Q&A with Cd'A Soul Songstress Jesi B.

Coeur d'Alene's hottest R&B/Funk/Soul act is without a doubt Jesi B. & the All Rites. Led by pragmatic singer Jesi Gaboury, the all-original quartet has been causing outbursts of spontaneous grooving among local audiences since forming in 2007.

Over the past summer, they were a must-see highlight at several music festivals at O’Shays and successfully made some rumblings in the finicky Spokane scene as well. Their gig this coming Friday, October 2 at the Coeur d’Alene Brewing Company, located at 2nd and Lakeside, should be entertainingly uproarious as ever. Miss Jesi was kind enough recently to sit down and answer some of my burning questions.

Q: You are such an amazingly musical diva, from hosting karaoke and open mikes to fronting your very own R&B band. Did you have a musical childhood? How did it all begin?

Jesi B: I grew up in Coeur d' Alene and was always involved in the special chorus for school. I didn't find out until 9th grade that I sounded good by myself. I started doing a lot of live theater and sometimes after the shows the grown ups would sneak me into the bar for karaoke. It was a slippery slope from there.

Q. Tell me about the rest of the All-Rites. Are they the Pips to your Gladys Knight? How did you all get together?

Jesi B: The All-Rites are comprised of three elements, Justyn Priest on guitar, Tanner Aunan on the bass, and Brian Burke on drums. They are nothing at all like the Pips. They are far too busy laying down the slammin' groove to dance around. JP and I met while I was working at the Cd'A Brewing Company and he and Tanner came over to my basement for a jam session and we all clicked. Brian joined our crew about a year ago and completed the sound.

Q: What are 5 albums you'd want with you if you were stranded on a desert island?

Jesi B: Ben Harper and the Relentless 7 – “White Lies for Desperate Times”, John Legend - “Get Lifted”, Bob Marley and the Wailers – “Chant Down Babylon”, Ani Difranco – “Not So Soft”, Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Mothers Milk".

Q: What's the craziest thing that ever happened back in the day when you were hosting Karaoke down at the old Fort Ground Tavern? I have some fond but weird memories.

Jesi B: People dancing on the bar and rallying the troops for 3 a.m. naked swimming at the city beach. I never lost my clothes but I totally had to run interference with the college security officers.

Q: Name a few of your favorite other local musicians or bands and why you dig them.

Jesi B: I love Cure All Remedy from Spokane for their uncompromising energy. Smoky smooth songstress Kristen Marlo, also from Spokane is fantastic. Cd’A’s Ozmo Boogie always provides unadulterated endorphins. Also, Ron Greene from Cd’A floors me every time.

Q: Any plans for Jesi B. and the All-Rites to hit the recording studio or maybe put out a quality live recording? The world needs to hear it.

Jesi B: Actually, we are currently working on recording. We have some quality live tracks on our MySpace now. Check it out at www..myspace.com/JesiBandtheallrites.




Q. What should we expect to see from you guys this Friday when you play the Cd’A Brewpub this Friday?

Jesi B: There's going to be more soul, more grit. Whiskey straight from the jug, you dig? Remember when you first ate bubble gum ice cream and you realized your not just eating ice cream, you’re getting gum too. It’s a two for one. You walk away with something. Our show is going to leave you with something to chew on.

Q: Someone offers to buy you a drink. What do you order and why?

Jesi B: It depends, usually I just drink beer but if they look rich I go for the Grey Goose!

Q: If you were a flavor of Ice Cream, what flavor would you be and why?

Jesi B: Ben and Jerry's White Russian. I'm smooth and you can't have just one bite...

Music & Theater Previews with Video Love: Sept. 23-26

Okay all you tweens, it's the week we've all been waiting for. The Jonas Brothers are paying a show at Skate Plaza! Just kidding. Here are some real happenings coming up this weekend...

Wednesday 9/23

Bob Nelson (Folk) – 7 p.m., Community Room, Coeur d’Alene Public Library, 702 E, Front Ave., Coeur d’Alene, (208) 769-2315.

The Everett Herald has a very interesting article about 72 year old folk singer Bob Nelson, who will be treating Coeur d'Alene to his musical charms in a free concert this evening down at the library. It reads in part:

"Traditional folk music is alive in his heart, and it's a big part of his history. In the 1950s and '60s, Nelson was caught up in the spirited folk scene in Seattle's University District. He performed around the region at hootenannies -- he calls them "hoots" -- jam sessions, coffeehouses and college concerts. I'm having a lot of fun," said Nelson. "I had basically hung it up for about 40 years while I was making a living and being a father," Nelson said of singing and performing. He's been happy to reconnect with artists he knew years ago. Today's folk scene "is very active," he said.

Show up tonight at 7 p.m. to catch some of that folk scene activity and watch a performance by a man steeped in Northwest music history.



Thursday 9/24

Doseywallips (Indie/Rock) – 7 p.m., The Grail, 4720 W. Seltice Way, Coeur d'Alene, (208) 665-5882. Xx

Silly name alert! Seattle's Doseywallips sound a little like a rougher version of Vampire Weekend with perhaps a touch of early R.E.M. with some raw garage-ness thrown in for good measure. They're certainly quite a bit different than the usual metal and hard rock served up by the Grail. Hopefully metalheads will keep an open mind and play nice with the indie kids and punk rockers that might show up. Sleep Waves and The Salamanders open the show.



Goodnight Sunrise (Rock/Pop) – 7 p.m., Calypso's Coffee, 116 E. Lakeside Ave. (208) 665-0591.

Goodnight Sunrise have to be the biggest emo-pop act to emerge from Helena, Montana. The somehow popular quartet bring their "Pop, Rock & Drop It" tour to the tiny Calypso's stage tonight. I'm willing to forgive them for covering a Jessica Simpson song on their MySpace, but just barely. They're kind of a Fall Out Boy lite.If you like glossy, generic pop-rock with whiny "emotional" vocals that's high on faux teen spirit and but low on personality or originality, these guys should be right up your alley.




Friday 9/25

“I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change” (Musical/Comedy) – 7:30 p.m., Lake City Playhouse, 1320 E. Garden Ave., (208) 667-1323.

Descrption from Wikipedia: "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change is a musical comedy with book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music by Jimmy Roberts. It is the second-longest running Off Broadway musical. [1] The musical was nominated for the Outer Critics Circle Award as Outstanding Off-Broadway musical in 1997."

The Lake City Playhouse presentation of this hip little production is directed by Maria Caprile. Please consider attending, the Playhouse desperately needs funds right now to stay afloat and it is such a longtime asset to our community, I would be tragic to see it go under.




Kristi Nelson (Folk/Blues) – 5 p.m., Pend Oreille Winery, 220 Cedar St., Sandpoint, (208) 265-8545. xx

Hailing originally from Sandpoint but now based in Seattle, Singer-Songwriter Kristi Nelson's music can be a little on the dark and foreboding side despite her humor and radiant glow in person. Her sings and voice are haunting and effecting in a way that reminds me of one of my favorite out-there singer-songwriters Kristin Hersh. Like most talented and creative minds, she tends to fall slightly and delightfully on the eccentric side. Example #1: an excerpt from her MySpace profile: "I probably was a mermaid in some other life I can’t remember. Do you believe in fish-people? It feels more natural to look and spin to the left. The ocean tumbling me head over feet looks and feels fun. I like to play dress up and talk in funny voices."

Rex James (Rock/Americana) – 8 p.m., Connie's Cafe, 323 W. Cedar, Sandpoint, 255-2227. xx

Americana and Alternative Country have been growing popularity since the mid-90's. Ryan Adams, Wilco and Iron and Wine are just a few acts that have succeeded in blending old-fashioned country-western with elements of college rock. Sandpoint's Rex James mined this musical vein to much hullabaloo and local press earlier this decade, eventually going their separate ways. In 2008, they decided to reconvene and the big buzz remains. They said it best on their website: "If you haven't heard them in the past, then you don't know what you've missed as these boys will probably transcend from a local band to a regional act in the not too distant future."




Saturday 9/26

“La Cenerentola (Cinderella)” (Opera) – 7:30 p.m., Schuler Performing Arts Center, Boswell Hall, North Idaho College, Coeur d’Alene, (208) 769-7780. xx



CharacterFlaw (Rock) – 8 p.m., The Grail, 4720 W. Seltice Way, Coeur d'Alene, (208) 665-5882. Xx

Live review of CharacterFlaw from Check it Out Music: "Band three has a following in Spokane and by far brought the biggest crowd in! They are Character Flaw - dun dun dun (I added that part in). Their set was complete with 4 lighters, chicks fighting over t-shirts like they were a bride’s bouquet, and hell yeahs. Matt thought they only did that at rap shows, I thought we were at a metal show? I will say Character Flaw threw out CD's and T-Shirts to the crow during their set which was very cool and something I have never seen done before. He even got a metal crowd to giggle by beat boxing and saying that was for the kids they like rap but came anyways. It was a fun set and they were a cool metal band - you can buy their shirts in different colors too so you do not completely match other fans."

Get Out! Mailbag September: Sweet Rolls and Greek Love

Dear Get Out!

Subject: Cardiac Surprise

Enjoy your columns. Maybe do one on hospital food? KMC is pretty good a for hospital.

Bruce

Thanks for reading, Bruce,
I got a laugh out of the subject line of your email. I actually did a "review" of KMC room service food on this blog that never actually ended up in the newspaper. I was snarky, but in retrospect the food wasn't so bad for hospital food. Hopefully, next visit will be on my own free will; no one really likes to visit the hospital, whether you're in for the croup or a friend or relative is shacked up there.

I have a friend who works the night shift doing prep for the KMC cafeteria and I keep telling him I'm going to come in and meet him for breakfast or lunch one of these crazy days so I can do a write-up. He says they try really hard to fight the popular notion that hospital cafeteria food is bland or generally inedible. I'm kinda hoping for possibly some Lobster Thermidor a Crevette with a mornay sauce served in a Provencale manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle pate, brandy and with a fried egg on top and spam. We shall see.

---

Dear Get Out!

I often read your column. The one that appeared in the Sunday Spokesman-Review was very informative and included some surprises. I had no idea that Athol was so significant in the early 1900's.

However, I feel you might have been in error when you ended your article regarding what is in Athol today. There isn't much there...

There is one cafe that serves only breakfast and lunch (always busy, so the food must be good), Rib Ranch Restaurant with tavern attached, a small restaurant that burned down in Spring/Summer 2008, one more tavern, beauty salon, auto parts and repair, fire station, post office, elementary school, 'city center' with park, excellent veterinarian, Conoco with A&W inside, a small pizza joint with arcade, very small grocery store, small motel, Veteran's Lodge, 7th Day Adventist Church. There might be another tavern on Hwy 95, just north of the intersection of Hwy 95 and 54.

All of this totals about 2-3 'city' blocks, approximately 2 miles NW of Silverwood. The sign just west of town, near the veterinarian's office, shows Population: 676. Most of us with Athol mailing address live outside the 'city limits'.

Any other diners that you may have found are most likely part of Bayview.

Julia

Hi Julia,

Holy hemorrhoids, there's a lot of stuff around Athol, it's practically bulging out! I certainly didn't mean to imply there was a lot of action up there, but now that you pointed out all the businesses in town, I realize I might have been wrong. Heck, if there's a pizza place with video games, two and a half places to get sozzled and a place to get your hair did, what more would anyone need?

Also, I noticed you neglected to mention the Country Boy Cafe on your list. Don't freak me out, Julia - it's still there, right?

---

Dear Get Out!

I couldn't agree more about JB's. My wife and I have eaten there many times over the past decades and have enjoyed it very much, especially the breakfast buffet. We feel the staff deserves an award for being the most outgoing staff in the area. There's always a friendly face... Thanks for the great article.

Bill

Cheers Bill,
Certainly, JB's flies a little under the radar on the local restaurant scene, but those in the know (and there are quite a few judging from the constant crowds) realize that their breakfast bar is unique in this town. Many buffets serve rubbery, nasty eggs, bacon and French Toast but those cats manage to keep everything hot and fresh.

The waitresses there crack me up; they carry on like they're oblivious to the fact that there are customers sitting there who can hear everything. I've heard them yammering loudly and very candidly at each other about other employees, making fun of customers who've just left, getting in arguments with each other, complaining about this and that and just generally going off. It adds to the amusing "neighborhood coffee clutch in Aunt Franny's kitchen" vibe of the place.

---

Dearest Friend of The Olympia,

The story you wrote was amazing. We would LOVE to buy you lunch and a bottle of Ritcina. We'll Greek up your fries anytime and we are so glad you are back!! We love you!

Your Friends at The New Olympia

I love you too, Olympia!

There must be something about the Mediterranean that makes folks from there so very lovey. I'm thinking of The White House in Post Falls whose motto is "We love garlic! We love you!"

I did get some pretty steamed reactions to that review, and I have a sneaking suspicious that they might have been all from the same person, probably someone in cahoots with the old Olympia owners who I pretty much dissed. I actually had to delete about four of the comments - the sweetheart told me I must have been dropped on my head as a child among other things. I will be in soon for lunch and a bottle of Ritcina, even though I have no idea what that is (and I even tried Googling it). Can I have a few delicious slices of baklava instead?

---

Dear Get Out!

I would be interested in information about the old Fore n' Aft Lounge. Are any of the old employees or regulars still around? I worked there when Mike Caldero and Tiny Wilson were the owners. That was in the 80's and it was literally a "blast". Jackie, Cindy, Susanna, Colleen and myself, Carole, were bartenders. There many more, those are just the ones that come to mind right now. Chris & Cheryl Ruffner were "regulars" and Cheryl also worked at Henry's. My name then was Carole Meyer...but that has changed (only to protect the innocent!!).

Thanks, Carole...now in the Boise area.

Sounds like good times Carole,

I remember the Fore n' Aft was on the same block as JC Penny, where the Resort Plaza shops now sit. I was actually way too young to have actually visited the place, but I know my mom hung out there. I will run the names you mentioned past her and see if she knows any of them. The chances are pretty good, since she knows basically everyone who lived in Cd'A back in the day. I worked at Henry's when I was a teenager and the name Cheryl sounds vaguely familar to me from that time. There certainly aren't very many places from back then that are still a going prospect - there's the Iron Horse, the Corner Bar (formerly the Regina), Chillers (formerly Beta's) and possibly the Sunset on Appleway.

Readers, anyone out there have any insight into Carole's Fore n' Aft memories?

---

Dear Get Out!

I just recently read your article on the Sunshine Inn located in Kellogg, Idaho and I find that you have overstepped your bounds a bit as a reporter. I feel that you used your status as a reporter to try and bring down a great business and humiliate the management team, employees, owners and this community because you can. You should be ashamed of yourself! No one likes to be humiliated and condemned before they have a chance to redeem themselves and you never gave anyone a chance too.

I have known the owners since they first came to this valley and your one time visit was unfortunately, not up to their standards. The current owners take extreme pride in this establishment and if you had done what another person would of done and contacted the management, you would have found that they would have taken great care of you and your guest immediately. They are proud to be a part of this community and have taken huge steps to help bring it out of the slump it has been in the past few years. As a member of many community volunteering events and organizations, we can count on the owners of the Sunshine Inn to help us out with donations, a place to hold meetings or events, and a business who cares about this town and what happens to it. More than I can say for most of the businesses in Spokane. Maybe you need to visit some of your own towns restaurants and then we can compare a few notes on our visits. And yes I can speak from experience, as I was a resident of your area (so is the management of the Sunshine Inn) and have had some of worst times in many businesses there. But I don't see anything about that in your articles. Or is this just an outlet for you to bring down the morale of a business who prides themselves in their history and how far they have come in the last 2 years?|

I would also like you to ask yourself that if everyone had an issue with how you do things in your business, would you like an opportunity to fix it first or have it splashed in an article in one of the biggest newspapers around? I stand behind the Sunshine Inn and hope that the people who read this article will realize that one persons experience isn't what happens every day in this business and we are entitled to have "a bad hair day" in any business. The Sunshine Inn is still a great place to let your hair down with some friendly members of the staff, hang with your buddies after work, or just to sit and relax in an atmosphere that holds a ton of history and can take you back to the days of long gone. So take it from a local when I tell you that this ONE TIME experience isn't the normal for the Sunshine Inn. But instead of taking the word of a disgruntled reporter or mine, visit them yourselves and see. You'll be happy you did!

Sincerely,
Michelle

Dear Michelle,

Thanks for your response, I like to receive feedback of all kinds. First, I'm not actually a reporter. A reporter cover news and states the facts. I'm an opinion columnist, and one of the things I express my opinion about is restaurants. I HAVE reviewed nearly 100 restaurants from my own town, which is Cd'A not Spokane by the way.

I'm sure the owners of the Sunshine are just fabulous and giving and everything you mentioned. I never said they weren't. Unfortunately, in my opinion, they've got some issues to resolve with their food. For the high price we were charged, I expect more than soggy cold fried shrimp, dried up clam chowder (never did get any even though I paid for it), a salad bar with no lettuce and gray canned vegetables. I only ever state the truth in my reviews, I would never make something up just to make some random restaurant owners I don't even know look bad. What would I have to gain from that?

On the other hand, as I stated in my review, the service was great, the decor was fun, the atmosphere was warm and the bar looked like a good time. Sadly, the food itself was severely lacking. Yes, I based my opinion on one visit, but how many others have had the same bad food experience and never returned? Who has the time or money to visit a place 3 or 4 times before formulating an opinion? You eat at a place once, it's not great, and you don't really have the urge to return right away. All I can recommend is to hire a new cook and hope for the best.

I'd like to give enough credit to my readers that they have the sense to know it's only an opinion based on one visit and they can (and hopefully will) visit the Sunshine and form opinions of their own and I hope they receive the same great service and enjoy the experience as much as I did, I just hope they have better luck than I did with the food itself.

---

Dear Get Out!

I want to apologize for the experience you had at the Sunshine Inn and offer you a full refund for your dinner bill. We have worked very hard to bring this Silver Valley piece of history back to life. It has been a huge undertaking and I appreciate your honesty in this review. It is unfortunate that your experience was horrible. As the owner, I was sick to read what happened. Since we opened, our food service has had excellent response from the customers and our manager Shari has developed a reputation in Kellogg that is well known for excellence.

I will bring this review to our employee meeting, and do our very best to see that this type of service and food never happens again. The customer is king in our business and we can only hope and strive to learn from this review and some day get another chance to have you walk away with a good dining experience.

Sincerely,
Tim & Cheryl Moyer

Dear Tim & Cheryl,

First off, my experience was by no means horrible. I tried to put across in my review that we had a pretty good time overall, but that the food just wasn't quite up to par. That's the truth - the service from Sky was fantastic. She had a full house and a motel front desk to handle and she was working as hard as she could. She was very pleasant and apologetic and never let the chaos get to her. I'd never been to the old Sunshine Inn, so I'm not sure what's new and what's not, but the atmosphere and decor of the place was very fine. We didn't mind the party action coming from the bar at all - it just added to the fun. Everything was clean and neat and inviting. I hope that came across in what I wrote.

Every chef has a bad day, and my column is just the opinion of one person dropping in at a random time on a random day. A big reason I had ordered the seafood combo was for the clam chowder (one of my faves) so it was saddening when I only saw dried muck at the bottom of the soup pot and was told there was no more. This was on a Friday at about 5 p.m., so you'd think it would be well stocked at that point. I certainly don't want to nitpick and the review already described the situation pretty well but I will say that the canned vegetables were a bit of a shocker. I try to be honest as possible in my reviews in the hopes that if something is amiss, it will be taken as constructive criticism and improved upon. No need to refund anything, but I will look forward to my next visit - I'm sure my meal will be much more dynamic. In fact, when that happens, I will write an update about how much improved the food at the Sunshine Inn is!

---

Dear Get Out!

I read your article about the Sunshine Inn and I found it to be funny and very amusing. I spent my birthday there and had a Caesar salad late at night with no one in the restaurant but me but later danced the night away (it was on a Friday) with close friends that showed up to hear the band next door. The one good thing they had going when they first opened was that they had sweet rolls that my friend Terri was making every morning at her bakery which has now gone under for lack of customers. So the sweet rolls were not available at the Sunshine Inn, the last time I was in there.

CIAO!
Rebekah

Howdy Rebekah,

Mmm, homemade sweet rolls. That might have actually saved the day if they'd had them still when I visited the Sunshine Inn. Certainly they're a few notches higher on the yumminess scale than lukewarm deep-fried Salmon. Tell Terri she needs to fire up the oven and make some more of those to bring over here to Coeur d'Alene; I'm sure I can find a way to help her get rid of them. PS Keep on dancing!

Olive Garden

Olive Garden
525 W. Canfield Ave.,
Coeur d’Alene, (208) 762-9300

“Italian restaurants with less than 120 entrees are always disappointing.” - Miss Piggy, 'Miss Piggy's Guide to Life' (1981)

When most people think of the food at their local Olive Garden, weight loss probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. My stepfather likes to tell an amazing story about how he once lost over eighty pounds by eating both lunch and dinner at the ubiquitous Italian-American eatery every day for six months.

Quite a few years ago, he was single and living in Everett, Washington in a place located a quick walk away from an Olive Garden restaurant. Normally he’s a pretty fit guy, but he had managed to pack on some extra pounds and his cash flow situation was looking tight. He found the perfect solution to both problems with the all-you-can-eat soup and salad special, which provided him with two low calorie, filling and affordable meals a day. Surprisingly, he swears the staff never got tired of seeing his face twice a day and that he never got burned out on eating piles and piles of iceberg lettuce and crunchy croutons.

Although I’ve actually been fairly successful recently in my own quest to drop a few pant sizes, I had no intention of ordering merely soup and salad on a recent visit to the Coeur d’Alene Olive Garden. I’d been exhibiting dietary willpower for long enough with no slip-ups so I figured I could reward myself by indulging guilt-free. It was my mom’s birthday dinner and there was no way she was going to let anyone go hungry on her big day anyway.

The first Olive Garden restaurant was opened in 1982 in Orlando, Florida by General Mills Corporation, the same innovators who brought Tuna Helper and Franken Berry cereal to the world. The idea of a commercialized chain of pseudo-Italian eateries was not something the uppity food critics had a lot of love for, but it proved to be immensely popular regardless. There are now over 700 Olive Gardens across the nation, and the wait for a table will likely be at least 15 minutes at pretty much any one of them no matter what time of day or night, and they don’t accept reservations.

With that in mind, everyone agreed to meet right at five o’clock in an attempt to beat the dinner rush. Still, when I arrived early to ensure a table, there were already hungry people spilling out the front door into the parking lot. I gave them my name in exchange for one of those fancy plastic drink coasters that vibrates and blinks with red lights when your table is ready.

Twenty minutes crept by and the disc in my hand began doing its disco dance right as my mom and stepdad arrived with a family friend. The host led us through a noisy labyrinth of full tables to a sunny window booth in the far back corner. Our amiable waiter Charlie came by with menus and took our drink order. I’m guessing they must put newly hired wait staff through some kind of wine college. For someone who couldn’t have been much over 21, Charlie knew a lot about the subject. He showed off his expertise to my impressed mother, who sampled several different varieties of Chianti before deciding on a bottle she liked.

I’m not much of an Olive Garden regular, but on past visits I’ve always had my default favorite dish, Seafood Fettuccini, which is actually what my mom ended up selecting for her birthday meal. They do a supreme job of it, with shelled mussels, fat shrimp and scallops mixed with fresh pasta in a deliciously fattening cream sauce. I wanted to indulge a bit, but I couldn’t bring myself to go quite that far into calorie land. Instead, I opted for a dish listed as a new item, the Pork Milanese.

Charlie took our order and returned moments later with our “bottomless” bowl of salad. We dug in but a problem quickly came to light; it contained only two banana peppers for four banana pepper fanatics. Happily, more peppers arrived when Charlie brought a salad refill along with our meals. My Pork Milanese was fantastic; two tender, herb-encrusted, pan cooked pork cutlets served with asiago cheese-stuffed tortellini sautéed in rich garlic butter. Bravissimo! The conversation lulled as everyone became absorbed into their food. Dessert was offered and denied, but when Charlie arrived with the tab, he said “I brought a little dessert for you anyways” and opened the ticket holder to reveal four Andes mints.

In the end, we left Olive Garden fully satisfied with both the fine feast and the hospitable service. Some self-proclaimed aficionados of fine dining may balk at the idea of national chain restaurants, and in many cases they do have a point. However, there’s a good reason why all Olive Garden locations are usually packed to the rafters. They train their crew to provide a positive experience and serve consistently enjoyable cuisine in a fun, lively environment that the whole family can give the thumbs up to.

Wine Cellar to Uncork Its Last Bottle of Chianti

Some sad news to pass on courtesy of the Sizzle-n-Cuisine newsletter:

Coeur d'Alene will never be the same. It is with great sadness that we announce today that the ~Wine Cellar~ in downtown Coeur d'Alene is closing.

The inspiration, orchestration and vision of Jim Duncan, the Wine Cellar has been gathering a fan club that reaches all across the USA and in locations around the world. This late night cafe has been a local favorite for a cozy romantic restaurant and a vibrant place for locals to take visiting friends and family for more than 17 years. They are famous for their extraordinary wine selections, great food at reasonable prices and for always being a venue for local musicians to share the spotlight.

The wine, the music, the food will be shutting down Oct. 3rd due to a dispute of ownership and unforseen difficulties out of their control. The management plans to commemorate their last three weeks in celebration, with an open invitation to customers, suppliers and friends. The next three weeks are dedicated to celebrating memories and sharing stories from the many years that have made the Wine Cellar a cultural icon of Coeur d'Alene... and indeed and icon in the entire Northwest dining and entertainment scene.

There will be a rotation of the usual bands and musicians on stage, wine specials offered, and every evening a lively discussion about friends, parties and characters that have enriched their lives and made the cellar a success. Jim will be on hand on the weekends pouring wine and greeting guests. Join the staff at the Wine Cellar in saying goodbye to a dining experience that only they could have brought to us. We thank them. We love them. We will miss them so much.

The Wine Cellar is located at 313 Sherman Ave. ~ reservations (208) 664-WINE (9463).

Between this and the recent closing of the Sunshine Trader, the Cd'A restaurant scene is starting to get depressing. It's no fun to watch longtime local favorite eateries shut their doors for good.

Live Music Previews, Video Style - Sept. 16-19

Summer is drawing to an official close this week and there just aren't quite as many fabulous goings-on in the area as there have been the last few months. The entertainment calendar may be starting to look a wee bit anemic, but there's no still no reason to sit around home and mope, as proven by these upcoming events:

Wednesday, September 16

Ronnie Jordan (Comedy) - 7 p.m., Edminster Student Union Building Activities Center, North Idaho College, Coeur d’Alene, (208) 665-5459.

This Atlanta-based comedian was voted "Most Wittiest" in high school and has been cracking up audiences across the USA since 2001. He has opened for Earth, Wind & Fire and is a regular on TV's "That Comedy Show", which airs on the Turner South Network.



Thursday, September 17

RevCo (Industrial/Rock) – 7 p.m., The Grail, 4720 W. Seltice Way, Coeur d'Alene, (208) 665-5882.

RevCo (originally Revolting Cocks) started as an industrial music supergroup put together by Richard 23 of Front 242, Luc Van Acker, and Al Jourgensen of Ministry. In 1990, the band released the trash classic "Beers, Steers and Queers" album on the legendary Wax Trax record label. Shortened to RevCo, it has mutated into an entirely different animal. Last original member Jorgenson is still involved in recording, but hired three young newbies to perform the songs on tour, which alienated most of the original fans. Still, the performance promises to bring some rare sleazy fun to town. Circus freak Jim Rose and local acts Left Spine Down, Blownload, Grounded and 33 open the festivities.



Friday, September 18

Herrick (Country) – 8 p.m., Big Al's Country Club, 6361 W. Seltice Way, Stateline, 777-8312. Xx

"Fabulous! The performance they gave was exciting and energetic!
Herrick gave the most professional and extremely thrilling performances we have ever had here at the festival. The crowd was exhilarated their performance and gave an explosive response."
Connie Bergram / Executive Director, Festival at Sandpoint



Los Pinguos (Latin/Indie) - 8 p.m., Panida Theater, 300 First Ave., Sandpoint, (208) 263-9191. xx

All the way from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Los Pinguos play a mixture of Latin rhythms, performed with Spanish guitars, a Cuban Tres, Peruvian cajón (box-drum) and harmonizing vocals. After relocating to Los Angeles in the early 90's, they won the Grand Prize of Ed McMahon's short-lived "Star Search" follow-up "The Next Big Star" on TV. Los Pinguos’ music has appeared in TV shows such as "The Shield", "The L Word", and is featured in the Antonio Banderas and Emma Thompson film "Imagining Argentina" as well as the new "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" movie.



Polyphonic Pomegranate (Funk/Rock) – 9 p.m., Downtown Crossing, 206 N. First Ave., Sandpoint, (208) 265-5080. xx

Polyphonic Pomegranate's MySpace claims "We provide a high energy electric set that gives the entire crowd restless leg syndrome." The popular Boise jazz-funk are regulars in Sandpoint, where their jammy style of music has found an enthusiastic fan base.



Saturday, September 19

Brian Crain (Classical/Pop) – 7p.m., Kroc Center Theater, 1765 W. Golf Course Rd., Coeur d'Alene, (208) 763-0627. Xx

Coeur d'Alene's Brian Crain has recorded 14 albums of his original piano compositions. His music is tinkly and soothing, not exactly easy listening but certainly relaxing, ambient and beautiful. Over the years, he has contributed music to various kid's movies and some of his songs are used as theme music and background music for television dramas and commercials in Asia. His works include "Spring Symphonies", which was recorded with the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, and "Ringtones", an electronic project recorded with in collaboration with his friend Tom Taylor.



Jimmie Van Zant Band(Rock/Country) – 7 p.m., The Grail, 4720 W. Seltice Way, Coeur d'Alene, (208) 665-5882. Xx

The Florida-born brother of Lynyrd Skynyrd's late Ronnie Van Zant brings his "Show No Mercy" to town. According to Ronnie, “I have always believed that music can change peoples’ lives and if I can do something to make someone’s life a little more enjoyable, then I feel I have done my job well. That is why I am here and that is also the reason why there is Southern Rock.”

Cool Things About Athol, ID

Idahoans, Rediscover Your Athol!

To some folks, Athol, Idaho is known for its funny name and as a stoplight one must endure whilst travelling between Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint. Personally, it has a place in my heart for hosting the wonderful Country Boy Cafe, home of the most incredible Chicken Fried Steak and Biscuits and Gravy in the Idaho Panhandle. In honor of Athol's recent celebration of 100 years of official existence I've put together some semi-fascinating history and trivia bits about the 8th largest town in Kootenai County.

Athol has always had a bit of an identity crisis, at least name-wise. The town started as Colton, which was changed to Athol after a settler from the Massachusetts town with the same name decided it was somehow better. In 1966, after the Girl and Boy scouts both held events nearby at the old Naval base, the name Roundup City was suggested and rejected. Later that year, when Farragut State Park opened its gates a few miles away, a town debate arose among its 300 residents whether they should change the town’s name to Farragut to sort of “cash in” on all the tourists that would be blazing through. Some residents thought it would be a good way to avoid confusion, others were vehemently opposed.

In a Spokane Chronicle news article at the time, local grocery owner Mrs. A. A. Olston complained “It’s always been Athol and I want my children when they grow up to say they were born here.” Her mother, Mrs. W. R. Johnston explained how the town of LaCrosse had changed to Gibbs at one point and was later incorporated into Coeur d’Alene, making it difficult for a person from LaCrosse to “prove they were ever even born.” To this day, there are those who think Athol should change its name as to stop being the, ahem, butt of so many bad-taste jokes.

The first fluttering of modern life where Athol now sits was a Northern Pacific Railroad Station built in 1882. By 1909, when it became an official town, Athol was one of the hot spots of North Idaho with all the jack pine trees boosting the lumber and agriculture industry to a peak. The town had many hotels, a drugstore, a blacksmith, a jewelry store, a throbbing discotheque, a mercantile company, a botox therapist and multiple restaurants.

The Great Depression effectively ruined the fun and the good times in Athol went pear-shaped. The population declined rapidly and things didn’t pick up until Farragut opened nearby. Since Silverwood Theme Park has been booming just down the road, things have been looking even more upbeat for development in Athol and it should finally have somewhere to buy underwear in about another hundred years or so. Things move kind of slow that way in Athol, but fortunately that’s how most Atholites like it.

I read somewhere in my research that the name Athol means “pleasant place” which surprised me slightly as I’d always thought it meant “a place to stop for gas and some Ho-Ho’s.” According to the 2000 US Census, Construction is the number one industry in Athol at 26%, and the 11th largest industry is making doo-hickeys out of the branches that fall from the trees after a big storm. The most common occupation for males is “vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers” (8%), and for females it’s “food and beverage serving workers except waitresses” (9%). Okay, where are they serving food and beverages then? At home when their husbands come home from a hard day at the garage?

Athol didn’t even have a library until 1971, when volunteers under the direction of Mrs. James McMurray opened one up in the corner of the Athol Elementary gymnasium with just under 4,000 donated books. 3,500 of these were Harlequin Romance novels and the rest were auto repair manuals. In 1996, Athol resident Lynne MacKinzie employed her clever wit to create a line of Athol Gear products that pretty much said what everyone had been thinking all along. Things like "Prevent Colon Cancer, Get Your Athol Checked" or "I'm a real Athol without my coffee." Even mayor Lanny Spurlock dug the idea saying "Hey, why not have a little fun in life?"

Primarily unchanged for decades, Athol remains a peaceful place where you can still hear the freight trains rattle across the vast open prairie and the cattle groan at the moon and stars in the clear night sky. Lastly, a visit to one of the town’s handful of busy diners is a trip back to a slower, more charming time when the food really stuck to your ribs, everybody knew everything about everybody, and friendly faces made even strangers feel welcomed.

JB’s Family Restaurant

JB’s Family Restaurant
704 W. Appleway,
Coeur d'Alene,
(208) 765-3225
“Mmmm. Move over, eggs. Bacon just got a new best friend - fudge.” - Homer Simpson.

Sizzling strips of smoky, crispy bacon. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t love it madly. Bacon is the great uniter of the food world, something everyone can agree upon from back woods hash house cooks to “Top Chef Masters” winners. It’s been known to make even the most devoted vegans fantasize and reconsider. Everything goes better with bacon, and right now “bacon mania” is sweeping the nation. Celebrity chef Bobby Flay is hawking memberships to his “Bacon of the Month Club.” Chocolate covered bacon is popping up everywhere from county fairs to high-end bistros.

Novelty shops are stocked with bacon-themed must-owns, including wallets, belts, band-aids and even bacon soap. This could explain why all the hip kids always smell like breakfast. Most intriguingly, a Seattle company has recently introduced Bakon Vodka, a potato vodka infused with the smoky flavor of peppered bacon, cleverly saving judicious drunks from the tiresome hassle of actually having to eat those foods. At this rate, we can expect to see a line of “Sizzling Hot” bacon lingerie at Victoria’s Secret just in time for the holidays.

It was a good old-fashioned yen for bacon that drove me into JB’s Family Restaurant recently on a sweltering late summer afternoon. We do have some mighty fine breakfast joints around, but few stay open long enough to cater to late-arriving bacon cravers such as myself, and none have the magic power that the JB’s cooks must use in their creation of the Perfect Strip.

I first became acquainted with the Perfect Strip during trips through JB’s fantastic breakfast bar, which runs daily until 11 a.m. Stainless steel bins gleam under heat lamps, filled with plies of French toast, biscuits, gravy, scrambled eggs, a mysterious casserole, fresh fruit, cereal, and of course a tall mound of flavorful, perfectly cooked bacon. The place is always packed when the breakfast bar is rolling, and if they kept it open all day and into the night, it would probably still be buzzing with happy gluttons.

I’d probably have gone for that option if they hadn’t already converted it into a salad bar for the night. I needed to dive into the glossy, colorful menu and make a choice. Nothing in the dinner section struck my fancy bacon-wise, although they do have a solid selection of comfort-style entrees such as Roasted Turkey and Stuffing, Yankee Pot Roast, Pork Chops and Barbecued Ribs, as well as a ton of pasta, seafood, and steak options all for incredibly checkbook-easy prices. Technically it was still lunchtime and they do offer a wonderful B.L.T., a Turkey-Bacon Melt, and a California Bacon Burger, all of which I’ve enjoyed on prior visits, but ultimately I still had breakfast on the brain.

My incredibly likeable waitress Jenny brought my lemonade and asked for my order. With so many bacon-positive possibilities, I was indecisive. On a whim I decided to go for the gusto. “I’ll have the Stuffed French Toast with bacon and scrambled eggs and bacon.” While I waited, I thought about how JB’s is the kind of place we tend to take for granted and don’t give enough respect to. It’s not high on the totem pole of family restaurant chains, but their food always been consistently fine. The ladies of JB’s have always provided great service and on some visits have been quite entertaining with their gossipy inter-staff banter. There’s something comforting about the low ceilings, the dim lit corners, and the way they blend a vague Hawaiian theme with the obligatory “country living” décor.

Jenny arrived with my steaming hot breakfast, saying “I’m so sorry, seems like that took forever.” It really hadn’t, and even if it had it would’ve been worth the wait. The French toast was amazing, oozing with a sweet cream cheese filling and covered in a warm, chunky strawberry sauce, topped with copious amounts of whipped cream. It was like dessert for breakfast for lunch. The scrambled eggs were formed into a large, fluffy square and were certainly fine, but they definitely took second billing to the gorgeous examples of the Perfect Strip they shared the stage with.

The menu had promised three strips of the good stuff, but my plate arrived with four. No one loves soggy bacon, yet too many places just don’t seem to care. JB’s does care, and they serve long, stiff, hearty strips cooked just to the edge of burnt, lending it a savory, satisfying smokiness. The whole meal hit the spot with a divine intensity and put me in such a contented, happy state that when Jenny arrived to clear my plate I had to resist the urge to give her a big hug. Perhaps the gift of some bacon refrigerator magnets would be more appropriate.

Live Music Previews, Video Style - Sept. 3-6

The delightfully named Flip Wilsons bring their catchy Indie Rock sound from their hometown of Columbia Falls, MT to The Grail stage on Thurs. 9/3



Between tours, acoustic guitarist Jim "Kimo" West divides his time between Maui and Los Angeles. The relaxed, warm-weather vibe comes across in his music, which can be hear when he hits DiLuna's in Sandpoint at 6 p.m. Fri. 9/4.



One thing is for sure about the Spokane/Cd'A band River City Rockers. if you catch one of their many area gigs, you are guaranteed to hear them play "Sweet Home Alabama." The Nighthawk Lounge at the Cd'A Casino plays host to the band Fri. 9/3 and Sat. 9/4 at 9 p.m.




Seattle's popular Ian McFeron band grace the Schweitzer Fall Fest Stage with their poppy janglebox of Americana Rock on Sat. 9/4 at 1 p.m.




Spokane Latin Funk giants Milonga continue the groove and high spirits at the Schweitzer Fall Fest Sat. 9/4 at 3:30 p.m.