East Idaho Eats: Top 10 of 2022 – Here are the restaurants you loved most this year

IDAHO – Here at EastIdahoNews.com, one of our favorite segments to do is East Idaho Eats, where we get to feature local restaurants in the area and try their most popular items.

From warm, fresh baked cookies, to saucy Texas-style pulled pork, here are the local eateries that you most loved this year.

10. Senor Garcia’s Puerto Vallarta now at a new location, with an expanded menu

Senor Garcia’s Puerto Vallarta restaurant is now serving its classic Tex-Mex food at a new location in Pocatello.

The new location, at the corner of Olympus Drive and Pocatello Creek Road, has been open since May, according to owner Nick Garcia.

As Garcia explained, the new location places his restaurant central to several hotels and just off Interstate 15. With easy access to a new flow of customers, Senor Garcia’s was able to do something its owner has long wanted — expand the menu to include breakfast.

“If you come in and you want pancakes, we’ll serve them,” Garcia told EastIdahoNews.com. “But if you come in and you want something different, you want a quesadilla, we got it here. That was the biggest reason we moved, we get to expand our menu — I love breakfast.”

9. Teton House owners love serving ‘great meals’ and large portions

Entertaining customers and providing them with a “great meal” is what Leo Hancock and his wife, Danielle Dexter, enjoy most.

Together, they own Teton House at 3563 East Menan-Lorenzo Highway in Menan and at 80 North Broadway in Blackfoot. They serve patrons throughout eastern Idaho a menu that includes red stag venison with Au Gratin potatoes and fried Brussel sprouts.

8. The Sodamix claims to have ‘the cookie’

A drink and cookie shop in Pocatello claims to serve not just “a cookie” but “the cookie.”

According to co-owner Chanse Carter, customers who visited The Sodamix during the store’s first week of business have all returned, saying their cookies are the best around.

“We’ve worked really hard to fine-tune these recipes and make them so they come out perfect every time,” he told EastIdahoNews.com.

7. An iconic menu with historic roots at Pickle’s Place

Pickle’s Place, a popular restaurant off U.S. Highway 20 at 440 South Front Street on the east side of Arco, proudly capitalizes on the town’s historic distinction. A sign out front indicates it’s the “Home of the Atomic burger.”

As one of the diner’s 50 menu items, the Atomic burger is a customer favorite. It’s served with fresh-baked black Angus beef, cheese, lettuce, tomato and topped off with grilled onions, mushrooms and the owner’s signature seasoning. Fried pickles and beer-battered cheese curds are popular appetizers as well.

6. White Sparrow Country Store offers fresh southern fried pies and home decor

Come for the pies and leave with the goods. White Sparrow Country Store in Archer, right outside of Rexburg, offers southern fried pies and has a store attached to it with plenty of home decor, candles and other items to choose from.

Steve and Sara Massey, a husband and wife duo, recently became the new owners of the store, and they love it. They offer a wide variety of southern fried pies for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even dessert. The pies have a flaky, buttery crust with fillings.

“I think that’s one of the neatest things about our menu. There’s a really broad range of things,” said Sara.

5. Food truck serves Texas-style pulled pork, brisket, coleslaw and baked beans

A local food truck is bringing smoky flavors with pulled pork, brisket, and a new twist on barbecue sauce, plus its coleslaw mixed with pineapple.

The business called Lost River Smokehouse is owned by Cody Killian and his co-owner Ryan Hootman. The business is located at 400 South Woodruff Avenue in the parking lot of Big Deal Outlet in Idaho Falls.

Killian opened up Lost River Smokehouse in June. He’s already got popular items on the menu, like the pulled pork sandwich.

4. Blackfoot restaurant and pub offers cajun seafood boil and unique rooms to dine in

A local Blackfoot restaurant and pub that opened in March offers a wide variety of food, including delicious mac-n-cheese, country fried steak and a special blend of cajun seafood boil.

7EIGHTY5 is located at 310 North Meridian Street. The number 785 is a phone prefix for the area.

“I really wanted to show people that we are a Blackfoot restaurant and our roots are here. We are a family restaurant. My brother is my business partner and my mom works here as a hostess during the week,” said Larry Mitchell, managing partner at 7EIGHTY5. “Those that were born and raised in Blackfoot know 785 is the prefix for the phone number.”

3. The Rusty Lantern Diner is Ucon’s hidden secret

A family-owned local restaurant is Ucon’s hidden gem, serving up delicious food you might find at your grandma’s house.

As you walk into the Rusty Lantern Diner, a sign invites guests to turn off their phone’s ringer, listen to cowboy tunes and take a moment to enjoy the family atmosphere.

“Word of mouth is our best advertisement,” said Shera Hart, whose family owns the restaurant. “Every day I have somebody that says … it’s their first time, (and) they don’t know how they didn’t hear about it until now. It is a hidden secret out here in Ucon.”

2. Teton Ice Cream Parlor offers massive milkshakes, Mexican treats and more

Massive milkshakes, homemade ice cream, fruit smoothies, Mexican snacks, nachos and more. If you’re looking for tasty treats, you’ll find them at Teton Ice Cream Parlor in Rigby.

Victor Gallegos and his family opened the parlor a year ago at 135 North Clark Street. They wanted to offer something in addition to traditional ice cream flavors so they happily serve up some of their favorite Mexican snacks – like crazy potato chips. The potatoes are fried and covered in corn, mayonnaise, butter and nacho cheese.

1. Homestead Pizza and Bowling offering pizza, pins and lanes of fun

A new pizza parlor, bowling alley, and arcade venue has arrived in town, just in time to warm up from the cold weather with a game of bowling and a warm slice of pizza.

Homestead Pizza and Bowling owners have been hard at work for the last 18 months, transforming what used to be known as Skyline Lanes into a new western-themed bowling alley and pizza parlor. But bowling and pizza aren’t all they offer.

Inside, you’ll find a pizza parlor, a brand new arcade, a dining room complete with a cozy fireplace and a salad bar — a big change for those on the west side of Idaho Falls.