Brown Shuga Soul Food Review


If you have been missing some down home soul food, then the Brown Shuga Soul Food truck is the place you need to be. Located at 9275 W Chinden Blvd., Garden City, ID, the food truck offers some of the most amazing BBQ Chicken in Idaho – pictured here with Mac ‘N Cheese – and Pulled Pork, both made with their secret BBQ sauce. And their Collard Greens are great, too! Check this blog for their daily menus as posted in the header above. You can also find information and reviews for Brown Shuga Soul Food by clicking here: Brown Shuga Soul Food on Urbanspoon



But then you need dessert, too. Try some of their Peach Cobbler, when it is on the menu. You won’t be disappointed. For soul food in Boise and from a food truck, this easily rates 4-Stars out of 5. It’s really that good!

And don’t forget to look for Brown Shuga Soul Food Truck at the monthly Food Truck Rally. Held the second Friday of each month in rotating locations. Check this blog for monthly locations, usually posted the Monday before the rally. Cheers!

Steamed Spinach and Shrimp


Here was an awesome dinner. Steamed shrimp over 2 bunches of fresh tarragon infused water. Sauteed ramps, chives and garlic in 1T bacon drippings. Add 1c of the tarragon water used to steam the shrimp. Add diced asparagus and steam for 2 minutes. Add the spinach and cover to wilt. This is a fantastic way to combine shrimp and spinach. If you try this, let us know how you liked it. I can also imagine it with some fiddlehead ferns. Cheers!

Taste208, Boise


While I was slaving away at Taste208 and at Shawn’s graduation party, Robin, Marnie and Brenda were “slaving away” at Maysara Saki in McMinnville, OR. It appears that they are enjoying themselves immensely. I hope so … they deserve it. Shawn’s party was awesome. Good company and good food. Wonderful steaks, salmon and chicken. Several salads and a wonderful cake that Donna made. (See below)

Taste208, on the other hand, was a let down. For the $25 entry fee, you would have thought that the food would have been sample size and no charge. Instead, most of the food was full serving size and a pretty standard fee. Here are some photos of the two events. Enjoy and Cheers!

Shawn Carman’s graduation cake by Donna Scrivner. While at Boise State University he played and coached the Lacrosse team.

Donna Scrivner and Granddaughter Quinn Carman.

Terry Knivila grills the steaks.

Some of the displays. Beer, wine and vodka were the spirits. Nepalese food, Mexican food and soups were there to eat, among some others.

Bakon Vodka

Food Truck Rally Boise for May 2012


A super Food Truck Rally in Boise tonight. And the weather cooperated. Warm and clear with just a light breeze. I did not count the people there but there wa a good sized crowd.
The photo to the left is Peach Cobler (wonderful!) at Brown Shuga Soul Food. They do sponsor me to take photos of their food truck. You can get a general  idea of the event from the photos that follow. Enjoy and if you missed this one, look for the next rally on the 2nd Friday of June. It is well worth the trip and the food is really diverse and wonderful.

Brown Shuga Soul Food truck. Look for them here and on Chinden Blvd in Garden City Tuesday through Saturday during the week.

Ah yes. BBQ Turkey Legs from Brown Shuga.

Some of the crew at Brown Shuga. Yvonne is in the black Chef’s coat. It takes a good crew to serve all of the people.

Yvonne helps a hungry customer.

Customer service is the name of the game and Yvonne does it very well.

BBQ Chicken and Mac and Cheese from Brown Shuga. This chicken was delicious. I like it better than the turkey legs. That surprised Yvonne. The wine is from the Indian Creek Winery and was a viognier. It went very well with the BBQ.

An Oyster Club Sandwich from Brick 29 and a glass of Payette Brewery IPA. Wow! This was a great combination! I’ll do this again with Brown Shuga’s BBQ Chicken. I told Sheila from Payette Brewery that I want to do a blind tasting of their IPA, Dechutes Brewery Inversion and 10 Barrel Apocalypse IPA. That would be a fun evening. 

Almost needed shaved ice tonight. Definitely will in June.

Mike and Tammy McClure of Indian Creek Winery. I have no idea what Tammy is doing. Introduce yourself to them. They are great people and make a super wine.

Another one of the food trucks.

Well, that’s it for this month. If I didn’t see you there tonight, maybe next month. Cheers!

The Buzz – Monthly Wine Dinner


I just loved this evening sunset sky in Boise as I was leaving the Buzz after a wonderful Monthly Wine Club Dinner – Magazines. Cristi did a great job in explaining to everyone the magazines that are available about wines and also on the rating systems.
She did a blind tasting tonight, a change from her normal format. I liked it. Here is the dinner we had and the wines that Cristi paired with the food. Remember: The scoring is based on 100 points. Enjoy! And the dinner that accompanied the tasting was perfectly matched with the wines and well prepared. We just keep coming back to the Buzz. Here is more information – BUZZ Coffee & Wine Bar on Urbanspoon

Opening Wines
These two wines, from South Africa, were really very good. Of the two, I preferred the Chenin Blanc, but the Cab was still good. Using the 100 point scoring, I rated both of these at 92.

Appetizer
Asparagus Pesto Brochette

2009 Pinot Grigio
13.0% alc, crisp and clear, lemon [92]

Soup
Wild Mushroom Ragout
(An awesome soup!)

2008 Red Blend
14.1% alc., deep red, big and bold. Great with the soup [95]

Roasted Vegetable Salad
(Super good salad!)

2008 Pillar Box Red Blend (Australia)
14.5% alc., cinnamon, roast beef. well balanced [97]

Lemon Herb Chicken
Brown Rice Mixture
Broccoli
Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

2010 White Knight Viognier
13.9% alc., light color almost white, good with the cucumber and broccoli and the herbs on the chicken [95]

Pear/Pecan Flop Cake

2008 Dugagutti
13.9% alc., red and tan, chocolate and plum. great with the cake [98]

Joe’s Road House Port
deep chocolate color. wonderfully smooth
(Thanks Joe for sharing!)

Inquiring Minds Need To Know!


You will be surprised at some of these food items. How they are grown and how they are produced. Take a look at 8 of the Worlds Most Expensive Ingredients. Have fun. Which would you like to try? I think this melon, a Yubari King Melon, with a good cup of the coffee. Take a look. Here is some info on this melon. “The choicest melon pairs have been auctioned in Japan for as much as $26,000, but a standard Yubari melon costs between $50 and $100 in Japanese department stores.” The coffee, on the other hand, “Kopi luwak, or civet coffee, is coffee that has passed through the digestive system of a nocturnal catlike animal called a civet. . . Kopi luwak retails for as much as $500 per pound, or about $1 per gram.” Goot Essen!

BBQ Chicken Sandwich and Grilled Potato Wedges


And Buddy says, “What’s for dinner?”, as he lifts his head from the front door where he has been all day waiting for Robin to drive up. Well let’s see what I can come up with. How about this –

BBQ Grilled Chicken Sandwich
with
spinach, onion, tomato, BBQ sauce

Grilled Kansas City Potato Wedges

Maybe a beer or two

And is that a Pabst Blue Ribbon and a Mickey in the background? Two of seventy from the birthday stash. I think Robin and Marnie had Fritos and I don’t know what else for dinner. I like Fritos. But this is so much better. Tomorrow it’s the Buzz for the Wine Club Dinner – get your reservation and I’ll see you there. Then there is the Food Truck Rally on Friday – previous post – and Saturday is so jammed! Taste208, both the media function and the public function; Shawn Carman’s Graduation Party; the Buzz is having a Parking Lot Party; Garry Scholtz is having an open house in Meridian. I think this is a conspiracy from Robin to keep me busy and not lonesome. I’ll take 2 BP pills and all will be soooooooo fine. Cheers!

May Boise Food Truck Rally


Here is the information for the May, Boise Food Truck Rally. Hope to see you there!

Food Truck Rally
Next Rally is this Friday! May 11th 5-9pm at 4th and Grove [in Boise]
Trucks in alphabetical order:
A Cupcake Paradise
Archie’s Place
b29 Streatery
Basilio’s
Big Daddy’s BBQ
Brown Shuga
Calle 75
Riceworks
St. Lawrence Gridiron
Tiki’s Shave Ice


Beer by Payette Brewing
Wine by Indian Creek Winery

It’s been an interesting eating day. And super moon day. And Kentucky Derby day. Here is what we had for dinner tonight. Wild Rice Salad, Fruit Bread and Fiddlehead Ferns with Ramps, Asparagus and Mushrooms. All from the Boise Saturday Market. Well …. Mostly – The bread was not. Wonderful!! 

Did you see this Super Moon?

Robin’s Tortilla Soup


Robin’s Tortilla Soup

OK. So here’s the scoop. Today was the “Running of the Roses”, the Kentucky Derby and we lost. It has been rather chilly here today with temps around 54 degrees and the wind chill at 47. Then tonight they say that we are getting down to 28 – 32 degrees with a frost warning. (I’ve known snow on the tulips at Mother’s Day, but the tulips are over this year!)
In other words, it’s cold here. So, Robin made this really great Tortilla Soup. Rich and spicy and great! It hit the spot during the derby. We had Mexican beer and not Mint Juleps. After all, it is Cinco de Mayo! Enjoy looking at the soup. There’s none left. Oh yes. There will be a very large full moon tonight to photograph. Hope the skies clear off. Moonrise is 8:54pm here in Boise. Cheers!