Good Restaurants/hotels on discovery this week in Boise??? (rentals, good hotels)

[LVGAZ]

Hello Idaho
well we are finally are on our way from Az to see you - where are the best restaurants (not expensive - we like trendy, cafes styles, sidewalk cafes) in Boise? where is a great area to take a couple of teens to see the city? CAn we fish on the river? ride the river?
Any good hotels in downtown Boise that we can walk all over the city from?
Thanks for all your help and when we get back all of you looking to find out info on Boise we will have it for you. We want to move there as soon as possible.. so this is the discovery trip

[Syringaloid]

Downtown is full of sidewalk cafe's, and is probably one of the most active restaurant scenes in the intermountain region. Some are expensive, some more affordable so it just depends on what kind of food you are interested in.
Many of the restaurants have menus posted near their entrances.
Hyde Park near downtown also has some great restaurants/sidewalk dining.
One thing you will notice is downtown Boise is not big on the chains, but is full of what has been called boutique restaurants=more intimate and local and organic!
The river is ready for floating and you can spot people fishing for steelhead and trout right through downtown. The Boise River comes straight out of the mountains and is clear and cold and clean. There is a city/county ran park called Barber Park which is in East Boise and they have tube and raft rentals and there is a city bus that runs from a park downtown to the put in point for the river. Check out these websites for more info:Boise Convention and Visitors Bureau, Downtown Boise Association - Welcome to Downtown Boise!.
Floating the river is one of Boise's must do's and one of the most popular activities in the summer.

As far as hotels in the downtown area that you can walk from, try the Hampton Inn at BODO on Capitol Boulevard, there is Hotel 43, The Grove Plaza Hotel, and several others that the website I provided will list.

If you are in Boise on a Saturday be sure to check out the Saturday/Farmers Market downtown on 8th Streets. There are over 100 booths of organic veggies, fruits (the Boise area is a breadbasket in the mountains), wines, art booths, and performing artists too. The market in Boise is one of the largest organic markets in the Western USA and is a must do on a Saturday.


Have fun.

[deem]

thank you so much for the information about Boise - the people in Idaho seem to be so friendly - and refreshing thanks again

[Benchdweller]

Just got back tonight from spending a week in Boise. My wife and I ate at the typical restaurants, outback, olive garden, etc. but, for a real good breakfast go to the Trolly House on Warmsprings. Very good with large portions.
Joe

[deem]

We just returned also and it was great - we stayed at the Hampton Inn in the BODO area and ate at all the small restaurants and cafes - Prontos in BODO is incredible - fresh salads and pizza - 4 of us ate for less than 35.00
We also ate in Hyde Park and again so reasonable - one thing about the Boise people they appreciate fresh, good food and enjoy socializing - we did not see a lot of chain restaurants and it could be we were not looking for them - We also ate at a great place across from Renditions FUrniture store on the corner of main and 13th - I believe it was called Tommy's??? - had lunch - the waitress Stan - was so informative about the city and Idaho itself - we planned some of our trip around what she told us -
Great city, great people, great food.

[Jim Paulson, CRS, GRI]

I have lived all around the world and when it was time to start my family, I narrowed my search to the lifestyle provided in the Pacific Northwest. Portland is nice but was too Grungy for me. Seattle is great but too crowded and too expensive (not a large fan of rain either). Boise is perfect!

The town is large enough that there is plenty to do and so that you don't feel like the whole town knows what your are up to; however it is still small enought that the people are friendly.

With the Boise River running through town there are great family orientated parks that you can still feel safe in. I have no reservations about catching and actually eating the fish caught in the river downtown!

I can be snow skiing till 10pm at night from Thanksgiving till April 15th half an hour from downtown or camping and hunting within half an hour as well.

Housing is still fairly affordable. <BUSINESS SOLICITATION REMOVED>