Thinking of visiting Boise? By the end of this blog I’m sure you will! Our trip to Boise was a healthy (if you can say that) mix of food, adventure and outdoor activities. We centered our trip around the Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic. This was our first time inside of a hot air balloon and it was a magical experience we highly recommend! If flying high is not your thing, you can still admire from the ground! Additionally, there are so many beautiful parks including the Boise Greenbelt, Ridge to Rivers Trail System and hiking Table Rock. We only were able to get a taste of some of these but excited to re-visit soon to check out some more
Speaking of tasting, Boise’s food scene is on point! What a wonderful place to be with friendly service, a huge sense of community, and a genuine desire to push to localizing the cuisine. After all, if you have great farming in the area, why not use it! I was anticipating great food and that is exactly what we got! I have listed the restaurants we visited below for your reference! Let me know what your favorite is!
This might be one of my favorite spots of all time for so many reasons. First you walk in and are immediately transported to the 50s. The colors in there are bright pink and light blues that are basically my color anthem (have you seen my brand logo?). Now let’s talk about the food! As far as I tasted, this place has the best fry sauce in town! (We actually took home a very un-normal sized container of it to feast on back in our hotel). The fry sauce wasn’t the only standout we had there. Check out their ice cream potato (which I found out when I got there) is actually made up of only ice cream. I’m not going to lie, I thought it was actually potatoes going into it J We also loved the Daddy O burger and their finger steaks (which they are also famous for)
What to order:
Finger steaks
Fries with extra fry sauce
Daddy O
Ice cream potato
Lovely open clean space with great pizza, hearty healthy apps and cocktails. Our waitress was wonderful and I really enjoyed sitting on the patio. While I really loved the pizza, the apps stood out the most.
What to order:
Mushroom toast
Market salad (while I assume it will be different when you go I’m sure it will be just as great)
Brussel sprouts
Crispy potatoes
Pizza
Got a great Manhattan cocktail as well which is always my drink of choice.
Big is definitely the theme here! My latte and Cinnamon Roll were the size of my head! Going into it I had a good sense of the portion sizes and definitely recommend sharing 2 plates and a pastry for two (but of course we went a little overboard). The place is decorated with vintage signs and has a homey feel to it. A few important things to note is you order your meal at the register and then they bring it to your table. However this place gets packed so get there early. By 9am the line was already quite long but we got there about 8am. While you order you can take a look at their pastry case in the front that is filled with scones, muffins and cookies.
What to order:
Cinnamon Roll
cheddar bacon scone
biscuits and gravy
loaded potatoes
Gelato and beer pairings is something I hadn’t seen before and I was really impressed with this spot. It was fun seeing how the two complimented each other. They also have vegan flavors that are coconut based and so delicious.
What to order:
I really loved the strawberry shortcake
Peanut butter no bake cough dough p
Vegan coconut paired with coconut ale
They rotate the menu quite often so I would suggest giving the menu a good look and the staff was super helpful so don’t hesitate to ask for advice and of course- free samples J
Stella’s Ice Cream – Nampa
This bright white ice cream shop is super inviting. They have your typical scoops but then offer a number of unique ice cream sandwiches. You can choose between a donut, an over-sized oreo cookie, and even a brownie. Additionally, they offer a waffle taco shell which is what I ended up going with! I chose watermelon, cupcake, and blueberry raspberry as my flavors. Definitely the perfect sweet treat.
What to order:
Let your inner kid shine but 3 scoops go in the waffle taco so can’t go wrong with that
We ended the night at Reyes Mezcaleria. This spot was stunning and I was immediately transported to Mexico. I enjoyed everything from their guac to the churros for dessert.
Having traveled full time for almost 3 years at the time of this blog going live and seeing my fair share of properties, I would def have to say that these rooms, service and experience was top notch. So many great places to go were walking distance and they had plenty of Cruiser bikes if you wanted to head up to the mountains or go find a park to visit. Our room was decorated with a western feel and had beautiful views of the foothils. I loved sitting outside on our terrace drinking coffee in the morning and enjoying room service. Their gym had a good variety of machines/weights and everything was well kept and neat. It’s the little things that make a difference and I like that they offer a beer or wine upon check in and always had complimentary snacks and non-alcoholic beverages available.
Our Accommodations:
After all the fun, we were finally ready to head to our hotel. We checked into the JW Marriott Orlando. Whats interesting about this hotel is it connected to the Ritz-Carlton Orlando and they share different itinerary and experiences. The hotel is connected so you don’t have to go outside to go from one hotel to the other. They also share the spa and gym (which we loved as well). This was easily one of the top hotel gyms we’ve ever been to. I was thinking of even doing some video footage of the gym while there so let me know if that’s something you guys would be interested in seeing more of on my channels in the comments below… The properties also have 11 dining options with beautiful pools and a golf course. We were lucky to experience one of their dining options for dinner that night at Highball and Harvest.
When you visit Boise, I recommend taking a short 35-40 min drive over to Nampa where we experienced an awesome cocktail lounge and fun ice cream shop.
This speakeasy joint can be found inside the Historic Mansonic Lodge in Nampa. You enter through the Janitors Closet door which makes for a unique experience. As you enter the room it has a dark sexy feel to it. They believe in creating craft cocktails and the staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and ready to make the perfect drink based what you want. The owner Nick gave us a sampling of a few heavy rye and whiskey cocktails and I enjoyed them all! Tell them Jessica from CheatDayEats sent you their way
What to order:
Let the bartender craft something unique up for you! Seriously, they have so many great ideas and will come up with exactly what you’re looking for
This dining experience was one of my favorites of the trip. I had the most elegant chicken and waffles I ever had and to top it off the sommelier there was exceptional and served us an array of wines and cocktails that paired so well with each course. Last but NEVER least was dessert and what an experience that was!A toothpaste lookin’ tube of Nutella to pour on amazing puffy donut holes. Whether you’re staying overnight on the property or not, I highly recommend this spot!
This restaurant prides itself on using local ingredients from farmers and local artisans. On the beer menu, you can find a mile marker to where your beer is coming from. They are investing themselves in making a difference by utilizing their own worm farm to eliminate food waste and have an energy system set up to conserve energy and reuse it where they can. While we only ate at Bittercreek Alehouse, the two restaurants on either side of it are owned by the same group so I imagine you can get a great meal at any of these spots. I really enjoyed our experience here.
What to order:
Buffalo cheese curds
Poutine
Mac and cheese with bacon
Lava Lakes lamb burger
Polenta fries
Our trip to Boise was one of our most memorable yet. I truly felt like the community is so welcoming and it’s no surprise it is getting recognition on being a great place to move and travel to! Everyone was so genuinely nice and very curious of us as we sort of stood out at times with our efforts to take photos. A lil standing on a chair here or a posing on a wall there…lol…but not like some places you go where you might get a death stare from people for doing something that seems confusing to them. I am so genuinely excited to share my experiences in Idaho with you all and hope to return soon to explore more of Idaho! Let me know your travel plans in the comments on Instagram and maybe I’ll see ya there on my next trip! J