K-Fusion (Meridian)

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...

Grant's Neighborhood Grill

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.

Mi Casa

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.

Mekong Fresh Noodle & Grill

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.

The Habit Burger Grill - Grand Opening today!

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...

Flying Pie (finally)

I've never really written about Flying Pie, but I've been there.  Dozens and dozens of times.  I was born in Boise 39 years ago, and have lived in the area for most of my life, so it's unthinkable that I would somehow have missed out on what's widely regarded as the best pizza in town.  And that's why I haven't written about it: because everyone else has, ad infinitum.  What's left to say?  Still, it feels like one of the bigger missing places on my blog, so I might as well plug it.  And what better time than August?

Jakers Bar and Grill

Recently we celebrated my mother's 60th birthday.  Mama wanted steak, and I decided she was gonna get it.  The question: where?  The last time I tried to take her out for a steak, the place literally served her a slab of raw meat.  She isn't fond of "stuffy" places, plus we had kids with us, so that ruled out the higher-end joints downtown.  So we needed a place that was casual, kid-friendly, had more options than just NY strip or filet, with bonus points the closer it was to Meridian.  After a fair amount of research I decided on a place that satisfied all of those requirements, with the added incentive of 50% off the birthday girl's dinner.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I spent the first couple of years of the new millennium living in Upstate New York.  Unfortunately, I was a much different person then, especially in regards to food.  I was surrounded by options I'd never had before, and as a rule I ignored them while my then-girlfriend and I made the rounds of various fast food joints, with the occasional special trip to a brewpub.  Hell, I lived upstairs from a Jamaican restaurant that I never crossed the threshold of!  I'm still kicking myself about it.

This isn't to say that I have completely abandoned all fast food (I'm just much more selective about it now, and have it much less often) or that I didn't come West again without any new edible interests.  I left NY with new tastes for haddock (fish fry Fridays!), beef on weck sandwiches, NY style pizza, and frozen custard.  Luckily I had Stan's to fulfill most of those cravings for a while, but then they closed up shop.  While the Valley is still sorely lacking on weck and good fish fry options, frozen custard finally made a comeback with the opening of Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers last year.

Grimaldi's Pizzeria

I'm going to have to step away from my huge backlog of unwritten reviews from the last few months and write about Grimaldi's Coal Brick-Oven Pizzeria.  Well, that's not exactly true.  I did actually visit Grimaldi's for a quick lunch several months back, but I wanted to go and explore a little more thoroughly before reviewing them.  As so often happens, a hundred little things kept distracting me and I just hadn't made it back, but last week one of their PR people got in touch and offered to comp a meal if I'd be interested.  Honestly, my initial response was to turn them down.  I mean it's one thing to be invited to an event the kind of which I've been to at other eateries at The Village at Meridian, or to be sent gift cards to try a place...situations where I would still be more or less just another anonymous diner.  This kind of situation, where the staff would know who I was and would be expecting me, that's something I just don't do.  I prize my anonymity.  I want to have the same experience that anyone else walking in to a restaurant has, because otherwise it's not necessarily representative of a normal meal there.  There are plenty of other bloggers who plaster pictures of themselves on their sites for all to see, make a production of going around and taking photographs at a restaurant, who take glossy printouts of their reviews (suitable for hanging) back to the eateries once they've been posted.  That's just not my style, and I can't see how it wouldn't alter everything.  There's enough of that around.  I'm content to pay my money, take my crappy guerrilla-style pics, and be able to say I had more or less the same experience that you would have if you just happened to stop in for a bite to eat.

In the end, I decided to take them up on it for a few reasons.  First of all, I already had a meal there to write about, so it would be easy to compare and contrast the experiences.  Second, as a few of my previous write-ups demonstrate, free food does not guarantee a positive review from me.  If you doubt my integrity, well, that's why I'm filling you in on all of this.  Third, Grimaldi's isn't exactly cheap.  I'm not saying that they should be, and many of the restaurants at the Village aren't.  Look around when you're there, even the eateries that started out as food trucks have significantly marked up their menu prices.  It's obvious that rent isn't cheap in such a location, and that's going to get passed along the consumer.  That having been said, free or cheap eats are always a good motivator to get other people to tag along.  Finally, I always end up ordering a bit outside of the "free zone" and tipping very well, so while I knew I'd be saving a healthy chunk of change, I also knew I wouldn't emerge with my bank account completely unscathed.

I think that's more than enough of a disclaimer.  If you're still with me, let's move on to my first experience at Grimaldi's...

Blaze Pizza

Recently, I was contacted with the offer of a couple of free pizzas to come and check out Blaze Pizza, one of the newer fast casual dining options at The Village at Meridian.  Now I love the Village, and I love pizza, so this was a no-brainer.  Little did I know that I would be adding Blaze to my small list of favorite pizza spots by the end of the meal.

Café Zupas (preview night)

The Village at Meridian just keeps growing.  I was recently invited to a pre-opening event for Café Zupas, the newest eatery to take up residence.  It's primarily a sandwich place, so initially it seemed a strange choice to stick it right next door to Which Wich, another sandwich chain that's been part of the Village for quite some time now.  Luckily, what Café Zupas is doing is quite a bit different.

The Counter

I like burgers.  A lot.  In fact, I've taken some ribbing over how many burgers and burger joints I've written about on this blog.  I can't help it, I like options!  And like pizza, sandwiches and salads, the burger is just one of those foods that lends itself to customization.  I've driven all the way across town on occasion just because someone tells me that some joint has put out a new novelty burger, and one of the things I've always loved the most about Fuddruckers is the amount of veggies and sauces available they have available for you to choose from.  Still, how many times have you been eating a novelty burger and wished that an item could be added or taken away, or that a different sauce or bun was available?  What if there was a place that put a dazzling number of choices directly into your hands, and built a burger to your exact specifications?  You see where I'm going with this, right?

Yeah, this place.

Yard House (for reals)

I've been wanting to write up Yard House since I fell (mostly) in love with the place during their preview event back in October.  As always though, I bit off more than I could chew by wanting to do a nice, comprehensive review.  There are just too many menu items that I want to try, and it always seems to take longer than I would like to make return trips.  At this point I've got three visits under my belt, so I'm going to just call it good for now.  On with the show...

They grow up so fast...

Believe it or not (and trust me, I'm having a hard time believing it at the moment), I've been doing this food blogging thing for just four months shy of four years.  Of all the people I've met while eating my way across the Valley and beyond, both good and bad, a handful have ended up being very special to me.  Chefs with passion that inspires, history that fascinates and, most importantly, food that delights and challenges me.  Looking back over the years, there is probably one that stands out just a little more than the others, who pops up almost like clockwork through my Facebook and blog posts.  As my audience (and hopefully my skills as a reviewer) have grown, so has this chef's business and menu continued to develop and evolve.

When I first met Phu Tran, I had been indulging in this little hobby of mine for just over a year, about the same amount of time that he had been on the street in his RiceWorks truck slinging fresh, traditional Asian food to grateful office workers.  I ended up going back two more times in as many weeks, and the resulting write-up has had over 900 views (it doesn't sound like a lot, but it was for this site back in 2011).  Phu was the first chef ever to learn who I was before I actually ended up reviewing him, and he was the first person I interviewed during my ill-advised stint with the Boise Weekly, and believe it or not at that point he was considering calling it quits.  Since then, the truck got a helluva paint job, the all-important semi-monthly Food Truck Rally events have allowed many more people to sample his wares, and Phu has begun to focus more on fusion cuisine.  All of this has culminated in the opening of an honest-to-goodness brick and mortar restaurant in The Village at Meridian.  I considered writing a big, overall retrospective piece on the evolution of RiceWorks, but something tells me that Phu hasn't peaked yet, so let's just talk about last night's dinner instead.

Better late than never, right?

Occasionally I'll go to a very new restaurant and have a frustrating experience, but see enough promise in them to realize maybe I should give them another chance down the road.  That instinct has rarely let me down, but in this case pretty much everything I've heard and read has led me to believe that none of the things I saw as issues have really been resolved.  So, rather than hold off on the write-up until a return visit that isn't looking like it's going to happen at this point, I figure I might as well just post what I've got and move on to the next place.  So, with that in mind...

Cacicia's II: Home Is Where the Hearth Is

I don't know if there's anything I can tell you about Cacicia's at this point that I didn't cover in my first review (which you can read here).  Since that review, they've tried the brick and mortar thing once and found out pretty quickly that the location wasn't a good fit.  Their second stab at a sit-down eatery is now live at The Village at Meridian, in a cozy little glass-walled building with a great view of the fire pit and fountains.  Best of all, the food is just as good and reasonably-priced, and the menu has expanded a bit.  Since I don't have much of anything new to say, let's just look at some pictures, eh?

Lucky Fins (Meridian)

Seafood in the Treasure Valley is kind of hit and miss, which results in a lot of imported, previously frozen fish on local menus.  Now I love fish and chips and sushi as much as the next guy, but I love a good piece of simply prepared fish just as much.  So, when I heard all the buzz about Lucky Fins, I put them on my to-do list.  Not to overuse a phrase, but my experience was kind of hit and miss as well.

Sakana Japanese Sushi & Steak House

If you were to ask me why I've never written about Sakana before, I would have to say that's a good question.  And I wish I had an answer.  I've been eating there longer than I've been doing this website.  I think sometimes it's more difficult with a place you've been to many times, because you're just used to going and eating there, and you don't really analyze it any longer.  Sakana has long been one of my favorite sushi joints.  My family goes there for special occasions.  I've taken several first dates there.  I've been there so many times that I don't even have a particular anecdote to frame a review around.  Instead, I think I'll just share some of the pictures I've taken over the past year or so...

Yard House (preview night)

Occasionally this little hobby of mine presents me with interesting opportunities to try new places a little early, usually as a member of the media.  I always chuckle a little at being referred to as a member of the media, but I guess it makes sense.  Sort of.  Anyway, most of these events seem to happen on weekday afternoons, and since I still can't seem to pay my bills by writing about restaurants, I still have a day job and usually can't attend.  That's why I was so excited when I was asked if I would like to attend an invite-only preview of the new Yard House restaurant at The Village at Meridian Friday evening.  I've been keeping a close eye on the eateries slated to open in that megaplaza over the next few months, and Yard House was definitely the one that caught my interest the most.  This is not a full-on review (that will come later once I've actually had the chance to eat a normal meal there), but I'll share some impressions and some really dark pictures with you in the meantime...

Fresh Betty Spaghetti

In many parts of the world, it's not uncommon for an eatery to specialize in one or two dishes, making them over and over again every day until they achieve a level of perfection that's hard to imagine in a country that demands numerous and varied options everywhere they go (if you don't believe me, check out reviews at Urbanspoon or Yelp! where restaurants actually get rated poorly for not having vegan or gluten free options, or even for not having Wi-Fi).  So if you're going to specialize in America and expect to succeed, you'd better be damn good at what you do, right?