Bread Crumbs: Random Bits

Seems like whoever is building the new Thai Bamboo on 4th in Cd'A has two speeds: slow and stop. Every time I drive by it looks like there's only 1-2 guys actually building the place. Meahwhile, the new drive-thru beverage barn two doors up the street came together in about a month and a half and is already open for business. Thai Bamboo has been under construction since last Spring and still doesn't even have a roof! The opening date is slated for October, but I can't imagine it. In this day and age, buildings seem to go up so fast, and it's nerve wracking to watch them do this one like it's 1936, especially when I want some Curry Beef and Swimming Rama right now!

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No word yet on the fate of Paddy's and Paddy's Too after the twin bars' owner was arrested for burning down his competitor Capone's building in Post Falls. I can't imagine business carrying on as normal, I mean who would want to support someone who would do something so despicable. The Capones are swell folks who would never sink to such a low act in a million years. Seattle's popular Dave Matthews wannabe act Dan Purser was scheduled to perform at Paddy's Too this weekend, and if Capone's can swing it, they should invite the band to play at their Coeur d'Alene joint instead. Good idea, no?

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My latest addiction is the Matcha Green Tea Smoothie with a Green Tea Caffeine Boost from Jamba Juice. In contrast to the sour citric quality of many of the fruit smoothies they offer, this one is light and delicately sweet with an earthy edge, in fact it's just like the wonderful Green tea ice cream I've enjoyed at various Japanese places, including Takara. Order one of these babies, make it power size, and look out world! It's such a nice, clean caffeine rush, free of the cheap coffee jitters or the mental rise and harsh fall of an energy drink. It's tasty, but something tells me it's not so lo-cal.

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After my IGA Deli (now Petersons Family Foods) article ran earlier this year, one of the comments I heard most frequently was that I should have given a shout out to the baked goods. I'm still not 100% sure they're made on premises or if they're outsourced from some other heavenly bakery, but they are definitely worth mentioning. It's one of the rare places that still sells French Crullers (if you know what they are, you rock), and the maple bars are enormo. My favorites are the Apple Fritters and the brown sugar goo filled pastries with white frosting and sprinkled with almond slices. Add a side of red Jello chunks in pink sugar foam and voila! A totally unhealthful breakfast affair! Petersons rocks so hard, I don't even miss IGA anymore.

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A little more refined, but no less decadent are the thick scones and hearty breads on offer at The Bakery by the Lake on 3rd Street (or La Boulangerie par le Lac if you prefer Francais). Here's a steal of a deal: you can get scones, breakfast cookies, pastries, or a mix of things bagged together in quantities of 3 in the day-old bin for three slim dollar bills. You can't even tell they were made yesterday and this places goodies are so huge and so dense that I nibbled out of my bag the entire day, reducing the situation to a half-inch of crumbs at the bottom. Make sure you get a pumpkin scone and sample one of their many innovative specialty breads while you're there. This is the closet thing our town has to a real-deal provincial French bakery and it's totally swish.