This Small Idaho Town Is One of America’s 7 Best Secret Food Destinations

New York. San Francisco. New Orleans. Chicago. When you arrive in these big cities, it’s not hard to find a pile of dining guides to help tourists find the most unique dishes or legendary restaurants to stop at during your vacation.

Heck, most of them live online but it’s not hard to find those for Boise, too. But for smaller cities that are primarily known for something other than their cuisine? Finding those sorts of dishes is a little bit harder. That’s why Conde Nast Traveler decided to shine a light on some cities that are hidden culinary gems, but most people couldn’t find them on a map if they tried. Only seven cities in America made their list of “7 Small Towns in the U.S. That Are Secret Food Destinations” and an Idaho town of less than 3,000 found itself on it! 

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Ketchum’s main draw is its proximity to one of the nation’s best ski resorts, but Conde Nast took this opportunity to highlight some impressive lamb dishes that you can find throughout the small town: a lamb shank braised with red wine at Michel’s Christiania and the lamb lollipops at Grill at Knob Hill.

We’re not overly surprised that they chose to highlight lamb. Ketchum is, after all, the home of the famous Trailing of the Sheep Festival. During the event, 1,500 sheep parade down the town’s main street. One of the festival’s highlights is seeing what lamb dishes the chefs throughout the Wood River Valley come up with. 

So which restaurants MUST you try if you find yourself in Ketchum to ski or relax? You can take Conde Naste’s advice or check out Trip Advisor’s top-rated destinations. Anytime we visit Ketchum #2 is a must for breakfast!