Crooked Fence Beer Tasting at Salt Tears

04 Wednesday Apr 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Beer and Ale, Boise Adventures, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Salt Tears, Special Information, What's For Dinner?

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It has been a while since we have been to Salt Tears Coffee House and Noshery, 4714 W State St., Boise. Last night they held a beer tasting for the Crooked Fence Brewing Company at 5242 Chinden Blvd., Garden City, Idaho. We really had some good beers and the food to accompany it was well matched.

I have also posted a general menu from Salt Tears here. They have specials several times a week and music. Left-Click these graphics to get a larger and printable view of these menus.

This is the weekend special menu. Live music every Thursday and and Saturday with Fridays being a different fish meal. Use the scan code to go to their site.

Jennifer and Danny, Manager of Salt Tears (Thanks Jan), are stocking the Finger Foods to go with the beer.

Andy Leathers of Crooked Fence Brewery. Story goes that the fences in the meadows of Sun Valley are “crooked” and that is where the name of this brewery came from. Andy previously worked at Widmer Brewery in Seattle.

The three beers of Crooked Fence. (L-R)
Picket Porter
nice blend of chocolate and coffee. I also got some sesame off of it so it might go well with an Asian dish. 5.5% alc
Rusty Nail Pale Ale
my favorite for the night. an Idaho pale ale with cascade and galena hops. great with a summer BBQ.
5.5% alc
Hole Wheat
a very light beer that will work well as a thirst quencher. made with wheat, pilsner and 2-row hops. orange peel and grains of paradise

(L-R) Picket Porter, Rusty Nail Pale Ale and Hole Wheat

Finger Foods to go with the beers
Salt Tears Pickled Vegetables
Onion Sour Cream Dip
Cheese Fondue

Salt Tears
Cream of Broccoli Soup

Mother’s Day Brunch at Salt Tears

08 Sunday May 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Celebrations, Main Dish, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Salt Tears, Special Events, Things To Do

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Wow! What a weekend. All we did was eat and have wine, with a Mint Julip – more Julip than Mint – thrown in just for spite. We went to Meredith Nelson’s Graduation Party and to the Seasons Bistro party on Saturday. Then today we went to here to Salt Tears and tonight we are going to Sushi Joy!
And then I look out the window and up to the top of the mountains – 15 miles from us – and I see snow falling. They can keep it there. Just raining down here. So here are some photos from the Salt Tears Mother’s Day Brunch this afternoon. They were “slam dunked” and did not expect the crowds that came. I think that is great to have such a crowd. They were lined up out the door at one time. They had to struggle to keep up on food delivery at the buffet table. But all was extremely good and worth the short wait for refills. Good time to catch up on the Mimosas they were serving. It was great to meet Rick Dean, President/CEO of Moxie Java International and his family. Look for his link in the sidebar. Look at these photos. Cheers!

The music was good. A nice blend of titles and rhythms.

See the 4-Handed violin player?

They had a full house!

Here is a Goat Cheese Torte, Bacon and Sausage offering.

A great vegetable offering. I think the asparagus were “cooked” in their pickle marinade. They were really good!

And a plated selection. They also had a variety of scrambled eggs, toasts and breads.

"Salt Tears" Re-Visited

12 Saturday Mar 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Salt Tears, Special Information, What's For Dinner?

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Back on January 17, 2011, we visited Salt Tears on their opening day. As I stated in that Blog Post, we would return to do a re-take on our experience. At that time, we rated Salt Tears a 4-Star restaurant.

Robin and I did return on March 11 and the earlier rating, in our opinion, was correct and we will keep it a 4-Star restaurant.
I had their House Roasted Turkey Salad Sandwich with Cilantro, Pumpkin Seeds and a Honey and Lime Vinaigrette. It was wonderful! I also had their Potato Salad. Differently good. Robin had Sweet Onion and Bacon Pierogis with Sour Cream. This too was good. We each had a cup of their Carrot and Roasted Cumin Soup. It was very tasty. We urge you to look at Their Website – their card in the sidebar is also hot linked – to look at their menus and to try their fare. They also have a wonderful breakfast. They are working on a liquor license, so that will come in time. There is a wide selection of other beverages available now.
And it this time, I will say that it was good to see the restaurant full! We were there at 1:30pm and there were just a few seats available. We asked about this crowd and they told us that the noontime hours are usually full. The breakfast hours are the next most attended and the evening mealtime the least attended. They have Wifi, so you can take your laptop. Go to Salt Tears and enjoy yourselves and have some light refreshment or a full meal. Support our local businesses. We will definitely return. Cheers!

Opening Day at "Salt Tears" In Boise!

17 Monday Jan 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Salt Tears, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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Today was the Opening Day at Salt Tears in the Collister Strip Mall on State Street in Boise! It was great to see Andrea and Mitchell Maricich, although I didn’t see Mitchell there today, back in the restaurant business. And to rate this on opening day is a challenge. But our rating of 4-Stars out of 5 is well worth it. Yes, there are some bugs to fix, but that will be done. And as their advertising says, “… 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…” This was definitely achieved. The food was great. The prices were right in line and not over the top. Below are some photos that I took.It shows the openness of the seating, the bright colors and the bistro type ambiance. And Andrea told me that she will send me a schedule of events so that I can post them here. The events will be the same each day of the week, but with different musicians and specials. Look also in the future for wine tastings. Idaho’s own Angie Riff will be doing their in house wine selections. (Left-Click on any photo to get a larger view. The menus are printable.)

An overview of the kitchen area at Salt Tears.

The openness of the restaurant is obvious.

Order at the front desk as you enter. There are daily specials along with their unique menu items.

The general menu. Pricing is good.

The breakfast menu. From what I understand, breakfast is served all day.

12 oz coffee that is delicious!

Roasted Pork Shoulder Sandwich ($6.00)
roasted red onion, Kalamata olives, Dijon cream and greens

Poached Eggs Crostini ($5.00)
wilted spinach, bacon and Parmesan

Breakfast Pizzetta of the Day ($5.00)
scrambled eggs and tomatoes on puff pastry

So as you can see, dining here is an adventure … a good adventure. And look at the pricing of the entrees we had. We wish Andrea and Mitchell the best in their endeavor with Salt Tears. We will be back. (I owe Andrea some Sauerkraut!)

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!