Appleway Conoco Taco Time

Appleway Conoco Taco Time
1650 W. Appleway
Coeur d'Alene
208-765-8668

I’ve been taken task a time or two recently for including a few fast food joints in my spectrum of reviews. I’ve been told it’s not kosher to pick on the fine folks who make their living at these places, and that I’m not bringing anything to light that everyone doesn’t already know. We’ve all experienced a Big Mac, so why do a review of Micky D’s? Okay, even I might find it hard to glean some entertainment value from a visit to the golden arches, but I like a good challenge, so you never know.

However, I’ve also been told that it’s a good thing for me to cover places that your average working person can actually afford, and since I’m certainly not made of money, I include myself in that category. Basically, I’ll write about any place I find interesting, from grocery store delis to fine French bistros. Granted, a quick jaunt through the Taco Time drive-thru is not going to provide one with an exquisite gourmet experience, but it will provide a hollow form of temporary satisfaction without totally emptying the pocketbook.

When I was just a wee tater tot, a trip to Taco Time was kind of an exciting thing. It was then located at 7th and Sherman in Coeur d'Alene, in the oddly shaped building which now houses another taco joint, and I'm pretty sure it was probably the only Mexican place in town at the time. The big deal was to sit in the upstairs dining area (I vaguely remember it to be the smoking section at one point) and eat huge amounts of Cinnamon Crustos. Over time, the upstairs area became less and less accessible due to the bad kids who found great fun in throwing random bits of food over the edge and snickering uncontrollably (Who, me? Certainly not.)

After Taco Time relocated in the mid-eighties to the trendier location at Silver Lake Mall the magic sort of ended. The chaotic food court simply did not have the same charm that the downtown place had. I've never been a big fan of hanging out at the mall, so Taco Time basically dropped off my radar for quite a number of years. Thankfully, the food at Senor Froggy was nearly identical so the Time wasn't really missed.

Then, not too long ago I noticed the big Taco Time signs decorating the outside of the Concoco at the corner of Appleway and Ramsey. I was delighted to discover they had a drive-thru set up. What a wonderful world of possibilities this opened up! I always tell everyone how much I dislike greasy fast food, and I do generally try to avoid it, but sometimes I'm just tired and lazy and don't feel like getting all gussied up for a trip into the store or restaurant. I truly can't stomach many of the drive-thru food options offered in the area (and I'm getting a bit burnt out on Subway), so I was excited there was another option, somewhere that might offer something semi-fresh and semi-healthy. For those of you who might prefer inside dining, I did notice a handful of tables, but the ambience is obviously nonexistent, the vibe is pure Conoco convenience mart - fluorescent lights and Country Radio.

"Thankyouforchoosingapplewaytacotimehowcanihelpyou?" squawked the drive-thru girl immediately when I pulled up. "Uh, just a minute" I said. I gazed over the menu, giving serious consideration to sensible options like rice burritos on whole wheat tortillas or maybe a salad. However, freshness and health went out the window in favor of the nostalgia of a classic Crisp Meat Burrito and a gloppy Saturday Nacho special. Oh, the decadence! The girl at the window was an absolute delight, smiling and polite and asking about my hot sauce preference as if it were a window to my soul. Good customer service is so rare these days that it can take me quite by surprise, especially at a fast food joint.

I got home and dove in. My crisp meat burrito was pretty good, but not as good as I remembered, even dipped in plenty of that 1000-island-esque sauce. The operative word should be “crisp” and this rather floppy, soggy roll-up struggled to fit that description. The nachos had me totally thrown off at first, because I swear Taco Time always had used real cheese in the past. These were covered in that same "Jalapeno cheese" sauce they serve at places like Taco Bell. "How terrible" I thought at first, until I realized that I actually do have an unexplainable fondness for slimy fake cheese sauce.

The main problem with the nachos is that they were quite cold and became soggy after re-nuking them. Nothing terribly original here, just some clumpy refried beans, a tease of taco meat, chopped tomatoes and onions, sour cream, and certainly not enough chips. The toppings to chips ratio was like 2:1, making it necessary to use a fork, since the weight and wetness of everything had rendered what little chips were there totally useless. C'mon kids: throw in some extra chips, they can’t be that expensive.

Overall, I'm happy to have Taco Time in the mix of drive-thru possibilities. Their food can be a little hit-or-miss, but they do have some creative healthy-ish options on the menu (which I'm getting next time - I swear). Surely the Baja Fish Taco is less artery-clogging than the traditional ground beef variety, all stuffed with cabbage and fresh tomato salsa and served with a wedge of lime. The veggie burrito comes in a wheat tortilla and even includes sunflower seeds, and the grilled Chicken Fiesta Salad is piled high with black beans and sweet corn. Now, please pass the deep-fried Cinnamon Crustos...

The Sunshine Trader

The Sunshine Trader
1116 W. Ironwood Dr.
Coeur d'Alene
667-1233

http://www.sunshinetrader.net

What is the one thing that so many long time, locally owned eateries have in common? I pondered this question as I sat down recently at the lunch counter at the Sunshine Trader on Ironwood Drive. Sure, there are obvious similarities between old-school Coeur d’Alene joints like the Trader, Hudson’s Hamburgers, Rogers Ice Cream, Zips, Paul Bunyan, and Down the Street just to name a few. There’s the classic comfort foods served fresh and with a homemade flair unattainable at big-budget chain restaurants. There’s the down-to-earth quality of the service, the staff that treats you like an old friend, even if you haven’t visited in years. There’s the lack of modern décor, the feeling that the profit goes back into keeping the food and service at a quality level rather than flashy remodeling jobs. There is all that, but there was something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

I’d been there for ten minutes, had ordered my lunch and was daydreaming, staring off into the middle space, when suddenly it came into sharp focus: a square blue and white plastic clock with that familiar Pepsi logo. Yes! For some reason all the great local places have these prominently displayed on the wall. It’s not a particularly fabulous objet d’art, but it is one thing that seems to only be found at locally owned diners. That austere cola-riffic timepiece, boldly sporting only the numbers 12, 3, 6, and 9 hangs like an unofficial badge of local pride and independence that you’ll never see at places like Applebee’s or Red Lobster.

From its roots as a little “hippie joint” which opened in 1981 in the tiny building that now houses the Parkside Bistro, to its current digs near the mad rush of the Hospital District, the Sunshine Trader has changed relatively little. When they first opened so many years ago in that City Park hut, the concept of serving healthy, organic food was quite foreign to many local people. Whole grain bread, alfalfa sprouts and avocados were frequently viewed as the territory of vegetarian, dope-smoking, yoga-practicing longhairs who worshipped crystals and smelled like patchouli oil. Real folks ate previously frozen Salisbury steak with instant mashed potatoes and brown gravy down at the Iron Horse. In fact, I think they’re still there eating the same thing. Anyway, the Trader was one of the first places around to specialize in fresh veggie sandwiches and soups from scratch, and their status as a local favorite lunch spot was quickly established.

It must have been at some point in the late 80’s that they outgrew their original spot and moved in to their current place amidst of the hustle and bustle of the Ironwood zone. This was a smart move – the neighborhood’s thousands of medical and business workers guaranteed them a daily lunch rush. It’s literally the only lunch option in the whole district (other than the wonderful hospital cafeteria), and it’s been known to get mighty hectic around noontime. Arrive during the busy hour, and you’re guaranteed a brief wait, although the summertime addition of an expansive outdoor patio has helped a bit to alleviate the overcrowding.

I slipped in a little bit after the main rush, at about 1:15. At that point, the restaurant was only about half-full of diners, but a palpable sense of mad activity still hung anxiously in the air as young waitresses in blue t-shirts ran around clearing tables. No wait for me as I sidled up to the front counter and ordered an Iced Pike Street tea. Confused, my waitress turned to her co-worker, “Um…” Before she could speak, the other girl jumped in to clarify “Oh, he wants an Iced Spiced tea, it’s the same thing.” Regardless of what they call it, it’s one of the more rare and delicious summertime beverages, so refreshing and so VERY full of natural caffeine. I finished four tall glasses of the stuff and my brain was buzzing like an old TV. I ran into a couple of old friends I hadn’t seen in years, and I was so wired, they probably thought I had taken up a mild crack habit.

I hadn’t visited the Trader in quite a while and looking around, I realized that visually, nothing had changed. The building has an odd, polygonal shape, making for an unusually large number of walls, each completely white and bereft of décor under harsh fluorescent overhead lights. Except for that obligatory Pepsi clock and a few token vaguely nautical knick-knacks, visual stimulus is kept to a minimum. The front wall behind the counter has some seriously disturbing baby pink and blue striped wallpaper and the entryway and hall are covered with a ropy brown treatment I can only describe as a tragedy in lacy burlap. The fixtures and appliances behind the counter are seriously lo-tech and approaching antique status. However, we don’t really come here to admire the modern ambience, and the presence of dozens of lush, overgrown potted plants injects a much needed organic quality. It’s a no-frills, homey atmosphere.

According to their website, the Sunshine Trader came under new management in the recent past, and the only perceptible changes are on the menu. Over the years, they seem to have expanded away from only offering the basics of healthful soup and sandwiches. There are three kinds of Panini on focaccia bread: ham, turkey and Rueben. There’s the selection of large salads, from the traditional (Caesar and Chef) to the offbeat (Cranberry Feta, and the classic Oriental salad with mandarin oranges and chow mein noodles.) Most interestingly, there are the crepes, including the tempting Sherried Chicken Crepe and the cleverly named “Mexican in a French Jacket Crepe”, which is basically a burrito with a crepe instead of a tortilla.

Of course, the classic sandwiches are still here, their names alternating between the themes of “The Old Man and the Sea” and “The Lord of the Rings.” The “First Mate’s Choice” is stuffed with cashew chicken salad, and the “Captain Crab” is just that, along with avocado and swiss cheese. The “Bilbo” is a vegetarians delight, with avocado spread, marinated mushrooms, sprouts and tomato. I actually knew what I wanted to order before I walked in, even before I parked the car. It’s something I sometimes get a mad craving for, something I’ve tried at other places but they just don’t do it right. “The Hobbit” is a warm sandwich with the delightful marriage of turkey, lettuce, cream cheese, and chunky cranberry sauce. Served on French bread, it’s messy and delicious, the tang of the cream cheese mingling perfectly with the tart sweetness of the cranberries. It’s like having your own personal mini-thanksgiving, and I think it’s one of the best sandwiches in the great Northwest.

In addition, I had to try one of the soups of the day, another thing the Sunshine Trader is famous for. Their website claims that they serve more that 120 types of soups, and that they have a customer who has been returning for 15 years and has never had the same soup twice. When I visited, it was either Vegetable Medley or Cheddar Chowder. I love cheese soup, so I added the Cheddar Chowder (only a dollar more with a sandwich order), which was as scrumptious as the sandwich, thick and creamy and swimming with veggies. Along with distinctive refreshments like Spiced Iced Tea and Fresh Huckleberry Lemonade, they recently added a small selection of beer and wine. Also on offer is soft serve ice cream, as well as homemade temptations like Godiva Chocolate and White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecakes.

I glanced up at that omniscient blue Pepsi clock and noticed that it was nearly closing time for the lunch-only restaurant. When I stood up, I realized the place had completely cleared out and I was the last man standing. It was a bit surreal that the place had gone from hectic to vacated in such a relatively short period of time, but the Trader really knows how to get ‘em in and out. Their menu even has a guarantee that if you aren’t in and out in 40 minutes or less, they’ll buy your lunch. I’d imagine that happens very rarely, as their staff is extremely fast and as comfortingly homey as the food itself. With a bill totaling under ten bucks, I was a very full and extremely pleased customer. The Sunshine Trader is open year-round Monday through Friday from 10:00AM to 2:30PM.

Huckleberry Season Roundup

Pick a Peck of Huckleberries in the Panhandle

Visitors from out of town often ask me “Where can I buy an Idaho potato?” I tell them “Try Safeway” and politely explain that perhaps somewhere in the unspoken hinterlands of Central and Southern Idaho, there may be plenty of potato farms, I don’t know. I’ve never seen one myself. Up here in the beautiful part of the state, I tell them, it’s all about the magical huckleberry. Many are surprised to learn that the huckleberry is actually the official state fruit, rather than the more obvious choice of Congressman Bill Sali.

I may risk getting blacklisted by the Idaho Potato Commission when I say that I hold our rare and deeply violaceous berry in much higher esteem than some lowly everyday tuber, offensively dirt-encrusted and starchy. No, the huckleberry is what makes North Idaho a purple paradise every July and August. You can’t, in good conscience, call yourself a North Idahoan unless you have experienced the Zen of picking huckleberries.

You certainly don’t have to drive far to find a good picking spot, and they grow literally in every alpine area of the Idaho panhandle. Pack a picnic lunch and bring the family or make it a peaceful and meditative solo experience. Either way, it’s a great way to spend a day (or longer) hiking in the raw resplendence of the mountainous wilderness.

Avoid the heat by heading up to the mountains as early in the morning as you can. You’ll need to bring a container to gather your rotund little treasures in; anything from a grocery sack to Tupperware to a 5-gallon bucket will work. You might want to bring some light gloves so you don’t get scratches on your hands or ruin that $50 Resort Spa manicure. Long sleeves, long pants, socks and hiking boots are the best gear with which to avoid bloody legs while getting into the nitty gritty of a berry patch, and covering up also helps to prevent the agony of insect bites and poison ivy. The horse flies up there are huge translucent blue-green critters that visibly sneer at you as they bite into your flesh, and they certainly don’t know the meaning of the word “shoo”. Additionally, it’s a good idea to wear a cap for the avoidance of those nasty deer ticks; nothing ruins an appetite for huckleberry cheesecake faster than learning you’ve contracted Lyme disease. Other things you may want to bring include bottled water, sunscreen, bear spray, your iPod, and your laptop for live blogging the whole thing.

Be warned, many folks have their preferred huckleberry picking place, and they return to that spot year after year. Some people can be viciously territorial about their picking spot, as if they were the only people around to have discovered it and now it’s theirs and theirs only and of course it’s where the finest perfect berries grow and there’s no way in Athol they’re going to share their precious secret place with an amateur like you! Go find your own darn picking spot! In other words, I could tell you some very specific places to go, but I risk stepping on the toes of folks who might claim reservation of those particular bushes.

In reality, there are plenty of berries to go around – the bushes have a magical way of restocking themselves after encounters with greedy pickers. For longer, more camping-oriented huckleberry getaways, head north to Priest Lake and the Kanisku forest near Bonners Ferry. If you’re just in the mood for a small day trip and only require enough berries to throw in your pancakes on some lazy Sunday morning, I’d recommend heading up into the Coeur d’Alene National Forest via either Fernan Road or Blue Creek Road near Wolf Lodge. From these roads you can access some of the many very bumpy Forest Service roads that will take you up to where the berries grow fierce. If you don’t see any yet, keep going up.

Huckleberries are a little shy: they only grow above a certain elevation and they might not be visible from the road, hiding in the shady safety of bushy leaves. Look for clearings in the thick trees. The best berry picking is usually found along abandoned logging roads, and in old burns. The berry bushes found in these areas have a lot of sunlight and little competition for nutrients and yield the plumpest, most purple fruit. As they say, the darker the berry, the sweeter the juice.

Whether you just picked enough berries to make a single tantalizing tart, or if you’ve managed to pack your freezer with a motherlode of the sweet little buggers, you’ll find plenty of ways to put your takings to good use. The dessert possibilities are almost endless; you can just substitute the huckleberry for almost any other type of berry in your recipe book. Make syrup and smother

Some local folks have made the berry their business, manufacturing and selling huckleberry filled chocolates, jams and jellies, even flavored popcorn. Perhaps the most ingenious and inspired concoction is “44 Degrees North”, an elegant huckleberry infused vodka which can be found as the main ingredient in “Huckletinis” and other unusual cocktails at certain fine dining establishments throughout the region.

If you really can’t get enough of the luscious purple fruit, there are several Huckleberry Festivals in the region, all happening on the weekend of August 17^th and 18^th. I wasn’t able to uncover much information about the Priest Lake Huckleberry Festival, other than the fact that it’s located on Highway 57, near milepost 27. Slightly further south, The Schweitzer Mountain Huckleberry Festival is Saturday only, with guided berry picking hikes starting at 9 a.m., a massive barbecue, live music and a “huckleberry themed village” with arts and crafts vendors. The event closes at 5 p.m.

The biggest huckleparty appears to be in Wallace, whose annual Huckleberry/Heritage Festival runs the entire weekend and will feature a huckleberry pancake breakfast, vendors on the front lawn of the old depot, a “bake off”, and a 5k fun run, presumably to burn off the calories from all those huckleberry treats. The Wallace Chamber website states that “Huckleberry Sheriff and Huckleberry Hound will reign during this exciting two-day event that features activities for the whole family.” So don’t even think about committing any huckleberry crimes or you may find yourself in huckleberry jail.

G. Thomas vs. Get Out Thrift Store Column

The aftermath of last month's Thrift Store column is still going on, apparently. I suffered the wrath of another pissy Hospice thrift store lady today, this time in the CDA Press. Hey betch, it was an article not a "letter" - like, get it straight, K? Naturally, I consider it an honor... (click to enlarge):

Café Chulo

Café Chulo
155 W. Neider Ave.
Coeur d'Alene
667-2705

http://www.cafechulo.com

In a recent column, I spent an entire paragraph complaining about the noticeable lack of decent Chinese food places here in Coeur d’Alene. However, when it comes to great Mexican places we are lucky to have a “mucho grande” amount of places to choose from. In fact, I could make a wild guess and say that there are more Mexican restaurants in North Idaho than any other style of dining. For the most part, each place has a little different shtick from the others, ranging from the walk-up taco trailers and the build-your-own burrito bars to the places which offer a gourmet authentic experience. Falling somewhere between fast and fancy, Café Chulo on Neider Ave. has become one of my personal favorite Mexican haunts.

Chulo opened in fall of 2005 in the glorious Kmart parking lot, taking over a formerly cursed building that housed a series of failed burger joints, none of whose names I can recall. Not that it matters, because the proprietors here have transformed the place into a bright and breezy cabana. Cheerfully painted stucco blends with colorful handmade tiles in an open atmosphere. The tables have fun retro posters resting underneath their glass surfaces. The place always seems impeccably clean and there are open tables no matter how busy it gets.

When I was in Sacramento, California several years ago, the big trend was "Fresh-Mex" cuisine, which is a way to describe Mexican Food that doesn't rely on deep frying, grey gloppy refried beans, and heavy mounds of melted cheese. Cafe Chulo is CDA's first "Fresh-Mex" place, and the food is astonishingly fresh indeed, and quite delectable. The flour and corn tortillas are made right on premises on a constant basis, the salsa is made up several times daily and never sits around for too long. The menu is a bit minimal (tacos, burritos, nachos, with chicken, beef, or pulled pork) but each order comes with the choice of chips and salsa or beans and rice. Plus, the food just seems so different than that of your average Mexican place, it's like trying these foods for the first time.
On a recent visit, I quickly realized that the gentlemen behind the counter seemed to speak almost no English at all. Unlike certain outspoken members of our community, I love to see language diversity in action, sometimes I just wish I had taken Spanish in high school instead of wasting my time with years of French lessons (although that could come in handy on trips to Canada, I suppose). Of course, he did speak enough English to take our orders, but it would've been fun to surprise him by ordering in his native tongue, like I’ve seen some other clever Chulo-goers do. His friendly teenage kitchen helper spoke perfect English, however, as I told her to load my chicken tacos up with fresh cilantro and pico de gallo. My lunch partner ordered the beef nachos, which took three trips under the broiler, with new layers added each round. Everything comes in a shiny aluminum round tray, wisely eliminating any dishes.

We moaned and groaned ecstasy as we dug in to our meals. The flour tortillas holding together my chicken tacos were hot off the press and perfect in taste and texture. The grilled chicken inside was pure, delicious white meat and was cooked just right so it practically melted in my mouth. The salsa added a perfect hint of sweet and spicy that accented the tender chicken perfectly. The lettuce added a healthy crunch, a far cry from the wilted green stuff that many lesser taco joints serve. They went quite light on the shredded cheese, which was a wise decision as to not overwhelm the succulent flavor of the entire package. Each bite was just a tease for the next bite.

I know I probably sound like I'm going a bit overboard here, but these tacos are truly that good. I have never tasted anything quite as dynamic. The accompanying beans were actual beans rather than mush, whole black beans with a delicious sauce. Lastly, the smallish portion of rice was quite flavorful and a perfect way to chase down the main event. Meanwhile, my ravenous lunch partner wordlessly toppled and overtook the largest pile of Nachos I have ever seen, smothered in huge strips of peppery grilled steak, piquant brown hot sauce and guacamole so fresh you could practically see the poor avocado shivering.

Amazingly, almost every meal on the menu is priced near $6. For the quality of food they offer, the low cost is truly jaw dropping. Plus, they have a handy drive-thru, so if you're in a hurry you can treat yourself to something healthy, rather than a slimy Jack-in-the-Crack burger. The only complaint I have at all about Cafe Chulo is that they charge a couple of bucks for a basket of chips and salsa, rather than offer it free like most places do, Certainly, that doesn't mean you will leave hungry. I’d also love to see them bring some horchata into the scene. I get frequent cravings for the sweet rice and cinnamon beverage, and it’s all but impossible to track down in our fair berg. Such trivialities are unimportant when measured against the big picture of what Café Chulo has to offer. Since they’ve opened, I must have sampled nearly the entire menu, and everything I've tried has been nothing less than enticing and delicious. Highly recommended.