Idaho Restaurants

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.

The aroma of freshly baked bread fills Souper Salad, and a rotating buffet nourishes diners with wholesome fare such as handcrafted soups and an expansive salad bar. Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and sugar-free labels guide eaters of every ilk as they peruse deli favorites, including Tuna Skroodle pasta salad brimming with rotini noodles. Salads are created with more than 30 toppings, from zucchini to hot-and-spicy peanuts. Ladles fill bowls with different varieties of soup every day, including broccoli-cheese soup seasoned with white pepper. After dinner or before it even begins, a dessert buffet sates sweet cravings with gingerbread rolls, and oreo crumbles, caramel, and other toppings to cap soft-serve ice cream.

Mobilizing more than 25 years of catering experience, Rachel Hurn— owner of Seasons Bistro, Wine Bar & Catering—blends a Cajun-influenced eatery with a door-to-door catering service that earned a Bride's Choice Award from WeddingWire in 2010. Within the bistro, paninis and salads incorporate flashes of Louisianan flair, such as spiced shrimp, remoulade sauces, and improvised jazz steps. As diners nab forkfuls of Cajun shrimp buerre blanc, occasional live music wends its way through the dining room, complementing the complex notes of an extensive range of hand-selected wines. Alternatively, multicourse catered meals add a splash of elegance to both corporate and private events with formal place settings and French- and Italian-themed menus.

The menu at Bonsai Bistro and Sushi Bar draws on culinary traditions from a broad swath of East Asia, but many of its flavors get their start closer to home. Familiar recipes from Japan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Korea get a regional twist as chefs incorporate organic produce, sustainably sourced ingredients, and locally made tofu into each dish. This widens the scope of the already expansive menu to include such nontraditional items as sushi rolls with heirloom tomato or garlic-citrus sauce. To accommodate diets or personal tastes, the chefs can tailor the spice of virtually any entree, and they can modify many dishes to be vegan-friendly, vegetarian, or gluten-free.

In contrast to the eclectic menu, the restaurant's dining area embraces a spare-and-simple vibe. Concave windows overlook the waters of Lake Coeur d'Alene, and a creek-like indoor koi pond brings the natural world even closer as it wends between wooden tables and dawdling rays of sunshine.

When most little boys were hoping to unwrap G.I. Joes or dirt bikes on Christmas morning, Michael DePasquale had his fingers crossed for a Suzy Homemaker oven. From this iconoclastic start, Michael advanced from his toy oven to a job as a dishwasher, then prep cook, then lead cook—and then honed his developing skills at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. In his spare time, he adopted a loyal pet rhode island red chicken and taught it to chase frisbees. After graduating, he honed his craft as head and executive chef at several different restaurants before launching his own eatery.

Fifteen years later, Michael is still cracking eggs and sizzling sausage for the breakfast dishes his eatery serves all day long. Omelets—which convert to scramblers upon request—can be packed with fresh jalapeños, bacon, and sour cream. For sweeter creations, he slathers honey butter onto pancakes, as well as custard-style sourdough french toast. At midday, hand-pressed burgers enter the lists and don cloaks of spicy habanero or barbecue sauce. Diners can lounge on an outdoor patio on summery afternoons, and on colder evenings, they can savor chicken marsala and roasted tri-tip steak amid the dining room’s wood-paneled walls.

Located in the Davenport district, in the same refurbished brick building as the Montvale Hotel, Scratch Restaurant & Lounge blends contemporary cooking with a refined atmosphere of white tablecloths and black decor. Fresh aromas waft out of the open kitchen, where, true to the restaurant's name, chefs craft inventive dishes entirely from scratch. They draw on caches of seasonal ingredients such as herbs that only grow in a groundhog's shadow in February. Their USDA prime Angus steaks soak up flavors of smoked bacon and rosemary compound butter, while flaky halibut filets grill over smokey cedar planks.

Within the dining room, servers draw Washington and California wines from the rack that lines one exposed-brick wall. To further compliment the fresh fare, bartenders can shake or stir 32 specialty martinis.