Food Notes: It’s not too late to make Easter reservations

Here’s a look at several restaurants offering well-stocked buffets and special menus on Easter Sunday, March 27.

Buffets

▪  Emilio’s at The Grove Hotel, 245 S. Capitol Blvd., is setting up a big buffet spread ($38 adults, $34 seniors, $16 kids 12 and under) that will take over the restaurant, lobby and lounge areas from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The showy buffet will feature an ornate ice carving bedecked with raw and cooked seafood items, a carving station with roasted turkey and smoked prime rib, and custom omelet and waffle stations. Let’s not forget all those seasonal salads, comforting side dishes and a dessert station with French pastries, cakes and pies.

Reservations: (208) 333-8002.

▪  Angell’s Bar and Grill Renato, 999 W. Main St., is going all out on Easter Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a brunchtime buffet and a three-course prix fixe menu to boot.

The menu works like this: Diners pay $34.99 per person (kids menu available for $14.99) and they can go through a buffet line that includes baked ham with grilled pineapple, coconut-encrusted French toast, biscuits and sausage gravy and assorted salads, soups and desserts.

Included in the price, wait staff will then come to the table and serve you a three-course meal that starts out with eggs Benedict, followed by seafood-stuffed mushrooms and veggie won tons. The third course is a choice of prime rib, grilled salmon or a half rack of lamb, served with herb-flecked mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables.

Reservations: (208) 342-4900.

▪  Marie Callender’s Restaurant and Bakery, 8574 W. Fairview Ave., offers all kinds of options for Easter Sunday.

The restaurant is putting out an affordable brunch buffet ($16.99 adults, $8.59 kids 4-12) from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Expect to find turkey, ham, side dishes, assorted quiches, fruit pies and much more.

For those not interested in dining out or doing any cooking that day, Marie Callender’s offers take-home Easter dinners (ranging from $99.99 to $139.99) designed to stuff the entire family. Ham and turkey dinners are available, in addition to whole quiches for $13.99.

Call (208) 375-7744.

▪  Eagle Hills Golf Course, 605 N. Edgewood Lane, is known for its elaborate holiday buffet spreads, and Easter is no exception.

The decked-out buffet ($47.95 adults, $43.95 seniors 60 and over, $29.95 kids 2-12) will be served from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Expect to find a carving station with prime rib and honey-glazed ham, alongside a profusion of other brunchtime offerings. The lineup includes shrimp cocktail, Swedish hash browns, cheesy scrambled eggs, cinnamon rolls, Louisiana chicken with whipped spuds, biscuits and sausage gravy and lots of side dishes and desserts.

Reservations: (208) 939-0402.

▪  Also in Eagle, Crooked Fence Brewing, 3705 Idaho 16, is celebrating Easter Sunday with an affordable buffet ($15 adults, $7 kids) from noon to 3 p.m. Don’t be surprised to find biscuits and gravy, bacon, scrambled eggs, flapjacks and fresh fruit. Besides an Easter egg hunt, which starts at 11 a.m., kids can also have fun decorating their own pancakes with sprinkles, whipped cream and all that sweet stuff.

Don’t worry, grownups. There’s plenty of craft brew to wash everything down. Plus, expect to find a Bloody Mary and mimosa bar where you can customize your own libations.

Reservations: (208) 286-9463

Special menus

▪  Chandlers, 981 W. Grove St., is offering its regular a la carte dinner menu in concert with a special prix fixe Easter menu (three courses for $38 per person) from 2 to 8 p.m.

Start things off with a choice of lobster bisque, soup du jour, Caesar salad or a mixed greens salad, then pick an entrée from a list that includes prime rib, veal piccata, pan-seared halibut and duck two ways, to name a few.

Finish off with a choice of whiskey butter cake or berry Napoleon. Or spend a few extra bucks ($12) and go for the a la carte chocolate soufflé with Grand Marnier cream.

Reservations: (208) 383-4300.

▪  Bacon, 121 N. 9th St., is offering some a la carte Easter specials to supplement its recently retooled brunch-like menu that’s served from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Besides buttermilk biscuit sandwiches, omelets and copious styles of house-cured bacon, chef John Berryhill also is putting out an eggs Benedict with lox, roasted Kurobuta pork steamship with red-eye gravy and hash browns, and more.

Call: (208) 387-3553

▪  36th Street Bistro, 3823 Garden Center Way, in Boise’s North End, will be serving its full brunch menu on March 26 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., in addition to an Easter-inspired special whipped up by chef Joe Leseberg. (March 27 is already booked.)

Besides the regular menu, which boasts dishes such as berry-stuffed French toast, eggs Benny with salmon and quiche Lorraine, diners also can score a buttermilk scone with ham, eggs, maple butter and orange marmalade.

Reservations: (208) 433-5108

▪  In Eagle, Bella Aquila, 775 S. Rivershore Lane, is serving its regular a la carte brunch menu from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., as well as a few Easter specials that scream spring.

Reservations: (208) 938-1900

▪  On March 26, Chateau des Fleurs, 176 S. Rosebud Lane, is offering an elegant Easter-themed Afternoon Tea service from 1 to 3 p.m. Expect to find hand-blended exotic teas and a profusion of freshly baked pastries and other teatime goodies. The cost is $34 adults, $20 kids.

Reservations: (208) 947-2840

This story was originally published March 25, 2016 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Food Notes: It’s not too late to make Easter reservations."