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

Scrumptious Dinner At “Fresh Off the Hook”

19 Saturday Apr 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Appetizers, Buy Idaho, Cod, Comfort Food, Fresh Off the Hook, Green Beans, Halibut, Locavore, Pasta, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurant Reviews, Salmon, Scallops, Seafood, Shrimp, Things To Do, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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bay scallops, cod, Fresh Off the Hook, salmon, seafood

Once agai, we went to Fresh Off the Hook in Boise and were treated to another awesome dinner. It is, without a doubt, the Best In Boise for seafood. Yes. A 5-Star seafood restaurant. Their Menu is full of surprises and delicious. I want to try one of everything. For instance, their fried foods are more like the tempura at Sushi Joy, it is light and not grease soaked. The fried foods taste like they are supposed to. Shrimp taste like shrimp. Cod tastes like cod. Not over powered with batter. It is good! In short, if you are in Boise, you must try to go to Fresh Off the Hook. Cheers and enjoy these photos.

Sauvignon Blanc (Chile) on the left and a Kendal Jackson Chardonnay on the right. Look at the color difference.

Sauvignon Blanc (Chile) on the left and a Kendall-Jackson (CA) Chardonnay on the right. Look at the color difference.

Robin is enjoying herself.

Green Beans Fries
A great appetizer!

Shrimp Tomato Bisque

Clam Chowder
There’s actually clams in here!

Seafood Fettuccini
Tiger shrimp, bay scallops, bay shrimp, zucchini, mushrooms, scallions and diced tomatoes sautéed in white wine and garlic butter smothered in our creamy Parmesan-garlic sauce tossed with fettuccine noodles. Topped with Parmesan, tomatoes and scallions, and served with warm sourdough bread 14.99

Captain Alex’s Seafood Platter
A medley of cod, salmon, halibut, mahi mahi, Jumbo shrimp, calamari and clams battered and deep fried to perfection. Served with chef’s choice sautéed vegetables and wild rice 18.99

Fishing boat

Sailing rig. These are ship models that are placed around the restaurant.

Crab Poached Egg

06 Sunday Apr 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bake Shop, Acme Bake Shop Breads, Acme Bake Shop Sourdough, Boise Artisan Bakery's, Captain's Shack, Crab, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Recipes, Seafood, Sourdough Bread, What's For Dinner?, Whats For Breakfast?

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crab, crab meat, Crab Meat Pie, Poached eggs

If you like crab meat and you have some of the Crab Meat Pie left over, then here is a great use for some of it. Not much, because it is pretty rich. But try these eggs. Really different and good. Cheers. They might even be good with a little Hollandaise Sauce on them. Enjoy!

Crab Meat Pie

Poached Egg and Crab Meat Pie
Acme Bake Shop Toasted Sourdough Bread

“Orchard House” Inspired Eggs Benedict

22 Saturday Mar 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Bagel, Captain's Shack, Classic Sauces, Comfort Food, Eggs, Eggs Benedict, Icebox Lox, Lox, Orchard House, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipes, Salmon, Seafood, The Orchard House, Whats For Breakfast?

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blender hollandaise sauce, Chris Thompson, Eggs Benedict, icebox lox, orchard house

A couple of weeks ago, we went to the Orchard House in Marsing, ID. and I had what they call the B o B – Best of Both. Eggs Benedict with Ham and Eggs Benedict with Spinach and Salmon. I used fresh spinach, sesame bagel and lox. I think the breakfast was awesome. The recipe for the extremely easy Hollandaise Sauce is in the recipe file above, Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce. Look at this –

Best of Both Worlds
Eggs Benedict with Spinach and Lox
Eggs Benedict with Ham

Thank-You Kris Thompson, Owner of The Orchard House for the inspiration to make this. And Thank-You Russ Terrell for the awesomely easy Hollandaise sauce recipe and technique.

Baked Salmon and Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce

21 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Bedrock Wine Company, Captain's Shack, Classic Sauces, Dessert, Herbs, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe By: Russ Terrell, Recipes, Salad, Salmon, Seafood, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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blender hollandaise sauce, Extravagonzo Infused Oil, Hollandaise Sauce, Idaho wine

This was, by far, one of the better dinners we have made in a while. It was almost comfort food. I would easily pay $15 -$20 for this meal. It was scrumptious. To the Hollandaise Sauce I added a little lemon zest to “liven it up” just a little more without adding a lot of cayenne. The Extravagonzo Infused Oil and the Cold Springs Winery wine are both Idaho products.

Baked Copper River Salmon with Myers Lemon Infused Olive Oil Tarragon Steamed Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce Ben and Jerry's Penut Butter Fudge Ice Cream and Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia Ice Cream

Crisp Fresh Green Salad
Baked Copper River Salmon
with
Extravagonzo Myers Lemon Infused Grapeseed and Olive Oil Blend and Tarragon
Steamed Asparagus with Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce

Choice Of
Ben and Jerry’s Peanut Butter Fudge Ice Cream
or
Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia Ice Cream

Choice Of
2013 Bedrock Wine Company Grenache
or
2011 Cold Springs Merlot

2014 Florida Trip – One Must Eat!

31 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Appetizers, Beef, Cooking Styles, Food Photos, Friends, German Food, Main Dish, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Pork, Pubs, Sandwiches, Scallops, Seafood, Shell Fish, Slider, Sliders, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?, Whats For Lunch?

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Bern's Steakhouse, Chef Larry's Cafe, Guanabanas, Ravenous Pig, Sliders

Let’s see. We were in Florida for 14 days. With luck, that’s 28 meals plus. Nope, not going to post every meal, just some of the better ones. All of these restaurants rate at least 4-Stars out of 5-Stars. I am not going to list these restaurants in any particular order, i.e., worst to best. They all rate “Best”. And most of these will have links in the sidebar if available.

We were only allowed into one kitchen in all of the restaurant and that was in Bern’s Steakhouse in Tampa. So the photo here is not from any kitchen in Florida … Actually it is our kitchen in Boise. Great way to hold your recipe in a skirt hanger, if you can get away with it. So read on and enjoy these epicurean delights. Cheers! And if you are ever around any of these restaurants, please stop in and say hello. Let them know you saw them here on this blog.

Front entrance to Chef Larry’s Cafe, Titusville, Florida.

My sister Peggy and her husband Jim and Robin and I with Chef Larry of Chef Larry’s Cafe in Titusville, Florida. A small restaurant that is full of local “color”. It looks like it is a hit with the local folks as well as tourists. There is a permanent link to the cafe in the sidebar. Good food. Enjoyable. Loved the Chef Larry’s Fresh Fruit Vinaigrette on the House Mixed Greens salad. All of our plates came with it.

Catch of the Day with the House Mixed Greens and Potatoes

Smoked Chicken with Shitake Mushroom Mayonnaise.

Crabcake and Tomato Soup. All of these dishes are made in house!

Our next restaurant that we enjoyed was in Winter Park, Florida, was The Ravenous Pig.

The Ravenous Pig

Really good salads. This one is called The Gatherer.

Heirloom Tomato Salad

Porterhouse Pork

Scallops

White Fish

And then when we were in West Palm Beach, Lani took us to Guanabanas – Island Restaurant and Bar . Really good food with an island flair, both the design layout of the restaurant and the food.

This is well worth the trip if you are in the area. Good food and an exciting and different venue.

House Salad

Crabcake with Fried Plantains. Most of these dishes came with Cuban Rice.

Crab

Burger

Catch of the Day and Roasted Corn.

Then while we were in Jacksonville Beach, my brother Alex took us to Sliders Seafood Grille and Oyster Bar in Neptune Beach.

In side Sliders

And these were delicious!

Here they are before they get placed on the platter.

Here the oysters are before they get placed on the platter.

Seafood Manicotti. Super good!

Peggy, Jim, Marge, Robin and Alex.

And finally, Robin’s niece Kerstin Karlsson to us to Taste of Berlin German Restaurant in Brandon, FL. Delicious!! (The only link I could find for them is on FaceBook)

The interior. Small and cozy and very clean.

Gotta have a beer! or two.

Northern German Potato Salad. Yum-O!

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Chicken like a Cordon Bleu chicken.

Pork Shank. Most of the main dishes came with sourkraut, red cabbage, bread dumplings and a small carrot/cucumber salad.

Pork Shank. Most of the main dishes came with sauerkraut, red cabbage, bread dumplings and a small carrot/cucumber salad.

Schweinebraten

Sauerbraten

Fruit Dessert

Black Forrest Cake

German Chocolate Cake

So there is a smattering of some of the food we had while there. As I said above, all of them were delicious and worth a return trip. Bern’s Steakhouse in Tampa was good, but so were these. Try them all if you get the chance. You will be happy. Cheers!

Two Awesome Meals Yesterday

10 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Brussels Sprouts, Captain's Shack, Carrots, Eggs, Idaho Lamb, Idaho Trout, Idaho's Bounty, Lamb, Local Harvests, Photos By: Bob Young, Seafood, Tagine

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Crown Roast of Lamb, Hollandaise Sauce, Idaho Trout, lamb, tagine, tagine cooking

Such fun to make these. We had some Idaho trout and some Crown Roast of Lamb “left-over” and we had to use it. Here is what we did. The trout was left-over from the TVWS wine tasting and the lamb was the last that Brook, our neighbor, bought us for Christmas. Not difficult and very good. You can get the recipe for the Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce by clicking the hotlink or finding it in the recipe file at the top of this page. This Hollandaise is so very easy to make and only takes 5 minutes at best. Try it. Enjoy!

Scrambled Eggs
Idaho Trout
Housemade Hollandaise Sauce

Crown Roast of Lamb Chops
Fresh Grilled Carrots
Balsamic Infused Brussels Sprouts

Statehouse Oyster Chowder on a Cold Day

03 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Captain's Shack, Chowder, Comfort Food, Main Dish, Oysters, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe By: Peggy Young, Seafood, Soup, What's For Dinner?

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chowder, Joseph Swan Vineyards Gewurztraminer, oysters, recipe, Statehouse Oyster Chowder

I thought this Statehouse Oyster Chowder was pretty good. Robin is not an oyster fanatic. I’m not a “fanatic”, but I do like them ever so often. Tonight, at 30 degrees and the inversion setting up, it tasted good and it was a treat to a cold body. If you would like the recipe, it is linked above. Thanks to my sister Peggy for sharing this.
Serve this with either a 2012 Ste Chapelle Special Harvest Riesling – Idaho Snake River AVA – or a 2012 Joseph Swan Vineyards Gewurztraminer, preferred, and you will have an awesome dinner on a cold, winter’s night. Enjoy the chowder. We did! Cheers. (Wonder if my Dad would have put Sherry in it. Hmmmm.)

The Drink Bar and Waterfront Grill Visit

26 Tuesday Nov 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Beef, Bisque, Boise Adventures, Chowder, Dinner With Friends, Lobster, Main Dish, Photos By: Bob Young, Pubs, Sandwiches, Seafood, Shell Fish, Soup, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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Drink Bar and Waterfront Grill, Idaho humanists

The Boise Humanist group met at Drink Bar and Waterfront Grill on November 25. The restaurant is a nice setting right on the lake. But just a little cold on the Cabana when the temperature is in the high 20’s, even if the sides are shielded by plastic. They probably could have turned the heaters on an hour or so earlier so that the room would warm up a little more. People were cold. Here is their Cabana/Tiki Bar Page and menus.

The food was OK, but not much more. The clam chowder was tasty as was the lobster bisque. It would have been nice to have fries or something come with the burgers. They could probably do with better hamburger buns, too. These were “gummy”. I will rate this as a 3-Star ( out of 5-Stars) restaurant based on what we had. Here are some photos from the evening. Left-Click any of the photos to see enlarged. Cheers!