Many Boise-area families in the early to mid-1900s bought their produce from Garden City—a hub for Chinese immigrants whose gardens gave the municipality its name. Learn their stories in our Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month feature.

If you don’t like beer, the owners of Barbarian Brewing think they can change your mind.

While Barbarian specializes in sours, co-owner Bre Hovley assures that everyone can find something to like out of their diverse beer lineup, which has included 300 different varieties over the years. Enthusiasts can even sign up for a brewery membership that includes access to special barrel-aged beers released quarterly, along with a discount in their Boise and Garden City taprooms.

Looking to enjoy some great tunes with your great bites? These Boise-area spots are the place to be this summer.

On a sunny evening after a week of April snow, Groundwork Brewery’s outdoor patio was packed nearly shoulder to shoulder on a Wednesday night in Lewiston. While local musician Ben Wagner performed on a small stage crafted from a shipping container, customers of all ages enjoyed drinks and food.

“Music nights are my favorite,” said Amanda Rigney, co-owner and manager of Groundwork. “The environment is fun, the music is fun and it’s a good way to make people happy. That’s pretty easy with pizza and beer.”

When it opened, Radio Brewing Company was the first brewery in the town of Kellogg—and five years later, it remains the only one. Owners Ashley and Fred Mehaffie bring years of brewing experience to Idaho’s Silver Valley, and they’re planning to use those skills to expand. . The Mehaffies recently purchased the former Kellogg City Hall, Library and Firehall building that is next to their current taphouse.

When Daniel Love and his Mother Earth Brewing Company business partners decided to expand out of California six years ago, Idaho offered everything they were looking for. 

They wanted to open shop in Boise because the city is where everything was happening, Love said. In December, their dream of a downtown Boise tasting room came to fruition.

Davis and Hailee Gove, owners of Jim Dandy Brewing in Pocatello, want to celebrate the “barley belt” of the Snake River Plains. 

The Goves originally considered opening a full restaurant, but decided to put 100% of their effort into beer production, focusing on the use of fresh local hops and barley and the development of their brewing skills.

Whether you’ve lived in Coeur d’Alene for decades or are visiting for the first time, this noteworthy group of five must-try restaurants can help you answer the question, "Where should we go to dinner?" 

Boise has plenty of great places to eat, whether you have celiac disease or are gluten intolerant, but a few stand out from the crowd. The places mentioned here offer clear labeling that takes the guesswork out of reading a menu (a big relief to celiacs), and they don’t sacrifice taste or quality when it comes to their gluten-free offerings.

Shortly after Russia began its horrific, internationally condemned invasion of Ukraine, Boise’s Mad Swede Brewing Company heard about the resistance efforts of Ukrainian brewery Pravda Brewing, who are using their equipment to manufacture molotov cocktails and have asked brewers around the world to “brew for Ukraine.”

Now in its 10th year, Boise’s annual Treefort Music Fest — like a 10-year-old kid … or, uh, a tree — is continuing its growth spurt by featuring more than 500 artists for the first time. But with bigger size comes bigger appetites.

When you think of climate change, you might first imagine the atmosphere. But the speakers at the 2022 Climate Summit in Boise want humanity to look to the ground.

The keynote speaker, Gabe Brown, is a North Dakota farmer and rancher who has transformed his land with regenerative agriculture practices, such as no-till farming, integrated grazing, crop diversity and growing cover crops.

In the heart of a once booming North Idaho mining community, customers are striking it rich once again, not with silver, lead and zinc, but with homemade pies.

Since opening Dec. 20, Mae’s Market in Smelterville is gaining a reputation as a place to buy delicious, homemade food items. One in particular is gaining popularity: the pear pie.

Three Idaho chefs and a Boise baker are semifinalists for the 2022 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards, the James Beard Foundation announced in a press release Feb. 23.

The old adage that word of mouth is better than advertising certainly holds true for The Pie Safe Bakery & Kitchen in Deary, a town of about 500 people east of Moscow. Owners John and Grace French have never taken out a paid ad to promote their bakery and restaurant, yet people from all over North Idaho and the Palouse find their way there.

It must be the pie that draws them in.

Eugene Settle was 5 years old when he and his family moved from Oklahoma to the Pacific Northwest in 1899. His father, who grew up in Mississippi and was a descendent of enslaved people, had visions of hunting, farming and settling a homestead of his own. 

Learn the Settle family story and more in our Black History Month feature.

After spending most of January planning, preparing and rehearsing for the Valentine’s special, Lodgepole will host around 50 couples for the occasion, highlighting food made with local and regional ingredients.

Himalayan Flavor is the creation of Nepalese native Roshan Kumar, who came to Idaho to study finance and accounting at Idaho State University. After he graduated in 2016, Kumar opened the Himalayan Grocery and Smoke Shop near ISU. His next ambition was to open a restaurant.

In Idaho, cottage baking laws allow entrepreneurial home bakers to sell goods made in their own kitchens directly to consumers, as long as they adhere to a few basic guidelines. Whether as a part-time side gig for a little extra cash or as a full-time business, with a little finesse and some word-of-mouth marketing, bakers like Rizzuto often find cottage baking pays off quite sweetly.