June Events at the Buzz

28 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Celebrations, Main Dish, Photos By: Bob Young, Special Dinners, Special Events, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wine Dinners, Wine Tasting

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ne, Quarterly wine dinners, Special events, The Buzz Coffee and Wine, Wine, wine club

This just in from Cristi at the Buzz in Boise. There are some interesting events going on this month. I will be presenting on May 31 at the Whip Night photography ideas.

I hope everyone had a happy holiday weekend giving thanks to those that gave their all for us. There are some great opportunities coming up to enjoy food, wine, and fun. June is Idaho wine month. Each weekend we will have an Idaho wine with our weekly wine tasting. Join us on Friday or Saturday for wine tasting, our weekly dinner special focusing on “slow food”. There will be dessert specials and appetizer specials as well.

Whip Nights – We Help Inspire People. This is a casual evening at the Buzz. Each month we will have a member of the community with great passion and knowledge related to a hobby or pastime. May 30th we invited Bob Young to answer our questions about digital photography. Come down enjoy a flight of wine (featuring female wine makers) and our small bite specials for the night. No reservations needed, just stop by between 5 and 8 on May 30 and bring your questions.

Wine Club – We will continue our journey through the world of wine by learning about the wines of Australia and New Zealand at our wine club this month. 6:30 PM on June 11 or June 12 . The cost is $15.00 per person including dinner and wine tasting. All wines will be on sale 10% off after dinner. Reservations are required. Buzzwine@cableone.net or 344-4321.

Music in June
Many talented muscians will be entertaining us in June, at the Buzz. May 31 Dr Todd Palmer
June 1 Jean Cardena
June 7 Wayne White
June 14 Jack Brown/Jean Cardena
June 15 Classical Jam Session
June 21 Dr Todd Palmer
June 28 John Cazzan
Music from 7-9 except classical jam night from 6-8. (This event is sooooo much fun!

Quarterly Dinner/Special Bottle Sunday – June 23 Quarterly Dinner. This is an amazing 5 course meal with each course paired with 2 different wines. This is a great way to learn about wine pairing. Come learn about wine pairing. Cost is $30.00 per person with all wines being 10% off the day of the event. Dinner starts at 6:30 with reservations required. buzzwine@cableone.net or 344-4321. Special Bottle Sunday is inspired by the by the Wall Street Journal columnists Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher’s who wrote Open That Special Bottle Night, Special Bottle Sunday- is just what it sounds like: an evening to invite over your friends to share special wines you’ve been saving. The wines will be fun bottles to share and the food will be based on recipes from the newspaper.

We anticipate everyone is enjoying the beginning of summer and hope to see you all soon for one of the great summer events we have planned at the Buzz. Watch for menu changes over the next few weeks.
Sincerely,
Cristi and Tom Takeda
Buzz Coffee and Wine
344-4321 or buzzwine@cableone.net

43.624890 -116.214093
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10 Barrel Brewery, Boise First Visit

24 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in 10 Barrel Brewing, Acme Bakery, Beer and Ale, Beer and Food, Caesar Salad, Celebrations, Comfort Food, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Special Beers, Special Events, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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10 Barrel Brewery, brew pubs, food, IPA, restaurants, siberian kale

Finally. After all this waiting, 10 Barrel Brewery in Boise opened! The photo here is of the front of the pub on Bannock Street at 9th, across from the Chinese restaurant, Yen Ching.
The restaurant space inside iss large and open. The noise level is tolerable. It is busy noise, not loud music or TV. That will work for us. And when the weather changes, they will probably open some very large doors and have an area where one can site on the sidewalk, but be served inside. Left-Click the photo on the left to enlarge and look at the right side of the photo. You will be able to see the stools.
And yes, they serve Apocalypse IPA. In my not so humble opinion (IMNSHO) one of the best, if not The Best, Ipa’s made. We had a Caesar Salad and a 10 Barrel Burger and the IPA went very well with both. Good beer, like good wine, is meant to be consumed with food. It might be made with barley and other grains, but it still needs food. It is nice to report too, that they try their best to use local products, i.e., the Acme Bakery for their buns and rolls. Enjoy the photos posted here that I took on our First Visit. There will be a Second Visit and probably more. Hope to see you there. Well worth the trip. The food is good and the beer is …………. well ………. Super! Cheers and Enjoy!

Inside the brewery in a portion of the dining area. The chairs are very heavy, so be careful moving them.

The “Brewing Center”.

“Reflections”

Caesar Salad
romaine, Siberian kale, cherry tomato, shaved Parmesean cheese, croutons $6.00

10 Barrel Burger
custom ground beef patty, lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickle, mayo, bacon. Served on Beer Bun by Acme Bakery, Boise $11.00
A really super burger and a great bun. The French Fries, though, were a little salty and came close to over powering the burger. I let the Wait Staff know. The beer in the background is an Apocalypse IPA $4.50

Overall, a good experience. Out of 5 Stars, probably one of the better pubs in Boise so I rate it a 4 Star pub. Great job, 10 Barrel! They have a complete menu of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, pizza and sweets. Stop in and say Hello for us and let them know you saw this article here. Thanks and please VOTE above. Cheers.

Great Easter and Birthday Dinner

01 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Appetizers, Birthdays, Caesar Salad, Cakes, Captain's Shack, Celebrations, Ethnic Foods, Italian Food, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurants, Seafood, Special Dinners, Special Events, What's For Dinner?

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chocolate hazelnut torte, cilantro pesto, food, restaurants, seared sea scallops, shrimp risotto

Such a great Easter Sunday! Robin in her RabbiT ears and me a year older. Good to have Marnie, Mac, Chris, Madison, Sophia and Maggie with us. Robin spent most of Saturday making a Chocolate Hazelnut Torte that was delicious. There are some photos of the cake below. Thank-You to everyone who was at this dinner party. Thank-You, too, for the cards and gifts. I appreciate all of you and the gifts. Here’s what we had for dinner. Left-Click any of the photos to see a larger view. Cheers! Of course, we had to have some wine. And don’t forget to Vote above. Thanks.

The wines we pulled for our dinner and party!

Making the Chocolate Hazelnut Torte. Yum!

Making the Chocolate Raspberry Hazelnut Torte. Yum!

The finished product.

Yum!

Here are some appetizers we had.

Rollingstone Chevre with Pansy’s

Seared Sea Scallops
Mashed sweet potato, spicy cilantro pesto

Grilled Shrimp
Risotto cakes, basil cream sauce

Olive Selection

Cavatappi
Roasted cauliflower, capers, thyme, fontina cream

And salads, too!

Beet Salad

Caesar Salad
Hearts of romaine, anchovies, parmesan, croutons.

And here are some of the entrees we had.

Clams
Pancetta, pepperoncini, white wine sauce, linguine

Cassolet

Linguine
Light tomato-herb sauce

Boar
Broccoli rabe

A delightful party and dinner. Don’t you think?

Happy Nowruz! (Sal No Mubarak!) Persian New Year

22 Friday Mar 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Anthropology of Food, Beef, Buy Idaho, Celebrations, Chicken, Ethnic Foods, Food Trivia, Kabob House, Lamb, Locavore, Main Dish, Party Time, Persian Food, Photos By: Bob Young, Rice, Special Dinners, Special Events, Special Information, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?

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food, Kabob House, persian new year, restaurants, traditional fashion

What a great evening of music, dance and food! And such a great restaurant for the celebration – Kabob House, located at Maple Grove and Emerald in Boise. So what is “Nowruz”? To quote from a flyer they gave everyone, “Nowruz means “New Day” in the Persian language (Farsi), and is widely referred to as the Persian New Year. It also corresponds to the first day of spring and the beginning of the year in the Persian calendar … Nowruz is celebrated on the day of the astronomical Northward Equinox, which usually occurs on March 21 or the the previous following day, depending on where it is observed”. “…Originally being a Zoroastrian festival, and the holiest of them all, Nowruz is believed to have been invented by Zoroaster himself, although there is no clear date of origin. Since the Achaemenid era the official year has begun with the New Day when the Sun leaves the zodiac of Pisces and enters the zodiacal sign of Aries, signifying the Spring Equinox. Nowruz is also a holy day for Sufis, Bektashis,Ismailis, Alawites, Alevis, Babis and adherents of the Bahá’í Faith.” [Wikipedia] Interesting. Did you know that in 1752 England and it’s Colonies (the American Colonies) changed the new year from March 25 – the English calendar – to January 1 – the “New Style” calendar? (Connecticut State Library) The March 25 date also corresponded to the spring and the appearance of new plants. Left-Click any of these photos to see a large view. Here are some photos of the celebration. Cheers!

Yes, there were dancers! And there are rules as to where to place the dollar bill. The Dancer explained to me that there is no “set routine” to many of the dances, but rather the music “tells” them what movements to make. The dancer interprets the music. Much like a Latin Rhumba, for example, where the dancer interprets the music.

“Nowruz celebrations last for many days, during which people visit with relatives and friends. Gifts are exchanged and parties are hosted. There is even a special display [pictured here] known as “Haft Seen” (the Seven ‘S’s) with items beginning with the Persian letter for “s” that have special symbolic value…The tradition of placing seven items in a display dedicated to the New Year (typically March 21) has its origins in the pre-Islamic Zoroastrian faith of the Persian civilization, and each item represented seven of the Zoroastrian divinities. The coming of Islam resulted in the adaptation and replacement of many Zoroastrian customs, and the haft sin table setting evolved to include the following:
sabzeh: wheat, barley, or lentil sprouts growing in a dish – symbolizing rebirth.
samanu: a sweet pudding made from wheat germ – symbolizing affluence.
senjed: the dried fruit of the oleaster tree – symbolizing love.
sīr: garlic – symbolizing medicine.
sīb: apples – symbolizing beauty and health.
somaq: sumac berries – symbolizing (the color of) sunrise.
serkeh: vinegar – symbolizing age and patience.
In addition to the above, however, you will also find a number of other haft sin items that harken back to Nowruz’s Zoroastrian origins. These items may include a mirror (symbolizing sky), candles (symbolizing fire), rose water (symbolizing water), goldfish (symbolizing the beginning of a new year), and painted eggs (symbolizing fertility) — a rather interesting coincidence for those who celebrate Easter.” (Kabob House)

One section of the restaurant is decorated in traditional fashion.

Traditional Nowruz fruit drink. Walnuts, pistachios, raisins, apricot and almonds to name a few.

Traditional Nowruz fruit drink. Walnuts, pistachios, raisins, apricot, immature date and almonds to name a few.

Wonderful Green Salad

Sabzi Chalow: Sauteed Fresh Spinach with Basmati Rice.
Chai with Hael – Persian tea with Cardamom

Chicken Kabob: Tender chunks of chicken breast, marinated in special herbs, spices and broiled over the grill.

Tekka Kabob: Lamb (or beef) pieces marinated in special herbs and spices and broiled over the grill.

Rib Kabob: Lamb chops marinated in herbs and spices and broiled over the grill.
The two green “dips” as pictured here and above, have a spicy component but go extremely well with the entree. The onions are slightly pickled.

Bakalav: Now who can pass this up? Not me.

Baklava: Now who can pass this up? Not me.
Robin had a Shir-Berenj, a Persian rice pudding made with rose water.

So there you have our celebratory New Year Nowruz dinner party. Fun and delicious. Great to see Soraya, Michael Moss and his wife and Barbara and Patrick Myhre. The food was super and the price was nominal. You see everything that we had, except for the chicken kabob which was Patrick’s, and we paid about $20.00 per person. I think that was a very good price. We will return to Kabob House. And from their FaceBook page, “Enjoy cuisine representing the culinary cultures surrounding the legendary Khyber Pass, with an extensive menu of Persian, Afghan, Indian, and Central Asian dishes. Buffet daily from 11am – 2pm. Dinner from 3:00 – 9:00pm.” They are located at 9140 W Emerald St Boise, ID 83704. (208) 995-0915 Cheers!

Valentines Wine Dinner at the Buzz

13 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Celebrations, Chocolate and Food, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Pork, Special Dinners, Valentines Dinner, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wine Dinners

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chocolate dessert, chocolate mousse, food, pear salad, wine dinner

Another adventuresome Wine Dinner at the Buzz in Boise with Cristi, pictured here, doing the presentation. Great job, Cristie. Chocolates to celebrate Valentines Day! The theme? Zinfandel and Chocolate! Yum-O! The wines were on the most part well matched to the food. The one exception was the 2010 Layer Cake Primitivo which actually accentuated the spiciness of the chipotle in the soup. Here are some photos of the dinner and the wines that were served. Cheers!
Eggplant Caponata and Brie Chocolate
2011 Renwood Zinfandel
14.5% alc a good match with the appetizer. [18] $13.00

Pumpkin Chipotle Soup with Chocolate
2010 Layer Cake Primitivo
13.5% alc. As stated above, I did not like this paring. but that’s my opinion. the primitivo over emphasized the spiciness of the soup. it distracted from the soup, which by itself, was very good. [16] $17.00

Spinach and Pear Salad with Chocolate Vinaigrette
2009 Leese Fitch Zinfandel
13.9% alc. Great paring with the salad. (I did like this salad!) [18] $12.00

Spanish Pork Roast
Chocolate Risotto
Chocolate Roasted Vegetables
2009 Carol Shelton Wild Thing
14.9% alc. Another great paring with the main course. (I really liked the way the pork was prepared. It was great! And the risotto was superb.)[18] $12.00

Brownie Cookie and Chocolate Mousse
2009 Dry Creek Heritage
13.5% alc. never have had a bad Dry Creek wine. this one went extremely well with the chocolate dessert. Needed more wine. [19] $17.00

Once again, a great evening and Wine Dinner. If you missed this one, well ………….. It was sold out and I believe tonight, Wednesday, is also sold out. So I suppose we will have to see you next month. You can always call them and try to have a seat. (See their logo in the sidebar.) And keep tuned in here on the blog because the Buzz has some awesome programs during the month. Cheers!

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Birthday at the Buzz

29 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Appetizers, Birthdays, Celebrations, Interesting Information, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Special Events, Special Information, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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entertainment, little serenade, wolfgang amadeus mozart

Happy 257th Birthday Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan 27, 1756 – Dec 5, 1791)!! We celebrated your party at the Buzz in Boise and it was a great time – it was snowing! A group of 25+ musicians from the Boise Philharmonic and others who just like to jam, were there playing your music all night long. Well, from at least 6:00pm to 8:30pm when we left. I think the party was still going on. Such fantastic talent we have here in Boise. Thank-You everyone who participated and to Tommy and Cristi for opening the Buzz for this fantastic event. Can we do it once a month? That would be great!! The highlight of the evening and to celebrate the birthday, the entire ensemble got together and played “Eine kleine Nachtmusik (Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major), K. 525, is a 1787 composition for a chamber ensemble by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German title means “a little serenade,” though it is often rendered more literally but less accurately as “a little night music.” The work is written for an ensemble of two violins, viola, and cello with optional double bass, but is often performed by string orchestras.” [Wikipedia] The group tonight consisted of many violins, cello, oboe, bassoon, bass and French horn. Superb! It brought the house down! Great acoustics! Here is a small, 16 sec sample of the music. Video provided by Sue O’Rourke –

(If you would like to hear the entire Eine kleine Nachtmusik, about 5:45, Click Here.)

Here are some photos of the artists and musicians who were playing tonight. Enjoy!
NOTE: Just in from Cristi at the Buzz – “Next jam is scheduled for April 8. Looking for a Saturday night earlier as well, hope to host them every other month. It was amazing!”

Violin Trio

Quartet

The group performs!

Jen Drake, Violin

Jan Van Atta Beckwith, Violin

Nicole Golay, Oboe

Patty Katucki, Bassoon

And then there were some appetizers and wine. Who could ask for more? Great music! Great food! A superb night.

Appetizer Plate by Cristi

Gooey Cake

Happy 2013 Everyone!

01 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Appetizers, Captain's Shack, Celebrations, Crab, Crockpot, Finger Foods, German Recipes, Holiday Gatherings, Holiday Menu, Main Dish, Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Sauerkraut, Seafood, Shell Fish, Shrimp, Special Dinners, Special Events, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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byrd cookie company, finger foods, food, new years eve, red cabbage

We do hope that everyone has a great 2013! And that you also had an exciting New Years Eve party. Robin and I did. Very quiet. But very delicious. Started out, somewhat, with this Red Cabbage and Sausage over a Baked Potato. It was yummy. Then we went to more of a party mode with the finger foods we made pictured below. Left-Click the photos to seed enlarged. Enjoy!!

A table full of Finger Foods.
Various Crackers and Chips
Steamed Shrimp
Crab Dip
Various Byrd Cookie Company Delights
Fresh Grapes
Shrimp Sauce
Stella Artois Goblets
Moscato d’Asti

A plateful of Yum!

Christmas 2012: Food, Wine and Family!

26 Wednesday Dec 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Breakfast, Buddy, Captain's Shack, Celebrations, Christmas, Cod, Comfort Food, Dried Corn, Food, Food Prep, Holiday Gatherings, Holiday Menu, Lamb, Main Dish, Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Robin Young, Recipes, Salad, Salads, Seafood, Side Dishes, Sole, Soup, Special Dinners, Special Events, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wine and Food Festivals

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cheese danish, food, huckleberry jam, morning pastry, wine cork

Oh, my! What a great two day Christmas celebration!! Great food! Great wines! Great family! I just love it when the extended family – at least the Idaho portion – all get together and have a good meal together. Thank- You Mac and Marnie for the Christmas dinner. And Thank-You everyone for all of the great gifts! And Mac, for making the Italian Wine Cork Retriever!!! And Buddy got his Piglet! I think he thinks he is being replaced. Not a chance!! (Left-Click any of these photos for a larger view.)
But let’s start with Christmas Eve food. Robin and I spent a nice quiet evening at home. To start with, we made a salad of Caprese Scallop Stacks and then for the entree we made Cod with Tomato Cream Sauce. I used both Cod and Sole in this recipe. These were really delicious. The photos are posted below.

Caprese Scallop Stacks

Cod with Tomato Cream Sauce

Then for Christmas morning – I remember my Mom running downtown in Newark, DE., to Bing’s Bakery and picking up a Christmas Morning Pastry Wreath – Robin made these wonderful cheese Danishes. I was still asleep when I smelled this wonderful aroma, drifting through the house. It was these pastries. Yum-O!

Cream Cheese Danish with Wild Idaho Huckleberry Jam and Sliced Pear

Then in the afternoon, we packed up the car and went to Marnie and Macs for an awesome dinner. And a yummy dinner it was. Marnie made a root vegetable, slightly curried, creamy soup that was delicious. We want the recipe, Marn. (Sorry I didn’t get a photo of it.) And Mac did a great job with the lamb. But look at what they made.

Green Bean Casserole
Roasted Lamb with Mint Jelly
Roasted Potatoes
Dried Corn with Poblano Peppers

And for dessert –

Noel Log

And to go with the dinner and the chocolate dessert, some wines we pulled. Enlarge the photos and read the labels. Especially the vintages. These were awesome!

Then we all gathered around the beautiful Christmas tree that Marnie and Mac had decorated.

Madison and Chris

Madison, Coco and Sophia

Maggie and Sophia

Mac and Ray

So there was our fantastic Christmas! And like I said before: Great Food! Great Wine! Great Family! Who could ever ask for anything more? Not me.

Feast of the Seven Fishes

21 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Celebrations, Christmas, Ethnic Foods, Food Trivia, Holiday Gatherings, Holiday Menu, Italian foods, Main Dish, Party Time, Seafood, Side Dishes, Special Dinners, Special Events, Things To Do, Traditional Food, What's For Dinner?

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christmas eve celebration, feast of the seven fishes, food, mario batali, vigilia di natale

OK. We have posted about Hanukkah and a while back about Kwanza and several other culturally diverse holidays. And it seems that this year, I have been hearing a lot about the Italian Christmas Eve celebration of the Feast of the Seven Fishes. As it turns out, there is quite a bit written about the feast, usually held on Christmas Eve. “The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian Christmas celebration. Today, it is a feast that typically consists of seven different seafood dishes. However, some Italian-American families have been known to celebrate with nine, eleven or thirteen different seafood dishes. This celebration commemorates the wait, the Vigilia di Natale, for the midnight birth of the baby Jesus. It is unclear when the term “Feast of the Seven Fishes” was popularized.” (Wikipedia) And according to Mario Batali on Epicurious.com, “”It’s what Italians do when they say they’re fasting.” More precisely, the Feast is a meal served in Italian households on La Vigilia (Christmas Eve). In many parts of Italy, the night is traditionally a partial fast, during which no meat should be served. But in true Italian style, this proscription has morphed into something very unfastlike indeed: course after course of luxurious seafood dishes, often as many as 7, 10, or even 13. “No one’s quite sure of the significance of the number,” says Batali. “Some families do seven for the sacraments. Some do ten for the stations of the cross. And some even do 13 for the 12 apostles plus Jesus.” (You can read more at of this article, and get some recipes, at Batali Seven Fishes.)
And here is just one of many dishes that you can easily prepare for the feast. I may try it this year. It is called Cod with Tomato Cream Sauce and comes from Eating Well.
And finally, if you would like a little more information and maybe some recipes, look at the Seven Fishes Blog. Enjoy the recipes and the feast!

Our Thanksgiving 2012

23 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Bread, Celebrations, Dried Corn, Main Dish, Photos By: Bob Young, Special Dinners, Thanksgiving, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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chocolate torte, deviled eggs, food

Such a great dinner. It was great to have all of the family and extended family join us for the Thanksgiving dinner. Marnie, Mac, Sophia, Chris, Madison, Tessa and Maggie. These are the folks that made this day so great. Thank you all for joining us and for the salads, pie, deviled eggs, bread, potatoes and oyster stuffing. We did not go hungry. Enjoy this slideshow of the dinner. Cheers! The photo here are the place settings that Robin made.

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Even Buddy had his Turkey Dinner last night – small portion! And then he could not stay awake. He couldn’t even wag his tail. He was so funny. Hope everyone had as great a Thanksgiving as we did. Cheers!! Now for Christmas.