One of America’s Greatest Places for Ice Cream is in Idaho

Boise’s known for having fairly long streaks of triple-digit days during the summer months. When the mercury soars well past 100º, we start looking for fun ways to cool off.

Floating the river, going swimming or running through a splash pad are all great options, but those are really just cooling the outside of you down. Do you know what cools you from the inside out and puts a big smile on your face? Ice cream! 

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There are some “lengen-DAIRY” places to grab a cone or dish of your favorite ice cream. For example, just reading that sentence probably made you think of the mountain-size scoops at Ice Cream Alley in McCall. The open-air ice cream shop has been serving HUGE dishes and cones for close to 40 years. Typically they have over 20 flavors like Huckleberry, Espresso Explosion and Lemon Pie. 

Idaho’s responsible for an ice cream creation so famous that Food Network star, Guy Fieri, had to try it while shooting his Boise episode of Diners, Dive-Ins and Drives. Yes, we’re talking about the ice cream potato that very much looks like a REAL baked potato. You can order them year-round at either of Boise’s Westside Drive-In locations or wait until fair season rolls around and buy one from the Idaho Ice Cream Potato food truck. 

But neither Westside nor Ice Crem Alley made 24/7 Tempo’s list of “The Best Places to Get Ice Cream in America.” This wasn’t one of those lists where they chose the best ice cream parlor in every state. 24/7 Tempo dug through thousands of reviews and food interest blogs to narrow it down to just 35 destinations. Some states like California, Connecticut, New York and Florida put multiple ice cream parlors on the board. Some states were just totally left out. 

Only ONE Idaho ice cream parlor made the list and you don’t have to drive to enjoy it! The honor went to Boise based “The STIL.” In choosing The STIL, 24/7 Tempo seemed impressed with the types of flavors they serve saying: 

The first STIL location in Downtown Boise opened in 2017. According to their website, owners Kasey and Dan came up with the concept after Dan (who grew up in Cleveland, Ohio) asked Kasey (a lifelong Boise resident) where he could take his kids for unique ice cream flavors made with fresh local ingredients. Kasey was stumped and the duo said “well, maybe we should create that.”  

The concept was an instant hit in Boise, driven by an interest in their booze-infused flavors and beer/wine pairings. Since 2017, the small batch ice cream parlor has added two more locations in Boise (Harris Ranch and the Boise Bench) and one in Caldwell at Indian Creek Plaza. 

Curious what “booze-infused” ice cream looks like? These are some of the 21+ flavors that have appeared on The STIL’s menu at some point in 2022. 

In addition to their actual parlors, pints of The STIL’s ice cream can be found at a handful of Albertsons, Winco and Boise Co-Op locations. They also have a relationship with several restaurants, markets and hotels.