The Capitol Table, a new fine dining event and fundraiser, will be held on September 10. The location is an exciting one, since they are closing down Capitol Boulevard between Bannock and Jefferson for the event. In other words, you’ll be dining right in front of the beautiful sparkling dome of the Idaho State House.
The event, a fundraiser for Create Common Good and the Downtown Boise Association, will be featuring some amazing food from several Downtown restaurants. A four course dinner will be provided by the participating restaurants, featuring an appetizer, soup or salad, main entree and dessert. Fork, Red Feather, Brickyard, Juniper and Capitol Cellars will all be providing food for the event. Chef Drew Leger of Brickyard answered a few questions for the Boise Beat about this upcoming gourmet evening.
Q: Chef Drew, is the Brickyard doing a special menu for the Capitol Table or are you using one of the menus from your restaurant?
A: Well, a little of both. For our main entree, we’re going with something that is on the menu. We know it’s great and we do it well. The first two and the last course are new to us and we’re thinking of them for our Spring Menu.
We got a line on some really, really big diver scallops and what we are going to do is pan-sear them down there so that we can keep them from being overcooked. Then we’re going to put some caviar on top and a grapefruit foam going down the side for the first course.
For the second course, we are going to bring in some Idaho peaches and we’re going to grill them. Then we’re going to do a salad with some fresh spinach leaves and some sweet bell pepper and feta cheese and then we’re going to put a little citrus vinaigrette on that. We’re going to char the citrus before we make the vinThere is a cap of 150 seats for this exclusive, tasty event giving aigrette. This is one of the things we are considering for our Spring Menu.
For the entree, we’re going with our Certified Angus Beef Tenderloin Wellington. We have a nice cut of steak and we char-sear it. We put it in filo dough with mushroom duxelle and porcini powder. Then we bake it in the filo dough so it’s crispy on the outside and we set it on oyster mushrooms that have been sauteed in a veal demi-glaze. We serve it with fresh charred asparagus and we do a whipped Yukon Gold potato. That’s one that’s on our menu.
For dessert, we’ve got some chocolate cups that we’re going to fill up with a Bailey’s Irish Coffee Mousse, fresh local raspberries and a raspberry coulis. Just something light at the end.
Q: Is it exciting doing something like this right at the foot of the Capitol steps?
A: I am so excited to do that! Cooking outside is awesome anyway even when youre at home. But when you get you get to cook outside for people who—they’e paid a lot of money to come enjoy your food and we’re just really pumped up to do it. My whole staff , my Chef de Cuisine, Shawn is going to be there and my Chef Richard is going to be there. We’re all pumped up to be there. I think it’s going to be a great event; and the people who are doing it alongside us are some of the best restaurants in Boise. I think the whole thing is set up for a huge success.
Q: I think you like the fact that this is for a charitable cause?
A: Oh yeah! The folks who are going to be helping us, we’ve worked with in the past, Create Common Good. Awesome place! I think the whole thing is good. It’s a positive experience and we keep this going for a couple of years and it’s a good thing for Boise to be known for.
The groups that the Capitol Table are fundraising for are Create Common Good and the Downtown Boise Association. Create Common Good is a 501(c)3 local nonprofit Boise organization dedicated to helping adults with barriers to employment to obtain training and help to obtain jobs in the foodservice industry. Through an 8-week training program teaching such courses as food safety, kitchen safety and professionalism, they help people gain the necessary skills for gainful employment in foodservice, moving them from dependence to independence.
The Downtown Boise Association is a 501(c)6 organization that helps to promote Boise in many ways, through events, business property and owner outreach, tourism promotion and residential and educational information. They supply information on Boise arts and culture, dining, hotels and much more. By promoting Boise, the aim is to make Boise a better place for residents and businesses alike.
It is not very often a street in front of a state capitol is shut down for a dining event. This exclusive evening, promising some of Boise’s best culinary delights, looks to be the hottest ticket in town.
September 10, 2017
5:30pm
Downtown Boise, on Capitol Blvd. between Bannock and Jefferson Streets
Tickets: $150 per ticket, Friends 4-pack $650
Note: There are a maximum of 150 seats available for this exclusive dining event, with a maximum of 30 seats per restaurant.
