Whole Foods opens next week
Nov 09, 2012 (Menafn - The Idaho Statesman - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --Whole Foods Market will open Nov. 14 in its new 42,000-square-foot building at 401 S. Broadway Ave. in Boise.
The grocery chain out of Austin, Texas, will have a full grocery section with an emphasis on organic and natural products. It also will have a prepared foods deli, hot bar, salad bar, coffeehouse, pizzeria, taqueria and pop-up food cart that will serve a rotating selection of "street food."
Upstairs, there will be a tap room called the River Room. It will feature 16 Idaho beers and three Cinder wines on tap, as well as a panoramic view of the Boise Foothills.
Usful Glassworks, formerly Sustainable Futures, will make the mugs and glasses from recycled bottles. And on Thursday nights, Go Listen Boise will host a music stage featuring local music.
The menu of traditional pub fare of chicken wings, burgers, fries and ribs (braised in Payette Brewing's Mutton Buster Brown Ale) will be as locally sourced as possible, says Ben Rose, Whole Foods regional manager for specialty products.
You can order beer and wine by the glass, pitcher and carafe or you can buy a bottle of any beer or wine in the store and drink it upstairs.
One of the coolest features in the River Room will be a Chill-Rite Frost Rail System on the bar that creates a crisp, dry layer of frost on the bar top to keep your beer cold.
In the River Room and throughout the store, you'll find more than 100 of what Rose calls "Idaho Local" products.
"It's an important thing for us to work with local vendors," Rose says. "It's part of our mission."
You'll find Idaho products in nearly every department -- from wine, beer and coffee to cheese, meat and chocolate. You can check it out and meet some of the purveyors at the Local Vendor Fair on opening day, which includes these events:
-- Oatmeal breakfast to benefit the Idaho Foodbank, 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.
-- Ground-breaking ceremony, 9:30 a.m.
-- Local vendor fair, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
-- Reilly Coyote music performance in the River Room, 7 p.m.
BRESINA AT LIFE'S KITCHEN
Chef and former Falcon Tavern owner Corey Bresina took over as culinary director at Life's Kitchen this week.
Life's Kitchen is a nonprofit that teaches life and culinary skills to youth at risk. The program brings students together with professional chefs and other culinary specialists to acquire the skills they need to find a job.
Bresina, who also has a finance degree, opened the Falcon in 2004 and sold it in September.
At Life's Kitchen, he will manage the nonprofit's catering and contract food businesses as well as work with the students.
As culinary director, he follows Ryan Hembree, who left Life's Kitchen this past summer to head the kitchen at Brewforia in Eagle.
TAKE HOME THANKSGIVING DINNER
If you're not up to cooking from scratch, here are some places where you can order your Thanksgiving feast to go:
-- Lisa Peterson and her crew at a'Tavola Gourmet Marketplace and Cafe, 1515 W. Grove St., Boise, are cooking up turkeys and all the trimmings.
The feast includes a choice of brined whole turkey or roasted breast, cornbread stuffing, potatoes (candied sweet and mashed), gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, rolls and pumpkin pie. It's 34.95 per person, with a minimum order of eight.
You also can order additional sides such as maple roasted butternut squash with cranberries (18.99 each) and desserts and cookie trays (prices vary). Orders will be taken through Nov. 16 at (208) 336-3641 or at the cafe. Find more information at aTavolaBoise.com.
-- Berryhill & Co., 121 N. 9th St., Boise, will prepare a ready-to-cook turkey to feed four to 12 guests, and a range of side dishes. Turkeys range from 56 to 80, side dishes are 20 each for four to six, and 32 for eight to 12 people. Rolls, pies and additional sides are extra. Orders must be made by 3 p.m. Nov. 16 and picked up or delivered (20 to 40 extra) by 7 p.m. Nov. 21. To order, call 387-3553, Ext. 2, or email eat@johnberryhillrestaurants.com.
-- Marie Callender's, 8574 W. Fairview Ave., Boise, will offer full meals to go, including an oven-roasted turkey breast or ham with seven side dishes and a whole pie, starting at 99.99 to 149.99 for four to six. There are five different meals of turkey breast, ham, whole turkey and half or whole combos. All come with the trimmings or a la carte. Order and pre-pay at (208) 375-7744 or order online at MCPies.com/holidayguide.
-- Tucanos Brazilian Grill, 1388 S. Entertainment Ave., will package a traditional feast of turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce and rolls to feed four to six people for 89.95. You can place an order at (208) 343-4300; 48 hours notice is appreciated.
-- Whole Foods also will offer heat-and-eat pre-sliced turkey in its prepared foods department. You can't order ahead but you'll be able to purchase the turkey whole, or sliced turkey breast by the pound in the deli, along with a variety of sides through Nov. 22.
Berryhill, Tucanos and Marie Callender's will be open on Thanksgiving Day. Check Food Notes on Nov. 16 for more details about these and other restaurants serving on the holiday.
LUCIANO'S IS OPEN
Luciano's Italian Restaurant will open next week at 11 N. Orchard St. in the former Los Pollos Al Cabon Mexican Restaurant spot.
Owners Gabe Busby and Brad Berquist will serve a mix of regional Italian specialties, including pizza by the slice in their drive-through window.
It will be open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and for dinner on Sundays by reservation only, serving a prix fixe menu. Phone: 577-6415. Online: Facebook.com/lucianos.boise.
Submit restaurant news to scene@idahostatesman.com at least one week prior to publication.
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