Idaho Potatoes Star on Menus Across Southern Idaho
Idaho residents are obsessed with the potato. The top producer in the U.S., Idaho harvested over 7.5 million tons of taters in 2024, worth about $1.26 billion.
The state’s pride in the product goes back nearly a century. In 1928, Idaho debuted license plates bearing the words “Idaho potatoes” with the green plate numbers superimposed on a brown russet potato. Today, its standard plates bear the phrase “Famous potatoes.” Also, drivers can opt for three different spud-centric specialty plates.
Naturally, potatoes are obligatory on Southern Idaho dinner tables and menus. Twin Falls even boasts a restaurant dedicated solely to the vegetable: Baked N’Loaded Potato Co., whose menu is laser-focused on baked potatoes and what can be piled on top of them. Currently, it boasts over 15 different varieties, ranging from the purist Poor Boy Spud (comes with just butter) to the awe-inspiring Flamin’ Hot Cheesy Cheetos Carne Asada Spud (includes jalapeños, nacho cheese and salsa verde, as well as its namesake ingredients).
Ahead, two other regional eateries dish on the role potatoes play on their menus.
Edgewater Dining & Spirits
True to its name, Burley’s EdgeWater Dining & Spirits offers fine dining on the banks of the Snake River – complete with a riverside patio, private dock and an on-water fueling station.
“It’s so much fun watching people who are native to the area or traveling through discover us,” says General Manager Andrea Byars. “They walk up onto the patio and say, ‘Oh my gosh, I didn’t know this was here!’”
The spot has been open since winter 2023, and Byars came on board in July 2024 with the mandate to make the dining room the biggest draw in Burley. To do that, the kitchen has leaned hard into local ingredients, utilizing dairy from Kimberly, wine and cider from Buhl, and of course, beef and potatoes from across the Southern Idaho region.
“Lots!” says Byars with a chuckle when asked how many potato dishes are on EdgeWater’s menu. She reels off a list: baked, loaded baked, garlic mashed, loaded garlic mashed, hand-cut sweet potato fries (“My personal favorite is to order those extra crispy”) and herb-smashed potatoes. Of the latter, she says, “They’re small red potatoes smashed with Parmesan and garlic butter. They’re so good. That’s the house favorite, and they’re cooked to order.”
“Agriculture and construction and blue collar Middle America is what we are,” Byars says of her customers and her passion for serving the highest-quality food to them. “Those folks who work hard day after day deserve to have something like this. Our agriculture deserves to be celebrated! Why on earth would I order beef from California or the Midwest when I have places that quite frankly do it better and can get it to me faster? Our customers deserve better.”
Francesca’s Wine & Dine
Morgan Francis Keegan grew up near Twin Falls, graduating from high school in Kimberly before taking on a series of restaurant jobs around the city.
“I’ve worked as a bar manager at multiple places throughout the Magic Valley,” she says. “I’ve worked at a lot of dive bars, but eventually landed at the Rock Creek steakhouse, where I spent five years as a bartender.”
A brief detour into the legal field ended in burnout, though, and in May 2025 Keegan returned to hospitality by opening the doors of Francesca’s Wine & Dine in Hagerman, where she moved with her family four years ago.
The eatery’s menu is heavy on salads and sandwiches, with a trio of roasted and smoked meats designed to be enhanced by one of the kitchen’s signature sauces. Roasted country and baked potatoes are offered as sides, and in addition to a rice bowl, the spot also serves a loaded potato bowl.
Keegan is especially proud of the quality and freshness of her ingredients, which she credits to the fact she sources 80% of her potatoes, meat, dairy, vegetables, wine and beer from within a 100-mile radius.
She sources her spuds from Arrowhead Potato Co. in Rupert, noting it’s often faster, fresher and cheaper for her to collect her ingredients directly from neighboring farms. Those local potatoes have become her top-selling side dish, with a whopping 70% of customers opting for potatoes over rice. “Potatoes win the table – every time,” she says.
Get to Know Southern Idaho
Visit livability.com/southern-idaho to learn more about living, working and playing in the region.