Treasure Valley Treats and Tragedies

Omega and Alpha

2017-04-30T15:18:00.002-06:00

This will be the last Treasure Valley Treats and Tragedies post. I'm not quitting blogging, but honestly it's time for a change. The main reason is that I'm just plain sick and tired of this site. The name is the worst part, believe it or not. I thought the hyperbole was cute when Ms. Golden Rule and I came up with it (her suggestion was Treasure Valley Treats and Travesties, I just changed the last word), but I have a hard time meeting someone's eyes at an event when they ask for the name of my site. I mean a mediocre or bad meal is hardly a "tragedy", especially in a time when it seems like real tragedies are a daily occurrence. It makes the name seem extra cheesy, and not the kind of cheesy that I like.

There are other issues. I don't like that I've saddled myself with a name that limits me to a certain geographical region, especially when I write quite a bit about things outside of that region and end up feeling guilty for doing so. I'm tired of spending hours on each blog post trying to make them seem more professional (or at least more family friendly). I'm bored with the design capabilities of this platform (Blogger). Hell, I'm tired of feeling like I'm only "allowed" to write about food (trivia FYI, my initial desire was to start a "bad movie" review blog). All of these things have contributed to the lack of posts over the years. If I don't enjoy doing it, what's the point?

The upshot of all of this is that in very short order (fingers crossed), my new site Good Taste / Bad Taste will be live at goodtastebadtaste.com, I'll let you know when it happens. My posts will still be primarily about local restaurants, of course, but I'll no longer feel bad when someone says "Why do you post about places in other states so often?". There will also be posts about movies, music, books, events, games, and anything else I feel like throwing whatever influence I have at bringing attention to. The writing will be more of an "off the cuff" style, so you can also expect more profanity and off-color humor, because honestly that's a more accurate representation of who I really am.

Of course I recognize there's going to be a downside for some, or probably even the majority, of my readers. I know a lot of you would rather just see pictures and reviews of Boise area restaurants, or even just restaurants in general, without seeing reviews and screenshots of horror TV shows, or kung fu movies, or comic books, or whatever else. I did think about cancelling my Facebook and Instagram accounts and setting up new ones for that reason, but it's honestly more work than it's worth so I'm just rebranding them. I mean I follow so many ostensibly foodie accounts where about a third of the posts are essentially advertisements or posts about beauty products and health supplements or whatever, but I like the food posts so I just scroll past the rest of it. I anticipate a lot of unfollowing and unsubscribing, but maybe some of you will stick around to see how it turns out. I fully expect that this new freedom will result in me posting more often in general, primarily local eatery write-ups as I said before, but I know that won't be good enough for some. But who knows, if you can be patient I might in the end decide this has all been a horrible mistake, and it will end up just being a food blog again...

I don't know how much longer I'm going to leave this site up in its current form. It might be easier to just leave it as an archive, or I might import the posts to the new site and redirect this site's traffic to that one (assuming I can figure out how to make that work). In the meantime, as a parting gift for those of you who will be going bye-bye, here are some pictures from restaurants that I didn't feel like formally reviewing, and from return visits to restaurants I've already written up. Granted, most of them have already been posted on my Facebook feed, but they've long since been buried unseen by most thanks to Facebook's idiotic algorithm. Happy trails...

Tsukemen from Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya in Beaverton, OR

Brisket, pulled pork, and chili cheese fries from Big Daddy's BBQ in Meridian

Dim sum from Red Maple Chinese Restaurant in West Valley City, UT

Sushi from Shige Japanese Cuisine in Boise

Fondue and Meriwether cider from Melty Melty Cheese Night at Whole Foods Boise

Dungeness Crab Sea Pups from Ocean Bleu at Gino's in Newport, OR

Animal Style Double Double and fries from In-N-Out Burger in Draper, UT

Phở from Baguette Deli in Boise

Taste of Mahider combo from Mahider Ethiopian Restaurant & Market in Salt Lake City, UT

Swedish Cured Salmon Benedict from La Maison Bakery and Cafe in Newport, OR

Thai beef jerky from Pad Thai House in Boise

Blue Ice Vodka

2017-01-15T13:30:00.000-07:00

So my New Year's resolution was to post more stuff more often, and while I'm sure it will be every bit as successful as all the previous times I've made that promise, I figure I should at least make an effort. The good folks at Blue Ice Vodka apparently wanted me to post, because they sent me a bottle of their Handcrafted American Potato variety to make my annual Christmas cookie baking marathon more tolerable.

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Eureka! (soft opening)

2016-10-18T16:50:00.001-06:00

I first heard of Eureka! last year, when it was announced that they'd be opening a location in downtown Boise. Downtown probably needs another burger joint like, well, like I need to eat more burgers. Still, they do have a burger featuring bone marrow, and a selection of small batch whiskeys. It's pretty safe to say I was intrigued. Now I don't seek out freebies. I don't contact restaurants or PR firms and hint that I'd like to be able to access a place early, or for free, or whatever. Still, sometimes these people contact me, and I was kind of hoping that would happen in this case, simply because I expected them to be annoyingly busy when they first opened and knew I would likely wait a few weeks or even a couple of months before I finally got around to trying them. A few weeks back, I signed into my email to see a message from Eureka!'s PR awaiting me, but it turned out to just be an opening date, a press release, and an offer of high res photographs. You know, just in case I wanted to give them a little free advertising. Now if you've been reading my stuff for a while, you'll know this is a pet peeve of mine. I don't just post other people's words and pictures. Still, I wanted to check them out eventually, and I figured I'd just post my own words and pictures when I got around to it. I mean maybe they weren't even going to have a soft opening.

Nope. They did indeed have a soft opening, and yours truly scored an invite, albeit in a completely unprecedented and unexpected way...

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Meraki Greek Street Food (soft opening)

2016-10-12T20:04:00.000-06:00

As usual, I'm several months behind in my reviews. I've been easily distracted by family, friends, road trips, movies, books, TV, video games, shiny objects, you name it. I've actually had to junk reviews because I just don't remember enough about a particular visit to a place to turn it into a cohesive write-up. But forget about all of that for the moment, because I'm not dipping into my queue right now. You may be wondering what got my brain out of storage and my fingers back on the keyboard (FYI, there's a big hint in the title)...

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On the Road: Vertical Diner (Salt Lake City, UT)

2016-06-15T17:45:00.000-06:00

So, a couple of months ago I took a trip to Salt Lake City to attend a concert. My road trip buddy this time out was one of my oldest friends, and someone I haven't traveled with in a couple of decades. She wanted to attend the concert as well, and she was in desperate need of a weekend out of town. The last time we hit the road, she was a lapsed vegetarian (my bad influence, I'm afraid), but over the years she has rebounded to become a vegetarian with vegan leanings. Not exactly an ideal dining companion for someone like myself, but what the hell. I'm a (relatively) nice guy and I enjoy a challenge. I researched a lot of places that were vegan, vegetarian, or at the very least had very decent options for those types (SLC has become a very good place to eat for them, a surprising number of the highest rated restaurants on Yelp are geared that way). But of course she had her own suggestions, and I decided to risk her favorite place in town despite the serious misgivings I had based on the menu and the reviews I'd read. If you're wondering if I was pleasantly surprised, the answer is no. I wouldn't go back to this joint even if I were offered a free meal. Feel free to stop reading if you like, but if you want details you can find them below.

I didn't take this picture, it's from their Facebook page. I just wanted out.

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On the Road: The Lot / à la carte (Bend, OR)

2016-06-07T16:37:00.001-06:00

A couple of things to apologize for today. First of all, I'm WAY behind on my posts again. Secondly, a lot of the upcoming posts will be road posts, so I guess I should half-heartedly apologize to those of you who think I spend too much time writing about places that aren't local. That having been said, this will at least be a quick one, so bear with me.

In my last post, I mentioned that I had two coffees in pretty short order on my last morning in Bend. After that I headed to 7-Eleven to stock up on cherry Slurpee and Red Bull for the trip home, and discovered that they don't have a public restroom. I couldn't remember where the nearest rest area on the freeway was, so I asked the cashier who was ringing up my purchases where the nearest public restroom was, and he told me it was around the block where the food trucks were. Food trucks? On a Sunday? This I had to check out. And that's how I found myself at The Lot.

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On the Road: One Eyed Sisters Coffee Trailer (Bend, OR)

2016-05-18T18:07:00.001-06:00

Are any of you fans of Anthony Bourdain? I am. I may have even mentioned it before. I guess it doesn't matter, pretty much everyone has watched some travel TV, yeah? You notice that often when the host gets to where he's going, there's someone there to drag him around. Sometimes a friend, sometimes a colleague, sometimes just a local. Well for those of you who don't know, those people are called fixers. Not the kind who clean up crime scenes for the mob, but the kind who make arrangements, grease wheels, plan itineraries, and so on. I've always wanted a fixer, but I've never had one. However, I might have a suitable candidate for future visits to Bend...

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On the Road: Spork (Bend, OR)

2016-05-11T18:36:00.001-06:00

We're going out of order here. In my last post, I described on of the great meals of my life. However, that wasn't the first thing that happened when I arrived in town. I had a few hours to kill, which I planned to spend up in the mountains taking pictures of the forest area outside Sisters (which is still rebounding from the B&B Complex Fires), but I figured a break for lunch was in order after a five hour car ride. I'd asked for recommendations on my Facebook page, received three, and decided upon Spork. They interested me because they'd started out as a truck and then went brick and mortar to satisfy their following (something that seems to be happening more and more often). They specialize in putting their own spin on dishes from all over the world, and a perusal of their menu reveals a wealth of Asian, African, and Latin influences.

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On the Road: 5 Fusion & Sushi Bar (Bend, OR)

2016-04-26T21:35:00.001-06:00

I'm not a professional. I've said it time and again. Usually it's to remind the people reading my ramblings. I do it a a defensive measure. You don't like my use of profanity? The fact that I spend so much time writing about places that are out of town? That so much of my writing is focused on things like burgers and Asian food? Too bad! I'm not a professional writer. I'm sure as hell not a professional food critic. I make no money doing this (notice the lack of ads on my blog?). Sometimes I get an invite to a soft opening, or a free bottle of a condiment in the mail, and that's about as lofty as it gets. I'm the one spending my own time and money, burning gas, putting wear and tear on my car, and so I go to the places I want to go and order the things I want to eat. This whole thing is meant to be informative to those who want the information. But every once in a while I get someone who accuses me of trying to ruin a business, or schill for another one, or complains that I write about taco trucks so much, and I feel the need to remind them that I am not a professional.

A few nights ago, I was the one who was reminded of just how non-professional I am. That's karma for you.

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Bang on the Wall Burgers

2016-04-21T14:00:00.000-06:00

Okay, this is going to be such a quick one that usually I'd go back for a second visit to pad it out, but it's a means to an end so bear with me. Tonight from 5-8 pm is the second weekly installment of Food Trucks in the Park at Ann Morrison Park downtown, courtesy of Idaho Food Truck Coalition. I went last week, when unfortunately the weather wasn't welcoming and the turnout was kind of sparse. As I walked the line of trucks, they were pretty evenly split between trucks I had already written about and trucks I hadn't yet visited. However, there was only one truck I had visited but had not yet written about, so it seemed like a good time to remedy that.

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Even Stevens

2016-04-20T11:30:00.000-06:00

The sandwich is a wonderful thing. From the majestic simplicity of the grilled cheese or the PB&J to the iconic BLT, torta and Cubano, cramming stuff between two hunks of starch results in everything from comfort food to art form. The Valley certainly has been seeing a boom in sandwich joints lately, and while many are admittedly chain eateries, not all chains are created equal. A couple of days ago I had the pleasure of attending the soft opening of Boise's newest entry in the sandwich scene, Salt Lake City-born Even Stevens.

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Bowld Over

2016-04-10T13:06:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I wrote a review of a new truck on the local street food scene called Mad Mac (spoiler alert: I wasn't a fan). What I didn't mention is that the same owners brought two trucks to Boise when they moved here. That's right, the mac and cheese truck has a sister truck that I visited the very next day at the very same spot. I'm sure at least one or two of you are thinking "Come on, give these people a break!", but hear me out. You just might be surprised. I was.

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Mad Mac

2016-04-09T17:53:00.000-06:00

Ah Spring, when the food trucks are in bloom. The Southern Idaho Food Truck Feast is still going strong on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The Idaho Food Truck Coalition is becoming a great source to keep track of which trucks are where on any given day, as well as arranging for a gathering of vendors at Ann Morrison Park on Thursdays. And the old reliable Food Truck Rally peeps are having their first two events of the year this month on the 15th and 29th.

While we have lost a few trucks and had a few others who have evolved into brick and mortar locations, others are popping up to take their places. One of the newbies, Mad Mac, transplanted here from Utah at the beginning of the year. As you might expect from the name, they specialize in macaroni and cheese concoctions. And since they're one of the regular trucks on Slanted Rock's rotation, they're in my neck of the woods fairly often, and I took advantage of a particularly nice day a few weeks back to check them out.

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K-Fusion (Meridian)

2016-02-01T12:59:00.000-07:00

Allow me to make something clear right from the start: I know pretty much nothing about Korean food. There wasn't even a Korean eatery around here for the longest time, so the best you could do were things like the (admittedly awesome) fusion tacos at RiceWorks or highly questionable options like short ribs that occasionally show up on the menus of big bar and grill chains. I was excited a couple of years ago when K-Fusion Korean BBQ & Grill opened in Boise, but the reviews that came out in the beginning didn't exactly inspire confidence. Between that and the fact that they're not exactly conveniently located, I've never made it over there. In the meantime, several other Korean (or at least Korean-themed) eateries have come and gone, including one that only lasted about three months. Throughout this K-Fusion has endured, and even recently expanded. When the Meridian branch of Wingers made the decision to relocate from their spot near Fairview and Locust Grove, K-Fusion quickly moved in to fill the void. I never made it to K-Fusion, so K-Fusion decided to come to me.* I decided it was finally time to give them a chance.

*That was a joke. I'd like to think that most people have enough sense to realize I'm not actually that arrogant and delusional, but this is the Internet...

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Pizza Pie Cafe

2016-01-30T19:53:00.000-07:00

So, buffets. A lot of snobby foodie types don't dig them. Hell, a lot of people in general don't dig them. I'm not saying it's completely unjustified. One trip to Golden Corral could poison you against the idea forever. Still, I'm sure there's a few truly good ones out there (I've heard good things about buffets in places like Vegas and Singapore, for example). We don't have any stellar options here, but I have to admit I'm still a fan of the overall concept. There's something nice about going out to a place where you serve yourself whatever you want in whatever portions you want it. You pay your money, and two minutes later you have a plate with a bite or two of a dozen different items. Or maybe you just have as many crab legs or fried shrimp as your plate can hold without risking catastrophe, I'm not judging.

Like I said, there are no really amazing options for buffet dining in this area, but there are a few that are worthwhile. Tucanos is a place I have to visit at least a couple of times a year. Just lately I've become a fan of Ming Hao in Nampa when I'm craving Chinese, simply because they hit all the comfort food/nostalgia/Americanized notes I fell in love with during my childhood. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Madhuban, even though I haven't been there in years. This week I added another to the list of Track-approved AYCE joints and, even though I don't usually write up buffet eateries, I'm going to tell you about this one. If you have kids in tow, or are just in the mood for some serious carbs, you could do a lot worse.

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Grant's Neighborhood Grill

2016-01-29T00:02:00.000-07:00

So a couple of posts ago I mentioned that two Meridian restaurants made the Statesman's list of the best new restaurants of 2015. Last week, I visited the other one.

Grant's Neighborhood Grill has been open since June, but their website is still just a placeholder so I'll include a link to their Facebook page. They moved to the top of my to-do list when a friend who tried them out started sending me pictures of her dinner and raving about how amazing it was. Yes, I can be fickle sometimes.

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Mi Casa

2016-01-26T08:17:00.000-07:00

There is probably no more widely and diversely represented ethnic cuisine in the Treasure Valley than Mexican. In many eateries, it's as Americanized as Chinese food is. Others seem to have a mix of traditional and non-traditional items. Honestly, when I want Mexican nine times out of ten I'll hit a taco truck because it's fast, inexpensive, and about the most authentic you can find in these parts. Of course taco trucks aren't as much fun to visit with a group, especially in this weather. When my dining companions and I are craving Mexican eats, we usually have to choose between the varied hit and miss sit-down joints available, which is how my mother, my niece, and myself ended up checking out Mi Casa for a late lunch recently.

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On the Road Again: South Beach Fish Market (Newport, OR)

2016-01-24T17:19:00.001-07:00

Alright, one last road post and then you're safe for a bit. This isn't really the road trip time of year, after all.

After a somewhat disappointing hike around Cape Perpetua (Thor's Well wasn't being very impressive even at high tide, and the youngest member of our entourage tripped on a downhill trail and shredded both her knees), we dropped Miss Golden Rule back at the hotel to relax and listen to the Ocean. Meanwhile, her kid and I went in search of sustenance. After a quick stop at Walgreens for first aid supplies, of course. Across the Yaquina Bay Bridge from Newport is a little unincorporated area known as South Beach, which is where you can find the South Beach Fish Market. Don't kill yourself plugging it into your GPS, the signage makes it very hard to miss.

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Mount Everest Momo Café

2016-01-16T11:37:00.001-07:00

I loved Momo Dumplings. From the first time I tried them as an indie vendor at a little table at the Boise Urban Market back in October of 2011 until the day their Meridian restaurant closed in November 2014, they were a consistent favorite for me. I mourned the loss of that restaurant like I've mourned few others around here. Hell, I'm still mourning it. What they were doing was truly unique for the Boise area...at least at first. In 2013, another momo joint called Mount Everest Momo Café opened on Broadway in Boise. I didn't try it, though. I was very loyal to the Momo Dumplings folks. I knew them to be good people, I loved their food, and I sung their praises constantly on my Facebook page and this blog. When they closed up shop, I started thinking about that other place. It would be a while before I was up for it, but I knew that I would have to go try them out sooner or later. So it sucked when a fire gutted a chunk of the strip mall they were located in just a couple of weeks later. It took them six months to rebuild and reopen, and by then my momo cravings were fierce enough that I was truly open to trying them from a new place. SPOILER ALERT: this is a rough one, but try to stick it out. There are a couple of surprises along the way.

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On the Road Again: Chalet Restaurant & Bakery (Newport, OR)

2016-01-14T22:28:00.001-07:00

Okay, one more road piece, then I'll do a local. Miss Golden Rule's b-day was turning out kind of bland. Dinner had been less special than expected, the weather wasn't particularly conducive to hanging out at the beach, and we had no dessert plan locked down. I had made some unsuccessful inquiries, and it was looking like our best bet at the last minute would be to grab some crappy cupcakes or something from Walmart. A little smartphone wizardry saved the day. MGR wanted carrot cake, and I found her some...

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On the Road Again: Cafe Mundo (Newport, OR)

2016-01-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know I just did a road post and I promised to mix it up a bit, but right now my backlog of road posts is bigger so bear with me. So, after a brief exploration of Portland's street food scene, we headed off to Newport, probably the closest thing Miss Golden Rule has to a home away from home. She loves the place. Me, when I'm not there I can find flaws with it pretty easily. But when I'm there, I never want to leave. I blame the hypnotic effects of the Ocean. Anyway, since it was MGR's birthday, we decided to hit a place she's been curious about for a while now.

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On the Road Again: PDX Street Food (Island Grill, The Whole Bowl, The Frying Scotsman)

2016-01-11T21:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I did a local post last time, now back to my most recent trip to Oregon. There's been a lot of talk recently about Portland being the best food city in America. I don't know about that because my own travels have been fairly limited, but it's pretty damned good. It's definitely the epicenter of street food in this half of the country. Still, even with several trips to Stumptown over the last few years and 200 or so vendors to choose from, I'd never had any street eats there. I decided to remedy that on my most recent excursion, so after hitting Starbucks so Miss Golden Rule could get coffee and breakfast (oh the humanity), we took a detour to downtown PDX on our way to the Coast. I had done my homework and narrowed it down to a couple of eateries I wanted to try in different areas of town, so I just went with the one that sounded the most enticing to me at that particular moment: The Frying Scotsman.

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Mekong Fresh Noodle & Grill

2015-12-29T07:02:00.000-07:00

Alrighty. I still have a little motivation left over and I did promise some local content, so let's keep the ball rolling. Today we'll be talking about a place that I actually visited two months ago (where does the time go) but because I'm a lazy bastard I'm kind of the last person in town to talk about it. The Statesman not only reviewed it, it was also only one of two Meridian eateries to make their best new restaurants of 2015 list, an assertion that I agree with. With a caveat or two.

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On the Road Again: Kukai Ramen & Izakaya (Beaverton/Portland, OR)

2015-12-27T13:55:00.000-07:00

EDIT: This is now Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya. Apparently Kukai sounds too close to Hawaiian slang for poop or something. You learn something new every day...

Okay, okay, I know. Once again I've gone months without an update, and once again it's not due to lack of trying new places so that means I've got a major backlog. I don't know what to tell you. Everything has been crazy, from upheaval in my personal life to Halloween (and the subsequent lesser holidays) to Black Ops III to the nasty cold I've been trying to kick for almost two weeks now. Often, when something in my life has to be pushed for lack of time, it ends up being this little hobby. But considering I've only posted one update in the last four months, it's probably time.

Now for the bad news: This is another on the road piece which are historically the least popular, but that's because since I've been sick this place is the one I've most wished I could magically transport myself to. I promise I'll be mixing up the order rather than posting my reviews chronologically for the next little bit, so at least you won't have to read about several out of town eateries in a row before I get back to the locals.

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The Habit Burger Grill - Grand Opening today!

2015-11-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

I'm literally months behind on my reviews at this point, but I'm going to leap ahead and talk about something timely and topical (not to mention relevant to most of you, at least the ones who think I spend too much time talking about restaurants at the Oregon Coast). If you follow the goings on at The Village at Meridian the way I do, you're likely aware of the impending opening of The Habit Burger Grill. You'll find them in a strip of shops on Eagle Road, just North of the Fairview intersection. Turn in at the Mattress Firm, and if you pass the other Mattress Firm then you'll know you've gone too far. They did a free burger day on Halloween, and two hours of free lunches Sunday and yesterday with limited menus. Yesterday evening was a friends and family event, with a few of us bloggers thrown in for good measure. These good people have been put through their paces, and I think they'll be ready to handle the masses today at their grand opening. Now, about that food...

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