NEWS/FOOD S U S AN VALIQU ETTE
FOOD/REVIEWS On one plate then the other ... BW sends two critics to one restaurant.
ANGELL’S BAR AND GRILL Chef Jered Couch is cooking up dinner.
NOW THAT HALLOWEEN IS SO LAST MONTH, WE’VE MOVED ON TO THANKSGIVING IN THE FOOD WORLD.
44
| NOVEMBER 4–10, 2009 | BOISEweekly
LAU RIE PEARMAN
Whether you’re in charge of a dish or an entire meal come the third Thursday of the month, we’d recommend one little cheat: the pie. A pie is one of those things everybody seems to think they can make and, really, so few of us do it well. It’s also one of those Thanksgiving things that takes massive amounts of time and love and face it, maybe you don’t have either left after you’ve put together a whole table of food. Whatever your reason or your comfort level with ser ving outsourced pie, at least pre-screen the goods to be sure your Turkey Day pie is all it can be by stopping into Pamela’s for the annual pie-tasting fete on Thursday, Nov. 5. Sample pumpkin, bourbon pecan, Dutch apple or tart cherr y from 3-7 p.m. completely free of charge. Pamela’s, 360 S. Eagle Road, 208-9386585, pamelasbaker y.com. And since no one actually expects you to make your own wine for Thanksgiving dinner (unless, of course, you own a winer y), you can feel a lot less guilty about this one. Stock up for the all the holiday festivities with wine (aka family coping mechanism) at Berryhill & Co.’s ninth annual wine sale. Wine experts will offer tastings before you commit to a case, and although you have to commit to a case, you can mix and match your selection. Like Pamela’s pie-tasting event, this sale also happens Thursday, Nov. 5, so get an early start at Pamela’s before heading over to Berr yhill and First Thursday. Berr yhill, 121 N. Ninth St., 208-387-3553, berr yhillandco.com. Sale is 4-9 p.m. From wine to wine dinner ... Chef Jered Couch of The Dish and Six-OneSix is back on the scene in a pretty unlikely spot: The Griddle, which is best known for the earlier meals of the day. Couch, however, has ventured into wine dinner territor y and will offer the four-course “A Northwest Tasting Menu” Nov. 5-6 featuring Sockeye salmon, beef tenderloin, a sun choke soup with trout, a warm chanterelle tart and poached pears for dessert. Oh yeah, and wine. All from Hells Canyon Winer y. This week’s dinner is the first in a series Couch will present. Dec. 4-5, he’ll pair up Hells Canyon Winer y’s Zhoo Zhoo label wines in a “Victorian American Christmas Dinner.” Take note: Couch’s dinners happen at the Eagle location. The Griddle, 177 Eagle River St., 208-939-9070, thegriddle.com. Reser vations at 208-949-9583. —Rachael Daigle
Angell’s Bar and Grill has been a Boise haunt for more than 20 years, The bar at Angell’s is a good place to hide out. Flickering electric serving up Northwest classical cuisine from its semi-subterranean candles cast a soft glow on the groomed and perfumed bodies sipping location. When the landmark restaurant came under new ownership cocktails in the sunken space. Though you can still see the tops of cars and announced it was undergoing a makeover with an African safari through the wrap-around windows as they zip down Ninth Street, theme, I wasn’t the only one who was a bit nervous. something about the spot feels hidden, even slightly forgotten. But my fears of a cheesy theme decor were put largely to rest this On a recent weekday evening, I sat at the bar and took in the spring when I made my first visit to the newly reopened restaurant. “regal safari” flourishes at this recently revamped downtown fineAngell’s managed to maintain a casual classiness while upping the hipdining staple. Decorative brass elephants wrap their trunks assertively quotient with smatterings of bamboo, plants, assorted animal prints around the bar’s ledge as curved wicker fans twirl overhead. Though and an occasional spear. More importantly, the food was still memoraone might expect to see khaki-clad British hunters spilling out of tiger ble, tasteful and beautiful without being pretentious. The menu is filled print booths, the space is instead filled with an assortment of middlewith familiar items aged urbanites. from the NorthwestAfter a short ern grocery list, but wait, my mom and I hipped-up with adwere led through the ditions of ingredients packed restaurant like currants, roasted and past a cluster pine nuts, mangoes of giant bamboo and wasabi. sculptures to a booth. The same proved Looking up from the true during a recent menu, we smiled, lunch outing. It noticing the six silverwas surprisingly haired ladies who packed on a Tuesday were also having a afternoon, and tables girls’ night next to us. full of the suit-andThough the extentie crowd were nice sive, seafood-heavy to see amid reports appetizer list would of the languishing normally paralyze restaurant business. me with indecision— Lunch fare at AnDungeness crab cakes gell’s consists of the ($9.50), Oysters standard soup, salad Rockefeller ($2.25 and sandwiches, but each), calamari with the kind of artiswith artichoke aioli tic touches required ($9.50)—our opto stand out from the tions were narrowed This African safari ends with a stuffed belly, not a stuffed cheetah. franchise masses. considerably by my While the mom’s shellfish allerpear and chicken gy. When the artfully ANGELL’S BAR AND GRILL 999 Main St., salad ($8.50) held the presented Ahi Tartare 208-342-4900 promise of bacon, along with pine nuts and currants, the “Two Ways” ($9.50) arrived, we each reached for a angellsbarandgrill.com biting wind outside drove me to the warmth and heartipuffy sesame cracker and went to town. Though the Lunch: Tue.-Fri. ness of the sandwich. two piles of raw, cubed yellowfin tuna looked notice11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Dinner: Mon.-Thur. 5-10 p.m., A French dip sandwich ($9) is something I take very ably different—one was coated in a creamy wasabi Fri. and Sat 5-10:30 p.m., seriously, and have been too often disappointed by sauce and the other glistened with a sweet soy Sun. 5-9 p.m. gristly meat, flavorless bread and au jus that is more glaze—neither version was particularly interesting. akin to a salt lick than the rich broth it’s supposed to be. The soy side cried for a citrus kick and the creamy Thankfully, I was not disappointed. The prime rib was corner could’ve used a good deal more heat. sliced to extreme thinness and was so tender it gave way easily to the My mom’s filet mignon ($27) was an entirely different beast. She slightest bite. The accompanying horseradish sauce was also a pleasant polished off every last beefy bite of the “perfectly cooked” steak, maksurprise. It was no weak-willed, watered-down condiment with a kick. ing frequent, closed-eye exclamations about how well it went with the Nope, this one had just enough burn to smolder in your sinuses. The accompanying buttery bearnaise sauce. My Idaho trout ($22) was also addition of a just-salty-enough, beefy au jus topped off the meal along a winner—covered in a crispy sliced-almond batter—but it would’ve with seasoned fries that managed to shrug off any hint of oil. given a good-sized bear difficulty finishing. I boxed up the leftover My date opted for the fish and chips ($8.50). The three generous trout, a healthy dollop of garlic mashed potatoes and a few broccoli hunks of Alaskan cod came in a wonderfully thin, crunchy ale batter crowns and had the feast for both lunch and dinner the next day. that gave the fish a complete coating without throwing off the fishOn another evening, as big flakes of the season’s first snow came to-batter ratio. The flaky, non-oily fish was accented by a housemade cascading down from the dreary sky, I decided to take refuge in the bar lemon aioli tartar sauce that had a welcomed tang. at Angell’s once again. Holing up in one of the booths, I opted for a Checking out the plates in front of other diners, we were pleasantly classic, dirty martini ($10) and two tiger prawns with tamarind marsurprised by the gracious portions, as well as the balance of beauty and malade ($2.25 each). As I watched the flicker of a football game reflect simplicity of each meal. Now that I’ve tried both lunch and dinner, a off faces around the bar and felt a warm martini glow wash over me, I further visit to explore tapas and cocktails at Angell’s may be in order. decided to stick around and hide out a little while longer. —Deanna Darr likes an African safari where she’s not on the menu.
—Tara Morgan really hopes Angell’s inspired that Aerosmith song. WWW. B O I S E WE E KLY. C O M