LAU R IE PEAR M AN
JAR R ETT M ITC HELL
MAI THAI Best Thai, Best Service, Best Happy Hour... it’s a win-win-win.
SHIGE How do you make an octopus laugh? Ten tickles.
BEST LOCAL THAI
BEST LOCAL SERVICE
BEST LOCAL SUSHI
BEST LOCAL DESSERT
Mai Thai
Mai Thai
Shige Japanese Cuisine
Fork
There are plenty of Thai dining options in Boise. Almost everybody has a favorite place to grab a bowl of pad Thai or pad see ew, but one restaurant has stood above the rest: Mai Thai. Its depth of menu, killer lunch specials (the buffet deserves its own blue ribbon) and innovative cocktails earned it a few first- and second-place accolades. And Mai Thai is in it to win it. Along with new experts in the kitchen, new concepts in the bar and creative new items on the menu, Mai Thai placed a huge, custom-made, vinyl floor sticker just inside the door, reminding patrons to vote for it in the Best of Boise poll. With so much going for it, Mai Thai probably didn’t even need it. maithaigroup.com
Service can seem like a lot of talk and not a lot of walk. The best customer service isn’t simply a smile or good cheer, it’s making things right for customers when they go wrong, being prompt and accurate, and delivering all of it with grace. By that definition, Mai Thai’s stylish downtown restaurant is the home of good service, giving dining in Boise the added element of elan. maithaigroup.com
With enough of his own eateries to be considered a chain, Shige Matsuzawa knows sushi, which is why it makes sense his flagship restaurant is a repeat winner. Eating there isn’t for people on the go, though— that kind of craftsmanship takes time. Shige Express, however, is precisely the place to go when a sushi craving and a packed schedule are fighting for your attention. At Shige Express, you won’t have the standard table-all-to-yourself experience. At the downtown restaurant adjacent to two other locations in the Matsuzawa empire, customers sit shoulder-to-shoulder, all seated around the itamae—sushi chef—as he delicately wraps pieces of fish in rice and seaweed. For 22 years, Matsuzawa has pushed customers out of their Japanese cuisine comfort zones and his restaurant has dominated the Best of Boise sushi category since 2006. facebook.com/ Shige-Japanese-Cuisine
The course that comes after the entree—dessert—must be pure decadence, so let Boise Weekly sum up this year’s Best Dessert-winner, Fork, with these words: Warm Butter Cake, Gluten Free Brownie Bowl, Warm Sugar Doughnuts, Local Bread Pudding, Cloverleaf Ice Cream. boisefork.com
2nd Place: Chiang Mai 3rd Place: Pad Thai House, padthaihouseboise.com
BEST LOCAL HANGOVER FOOD The Capri Believe it or not, science has no clear understanding of what a hangover is. Dehydration? Maybe, maybe not—according to Dutch researchers with the Alcohol Hangover Research Group (yes, that’s a real thing), electrolyte levels don’t differ much between dried out hangover sufferers and those who had the presence of mind to drink plenty of water. Ethanol breakdown in the body? Nope. Hangovers are worse when the ethanol byproduct acetaldehyde is low. Low blood sugar? Tests reveal that glucose the morning after doesn’t alleviate symptoms, but makes them worse. Here’s what’s not a mystery: A big, greasy meal at The Capri can save your life post-booze up—or, at least, loosen death’s the icy grip a little.
2nd Place: Los Betos, idaholosbetos.com 3rd Place: Merritt’s Family Restaurant, merrittsscones.com 34 | SEPTEMBER 24–30, 2014 | BOISEweekly
2nd Place: Tie: Chandlers, chandlersboise.com; The Basque Market, thebasquemarket.com 3rd Place: Fork, boisefork.com
BEST LOCAL SALAD Fork There are a few theories concerning restaurants’ salad menus. A menu should cover all manner of diners, from the mildly peckish to the famished. Or, rather, salads should include off-the-wall ingredients to pique patrons’ curiosity. Conversely, a selection of salads should embrace the familiar, relying on quality ingredients to rise above the competition. Fork’s salad menu manages to embrace all these theories. The B.C.S. is a standard chopped salad with buttermilk basilpesto dressing. For the adventurous, Fork has developed Bogus Bosc, which includes Waterwheel Gardens Bosc pears, candied City Peanut Shop hazelnuts, smoked gouda and Champagne vinaigrette; and for the shaking-with-hunger fine diner, there’s the Northwest Crispy Chicken Salad, which, atop the aforementioned crispy chicken, also contains cherry tomatoes, onion, dried sweet corn, roasted red bell pepper, tortilla strips, Ballard Family cheddar cheese, barbecue sauce and ranch dressing. According to Best of Boise voters, it’s no mere theory that Fork’s salads are sublime—it’s a fact. boisefork.com
2nd Place: Superb Sushi, superbsushidowntown.com 3rd Place: Fujiyama, fujiyamaboise.com
BEST LOCAL INDIAN Madhuban
2nd Place: Bardenay Restaurant and Distillery, bardenay.com
When walking into Madhuban, one might notice the walls lined with Best of Boise awards. Our readers know what they like, and once again, they like Madhuban best. And how could they not, with a lunch buffet worth driving out to State and Glenwood for? Nine dollars buys as much Indian food as one can pile on a plate, from soft, warm naan to several kinds of curry to veggie samosas to tandoori chicken drumsticks. And then, there’s always seconds. Suck down a mango lassi, pay the bill and tuck yourself in for an afternoon nap. madhubanindiancuisine.com
3rd Place: Flatbread, flatbreadpizza.com
2nd Place: Taj Mahal of Boise, tajmahalofboise.com
2nd Place: Goody’s Soda Fountain and Candy Store, goodyssodafountain.com 3rd Place: Barbacoa, barbacoa-boise.com
BEST LOCAL SANDWICH SHOP Cobby’s Ah, the simple sandwich. Meat, cheese and veg in edible packaging: a perfect example of form and function. Its simplicity shouldn’t override its quality, though, and Cobby’s has long lived in the sammy sweet spot, where deliciousness and ease live side by side. Plus, you get free chips. Free chips, people! cobbys.com
2nd Place: Bleubird, bleubirdboise.com 3rd Place: Deli George, deligeorge.com
BEST LOCAL FOOD TRUCK Archie’s Place There’s nothing fancy about Archie’s Place, and that’s the way folks like it. With a menu straight out of a babysitter’s playbook, Boise’s Best Food Truck 2014 has serious street cred, and no food truck rally or cultural event seems complete without the Charlie Brown-colored van parked out front. archies-place.com
2nd Place: The Funky Taco, thefunkytaco.com 3rd Place: P. Ditty’s Wrap Wagon, foodtrucksin.com/p-dittys-wrap-wagon
3rd Place: Bombay Grill, facebook.com/bombaygrillboise WWW. B O I S E WE E KLY. C O M