Posts Tagged ‘ restaurant ’

Russian Bear Cafe, Eagle

July 22, 2010
By Guy Hand
Renee Davies / Idaho Statesman Borshch, a Russian beet soup, is a favorite at the Russian Bear Cafe. The soup consists of cabbage, potatoes, carrots, onion, beets, and spices. Although the soup is served hot, restaurant owner Oleg Mironov said this does not affect its popularity in the summer. "When it's really hot outside, there are still people that want it," Mironov said.

Among borshch aficionados, the origins and essential ingredients of this Central and Eastern European beet soup are as varied and hotly contested as chili at a chili contest. There’s Russian borshch, Polish borshch, Jewish borscht, hot borshch, cold borshch, thick borshch, thin borshch, meaty borshch, meatless borshch and borshch without beets. There’s also little...
Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Statesman Restaurant Reviews | No Comments »

Chandlers Steakhouse, Boise

July 15, 2010
By Guy Hand
Katherine Jones/Idaho Statesman Chandler's Steakhouse is a place for special occasions, and Lindsey and Shane Riffle chose Chandler's to celebrate their 11th wedding anniversary. "This is my favorite place," says Lindsey Riffle. She was debating about whether to get the filet mignon. "And then there's the lovely chocolate dessert to look forward to, too," she said.

I suspect that more pin stripes and jewels drift through Chandlers Steakhouse on an average evening than any other restaurant in the Valley. Beyond the bar’s backlit glassware, the bird-of-paradise spiked bouquets, the white linen and honey-colored light, there’s a bank of private rooms where more than a few deals are surely made over...
Read more »

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Statesman Restaurant Reviews | No Comments »

Chef Roland’s Cajun Cuisine & BBQ, Boise

July 1, 2010
By Guy Hand
Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman Chef Roland serves a platter filled with boiled Louisiana Red crawfish with corn on the cob, red potatoes, hot link sausage and hush puppies.

I can live with, even appreciate, the old desk and piles of paperwork you pass by when walking into Chef Roland’s dining room. The cordless drill left on the floor near a table. And Roland Joseph himself shuffling across the room to a zydeco beat that’s moving twice as fast as he is. All of...
Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Statesman Restaurant Reviews | 2 Comments »

Kana Girl’s Hawaiian BBQ, Meridian

June 24, 2010
By Guy Hand
0618Scenefood8.standalone.prod_affiliate.36

When Kana Girl’s Hawai’ian BBQ owner Keoni Tyler wanted to tinker with one of his family recipes, he had to ask his mom in Hawaii for permission. “I’m 53 years old,” Tyler says, “and if my mom walked in here and saw that the food wasn’t prepared appropriately or the portions weren’t of family size,...
Read more »

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Statesman Restaurant Reviews | 2 Comments »

Twig’s Cellar, Boise

June 3, 2010
By Guy Hand
Chris Butler/cbutler@idahostatesman.com Guitarist Ben Burdick and bassist Bill Liles entertain a Friday-night crowd at the new Twig's Cellar in Downtown Boise.

A glass of wine, an appetizer, a little live jazz and I’m thinking life in springtime Boise is pretty good. A windowless basement may not sound like the perfect place for such sunny contentments, but this cubbyhole on the lower level of the Garro Building on Bannock Street (between 8th and 9th) has delivered before....
Read more »

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Statesman Restaurant Reviews | No Comments »

Solid, Boise

April 23, 2010
By Guy Hand
Joe Jaszewski / Idaho Statesman Solid's chicken and waffle plate.

At 2 o’clock in the morning, there’s a compelling, if slightly twisted logic to fried chicken and waffles. Especially after a night at Liquid or one of the other spots within teetering distance of Solid, a new, BoDo-based restaurant. At that hour, food becomes less a meal than an antidote. Dishes that might simply be...
Read more »

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Statesman Restaurant Reviews | No Comments »

Listen Up! It’s The New Market & Garden Report

April 20, 2010
By Guy Hand
Photo by Guy Hand

After a long, lingering winter, Spring has finally sprung here in southern Idaho.  To celebrate, NPR’s Edible Idaho is trying something new: A weekly radio show called The Market & Garden Report. Every Friday morning beginning April 30th during Morning Edition on Boise State Radio (KBSX 91.5), producer Guy Hand will bring you the news on...
Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in The Market & Garden Report | 1 Comment »

Restaurant Eighteen One, Eagle

April 16, 2010
By Guy Hand
Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman Restaurant Eighteen One offers diners tastes of progressive fine dining with appetizers like Blue Crab Tator Tots.

Let’s face it: We Treasure Valley eaters are generally a conservative lot. We drool over mac ‘n’ cheese, crunchy fries and juicy slabs of sirloin. We tend to turn up our noses at prissy presentations, things with tentacles and dishes we can’t pronounce. That, of course, should come as no surprise to residents of this...
Read more »

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Statesman Restaurant Reviews | No Comments »

The Contentious World of Restaurant Reviews

April 5, 2010
By Guy Hand
Food critic Anton Ego in the Disney film Ratatouille Walt Disney / Everett

Edible Idaho producer and print journalist Guy Hand has written on controversial subjects in the past like clear-cut logging, mining pollution and factory farming.  But none of those stories prepared him for the perils of writing restaurant reviews. In this installment of Edible Idaho, correspondent Guy Hand drops us into the boiling...
Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Edible Idaho Radio | 1 Comment »

Reef, Boise

March 26, 2010
By Guy Hand
Katherine Jones / Idaho Statesma The Reef's over-size coconut-crusted shrimp features drizzled mango puree with sweet chili dipping sauce. It washes down with a Mai Tai in a signature tiki mug.  Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/03/19/1122201/reefs-flair-trumps-flavor.html#ixzz0id2IZcij

I’m a skeptical fan of themed restaurants. The theme – whether saddlebag Western, fishnet nautical or palm-frond Polynesian – is often nothing more than a decorative distraction from forgettable food. It turns out that the Tiki hut motif that decorates Reef in Downtown Boise is the mother of all those restaurant themes. Don the Beachcombers...
Read more »

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Statesman Restaurant Reviews | No Comments »