Fries, burgers and beer?
I knew it wouldn’t be long until we checked this place out.
Pretty awesome concept when it comes to ordering your fries, they have a matrix of spuds and styles that lets you order what they have available at the moment. If something isn’t listed on the board owner Blake Lingle said they’d be more than happy to whip them up for ya, it’d just take a few minutes longer.
While the burgers are advertised as being “…on the side” they are just as much a star of the show as the fries are. I’ve got to say that the burger I had was one of the better burgers I’ve had at a restaurant in a long time. The onion gastrique that tops the burgers is outstanding. It’s one of those burgers that is not plagued by any one overly strong ingredient, everything just plays nicely together creating a fusion of deliciousness.
My wife, being a vegan was very excited to check out Idaho Fry Company as they bill themselves as a vegan-friendly place. The vegan burger is a made-from-scratch black bean and quinoa burger that gets the same toppings as the burgers with the exception of the garlic aioli and cheese of course. My wife (and I agreed) it’s probably the best vegan burger in town (not that we’ve had them all).
And now the fries, we ended up with 3 kinds.
Russet Regular (topped with Cajun salt):
Gold Curely (we wound up with a double order, a mistake on our part):
And Purple Regular:
Sauces:
The sauces seemed to be the only area where there could be improvement. Perhaps instead of having so many sauces of moderate quality, fewer sauces that are outstanding would be a good idea. The sauce that caused the most conversation was the molasses, no one really liked it at first, but it combined with the purple potato fries was pretty awesome, a great combo. I also dug the sweet mustard and the chipotle quite a bit. Also of note is the selection of salts, some pretty good ones; vanilla, Cajun, smoked (I love smoked salts), tomato, etc… etc. The combination’s between fries, sauces and salts really is next to endless.
They also have 3 beers on tap, the night we were there they had Grand Teton’s Sweet Grass IPA (which was out), Mendocino’s Bock (which is actually the beer I’ll have up on this site later today) and another that I sadly can’t remember. It’s just always nice to have good beer when you’re having a good burger, something that I totally appreciate.
I should also note that the service when we were there was excellent. Friendly service and our food arrived quickly for all being made after we placed our orders. Cost-wise we were at 42 bucks for two hamburgers, one vegan burger, two small orders of fries, one bowl of fries and a pitcher of beer. While it is indeed more spendy than your Applesbees or any other chain joints it’s pretty comparable to the other good burger joints in Downtown Boise, especially with how good it is.
All in all we were pretty impressed with Idaho Fry Company, you’d think it’s hard to go wrong with burgers, fries and beer but sadly some manage to screw that up… Idaho Fry Company does not.
I think they also had Highlands Hollow Spoon Tongue on tap, so hopefully that means they always have one local brew going. I agree that the burger was pretty bitchin. The fries were good too, but oddly for a place that is making the fries the focus I thought the buger was still really the stand out of the meal. Along with the sauce they could also probably do with a few fewer cuts of fries if that meant they could keep all the potato varieties they offer available at all times. All fairly minor complaints that they'll hopfully address. I think I'll be heading back sometime soon.
A co-worker and I tried it a while back. I really enjoyed the burger as well and for me it was the star of the show. The fries I ordered were only ok, however the sweet potato fries my co-worker ordered were amazing especially with a little blueberry ketchup.
We're going to have to get the sweet potato fries next time we go, I'm a huge fan of them! I can see them going pretty good with the blueberry ketchup, hmmm… or the chipotle.
Great review! Since discovering I.F.C., I’ve been back 3 - 4 times a week. I’m addicted.
I completely agree with the observations above regarding the hamburgers almost overshadowing the fries, and I believe that they make the best one in Boise. I vastly prefer the bison over the regular beef, and really enjoy the vegan burger as well.
This said, there have been a couple trips where the fries were most definitely the highlight. The Yukon Golds, in particular, are incredibly delicious when they’re coming up in their best form. Also, I find the purple potato fries to be consistently good. I think that there are quite a few variables that are out of the control of the chef/cooks with fry preparation that effects consistency … different moisture content in a particular batch of potatoes being one important one.
Regarding the variety of sauces, I actually prefer such a wide selection. There isn’t a single one that I haven’t thought of an appropriate application for, even if it’s something like the molasses which is a bit of a strange entity. Blueberry ketchup, a fry sauce that destroys all other fry sauces I’ve ever had (I generally hate fry sauce), bleu cheese aioli… awesome.
The fact that nearly everything is made from scratch with original recipes, most of the product is sourced locally, and the restaurant has an eye toward being as environmentally conscious as possible are all contributing factors to my huge support for this restaurant. The two owners are terrific people who really care about the product as well.
One additional note while I’m thinking of it… the third beer, which has been on tap since they opened, is Highlands Hollow’s Spoon Tongue. Great malt, great head, nice balance … one of my favorites at the moment. I believe they’ll be continuing to offer at least one Boise brewed beer for the foreseeable future.
Awesome, I’m glad you like it, the review and IFC.
While the sauces were my only real complaint I’m willing to give them all a go again, see if more of them grow on me.
It really is a great place, one I wish I lived closer to.