New to us: BrickYard – Steakhouse – Spirits – Dueling Pianos

17 Thursday Dec 2015

Posted by Bob and Robin in 4-Stars, Beef, Boise Adventures, BrickYard Restaurant, Comfort Food, Hamburger, Hendrick's Gin, Housemade Soup, Idaho Beef, Idaho Chefs, Idaho Potatoes, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Lunch With Robin, Photos By: Bob Young, Potatoes, Restaurants, Restaurants To Try, What's For Dinner?

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BrickYard Restaurant, Chihuly, glass art, piano bar

In Boise, one of the better burgers! Almost as good as Storm’s Burger from the Parma Ridge Winery Bistro in Parma, ID. The BrickYard, Boise offers a very attractive dining area and a good BrickYard Menu along with Idaho, and other, wines and spirits. Children are welcome! I need to say right now, our Waiter, Brandon, was superb. Friendly, polite, and liked to engage in good conversation and could answer all of our questions. He even made my lunch a little different and not on the menu. Well worth a trip and be aware, one of the best burgers in Boise! We will go back. “… Brickyard Music – This weekend scheduled to play Friday December 4th, & Saturday December 5th featuring dueling pianos with Robert Morrow, Danny Beal and on the drums (& Vocals), Adam Troutman, playing all requests starting at 10pm. For an extended music calendar and ticket information on upcoming events, follow us on Facebook! The BrickYard strives to showcase local products when available.” Definitely a 4+-Star restaurant. Here are some photos. Enjoy! This would be a good restaurant for the Idaho Wine Commission Restaurant of the Year Award.

The front door sign on Main Street in Boise. 601 Main Street, Boise, ID 83702, Mon-Wed: 11am – 10pm, Thu: 11am – 10pm, Fri: 11am – 2am, Sat: 5pm – 2am. Phone: 208.287.2121, Fax: 208.287.9203, Parking: Street, Food Styles: Steakhouses, Attire: Dressy, Culinary Team: Executive Chef – Drew Ledger and Owners: Chad and Kristi Johnson.”

The restaurant is in what used to be the Idaho Statesman Building.

The dining area.

Chihuly glass art on the wall! “… Dale Chihuly (born September 20, 1941), is an American glass sculptor and entrepreneur. His works are considered unique to the field of blown glass, “moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture”. The technical difficulties of working with glass forms are considerable, yet Chihuly uses it as the primary medium for installations and environmental artwork.”

Close up of the wall art.

Chuhuli Light in the main dining area! If you know glass art, you know Chuhuli!

Chuhuli Light in the main dining area! If you know glass art, you know Chihuly! This light art is probably worth in the neighborhood of $14000.00 – $15000.00. Just thought I’d let you know.

Flora Dora

Ahi Club
Thin sliced seared Ahi tuna on a toasted ciabatta bun with wasabi sauce, applewood bacon, lettuce leaves, fresh tomato slices and shaved pickled ginger
Smoked Bacon and Potato Soup
Idaho Yukon gold potatoes poached in chicken stock then slow cooked with hand cut shoestring fries

BrickYard Burger
Hand formed half pound ground chuck patty infused with smoked bacon, char-grilled and crowned with sharp cheddar. Dressed out with crispy onions, butter leaf lettuce, sliced fresh tomato and mayonnaise on a fresh baked bun served with hand cut steak fries

I had them hold the bun and they did that. It was good to see that they would alter their menu to suit the client. I ate about 1 cup of the fries and Robin ate the rest.

Holiday Season Wine Dinner

12 Wednesday Nov 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Beef, Buy Idaho, Cheese, Coffee, Dinner With Friends, Friends, Green Beans, Hamburger, Koenig Vineyards, Meatloaf, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe By: Food Network, Recipes, Soup, What's For Dinner?, Wine Dinners

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Baked Alaska Meatloaf, Dill Pickle Soup, Mediterranean Green Olive Soup, recipe meatloaf, recipes

The Holiday Season was started last night at The Buzz and their monthly wine dinner. Many seasonal ideas were presented: Wrapping, fun gifts, culturally correct gift giving: Brazil – avoid giving gifts of black or purple or in South Korea – never anything made in Japan or North Korea. Just a few of the suggestions.
Good job in paring the wines with the dinner. The dinner was a surprise. Things we have never thought of or tried before, Dill Pickle Soup for instance. Actually, it was surprisingly good. (Here is but one recipe for Dill Pickle Soup.) Much like a Mediterranean Green Olive Soup, which is very good, but a Dill Pickle Soup is more of a Polish soup! And the Baked Alaska Meatloaf was a surprise. (Meatloaf baked, then cooled and mashed potatoes all over then broiled. Here is a Recipe for one variation. There are several.) Here is what we had and the wines to accompany the meal. Enjoy!

Wrapped Meatballs Quick Crackers A strange appetizer. I don't know what the cheese was. 2012 Koenig Cabernet Sauvignon 15.7% alc. high alcohol sometimes is a distraction. this is not. great with the main course and the meatballs. [19]

Wrapped Meatballs
Quick Crackers
2012 Koenig Cabernet Sauvignon
15.7% alc. high alcohol sometimes is a distraction. this is not. great with the main course and the meatballs. [19]
A strange appetizer. I don’t know what the cheese was.

Dill Pickle Soup 2010 Bastile use de Beauvert 13.5% alc. good sparkling wine and pared well with the soup. [17] This is a strange soup, but surprisingly good.

Dill Pickle Soup
2010 Bastille use de Beauvert
13.5% alc. good sparkling wine and pared well with the soup. [17]
This is a strange soup, but surprisingly good.

Orzo Squash Salad
NV Cruzat nu Brut Classico
12.5% alc. good, refreshing wine. went well with the salad. [19]

Baked Alaska Meatloaf
Green Beans
Twice Baked Potatoes
2012 Pinnacoli Primitivo
14% alc. good paring but the Koenig Cabernet Sauvignon went much better. [19]
We found the green beans under cooked and the potato was slightly under cooked, too. The meatloaf was strange.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Loaf
2008 Quinta Do Noval Port
19.5% alc. went well with the chocolate [18]
Good dessert.

And then there is always a good cup of coffee, if you so desire!

And here are some events that are coming to the Buzz. December 19 and 20: Buzz Wine Dinners – New Year’s Resolutions (get your reservations in!). Then on January 9, 2015, the return of Classical Jam Night! Do you play a string or wind instrument? Bring it and join in. This is always an awesome evening of some really great music. Order dinner at the counter – they usually have something special. Cheers and see you there at The Buzz, 2999 N Lakeharbor Ln., Boise (208) 344-4321!

BBQ and Beer

08 Tuesday Jul 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Anthropology of Food, BBQ Beef, BBQ Chicken, BBQ Fish, BBQ Sausages, BBQ Veggies, Beer and Ale, Beer and Food, Cooking Styles, Dinner With Friends, Food Prep, Food Trivia, Grilled Fruit, Grilled Vegetables, Grillin' and Chillin', Grilling, Hamburger, What's For Dinner?

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bbq beef, bbq chicken, bbq seafood, bbq veggies, Beer, grilling

From one of my many reference blogs, in this case Serious Eats (the photo here is from Serious Eats), I received this very interesting article on BBQ Beer Pairing, among other things such as the right beer with burgers, it is suggested too try “… Black IPAs to try: Firestone Walker Wookey Jack, Deschutes Hop in the Dark
Smoked porters to try: 8 Wired The Big Smoke, Stone Smoked Porter (for a more subtly smoky experience)
Porters to try: Deschutes Black Butte Porter, Nøgne-Ø Porter, Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter.”
With chicken, they suggest “… Amber/brown German lagers to try: Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel, Paulaner Oktoberfest Märzen, Heater Allen Coastal Lager (if you’re on the West Coast)
Blonde bières de garde to try: Brasserie St. Sylvestre 3 Monts, Saint Germain Page 24 Réserve Hildegarde Blond
Helles lagers to try: Weihenstephan Original Premium, New Belgium Summer Helles, Ballast Point Longfin Lager.”

The list goes on and the suggestions, too. Beers to go with sausages, steaks, grilled seafood, grilled veggies and then a suggestion, “If You Had To Pick Just One”. It is a good article and a great reference. Good luck and Happy Grilling! Cheers! And here is your chance – Try to stick with your local beers. Many cities now, including Boise, have some really awesome micro breweries and Boise even has, I think, the nations first nano brewery.

Cloud 9 Nano Brewery, Boise

18 Tuesday Mar 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Beer and Ale, Beer and Food, Beer Tasting, Bistro, Burger and Brew, Cloud 9 nano Brewery, Comfort Food, Dessert, Gaston's Bakery, Hamburger, Idaho Breweries, Idaho Wine, Local Markets, Main Dish, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Salads, Sandwiches, Side Dishes, Sliders, Special Beers, What's For Dinner?, Whats For Lunch?

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Albertsons Shopping Center, Classic Burger, cloud 9 nano brewery, Gaston Bakery, nano brewery

The Cloud 9 nano brewery opend on March 17th in the Albertsons Shopping Center at 18th and State Streets, 1750 W. State St. It was a full house! In the following quote from their website – link above – we see that they are trying very hard to use locally produced products, both in their beer production and their food preparation. I know their hamburger rolls come from Gaston Bakery here in Boise.

We are Boise’s first nanobrewery, and the only certified organic brewery in the state, producing only four barrels per hand-crafted batch. We are focused on sustainable, local, and organic beers and our brewery also houses an amazing restaurant with a similar focus.
By keeping batches to only four barrels in size, we are able to vary our beers to match seasonal ingredients and provide a wealth of variety for craft beer lovers.
Expected Hours:
Monday – Closed
Tuesday – 11:00am to 10:00pm
Wednesday – 11:00am to 10:00pm
Thursday – 11:00am to 10:00pm
Friday – 10:00am to Midnight
Saturday – 10:00am to Midnight
Sunday – 10:00am to 9:00pm
Happy Hour from 4-6 with $1 off pints and a limited Happy Hour Menu is coming soon.

Their seasonal menu includes such items as Classic Burger – $9.50 and photo below, Chicken Pesto – $9.50, Roasted Veggie – $9.50, Shepard’s Pie – $10.50, Vegetarian Shepard’s Pie – $10.50, Corned Beef and Cabbage – $10.50 and Corned Beets and Cabbage – $8.50. I had the burger and it was very good. They use Gaston Bakery buns and 3/1 burgers (3 burgers to the pound).They also serve a wide variety of appetizers ranging from $5.00 – $7.00. Some of the folks there were getting their salads and they looked good. $2.50 – $8.95. They serve beer, of course, and their own made root beer which I had earlier and it was very good.
Good to see that they serve Idaho wines, Indian Creek Winery and 3 Horse Ranch Winery. Seating is limited, about 35 seats at tables and at the bar. They hope to have outside seating when the weather changes. Enjoy these photos and hope to see you there!

The bar area and menus.

The menus and an empty Irish Dark Lager – good lager!

Irish Dark Lager

The beer menu. They do have samples and from what I saw, three different sizes of servings. Great idea.

Classic Burger. Very good! I think I would rate this a 4-Star pub. Remember the size. It is small and not near the size of 10 Barrel Pub downtown or Kilted Dragon or Sockeye. The beer is good. The food is delightful and the service is good. Don’t be in a rush. They are just getting started and give them time. Enjoy!!

Guess Who’s Coming To Our Neighborhood?

09 Sunday Mar 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Carl's Jr, Classics, Comfort Food, Cooking Styles, Food Photos, Grilling, Hamburger, Local Markets, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Sandwiches, Sliders, Special Events, What's For Dinner?

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Albertson, Burger King, burgers, burgers and such, carl's jr

Yup! You guessed it! Carl’s Jr at 17th and State where Burger King used to be. Ample parking and access in the Albertson’s parking lot. To open soon. Real soon, I hope! Stay tuned. Welcome to our neighborhood!