Category: Uncategorized

Today we found ourselves needing to make an excursion to the the south side of Provo, and, desiring some food on our way there, we took the initiative and finally visited Sammy’s, just off Center Street on 100 West in downtown Provo. Before reaching Provo we were almost sucked into the Five Guys fever that is sweeping Orem and the rest of the Wasatch Front, but luckily for me Gin was strong in the cause of trying the place in Provo, and so we stuck through our hunger until we arrived at Sammy’s.

Walk in and the place feels immediately comfortable. The staff is super friendly. The customers seem to be regulars. Seating is at bar stools around a counter, behind which they ask you what toppings you want on your sandwich and finish putting it together right in front of you while you sit there.

An endearing Provo detail is the wall display for “Supernal Scripture Totes,” apparently handcrafted for $15 each. (I know my wife will roll her eyes that I call this a Provo detail, but where else but in our Mormon college town are you going to see something like this?)

Sammy’s has a great, simple menu. Everything is fresh and made from scratch. For entrees, they mainly feature hamburgers and chicken breast sandwiches, with pretty much anything that you could ever want on a hamburger available for toppings: grilled onions and mushrooms, homemade guacamole, pineapple and teriyaki sauce, bacon or pastrami (that ubiquitous Utah hamburger topping), several types of cheese, and of course the usual lettuce tomato ketchup mustard mayo type toppings. (I neglected to check whether beets were available as a condiment, but there’s always next time.) I tried Sammy’s Masterpiece, a burger with provolone cheese, grilled onions and mushrooms, guacamole, bacon, barbecue sauce, lettuce and tomato. At $5.99 it was a little pricey when compared to many local burger joints, but it was absolutely delicious. The abundance of excellent toppings puts it over the edge. In addition to the burger, what really hit the spot were the sweet potato fries, which come with one of the best renditions of fry sauce I have ever tasted. The picture below depicts Gin’s burger, which didn’t have as many goopy toppings on it as mine (already half-eaten by that point). Those fries are incredible.

Perhaps best of all are their real homemade pie shakes. Yes, you read that right. They have a case full of various flavors of pies, and for $4.00 they cut off a slice and blend it with soft serve ice cream for one of the best shakes you will ever taste. I know this sounds kind of weird; I certainly had my doubts, but at the waitress’ recommendation of the banana cream, Gin and I shared a split coconut/banana cream pie shake, and it was far better than I imagined it even possibly could be. This was another item eaten too quickly for a photo; you can see what was left of ours in the picture above, behind the burger plate.

Sammy’s has been in business for almost a year, and it is an absolute prize of an establishment, a quality place oozing with local character. They have tried to make a hip burger joint and college hangout spot, and in my opinion they have totally succeeded. Only one complaint: there was no music playing?! Come on guys, at a place like this you’ve got to kick out the jams.

My mouth is red from having just stretched to consume that giant burger.

Sammy’s has a blogspot blog of some sort. I haven’t explored in too much detail, but here’s the linkage: http://www.sammyscafe.blogspot.com

Sammy’s
27 North 100 West
Provo, UT 84601
801-805-9208

Mailing in our taxes today. That’s right, I still kick it old-school with the IRS. I love filling out forms.

P.S. This is also my excuse for not having anything new written and posted — I spent most of the day yesterday preparing said taxes, and earlier this week I was working 9-11 hour days. The prior post, a reprise of a little thing I wrote for our wedding one year ago, I had programmed to automatically post itself on the morning of our anniversary. Anyway, I will get to finishing up my favorite winter album reviews and posting some more pictures muy pronto. Thanks for watching.

We met at an art exhibit. We met in the comment section of my blog. We met in a snowstorm in a cottage in the mountains. We met at a symphony concert, sitting next to each other. We met at Family Home Evening and commiserated because we both hated Family Home Evening. We met at the library and traded poems. We met in the Provo temple. We met in empty parking lots and Mexican restaurants and our parents’ houses. We met at a movie theater where we were both making fun of the movie. We met at IKEA, buying bookshelves. We met at an art supply store. We met at a little Chinese place by the hospital. We met on the yellow BART line between San Francisco and Lafayette. We met hiking on a trail in Millcreek Canyon on the last nice autumn day before winter.  We met to shovel snow under the full moon.  We met because we both liked a painting by Brian Kershisnik.

Fleet Foxes: Sun Giant and Fleet Foxes (Sub Pop, 2008)

I don’t know that I can honestly call the Fleet Foxes’ debut a wintertime collection of songs. A few unabashedly wintry songs are included (check out “White Winter Hymnal” and “Blue Ridge Mountains” below), but they also sing songs of summer, songs of fall, and, most of all, songs of spring:

What a life I lead in the summer
What a life I lead in the spring
What a life I lead in the winded breeze
What a life I lead in the spring

the foxes sing in a cappella harmony as the needle hits the groove on side one of the Sun Giant EP. So how do I get away with calling this a featured winter album? It is exactly this full-on seasonal frenzy that made this music so appealing on those days when our house was entombed in snow. It gave me hope in the eventual arrival of other seasons. The rustic, pastoral details of the lyrics reminded me that the natural world brings life and color, not just an overbearing white coldness. And also maybe it is more simple: despite all the hype, I really just became acquainted with this pleasant folk phenomenon at the turn of the year. Since then, many of these songs have become the definitive soundtrack to my winter. My wife loves this music too, so many times we listen to it together. And as for the winter influence, it’s hard to deny the complete appeal of lines like, “Come down from the mountain, you have been gone too long / Spring is upon us, follow my only song,” in the middle of a cold February in the Wasatch Mountains.

I mentioned hype. This album has gotten a lot of it, from the time of its release last spring through to topping a lot of end-of-year lists. I ashamedly admit that I ignored this music partly because of that hype for quite awhile (although since then I have clearly humbled myself), and I’m not exactly sure what I will write at this point that hasn’t been written a hundred times already. I could mention that this music sounds natural and organic in every way. I could speak of fine folk-inspired songwriting and impeccably arranged vocal harmonies. I could describe their sound as the King Singers collaborating with the Shins. I don’t know for sure if these things have been said or not, because I’ve been trying to avoid the reviews so I can write this without inadvertently plagiarizing anyone. I’ll just end with this recommendation: if you like the song “I’ve Seen All Good People” by Yes, you’re probably going to love Fleet Foxes. If you like Crosby, Stills & Nash, John Denver, Neil Young, Simon & Garfunkel, the Beach Boys, Peter, Paul & Mary, the Byrds, or Joni Mitchell, you’re probably going to love Fleet Foxes. If you like Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Bobby McFerrin, or My Morning Jacket, you’re probably going to love Fleet Foxes. If you like music, you’re probably going to love Fleet Foxes.

[By the way, this is another album that sounds absolutely incredible on vinyl. I know I said that about Microcastle, too, but I promise I’m not going to say that about every album I ever talk about. The vinyl edition includes the superb Sun Giant EP as a separate record in a gatefold LP, which otherwise you would have to buy or download separately. You will want to get your hands on that EP because its songs, a couple of which are sampled above, are as good as or better than those on the full length.]