Restaurants in Boise

It was 1978. A college dropout and a failed medical-school applicant had just brought together their combined life savings to rent an old gas station. Their plan was to resurrect the empty station and open their own restaurant. Their specialty: ice cream. So begins the story of legendary entrepreneurs Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who are better known across the globe as Ben & Jerry. Their small, old-fashioned ice-cream parlor eventually became a Burlington, Vermont favorite, and before long, shops popped up all over the U.S. and in 25 other countries. Their brand easily attracted customers––homemade ice cream churned from wholesome, natural ingredients and blended into creative flavors. Some of their popular scoops include Cherry Garcia, Chunky Monkey, and Coffee Caramel Buzz.

Since infusing their first rich and creamy batches of ice cream with natural chunks of fruit, nuts, candies, and cookies, Ben and Jerry have also operated with a commitment to improve the quality of life locally, nationally, and internationally. They practice sustainable food production and business practices that respect the earth and environment. Ben & Jerry’s cartons are made from FSC-certified paper, which comes from forests that are managed for the protection of wildlife, and waste from Ben & Jerry’s plants generates energy to power farms. The company works tirelessly to reduce its carbon emissions; it strongly encourages customers to eat their ice cream in the darkest dark.

There are many potential explanations for the popularity of Big Juds’ specialty burgers. It could be their inventive combinations of toppings such as green chili peppers, blue cheese, and onion rings. Or maybe it could be their gargantuan size. Adam Richman of the Travel Channel’s Man v. Food hit the nail on the head when he described the Double Big Jud burger as "so huge, it has its own gravitational pull." Adam’s rendition of the plate-sized, two-patty burger kept his frightened table from fleeing the scene with an anchor of bacon, mushrooms, and swiss and blue-cheese toppings. Today, the Man Versus Food burger stands in the menu as a testament to his courage to eat the entire thing himself.

Those who balk at the prospect of conquering a Big Jud burger alone can split a party-size combo with friends, or simply request one of the menu’s 12 smaller burgers. Though they owe their reputation to their beefy meals, Big Juds’ chefs also cook chicken sandwiches and famously gargantuan fresh-cut fries, which Boise Weekly deemed "potato-based Lincoln Logs." For dessert, ice cream, milkshakes, and malts complete the restaurant’s old-fashioned-diner vibe.

Within a shingled Hyde Park cottage, an original soda fountain from the 1930s—complete with silver faucets and a mirror-inlaid bar—has dispensed handmade ice cream since 1984. Today, Goody's Soda Fountain & Candy Stores models its housemade cones after krumkake—Scandinavian waffle cookies—and fills them with rotating flavors of ice cream churned in small batches every day. Cold meets hot with toppings such as housemade hot fudge and bittersweet, which contains twice as much chocolate as traditional hot fudge. Goody's also pulls shots of espresso from a coffee bar and fills glass jars with more than 50 flavors of Jelly Belly jellybeans. The shop celebrates holidays with seasonal treats such as Valentine's Day chocolate assortments, chocolate bunnies for Easter, and portable voting-booth snacks for Election Day.

On hand to help navigate the ever-changing selection is a “helpful staff . . . as sweet as the candy,” according to Boise Weekly. Guests slurp up their sweets amid the chocolate-brown and cream-white antique decor or, in the summer, on a garden patio hedged in by flower boxes.

An episode of Seinfeld once poked fun at the concept of “double-dipping” a chip, adamantly comparing the unforgiveable act to “putting your whole mouth right in the dip!” Though LunchBox (A Waxing Salon) doesn’t serve party snacks, when it comes to waxing, the spa’s waxologists steadfastly adhere to the “no double-dipping” rule. After all, it is their mission to provide a comfortable, safe, and hygienic experience, and double-dipping tools into a clean vat of wax only spreads germs.

Their commitment to hygiene also includes the use of disposable table and body covers, and when it comes to keeping clients comfortable, the staff has a few more tricks up their sleeves. First, they employ speed waxing, a method that cuts time on the table nearly in half. Second, they use wax infused with azulene—an agent of chamomile—that has anti-inflammatory properties that make it possible for even those with sensitive skin to undergo facial or body waxing with minimal irritation. The staff can also add a little frill to freshly smoothed and sculpted areas with glitzy add-ons such as glitter tattoos and eyebrow tinting.

Cazba Mediterranean Restaurant's chefs draw from an international repertoire of recipes from Mediterranean-inspired cuisine with dishes hailing from Greece, Egypt, and Lebanon. These culinary expatriates range from plates such as flame-broiled shish kebabs and housemade hummus to entrees from the shores of Japan and India. Inside the kitchen, the chefs carve slices of roasting gyros and deep-fry falafel for a crispy exterior. They also glaze fish with honey-ginger teriyaki sauce and season chicken with Cajun spices. From this kitchen, the servers also transport specialties such as dolmades—grape leaves stuffed with lamb, beef, and rice—and spanakopita, a spinach pie of phyllo dough and feta cheese. The outdoor patio can mimic the pleasant air of the Mediterranean during warmer months and another of the Mediterranean's best treats—the Running of the Bulls—whenever Michael Jordan feels like going for a jog on a restaurant's outdoor patio.

The chefs at The Green Chile want to re-create southwestern Tex-Mex cuisine, even if that means ordering shipments of New Mexico’s signature hatch chilis directly from the source. Although these mild or spicy green peppers appear out of place in Boise, they perfectly complement the restaurant’s burritos, quesadillas, and Southwestern-inspired burgers, adding a distinctive dose of regional flavor to dishes. Even without the chilis, the menu’s recipes continue to draw inspiration from the Southwest. A hearty red chili with diced onions and sour cream takes its cues from Texan cuisine, and the Arizona burrito’s flour tortillas are reminiscent of the state’s acres upon acres of tortilla-filled cacti.