The Grape Escape (4 out of 5)

I met my good friend Diane today for lunch at the same place we always meet for lunch, The Grape Escape downtown in the Mode Building at 8th and Idaho. I completely assumed I would have a decent meal, but not great and that I would be rating it a 3 out of 5. I was way wrong. Perhaps it was my new blogging bent (see post below about how to get the best restaurant meal ever.)

It started with our most excellent server, Stephanie. I thought I'd try something new and asked Stephanie for a recommendation. When I ask for a recommendation at a restaurant, I really like it when the server recommends one or two things without hesitation. I don't like wishy-washy answers. Stephanie said without a doubt I should try the Smoked Salmon salad, so I did. I also asked her for a wine recommendation to go with the salad. Right on, Stephanie! She recommended the '05 Craneford Viognier ($8/glass.) Unlike me, Diane always knows exactly what she comes to Grape Escape for--the Blackberry Waldorf salad and a glass of Pinot Noir (this one was '04 Ortman Family Vineyards for $10/glass.)

The menu has about 6 different salads and about as many different sandwiches, plus a soup of the day and a couple of drink specials of the day ($1 off 2 different kinds of wine.) The drinking options are pretty nice, since Grape Escape is also a retail wine store. There were about 10-12 different beers, cocktails, and 21 different wines by the glass (I counted.) 8th Street wine bar has a larger selection, no doubt, but this was definitely ample.

The service was so prompt, our glasses of wine arrived quickly and our salads almost immediately after. We never had to ask for more water (a pet peeve of mine) and Stephanie was pleasant and happy.

The smoked salmon salad was served with a pesto vinaigrette, mangoes, cooper smoked salmon (I'm thinking they had a typo on the menu, was that supposed to be "copper"?) and a dill remoulade. It was delicious. The salad came with huge pieces of smoked salmon, perfect smoky flavor. The remoulade was the perfect accompaniment. I loved the mango in the salad, but would have liked to have seen more than 2 pieces--and they were perhaps just a bit past their prime...still delicious, don't get me wrong, and very inspired with the remoulade and the salmon, but a few more chunks would have been better. The amount of vinaigrette was just right...(too much can really ruin the salad.) What's with the bread though? With all this great food, some crusty bread or maybe warm bread would have been great. This bread was pretty boring and there was no butter on the table had I wanted any (although I'm sure I could have asked for it.)

Diane loves the Blackberry Waldorf salad (I suppose that's why she would have to be strongly convinced to try something different.) I've had it before and it really is good. It's filled with dried fruit, candied walnuts and a wonderful blackberry vinaigrette. She said the Pinot Noir was perfect with it, and I think it definitely would be. Diane's comment about the restaurant as a whole is that they need more comfortable chairs...I concur. It's a small space inside (the patio is terrific in the sunny spring and summer), so perhaps they're limited. But unless I'm wrong, getting your guests to linger at a cozy table in a cozy chair with just one more glass of wine is a good thing.

We were perfectly satisfied, but when Stephanie offered tirimisu I couldn't resist. After all, I'd just had it at Cafe Vacinos and had found it to be one of the only things lacking...it was too tempting not to see what Grape Escape had to offer. We were brought a MASSIVE piece of tirimisu to share, don't even consider getting one without sharing. Even after sharing, I brought more than half home. As a special treat, Stephanie brought us coffee on the house, "since", she said, "it would taste so good with the tirimisu." Nice touch.

I have to admit something here, but I don't particularly like coffee. My husband has become quite particular about different coffees, but I continue to pass them up--just never gotten used to the taste. Luckily Diane is a coffee drinker and she said the coffee was really good--rich, medium roast. Not wanting to be rude, I drank about a 1/2 glass (with cream and sugar) and found it surprisingly good. Seriously, I do NOT like coffee, so that's saying something. But let's talk about the tirimisu. Tirimisu is one of those things that every restaurant (and cook) tends to make and serve completely differently. Grape Escape's was no exception. This huge square came with a drizzle of chocolate on the plate and one large layer of cake was completely chocolate. It was really good. But if you're a tirimisu purist, it might not be what you're expecting. The cream between the layers was flavorful and the cake layers were very moist. It really was good with the coffee.

Salads and sandwiches are about $8-$9, but with our dessert and glasses of wine, we ended up spending $50 (including tip) for lunch. If you skip wine and dessert, you could have a good lunch very reasonably, but then, why would you want to??? I'm thinking that perfect wine pairing is what made it so much better than good. All in all, excellent service, good food, nice wines and yummy dessert & coffee. Oh, and I almost forgot the marvelous downtown location. If you've been in Boise for a while, time to check this place out again. I'll be going back to see if perhaps the rating shouldn't be even higher.

How to get the best restaurant meal

I discovered something very Buddhist today about getting the best meal ever...write a blog about it. OK, you may all not want to write a blog about your meal, or even take notes about it while you're eating. But you might consider pretending that you will. I had lunch today with a good friend at the same place we always have lunch, but the food was so much better than before. I noticed all the dried fruit in her salad, had it always had that much fruit? The perfect taste of my wine with my salad, was it always that perfect? My friend was sure about the fruit, and I know she's right. I'm just really paying attention and, HOLY COW what a difference. (Now that I think about it, "holy cow" may be a purely midwestern thing to say, but you get my drift.) I'm still able to chat and totally enjoy the company, but I'm taking the time to taste every bite and notice all the textures and chat with the server. It's really a great experience and I hope I can convince you to give it a try. Do you suppose this applies to the rest of my life as well? Either way, I'm having a blast and never want it to end. Being 40-something isn't half bad. (With the possible exception of my distinct lack of eyelids.) Check out the details on lunch at The Grape Escape. We had a great meal!

8th Street Wine Bar (3 1/2 out of 5)

I met a friend and old (as in ex-) neighbor for lunch at 8th Street Wine bar today. The pros are: WOW, what a selection of wine and wine by the glass. You can even get "tastes" (1/4 ounce for a couple of bucks), perfect for trying all sorts of new things. I stuck with a Fleur Pinot Noir that I've had before and enjoyed. I also love the location in Bodo, a great spot to people-watch or to sit outside on the patio and enjoy the Boise sights and sounds. The food is good and the more wine you drink, the better everything is--including your own witty conversation, of course.

Our server told us that the menu has all been updated, although I recognized a portobello vegie sandwich that I'd had here before and enjoyed. This time I had a lobster salad with candied nuts and champaigne vinaigrette. The fresh lobster came in huge chunks, plain and delicious--really a treat. The salad was missing something though, and that kept it from being fantastic. Perhaps a little more gorgonzola cheese (tiny pieces far and few between) or maybe the apple pieces were too miniscule (hard to enjoy the flavor)--good ingredients, just lost in the huge bed of lettuce. The dressing was good and would have been even better with the right wine...I was expecting the server to provide more information about possible pairings, but that didn't happen. She did tell us about Monday night flights--which sounds like fun, all day Monday you can order flights of wine in addition to the "tastes." But I feel like a really knowledgable server or sommelier would be so helpful to make the food and pairings more fun and meaningful.

My friend had the house salad with chicken and a Three Saints Chardonnay. The chardonnay was good enough to merit a second glass and she enjoyed her very large house salad. It came with toasted walnuts and a blueberry dressing. Again, just a little something missing--she though perhaps some fresh blueberries to bring out the taste of the dressing might have been good. The chicken was very flavorful and went well with the chardonnay. All in all, a fun place to hang out, but kicking it up just a tad in the kitchen and having more fun with the fantastic wine list (via the server) would make this place even better.

Cafe Vicino (4 1/2 out of 5)

Delicious and worth the wait for a night out. What a fabulous new addition to the north end, and all tables full (only 13 of them) on a Tuesday evening. This is just a "soft" opening, so you'd better make your reservations now! This place will be hopping after a true grand opening. We had the quintessential waiter, Joel appearing and disappearing as if on cue...friends greeting friends...happy laughter and chatter....fabulous food and wine. It was a great experience and I highly recommend it. I can't wait for the weather to warm up, sitting outside enjoying the neighborhood as well as the food sounds like heaven.

The details: We tried 2 appetizers, one was a warm take on a traditional mozzarella & tomato dish with the addition of basil and roasted garlic to be smeared on crusty bread. But my personal favorite was grilled shrimp on risotto cakes in a bed of basil cream (maybe needing just a touch more flavor to the basil cream sauce?) The risotto cake was perfectly crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside, decadent.

For dinner Joel recommended the fresh Alaskan halibut on cheese-filled ravioli in a cherry tomato-caper sauce topped with gremolata and the grilled NY steak with gorgonzola souffle and roasted potatoes--we of course took him up on both. The fresh halibut was cooked perfectly and melted in my mouth and the ravioli were light, flavorful and delicious. I didn't really know what a gremolata was. Joel explained it nicely, but I've forgotten enough to make my own explanation sound dumb. In general it's a light salsa--Wikipedia says it's also the traditional accompaniment to Osso Bucco, so there you are. I had a Pinot Noir by the glass and Mark had an ale--overall nice selection of wines by the bottle...in general only one selection of each major wine category by the glass, but it was fine for me. I love to check out wines and pair them if I have someone helping me along. By myself, I tend to forget all the names of specific wineries and heaven help me if I can remember a specific year!

The steak was served with a gorgonzola "souffle" used as a dipping sauce for both the steak and potatoes. The sauce was the perfect accompaniment to the dish, creamy, great flavor with a beautiful light brown top. It was outstanding. We tried the tiramisu and the berry cobbler for desserts. The tiramisu was the only slight disappointment of the evening--I think it needed to have been removed from the refrigerator sooner, it tasted too chilled--cream not as creamy as I like it and the cake just a bit too cold--which made it seem a little dry. The cobbler was great--a touch of cream on a warm cobbler oozing with berry flavor. Even though we packed some food to go, we'll have to learn to pace ourselves better to be able to taste enough to write about without gaining a LOT of weight! I'm willing to work on that.

Dinner for 2 with all the trimmings (we ordered the 2 most expensive entrees on the menu, drinks and desserts)cost us $106 including the tip...a pretty good deal for food this good. I can see Cafe Vicino's being a staple in the north end for a long time to come.

Cafe Vicino anticipation

It's been a long time between "date" nights, time for dinner out. On Saturday I swung by the brand new Cafe Vicino on Fort street where the Flipside cafe just closed shop. Chef Steve Rhodes greeted me warmly and squeezed me in at 8:30pm. He told me they haven't even done a grand opening yet and they've been packed. I'm obviously not the only one drawn in by him and Chef Richard Langston, not to mention the fantastic north end location. Unfortunately work got busy and I had to reschedule for Monday night (Cafe Vicino is not yet open on Sundays.) I had a successful weekend at work and I'm ready to celebrate. Monday morning, oldest son is sick. I get a courtesy call about my Monday reservation and switch it to Tuesday - 6:30pm. Let's hope everyone's well and a babysitter is available, I'm really looking forward to it. The menu posted on the window looked terrific. Perhaps a little anticipation is good.