Saint Lawrence Gridiron hosting Boise Farmers Market Festival

05 Sunday Oct 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Boise Farmers Market, Buy Idaho, Celebrations, Dinner With Friends, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Locavore, Party Time, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Restaurants To Try, Saint Lawrence Gridiron, Special Dinners, Special Events, Special Information, What's For Dinner?

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Boise, Boise Farmers Market, Idaho Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Saint Lawrence Gridiron

The Saint Lawrence Gridiron, at 705 W Bannock Street in Boise, will be hosting a dinner spectacular for the Boise Farmers Market and The Idaho Center for Sustainable Agriculture tonight, Sunday, Oct 5. There are still tickets available and you may get them at the door. Or, for more information and to reserve your spot call (208) 345-9287. Tickets are $65.00 for a 5 Course Local Harvest Supper. Happy Hour starts at 4:00pm with dinner to follow at 5:00pm. See you there!

The telephone number on the flyer is incorrect. The correct one is (208) 345-9287

Good Visit to the Modern Hotel Brunch

28 Sunday Sep 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bake Shop, Boise Farmers Market, Breakfast With Robin, Brunch, Buy Idaho, Eggs, Fruit, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Modern Hotel, New Restaurant Trial, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Restaurants To Try, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?, Whats For Breakfast?

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brunch, Modern Hotel

Yes, it was a good brunch. Different. And we rate this a 3 1/2 to 4 Stars out of 5-Stars. But we will have to go back for their dinner menu to make sure of the rating. This was our first time. They made a good impression on us. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful and loved to talk to all of their clients. They like their work and it shows. Here is a link to The Modern Hotel where you can view their menus, make room and restaurant reservations and get on their mailing list. An interesting point: They really do try to use local products as much as possible.

The Modern Hotel & Bar thanks Peaceful Belly, Homestead Natural Foods, Waterwheel Gar- dens, Purple Sage Farms, Next Generation Organics, Sweet Valley Organics, Gaston’s Bakery,
Idaho’s Bounty, Lava Lake Lamb, Malheur River Meats, Life Spring Farms, Cloverleaf Cream- ery, Meadowlark Farm, M & N Cattle Co., Acme Bakeshop and Miss Mona’s Chicken Ranch for
their local products

If you are in the area or are visiting Boise, please visit their website. Here are some photos of our visit. Enjoy!

Artwork at the entrance.

45 rpm records in the Men’s Room and they say, in the Women’s Room.

I won’t say the location of this Little Demon in the restroom.

Fresh Scone with Mascarpone Cheese

Lomo Side Dish

Lomo is the Spanish word for tenderloin. Pork tenderloin is known as lomo de cerdo, whereas beef tenderloin is just called lomo. A specific type of lomo is lomo embuchado, which is a dry-cured meat made from a pork tenderloin. [This is what we had and pictured here] It is similar to cecina, but with pork instead of beef. An Italian version exists called lonza stagionata. [Wikipedia]

Gâteau de Crêpe ( Cake)stewed fruits and mascarpone

Gâteau de Crêpe (Crêpe Cake)
stewed fruits and mascarpone

Fried Egg Moroccan Black Beans with Lemon Cream Polenta

Fried Egg
Moroccan Black Beans
with
lemon cream and cilantro
Fried Polenta

This was a Special for today. Our Waitperson, Ceci, said they were trying this out to place as a regular addition to their menu. We said they should add it.

Robin’s 32nd Anniversary of her 39th Birthday!!

18 Thursday Sep 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Ahi Tuna, Appetizers, Beer and Food, Caesar Salad, Celebrations, Chandler's Steak House, Classic Cuisines, Classis Sauces, Dinner With Family, Dinner With Robin, Idaho Beef, Idaho Chefs, Joseph Swan Vineyards, Kobe Beef, Oysters, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurants, Restaurants To Try, Seafood, Spanish Wines, Special Dinners, What's For Dessert?, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wine Dinners, Wines - California, Wines - French, Wines - Idaho

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Chandlers, kobe beef, oysters, tuna

When one reaches a given year, let’s say 60 or there abouts, one really should celebrate ones birthday over several days. And one should have plenty of food and wine! I do believe that Robin had just that this year!! Happy Birthday, Honey! Let’s start the celebration on Sunday, September 14 with a dinner that Marnie and Mac made. Thanks to Sophia and Chris, too, for helping with this event. Look what we had.

Mac’s 2010 Mead!

Some pretty good IPA.

All the makings for some really good tacos. Pork, onions and tomatoes. Along with salsa and avocado.

And add some grilled flank steak and one has a delicious taco.

Stuffed Peppers for a side dish.

And Robin really likes Marnie’s Carrot Cake. (So do the rest of us!)

Then we had to rest for a while after eating all of this. This is the Birthday Rule: When it is your time to celebrate, YOU get to choose where you want to go for dinner. Any place in town. U-Pick-It! Robin chose Chandler’s Steak House this year. Good Choice. Look at this spread, and they knew it was her Birthday! Thank-You for a great dinner. The food, The Staff and the Wine were all super!

Robin at out table studying the Wine List.

We did have some great wine.

And it went very well with our dinners.

Start with these two delicious wines. Went very well with our seafood appetizers.

These two also went quite well with the appetizers.

Pacific Oysters
Freshly shucked oysters on the half shell, served on shaved ice with housemade mignonette sauce.
Kumomoto, Humbolt Bay, CA
Shigoku, Willapa Bay, WA

Tower of Tuna
Fresh ahi and hamachi tuna, diced and towered with avocado, tomato, red onion, red chili, ginger, and sesame seed vinaigrette with
Asian sesame crisps.

Now for these two awesome red wines with our entrees. Great choice!

Chandler’s Caesar Salad
Whole crisp leaves of romaine with our classic anchovy caesar dressing and garnished with parmesan cheese crouton and white anchovy.

American Kobe Beef
Snake River Farms crosses the premiere Japanese Wagyu breed with American Black Angus to create the American Kobe beef. This richly marbled beef is considered to be America’s best grade.

Veal Picatta
Scallopini cuts of fresh veal in a lemon,
butter and caper sauce, served with broccoli
raabe and orzo with sundried tomato

An awesome dessert wine.

Chocolate Volcano Cake with Grand Marnier Whipped Cream and Hot Fudge Sauce

Chocolate Volcano Cake
Grand Marnier Whipped Cream and Hot Fudge Sauce

Fresh Fruit Cobbler
Fresh, seasonal fruit baked in a vanilla crust
with house-made cinnamon ice cream

So there you have it. Several awesome meals. Here’s to next year!! Cheers.

Goodbye Spring, Hello Summer!

22 Sunday Jun 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Antipasto, Appetizers, Buy Idaho, Chardonnay, Comfort Food, Dinner With Robin, Hat Ranch Winery, Idaho Trout, Idaho Wine, Interesting Information, Local Harvests, Locavore, Main Dish, Marsing, Merlot, Orchard House, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurants, Snake River AVA, Special Dinners, Special Events, Special Information, Syrah, The Orchard House, Things To Do, Trout, Weston On The Lake Winery, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wines - Idaho

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chardonnay, Hat Ranch Winery, Idaho wines, merlot, syrah, The Orchard House, Weston Winery

Clear blue skies! Light, cooling breezes! 88 degree temperatures. Only thing missing is a tempting ocean breeze. We spent the day both at Hat Ranch Winery off of Plum Road in Marsing (their postal address is in Caldwell) and the Snake River AVA and then to a wonderful dinner at The Orchard House. Hat Ranch was releasing their Tempranillo, which is very good. The Orchard House has good meatloaf.
Hat Ranch Winery bought Vale Wine Co., as some of you might already know. Some of the Vale wines were there for us to try also. Their Chardonnay is really a good one and will pare well with foods that need a citru match. Not an oaky chardonnay. The appetizers that they had to accompany the wines, see the photo of the menu board below, were a perfect match. Enjoy these photos and if you are in the area, stop in at both Hat Ranch Winery and The Orchard House. You won’t be disappointed. Cheers!

Hat Ranch Winery, Tempranillo release party, menu board.

A very good Redpepper Humus. Not overly spiced.

A very good Redpepper Hummus. Not overly spiced.

Good selections on the Antipasto Platter.

Some of the wines we tried. We also tried a Hat Ranch Merlot and Syrah.

Some of the wines we tried. The Tempranillo will pair with most foods, especially Italian or Spanish.

The Vale Wine Co., Chardonnay.

And then, we went to The Orchard House for dinner. Goodbye diet for today! We always enjoy the meals here. If I were to choose which meal I would constantly get here, it would definitely be the breakfast. It is just so satisfying. But today, we had a good Meatloaf dinner and an Idaho Trout dinner. This is one place that you can get a good meatloaf away from your own kitchen. The Orchard House is located at 14949 Sunnyslope Road, Caldwell (just outside of Marsing) in the Snake River AVA.

We had to check this bottle of wine out. It really is named for the Weiser Old Tyme Fiddlers Festival, which is just over for the year.

This is the back of the bottle. Good information. Left-Click this or any of these photos to see them enlarged.

Robin had this good Idaho Trout dinner.

I had their Meatloaf Dinner. Just a good ol’ down home dinner. We did buy a bottle of Shane Weston’s 2009 Weston On The Lake Pinot Gris. Such a great day today. Super great tour of the area, of sorts, with Robin.

Grilled Foods and Wine

11 Wednesday Jun 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Beef, Chicken, Dinner With Friends, Dinner With Robin, Grilled Vegetables, Grillin' and Chillin', Grilling, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurants, Salad, Sliders, Special Dinners, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?, Wine Dinners

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grilling, the Buzz, The Buzz Coffee and Wine, wine dinner

Another interesting night and wine dinner at the Buzz in Boise. And just in time for the summer season – Grilled foods and selecting the right wine to go with the food. Cristi also let everyone know that they are putting a a beer tap system for local beers and she wants our suggestions. My suggestion is (1) Cloud 9 Nano Brewery in the Albertson’s Shopping Center on State Street and (2) 10 Barrel Brewery in downtown Boise. Here are some photos from tonight’s dinner and my wine ratings. A perfect score is [20]. Enjoy and Cheers!

Peggy is grilling skewers for dinner.

Wines prior to dinner. I did not particularly like the white one [11] and the red was just a little better [12]. I have had much better wines from both these wineries.

The best wine of the night was this one. I scored it a perfect [20]. Full bodied and went extremely well with the beef and chicken skewers and the corn on the cob. 2011 If You See Kay

Pulled Pork Sliders 2010 Renwood Clarion a blend of Syrah and Zin [17]

Pulled Pork Sliders
2010 Renwood Clarion
a blend of Syrah and Zin [19]

Peggy made the sauce for these and it was good. Almost a Carolina style with a hint of vinegar.

Grilled Romaine Salad
2012 Basal Cellars Estate Semillion [17]

Roasted Vegetable Soup
2009 MontGras Antu Ninquen Syrah [18]

This wine went very well with the soup. A good paring.

Chicken and Beef Skewers with Corn On-The-Cob 2011 If You See Kay [20]

Chicken and Beef Skewers with Corn On-The-Cob
2011 If You See Kay Blend [20]

A superb wine offering tonight and a great paring with the skewers and corn.

S’mores Cake
NV Fratelli Casa Rosa [18]

Sushi Joy in Boise Tonight – Wow!

24 Saturday May 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Android Photos, Appetizers, Asian - Sushi Joy, Asian Food, Avocado, Blue Crab, Chicken, Cooking Styles, Crab, Dinner With Robin, Idaho Chefs, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Salad, Seafood, Sushi Joy, What's For Dinner?

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avocado with she crab, salad, sashimi, soft shelled crab, Sushi Joy

Tonight we took a break from our kitchen and went tro our favorite Japanese/Chinese/American restaurant – Sushi Joy! And once again, it was 5-Stars out of 5-Stars! Super good. Super delightful. And here Tiger, one of the owners, is doing a super job in making some sashimi and it is fantastic! He does a great job.

Robin is at Sushi Joy awaiting here order. It's all made to order.

Robin is at Sushi Joy awaiting her order. It’s all made to order.

Robin had this Avocado – She Crab Salad.

I still love the house salad. So simple, yet so delicious. Especially their House Dressing.

For an appetizer, I had this delicious Shof Shelled Crab. The batter was so very light and the crab so delightfully mild and delicious.

For an appetizer, I had this delicious Soft Shelled Crab. The batter was so very light and the crab so delightfully mild and delicious. This dish was truly Goût de la mer – Taste of the sea!

My entree was Mango Chicken which was also great. But I think I am going back to the sashimi plates.

And Robin had the Lemon Chicken. This was big enough for two, even maybe three. Deliciously different.

Delightful Visit at Sizzler In Boise

08 Thursday May 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Avocado, Beer and Food, Brocolli, Cuts of Beef, Dinner With Robin, Lobster, Main Dish, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Salads, Seafood, Shell Fish, Sizzler, What's For Dinner?

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lobster, salad bar, sizzler, steak

I know. It’s a chain. But let me tell you, this was a surprisingly good visit. The Service People were tremendous. Happy. Pleasant. They appear to like to work here. The service was tremendous. I met the Manager and he was very pleasant and a pleasure to talk to. And the food was very good. But what really impressed me was the salad bar. Huge variety of objects to put on your salad. Even 1/2 avocados. And fruit. They even have a taco bar. And a dessert bar. An again, it was all really good food. We had the Steak and Lobster. The steak was well prepared and delicious. It was by no means as tender as that we have had at Bern’s Steakhouse in Tampa, but the flavor was every bit as good! Think about that. The lobster was a little small, but again was cooked well. Not rubbery. I cut it with my fork. Just look at these photos. And here is a link to their Web Site. Enjoy. We did and we will return. For a chain restaurant, it is well worth 4-Stars out of 5-Stars.

Crab Salad

Salad Bar Choices

How many salad bars have avocados? Or Kiwi? And a good selection of fresh fruit?

At least 3 types of lettuce for your salad. And great toppings, too. I’d go back just for the salad bar! It’s that good.

Salad bar toppings.

Our Steak and Lobster dinners. Wonderful mushrooms and onions. And broccoli. You make the choices for steak toppings, rareness of the steak and vegetable selections. Robin had a baked potato with all the fixins’.

An Afternoon at Asiago’s and Powells

23 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Asiago's, Boise Adventures, Caesar Salad, Chicken, Chocolate, Cooking Styles, Dinner With Robin, Italian Food, Pasta, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurants, Salads, Salmon, Seafood, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wines - Italian

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Asiagos, candy, chocolate, Italian food, Powells Sweet Shoppe

We originally planned to go and see the baby owls. But the property owner was not feeling good so we will go on Saturday. We had planned to go to Asiago’s for lunch before going birdwatching. We did. And then we needed dessert, so Powell’s Sweet Shoppe in east Boise was the place to go. Here are some photos from today. Left-Click any of them to see the photo enlarged. Enjoy the food photos and following us on a Foodie Sojourn! Cheers. Here is a link to Asiago’s Menu. Asiago’s is definitely a 5-Star restaurant (out f 5-Stars) for an Italian restaurant in Boise.

Robin at Asiago’s

(L) 2012 Vesevo Beveventano Falhnghina Campania, Italy Althnuma Pinot Grigio DOC Val d'Adige, Italy

(L) 2012 Vesevo Beveventano Falhnghina Campania, Italy
(R) Althnuma Pinot Grigio DOC Val d’Adige, Italy

Can’t really say that any one of these was better than the other. The Pinot Grigio went extremely well with the smoky salmon while the Beveventano went better with the salad and the mushrooms. They were both good selections.

Funghi
fresh mushrooms sautéed in champagne and butter, finished with gremolata

Caesar Salad
hearts of romaine, croutons, anchovies and asiago with the house caesar dressing

Yea! Finally a restaurant in Boise that knows how to make a Caesar Salad. It’s not a Caesar without the anchovy and garlic! Sorry, but that’s the way it goes.

Smoky Salmon with Fettuccini and Cream Sauce

Chicken Asiago
gremolata chicken breast over fresh fettuccine in Asiago-garlic cream, finished with tomato-pesto sauce.

Then we were off to Powells in east Boise for some Gilato. Here Robin is enjoying some.

Then we were off to Powell’s Sweet Shoppe in east Boise for some Gelato. Here Robin is enjoying some.

Gelato – Italian Ice Cream

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!!

Boise Foodie Meet-Up Group Meets

16 Monday Dec 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Boise Adventures, Brunch, Chicken, Ethnic Foods, Friends, Indian Food, Main Dish, Nepalese Food, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Special Events, Tibetan Food, Vegetables, Whats For Lunch?

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Boise Foodie Meet-Up Group, curry, India, indian food, Mount Everest Momo Cafe, nepalese food, tibetan food

Six of the Boise Foodie Meet-Up Group met at the Mount Everest Momo Cafe today for lunch. They specialize in Indian-Nepalese-Tibetan foods. And I was pleasantly surprised. This was really an interesting lunch. I spent a year in India, so when I enter a restaurant specializing in Indian, or even Nepalese, food, I want the spices of India to be present. As we walked into the restaurant, I did get that “smell of the Indian spice”. I know then that the entrees are not canned – they are made on location. It was nice that the owner, Rajesh Shrestha, took the time to talk about the cuisine and the dishes that they serve.
The hot link above will take you to their website and a complete menu with descriptions of the entrees and prices. The serving sizes were completely satisfying – Just the right size. Out of 5-Stars, I rate the Mount Everest Momo Cafe 4-Stars. Pictured below, are some of the dishes we had. Left-Click any of these photos to see enlarged. Enjoy! We did.

The menu cover.

Curry Soup

Chicken Momo
Mint Sauce
Curry Sauce

Basmati Rice Naan (Bread) Spinach and Cheese Vegetables Chicken Curry Potato and Cauliflower

Basmati Rice
Naan (Bread)
Spinach and Cheese (Sag Panir)
Chicken Curry
Potato and Cauliflower (Alu Kaoli)

I thoroughly enjoyed this dish. The spices were perfect and everything was done to perfection. I do like the Naan. Light. Fluffy. Yet somewhat chewy. Here is a direct link to the Mount Everest Momo Cafe Dinner Menu with more definitive descriptions of the entrees. They also have a menu for their Lunch Specials ($6.95 per plate Monday – Saturday, 11 – 2:30) and it is printed below. However, it is not on their website.