I grew up in Homedale, Idaho, so I have some familiarity with Boise.  Not as much as one might think since it was far enough away that we didn’t get there very often.  I’ve gotten to know Boise better in recent years as Lisa’s parents live there.

Lisa and I just got back from a visit to Boise where I attended the regional American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting.  It was held in the heart of downtown Boise, at the Boise Centre on the Grove.   I have to admit — I was very pleasantly surprised.

It has been a long time since I really spent any time in that part of Boise (minus the Basque block, which is a minute or two away by foot, but which might as well be miles away considering how often I strayed from it).  I remember the 8th Street Market Place as a relatively run-down shopping center and that was about it.  I have to say that Boise has done a tremendous job in revitalizing their downtown.  The 8th Street area is now a vibrant commercial zone with lots of restaurants and wine bars and shops.  Of course, the ever-popular Basque Block is right next door.  And right in the middle of it all is the Boise Centre, which is where the conference was held.  And right outside of that is a nice open plaza area with a fountain where they hold public concerts every Wednesday.

It was a very nice location for a conference.  The Centre has wireless, the rooms are large and spacious, there is a coffee bar in the Centre itself.

I took a group of conference attendees to the newest Basque restaurant, Leku Ona, just opposite the Basque Center.  Most everyone enjoyed their food.  People got rare treats (for them) of things like tongue, tripe, squid in its own ink, and lamb shank.  I and another guy had pork chops which, I think due to overwhelming conference crowd that caught them unprepared,  were a little cold.  But everything else was great.  The service was a bit slow, also due to the unexpectedly large crowd, but it was still a great night.

I highly recommend a visit to Boise Downtown, or what they are calling BoDo (seems like a rif off of Seattle’s SoDo).  Everything is in walking distance of the Centre, including a number of hotels.  It was the perfect location for a conference.