1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza

 By Kim Cracroft

1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza is new to the Midvale area.  Owner Mike Crouch and his family brought this hip, fun fresh pizza franchise to Utah.

You walk in and are greeted by a friendly staff and 3 screens chuckfull of options.  Your choices are already mastered recipe pizzas or create your own, salads and wings.   (You choose from several  pizza size options, our favorite was the roman style.). The thing I loved about this place is that the toppings, no matter how many you put on, are just one price.  

The pizza dough is made fresh with high quality ingredients everyday.  When ordering be sure to sneak a peek at the mixer behind the counter!

Let's talk the oven.  It is massive and hot and is specifically designed for 1000 degrees restaurants. 
It continuously rotates while pizzas are placed upon the pizza plates inside the oven and rotate about twice before the pizzas are ready to serve.  About 2 minutes cooking time!  Now that's quick!

We enjoyed the chicken Alfredo pizza on roman style crust, classic margarita  pizza on roman style crust and the best cheesy bread EVER!!!!  I'm going out on a limb here, and say that it is the best pizza crust I have ever eaten!

Give 1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza a try for family night, hit it up for lunch or venture out for a night out with friends (top golf is kitty corner from them).  You will become a repeat customer, I promise!! 

1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza

 7101 South Bingham Junction BLVD

Midvale, Utah

The Choice is yours... At Chuck A Rama!

By Kim Cracroft

 

 

Chuck A  Rama has been around for quite sometime!   This family owned business started back in 1966 and is still going strong with over 12 locations to visit.  We all have a Grandpa or Grandma, perhaps an Uncle that loves this place.   For me, its my Dad...  I have fond memories of going to this restaurant with my family.  My dad would take all of us there for a birthday, or for a big family get together.  

 

 

 

Chuck A Rama is celebrating their 50th anniversary!  I was able to attend a pre celebration for this restaurant where we learned how Chuck A Rama got its name, (visit their website and watch the little video) How long ago this restaurant was started, and where Chuck A Rama is today.  We were able to watch how they make all things fresh there.   They bake all things in house the day of,  and are made from scratch.  We were fortunate enough to see how they make there cinnamon pull aparts! YUUUM!   

 

 

The salad bar offers fresh options of pretty much everything you need to make the perfect salad, not to mention they have so many choices for lunch and dinner.  They had everything...out of the oven roast beef, turkey, homemade soups, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, veggies and my personal, favorite the slow roasted kettle turkey with potatoes and carrots. They have Mexican cuisine, Chinese  cuisine, kids personal favorites included pizza, french fries, mac and cheese, spaghetti... the list goes on and on and on.  I cant stress enough how fresh everything was!  

 

 

The drink station offers both Coke and Pepsi products, local apple beer , an original Icee machine with 2 flavors, hot cocoa, etc.   Where else can you go and have over 20 options for food and drink?   Sounds like a win win to me. 

 

Last but not least, the dessert bar.   Everything from Grandmas homemade rice pudding and lava cake, to self serve soft serve ice  ream, endless choices of cakes and brownies...  what else am I missing?

 

 

You don't have to be from the older generation to frequent this place.   Take the kiddos there, meet a friend there for lunch,  celebrate your next birthday there,  don't be a stranger...  the staff is so friendly and the restaurant is top notch clean.  I promise this restaurant will not disappoint...  Go give it a try...  The choice is yours, at Chuck A Rama!  

 

 

Potbelly Sandwiches in Sugarhouse

Last weekend we tried Potbelly Sandwiches located in the heart of Sugarhouse.  They offer an array of food...  Soups, Salads, Sandwiches, Shakes and cookies.  We tried "the Mediterranean" sandwich with chicken, they have choices of white or wheat stoneground baguettes which are then whisked away on a oven conveyor belt to be toasted to perfection and afterwards is dressed with all the right stuff including their famous hot peppers!  We couldn't help but pair this sandwich with one of their chocolate shakes and it was soooooo yummy!  

This shop originated in Chicago and decided to spread the love to many different states including Salt Lake City!

You can't go wrong here...  Anything you get will hit the spot!  Go give them a try!

Costa Vida- made with passion from scratch every day!

 By Kim Cracroft

I had the opportunity to visit Costa vida a few weeks ago.   I have been there before but not like this.  I was able to go and sample there menu at a Q&A event with the Executive chef of all Utah Costa Vidas,  Geoff Alter.  I  was so glad I did this because I tried things that I had overlooked on the menu or just simply have never tried!

First on the list.    The soda bar.  You can go for the classic soda drinks, mix up your own or go for the fresh horchata which is packed full of cinnamon and rice milk.  Yum!   They are also trying out a few new drinks.  A limeade using only water limes and sugar to sweeten and a watermelon drink consisting of puréed fresh watermelon, limes, water and a bit of sugar.   They are both sweet and the first sip screamed summer!!!!!

I ventured out and tried the assorted salsas and chips.  Their queso is the perfect appetizer.  It is so rich in flavor, thick and creamy.  You won't regret this choice.

I tried the Raspberry Chipotle Chicken Salad.  Do not let the Chipotle steer you away.  I saw that and thought "spicy" I was wrong.  This is a salad boasting with tons of yummy sweet and savory notes.  I tried this with both  the creamy ranch and the vinegerette both were delicious.

Enchiladas were up next... I tried them all!  From grilled chicken to sweet pork to braised beef some were flour tortilla enchiladas and some were yellow corn enchiladas.  I would recommend the grilled chicken enchiladas with roasted green chile sauce and flour tortillas.  They were soooo good!

Last on the main course list was a grilled steak taco.  Think fresh street steak taco.  Made with tender steak and a honey habenero sauce.  It was presented as a simple street taco but it tasted amazing!!!  They were my husbands favorite!

We topped off the night with dessert!  We had their key lime pie which is bursting w fresh keylime taste and the sweetness from the whipping cream and crust made for the perfect sweet and tart dessert.  Tres leches (three milks) cake was rich and very sweet, this seems to be their best selling dessert and their is a reason for that.  Last but not least was flan.   I have my reservation about this dessert but Costa Vida did not disappoint.  I will go as far as to say this is the best flan I have ever had!!!  It was so creamy and smoothe.  Seriously...  You have to try this!  All of these desserts were delicious and are a absolute must try! 
This restaurant has fresh written all over it.  It uses the freshest and finest ingredients offered to them.  Feel free to visit them and try some of these dishes I mentioned or perhaps venture out on your own and try something new!

Geckos Live at Natural History Museum of Utah

By Kim Cracroft

Tucked away on Wakara Way located in Salt Lake City, is the Natural History Museum of Utah. It's simply put... Amazing!
There is so much to look at and so many things to do... The staff is friendly and very knowledgeable about their surroundings! It is for all ages 1 to 100.

Right now til May they have an exhibit they are featuring called "Geckos Live" and It did not disappoint! You walk into the exhibit and you are whisked away on an totally awesome adventure of finding the camouflaged geckos in their habitats. They are hiding in rocks or tree branches, sliding down the windows and they are very still so looking for them can sometimes be tricky. They have a sign on each exhibit telling you how many geckos to look for... My littles thought that was pretty fun!

They have a wonderful cafe' and a fun gift shop you can peruse after making your way through the museum! After we did the gecko exhibit, we went and looked at the dinosaur exhibit, brushed away dirt to find artifacts, and played in the sand to dig up Dino bones.
Overall it was a really good time! We have been a time or two before, but you can never visit this place too much... They offer memberships, day passes and children parties. Hope you get to visit soon!

We are giving away 4 tickets to the Natural History Museum of Utah on our Instagram. Go there to enter.

Utah Children's Theatre and Zorro

By Kim Cracroft

Tucked away on State Street is an amazing acting theatre company called Utah's Children's Theatre "UCT".  A couple weeks ago I was able to hit the Jackpot visiting this place and finding out what this place is all about!    Young actors and actress with incredible talent grace the stages putting on productions like Rapunzel, Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe, and I was able to catch Zorro, which was amazing.  Zorro was repelling into center stage and the sword fights were my favorite!  My family ranged from young to old and each and everyone of us loved every single minute!  The stage may be small in size but the Actors and actresses bring big talent!

As you walk in the double doors of this hip theatre you are welcomed by the ticket box office and to the side there is a concessions stand where they sell yummy treats and drinks!  This place has it all.  During the summer months they offer camps for your budding artists!  Feel free to make a donation anytime to this local theatre.  Just head on over to their website uctheatre.org.  Do not wait to go and visit this wonderful place!  Make it a priority to go and support the growing Utah Children's Theatre.