The Crossroads Journal

By Nancy Kramer

Staff Writer

There’s trouble afoot in them there hills…Harvest Hills, that is. Cascade Collision wants to build on the north side, past Harvest Village. Driving north on Redwood Road, one can see that roadwork is being done where four office buildings will be built. The next property after the office buildings is where the collision center wants to locate.

Residents in Harvest Hills wonder why they need another automotive facility as they already have Saratoga Tire and Auto just south of Saratoga Hills. On the east side of Redwood Road, The Car Doctors recently had its grand opening. The property where the new facility may be built has been zoned for commercial development for the past ten years.

“Cascade Collision’s next step is to submit a site plan and conditional use application,” stated Jim McNulty, planning director for Saratoga Springs. He went on to say that the public could express their opinions at public hearings with both the Planning Commission and the City Council.

Whether the plan to build a new Cascade Collision Center near the entrance of Harvest Hills goes forward is still up in the air.

By Kim Zebley

Growing up there were 4 TV stations to choose from: ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS. These were exciting times. No, there wasn’t a lot to watch on television, but this challenged adventurous kids to go out and experience life. What great times they were.

On those days when playing outside just didn’t work, I retreated downstairs to see what was on TV. I have no idea why I needed to check; there were always the same shows to watch— “Gilligan’s Island,” “Bewitched” and “Hogan’s Heroes.” Every day I watched TV, I watched those same dumb shows. Yep, it was pretty boring, but somehow I still got into a watching routine.

I sometimes didn’t want to push myself to get up and do something that I really enjoyed. Was I just being plain lazy or was it that I didn’t know of anything better to do?  Maybe it was both. I usually watched those shows on afternoons when my friends couldn’t play or I was tired of throwing a baseball against the garage.

Are we all that way? Do we sometimes find ourselves just settling for the easiest option?  Or do we “settle” because we don’t know there’s something better out there?

I was driving around last week, trying to find a place to eat. I wasn’t sure what I wanted, but then noticed a plaza that had a Chinese restaurant I’d never seen before. I pulled up to get a closer look and the sign simply read, “Original owner, combo $4.95. Best Food. Best Price.” Sounds good to me.

Whistle Wok is similar in its set up to Panda Express. They offer about 10 meal choices plus rice, noodles, soup, egg rolls and wontons. They also serve ice cream. I ordered the $4.95 combo, which is a two- item meal served with rice/noodles, and an egg roll. The food was plated immediately and at check-out they had a bowl of baked pineapple chunks covered in sesame seeds- One free per customer. I figured I should try.

While standing there I found myself remembering my childhood. As a teenager, whenever my family went out for Chinese, I always ordered broccoli beef. As time passed, however, I noticed that dish lost its pizzazz and just tasted blah. I haven’t ordered it for at least 20 years.

For some reason, while at Whistle Wok, I decided to try it again…It was as if I thought watching an episode of “Hogan’s Heroes” would somehow magically be exciting or better than the first 100 times I’d watched it. Well, the broccoli beef was just as I remembered and that’s that. It was just another episode with the same ending.

On this day, I also had cashew chicken. Luckily that dish was like a new episode. The flavors for this were more appealing than many I’ve tried before. It had just a bit more pizazz. It tasted like Gilligan finally got rescued, or Colonel Klink and Shultz realized they were the fools.

The noodles and egg roll were a bit bland. Oh well. For this meal, the cashew chicken was the star. The pineapple with sesame seeds was a nice surprise. It was simple, yet unique, and a great end to the meal.

So all in all I would say Whistle Wok wasn’t necessarily bad, it was just average. It is a place you’d want to go just because you’re craving Chinese and it’s there. Sometimes average is just fine. There were a few patrons coming and going so that brings me back to my question: Do we just do things because we simply settle for the option or because we don’t know any better? It’s probably different for everyone, but maybe it’s something else, maybe “Hogan’s Heroes” was a great show and I just didn’t care for it. Hmm, that is definitely a possibility.

Still, I’d say if you are looking for average Chinese food with very affordable prices, Whistle Wok may be just what you’re looking for. And if you go there and you love it then I’ll quote one of the famous lines from “Hogan’s Heroes” that I heard 100 times, “I see nothing. I know nothing!”

Whistle Wok is located at 193 E. 30 N. (east of Albertsons) in American Fork. Open M-Sa, for lunch and dinner. No MSG.

By Kim Zebley

Some girls might call themselves “girly girls” and I’m guessing these types really like the frills. I know of a place called Dear Lizzie that any girly girl would love, but I’m thinking that one of my favorite fictional characters would especially love it. Can you guess who?  Fancy Nancy, of course. She would love Dear Lizzie.

Dear Lizzie is a store/bistro that caters to “celebrating the joys of being a girl.”  I think if Dear Lizzie were a fictional place, Fancy Nancy would be in fancy heaven. This place is what her dreams are made of; frills, fluff, glitter and all that jazz, and it even has French music playing in the background.

If you haven’t read the original Fancy Nancy, it’s about a little girl who is trying to be sophisticated. She uses “big” words, often French words, and wants everything to be done as fancy as possible. Dear Lizzie is a place that’s all about fancy, shabby chic, whimsical, old and new, imaginary, and fun.

Located in Highland, when I first walked in I had no idea there was a bistro in the back. Dear Lizzie is really focused on indulgence. Let me tell you some of the things that are offered: fashion for her, home delights (artful accents), pamper me products, vintage finds, and, of course, the bistro.

Upon entering, I almost felt as if I was stepping back in time, as a little girl sneaking into my grandma’s attic which was full of the coolest treasures that any little girl could imagine. I also can imagine my mother saying, “Don’t touch.” But guess what? Here, at Dear Lizzie’s, I’m grown up and yes, I can touch. You want to touch everything because it’s either smooth, silky, soft, or curious. Really the senses come alive. You will find yourself thinking, “Should I smell or feel or just look at?”

Luckily Dear Lizzie has some benefits of not being in an attic… like good smells and no cobwebs, for instance. They combine unique with old and new, pleasant scents waft through the air, and I didn’t see any dust or cobwebs.

After you are lost in this maze of whimsy, you find yourself in a wonderland of decadent looking cupcakes and other sweets. It’s then that you’ve come to the bistro. This is only open for lunch, daily, 11-3. Menu options include sandwiches, soups and salads, specialty drinks and divine desserts. It’s a very simple menu, but I wouldn’t say all of the options are just normal. I had the turkey pesto on toasted baguette and a cup of creamy potato soup. The turkey pesto was served warm and golden brown with melted cheese on top and olive oil soaked into the baguette. The flavors blended nicely together. It was not a lot, but a nice start to the meal. The soup was hearty and delicious, with a comforting taste and together both filled me up. I think the servings are definitely girl, not boy, size.

I also tried their avocado turkey on flat bread. It was not too exciting, simply a turkey avocado that tasted like…  a turkey avocado. I guess there’s nothing wrong with that. Everything was fresh and flavorful. I have no idea why I was expecting more, it was called a turkey avocado, after all. The tables were all unique, with white linen tablecloths, little salt and pepper shakers, and everything was served on breakables. How cool is that?  It’s nice to eat somewhere, once in a while where you feel like a kid playing tea party with the breakable china and wares. It made us feel extra fancy. The menu choices are somewhat unique and creative and are presented beautifully, and the extra extravagant decor really created a fun setting.

Even though this place is definitely for girls, I didn’t know that when I went there, and I dragged my husband along. Luckily he’s man enough to handle such a girly place and actually I think he thought it was cool too. The bistro did have a romantic feel to it so I would definitely say it could be a nice place for a lunch date- especially if a guy wants to impress his girly girl. For me, not being a girly girl in the least, it was more fun thinking about a step back in time, to being a little girl once again and enjoying the excitement of all things pretend.

Fancy Nancy or Tomboy Kim, Dear Lizzie is just a nice place to go with the girly girls or the romantic man. And if you’re a Fancy Nancy fan, it’s très belle et très bonne (that’s French for very beautiful and very good).

Dear Lizzie Bistro is open daily from 11-3. They also offer parties of all kinds and Afternoon Tea on Tuesdays. Reservations required. Store hours are different.

Located at 10953 N. Alpine Hwy, Highland.