Contributed by Tanya S.
To finish up my holiday shopping, I decided to stroll down East Sherman Avenue in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho. The strip is about four blocks long and ends in the holiday light show at the Coeur d’ Alene Resort.
I started my shopping day by grabbing lunch at The Grille from Ipanema, a Brazilian steakhouse. I especially enjoy this place because my friend has food allergies and the manager always takes time to explain what ingredients are in each dish. We had the full churrasco experience which is a salad bar of Brazilian specialties and the variety of barbecued items. The waiter comes to the table and brings the barbecued meats on a skewer and cuts of pieces for everyone on the table. The pork loin and tri-tip are delicious but my favorite is the grilled pineapple. I had several pieces of the pineapple.
After lunch we head over the Sweet B Cupcake Shop where we loaded up on Peanut Butter Cup, Samoa and Brass Monkey cupcakes. The treats here are top notch. There are several cupcakes stores in the area but this one has the best around. With imaginative flavors such as Mojito Madness and Root Beer Float, you are tempted to try them all. They even one a ‘people’s choice award’ for their Good Morning cupcake.
After stuffing ourselves, we are ready for some shopping. One of my favorite shops is Mix It Up, a home decor and gardening shop. They receive new and exciting things each day. I loved the giant handblown glass vases and the collection of tea towels. The next stop was Gallery Northwest. I purchased feather earrings for my mom, sister-in-law and best friend. I also bought two for myself, both peacock. You can contact the artist and describe the colors of feathers you want and she can custom make them for you. Don’t worry they are all naturally shed feathers. No birds were harmed in the making of the jewelry.
The next stop was the toy shop, Figpickels. It is filled with old fashioned wooden toys as well as modern games. The focus is on hands-on non-electric toys and there are display versions of all the toys so you can play with them before you buy. The bathroom even has a glow in the dark galaxy on the ceiling.
The last store was Coeur d’Alene chocolates for some boxes of handmade chocolates filled with buttercream. Habanero caramels, gingerbread truffles and dark chocolate huckleberry truffles are fantastic. We had some free samples and left with a nice bag of chocolates. Some for gifts and some for us for later.
At the end of the day, it was time to replenish our energy and we were off to Beverly’s, a five star restaurant. Oysters and bison carpaccio are a couple of the amazing appetizers. I am a fan of buffalo but the way Beverly’s makes it is over the top. King Salmon Nicoise and Asian Muscovy Duck made with five spices served with assorted gingers were our entree choices for the evening.
Every time I visit Coeur d’ Alene, I visit these shops and fill my belly with delicious goodies at these wonderful restaurants.
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