In case (pun intended) you haven’t noticed, the mighty trifecta of Provo/Orem grocery stores are just about done wrapping up their most recent episode of everyone’s favorite shopping steal: the case lot sale. If you were brave enough to battle the even-more-so crowded parking lots, play bumper carts with half the county, and stand in lines that make a summer holiday at Disneyland seem not so bad after all, you have found yourself with a pantry full of food that you may not know what to do with.

I am just like you — I don’t know why I needed 36 cans of corn, but for savings of 30 cents or more per can, well, someone grab me an extra cart. And now here we are, staring at a cupboard full of canned goods, wondering why you just dropped half of next month’s rent on food you aren’t even sure if you like. Don’t worry. In case of a local disaster, you will be everyone’s new favorite neighbor. But rather than letting your case lot investment turn into paperweights or bed risers, there are plenty of delicious meals that require nothing more than a few of these canned commodities.

Recently my wife picked up two flats of black beans from a local case lot sale. Most commonly used in Latin cooking, these beans pack both a lot of flavor and a lot of nutrients in a humble, oblong body. These low-fat legumes boast high fiber and protein, making them ideal candidates for the leading role in any meal. Many veggie burgers use black beans for bulk and a rich, earthy flavor. They can be used as filler in quesadillas (do this with some spinach, you won’t be sorry), burritos, salsas, or mixed in with rice for a simple, yet filling meal.

We chose to cast our black beans in a savory, yet beyond-simple soup. With only three (not a typo, really) ingredients, this black bean soup carries enough heat to get you through another Utah winter,  but satisfies the body and soul’s hunger for real flavor. And with two of the ingredients highlighted in recent grab-as-much-as-you-can sales, it could be an easy and inexpensive way to check off a culinary conquering: the canned bean.

Keep eating, friends.

Black Bean Soup

Servings: 2

1 cup salsa (choose your favorite)

2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 15-ounce can fat-free chicken broth

Warm salsa in a saucepan for a few minutes. Add beans and broth and stir. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Cool slightly. Put half of the mixture into a food processor or blender to puree. Return to the pan and heat through.

You can garnish with sour cream or more salsa.

Keith Bond is a food correspondent for Rhombus. This is his first article for the magazine.

Communal is Provo's newest fine dining establishment in the downtown area.

This year hasn’t been great for small businesses anywhere, so it’s no surprise that Provo’s downtown — with all its vacant buildings and low foot traffic — vaguely evokes the aesthetic of a ghost town. Yet despite the woeful state of the economy, a few courageous entrepreneurs decided to open shop this year and have surprisingly managed to defibrillate our struggling Center Street area.

Of course, the local business scene can be a tricky thing; stick around long enough and it seems like most small-time joints go under just as they’re getting cool. Yet whether they remain for a few months or a few years, independent stores and restaurants are almost always one-of-a-kind. They also provide a place for people to come together and interact as friends and neighbors. In other words, local businesses are a city’s soul and supporting them is a worthwhile investment in community and culture.

In that spirit and in no particular order, here are of some of 2009’s best new businesses. All of them began in 2009 and hopefully, if people continue to check them out, they’ll survive for years to come.

F Stop Café — Provo cafés come and go, but F Stop’s simple offerings (mostly drinks) and chic, low-key ambiance set it a head above many of its predecessors. The café is a regular participant in Provo’s Gallery Stroll, so it also typically houses new exhibits each month. That means there is always something interesting to look at and talk about. It also means that visiting the café continues to be surprising month after month. If its warm there will be chairs and tables outside, but no matter the weather the F Stop Café is one of Provo’s newest and coolest places to hang out.

Lady Danburry Tailoring and Design- Do you ever wish you could get all your clothes tailor-made? Or just that they were designed for your body shape, instead of the platonic ideal of a woman or man? The answer to your questions is Lady Danburry Tailoring and Design, Provo’s own tailor shop. Run by Lynette Danburry, the shop sells custom clothing and can tailor the stuff you’ve already got to fit just how you like.

Lady Danburry also sells a line of stylish and unique satchels that make great gifts (for family, friends, or just yourself). If you’re tired of the generic, pseudo-cool clothes you bought three years ago at Forever 21, try having something tailored or custom made. I did and, after having Lady Danburry tailor a new suit, I actually landed two new jobs. Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe Lady Danburry’s tailoring can make your clothes look their absolute best.

Stumpy Burger — As of this year you can drive over to In N’ Out, wait in line for hours, and finally satisfy your California-lust with run-of-the-mill fast food. Or you can head over to Stumpy Burger, support a local business, and end up with higher quality food than you’ll ever find at a multimillion dollar corporate restaurant. The menu is simple and the portions big, but the taste is where Stumpy Burger really soars. Click here to read Rhombus’ Munchmobile review.

Communal — One of the most exciting recent trends in Provo has to be the surge in upscale restaurants. The newest and arguably most interesting of these eateries has to be Communal. Run by the people behind the much-lauded Pizzaria Seven Twelve in Orem, Communal has a rich menu with an urbane atmosphere to boot. The dishes are delicious, of course, but they’re also notable for being innovative and visually pleasing. Located in a cozy old brick building, Communal is a cosmopolitan restaurant that embodies the romance of food and eating out.

The Loft — Thankfully, the Provo city government has become less hellbent on shuttering dance halls during the latter half of this decade. This more congenial atmosphere paved the way for places like Muse Music and Velour, but it wasn’t until this year that Provo finally had a club dedicated solely to dancing.

The Loft occupies the former home of the Center Street Musical Theater and, though it’s still relatively new, it’s probably already showing up on your radar. The venue gets props for targeting specific crowds on specific nights — on college night, for example, you don’t have to worry about being surrounded by a bunch of high school kids — and for hosting innovative events like EDP’s Kill The Radio earlier this month.

Jim Dalrymple is a regular correspondent for Rhombus.

At long last, the final ballots are here! You nominated your favorite local people, places and things for our 2009 Readers’ Choice Awards — and now you get to vote for them! The polls (included below) will be open through the end of the year, so vote for your favorites and tell all your friends to do the same. We will announce the winners in each category in early January. As always, thanks for reading. Happy voting!

– Steve Pierce, Editor

Yet another year has come and gone and the time has come to pay tribute to 2009 in the only way we know how — the first annual Rhombus Readers’ Choice Awards! This is your opportunity to vote for the best local music, food and culture of 2009, so don’t miss out — make your voice heard.

You can help us start the process by copying the nominating ballot included below into the comment box at then end of this post and filling in your favorites of 2009 in each category. The nomination process will continue through December 24th, at which point the Rhombus staff will cobble together your nominations and create a final ballot on which you can vote once more for the ultimate winner. The final ballot will be available December 26th through December 31st, with the winners announced in early January.

This is all about the stuff that mattered to you in 2009. It’s your opportunity to recognize the best Provo had to offer this year and give a big shout-out to your favorite local bands, albums, restaurants, stores and more, so cast your vote in the comment box below and tell all your friends to do the same! As always, thanks for reading. Let the votes fly!

– Steve Pierce, Editor

Copy and paste the following into the comment box below and cast your vote:

2009 RHOMBUS READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS
NOMINATING BALLOT

Best Artist (Folk/Country):
Best Artist (Rock/Pop):
Best Album (Folk/Country):
Best Album (Rock/Pop):
Best Music Venue:
Best Restaurant:
Best Movie Theater:
Best Clothing Store:
Best Hang-out:
Best Trend:
Best Sports Moment:
Best Event:

After another month long hiatus, our famous men of the Munchmobile are back on the road in the search of quality food here in the greater Provo area. In this week’s edition, our munchers sought out a restaurant that has claimed to complete the trifecta of the dining experience. This trifecta is defined as a restaurant that provides a) quality food with b) good quantity at c) a reasonable price.

For years we have seen buffets and eateries that can perfect two of these categories, but have never solidified all three. We have places like Tucanos that offers an unlimited smorgasbord of delicious Brazilian meats, but you have to fork over a pretty penny to gain entrance. Then there are the typical Chinese buffets that give you all you can eat at a friendly price, but you always have to question if the beef really is beef and if the chow mien is more than a week old. The list of these kinds of restaurants goes on and on.

Just recently a pizza place has come to town claiming to offer a buffet of quality food at a low price. The Pizza Pie Café, located on University Parkway near Albertson’s and 24 Hour Fitness, is a replica of the Rexburg favorite Craigo’s. They offer a sizeable pizza buffet, along with a salad bar and some pasta options. Is the food good enough for Pizza Pie Café to complete the fine dinning trifecta? Our munchers Ben Wagner and Jake Welch give their two cents.

Ben Wagner
I once had the chance to sample Craigo’s Pizza in Rexburg (I saw a mouse there by the way, as well as fitting eight people into the back of my jeep liberty on the ride over, but that’s another story) and, if you’ve been there, it’s impossible to try the Pizza Pie Café without comparing the two. They are, for all intents and purposes, identical. In fact, I’m unsure as to why the owners (who own Craigo’s as well) named the new restaurant the Pizza Pie Café instead of just naming it Craigo’s. Besides being snappier and rolling easier off the tongue, many of the students at BYU have been to Rexburg and I’m sure many have sampled Craigo’s or at least heard of it. The title Craigo’s would have evoked memories of the classic Rexburg college dive.

Despite the owners’ lack of imaginative marketing, PPC (at this point I’m just sick of typing the whole name) met all three qualities of “the trifecta”. While the pizza was not as good as that found at Brick Oven or SLC’s The Pie, it was good and there was a wide variety of selections — including my favorite, a pizza with potatoes and bacon on top. PPC also offers pastas and salads on the buffet, along with a great selection of dessert pizzas. The meal cost me about $7 and was well worth the amount of good food I was able to eat. In short, PPC does what it does extremely well — an affordable buffet with good quality pizza. I challenge you to find another place in Provo where you can eat as much good food for as good of a price. 5 out of 5 pizza pies

Jake Welch
As a disclaimer, I need to inform everyone that I am a pizza snob. For two years, I worked at a pizza place in New Jersey where I feasted on free pizza and other fine Italian foods. There I was able to discover that pizza is more than cardboard crust and flavorless sauce. Folks back east take pride in their pies and work hard to perfect their craft, and because I was spoiled by some of the best pizza on earth, I have a high standard for what makes a quality pie.

That being said, I didn’t have high expectations for the PPC. After all, it was an all-you-can-eat pizza place in Provo, where I have yet to find anything that compares to anything back east. I was, however, pleasantly surprised with what the PPC had to offer. The pizza wasn’t great, but it was better than another buffet pizza I’d tasted previously. There is a good variety of pizza, but after two or three slices it all starts to taste the same. The only pie that really stood out was the BBQ Chicken pizza, because of its tangy barbecue sauce. The dessert pies were also a nice surprise, my personal favorite being the apple cobbler.

Overall, the PPC is not a bad place to get some grub. It offers a whole lot of food for a pretty good price. Would I say that it completes the dining trifecta? No. As good as the pizza might seem, you get what you pay for. When I went, I felt obligated to eat more so I could get my money’s worth. When a buffet has truly great food, you can leave without having to justify your purchase by binge eating. 3 out of 5 pepperonis

All in all, our Munchers were pleased with the pizza at the PPC, unless you happen to be a pizza snob. They also offer a variety of menu items that are separate from the buffet, but the workers don’t really make an effort to up-sell anything. The price of the buffet is $6.99, with an additional $1.89 for a fountain drink. Overall: 4 out of 5 poorly named pizza joints

Jake Welch and Ben Wagner are regular correspondents for Rhombus. You can follow them on Twitter @jraywelch and @ben_wagner, respectively.

Inside the belly of the California beast's brand new location in the heart of Utah Valley.

November 19, 2009, will forever go down in history as the day Utah County got “hella chill.”

Today, I decided to witness the Californization of Utah with the grand opening of Orem’s In-N-Out Burger. I wasn’t really that hungry, but it was a local cultural event. Besides, I already slept through the meteor shower earlier this week, so I had to get my shared experience fix for the week — and I knew there would be some prime people watching to be done at the In-N-Out opening.

When I arrived at around 3:15 p.m. on opening day, the line went about 20 feet outside the door. “Oh no,” I thought. “I’ll definitely be late for class.” But, to my surprise, I got my order taken within 15 minutes, with only a 10 minute wait afterwards to get my food.

While waiting in line, there was already an excitement in the air. Employees stood by the door, greeting both Utah natives and transplants alike. They handed out pamphlets about In-N-Out, including nutritional information. Two bro-esque gentlemen in front of us smugly declined the pamphlets when offered, as if to say, “It’s cool. We’re from Cali. We’re In-N-Out vets. We just longboarded here uphill from Raintree; we don’t need your pamphlet!”

As I entered the doors of this hallowed, still spotless building, I saw the army of employees behind the counter, a machine as well-oiled as their fries. For many of the employees, this discipline and business sense no doubt comes from their years in BYU’s MBA program. I didn’t know who to feel more sorry for — the college graduates wearing the red, white and yellow hats, or me, for not scoring their job.

I expected this event to cater to two kinds of people: California natives that wished they were still in California, and Provo natives who wish they were born in California. While looking around at the crowd inside the restaurant, though, I realized something: this was the most diverse, yet unified group of people I had ever seen in Utah County.

Here was every social group in the valley, and yet they were all equals. Yuppie grandmas and hooded hardcore kids were eating the same fries. The condiments used may have been different, but they were essentially eating the same thing.

Unlike most clubs, cliques or cults, everyone feels welcome at In-N-Out. No cryptic handshakes are needed to order off of the “secret menu” and, unlike the band you discovered before anyone else, the more people that enjoy an animal-style Double-Double, the better.

In-N-Out is also a final frontier of burger joints who call a spade a spade, and admit with pride that they are, in fact, just a burger joint. Like a Facebook profile, void of the HTML customization of its social networking predecessor, In-N-Out is one of the few restaurants in this complicated world that still teaches us this universal lesson: no matter what the content of our personal profiles, we are all more alike than we really think.

Chance Clift is Rhombus’ newest contributor. He is NOT from California and is NOT “chill,” “random” or “spontaneous,” — and neither are you.

After a week in which our Munchers snacked on the burgers of the giant fast food chains, they decided to go back to their roots and hit the streets of Provo in search of some good grub. Instead of going for the usual burger and fries on a Saturday night, the Munchmobile crew of Jake Welch, Ben Wagner and Steve Pierce desired some flavor from the Far East, leading them to The Thai Kitchen.

The Thai Kitchen, located on the corner of 300 South and 300 West in Provo, is a locally owned and operated business that doesn’t have a lot of pizazz. The place was recommended to a few of our Munchers on the fact that it was fairly decent Thai food for a reasonable price. For a long while, our Munchers really only had these two things on their radar. If a place offered quality food that wasn’t going break out bank, then it was a winner.

This was the situation until their experience at The Thai Kitchen, where the element of service was called to their attention. In the restaurant business, the service can be the deal breaker. An honest and timely serving staff can give the costumer that extra motivation to return, while a lackadaisical or difficult one can scare off the costumer, no matter how good the food may be.

In the case of The Thai Kitchen, our munchers didn’t have good things to say about the service. Maybe it had to do with the food being served almost an hour after they ordered. It might have been longer if they didn’t speak up and mention how long they had been waiting. It turns out there was only one chef working in the kitchen on that particular Saturday evening. This might be normal protocol for a Tuesday afternoon, but should never be the case on a Saturday night.

There were other things that took place during the Munchmobile’s stop at The Thai Kitchen, but we’ll let the crew speak for themselves as they discuss and rate their meals.

Jake Welch — Pad Thai

I am not super familiar with Thai food with the exception of the dish Pad Thai. I usually go with this selection because it is usually a safe bet for a good meal. In the case of The Thai Kitchen, the Pad Thai was too safe. I can understand that sometimes certain restaurants want to cater to the community by “Americanizing” their foods, but the lack of flavor in their Pad Thai is truly a disservice.

I thought the noodles and chicken were well prepared, but there wasn’t much else to it. I found it sad that this “authentic” restaurant was not able to compete with a Thai chain out in California called Thai Spice that offered very flavorful food at about half the price. I would even go so far as to say that my dad’s homemade Pad Thai was on par with this stuff. Just for the record my dad has never set foot in Asia and was raised in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Sure, Costco might have helped with the meal, but still, I expected more from The Thai Kitchen. 2 out of 5 elephants

Ben Wagner — Chop Chop (sort of)

I too am not overly familiar with Thai food, but I have had mostly positive experiences every time I have partaken. That was not the case at The Thai Kitchen. I was in the mood for something with noddles so I ordered a dish whose name escapes me at the moment. Up till this point, I was not as wholly dissatisfied with the service at The Thai Kitchen as some of my fellow munchers: the waitresses were friendly (perhaps overly so, but that’s another story) and courteous. The food did take quite awhile to arrive and would have taken longer if Mr. Welch hadn’t spoken up, but I was enjoying myself.

The waitress brought out a dish announcing it as being the “chop chop”, which was the dish ordered by Rhombus’ illustrious editor Steve Pierce.  He, of course, took the food and began to eat it. A few minutes later, another waitress arrived with a dish that was also announced as being the “chop chop.” Of course, this was the real chop chop and the first dish was actually mine. Unfortunately, it was long gone and, as we had already been there an hour, I wasn’t about to send it back; therefore, I ended up eating what I had not oredered. This is a deal breaker for me — the fact that I had to pay for something I did not order pushed my level of customer dissatisfaction over the top. The chop chop, in and of itself, was somewhat bland and not anything to write home about, but it wasn’t what I ordered so the experinece was ruined for me. Safe to say I won’t be returning to the Thai Kitchen anytime soon. 1 out of 5 Buddha statues.

Steve Pierce — Whatever Noodle-laden Dish Ben Ordered

I am a patient man. Really, I’m not one to get all uppity over small things. I generally take things as they come. However, I cannot condone waiting an hour for one’s food at some makeshift Thai restaurant, then having the orders be wrong and having it all taste like you’re eating moistened strips of cardboard.

Perhaps this is the influence of my wife (who works at a restaurant and is extremely conscious of these things), but poor customer service is inexcusable at an eating establishment — especially when it is as awful as our experience at The Thai Kitchen.

To be honest, I can’t even remember any specifics about what I ate that night. I suppose it was probably fine, but it certainly wasn’t anything memorable. But even it was, it wouldn’t matter. I could have eaten the world’s juiciest steak drizzled in edible gold and I would have still left profoundly disappointed. Memo to the staff at The Thai Kitchen: Service is king. Zero out of 5 solo Thai chefs.

In conclusion, if you ever consider opening up a restaurant, just remember that it doesn’t matter if you have the best food in the world; You will ultimately fail miserably if you don’t have an adequate service staff. Hopefully the owners of The Thai Kitchen can learn that in the future. 1 out of 5 misplaced orders.

For suggestions on where you’d like to see the Munchmobile head next week, leave a comment below, send an e-mail to rhombusmag@gmail.com or send a message on Twitter to @rhombusmag.

Ben Wagner, Jake Welch and Steve Pierce are correspondents for Rhombus. Follow them on Twitter @ben_wagner, @jraywelch and @steve_pierce, respectively.

The contenders: Big Carl vs. Big Mac.

In the history of mankind, there has never been a bigger fast food chain than McDonald’s. That being said, the biggest and most famous burger in all world has to be the Big Mac. Ever since the days of our infancy, we knew the Big Mac to be the mother of all burgers. As teenagers, we knew we were almost reaching our adult years if we could finish a Big Mac meal with ease. Known for its two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions on a sesame seed bun, this burger has been iconic for decades.

For years no one dared take a stab at the burger of all burgers — until now. Just recently, up-and-coming fast food joint Carl’s Jr. came up with their own version of the Big Mac, cleverly named the Big Carl. They have flooded the airwaves with direct competitive advertisements that poke fun at the McDonald’s powerhouse. They claim to have bigger patties, more cheese and a better price.

These audacious claims led our Munchmobile crew to question if Carl’s Jr. really had something on their hands. Could their new Big Carl duke it out with the reigning world champ? We sent two of our fiercest munchers, Ben Wagner and Jake Welch, to see which burger packed more punch. The results? Well, just read and find out.

Ben Wagner

This was the UMFC (the Ultimate Munchmobile Food Championship) and this week our two heavyweights duked it out in the octagon of my stomach. The contenders were McDonald’s favorite the Big Mac and the underdog, the upstart Big Carl. I’m not the biggest fan of McDonald’s, but I’m the first to admit that on some days a Big Mac can really hit the spot. Therefore, I was suspicious that the Big Carl could reproduce the success of the Big Mac, and I was right in thinking so.

While the Carl is certainly superior to the Mac when it comes to the size and quality of the meat, the Big Mac has it in a submission hold on taste. The patented special sauce of the McDonald’s specialty is its strong point, giving it flavor that sets it apart from other fast food burgers. The Big Carl had no chance; In trying to recreate the special sauce, you’re Big Carl comes complete with a sauce that tastes like a bad batch of fry sauce from Arctic Circle. Without the flavor of the special sauce, the Big Carl just can’t compete with the Big Mac — or even the other excellent burgers Carl’s Jr. has to offer. If you’re at your local Carl’s Jr., you’re much better off with one of their patented “Six-Dollar Burgers” than the Big Carl.

The winner by knockout: the Big Mac.

Jake Welch

Upon receiving the challenge to choose between these two behemoths, I made the very poor decision to take on both burgers at the same time. It was around 11:37 p.m. and I hadn’t eaten since 11 a.m., so I was pretty famished. At the time, it seemed like eating both burgers in one sitting was a good idea. Not so, my friends. No matter the circumstances, do not try this at home (or at any location, for that matter.)

After purchasing the two burgers, I found a place where I could sit quietly and digest in peace. I decided I would take a few bites from the contender, the Big Carl, because it looked the more appetizing of the two. I was pleasantly surprised to get a mouthful of delicious beef and cheese. These patties tasted like they were fresh off the grill and had something to prove. The sauce was lacking but, boy, did the beef bring it. After a few more mouthfuls I made my way over to the Big Mac. Upon lifting the burger out of the box (which was very classy) I couldn’t help but notice the diminutive nature of the patties. Those darn commercials were right — those pieces of meat weren’t pieces, they were bits. Nevertheless, I took a bite into the Big Mac and I received confirmation that there was very little beef. However, where the Big Mac lacks beef, it makes up for it in the special sauce.

From there I went back and forth between the two burgers, munching and nibbling, trying to decipher the better burger. On one hand, there was the Big Carl, who boasted some bodacious patties; and then there was the Big Mac that had all the flavor one could handle. Amid this difficult decision, I glanced over to my receipts for some help and there lied the deciding factor. The Big Mac was $3.87 while the Big Carl was $2.72. Case closed.

The winner in a knock-down, drag-‘em-out slugfest: the Big Carl.

In the end, our two munchers disagreed — but there was a lot learned on their trip to the land of big burgers. The Big Carl boasted some big flame-broiled patties, while the Big Mac held on strong with its special sauce. In this case, it looks like to each his own. Here at Rhombus, we want to know what you think about these two burgers. Feel free to take the challenge yourself and then tell us your thoughts. Just remember, don’t try and take on both at the same time, no matter how hungry you are.

Taken the challenge? Got an opinion? Have an idea for a future Munchmobile destination? Feel free to comment in the space below, send a tweet to @rhombusmag or e-mail us at rhombusmag@gmail.com.

Jake Welch and Ben Wagner are correspondent for Rhombus, who specialize in sports and tech, respectively. However, when their powers combine, they become… Captain Planet the Munchmobile crew! Follow their deep, burger-powered thoughts on Twitter @jraywelch and @ben_wagner.

This week, down one man, the Munchmobile headed to downtown Provo in search of a classic American favorite: a good old-fashioned cheeseburger. This noble crusade led our heroes to Stumpy Burger, located at 225 W. Center Street in Provo. Upon entering, we noticed that the restaurant is very minimalistic. The design was a simple, classic western motif; the only thing that really stood out was a variety of stuffed raccoons in the corner. We spoke with the owner for a few minutes who told us that Stump’ys specialty is just classic hamburgers. The menu was very simple as well, featuring essentially just a few different sizes of hamburgers, drinks and fries. Keeping it simple, we selected the burger size of our choice and  sat down at the simple wooden tables to snack on some buckets of peanuts while we waited for our burgers.

Burger and fries, courtesy of Stumpy Burger.

Ben Wagner
I chose to munch upon a fine 1/4-pound. The beef was excellent quality, obviously freshly ground — the way a real burger should be made. None of these pre-fab patties from Costco at Stumpy Burger. The best part of the burger was definitely the cooked onions that were liberally applied. They were excellent and added that onion-y flavor I love so much to the burger.

Perhaps the best part of the meal was the fries that accompanied it: these were homcut and -fired potatoes, nothing from the frozen food section at Wal-Mart here. They were obviously cut and fried right in Stumpy’s kitchen, with a healthy dose of my favorite ingredient: salt. The accompanying fry sauce was also a special concoction. Completely different from any mayonnaise and ketchup combo at your local Arctic Circle this sauce had an unidentifiable taste to it, but it was something unique and quite good. The combo meal was $6.25 for the burger, fries and a drink. For that price, I guarantee you won’t find a burger of that quality anywhere else in the Utah Valley area. 4.5 out of 5 Raccoons.

Jake Welch
Of all the burgers that I have tasted in the past year, I would go as far as to say that this burger was one of the most original. It all starts with the patty. This thing was a whole half pound of legitimate beef ferocity. It looked nothing like those perfectly round or square patties you find at fast food restaurants. The Stumpy Burger looked like it was hand-crafted right before it was thrown onto the grill. Just think of any cliched adjective regularly used to describes burgers and this one fits the bill.

Don’t worry, the cheese, onions and even the bun were also on their game. One of my favorite parts about this meal was the hearty fries and sauce. They call the stuff fry sauce, but trust me, this isn’t your typical Utah concoction. It’s got a myriad of deliciousness that I can’t really put into words. When it comes right down to it, this place is original and, here at the Munchmobile, that’s what we’re all about. 4.5 out of 5 buckets of peanuts.

Overall, we found Stumpy Burger to be a very original, excellently put together burger joint, all at a very affordable price. We highly recommend it as one of the best burgers in the Valley. 4.5 out of 5 fresh-cut fries.

For suggestions on where you’d like to see the Munchmobile head next week, leave a comment below, send an e-mail to rhombusmag@gmail.com or send a message on Twitter to @rhombusmag.

Ben Wagner and Jake Welch are correspondents for Rhombus. Their editor hasn’t met anybody who loves a hearty burger more than these munchers — except perhaps himself. Share you burger love with the Munchmobile crew @ben_wagner and @jraywelch.