BEER GUZZLER/FOOD SUMMER BREWS HIT SHELVES
NEW BELGIUM SHIFT PALE LAGER This beer pours a light gold with a thin white head and offers soft wheat, herb and hop aromas with fruity touches of earth. Light bodied in the mouth, this brew has a definite suppleness up front that is nicely balanced by crisp citrus. Fruit-laced malt plays against drying hops on the finish with a touch of lemon zest. NINKASI HELLES BELLES A one-finger eggwhite head tops this pale, straw-colored beer. The aromas are a floral mix of fresh grass, cracker and subtle fruit. An homage to the German lagers brewed in Bavaria, this beer’s flavors revolve around lightly bitter, heady hops, backed by creamy pale malt and smooth, justsour fruit. This beer is refreshingly dry and delicious on the finish.
—David Kirkpatrick
36 | MAY 9–15, 2012 | BOISEweekly
SHANAZ HOME KITCHEN Soul food with a fusion twist JOSH GROSS Boise struggles a bit in the diversity department. And there is perhaps no better barometer than its culinary landscape, a place where burgers flourish and finding good curry is like sighting Bigfoot. Soul food, while undeniably American, is also somewhat “ethnic” in this environment. And that makes a trip to a local soul food restaurant a gamble. Will it deliver rich, brassy flavors like good jazz, or will it be so bland pork ($13.95) and a single sushi roll ($11.95). and Kraft-like that your soul hurts to eat it? On a recent trip, I started off with fried Luckily, in the case of Shanaz Home Kitchgreen tomatoes ($4.95) and the mac ’n’ cheese en, it’s the former—the food and hospitality balls ($5.95). The unripe tomaare far more Southern than toes were caked in cornbread Southern Idaho. batter and fried until soft and The small, clean, sit-down in SHANAZ HOME KITCHEN sweet. They came with a spicy, Meridian dishes out traditional CUISINE AND CATERING housemade ranch sauce. favorites like a fried catfish 520 S. Main St., Ste. 96B The mac ’n’ cheese balls sandwich ($8.95), as well as Meridian, 208-922-6433 shanazhkc.com were fried perfectly, with a more creative takes on soul light crispy shell encasing a food like the chorizo and fried creamy and tender inside. They plantain omelet ($9.95) availwere served with a red sauce that had a thick able on the brunch menu. On Fridays and flavor of romano cheese. The server said it was Saturdays, Shanaz prepares its specialty house Shanaz Davis’ signature sauce. And it was a gumbo ($14.95). The restaurant also offers a sauce worth attaching one’s name to. small selection of Asian-influenced foods such Swollen with fried delights, I ordered as Korean tacos ($2 each), black tea-rubbed
Seriously: Shanaz’s jambalaya is the jam.
jambalaya-stuffed peppers ($9.95) with a side of collard greens for the main course. The red bell pepper came overflowing with a wild rice mixture full of chicken and andouille sausage, which had a nutty flavor rife with the gritty, blackened spices that makes Cajun food sing. The collard greens were also excellent, with large chunks of pork and none of the bitterness for which poorly prepared greens are notorious. And if that wasn’t enough, the dish came with a pan of freshly baked cornbread. Delivered straight from the oven to the table, the cornbread let out a puff of steam when I stuck my fork in it. My dining companion summed up our experience that evening: “This is so good, I’m considering embracing bulimia.”
FOOD/NEWS samples from multiple Idaho wineries from noon to 5 p.m. and feature mobile grub from B29 Streatery and Archie’s Place. Boise Rock School Mother’s Day brunch is big business. Restaurant kitchens crank out and Amy Weber will provide the tunes while the youngins are entertained eggs benny and glazed ham by the truckload as moms sip mimosas with a special appearance by the Sawtooth Yeti. Tickets are $10 in in their floral finest. But if you want to ditch the stereotype and shake advance or $20 at the door, and under-21ers get in free. things up this Mother’s Day, there are a number of other food-filled ways Another 2C winer y is hosting a similar bash on Mother’s Day— to treat your favorite lady. Hell’s Canyon and sister brand Zhoo Zhoo will have a wine-tasting On Saturday, May 12, The Cake Ballers and Eye Candy Event Design throwdown from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The St. Lawrence Gridiron food will host a special Mother’s Day event to coincide with the Capital City truck will be on premises ser ving a Public Market from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at specially designed wine-friendly menu, their headquarters at 720 Idaho St., Ste. Purple Sage Farms will sell herbs and 40. Attendees can design a gift box for kombucha, and there will be booths from mom filled with cake balls, macaroons McClaskey’s Glads, Wine Countr y Wood and other candies and take free photos in Chips and Idaho’s Bounty. The first 50 a booth provided by Two Photography. moms in attendance receive a free Zhoo Speaking of markets, the East End Zhoo’s stemless wine glass. Market at Bown Crossing will swing back If you’d rather kick it Garden City style, into gear on Mother’s Day from 10 a.m.-2 take mom to Payette Brewing Company p.m. and continue every Sunday until at 111 W. 33rd St. to celebrate the brewOct. 14. Grab a cloth tote and cart mom ery’s first birthday from noon to 8 p.m. In to Bown to shop for local produce, plant addition to offering lots of suds, there will starts, eggs and specialty foods. also be eats from RiceWorks and Calle 75 If mom is more into local liquids, take Street Tacos and mom’s first beer is free. her to Sawtooth Winery at 13750 Surrey Lane in Nampa for an afternoon of riesling Be a (cake) baller and treat mom to some sweets. —Tara Morgan and syrah sipping. The event will offer
MOTHER’S DAY NOT BRUNCH
CAKE BA LLERS
SIERRA NEVADA SUMMERFEST LAGER This brew pours a slightly hazy, faint yellow in the glass with a thick head that collapses quickly, leaving a nice lacing. The aromas are fairly subdued, with touches of herb, lemon, grass, biscuit and subtle hops. This California classic offers a mouthful of flavors, including deftly balanced malt, light hops and refreshing citrus.
Restaurants get one chance to hit BW with their best shot. LEILA R AM ELLA- R ADER
It has been a wacky spring in Boise. But if you’ve lived here long enough, you know there is no such thing as a normal valley weather pattern. Highs in the 80s one week; highs in the 50s the next. Though it’s been a bit of a roller-coaster ride, the weather is warming and the real heat is around the corner. And just to prove it, the first few seasonal summer brews have already hit the shelf. All three featured this week are lagers: a pounder in a can from Colorado, a German-style entry from Oregon and a perennial favorite from California. All three weigh in at a heat-friendly 5 percent alcohol.
FOOD/REVIEW
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