Owyhee Tavern to add Sunday brunch; new chef retools menu at Angell’s-Renato

The Owyhee Tavern, 1109 Main St., plans to launch a Sunday brunch program in March.

The details are still being fine-tuned, but it will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the menu is going to be a hodgepodge of upscale egg dishes, popular lunch items and scaled-down dinner offerings.

“We’re currently developing the menu to get it right before we roll it out, and then there’s staffing it,” co-owner Barry Werner says.

When the time comes, diners will be able to get eggs Benedict and omelets alongside Owyhee Tavern standouts such as the Tavern Boursin Chicken and an outstanding BLTA, a grilled sourdough sandwich layered with applewood-smoked bacon, avocado, lettuce, tomato, pesto and an oozy fried egg.

Also expect to see a new lineup of libations that will include fruity sangria, assorted Bloody Marys, specialty cocktails and fun twists on mimosas.

“We’re trying to do something a little different with our drinks during brunch,” Werner says.

Look for more details about the menu in Food Notes as the brunch program gets closer to the launch date.

Online: owyheetavern.com.

Chef returns to Angell’s-Renato

Angell’s Bar and Grill-Renato, 999 Main St., recently hired a familiar face as its new executive chef.

Franck Bacquet, a classically trained chef from France, is now in charge of the kitchen at the venerable restaurant and bar that’s owned by Russell and Marika Dawe. Bacquet was the chef at Angell’s-Renato for a brief period in 2014 before he took the head chef position at Le Coq d’Or at Chateau des Fleurs in Eagle, a job he departed last summer. Some of you also may remember him from when he owned and operated Le Coq Rouge in West Boise.

Bacquet has completely retooled the menu and hired sous chef Bobby Muchow to help him with the day-to-day operations. Muchow, a Boise native, was previously the kitchen manager at a Yard House in Seattle.

Check out the new menu at angellsbarandgrill.com.

Sandbar reopens with benevolent side

The Sandbar restaurant closed in 2015, leaving Marsing residents and those who live in the nearby Sunnyslope area of Caldwell in a lurch when it came to eating lunch.

Well, good news, folks. The restaurant, at 18 Sandbar Ave., recently reopened under new management with an entirely different mission. The Sandbar: Café with a Cause is now a nonprofit organization with a goal to feed low-income seniors and disabled citizens in the area with its in-house and Meals on Wheels programs.

Here’s what it means for diners: Patrons 60 and older who qualify through registration at the restaurant can get a meal whether they can pay for it or not. The prices are a suggested donation. Those who are under 60 can get affordable dishes from the breakfast and lunch menus, and it supports a great cause.

The all-day breakfast menu (offered from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday) has fat omelets, French toast, pancakes and breakfast sandwiches, including a buttery Monte Cristo sandwich ($7.50) made with fried ham and cheddar. Or bust your gut with apple pancakes ($7.50) served with two eggs any style and sides of bacon and breakfast sausage.

At lunchtime (11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday), the menu is all about burgers, sandwiches and fish and chips. Noteworthy picks include a pulled pork Cuban sandwich ($7.25) and a Gorgonzola burger ($8) gussied up with sautéed mushrooms and tangy onion jam, served with fries or a house salad. There’s also a baked potato and salad bar ($7.95) that gets set up daily.

And of course, there are plenty of Idaho wines (made right across the Snake River from town) to wash everything down.

To learn more about the organization, visit thesandbarinmarsing.org.

Shore Lodge winemaker’s dinner

Make reservations now for the Winter Wonderland Winemaker’s Dinner ($95 per person) on Feb. 4 at Shore Lodge, 501 W. Lake St. in McCall.

Held during the McCall Winter Carnival (Jan. 27-Feb. 5), the dinner will spotlight wines from California’s Truchard Vineyards. Anthony Truchard will be on hand to discuss the wines produced by his family in the Carneros region of Napa Valley. The estate winery is known for its Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Zinfandel and award-winning Chardonnay.

Starting at 6:30 p.m., select wines from Truchard Vineyards will be paired to a five-course dinner (menu yet to be determined) in The Narrows restaurant.

To make reservations, go to shorelodge.com or call (208) 634-2244.

This story was originally published January 26, 2017 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Owyhee Tavern to add Sunday brunch; new chef retools menu at Angell’s-Renato."