Care for a few amuse-bouches?

Here's some random food stuff that is interesting me at the moment...

1)  There's another, bigger food truck rally going on this Thursday (September 1st) downtown at 4th and Grove.  The festivities will be from 5-9 PM.  Unfortunately, I'm probably not going to be able to make it myself, but that doesn't excuse the rest of you.  Here is the list of participants:

Archie's Place
B29 Streatery
Boise Fry Company
Brown Shuga Soul Food
Calle 75 Street Tacos
RiceWorks

I've reviewed all but one of these and pretty much adore all of them, so I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it will be an amazing evening.  There will also be beer by Payette Brewing and music by Hillfolk Noir.  What more convincing could you possibly need?

2)  Chris the Saladman, of Fair, festival and roadside truck fame, will be setting up permanent digs in his own restaurant starting October 1st.  Chris' on Broadway will be located, well, on Broadway.  The State Street spot the truck has been parked at is now vacant, and if you want street food from Chris, the Hyde Park Street Fair will be your last chance.  After that it's strictly brick and mortar, baby...

3)  Yet another Chinese buffet is getting ready to open, this one in the Shopko plaza on Fairview and Milwaukee.  The interesting thing about this one is that they're pushing the fact that they will offer sushi pretty hard.  There's no set date for the grand opening of City Buffet (did any of my fellow South Park fans giggle at that?), but there is a website with menu and the beginnings of an online ordering setup so you can get an idea what you'll be in for.  As for me, Chinese food AND sushi just a stone's throw from my office?  You can bet I'll at least have to check the place out, even if I'm keeping my expectations relatively low.

And on a personal note, I've noticed a couple of odd things regarding this site.  First of all, I'm getting a LOT of hits from Russia lately.  No idea why.  Secondly, my Native Taters review is getting a lot of hits lately, is there something going on with them that I'm unaware of?

Son of the Boise Fry Company Review

I've said it before and I'll say it again: in my short time as a foodie blogger/eatery reviewer, nothing I've written has caused a bigger stir than my review of Boise Fry Company.  To this day it's the only write-up I've done that has led to me being contacted directly by the proprietor of the business (an experience I wrote about rather excessively and introspectively here), though I'm still expecting a rock through my front window for my Pie Hole review at some point.  That e-mail turned into several.  I started this thing to document experience, but I didn't think I'd really learn anything.

The Revenge of the Boise Fry Company

What follows is a lot of boring personal ranting.  If that interests you, feel free to read.  If not, come back another time, I promise there will be more reviews up soon.

The Idaho Statesman's 2010 "Best of Treasure Valley"

Every year, The Idaho Statesman invites their readers to chime in on what they consider to be the best eateries, retailers, venues and recreation spots in the Treasure Valley. And every year I look forward to it, because I'm not such a snob that I believe the popular consensus holds no merit, especially when it comes to restaurants. This year in particular, I feel compelled to venture forth a few opinions of my own, and I've decided to do it here rather than in the comments section of the Statesman's website in the hopes I might maintain a little dignity rather than getting dragged into the juvenile mudslinging happening there (tempting though it might be).

Boise Fry Company

Edit:  I've since returned to BFC and many of the issues I had previously have been addressed.  Click here to read about it.

Boise Fry Company is one of those places that I've been hearing about forever but never went to because it's downtown, and I hate downtown.  I despise paid parking, loathe one way streets, and am flat-out sickened by people driving in circles at ten miles an hour to show off their cars, sound systems and tans.  Still, I make it downtown every once in a while because, let's face it, that's where the hockey games are.  And I guess the Co-op since we won't be seeing a Whole Foods around here anytime soon (sigh).  Occasionally I even manage to catch a meal downtown, though it had been quite some time before my beloved suggested we swing by for fries with "burgers on the side" after a sweltering and smelly trip to the Boise Zoo.  As a cheeseburger and fry devotee, I was more than happy to go along.  M'lady got the Daily Special #1 for $8.79, comprised of a cheeseburger with a small order of russet fries and a pint of soda.  The kids split a big order of fries between them.

Regular-cut russet fries