coffee – Oh, the Places We See . . .

Goldy’s in Boise: Breakfast that sticks with you

Oh, the Places We See — Sat, 08 Mar 2014 16:54:36 +0000

Snowy day in downtown Boise

Some people would hate to be snowed in, especially if they’re staying in a hotel in an unfamiliar city. But for us, it was part of the dream we shared on our About page: We’d love to spend a month downtown in various cities and be tourists all day every day! (We can dream, right?)

So, when an unexpected snowstorm covered Boise, Idaho, closing schools (where I work) and some businesses, we just looked at each other and grinned. It was our chance! Donning all the warm clothing we’d packed, we went in search of adventure. First up, breakfast.

Sculptures in the snow, downtown Boise

A gentleman dressed in business attire braving the elements to get to the office answered our query about where locals would eat: Oh, you’ve got to go to Goldy’s. It’s the best breakfast anywhere downtown. Little did we know how right he was.

On this snowy day, Goldy’s was packed! Owner Wanda Martinat, who with her husband Randy opened the restaurant in 1999, spread open the draperies blocking the cold from the front door and welcomed us to the warmth, comfort, and eclectic close-knit interior of Goldy’s Breakfast Bistro.

Goldy’s warm, welcoming interior. Check out that chandelier!

After a brief wait, we were directed upstairs to the balcony section where our table for two offered us a front-row seat to the action downstairs.

Balcony view: Goldy’s Breakfast Bistro

We have no idea what the ratio of waiters to customers is, but it seemed two to one. Coffee flowed, menus arrived, and orders were taken in record time.

“Been workin’ at Goldy’s for 13 years,” our waiter told us!

And then the food rushed in! Bountiful breakfasts any way you like it. In fact, the Create Your Own Breakfast page offers three columns of choices: Meat, Potatoes, and Bread. Eggs, too, any way you like ’em: Soft Boiled, Poached, or Basted. And meats we’d never heard of — Basque Chorizo (large Basque community in Boise), Turkey Apple Sausage, and Maple Sausage — and specials like PEPS (Goldy’s cheese, peppers, and onions) and Bread Pudding Muffins filled the menu. Another whole page offered Hollandaise Specialties like this new-to-us item: Spicy Chicken Benny with English muffin, chicken, spicy Hollandaise sauce, and bacon!!! Round all this out with entrees like Spinach and Italian Cheese Frittata or Smoked Salmon Hash, and you have a diner unparalleled in all of Boise — not just downtown!

Bert couldn’t resist the three-egg omelet with hash browns and sausage.

Goldy’s three-egg omelet with sausage and hash browns

And I dug into a huge stack of Blueberry Pancakes with blueberries all the way through.

Big blueberry pancakes with syrup

We even returned the next day and ordered the special: Cajun Sausage Omelet . . .

Cajun sausage omelet at Goldy’s

And Corned Beef Hash with Basted Eggs.

Goldy’s corned beef hash with basted eggs

Awards pour in for Goldy’s (Click here to read awards/reviews), and it’s no wonder. With great service and unique menu, Goldy’s is a hit with locals and tourists like us.

Stumbling onto Goldy’s was our good luck. And now we say If Guy Fieri returns to Boise, he’d want to share the place on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives! In fact, Goldy’s can make anyone’s day.

Goldy’s Breakfast Bistro

108 S. Capitol Blvd.

Boise, ID 83702

208.345.4100

http://www.goldysbreakfastbistro.com/

To see all the food places in Boise featured in Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, click here.

For more posts on our travels in Idaho and Washington, click on the Inland Northwest page at the top of this blog.

Filed under: Idaho, Restaurant, Travel Tagged: blueberry pancakes, Boise, coffee, Goldy's Breakfast Bistro, Guy Fieri, hollandaise, omelet, Randy and Wanda Martinat

Weekly Photo Challenge: Habit

Oh, the Places We See — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 16:31:44 +0000

Habit is the word for the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge this week, and I’m reminded of a habit my husband and I both have: We have cups of coffee (Yep, more than one!) and read the paper every morning, at least when we’re home! But even if we’re away, we ALWAYS have coffee. It’s a habit I’ve come to enjoy more for the warmth even than for the taste!

Our habit has also spawned another habit, but we’re not as consistent with this one as the morning must-have hot liquid. The other habit is buying coffee mugs in some of our travel locations. We do this more sparingly, of course, since we’d have to build on another kitchen to hold all the mugs; nevertheless, the ones we have remind us favorite spots.

Bottom row:

Mama’s Fish House in Maui
Blue Dog Cafe in Lafayette, Louisiana (where you can see the blue dogs paintings by George Rodrigue)
Square Books in Oxford, Missippi
Mast Farm Inn in Valle Crucis, North Carolina

Top row:

A random gift shop in Russia
Wort Hotel in Jackson Hole, Wyoming

During our travels outside the U. S., we’ve made it a habit to look for Starbucks selling signature mugs of the city or country we’re visiting like these from Amsterdam, China, Paris, and Russia!

Sometimes a habit becomes a lot more than just something you do each morning, I guess.

This post is #12 for National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) 2013.

Filed under: Travel, Weekly Photo Challenge Tagged: Blue Dog Cafe, coffee, habit, Mama's Fish House, Mast Farm Inn, postaday, Square Books, Starbucks, Weekly Word Challenge, Wort Hotel

It’s Family: Knoxville’s Market Square Farmers’ Market

Oh, the Places We See — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 22:31:49 +0000

It’s the people swapping stories and socializing that make the Market Square Farmers’ Market so cool.

I was long overdue for a visit to one of the area’s best farmers’ markets — or so I’ve heard it’s the best — right downtown in Knoxville’s Market Square. I marked off this Saturday for my inaugural visit just to see what all the talk was about and to bring home some veggies from the Market Square Farmer’s Market!

My husband and I dined at Pete’s first thing — French toast, eggs over easy, sausage, and piping hot black coffee. Love this little diner.

But we could have had a biscuit and coffee at any number of places, even at the Cruze Farm Milk Bar set up on Union Avenue. It’s all good, or at least looked to be.

Folks having breakfast at the Cruze Farm Milk Bar — a make-shift tent set-up right beside the truck.

It didn’t take me long to realize that our Farmers’ Markets have definitely kicked it up a notch. What I saw that morning were white tents, for the most part; uniquely designed backdrops announcing names, locations and websites (Yes, they now have websites!) of area farms and businesses; ID tags for veggies and fruits with varietal names of produce locally grown; business cards with Facebook pages and Twitter names!

Not like the old days of open truck beds with turned-up baskets spilling the pickin’s of the day. No sirree. This market is first class all the way.

Adam Colvin of Colvin Family Farm told me to check out their Facebook page. And he’s not the only farmer Facebooking! “My pleasure,” I said. Who wouldn’t like to see these pop-in-your-mouth summertime ‘maters from Bledsoe County?

One customer, Donna Redwine, told me that she and her husband come every Saturday — and bring the dog. It’s just the greatest way to end the week. We love it here, she said. And so did others, judging from the shoppers, casual coffee drinkers, and big-time talkers. Dogs do too!

Some folks admit to sampling everything first, then making a return visit to buy their favorites. Like this shopper/sampler at Sherie’s Garden Salsa.

Even Elvis showed up, charming the breakfast crowd at Cafe 4!

It really was a great experience all around. The produce was at its most colorful, the baked goods at their freshest, and the farmers, vendors, and creative crafters –ready to share information with anyone willing to listen.

Here’s what makes Market Square Farmers’ Market so good.

Mountain Meadows Farm won my prize for picture-perfect red peppers — you had to touch ’em!

7 – S Farms teamed up with Log Yard Dogs, bringing cedar planks for cooking salmon on the grill, baskets of shallots, and a mountain of yellow grape tomatoes that wouldn’t fit into the picture!

Mushrooms — more than I knew existed — were in the next booth over!

Who knew mushrooms could be downright artsy?

One farmer asked me if I thought he should photograph his produce and sell the pictures. I said, “Why not?” With this color and composition, just add a simple white mat and black frame. East Tennessee art, for sure.

“Or,” I said, “look at these fabulous peppers! Naturally beautiful!” I think I’ve talked him into this photography thing. Look for pics AND peppers when you go.

Bob Due of Terraced Garden Farms told me all about how his soil — about 12″ of magnificent loam — produces these All Blue potatoes and Rose Finn Apple fingerlings. Another vendor down the way confirmed: “Bob has the BEST root vegetables, but you need to try his butternut squash, too!”

For fabulous color, my favorite booth was this one: Jim Smith’s chilies from Rushy Springs Farm in Talbott. Look for his website at the end of this blog for his Kickstarter project.

A basket of sunny yellow Trinidad Seasoning peppers from Rushy Springs Farm. Where’s that Southern Living cameraman when I need him?

My vote for prettiest booth goes to Spring Creek Farm for its artful arrangement of produce — and Shelby’s pretty smile, too!

Couldn’t resist a close-up of Spring Creek’s picture-perfect squash — or are these gourds? I should have asked!

This booth offered just what it says: hand-poured coffee — one cup at a time! Cute cups, huh?

Log Yard Dogs piled a table high with sunflowers more than a foot in diameter!

This man drove more than 2 hours from McMinnville to set up his booth and design this bouquet– that I eventually took home!

Anthony Carter brought his Junk-a-New Birdhouses made of recycled materials. Loved this one with the old horseshoe hung upside down for good luck!

Elizabeth Ethridge of A Thrifty Girl winds strips of fabric into rosettes for pinning on a blazer, gluing onto a mirror, or clamping into your hair! Clever! (Her Etsy site is listed below.)

Shyan Strunk of Soy 2 Joy candles told me their best-selling fragrances are Butt Naked and Monkey Farts, but I thought French Vanilla would be just fine at my house!

Sheila sold me two flavors of Ms. Cock-a-Doodle’s Gourmet Chicken Salad: Tarragon and Curry Cranberry Pecan. Their new store in North Knoxville has just opened, so you don’t have to wait ’til Saturday for great chicken salad!

Breads and pastries, too, were in abundance from cinnamon buns to cupcakes to hand-made multi-grain loaves. Perhaps my favorite booth — not for their showiness or for their vast array of offerings — was this simple one from Red Hen Breads.

This mother of two bakes her squshy soft rolls of milled wheat berries, flax seed, honey, free-range eggs, and yeast in a commercial kitchen owned by another vendor on Fridays and then brings them to market. During the week, she home-schools her sons who help her in their booth near Krutch Park.

Selling baked goods from Little Red Hen Breads of Knoxville.

And I guess that’s what I love about this Knoxville Market. It’s families working to bring us their most creative, very best products. And it’s friends helping friends find a place to bake or set up a booth or just talk about their products. The market has become a family unto itself — both to those who work there and for those of us who visit whenever we can.

Hope you get to any one of the Farmers’ Markets before they close. You’ll be glad you did!