11 Dec 2012 – Buzz Wine Dinner

12 Wednesday Dec 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Holiday Gatherings, Main Dish, Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurants, Special Dinners, Special Events, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wine Dinners

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holidays

December 11th found us at another fabulous Wine Dinner at The Buzz here in Boise. I think I enjoyed this monthly dinner as much as any that I have been to here at The Buzz. It was fantastic!
The crowd enjoyed themselves throughout the evening and really enjoyed the information that Cristi presented about Christmas around the world and some of the different customs associated with Christmas. For instance, did you know that the iconic image of Santa flying in a sleigh was created by the author Washington Irving in 1819 where he described St Nicholas soared across the sky in a dream?
Here are some photos of the evening and the wines that we had. Again, all are scored on the [20] point system. Enjoy and Cheers! Left-Click any of these photos to see view a larger photo.

Weisswurst
2011 Willamette Pinot Gris
13.0% alc, went very well with the spiciness of the sausage [17] $17.00

Tortellini Soup 2011 Zonin Montepulciano 12.5% alc, great with the tortellini [17] $17.00

Tortellini Soup
2011 Zonin Montepulciano
12.5% alc, great with the tortellini [17] $12.00

Pear and Pomegranate Salad (Awesome salad!!)
2010 Koenig Viognier
14.2% alc, loved this combination [19] $18.00

Honey Butter Ham
Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage
Carrot Casserole
2009 Bastie Cotes du Rhone
13.5% alc, great paring with the entrée. [18] $12.00

Bûche de Noël
Gingerbread
2011 Plunger Head Zinfandel
14.5% alc. this was really great with the chocolates. [18] $22.00

That awesome salad had a dressing on it that was a great blend of Pomegranate Juice, Honey, Oil and Balsamic Vinegar. I’m going to make that again!
The wines that we had as “Cristie’s Choice” were a 2011 Layer Cake Chardonnay that rates an [18] and for $14.00, it was well worth it. The other one that we had was a 2010 Layer Cake Primativo. This one rated a [17] and again, for $18.00 it was well worth it. So all together we had 7 wines and a full 5 course dinner. And all of this for $15.00 per person. Such a deal!!

Entertaining at The Buzz In Boise

14 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Bistro, Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurants, Special Events, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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chocolate walnut, food, restaurants, sparkling wine, wine club, wine selection

Such a great dinner at The Buzz for the November Wine Club Dinner. Cristi did an awesome job in presenting wines that went along with the theme of The Art of Entertaining. Here are some photos from last night and the wines that we had. Really a super dinner and wine selection. Be sure to look at the photos full screen and grab a fork. Enjoy! We did. See you at the next event. Use the link above and call The Buzz for reservations. The best $15.00 you’ll ever spend!

BLT Slaw
Simple Stromboli
2010 Franco Serra
13.0% alc. superfine wine with these dishes, went best with the slaw [19]
This was a great opening dish and wine. Great choices!

Beef and Barley Stew
2011 Les Trois Couronnes Cotes du Rhone
14.0% alc another good pairing of wine and food. [19]

Chicken Wellington
Cranberry Cabbage (delicious!)
Broccoli (Yum-O!)
2010 Meadowcroft Chardonnay
14.5% alc. In my opinion – the best wine of the evening. It went so very well with everything on the plate. [19]

Chocolate Walnut Bread Pudding
Honeybun Cake
NV Renwood Port
I did not particularly like this port as well as some otheres I have had [17]
NV Almond Sparkling Wine of Veuve du Vernay
awesome with tyhese desserts. Loved it! [19]

One of the wines we had tonight.

Another wine we had.

Boise Food Truck Rally and Dolly’s Bar Grand Opening

09 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Boise, Boise Adventures, Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Special Events, What's For Dinner?, Whole Foods

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An exciting time tonight with, at least for me, two special events going on. First was the November Boise Food Truck Rally held in the parking lot of the brand new Whole Foods Store, that is actually not open until next Wednesday, November 14. Here is some of the crowd that fought the cold winds and light snow. Yes, it did snow lightly! Enjoy these photos! It was good to see my friend, Yvonne, at the Brown Shuga Soul Food truck.

The Whole Foods booth. Glad to have you in Boise!

Great to see Tammy and Mike McClure of Indian Creek Winery. Their spiced wine was great. Glad to hear that harvest went well for you Mike.

Then there was the Grand Opening of Dolly’s Bar at 1108 Front Street in Boise. Small, but cozy! Thanks Karyn for inviting me to attend your opening. I do hope the business goes well and grows. Here is the sign that was out front along Front Street. Rather difficult to see at night. It should stand out during the day.

This is the patio at Dolly’s Bar.

The Buzz Quarterly Wine Dinner and Le Cafe de Paris Breakfast

22 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Breakfast, Food, Main Dish, Meatless Monday, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Pork, Restaurants, Special Dinners, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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butternut squash, cameron hughes, carrot soup, food, mac and cheese, restaurants

Sunday, Oct 21, found us at another fantastic Quarterly Wine Dinner at the Buzz in Boise.Great event and great food and wines. Look at what we had and sorry if you missed this. Be sure to Left-Click for a larger view of the photos. And as a matter of record, Christi will not tell you the cost of these wines before the end of the evening. She wants you, and rightly so, to judge the wine on its attributes and not on the cost of the wine. Cheers!

Trio Bacon Potatoes
Butternut Squash Spread
Fried Mac and Cheese
2010 Toad Hollow Unoaked Chardonnay
13.9% alc. best with the Mac and Cheese [18] $14
2010 Barnard and Griffin Fume Blanc
12.8% alc best with the butternut squash [17] $12

Three Bean Salad
(I don’t normally like 3 bean salad, but this was awesome!)
2009 Blacksmith Syrah
14.4% alc hot! salad came through this wine. good food pairing [18] $16
2011 Alamos Red Blend
13.5% alc 50% Malbec, 25% Tempranillo, 25% Bernado great with the mushrooms in the salad [18] $13

Cream of Chipotle and Carrot Soup
(Great soup!)
2011 Tranche Rosé
12.9% alc Walla Walla great pairing with the spicy soup [19] $19
2007 Amador Foothill Red Blend
14.4% alc Grenache and Syrah blend in the Rhone style [18] $19

Pork Tenderloin
with
Whiskey Glazed Sweet Potatoes
Jalapeno Cornbread
(A superb main course!)
2009 Barton and Guestier Red Blend
13.5% alc [19] $13
2010 Tabali Pinot Noir
13.5% alc both of these wines were an excellent selection with this entrée [19] $20

Pistachio Tea Cake
Panna Cotas
(What a great way to end a superb dinner!)
2010 Mothers Milk Shiraz
14.5% alc best to open this one 24 hours before serving [19] $25
2010 Cameron Hughes Zinfandel
15% alc a little “hot” for the delicacy of this dessert; still a good Zin, though [18] $16

So there you have our great dinner and adventure at the Buzz. An awesome dinner as usual with some really excellent wines. If you missed this one, maybe we’ll see you at the next Quarterly Dinner or maybe at the monthly Wine Dinner. Cheers!

And then on Monday morning – Meatless Monday Morning – we went to Le Café de Paris to meet a friend of us from Homedale, Gina. There we had breakfast. Some great toast and jam, but no pastries! That’s almost a Cardinal Sin. Almost. Gina bought several and took them back to Homedale with her. But here is what we had for breakfast and it was good. Enjoy!

Robin had this really delicious looking
Fried Egg Croissant
Fresh Fruit Bowl

I had an excellent
Omelet
asparagus, Gruyère cheese, mushrooms
Fried Potatoes with Green Onion

So, as you can see, we ate our way through the weekend. Oh. I didn’t tell you? For the homecoming game at BSU (they beat UNLV, 32-7) we had a great meatloaf. See Comfort Food at Halftime on this blog. Super weekend. It’s salad tonight. Cheers!

Wine Dinner Featuring Soup! Yup! Soup.

10 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Fruits, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Soup, Special Dinners, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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cold soups, soup, soup and wine, the Buzz, wine dinner

Yes indeed! You read that right! A wine dinner at The Buzz and the courses were all soup. I guess, as Joe said, we can call it a “soupr” evening. And it really was.
Cristi spends a lot of time preparing these dinners and she does her homework. For instance, here is some of what she said about soup. “Soup is generally a warm food; Often made by combining ingredients with a liquid. [Soup is] traditionally classified in two categories. Clear as in bouillon or consomme and Thick as in Puree – thickened with a starch; Bisque – Thickened with cream or pureed meat; Veloutes – Thickened with egg, butter or cream. Generally there is more liquid in a soup than in a stew.”
She goes on to let us know that there are also several different types of soup. “Fruit Soup – Frequently cold when fruit is in season; Fruksuppe (Norwegian) dried fruit; Hot Fruit Soup with meat. Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Chinese cuisines; Generally absent from Americas, Africa, Western European, Japan and Southeast Asia or Oceania cuisines. Cold Soups – At or below room temperature and they can be sweet or savory. Asian Soup – Generally broth based and many use tofu, soy bean curd – low-calorie and high protein.”
These are the type of “educational sessions” that she presents at the tastings. Extremely interesting. Enjoy these photos of the evening and hope to see you at the next Buzz Wine Dinner. Be sure to Left-Click the photos for a larger view. Cheers!

Joe brought this awesome wine – limited quantity – for some to share. Thanks Joe.

Beer/Cheddar Soup with Pretzels
(Awesome soup!)
2010 Wente Merlot
13.5% alc went very well with the soup. big and bold [17]

Avocado-Buttermilk Soup with Crab
(This is a WOW soup!)
2009 Chateau de la Roche Sauvignon Blanc
13.0% alc. absolutely wonderful with the avocado and crab. [19]

Chunky Tomato-Fruit Gazpacho
(A great palate cleanser.)
2011 Jean-Luc Colombo White Rhone
13.0% alc. good wine with the fruit. great pairing [18]

Lentil Soup with Kielbasa and Kale
(Don’t let the kale fool you. A good soup.)
2006 Lan Crianza Tempranillo
13.5% alc. great balance with the spiciness of the soup [18]

Chilled Pear Soup and a Chocolate Soup
(WOW!)
2008 Pillar Box Cabernet Sauvignon
14.5% alc. I thought it went best with the chocolate, but our table had a difference of opinion. [18]

So there you have our evening. It was a great evening and I think everyone learned a lot about soups and pairing them with wine.

Wine Dinner At The Buzz

12 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Salads, Special Events, What's For Dinner?

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“The Hand”

It is not often that one gets treated to such a variation on a wine dinner. But Cristi and Crew did an awesome job this time. Her challenge – Wine to go with her weekly garden basket. In other words, I think, the theme was Salad and Wine. What wines go with a salad and can you make a five course dinner by using salad “fixins”. You sure can. Just look at what Cristi and The Buzz came up with. A super meal! And yes, we still had our 7 wines to go with the meal. For starters, we had Cristi’s Choice. (1) 2010 Reinares Tempranillo. 13% alc. A bold red that deserves the 18 points that I gave it. Finishes well with long lasting flavors. (2) 2011 La Yunta Torrontes. A very good wine from Argentina with clean, yet sharp, flavors. Easily rated at 17. Remember – the Top Score would be [20]. Here is the rest of the meal and wines. Left-Click any of these photos for a larger view. Enjoy and Cheers!

Fried Corn and Black Bean Salad
(Super salad!)

Greek Yogurt Potato Salad
(Another super salad!)

Roasted Broccoli and Feta Salad

2010 Starlane Sauvignon Blanc
14.3% alc. Yuk! eucalyptus and gooseberry. some celery on the nose. definitely not my favorite wine. much better with the food. [9] $17.00

Asparagus Caprese Salad

2008 Durigutti Bonarda
13.9% alc. really great with the basil and balsamic in the salad. deep and and rich body and taste. [18] $16.00

Roasted Eggplant Salad with Pita Chips
(A good salad. Like the eggplant.)

2008 Black Smith Merlot
14.2%. really went well with the eggplant.big, rich, clean and smooth. stands up to the sweet pepper. [10] $17.00

Black and Bleu Salad

2010 Ca de Calle Merlot
14.0% alc. blended with 2% Petit Verdot. a very good wine and woth the bottle price. [18] $20.00

Fruit Salad in a Cake Custard Cup
(a delightful dessert.)

2010 Six Hats Chenin Blanc
13% alc. really delightful and refreshing with the fruit. [17] $12.00

A great evening with a diversified menu and wine selection. I really think that Cristi and The Crew out did themselves tonight with everything they prepared. If you missed this, there will be others. The second Tuesday and Wednesday of each month. The same menu and wine selection is presented each night. Next month I understand that Soup will be the theme. Hope to see you there. Cheers!

Two Awesome Meals

05 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Grillin' and Chillin', Main Dish, Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Pork, Recipe By: Robin Young, Rice, Special Dinners, What's For Dinner?

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Two awesome meals this weekend. This one is one Robin made in the motor home’s microwave while we were at the Snake River RV Resort in Homedale, Idaho.

Fresh Made Popovers filled with Fresh Egg Salad

This was simply delicious!

And then tonight we had

Grilled Pork Ribs
Chinese Black Rice
Fresh Made Sweet and Sour Sauce

This was another great meal. I have never had Chinese Black Rice, but it is delicious! Fruity. Maybe a little sweet. Great with the pork. We had grilled three racks of these ribs and they were all super. Cheers!

The Buzz 3rd Quarter Dinner

16 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, What's For Dinner?

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I just love these Quarterly Wine Dinners at The Buzz. They are so relaxed, yet so educational, so far as the food preparation and the food and wine parings. Paul Colwell of BRJ Distributing here in Boise and Earl Sullivan of Telaya Wines did a great job in talking about the wines. Just look at some of these plates and the wines that went with them. This is one of those meals that I liked everything and can not pick “the best” dish of the night. I scored the wines on the 20 point system. Cheers!

2008 Telaya Turas (means journey in Irish)
great with the stuffed peppers. Open 1 – 1 1/2 hrs before serving. [18]

Caprese Dip
Mozzarella tomatoes and basil baked

Cucumber Sandwich
fresh salmon spread

Savory Puffs
bacon, cream cheese and jalapeno baked inside of bread

2010 Les Jamelles Viognier
13.0% alc., [17] $13.00

2011 Vale Viognier
13.2% alc just went better with the appetizers [18] $16.00

Watermelon Heirloom Salad
watermelon and Feta cheese. Amazingly refreshing

2011 Murrieta’s Weil The Whip
12.5% alc [16] $20.00

Lost West Winery Old Shed White
12.5% alc. went very well with the watermelon [18] $11.00

Grilled Eggplant
vodka sauce and mozzarella

2010 Pianete La Segreta
13% alc did not care for this wine [16] $17.00

2009 Vale Rendezvous Red
14.5% went best with the spiciness of the vodka sauce [19] $22.00

Green Stuffed Peppers
with
Spicy Italian Sausage

Squash Ribbons

2010 Apaltagua Envero
14 % alc. went well with the stuffed peppers [17] $18.00

2009 Telaya Turas Red Wine
of the two wines, this one was superior with the entree. [10] $32.00

Strawberry Rose Wine Jellies

Strawberry Shortcake

Spiced Coconut and Almond Rice Pudding

2011 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Whole Cluster
12.5% alc [17] $22.00

2009 Fujishin Family Cellars Petite Sirah
14.;5% alc [18] $22.00

Strawberry Rose Wine Jellies

Strawberry Shortcake

Spiced Coconut and Almond Rice Pudding

Edible Flowers at the Buzz

11 Wednesday Jul 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Special Dinners, Special Information, What's For Dinner?

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Another great monthly wine dinner at the Buzz – Edible Flowers and Wine! I’m glad that Cristi duplicates the menu and wines two nights in a row – Tuesday and Wednesday – so that we can always make one. Tuesdays seem to work best for us. Here Peggy displays the 2010 Sun Garden Riesling that was a good wine. We bought some. Look at what we had for dinner and the wines to accompany the courses and all for $15 per person. Thanks, Cristi and Tommy for an awesome dinner.