is that they know exactly how to get into my good graces. Hint: it's this meal. It was a delicious start to the weekend!

The next night we went out to a local restaurant called Gracie's in downtown Utah. Jen and Jason hailed them for their sandwiches, but when I saw mussels on the menu I couldn't resist. One of my main goals in life is to meet a meal of seafood that I don't love.

Strike.


These mussels were steamed in a white wine and tomato sauce and served with pappardelle noodles, and I ate them all in about thirty seconds. Which was convenient, because Art ordered the trout:


I think he got to smell that mound of couscous there, but he didn't get to eat any. There is a soft spot in my heart for couscous. And apparently my stomach.

This is Jen's blackened salmon burger, served with Gracie's trademark sweet potato fries. I'm curious about these sweet potato fries. Curiosity will eventually turn into an experiment, I'm sure. Fried? Baked? Seasoned? We shall see.


I'm picturing a vat full of these on my Thanksgiving table this year. Just sayin'.

And this is Jason. Jason is pretty.


You know what else was pretty? His ox burger (yes, like Oregon Trail).

I rounded out the trip with fish and chips at the Wasatch Brew Pub in Park City (PS - please go to Park City once in your life. For me.), but I neglected to take a picture of it because, well, I was busy devouring it. I also ordered a pumpkin ale, and I didn't take a picture of that because I was busy asking God to bless the person that invented pumpkin ale. And all of his descendants.

Whether you're nibbling on mussels, sipping wine or destroying half a pound of oxen, this much is true: everything tastes better when shared with people you love!

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