Despite the fact that Tucano’s is a sort of all you can eat buffet, this tantalizing taste is often just enough to whet the appetite and will have you coming back for more.

Only problem is that Tucano’s is a little pricy and isn’t exactly the type of place that you want to be going once a week for lunch.

However, Braza Express is a financially more thrifty alternative and will keep your wallet feeling full and your stomach as well.

The slogan of Braza Express is that it is fresh Brazilian food served “The Brazilian Way.” This means that you get a serving of rice and beans, then your choice of a side, a salad, a roll and a serving of delicious grilled mat.

Although the menu is somewhat divided between types of meat, i.e. chicken and steak, you can mix and match to suit whatever you’re craving for that day.

Because the meats are slowly grilled, they’re never tough and always full of flavor. I got the barbecue chicken and was so pleased to find out that it not only melted in my mouth with juiciness, but it was also packed with enough flavor that it didn’t even need the hot sauce I was planning to throw on.

If you’re a red meat fan, you’ll be happy to know that the steak is even more succulent than the chicken and is seasoned with savory flavors like garlic to bring out the richness of the meat.

Although the sides might sound boring in comparison to the meat, they’re not to be overlooked. The rice and beans are different from something you’d get at a mexican restaurant and have a more garlicky taste.

Another option you get to choose from are delicious and exotic sides like cinnamon sugar fried bananas or fried and seasoned yucca. If you think this sounds a little heavy, remember that your meal comes with a salad too so you don’t have to feel too guilty.

Located at the bottom of the Zions Bank building right on University Avenue, Braza Express is easy to access and shouldn’t be missed.

In the past, if you’ve been looking for pizza that will both excite the taste buds and fill the stomach, you have to go to expensive restaurants like California Pizza Kitchen that can end up hurting the bottom line if you’re looking to pay for more than just yourself.

But Slab Pizza, built a couple of years ago beneath the apartment complex Campus Plaza, offers a delicious and gourmet way to get full without compromising your budget.

Its simple menu looks very modern and easy to read, almost like the chain Chipotle which offers very few ingredients in different ways.

One of the most popular pizzas is the Buffalo Chicken which uses a bleu cheese dressing as a base, topped with a more mild cheese and, of course, finished with some spicy buffalo chicken.

To make the experience even more complete, small strips of celery strings are artfully placed on the pizza to make the illusion of a wing dish transformed into a pizza.

Another popular pizza, as well as a personal favorite, is the Thai Chicken. With the house peanut sauce substituting the normal marinara, as well as roasted peppers, sesame seeds and garlic chicken, this pizza is a delicious blend of cultures.

But don’t think that it doesn’t satisfy like good, old-fashioned pizza. Each slice is topped with a good serving of mild, mozzarella cheese that creates a satisfying and almost guilty feeling.

And in case you’re worried this artsy, modern pizza parlor won’t have you full, for $4-$7 you can get any slice of pizza you want, and the slices are 1/4 of a large pizza.

This new restaurant adds to the ethnic flare of Provo’s downtown dining scene. With a bright red, green and yellow building, this restaurant is not easy to miss.

However, having just opened on October 9th, there are still many people who haven’t ventured inside yet. But its owners Jett and Arian Selvartnam want to change that.

These brothers want to give people a completely unique dining experience by offering Utah its first authentic Sri Lankan and Singaporean restaurant.

Using banana leaves to cook and serve their food, and only offering foods that are in season and will be good for your soul and body, this restaurant is truly one of a kind.

What to Get

I’ve always been a huge fan of Indian food, and I was pleased to see that Banana Leaf feels kind of similar dishes. So I ordered my favorite Indian curry: chicken tikka masala.

This rich curry is packed with rich cream and vibrant spices as well as an earthy tomatoey foundation to keep it grounded. But instead of rice, they brought us out plates of delicious Pa’an to eat with.

Pa’an is an extremely moist flatbread that is topped with butter, seasonings and garlic and it is the best spoon for curry anyone could ask for.

If you want something a little lighter than the masala, my husband got the ginger coconut tikka and that was delicious as well. Instead of a tomato base, his curry was made with coconut milk and had much more of a coastal vibe.

All in all, if you’re driving on University Avenue near Center street, you will not regret coming in to the Banana Leaf.

At 22 West Center, Station 22′s goal is to provide the professionals who work in downtown Provo with a quality place for healthy ingredients and good food.

Its owner, Richard Gregory, strives to use only the most high-quality ingredients to create food that not only tastes good, but is also supplying your body with real fuel that will be good for you in the long run.

As if that wasn’t enough, Station 22 also strives to use local and sustainable profit when they can. They know that one of the hardest industries to be in right now is anything small and local.

With no bailouts to make up for a recessed economy, local businesses like Station 22 are trying to support each other by using products that support the businesses around them.

This also helps ensure that your food is fresher, since it’s closer to the source, and it cuts down on emissions into the atmosphere that would have been caused by the transport of ingredients and goods that come from all over the globe.

Gregory ways that “we source our bread locally and plan to source local produce as soon as we can. Most of our dishware is made from recycled sources and/or is compostable.”

You feel that local, earthy aura as soon as you step in the doors with the walls covered in local art.

But the aesthetic and theory behind Station 22 isn’t the only thing that makes it great. The food is also phenomenal.

I got the Adventist which is a Ratatouille-inspired veggie sandwich. With layered roasted seasonal veggies with roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions, and red peppers all on a ciabatta roll, there was nothing left to be wanted.

If you’re looking for something a little more substantial, my husband got the Mighty Meatloaf sandwich which had bacon-wrapped meatloaf topped with sharp cheddar cheese, housemade ketchup and fresh lettuce & tomato.

Needless to say, we both came home happy.

One of my favorite ways to get my spicy food fix is with Thai food. Surprisingly, Provo has quite a good scene for Thai food, despite its lack of other delicious cuisines.

The best place out of the smattering of Thai restaurants has to be Spicy Thai. Not only is their location great, right off of University Avenue, and the food is incredible, but they’ve also got prices that make your mouth water that much more.

If you’re new to Thai food you simply must try the pad thai noodles and the masaman curry. These two dishes identify Thai food as the mix of Indian, Asian and Island cuisine that it is.

Pad Thai is a tangy and sweet noodle dish that is made from a fruit that is indigenous in Thailand and surrounding areas. But this dish is also made savory with some crushed peanuts for topping.

The mix of flavors definitely adds some pizzazz to your typical Asian noodle dish you could get at Panda Express. You can also get pad thai spicy too if you’re looking for a little heat.

Masaman is by far my favorite curry. This dish also includes the peanut flavoring that Thai food is so famous for. With a creamy, nutty base, Masaman also has sweetness from the coconut milk that gives the curry volume, and of course, spice. As with any dish at Spicy Thai, you can order your dish mild, hot or daring.

If you’re used to the thickness of Indian curries, you might be surprised to see the thinness of Thai curry, but that just means that they can put more delicious vegetables in it like potatoes, carrots, onions, and even some cashews!

Although I love watermelon and corn as much as anyone, I’m willing to say goodbye because I know that there will be many opportunities for me to eat all sorts of squash in the very near future.

Not only do I adore the squashes of fall, but I love the earthy spices of nutmeg and cumin that come with them. It all makes it so much easier to pack away all my swimsuits and shorts for the coming cold weather to know that I’m in for some good food.

And good food is definitely to be had at Pizzeria 712. This restaurant focuses on ingredients more than their menu, and as such, the items on the menu are always changing to reflect which ingredients are in season.

In fact, a quote that the restaurant lives by is, “When you have the best and tastiest ingredients, you can cook very simply and the food will be extraordinary because it tastes like what it is.”

As you can imagine, reading this made me that much more excited for my pizza.

In true fall spirit, the pizza I chose featured roasted butternut squash, caramelized onion, sage, and blue cheese.

The squash was in perfectly soft, little cubes and added an earthy sweetness. The sage and the caramelized onion played in a perfect bitter and sweet harmony and the blue cheese brought out all the other flavors with a melty, salty flavor.

As if the toppings weren’t enough to take my mouth on the ride of its life, the crust was somehow chewy and thin. No crispy, flavorless flakes here.

If you’re ever on State Street in Orem, Pizzeria 712 is well worth the visit.

(In case you can’t tell, I’m a big fan of Farmers Markets.)

But since every time I go to a good Farmers Market I lose all control and basically try one of everything, I feel like I can review the whole market as if it is one restaurant.

The Farmers Market that I visited most recently was the one located just south of Center Street and just off of 500 W in Provo. It’s held in the shady part of Pioneer Park and the booths run along the perfectly choreographed sidewalks ever so nicely.

Although you can never quite be sure if each booth will be there from week to week, there are some regulars that have become favorites of mine.

One of those booths has Thai food with the most exquisite spring rolls. Not only are they pretty huge and you can get three of them for three dollars, but the peanut sauce that comes with them is the perfect blend of savory and sweet.

Another personal favorite is the jalapeno jelly stand. They have a full range of mild to spiciest spicy (my husband chose mild while I am always pleased to go as spicy as they can give me), and all of them are delicious. They have samples for you, spread over a cracker with cream cheese, and you have more will power than me if you can try one without buying.

My favorite stand, however, happens to be one with a rainbow of homemade breads. You’ll find everything from sundried tomato focaccia, to cranberry orange walnut, to Jewish pumpernickel. They have all the breads in sample size so you can try liberally before you buy, but be warned, you’re going to leave on a carb high.

Taking the place of an old gas station, the fact that there are retired gas pumps outside makes Mountain West’s “green” mantra a little ironic. But irony aside, Mountain West has an incredible cooking creed. Only wanting to provide its customers with the best ingredients, all of the products on the menu are made with freshest and even organic ingredients. Joe, the owner, is very proud of the fact that their establishment doesn’t even own a can opener–and that makes a huge difference in the taste.

Not only are the ingredients fresh, but they’re prepared in a healthy way too. With vegan and vegetarian options that extend further than the salad menu, Mountain West truly is a burrito joint unlike any other.

Although it was very hard to choose, I chose to get a Roasted Vegetable burrito, and since it had been a long stretch since lunch, I decided to get it “giant” style. When my burrito came out it looked more like a baseball bat than a burrito. It was huge! But so delicious. Wrapped in a gigantic whole wheat tortilla was brown rice, pinto beans, tomatoes, onions, and even zucchini! But the best part by far was the guacamole that was throughout the whole thing. Nothing tastes better than fresh guacamole in a burrito.

I must admit that as I was waiting for my burrito to come out, I started to get nervous that this was going to be a little too bland for me as there was no hot sauce cabinet. Then when the burrito came I only saw a little cup of green sauce. Green? Who do you think I am? I’m much more of a red-sauce-so-hot-it-makes-your-eyes-water-and-nose-run-all-down-your-face kind of girl. But I was not disappointed. It had all the kick I wanted and the flavor I wasn’t expecting. Don’t worry if you’re not one to enjoy spicy, this sauce was even enjoyable to my husband who has much more sensitive taste buds.

All in all, Mountain West Burrito was an incredible experience with great service. Not only did we get to watch some unidentifiable soccer game, which made me feel very international, but there was beautiful pictures of Utah landscape all over the restaurant. If you have a Mexican fetish that you want fulfilled without feeling like you need to loosen your belt, take a trip to Mountain West and fill your body with something good.

With signature pizzas like the Garden Vegetable (with zucchini, squash, mushrooms & carmelized onions), the Santa Fe (lime salsa, chicken, black beans, chilis, onions, peppers & avocado) and the Dijon Chicken (honey Dijon mustard, chicken, ricotta, roasted tomatoes, spinach & bacon)it was pretty clear that this was going to be different from your average American pizza joint.

Not only did they offer more healthy toppings, but they cook their pizzas on a thin, honey whole wheat crust, which means you don’t have to worry about being laden down by unnecessary carbs, and you can feel self righteous for eating whole wheat. And you’re not only doing good things for your body by eating here, but Malawi’s also promises to provide a nutritious meal for a child in Malawi, Africa for every meal you buy at their restaurant. This explains why a pizza restaurant would have an African name rather than a traditional Italian one.

But Malawi’s is more than just a good cause—it is delicious! I got the Dijon Chicken and was completely floored with the combination of flavors. The honey Dijon was both sweet and tart, and the ricotta and bacon provided this perfectly salty, savory binder to pull all the flavors together in harmony. For dessert we indulged a little and got the Peanut Butter Cup S’more which was a sinful concoction of peanut butter cups, marshmallows and Nutella. The nutella was a melty dream that was variegated with semi-melted peanut butter cups and the marshmallows were not only hot but toasted. We all left with chocolate all over our smiling faces. Malawi’s is definitely worth the trip to North Provo.

Goodwood opts to slow cook their dishes over select hardwoods instead of just throwing them under some blackened steel coils in some rusting oven. There menu is founded on a unique method of closed-pit cooking that really brings out the barbecue flavor so many other restaurants lose once they start growing. Goodwood however has been able to keep their food tasting great despite expansion. This is because the locations are owner run and operated. That means those interested in the company’s growth are there trying to make your experience the best it can be.

Last time I had the pleasure of trying the their Honey Stung chicken sandwich- chicken tenders double-dipped in buttermilk and slathered with this tangy, somewhat spicy honey glaze, between a hearty bun. It was incredibly succulent, flavorful, and drippy as all get out- everything you’d want from a messy barbecue masterpiece.

For an appetizer, I recommend trying their Fresh-Cut Onion Rings. These things are battered in buttermilk and then fried to perfection. After they are served with the house ranch. You might want to consider getting the half order, because the full option is a pole stacked with fried ring perfection a foot off the table.

My personal favorite part about this place is that they don’t won’t waste time with napkins, instead opting for giant rolls of paper towels at every table. Trust me you’ll need them. At least I know I do. It seems they know their clientele very well.