One joy of writing and publishing these ideas, is that we get asked to go to new restaurants and and report on their fare. So today, since it is not snowing or raining but rather 61 degrees, we went to the Acme Bake Shop physical bakery – we have never been there – to pick up our Thanksgiving bread order. Then we went to a new pizza restaurant in Meridian, Idaho, Blaze Pizza. They are located at 2206 N. Eagle Rd., Meridian, ID 83646 (208) 855-9139. You can order online! Here are some photos of our visits. Enjoy!

Like I said above, we started off by visiting Acme Bake Shop in 221 W 37th Street, Suite B, Garden City, Idaho. (208) 284-5580. And we are still convinced that this is the best bread in the Boise area. That’s a bold statement but one we stand by. Their breads are baked daily and from local products. Their Rye is the old world style, full of caraway and not a swirl rye, which is a rye “wanna be”. Look at these photos of the bakery and of some of the breads we bought today. Enjoy!!

Acme Bake Shop entrance.

Soraya works on the orders.

The breads we bought – Pull Apart Dinner Rolls, Michael’s Sourdough, Rye, Hot Cross Buns and Cranberry Sourdough. Still warm! Sooooooooooo fresh! You can also find them at the Boise Farmers Market and at the Boise COOP.

Now off to Blaze Pizza, located at 2206 N Eagle Road, Meridian, Idaho. (208) 855-9139. A good selection of 11″ pizzas, from a Build Your Own to their Signature Pizzas. Here is a link to Blaze Pizza Menu. (You can download the menu, too.) See these photos of this new Meridian area restaurant. If you are in the area shopping, this makes for a great break. Stop in and have a speciality pizza and a cool drink.

Some of the dining area with the pizza making area in the background. My one criticism of the dining area is that it is very “noisey”. The sounds echo off of flat, hard surfaces which amplifies the sounds. They need some sound buffers. It is distracting.

The hot oven works fine and gives the pizza crust a unique, fire-roasted flavor. I like that, especially on a thin crust. However, the Baker must be aware that this process can cause the crust to go to “cracker” consistency.

The Staff building the pizzas are really great with the customers – friendly and helpful. They smile!

Pizza assembly by skilled hands.

Our pizza, a Signature Meat Lovers. The lady constructing this pizza asked if I wanted some herbs – oregano. I said yes and she put about a pinch on this 11″ pizza. Also, I count 12 pieces of onion – there could really be more. And some garlic. There could also be more pepperoni and more sausage. I’m not saying cups more, but a small handful more. No space between the pepperoni. (Robin says you will probably need a bib – the pizzas are some what juicy.)

The Bottom Line: Great service people. Friendly, helpful and cheerful. Great to see. They seem to like their work. Very noisy environment – noises echo. Increase the amount of toppings, slightly. Cost of the product is good. Robin and I come from 20 miles south of South Philly! The Italian section. We grew up on pizza, subs, steak sandwiches and Bob Horn’s Bandstand. Our benchmark pizzas are Angie’s, Newark, DE. (No longer in existence.), Grotto Pizza, Rehoboth Beach, DE and Pittsburg, PA. PizzalChik, Boise, ID and Flying Pie Pizza in Boise. Blaze Pizza has big shoes to fill – a great challenge.

If you are in the Meridian area shopping, this will make a great stop. Out of 5-Stars, we rate Blaze Pizza 3-Stars for the reasons stated. We will return at some point in time. 3-Stars is not a bad rating, but we can see where they could use some improvement. Go and enjoy the pizza and be sure to let us know what you think. Cheers!