New Restaurant Opening In Boise: "Salt Tears"

14 Friday Jan 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Boise Adventures, Local Markets, Restaurants, Salt Tears, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?, Wine Dinners

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In the IdahoStatesman and Michael Deeds’ column Words and Deeds this morning, there was an article called Ex-Milkyway Owners Open Salt Tears Cafe and Noshery about Andrea and Mitchell Maricich, previous owners of the awesome Milkyway Restaurant in Boise, opening a new restaurant.

The good news for restaurateurs Andrea and Mitchell Maricich: They live just a few blocks away from their new cafe, Salt Tears Coffeehouse and Noshery, 4714 W. State St., so commuting will be a breeze.

The bad news? Salt Tears plans to open daily at 6:30 a.m. “I’m a night owl. It’s so scary,” Andrea Maricich admits with a chuckle. “I’m trying so hard. I set my alarm for 6 yesterday and I couldn’t even do it. I couldn’t get up. I slept till 7.”

Beginning Monday, Jan. 17, you can bet that Maricich’s kitchen-operating blood will have her bouncing out of bed. That’s when Salt Tears opens next to 20th Century Lanes bowling alley in Boise. It’s the first eatery the Mariciches have launched since closing their upscale MilkyWay restaurant Downtown in 2008. Salt Tears will not be a MilkyWay II, Maricich said.

And then from Salt Tears Facebook page,

Salt Tears Coffeehouse and Noshery is our café and coffee shop showcasing unique sandwiches, soups, salads, breakfast bites, as well as “snacks” or “noshes” (as we say) to accompany a unique selection of beer, wine and occasionally cocktails later in the day. Salt Tears will serve a simple breakfast, the best coffee in town and have an all day menu serving until evening. You are sure to find many “happy places” on our menus! The concept has been developed and brought to fruition by us, Andrea and Mitchell Maricich, formerly of The MilkyWay in Downtown Boise; our focus is on simple, high quality café food and coffee, at comfortable prices.

Salt Tears Coffeehouse and Noshery is about community, creativity, quality and comfort. Our cuisine will have a strong focus on straightforward, perfect offerings made by hand with love. Were going back to the basic dining, delicious food, featuring seasonal ingredients using local, natural and organic products whenever possible…

Breakfast will be easy and fun with five or six or maybe seven items that will hit the spot. For lunch the focus will be on lighter, delicious, homemade baguette sandwiches, fresh salads and daily soup specials. In the evening stop by for a small bite and something to wet your whistle or you can mix it up after breakfast, we have an all day menu.

We’ll have a small, but clever wine list, that will change frequently based on great values along with chalkboard offerings every day. We will be featuring house wines by local winemaker, Angie Riff of Periple Wines. Other awesome selections will be offered, by the glass, carafe, in-house bottles and retail to-go. We will also have a great selection of micro brews, domestics and imports, from near and far, and homemade sodas. The selections will be fun, interesting and reasonably priced too!

Great prices: we will strive to make wonderful food and beverages at reasonable prices. We will keep plate prices down while sticking to an exceptional level of quality, not leaving anything to be desired.

Fun Happenings: Salt Tears Coffeehouse and Noshery will be a hot spot in Boise. We will have a really interesting and ever changing calendar of events including beef cheek dinners, live music, guest featured bartender nights (yes, we will have a liquor license), wine fight nights and pairings, whole roasted pig nights (yep), cooking classes (maybe) and whatever else suits our fancy, or yours!

So there you have it. We will be trying this out when it opens. Hope you will, too! It looks like they are goingt to have an adventuresome event list and maybe menu. Cheers!

Happy Fish Sushi, Boise

03 Friday Dec 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Happy Fish Sushi, Main Dish, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Seafood, What's For Dinner?

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So the snow is melting – quickly. It is raining – steady. And in between making a Challah and a Boise Sourdough Bread, Robin says, “Are you ready to eat sushi?” “Only if we leave now. The bread has an hour and a half for the first rise. The sourdough is getting happy,” I said. Now that’s the fastest I think she has gotten ready to leave to eat. We were out of the house in 10 minutes and on our way to Happy Fish Sushi in downtown Boise and it was well worth the slushy, wet, drizzly drive. Check the link for their menu and other information. And by all means, visit them – several times! But in the meantime, check out what we had below. It was delicious!

From their webpage,
“Sushi Dishes – From the Finest Fish Markets
At Happy Fish Sushi we take equal pride in our sushi offerings, putting forth a great deal of effort and energy to secure our ingredients from the finest fish markets on the west coast. Whether you are an old pro at the sushi game or you still have trouble with the chopsticks, our menu is chock full of sushi dishes to appeal to everyone.

Sushi and Martinis – Downtown Boise
And finally, we have paid serious heed to the old business adage, “location, location, location” by setting up shop in Downtown Boise’s Entertainment District BoDo. Situated just a short walk from downtown theatres, museums, Boise concert venues, and the Funny Bone Comedy Club, Happy Fish Sushi is the perfect place to meet and centrally located to all the great things there are to do in Boise.”

Lights over the serving bar.

Seared Scallops
seasoned scallops served with wasabi aioli and ginger soy aioli – $10.95

Watoosie
tempura fried portabello, avocado and green onion served with a sweet and spicy sauce, futto style – $9.00

unagi maki
unagi and avocado, topped with a sweet teriyaki sauce – $4.75

Obama Maki
king crab, tuna, daikon sprouts, asparagus and tobiko, futto style – $11.50

Obama Maki

Green Tea Ice Cream
ice cream served with tempura crumbles and ohba leaf – $3.95

Asian Pear Flambe
asian pears flamed in brown sugar and butter, served on vanilla ice cream with tempura crumbles and ohba leaf – $5.75

The Buddha watches!

We thoroughly enjoyed the dinner and the conversations. Thanks to Cameron Gunn, one of the Sushi Chefs, for letting us know about the Happy Fish Sushi. Hope to see you there sometime.

Boise Saturday Market and Red Feather Lounge

13 Saturday Nov 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Red Feather/Bittercreek, Restaurants, What's For Dinner?

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We had a wonderful breakfast this morning at the Red Feather Lounge in Boise and next to the Boise City Market. We met our friend Barbara there for breakfast. We have known her since about 1984, but have not seen her for several years. It was good to catch up on “old times”

Then it was time to walk through the Boise Market to try to find some products to purchase and to locate some people we wanted to meet. There is one vendor there – they used to own the Sweetwater Cafe – that we wanted to find who makes dog food and dog biscuits, but they were not there. Maybe next time.

I did find Nonna’s of Sun Valley who we met on Facebook. It was great to visit with them for a short time and to sample their sauces. Here is information gleaned from their information sheet. The photo on the left is of John and Carolina. Their business card below will give you a little more information.

Nonna’s of Sun Valley
PO Box 3122
Sun Valley, Idaho 83353

Carolina Belfiore Stevens,Owner/Creator (208) 720-3100
John Stevens, Marketing/Sales (208) 720-5795

“Nonna’s of Sun Valley offers Traditional Tomato Sauces and Dinners made locally in Idaho using Old World Recipes. In our family, recipes were not written on paper but rather learned through experiences. I would follow my grandmother around the house and garden, collecting ingredients and preparing “Sunday” dinner. We used the freshest and most local ingredients, same as we do today. Our signature sauces are Marinara Sauce, Red Wine Marinara Sauce, Puttanesca Sauce and Vodka Cream Sauce which are available all year long … We use Muir Glen 100% Organic Tomatoes in all our products. We use the highest quality natural ingredients and whenever possible, we use local ingredients such as Ballard Cheeses, Blue Ice Vodka and Cloverleaf Dairy Cream. We purchase many ingredients from Fair Mountain Farm in Fairfield, ID., Kings Crown Organics in King Hill, ID., MM Heath Farms in Buhl, ID., Peaceful Belly in Boise, ID, Rice Family Farms in Meridian, ID., Sweet Valley Organics in Star, ID, Wood River Organics in Bellevue, ID. And many more Idaho farms.”

But then I did find some very good Pine Bark Toffee made with pine nuts and sunflower seeds. A very different and amazing flavor to toffee. Here is some information about them.

Here is their business card with all their information. I don’t know if they ship or not. You will have to contact them directly.

And yes, it’s time to think Turkey. Fresh Turkey! Thanksgiving Turkey! Maybe this will help to get you in the spirit. Hope so.

That was our morning on this cool – almost cold – fall morning in Boise. Enjoy and check these businesses out. They will appreciate it. Cheers!

Lunch At The Bittercreek Ale House

02 Tuesday Nov 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Red Feather/Bittercreek, Restaurants, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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It’s been a while since we have been to the Bittercreek Ale House in Boise, but it is still pretty good fixins’. We usually go to the Red Feather Lounge, Bittercreek’s kissing cousin next door, but only because we are way to early and usually on a Saturday. Red Feather Lounge has a great breakfast and super dinners. So after voting today, we took ourselves out to lunch. Here is what we had. Enjoy. We did. And when in Boise, this is a good place to eat. Cheers!

BC Burger with Bacon
Chipotle Corn Soup
New Belgium Lips of Faith Special Release, Sahti (Finland)

BLT
Fish Brewing Co., Spire Mountain Dark and Dry Hard Apple Cider

Bicycles

The lunches were very good as were the beer and the hard cider. I do like a good corn soup, Chicken Corn Soup from Lancaster or Lehigh Counties in Pennsylvania to be exact, but this Chipotle Corn Soup was superb. I liked it that much. $28.00 for lunch for the two of us. Cheers!

Brunch At Bella Aquila In Eagle, ID

12 Sunday Sep 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Things To Do

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On 12 September, a beautiful fallish day here in Boise, Marnie, Mac, Chris, Robin, Carmel Crock and I all went to Bella Aquila in Eagle for brunch. Ken Harris was there playing piano. Marnie is looking for someone to play and sing at her wedding reception on September 10, 2011 – that’s 09/10/11! The waterfall to the left is one of two that are on the patio. Enjoy the view of the Boise River, the sound of the waterfalls and good company and good music.
We had a wonderful brunch and I would recommend it if you are in the area and want a good brunch. The Bella Aquila is definitely a 4-Star restaurant. Prices range from $11.00 to $15.00. You can eat inside or, as we did on this beautiful day, eat on the patio. Below are the entrees we had. All of them very good.

Ken Harris on Piano

I had Alaskan Eggs. Scrambled Eggs with Salmon, Homefries and Apple Chicken Sausage

Chris had Eggs Benedict with Crab and Fresh Fruit.

Robin had Eggs Bellisima with Garlic Cream Sauce

Mac had Stuffed Shells with Crab and Fresh Salad.

Marnie had Stuffed French Toast.

Carmel had Eggs with Sweet Potatoes.

And of course, we all shared our dishes. It was great. Cheers!

Shige

14 Saturday Aug 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Things To Do, Thought For The Day, What's For Dinner?

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Robin had to go back into St Luke’s Hospital today for an out patient procedure. (She is fine!) But she has been on a clear liquid diet since Wednesday. She is hungry! So, she said she wanted to go to Shige. And that we did! Such a treat! Out of 5-Stars, I think they well deserve 4-Stars and maybe 5-Stars. I will have to dwell on that one.

My one mistake tonight? I left my camera at home so I have no photographs of the presentation. And it was awesome! Guess I’ll just have to go back for the photos and while I’m there, probably eat something.

It can be pricy. Ranging from $10.00 to $51.00. You can choose from any of their 3 menus no matter which restaurant you are in – the Economy Room, the Sushi Bar or the Main Dining Room. We sat on the “veranda” on the second floor of the Eastman Building. Very open and cool tonight. (I saw one falcon at the box!) Actually, it can be breezy. But seating is also available inside. Here’s what we had:

Lobster Bisque ($8.00)

Miso Soup

Shige House Salad ($6.00)

Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass ($23.00)
with
Shitaki Mushroom Sauce

Tempora Sashimi ($18.95)
with
Carrot, Zuchinni, Brocolli, Cabbage Slaw, Diakon, Romaine Leaves, Scallops, Tuna, Jalapeno, Sweet Potato

Salad with Daikon

Green Tea Ice Cream

Grilled Carmelized Pineapple and Vanilla Ice Cream

All I can say is, if you are in Boise and you want some very top notch Japanese food, try Shige! It is well worth the trip. Service is superb and extremely friendly. Cheers.

Le Café de Paris – Farm and Wine Night

21 Wednesday Jul 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Main Dish, Restaurants, Things To Do, Wine and Food

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I just received this. Hope to see you there. We’ll be there – 6:30pm.

FARM AND WINE NIGHT
Thursday, July 22

Bonjour Mes Amis!
The final produce list is in for our Farm and Wine Night (menu below). The four course gourmet menu is inspired from the delicious offerings by Sweet Valley Organics, paired with wines from Wood River Cellars, with live music to accompany dinner. Cinder Winery was previously mentioned as being our featured winery for this particular dinner, however scheduling conflicts have required us to move them to next month, where they will can be seen both at First Thursday for the book launch on Idaho Wineries, and also for our next Farm and Wine Night. Reservations are highly recommended and can be made by calling (208)336-0889.

Bon Appetit!
Mathieu

Farm and Wine Night
Inspired By: Fresh produce/meats from – Sweet Valley Organics

Le Menu

First Course
Smoked Salmon
dill crème fraiche, lemon, croustini

Second Course
Local Organic Field Green Salad
confited cherry tomatoes, lemon-tarragon vinaigrette

Main Course
Pork Roulade
Sweet Valley Organics pork
assorted squash, fried squash blossoms, morel mushroom demi-glace

Dessert
Huckleberry Shortcake
Wood River Winery (ID) red wine and caramel reduction, huckleberries

Wine Dinner With Joe Dewey

08 Thursday Jul 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Party Time, Restaurants, What's For Dinner?, Wine Dinners

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We received this from Joe Dewey. A wine tasting at the 36th Street Bistro in Boise. Hope you can make it! “Here are some attachments and info about the Arbor Crest Dinner on July 21st from 5 – 8 pm. $40.00 per person includes the wines”. For more information contact Joe Dewey.

Arbor Crest Wine Dinner Menu

1st course
Summer tomato salad with parmesan crisp and basil vinaigrette
(07’ Sauvignon Blanc)

2nd course
Sweet potato and duck egg ravioli with brown sugar buerre blanc
(09’ Chardonnay)

3rd course
“Fish and Chips” sautéed salmon atop parsley risotto, Burgundy-
raspberry sauce and elephant garlic chips
(07’ Cabernet Sauvignon)

or

Braised Highland cattle short ribs with polenta “croutons” and summer
peas
(05’ Dionysus)

or

Wild pheasant breast with braised cabbage and butternut squash puree
(Cliff House Red)

Dessert
Vanilla pillow cake with candied strawberries and crème anglaise
(07’ Riesling)

Dark chocolate flourless chocolate cake with white chocolate dipped
cherries
(07’ Merlot)

There you go! Hope to can make it! Cheers!

Two Restaurants Reviewed

30 Sunday May 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Seafood

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Back around the first of May, I received an email from Danielle Dussult, Account Associate at MS&L Worldwide for Bonefish Grill, a marketing firm, asking us to review the Bonefish Grill and another comparable restaurant. For doing this, she sent us two $25 gift certificates, one for the Bonefish Grill and the other for Red Lobster. She also sent a nice fish spatula. We thank her for these items. Look at the review for Bonefish Grill and Red Lobster that will correspond with these photos. I will start with the Bonefish Grill photos.

Here is the Bang Bang Shrimp appetizer. This is really a good appetizer.

I had the Diablo Shrimp Fettuccine. This was very good, but I think it had too much sauce on it and it was a little spicy. I think it would have been better with less sauce.

Robin had the Long Fin Tilapia. The tilapia tastes like a fresh water fish – Gout de Terrior. And the shrimp tasted like the Song of the Sea – Chansons del Mare. That is very difficult to do in Boise.

We took pour daughter and her friend with us. He had the Fish and Chips and he said they were very good. She had the Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos and said they were spicy hot.

We shared a Key Lime Pie for dessert. I did not get the intense lime flavor, nor did Robin.

The Crème Brûlée was really very good. Smooth and creamy as it should be. The caramelized sugar was good.

——————————

Here are the photos from the Red Lobster.

For an appetizer, Robin and I had the Wood Grilled Shrimp on Brochette. A good appetizer.

I had a combination platter called Seaside Shrimp Trio. It had Walt’s Favorite Shrimp, which was a little too salty, Shrimp Scampi, good, and Shrimp Linguini Alfredo, very rich. Not as good as the Bonefish Grill, Diablo Shrimp Fetticine.

Robin had the Chef’s Grilled Tilapia. She said that the flavor of the tilapia was hidden by the soy sauce. It was not as good as the Bonefish Grill.

The Apple Crisp had very little apple in it and the cake base was overwhelming.

The Key Lime Pie was more like a NY Cheese cake. It was heavy and not light.

So there you have our opinion. The rankings?

Red Lobster – 2 1/2 Stars
Bonefish Grill – 3 1/2 Stars

Our reviews are based on the following statement and have been for many years now.

We will endeavor to critique these restaurants on (1) Ambiance, (2) Food Presentation, (3) Food Quality, (4) Service and (5) Cost. We will rate these places from one (1) to five (5) stars. A 1-Star restaurant deserves the comment, “That’s good enough for this year” and a 5-Star restaurant is superb and deserves a note home to Mom. There is nothing wrong with a 3-Star restaurant – We would take friends and relatives to a 3-Star restaurant and we will return to a 3-Star restaurant.

There was one other contributing factor to the Red Lobster loosing this contest: We had to ask for table settings and napkins. To me, this is a huge mistake and should never happen at any restaurant. But then too, the food was just OK. You can see all of Our Reviews by following the link.

Mother’s Day Dinner At "Seasons Bistro"

22 Thursday Apr 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Celebrations, Party Time, Restaurants, Seasons Bistro, Things To Do, Thought For The Day

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And just so You don’t forget, “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world!” Mother’s Day is coming up, Sunday May 9, and here is a wonderful way to celebrate!

Greetings!
Join us
Sunday, May 9th
Mother’s Day Brunch Buffet

1117 E Winding Creek Dr. – Eagle, Idaho 83616
939-6680

The Buffet –

Stuffed French Toast

Apple-Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Soft Scrambled Eggs

Bacon, Sausage, Fruit

Caramel Apple or Berry filled Crepes

Smoked Salmon with mini Bagels

Cake Truffles and Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Swedish Poached Ham with Dijon Mustard and Breadcrumbs
with
Scalloped Potatoes
Chilled Asparagus Salad with grated Egg and Vinaigrette
Artisan Bread

Mimosas
$25.99 per person
$9.99 – Kids 9 and under
10-am-2pm – reservations requested

Blaze and Kelly will be on the Patio

Sincerely,

Rachel Hurn
Seasons Bistro, Wine Bar & Catering
939-6680

Mother’s Day Salad

Ingredients:
2 Tbl. raspberry vinegar
2 1/2 Tbl.raspberry jam
1/3 cup vegetable oil
8 cups spinach, rinsed and torn into bite size pieces
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
8 strawberries, quartered
2 kiwis, peeled and sliced

Directions:
1. Mix together raspberry vinegar, raspberry jam, and vegetable oil in a small container.
2. Combine spinach, nuts, strawberries, and kiwi in a salad bowl. Toss with raspberry dressing.
You may add chicken, toasted pecans or chevre if you would like. ENJOY! You deserve it!

———-

Enjoy this outing. It certainly looks delightful. And thanks for the recipe, Rachael. Cheers!