We all have silly preconceived notions about the places we’ve never been. I guess it’s just part of our nature. I love it, though, when my uninformed ideas are challenged by the reality of a surprisingly interesting place. Such was the case when I was in Boise, ID in February for La Cenerentola. Not knowing anything about the place, I assumed it was a tiny, boring town in the middle of nowhere. I was wrong, well, except for the “middle of nowhere” part. I think the closest city of comparable size, Salt Lake City, is 5 1/2 hours away. So anyway, I really enjoyed my time there, and I was captivated by the charm of the place and some of its unique landmarks. On the top of my list when I go to a new place is finding a great local breakfast, and more specifically I am looking for the best corned beef hash anywhere. According to the locals I befriended while singing karaoke at the Ha’ Penny Irish Pub (a different story all together), the best breakfast in 
Boise is Moon’s Kitchen Cafe. I agree. It has a great diner feel, and the corned beef hash was delicious. After finishing that enormous plate of heaven, followed by a peanut butter milkshake (Don’t judge me!), it was time to explore some local attractions.
The next bloated step was to venture over to the Old Idaho Penitentiary. Built by inmates in 1870, this old prison received 13,000 prisoners throughout the years until, after complaints from the inmates about safety hazards in the facilities were ignored, a final riot broke out, ending in a fire which destroyed the oldest buildings, thus making the penitentiary useless for anything but a historic landmark. Talk about a chilling place. There are many haunting features about the old prison, but I must say when I walked into the solitary confinement ward, my heart stopped. How frightening it is to imagine your only source of daylight being a tiny sliver in the bottom of your doorway, just barely large enough to slide a plate of food through. Just when this place can’t get any more curious, all you have to do is go outside the prison walls. There you will find the Idaho Botanical Gardens. That’s right. They are on the same property, which is an interesting juxtaposition, to say the least. The gardens, spread out over the rocky foothills, are quite beautiful, or so I am assuming, since I was there in February.
So, I recommend Boise. It is a lovely small city with some nice things to do, and the people are inviting. I look forward to going back, and when you are there, make sure you catch a movie at the local art house theater, The Flicks, followed by dinner and martinis made with the house gin at Bardenay Restaurant and Distillery. Oh yeah, the mountains are gorgeous too!
