25 Hours in Boise

It's a happening place filled with some architecture that is quite old, think rustic frontier, and some that is quite new, think boring and boxy (though this building caught my eye), with enough traffic, cool bars, and culture to feel like a real city.

Thursday

7:17 pm

Blistered Shishito Peppers and possibly the best Housemade Bar Mix ever mixed at the Highlander Bar atop the Hotel Renegade. A superb Flackhattan, with beautiful 8th-floor views of downtown and the surrounding mountains from a very comfortable bar. Jeff, our barkeep, recommended further refreshment and sustenance at Tiner's Alley in the Avery Hotel, so . . .

View from the Highlander Bar overlooking the Author's eponymous Flackhattan

8:21 pm

After a short walk, we arrived eager to "warm up with a game of pool by the fireplace and enjoy expertly crafted cocktails and a menu of elevated English pub favorites," only to be informed that Tiner's Alley was closed due to a private party.

Wouldn't it be great when checking the hours of operation, a potential customer could determine if a bar was actually open, so they wouldn't waste their time walking all the way over to the place only to find their hopes dashed by some stoner doorman informing them that it's closed due to a private event? Oh, yeah, there is . . . it's called the internet.

Instead, we headed over to the Owyee Tavern, drawn mainly by the fact that we had just walked past, and I wanted to know its pronunciation.

A Negroni, BERO Edge Hill Hazy IPA, Spicy Ahi Tuna Tacos, and Ahi Poke Salad were ordered. The tacos were contained in a fried triangular wonton, enabling easy handling. Though it unfortunately also came with that bland "guacamayo" and without hot sauce. The poke salad could have also used some zip and came in a perfectly cylindrical tower, which didn't feel so much like eating a dish of diced raw fish tossed in sauce, and more like a playing game of Jenga. A game that Mrs. AAR subsequently lost.

Ahi Poke Salad (before & after)

The bartender informed us that it is pronounced “o-why-ee,” to which a guy on a barstool over there added, "you know, like the mountain range."

9:32 pm

Press & Pony for an after-dinner drink. As soon as I parted the red velvet curtains to enter, I knew I was in for something special: a perfectly low-lit saloon right out of the Old West serving superb cocktails, with walls covered in nostalgia and deer heads.

The menu listed two Old Fashioneds, a traditional marketed as “The Best Old Fashioned Around” and the Idaho Fashioned. I went with the latter as I figured I might never be in the Gem State again. Both came with Koenig Straight Rye, but mine came with sugar beet syrup, which made everything a little too sweet.

The bartender mentioned that the place was voted the second-best gay bar in Boise, even though there is only one gay bar in the town, and this place isn't it. I tried to chat with him about the German digestif Underberg and Aquavit that were mentioned on the menu, but he focused all his attention on some guy two barstools down, which made me think the voters might be on to something.

There was a drink on the menu called "Hey Now,” which reminded me of an old friend. It looked interesting as it included a liquor called Crème de Pamplemousse, which I am thinking can’t be a real thing.

10:09 pm

Walked around downtown Boise, focusing on the Idaho State Capitol Building. Like most state capitols, it is a little less white and a little more ornate version of the U.S. Capitol. It adheres to the Lincoln Statute, which is a federal law that requires a statue of Abraham Lincoln to be located on the grounds of every Capitol building built after 1865. I think a subsection requires that the pedestal contain a snippet from his first inaugural, second inaugural,¹ and Gettysburg Address.

There was also a plaque mentioning how Idaho is connected to the great Emancipator by its first governor declining an invitation to accompany Lincoln to Ford’s Theater the night Lincoln was assassinated, which, if you ask me, is something that shouldn't be necessarily memorialized.

10:31 pm

I then swung by the Boise River via the Ninth Street Bridge for some fine and verdant views of the Boise River. Along the way, I passed a stormwater run-off garden, the Center for Human Rights, the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial, and a mural of Biggie. For a moment, I thought I had entered a wormhole to the capital of California. But then I remembered that every city of a certain size (>235,684) hews a little to one side of the political spectrum.

Friday

9:17 am

Our lodgings offered a free breakfast, which, of course, could not be declined. Fresh OJ, an Americano, and a roasted veggie frittata that, although heated via microwave, tasted pretty good.

10:30 am

Neckar for a second Americano and a biscotti that was just a little too moist, though give it a few more days in the biscotti jar and it will be just right.

11:51 am

Fully caffeinated, I made my way to the Idaho State Museum ($10) for the smorgasbord that is Idaho: timber, silver mining, Mormons, Lewis & Clark, fishing, and the River of No Return. A fair amount of money was recently spent to tell this story. It’s a maze of displays, and therefore, while I'm thankful to have escaped, I’m not sure if I saw it all. Downstairs is a version of the typical regional museum that contains various well-displayed odds and ends: a steno machine, old ophthalmology equipment, and the integrated keyboard/65 Mustang front end that was played by Paul Revere of the eponymous Raiders.

1:35 pm

The largest concentration of Basques in the U.S. is located in Boise, so I decided to take in a little of its culture. I could have done it via the nearby Basque Museum, but instead, a la Tony Bourdain, decided that I would drink and eat it. When I passed through Boise the week prior, I had some tasty lamb stew at Bar Gernika, so this time I thought I’d go with the best-rated Basque restaurant in Boise, the Basque Market. It was slammed, with not a single empty table to be had and no bar. So I went next door to Leku Ona, which was nearly empty. It gave me cause for concern, but then again, it had a bar.

According to my bartender, Justin B., the most Basque item on the menu was Red Bean Stew. Now, while it didn't sound that Basque to me, it sounded more so than the Crispy Fish Sandwich.

I went with it and it was phenomenal. A veritable feast of Zursun Beans, Ansots chorizo, pork ribs, panceta [sic], and a cabbage wedge, all for $18, more than enough for two. The best meal I’ve had since Mrs. AAR’s St. Paddy's Day corned beef and cabbage.

2:45 pm

What better way to experience the outdoor wonder that is Idaho, without leaving the City of Trees, than to tour the World Center for Birds of Prey ($14). It’s run by the Peregrine Fund, which did seminal work in determining that DDT was endangering the eponymous species and then led recovery efforts. As my admission fee would play a key role in continuing to fund this initiative, I left feeling I had done my part.

There is a daily 11 am, 1 pm & 3 pm bird of prey exhibition. On my visit, Whispers, a barred owl,² was featured. I also learned some great bird of prey trivia: The peregrine falcon is the fastest animal on the planet at 246 mph in a dive.

4:03 pm

You know that old post office building in your town, the one that has been converted into a cool restaurant, condominium, or hotel? Well, in Boise, the one on 750 W. Bannock St. is still a post office. We stopped by to mail some parcels and see how it was holding up.

7:16 pm

Dinner at the Modern Bar. Its wine list appears to have been created specifically to contain as many unpronounceable wines as possible. I could have played it safe with the Greenwing Cabernet Sauvignon, but decided to embrace the concept and go with the Cannonau di Sardegna Riserva. A "fresh and elegant" red grenache, the perfect accompaniment to Crispy Cauliflower (charred babaganoush, pepperoncini, pistachio dukkah) and Roasted Brussels Sprouts (preserved lemon, house cured bacon, fresno pepper aioli, 62 degree egg).

8:16 pm

In reply to my question about where restaurant staff goes after work, the bartender cautiously shared the name Pengilly's Saloon. So I decided to . . . call it a night and watch a rather interesting movie on TCM called Till the End of Time, which is either a sign of wisdom or impending dotage.

Lodgings

The NY Times "36 Hours in Boise" steered me to the Modern Hotel ($175/night tax inc.), and they didn’t steer me wrong. Like my lodgings in Pompano Beach, this place used to be a motor lodge, which was subsequently upgraded, in this case into a cool hip hotel featuring a central downtown location and replacing the pool with a fine restaurant (see above).

Note: A great day trip for any real American would be to the Evel Knievel Snake River Canyon Jump Site, where you could (like me) walk in the footsteps of the greatest athlete who ever lived.

Endnotes: I wanted to provide some very specific details that, while vaguely interesting, did not contribute to the overall narrative. Perhaps just wait until the end to enjoy.

¹ Lincoln’s second inaugural is the one that ends with “With malice toward none, with charity for all . . . “ Now isn’t that a refreshingly Christian thought?

² That is not a typo, as Whispers is a barred owl (Strix varia) and not a barn owl (Tyto furcata). Either way, I also learned that owls are not particularly smarter or wiser than other birds.