Looking for a Southern-style sandwich? A new Eagle eatery called Seasons Deli and Catering (1117 E. Winding Creek Road, Suite 150) has got you covered.
Owner Rachel Hurn, who grew up in Louisiana, opened the deli in early February because she wanted a place where people could find a strong selection of gourmet food, artisans breads, cheese and more. The shop includes a large selection
of wine and beer, plus innovative salads and sandwiches.
Specialties include the chicken andouille gumbo, along with muffuletta and po-boy sandwiches.
You'll also find wraps and panini sandwiches and a large
selection of vegetarian options. Hurn's creations include off-beat ingredients such as roasted pecans, apple-smoked bacon and brie.
Save room for the side salads, too.
You can eat at the deli or take it away. In the summer Hurn plans to add custom baskets you can take to local events such as the Shakespeare Festival.
Hours are 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Call 939-6680 or visit www.seasonsdelicatering.com for more information.
Chereen Langrill
Flatbread Community Oven (3139 S. Bown Way, Boise, 343-4177) recently was certified as an official Neapolitan pizzeria, making it one of 20 restaurants in the United States to hold the distinction.
The Bown Crossing restaurant received the certification from the U.S. delegate of the Italian Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana that regulates and protects the culinary tradition.
"Neapolitan-style" pizza is commonplace, but authentic Neapolitan pizza only can be found at 48 restaurants outside of Italy.
Flatbread Community Oven is one of them, and the only one in Idaho.
"(Pizza is) an incredibly crowded segment of the industry, and we wanted to create a point of distinction," said owner Robert Lumsden. "We're not doing the same thing as everyone else."
To be designated as authentic Neapolitan pizza, a pie must be baked in a wood-fired oven at 800-plus degrees and made fresh from scratch with ingredients like whole-milk mozzarella and San Marzano tomatoes.
Only four ingredients - type 00 Italian hand-milled flour, Mediterranean sea salt, yeast and water - can go into the crust, which is required to have a diameter of 13 inches and a certain thickness in the middle. Flatbread Community Oven has an Italian-made spiral mixer for the dough.
Achieving the VPN certification was a lengthy process involving months of in-house preparation, Lumsden said.
The restaurant submitted photographic and video proof of kitchen staff using the ingredients, and executive chef Frank Burns traveled to Los Angeles to study with Naples, Italy, native Peppe Miele at Antica Pizzeria.
Miele then came to Boise to spend a day at Flatbread making pizzas with the staff, giving his approval before sending the restaurant's application to the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana for certification.
It comes at a good time for Flatbread, as it looks to open new restaurants locally and beyond in the coming year.
The first expansion will take place in Bend, Ore., where Flatbread will open in the Old Mill District in May or June.
The initial plan was to open in a Bown Crossing-type residential development that had contacted Flatbread, but after touring the Old Mill District, plans changed.
"It's a great market," Lumsden said. "We like to joke that our business plan is loosely based on putting restaurants in towns we like to visit."
Flatbread, which donates 25 cents from each pizza to the Idaho Foodbank, will extend its charity to Bend, donating a portion of proceeds to an organization under the Oregon Food Bank umbrella.
"Whenever we open up a new restaurant, we want to partner with a local food bank and give back as much as we can," Lumsden said.
Flatbread also has scouted the Phoenix area and hopes to open new restaurants in Downtown Boise, Eagle and Meridian.
BARDENAY OWNER NAMED TO NATIONAL RESTAURANT BOARD
Bardenay owner Kevin Settles will join the National Restaurant Association Board in May as its voting director.
Settles plans to use his ties with the association, which represents more than 380,000 member restaurants, to strengthen the Idaho Lodging and Restaurant Association.
To submit dining-related news, e-mail foodnotes@idahostatesman.com.
