We Finally Tried Spud Daddy in Downtown Boise

A Dream Come True: Discovering Spud Daddy

My wife Sara and I have been wanting to try Spud Daddy ever since it opened in downtown Boise. I mean, come on... We love Idaho and we love baked potatoes.

The Buzz Around Spud Daddy: Packed with Flavor and People

So a restaurant dedicated to giant Idaho baked potatoes? We had to go and I guess everybody else had the same idea.

The place was PACKED. There was a line when we walked in, and while we were eating, the line got even longer. But here’s the thing, they move.

The staff was fantastic, and for a restaurant that’s only been open since June, they have this thing down.

The Heart of Idaho: A Unique Concept at Spud Daddy

Spud Daddy opened at 404 S. 8th Street in BoDo on June 19. The idea actually grew out of Potato Days, where owner Thomas Watson and his team had gotten pretty good at feeding huge crowds. At one point, they baked nearly 10,000 potatoes in two days.

Now they’ve turned that into an entire restaurant and these are NOT normal baked potatoes. They start with an enormous Idaho russet weighing around a pound and a quarter.

That's the easy part, then the decisions begin. First, you pick your butter: regular, garlic or chili.

Customize Your Spud: Toppings Galore

After that? There are around 20 toppings to choose from, including chopped roast, brisket chili, bacon, cheeses, sour cream, green onions, jalapeños, corn salsa, sauces and a whole bunch more.

Since it was my first visit, I went pretty traditional. Butter, cheese, sour cream green onions and bacon.

And let’s talk about that bacon. When they say bacon, they don’t mean a few bacon bits sprinkled across the top. I got a HUGE scoop of freshly cooked, chopped bacon with big chunks of the real stuff.

The potato itself was cooked perfectly.

Sara went almost the same direction but skipped the bacon and chose garlic butter instead and she loved hers too.

Here’s where we made our mistake. Before we got there, we’d talked about splitting one potato. Then hunger took over and we decided, Nah. We should each get our own.

We absolutely could have split one. These things are enormous. Neither of us could finish.

A Generous Serving: Portions That Satisfy

But, I think the biggest surprise was the price. For the two of us, including the tip, lunch was under $20 and we walked out completely stuffed with leftovers. That’s getting pretty hard to do anymore.