By Jim Stanford on June 18, 2009
Beyond breakfast: Shades opens the deck for Greek, Ethiopian and Indian dishes.
Pica’s is serving weekend brunch, Betty Rock fires up its debut Pizza Night, and Shades prepares to launch a new night menu on the deck.
Work up an appetite.
Jackson Hole has the finest restaurants in Wyoming, but when it comes to less-expensive fare for residents, options are limited at night, especially downtown. That’s about to change.
Rockin' on Pearl again: Marc Hirschfield and his wife, Anise.
Tonight Betty Rock hosts its first Pizza Night, serving all-you-can-eat pie and salad for $15. The idea partly was inspired by a similar special at the former Old Yellowstone Garage.
The Betty Rock pizzas won’t be quite as gourmet, although cheese and pepperoni will be augmented by a few fancier flavors. “We’ll keep rolling them out till people are satisfied,” says co-owner Marc Hirschfield.
Pizza Night will be every Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to closing, although Marc and his wife, Anise, may expand to other nights if the event is successful. In its first go-round the restaurant served New York-style slices; the latest incarnation has been limited thus far to private parties.
“We feel we have the recipes pretty tight,” Marc says.
Patrons are welcome to bring their own beer and wine. Kids eat for $8, and those 3 and under are free. Reservations are recommended (733-0747).
Steph Nemec and the ladies at Shades have always been known for their baked goodies; the new night menu has faraway flavors.
Farther east, on King St., the creative baristas at Shades are about to rekindle another old tradition: summer nights with exotic tastes and BYOB on the deck.
Uber-cool proprietress Lisa Miller and her daughter, Abbie, have devised a menu featuring Mediterranean, African and Indian flavors.
Among the appetizers are dolmas, grape leaves stuffed with berbere brown rice; a spiced carrot salad; and orange-honey-glazed Moroccan chicken wings with a chili pepper and plum tomato sauce.
The entrees are marinated lamb souvlaki, butter-and-lime Ethiopian chicken with red lentils, and a vegetable korma made with cardamom and served over jasmine rice with a ginger cucumber salad. Chai ice cream over berries and mint finishes the repast.
I had the opportunity to sample the new menu recently, and these dishes are bursting with dizzying flavors, painstakingly made by hand with freshly roasted and ground spices.
Entrees are served as platters for two and priced at $20 to $28. Starting Friday, Shades will be open for dinner Thursday through Sunday nights, with seating from 5:30 to 9 p.m.
It’s been nearly 10 years since the Millers last opened at night, with a Thai menu that was quite a hit. With strings of lights beneath the cottonwoods on the deck, the ambience feels like the djemaa of Marrakesh.
“We wanted to extend the creativity and talent we have at Shades into a new environment,” Abbie says.
•
Pica's caters to all tastes, even the offspring of reviled financial grifters.
One of these days town will be bustling with tourists (right?), and it will be hard to get into our favorite breakfast eateries. Bubba’s is off-limits more or less until September, and we can only eat so many D.O.G. burritos.
Over in west Jackson, our favorite Mexican restaurant (also favored by Bernie Madoff’s profligate sons), Pica’s, has begun serving brunch in addition to the regular lunch menu.
Owner Andy Parazette is offering two varieties of breakfast burritos — vegetarian and chorizo sausage — with chipolte salsa, as well as huevos rancheros and chilaquiles, tortilla chips tossed with eggs, salsa and cheese. A reliable reader says go with the huevos.
Prices range from $6.25 to $8.25. Brunch is served from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Nice to see in this economy that restaurateurs are recognizing opportunity in better serving the working class.
