Well, there goes that

I had this great goal of eating more healthy food and less junk food this year. The healthy food I’m doing ok on. We’ve enjoyed trying some new dishes (among the successes: this Moroccan-style tilapia), and attempting to be better about having fruits and vegetables with our meals. Unfortunately, eating less junk food has not gone so well.

January was ok. My biggest challenge is having all but one class in the same classroom, right next to the vending machine. And most of my classes are over two hours long. I never manage to bring a snack, so I start craving something from the machine. Not good. Then February was our big date to the ballet, and we had delicious cake afterwards at my aunt’s house; the next week was the Bwun’s birthday, so there were a lot of cupcakes. Then we had his party after that…with a giant donut cake. (Yes, I’ll post pictures. Soon.)

My other biggest challenge is that I gave the Romgi an ice cream maker for Christmas, and he makes such good flavors. We always have homemade ice cream in our freezer. After a long day with the kids and school and homework, it’s really nice to sit down and talk with the Romgi while we eat some ice cream. I imagine a dessert made with cream AND half-and-half is probably not very healthy. Oh yeah, and now it’s Girl Scout cookie season. How can you say no to that?

So I decided to limit myself to dessert on the weekends. I decided it on Friday, which was great because it meant I had all weekend to indulge. But today is Monday! That’s not the weekend! I don’t know why the first day of any self-discipline is so tricky.

It might work out if my favorite chocolate company, Amano Artisan Chocolates, didn’t start selling brownies today. They’re up in Orem and I might say today is part of a three-day weekend…?

So much for self-discipline!

@12 Chinese Cuisine – Provo

It was a bright and sunny day, and Roni desperately needed to work on a paper for class; the Bwun would have none of this.  I decided to take him out for a drive in hopes that he would fall asleep before things got REALLY bad.  I hadn’t had lunch yet, so I figured I would try a local fast food place that is relatively new on the market, @12.

I drive by @12 quite frequently, but had never tried it before.  I think ever since Roni and I got some mediocre food at Panda Express, she has been very wary of fast food Chinese.  Seeing as Roni was not with me, this seemed like the perfect time to try it out.

The menu was fairly limited in what it offered, but I decided I would get a two entree combo.  I had the tangerine chicken, Mongolian beef and chow mein.  The tangerine chicken was similar (if not identical) to orange chicken at most Chinese food restaurants.  However, the batter on the chicken had become soggy.  I am guessing this was due to the fact that it was made far in advance of my order.  The Mongolian beef was well-seasoned and the meat was tender, though there was little beef to be seen in the dish.  There were, however, lots of undercooked onions in the dish, and little else could be tasted.  The chow mein was also disappointing.  It was under-seasoned, and slightly over-cooked.

In summary, I wasn’t expecting much but the food still failed to live up to my expectations.  You are probably better off getting Chinese food from the deli in your local grocery store.

Category: Fast Food
Food Quality: 1.5
Portion Size: 3
Speed: 3
Flavor: 1.5
Overall: 2
Price: $2-$8

tl;dr: Skip the fast food and save up for P.F. Chang’s.

@12 Chinese Cuisine
1298 N. State St
Provo, UT 84604

Mimi's Cafe – Orem

Feeling especially dangerous, Roni and I recently decided to eat in at a restaurant.  We had all been out shopping, and time had slipped by us.  We were in the neighborhood of Mimi’s Cafe, and Roni suggested that we eat there.  I really didn’t feel like going home and cooking, so I agreed.  We had been there in the past and the food had always been at least acceptable.

Where is the apostrophe?

The Bwun was getting hungry by the time we were seated, and we asked if we could go ahead and get an order for his food in first, so that it would come out before ours.  I always appreciate when servers are accommodating in this way.  Our server quickly took the Bwun’s order for macaroni and cheese and came back to get our order.  This was probably the only high note in our experience.

What can I say about food that was boring, uninspired and not worth the cost?  Not much.  The meat in my turkey sandwich was dry and overcooked, the sauce for Roni’s chicken was far too sweet, and the Bwun’s food came out of a Kraft food box.

Food Quality: 2
Taste:  2
Portion Size: 3
Service: 3.5
Overall Experience: 2.5
Price (per dish): $7-$14

tl;dr: Poor quality of the meal makes this spot not worth the trip.

Mimi’s Cafe
304 E University Parkway
Orem, UT 84058