Boise is one of my favorite cities that I have traveled to in the United States. It isn't too big, but still has a lot to do, eat, and explore. It is the perfect weekend getaway from Bozeman, which is exactly what I did this last weekend. I had a total of 37 hours in the city, and while it wasn't long enough to explore everything Boise has to offer, it was enough time to go to the main places I was hoping to. I actually went to Boise to go to a Bert Kreisher show (if you don't know who that is, look him up. He's hilarious), but I also wanted to walk around a bit as well.
The drive down itself took us about 7 hours. We took a more scenic route from Bozeman to Whitehall, and then down through Twin Bridges, Dubois, Arco (where we stopped for lunch at Pickle's Place), Craters of the Moon National Monument and Reserve, and then eventually hit Mountain Home before getting on the interstate to Boise. The drive was beautiful and I am glad we took this route as I had never been this way before. When we made it into Boise, we stopped at Tin Roof Tacos for dinner before heading to our AirBnB for the night to relax and hang out for the rest of the night. We were able to order ahead for our tacos, which is what I would recommend as they had a pretty good line when we showed up. The tacos were delicious and I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a good taco in Boise.
Our AirBnB was a super cute apartment in a historic, 110 year old building in West Downtown Boise, which was perfect as we were able to walk downtown in less than half-an-hour. It also included a kitchen and living area space where we were able to hang out and watch TV while we ate and relaxed.
The following morning we got a late start, around 10:30am. We attempted to hit a couple of different breakfast places in Boise before we gave up and went to Meridian, where the wait was still around an hour before they would be able to sit us. We eventually gave up and hit this cute coffee shop in Meridian called The Collector's Outpost, which is a comic book shop and coffee shop combined into one.
While we waited for our coffees, we wandered around the store, looking at all of their comics and collectable items that have been collected by the store. Pro tip: there is a special menu with more coffee creations on it than what is on their board. I had the Cobblepott, which is a white chocolate/dark chocolate blend with vanilla. It was delicious and exactly what I needed to wake myself up for the day.
After we got our coffee at the Collector's Outpost, we ran to Cabella's for a bit and then hit up Chick-Fil-A for lunch before heading back to the AirBnB for a quick nap/reading session before heading downtown at around 5pm.
Our first stop downtown was Freak Alley, the largest outdoor gallery in the northwest. I hadn't been in a couple of years, so I got to see some new additions to the gallery this trip. We wandered around and took pictures of the artwork before heading off to a local bar for a quick margarita before dinner.
For dinner we went to Boise Fry Company, which is the part of the trip I was most excited about, ngl. At Boise Fry Company you get to choose the type of potato and cut of the fries. We had their BFC Original burger on the side of our fry order as well as some beer on tap. While the burger was delicious, the fries stole the show in the long-run. On top of this, Boise Fry Company also has a myriad of sauces to choose from as well as seasonings. The oddest sauce that we tried was definitely their blueberry ketchup.
By the time we finished eating, it had begun to pour outside, so we made a run for it to The STIL Ice Cream Company where we had their ice cream and beer pairing. The best part? They have dairy-free ice cream for those of us that are lactose-intolerant! A single scoop was the perfect amount after our large dinner at Boise Fry Company. The Stil was hopping when we were there with people there for their prom night, 21st birthday, and ice cream fanatics alike. If you are a fan of beer on-tap and ice cream, make sure you make a stop to the STIL for a ice cream and beer flight! We didn't have time to do a full flight, but if you do, make sure to make a meal of it! We attempted to wait for the rain to die down before we headed to the Morrison Center for the comedy show, but we ended up getting an Uber
because it was not letting up.
The show was hilarious and ended around midnight, so we Ubered back to our AirBnB and passed out for the night.
The next morning we headed out of Boise, but not before stopping at Guru Donuts for donuts to-go as well as some coffee. We ordered our donuts ahead of time online, and then swung in to grab them, which I am glad we did because there was quite a line when we got there, which makes sense to me after trying the donuts that we bought. All of their donuts are made from scratch every morning and their ingredients are also sourced locally, which, in my opinion, makes them taste even better.
We ordered some of their Original Glaze, maple bars, chocolate sea salt, old fashioned, and Alice in Wonderland donuts for our trip home. Each one was just as good as the last and I am sad that I will have to wait until I am back in Boise to get more!
Our final stop before we officially left was to get a sit-down breakfast at Addie's, which is a cute little restaurant that we found tucked into a residential area of Boise. The food was delicious, quick, and the portions were rather large. One of the cooler things about the place was that there were a bunch of polaroid pictures of the staff together on the tables and throughout the restaurant. Not to mention, the fun artwork on the chalkboard.
Overall, my weekend in Boise was just what I needed to unwind from my day-to-day life.
TLDR Recommendations:
Food and Drink: Guru Donuts, STIL Ice Cream Company, Boise Fry Company, Addie's, The Collector's Outpost, Tin Roof Tacos
Activities: Freak Alley, the Greenbelt Trail, Walk Downtown Boise, Botanical Gardens, Boise Zoo, Catch a show at the Morrison Theater
When your parents lived in Boise we didn't do any of the things you and Dain did and seen, we were there to see our 5th grandchild (Mackenzie). Looks like you had a really nice time and thank you for sharing <3