Utah bound (and what we will do [eat] while we are there)

.

Leaving

We are leaving the AV tomorrow afternoon. We have a motel in Cedar City. Sometime Saturday we will arrive in Provo.

Lodging

We will be staying with Brass Clan cousins. Although depending on, for instance, the lateness of blog partying, we may end up taking up the Fobs' offer as well. And, should all else fail, there's always Stupid!

Religion

We're thinking we will attend our old ward in hopes of meeting some lost friends. Given the turnover in Provo wards, this is a shaky goal but one we consider worth our attempts.

Restaurants

Let's face it. Food trumps all. Here are the places we hope to hit while we are in Utah:

Ottavio's: Patriarch of the Brass Clan had a Sicilian grandfather and visiting Ottavio's is like being back listening to the old men swap stories as the women bring in the food. We simply cannot enter the state of Utah without entering Ottavio's also, even if all we find time for is bruschetta.

Gandolfo's: Not on our top tier of must-eats, but we loved the sandwiches when we lived there and wouldn't mind reminding ourselves of their tastiness.

Bombay House: Mmmmm. Indian food. And, frankly, the best Indian food I've ever had. I'm going to have Lamb Saab. I just wish they hadn't done away with their 1 to 10 hotness grading scale. I found it much easier to navigate than mild, medium, hot.

Thai Chili Gardens: We've patronized a few good Utah Valley Thai restaurants in the past, but if we want Thai this time, we'll try here. We always heard it was the best (latest testimonial) and we have always regretted missing it.

Stan's: No question on this one--we're heading to 900 East for shakes and fries. You're certainly welcome to join us. I'm leaning towards pineapple.

That hot dog stand just south of BYU campus in the old cellphone shack: Given the time and inclination for a tasty dog with Vietnamese chili sauce.

Coney's: We went to Coney's exactly once and weren't that impressed. But Lady Steed is impressionable and has heard so many people talk nice about it that she has decided it is a place she misses and that we must go.

Sugar-n-Spice: On the completely other side of this memory equation are the many and strong memories of Lady Steed's where she is eating those famous chocolate mint brownies. She has about a billion of these memories and they're all real.

The best grocery store in the history of humanity: When she was single, Lady Steed et roommates would visit Macey's for chocolate-dipped softserv cones. Now that we've been married five years, she has decided I have earned the right to eat one too.

I wanted, in this post, to give you tentative dates and times to meet us at the above eateries, but we're not that together yet. But you're invited to join us at each, every, any, or all. Do come.

Family

The primary reason for our visit is to see Brother Steed walk at BYU graduation and to visit with him and his charming wife Silly Marie. We also hope to see some of my family while we're there. We should have already told them we'll be in town.... Shoot.

Friends

Besides attending the blog party, we hope to see old friends and meet new friends and maybe, Fob willing, I will even crash my old writing group.

Other

We're going to have to close our credit union account, hit school employees with sticks, find out if Sunfall Festival is playing, go to the temple, see the design BFAs in the HFAC, take the Big O on the Heber Creeper---whatever else we can fit in, basically.

Hope to see you there!