Brunch at 36th St Bistro

It's been a while (okay so a LONG while) since I posted anything.  I have been thinking about this blog a lot lately and feeling like I wanted to get back into actually doing something with it.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of visiting 36th St Bistro for brunch.  I have never been for brunch only for lunch and dinner.  This place really is a unique dining experience.  It is attached to a garden center which is just beautiful!  You really feel like you are eating in a sort of greenhouse. Lunch and dinner have been great when I have been there before.

My number one brunch companion and I had excellent service this last Sunday and a fabulous meal.  They serve brunch on Sundays from 9-3. Their menus (for brunch, lunch and dinner) change seasonally seeing as how they have an emphasis on local ingredients.  The fairly small brunch menu ranges in price from 6-10 dollars. I had the eggs benedict.  The perfectly poached eggs paired delightfully with the dill hollandaise and I really liked the inclusion of tomatoes in this rendition of a classic.  PLUS you actually get a choice of ham or bacon on your english muffin. My friend had the vegetarian fritatta which arrived at our table looking all cute and tiny - just right for one person. Presentation was nice, food was hot, service was friendly and the atmosphere relaxing.  We did finish off our meal with a chocolate blueberry mousse - which I failed to take a picture of.  Like a bite of heaven in a glass - that's all you need to know. Just order it!

After I attacked it with my fork - kinda messy now :(

Frittata in background

The 36th Street Garden Center and Bistro is well worth the visit for any meal.  There are tons of activities going on there year round.  Check out their website at www.36streetgardencenter.com  

Good Food - (errr elsewhere)

Ok, so yes I am cheating.  I am going to focus this post on a recent trip to Virginia and Georgia.  I know this is a blog about food in Boise, but there IS good food in other places that is worthy of being mentioned. 

So for starters we'll focus on Virginia.  Not many people are aware that Great Harvest is a franchise.  With over two hundred stores nationwide - there is lots of good bread across the country for eating.  I went to Great Harvest in Herndon, VA with my cousin and friend.  It was an absolutely delightful experience.  Friendly people, cute location and some really yummy breads.  I had a carrot raisin walnut muffin, my cousin had a garlic cheese stick, and my friend had a double chocolate chip cookie.  I practically sampled half the breads they had for the day and came out satisfied that I had tried the Apple Scrapple and the Tuscan Herb Cheese Bread.

My other interesting culinary stop was an Asian Fusion restaurant called Big Bowl located in Reston, VA.  The atmosphere was classy yet relaxed.  They offer top notch service, pretty afforable prices for the type of restaurant, plus the food was hot, beautifully presented and delicious.   The cuisine is a blend of Thai and Chinese.  This posed a bit of a challenge for someone who is allergic to peanut products seeing that Thai food contains a lot of that tricky legume. This is a restaurant well worth trying out if you have the chance.

Destination #2: Georgia.  Oh sweet Georgia - how I love thy restaurants! There was a plethora of restaurants to choose from in Atlanta and I regret that there was not enough time to eat at more of them.  My dearest friend (Elysse) was kind enough to chauffer me around to three Great Harvest stores in the Altanta area - one in Marietta, Smyrna and Atlanta.  We enjoyed meeting all the friendly staff members and once again we ate lots of yummy bread.  We had a sandwich at the Smyrna store - the Bleu Ridge Roast Beef at the owner's recommendation. We also sampled the cinnamon roll there - very unique ( I think it should be called the cinnamuffin roll). 

Contrary to what many of you might be thinking - I did not eat at only bread stores on this trip.  I had the pleasure of dining at another Asian Fusion restaurant called Mama Fu's Asian House in Atlanta. This reminded me a bit of an upscale Panda Express or a lower class P.F.Chang's.  I was very impressed.  Not only is the food affordable ($7-9) but it was delivered to our table within minutes of ordering and it was piping hot and extremely fresh.  I got a noodle bowl and split the lettuce wraps wtih Elysse and Jennie.  They were very good but I have to say - nobody has come close to touching P.F. Chang's.

For lunch on Sunday we went to the West Egg Cafe.  This was definitely my favorite eatery that I visited in Atlanta.  I first found out about the place on another blog so I had to go there, naturally.  I had the salmon cakes benedict.  Boy was it delish!  Two perfectly poached eggs on top of two salmon cakes bathed in a tangy hollandaise - not to mention the creamy garlic grits that came along side. They also have an interesting twist on french toast, banana bread french toast with a caramel sauce.  Even though it was noise, I really liked the atomsphere.  It was very open and lively. 

We also hit Fellini's Pizza.  Pretty good pizza and calzones at a good price.  The patio is a nice place to relax with friends.

These are just a few highlights from a wonderful trip to the East.  Who knows, maybe some of these places will even prompt you to venture out of Boise. 

P.S.  Thanks to all my faithful dining companions in the D.C. and Atlanta areas.  You guys are awesome and I appreciate you shuttling me around to all these great places!

AND one last thing - if you have spent any time in one of these two places I would love to hear where you like to eat.

More Frozen Yogurt

Just can't get enough of this stuff.

Fro Yo

Frozen Yogurt - what do you think of when you think of this cold creamy treat?  You may think of a particular fro yo joint, or you might think of a tasty dessert, or maybe it makes you yearn for summer.  Truth is - you don't have to have warm weather to eat frozen yogurt.  In fact those little shops need our business during the winter months.  Truth is - you don't even have to have a reason to eat frozen yogurt.  It just might be one of life's greatest pleasures.  If you have never had this delightful treat, you are really missing out.

Going...

BUT...

If you like frozen yogurt, then you must stop at Spoon Me. Spoon Me in Meridian on Eagle Road is a fairly new fro yo joint that is well worth your time and has become a favorite and frequent stop.  It has a great modern and fun feel.  I mean, what's not to like about a place that has a disco ball on the ceiling?! Friendly staff are happy to greet you when you walk in the door.  A menu filled with lots of delicious choices and recommendations also greets you.  This could pose a problem for you if you have a difficult time making decisions.  Prices are very reasonable.  There are four flavors to choose from - natural, acai and green tea as well as a flavor of the day.  For all the health enthusiasts reading this, you should be comforted in knowing that they only used crystallized fructose to sweeten the yogurt and no refined sugars. (Doesn't that make you feel even better about eating this?)

Going...

On a recent trip I had acai with blackberries, pomegranate seeds and sliced almonds.  I can highly recommend this combo - DELISH! My suggestion, stop in and try some for yourself. Create your own combo. WE LOVE SPOON ME and hopefully you will too! And for all of you who have never tasted frozen yogurt.... please, please stop and try some for the first time - you won't look back.

Gone!

Spotlight on Garlic Cheddar Bread

Bread, Garlic, and Cheese. These three things are some of most people's favorite foods. I mean, what's not to love about them? One might ask, "How can they get any better?" The obvious answer: put them all together.

If you had to pick only one day out of the week to stop by Great Harvest in Meridian, then that day should be Friday. Every Friday the bakery fills with the aroma of the best bread on the planet - Garlic Cheddar Bread. I wait with eager anticipation on Friday mornings for this bread to come out of the oven - simply for the smell alone. BUT, the smell of this bread is not the only thing it has going for it. Imagine, if you will, a bread that tastes and smells so good that there have been songs written about it (we may sing it for you if you are lucky), facebook status's boasting of it's goodness, and a new form of chip created just because of it. Yes, I said chip - garlic cheddar cheese chips - yum!

Garlic Cheddar Bread is good eats on it's own, fresh out of the oven of course when the cheese oozes out upon cutting into it. However there are lots of ways to try it - for grilled sandwiches, toasted, right out of the bag (be careful though, you may find it hard to stop), or however else you may think to use it. We would love to hear how you like to eat it. This bread simply stated is pure joy. So stop in on Friday's between 10 and 11 for a free slice of piping hot garlic cheddar bread. We would love to see you AND the garlic cheddar bread will be waiting.

Brunch at the Bardenay

I had the pleasure of joining a good friend for lunch (which technically turned into brunch) at the Bardenay in Eagle on Valentine's Day.  It was a beautiful day and the sunshine made me look forward to the warmer weather when we can start eating outside again.

When we arrived at the restaurant we had intended on having lunch. Upon being handed a menu we were pleasantly surprised to find out that they serve brunch on Sundays from 10 - 2. There was a good variety of breakfast and lunch items.  After we both wavered back and forth between lunch and breakfast, we both finally settled on breakfast selections.

I ordered the Salmon Benedict while my friend ordered the French Toast.  They were both reasonably priced - $9.50 for mine and $7.95 for my friend's.  The presentation was beautiful.  The food was hot when it came to the table (after a not so very long wait - always nice).  The flavor was GREAT!  I absolutley loved my food.  The hollandaise sauce was delicious - smooth, creamy and slightly tangy. Both entrees were served with rosemary red potatoes and the french toast came with chorizo sausage.  A real winner for me was the fact that the french toast was crispy.  Cooked to a golden brown perfection.

Our service was good.  While our waitress didn't seem to be the most "friendly" (she wasn't rude either by any means), she did her job well and our water glasses were filled regularly.

Overall we had a most delightful breakfast.  I can honestly say that the Bardenay is on the top of the list of my favorite restaurants in Boise.  I have never been dissapointed yet.  You get good food and a good value for your money.

You Might Be Wondering....

You might be wondering "What is this blog all about?".  I feel that it is not only important, but also helpful to you if I take a few moments to explain what our purpose is in this part of the blogging world. 

Our goal is to provide people like you with a good tool to help you in your foodie adventures.  Whether you like eating food, thinking about food, smelling food or just looking at food - we hope to give you reviews on places to eat at (mostly in Boise, Idaho).  We greatly value your input and hope that you will give us recommendations on places to try as well as your opinions on places we review.  There are so many hidden gems in Boise (and the surrounding area) and it is so awesome to uncover those places and make them known so that people can enjoy them and support local businesses at the same time.  Each restaurant review will be based on certain criteria including atmosphere, service, price, location and quality and presentation of food.

In addition to reviewing restaurants, we will also feature the "goings on" at Great Harvest on a regular basis. 

AND finally, from time to time, we may just feel like sharing some of our personal culinary endeavors.

No matter what, we hope that you will take pleasure in reading, that you will give us feedback and share your thoughts, and that you will share this info with your friends and family.  We thank you for reading and for being supportive followers.