Super Bowl Weekend in Idaho

The New England Patriots made the Super Bowl this year and are on the way to become the first undefeated team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins. There was no way in hell I was working on Super Bowl Sunday, so I had asked for the day off, and the bosses at Home Depot gave me a four-day weekend off from work on Super Bowl Weekend. SWEET!

The Saturday before the Super Bowl, I decided to get my hair cut at Great Clips. My stylist had on a Green Bay Packers sweatshirt, and I told her it was a bummer they didn't make it to the big game, and I told her that I was from New England and a big Patriots fan. She joked that she wouldn't butcher my hair for being a Patriots fan.

After not getting scalped at the hairdressers, I was a little bit hungry and had heard about this new delicatessen in town called Gandolfo's New York Delicatessen. Located on Overland Road in Meridian, Idaho, this restaurant has been in business since the middle of last year and has gotten rave reviews from critics and locals for its New York-style sandwiches, salads, and soups.

I arrived at Gandolfo's about noon, and it wasn't that busy being a Saturday when people are doing their shopping and other things around town, so I didn't have to wait to be served.

As I mentioned at the beginning of the story, this delicatessen is New York Style, and the interior is decorated with a miniature Statue of Liberty holding a Gandolfo Sub in its hand instead of the torch and a poster from the Godfather on another wall. When I first arrived inside Gandolfo's, I was greeted by the huge and extensive New York themed menu complete with sandwiches named for favorite New York locations and personalities. Being the die-hard Red Sox/New England Patriot fan, I really wasn't keen on trying a sandwich called The New York Jet (Roast Beef, provolone, Lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayo) or the Damned Yankee (a hot Ham, Swiss, Lettuce, tomato, and mayo sandwich). Also I wasn't about to be made to sleep in my car or at my friend Karla's house tonight if I had brought a sandwich home to Mom called the New York Yankee (Ham, Swiss Cheese, Lettuce, tomato, and Mayo).

But rest assured, card carrying members of Red Sox Nation, there are many sandwiches at Gandolfo's that don't carry Yankee or Jet names, and it didn't take long for me to decide on what to get for our lunch. I ordered two-foot-long subs called the Gandolfo (a hot Turkey, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, marinated mushroom, and mayo sandwich) and The Big Tuna (A cold tuna fish, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo sandwich). I am assuming the Big Tuna is named for former Giants and Jets Head Coach Bill Parcells, who is nicknamed "The Big Tuna", and I could have not ordered this sandwich considering old Bill left his coaching job with the Patriots to go to the hated Jets years ago, but I will forgive him!

The prices at Gandolfo's are very reasonable, and you have the choice of six-inch subs or foot-longs, and you will pay under $10 for one meal or about $17 like I did for two sandwiches and a large Diet Pepsi that I drank while waiting for my food.

I split one half of each sandwich for Mom and me, and there was enough of the other halves for Mom and I to have for lunch on Monday. The hot Gandolfo Sandwich had cooled to room temperature, but it was still very good. The mushrooms were not vinegary and were infused with oregon that went throughout the entire sandwich. The Big Tuna was very tasty, too, and even though the tuna was just mixed with mayo, the cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes gave it a good flavor. Those six inches of goodness filled me up and gave me energy to conquer my end of the Super Bowl feast, Seven Layer Bean Dip.

Gandolfo's is open 7 days a week and is located in one of the many mini malls going up on Overland Road in Meridian. This mini mall is located right in front of the Majestic Movie Theater and is only 5 minutes from home for us. They are open very early (7 a.m.) for breakfast and close at 10 daily. If you call ahead of time, Gandolfo's will also cater your special occasions, and orders can be placed by phone or fax ((208) 884-3474), and they have a website, too: www.gandolfosdeli.com. So if you are ever in Idaho and crave New York deli food, Gandolfo's is the place to be! Next time, I will wear my Red Sox hat inside to see what the reaction will be!

Mom and I made plans to go to the Idaho Democratic Caucus at the Qwest Arena in Downtown Boise on February 5, 2008. The news anchors on KIVI 6, the ABC affiliate in Boise, said that the doors to get inside the Caucus would open at 5, and it was adviseable to arrive early, or we could be turned away when the place filled up. So, Mom and I had some errands to run near home and decided it was best to leave our home in Meridian about 2:30 and do the errands and arrive in Boise about 3:30 in order to get good parking and find a bite to eat. Dinner was on me because Mom had paid for Katie's thyroid medication so we needed a place in Downtown Boise that was quick and was not going to drain my wallet of its cash.

We parked the car in a parking garage near the Qwest Arena, where the rally was being held and started to walk around to find a restaurant. The Spaghetti Factory was our first choice, but it is closed between lunch and dinner time, so scratch that idea. Mom and I had seen Old Chicago as we were walking towards Old Chicago, and for time and money reasons, we chose this place for dinner.

It was dead when we got inside the restaurant, and our waitress, a young lady dressed in Mardi Gras beads for Fat Tuesday greeted us and seated us immediately with our menus. She also asked us if we wanted a drink, and Mom and I settled for water which came quickly.

Not wanting huge portions of food that we would have to carry doggy bags to the Caucus, we decided to have sandwiches for dinner. Mom got the Turkey Club and I got the Turkey Burger with Fries ($7.89). I also got Mom and I an order of Mozzerella Sticks with marinara sauce to share while waiting for our food.

Our Mozzarella sticks came rather quickly, and Mom and I noshed on those while watching one of the many TV's scattered through the restaurant. One TV had ESPN's Around the Horn on, but we were glad we didn't have to hear the talking heads on the show talking about our beloved Patriots losing the Super Bowl since the volume was down. The other TV's had this skateboarding channel on that had some unappealing crap on about young punks skateboarding. The restaurant is located in the old Union Building in Downtown Boise and is decorated inside with old posters of Chicago and of Idaho college sports posters which gives the place a unique touch.

Our sandwiches arrived about 10-15 minutes after our appetizer did, and Mom and I dug in. Our portions were big, and Mom's club was nicely arranged on her plate with the sandwich cut in wedges with a bowl of cole slaw in the middle. My turkey burger came with a huge portion of fries with the sandwich a spicy patty with lettuce, tomato, onion, and a creamy ranch cilantro sauce. I had to add some mustard and ketchup to my burger even with the sauce since it was still bland to me.

Mom and I couldn't finish our portions, and I ate my sandwich but left a lot of my fries on the plate. I tried to eat some of Mom's slaw, but it was tasteless, so I stopped. My dinner sat in my belly like lead for the rest of the night and the next day.

Stuffed to the gills, Mom and I watched more ESPN, and I didn't see our bill come by our nice waitress. The bill came to about $30 with tip, which is probably one of the cheapest meals in Downtown Boise for two people. After leaving the bill, Mom and I burned off some of our feast walking to Qwest Arena to wait in line to get inside the Idaho Democratic Caucus.

Old Chicago is open seven days a week and is most busy on Friday and Saturday nights. During the week, it is busy with people who work downtown and visitors. The prices are reasonable, and the service was great, but the food was average for me. Nothing to rock my world, but it was filling. The atmosphere is good being located in one of Boise's oldest buildings.

My recommendation: Recommended.

If you are in Boise and need to get some exercise by bike or walking, the Boise Green Belt is the way to go. Located in Boise, Idaho, this long trail starts in Boise's North End and goes all the way into Garden City, one of Boise's suburbs and is very popular with locals all year long who use the Green Belt as a path to go to work or to school at Boise State University during the week. On weekends, the Green Belt is teeming with families on bikes and other folks walking or biking to burn off the stress of the week.

I used to live in married housing at Boise State University for a couple of years in the 1990's, and I used to take my bike or walk the Green Belt, which also goes through Boise State University. Now that I live in Meridian, I missed having a bike path nearby to take Loki and Katie for a long walk. I was so happy that my friend Karla lives right near one of the entries to the Green Belt near Veteran's Memorial Park in Boise's North End, and when Mom took a babysitting job to look after Karla's little girl, Lauren for the next month while Karla does the Spring resets for Home Depots throughout the Treasure Valley, I was happy and said we need to take advantage of the Green Belt and exercise Loki, Katie, and ourselves.

This past week, the Treasure Valley of Southwestern Idaho has gone through some of the worst snow and ice storms in years. The roads have been ice skating rinks that have led to many accidents including one that yours truly got into on January 29 on I-84. Totally stressed from that and our beloved Patriots losing the Super Bowl in a heartbreaker, Mom and I were in serious need to burn off some stress and the calories of the previous night's Super Bowl gorgefest.

I arrived at Karla's house with Loki and Katie about 11 a.m. today, and after Mom and Lauren got dressed and bundled up, we were off to the Green Belt. Lauren insisted on walking Loki and Katie, who at 85 and 97 pounds, respectively, can be a handful to walk even for me, but they were very gentle with Lauren and walked very slowly with her. Due to the snowstorms, part of the paths were icy, so we had to be very careful walking or one of us would be experiencing what Tom Brady did during the Super bowl, landing hard and flat on our backs, but minus the 250 pound plus defensive end on top of us!

The Green Belt is a very scenic and flat road, and you can see the Boise Foothills, Bogus Basin, and the mountains at several points of the trail. The half-mile Mom and I covered went from Willow Road to one of the ballparks further down the road that is accessible by State Street. There was a big field about a quarter of a mile from Karla's house that we let Loki and Katie run around, and Lauren wanted to make a snow angel, but she was not in her snow suit, and we said she was best not to or we would have to take her home wet and cold. That didn't stop Katie from making snow angels of her own, and she rolled over several times during our walk on any patch of snow that struck her fancy.

There is a soccer field along the Green Belt near the baseball fields, but it was being used by a huge flock of Canadian Geese as a resting spot. Lauren was fascinated by the geese and wanted to go inside the field, but we didn't want to disturb the geese and watched them from a respectable distance. Canadian Geese can be pretty nasty when intruded on, and Mom and I weren't ready to re-enact a scene from The Birds. Loki decided to go and check out a nearby tree and stumbled and slipped on the ice, and I had to run over and pick him up off the ice. The geese took off from the field in two groups, and the sight of them flying was magnificent for all of us to see.

When we started our walk, it was about 30 degrees and nice. I was in light layers, and Mom was in her LL Bean jacket. Lauren was in her pink camo fleece jacket and was getting hot, and she took off her jacket saying "I'm hot!" We made her put her jacket back on and told her she could wear it unzipped until she cooled down. A passerby said it would be too cold to have her unzipped, and we told them we were under control.

I would have loved to have gone to Veteran's Park, where I took Loki and Katie a couple of springs ago, but it started to get windy shortly after we passed the ballparks, and we decided to head back home, but we had gotten about a mile's round trip in our walk altogether.

The Boise Green Belt is open all day and night, but it's safest to walk or bike ride during the day. There have been past incidents of vagrants or other sickos attacking people, especially women, along the Green Belt, and about 4 years ago, a visiting flight attendant was kidnapped, raped, and killed on the Green Belt. Her killer was found and is now on Idaho's Death Row for her murder and the murder of another woman. The Belt along Boise State University has been notorious for vagrants sleeping in Julia Davis Park or Ann Morrison Park, which is also part of the Green Belt, but the Boise Police have made big efforts in keeping the vagrants out of the park and away from people who want to enjoy the Green Belt.

To get to the Green Belt from I-84, go down the Interstate and bear left onto I-184 or take the exit to I-184 depending on what direction you are coming from on the interstate. Go all the way into Downtown Boise and take a right at the Julia Davis Park sign and park there. Bring a picnic for afterwards and make sure you have good sturdy shoes and dress appropriately depending on the weather. The Green Belt is most crowed in late Spring and all Summer, and during the winter, it is mostly students going to school by bike or some walkers. Keep your dogs leashed and be careful!

After having dinner at Old Chicago, Mom and I bundled up and walked over to the Qwest Arena where the Idaho Democratic Caucus was being held on February 5, 2008. Our local news station told us that the doors to the arena would open at 5 p.m. and that we should arrive early in order to get a good seat. The Qwest Arena is a small venue located in Downtown Boise that only holds about 7,000 people, so Mom and I left home early to do errands and have an early dinner.

Mom and I got to the Qwest Arena about 4:30, and the line was about halfway across the Grove, where the arena is located. There were two lines leading to the entrance, and we weren't sure which line we were to be in until someone said that each line was for each Congressional District. In Ada County's case, it is split into two Congressional districts, 1 and 2. Depending on where you live in Ada County was where you were to wait in line. Since Mom and I live in Meridian, which is about 11 miles from Boise, we are considered District 1, and we went into that line to wait for admittance into the Qwest Arena. We received a goody bag with a pen and information on the candidates and their mission. Since the publications had been put out before Biden, Edwards, and Richardson had dropped out of the race, they were still listed in the pamphlet. John Edwards supporters were invited to the Caucus since many of them were divided between voting for Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, and the night's speakers would help them decide on who to support.

Considering it was about 30 degrees with a windchill in the 20's and snow flurries were starting to fall as we waited outside, there was a huge crowd starting to gather to participate in the Democratic Caucus. After 8 years of Bush and the Republicans in the White House, Idaho's Democrats are sick of the war, recession, and the Republican good 'ole boy network and came out in droves to cast their "VOTE FOR CHANGE."

After freezing in line for a few minutes, a Barack Obama volunteer came through the lines with ballot forms for us to fill out. I got my ballot filled out pretty quick, but Mom insisted on using my back as a desk and filling out her ballot took longer because she was cold and shivering and her pen kept freezing up on her. GRRR! Ballots filled out, we held on to them in order to turn them inside and waited a few minutes more to get inside. ANother volunteer was signing up people to vote in the November elections, but they didn't need a voter card to vote in the caucus, but it's better to be registered now.

A young kid was coming through the line with Obama stickers to put on our coats or purses, and Mom and I got a couple of stickers for us, and from all of the people we saw waiting in line with us, most of them were voting for Barack Obama. There were also people selling Barack Obama t-shirts in orange or blue.

Being so cold, Barack Obama had set up a coffee stand for people to get free coffee or hot chocolate to keep them warm while waiting in line. I offered to get Mom some just for her to warm her hands on the cup, but she said she would be OK. A few minutes longer, Mom was not enjoying waiting in line in the cold, and some of the folks working the coffee table started to walk through the lines giving everyone a cup of coffee who asked. They came up to us, and I said I would take a cup. Mom declined, and I had a few sips of the hot coffee although I am a tea drinker. HEY! It was something warm for the body. After a few sips, I gave Mom the cup, and she gave in and took the cup to keep her hands warm.

By 5:00, the line to get inside the Qwest Arena was out to 8th Street on the west side of the Boise Grove, and people were still coming. And Mom and I thought we were endangered species being Democrats in Idaho. Boy, were we wrong!

Finally at 5:00, the doors to Qwest Arena, and over 6,500 frozen Idahoans made their way inside. For Part II on the Idaho Democratic Caucus, please go on to my next entry, The Idaho Democratic Caucus.

HOORAY! The doors of the Qwest Arena finally opened, and our frozen bodies could finally go inside to cast our vote for President of the United States and warm up. The line moved slowly, and I kept telling Mom we would be inside soon and get warm. About 10 minute after the doors opened, we made it inside, and more volunteers asked everyone who they were voting for, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, or Barack Obama. This would determine where everyone would sit inside the arena and make it easy for the head count later on. When Mom and I got inside, a lady volunteer asked us who we were supporting, and we both said, "Barack Obama." We were sent to the right of the entrance and the seats on the right side of the arena. If we had filled out our ballots, we could deposit them in the ballot boxes set up at the front of the arena. Anyone who was undecided could wait until the speeches were over to cast their vote, but we could not go home until the head count was done after 7 p.m.

The seats on Obama's side were filling up fast, and the Uecker seats seemed to be filling up first. There were seats on the floor of the arena where the Idaho Steelheads play hockey, and Mom and I took seats there. We had a good view of the stage and could see everything from our vantage point. Hillary Clinton's side of the arena on the left wasn't filling up as fast as Barack Obama's, and there was only a small section next to our floor seats reserved for John Edwards along with undecided voter seats on the floor and a small section in the nosebleed seats.

Our seats had a couple of more goodie bags along with signs saying Obama '08: Barack Obama.com on blue cardboard for all to hold up before and during the speeches. Mom and I agreed to take our signs home as souvenirs and hang them in our windows or in the house. "That ought to make the Republicans in the neighborhood happy!", I quipped.

By 6:30, our side of the arena was almost full, and we heard that people were being turned away outside because they weren't expecting so many people to vote on this day. There were many empty seats on Hillary's side, but it looked like everyone was voting for Obama. Since Mom and I were planning on leaving about 8 since the weather was supposed to be snowy and I had to get up at 4 a.m. for work the next morning, we were glad when another volunteer came around and said after the head count and if we had cast our ballots, we could go home.

During the 1:45 minute wait for the Caucus to begin, several folks around us were on their cell phones getting news about the other Caucuses and Primaries throughout the USA. 22 states were having their primaries or Caucuses on February 5, and Idaho was one of them. Before leaving home, we found out that Mike Huckabee had taken Arkansas for the Republicans, and not long after sitting down in the arena, we found out that Obama had taken Georgia at a rate of 2:1. Everyone on the Obama side broke out in estatic cheers.

Finally at 7 p.m., the festivities began. Volunteers were running around making the head counts, and then we stood for the Pledge of Allegiance and The National Anthem. The American flag was behind our seats, and some folks couldn't find them at first and one guy joked about having to salute the "United States of Budweiser" in reference to the neon Budweiser bottle near the flags!

After the anthem and pledge, the speakers started their speeches. Each keynote speaker for their candidate would come on stage in alphabetical order of the candidate's name. So that meant, Hillary Clinton's supporter was first, followed by John Edwards, and then Barack Obama. First they honored five veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and Iraqi Freedom, and Randy Johnson, a veteran of Iraqi Freedom, gave a good speech on why he supported the Democratic Party.

Hillary Clinton's chief Idaho supporter and keynote speaker was Bethine Church, widow of Senator Frank Church, who served Idaho as a Democratic Senator during the 1970's until his untimely death in 1982. Bethine Church has still remained involved with the Idaho Democrats since her husband's death. Although Mrs. Church was in a wheelchair and had to be lifted onto the stage, she was still a commanding presence, and everyone stood up and gave her a standing ovation. The speech was about 10 minutes long and Mrs. Church said her long time friendship with Hillary and Bill was one of the reasons why she was supporting Hillary for president.

Mrs. Church's speech over with, we listened to John Edward's supporter, and then the place erupted when Boise Mayor Dave Bieter came on stage supporting Barack Obama. Idaho's governor Butch Otter, Senators Larry Crapo, and the infamous Larry Craig ("I have a wide stance, your honor!"), and representatives to Congress are all republicans, but the Boise Mayor is a Democrat. What better person to support Obama is Dave Bieter? It took a while for the audience to calm down after Mr. Bieter was introduced, and he started talking which frenzied the crowd more.

It was at this time that Mom and I made our way out of the Arena to get home. If we had stayed, we would never had gotten home at a reasonable hour and I would have been way too tired for work the next morning, but it would have been for a good cause.

The next day at work, I told my friends at work about our going to the Caucus, and my buddy Rusty in Hardware said, "you were at the Caucus!? So was Barbara and I!" I asked where Rusty and his wife were sitting, and he said they were in the Uecker seats near the American and Canadian flags. I said to Rusty, I thought I was the lone Democrat at work and that I was glad I wasn't alone in my political beliefs.

Participating in a Caucus is a great experience for one to have in a lifetime, and I highly recommend it in order to keep informed on the politics in one's state. It was a big learning experience for Mom and me, and the thousands of others who were there that cold night in February.