BURGERS!! (part 2)

Back to my favorite topic in life: The Hamburger. That meaty sandwich concocted by the Gods themselves. Or Satan. But who cares?

One of the perks of being in Utah is unlimited access to In-N-Out. The Double Double animal style for $3.40? A thousand times OMG yes. However, I have found a few spots I've been to more than once and I'll gladly share them. They may not be the best burger I've ever had but they're still incredibly dream worthy.

#1 Smashburger

"Smashy" is a chain so you can find it off most highway exits. Not just a burger place, the menu also offers different chicken sandwiches, salads and desserts. I recommend the Beehive burger. It comes with BBQ sauce, bacon, cheddar and haystack onions. Burgers range from $6-$8, not including fries. If you're feeling a steal, get the kids Smashburger meal. $3.99 for a smaller burger, fries and a drink.

#2 Salt City Burger

I just had this burger last night so I'm still burping up the taste. I don't even care how gross that sounds. Co-workers of mine told me about this place and how they cook bacon into the patty. Sold. Say no more. They have a few specialty burgers, but you can always build your own. You can even throw pastrami, avocado and blue cheese all over it. I got the regular bacon burger with cheddar and bbq sauce. The other burger ordered at my table was topped with pastrami, carmelized onions, bacon and cheese. The first bite of a burger is always my favorite. It was so delicious I'm glad it's not extremely close to where I live. There are two locations. Pictured is the Fajita burger.

Sandy
9176 S. Village Shop Drive

Bountiful
401 West 500 South

#3 Guzzi's Vintage Burgers and Fries

Fortunately for me, Guzzi's lives nearby and it's the real deal. No culinary arrogance here. You walk in, they have about 5 different burgers on the menu which include fries. I believe it's still a rather new establishment, having been a nasty bar before. What you get is a totally rocking burger. I first tried the Classic followed by the Blue Bacon burger for my next visit. OMG. You know how sometimes you are at loss for words about something so the only thing you can do is tell someone to try it themselves? That's what's happening here.

180 E 800 S
SLC

Ming's Garden, SLC

The Chinese food I am used to usually comes from a hole in the wall that badly needs to be scrubbed down with bleach. It blows my mind that the food still tastes incredible while being birthed from a place that reminds me of the dirty fingers of a homeless man. I am completely content with King Food's $5.50 General Tso's lunch special (comes with egg roll and rice!) but it wasn't until Ming's Garden I came to understand that Chinese food could actually come in a higher quality.

The only way I found Ming's was when I moved literally right next to it. In fact, I believe I ate there the night I moved in. I ordered the General Tso's and I'm pretty confident that I was definitely eating real chicken. Another surprise? It came loaded with a ton of great veggies. I didn't feel like I'd have to do extra TaeBo the next day. I ate there again last week and we all got the Cream Cheese Wontons. Oh dang.

Although I'll always love my dirty chinese food places, this is one that must be had!

3640 South Highland Drive

The Shamrock Shake

If you know me well at all you will know I have a tiny obsession with the month of March. More specifically, the return of the Shamrock shake. Me and the "Shammy" go way back, so far back to even the days I worked at McDonald's in High school. Those were the days to be a foodie. I literally ate every single concoction that could be come up with at that McD's in Wind Gap, Pennsylvania. The best were the sundae machine cleaning days when we'd have to empty all that delicious soft serve (before they got rid of chocolate!) into a bucket where it was then natural behavior to dump hot fudge and all sorts of McFlurry toppings in there. Spoon up, Everyone!

I'm not sure what it is that I love about the Shamrock shake. Do I just love that I can only have it one month a year? Or that it was an adventure in Manhattan to get one since no McD's there EVER had them? It's not like I'd ever take the PATH out to Hoboken for any other reason. Maybe because I love mint flavor? That's pretty simple. It's not just mint I love, but mint with chocolate. All of my Shamrock shakes get mixed with chocolate shake.

My friend Rachel knows of my love of the Shammy and she recently introduced me to The Dirty Leprechaun: Shamrock shake with Oreo McFlurry pieces mixed in. This is on my to-do list of the week, so if you order one yourself just know you have Rachel to thank. There are 25 days left.