Treasured Valley

There are certain places you have to go if you’re going to earn street cred as part of the local food scene.  These are places you might not necessarily recommend to the passersby, but as lingering vestiges of small town Americana, they are truly the realms of the insider.  You’ll find one of those places on Fort Street in Boise, just across the parking lot from Boise Co-Op.  You can’t miss it.  Just look for the gigantic rooster tethered precariously to the roof.  Welcome to Jim’s Coffee Shop.

Years ago when I worked downtown, I probably averaged a breakfast at Jim’s two or three times a month.  I usually went for the pancakes, ham, and eggs over medium.  The food was good, plentiful, and inexpensive.  In an era of corporate crafted vibe, it was the locals who brought their own ambiance to the venue.  It was a great place to fill up with some no nonsense grub, catch up on business correspondence, plan my day, or just soak in life as it happens around you.

And then, of course, there was (and still is) Joanie — the quintessential small diner waitress.  Strike up a conversation with Joanie on your first visit to Jim’s and you’ll find yourself wondering, “Have I been here before?  This woman seems to know me.”  Suddenly, the world takes on the black and white simplicity of the Golden Age of TV sitcoms.

I was recently reminded of all this when I stopped by Jim’s for a long overdue breakfast pilgrimage.  Just for fun, and because it’s how we roll at Behind the Menu, I also checked Yelp to see what folks had to say about the place.  The comments happily confirmed my own feelings about Jim’s place in our local culinary pantheon.

Here’s an excerpt from a review posted by Ophelia M:

“This is definitely a neighborhood diner.  Everybody seemed to know everybody…and if you didn’t know anyone–the spit fire red head waitress made sure you were paid attention to none-the-less (she gave my son a quarter to get a prize out of the little gumball-like machine…and, at one point, I believe she told me she was going to “slap me silly” and “shoot me dead” in only the way someone of a certain generation, with a certain disposition can do and actually make you feel loved) .  Two of the waitresses were celebrating their birthday and the entire diner sang to them…several patrons came in toting cards for them.”

“To sum it up, it’s just the type of place that not only fills you up physically, but makes you feel cared for in the process.”

Ophelia, thanks capturing the soul of a local culinary fixture, and for recognizing what food critics sometimes miss in their obsession with the “product”: food itself is just one aspect of a vibrant culinary scene, and no amount of Disneyesque facade or shake-n-bake ambiance can ever measure up to “the real deal”.

Jim’s, long may the rooster reign over Fort Street.

Michael Boss is editor-in-chief for Behind the Menu, and believes that life, like eggs, should be served over easy.  Join Behind the Menu on Facebook for a daily conversation about our local culinary scene.