chips and wasatch-alsa

a pic i took while at the WBC

while in park city, i visited the wasatch brewing company (http://www.wasatchbeers.com/).  i had the raspberry wheat brew    it was super tasty. but boy did it wreak havoc on my stomach. it has been a process trying to learn which grains affect me and which seem more benign.

great beer is one of many reasons i moved to the pacific northwest. 
the thought of excluding any of it because it messes with my stomach feels like a cruel joke. luckily, oregon makes some fabulous wine....ha ha! 

it's not just the beer but the atmosphere of breweries is also appealing. admittedly the atmosphere of the WBC was slightly lacking. but while in salt lake, killing time before my flight, we went to  Squatters (http://www.squatters.com/)  it was on a sunday so the city was dead. silly and ignorant me had visions of the place being vacant with one bartender and server, annoyed to see us.

how wrong was i? VERY!! this place was happening. what a beautiful building. artsy on the inside. old historic looking on the outside.
we sat near a corner fireplace and didn't even have to wait for a seat.

we took off our jackets, got settled in, and sorted thru the menu.

my goal was to not order the chips and salsa (sometimes vacation=justification)...but the minute my eyes spotted them, my brain registered how good they would taste and before you know it, dear waitress stopped by our table "what can i get you to drink?"

" 2 belgian white ales...and an order of chips and salsa" (are chips and salsa an actual drink?!) of course not!
my request had been heard by dear waitress, who was now gone with the wind. of course, i didn't run frantically searching for her so she could cancel my order. perhaps it was a freudian slip of sorts. was my body subliminally telling me what it needed wanted?

not sure about all of  you but every time i've ordered C&S at other restaurants, the bowl has been fairly small with a salsa dish to match. 

not this place. the bowl was GIANT. and they were GOOD. plus, a variety of salsas were offered. a variety i couldn't resist. 

and though i had a rough draft game plan, it went straight into the recycle bin as soon as the chips arrived. it is times like these when i wish i had been born with the appetite of a little bird.

little birdie appetite

i'm sure you all have that friend who can eat just a FEW. are you kidding me? i barely come up for air when eating. certainly these chips didn't stand a chance.

so there i was eating and drinking gluten. 

luckily my meal was very light and wonderful. i would highly recommend it. the blackened tilapia sandwich, sans the bread and have them put it on a bed of lettuce instead. i chose the tahini lime salad dressing (dear waitress--who was having a bad day, told me that this was her favorite) and it was fantastic!

by the time i waddled out of the establishment i vowed not to eat soo many chips next time...hmmm, that doesn't sound very realistic. NOT ordering them all together seems like the best solution. this may require having someone order for me so nothing slips out of my mouth.

while the grains weren't helping my stomach feel great, i couldn't  blame the gluten; this was sheer over indulgence. 

i walked a few city blocks of salt lake in search of....ice cream. (hey! cut me some slack, i was just 'searching' for it--plus i was on vacation. ha ha!)

apparently downtown SL was all out of ice cream, but there was a TCBY at the airport.

yep, you guessed it...that soft serve chocolate/vanilla twist didn't stand a chance.