Hi, friends!
I’ll hedge my bets by owning upfront that today’s newsletter comes off as a little…obstinate. As in, I outright call something “terrible news” and try to convince you where to get pho, so consider yourself warned: The water’s hot.
3 pho restaurants to try, maybe on Sunday
The forecasted high is below 70° and it could rain, is all I’m saying. For me any reason to get pho is a good reason, but if you’re waiting for colder weather just keep these local pho restaurants in the back of your mind.
🍲 Pho Nouveau
On Idaho Street, tucked right around the corner from 8th Street’s main restaurant row, Pho Nouveau gets points for being pretty speedy, metropolitan-feeling, and a great takeout option. Out of the three, I don’t think this spot reaches the absolute top tier for flavor, but it’s still very tasty, and it’s cozy and relatively cheap (around $20 with tip for one order of beef, chicken, or tofu pho). Dining there while it’s raining outside — perfect.
🍲 Pho Le
Underrated, especially for their chicken pho. It’s a spacious restaurant more suited for dining in than Pho Nouveau, but still doesn’t feel like you’re in a strip mall, which you are. Pho Le is out on Broadway Avenue across the road from the Broadway Idaho Youth Ranch.
🍲 Pho Real
The full food menu bar is a necessary distraction so Pho Real can secretly shine at what it’s best at: Dinner date night. The food is delicious — and reliably so — and there’s something about the place that helps everything else melt away, like good pho. The North End staple (and its chili oil, which you can buy jars of to take home) is worth braving the downtown Boise Co-Op parking lot.
2 local conversations to pay attention to
Idaho Statesman winged by layoffs
Ten of the Idaho Statesman’s editorial staff are without jobs after the Statesman’s owner McClatchy Media Company rolled out layoffs in its newspapers and outlets across the nation. McClatchy laid off 90 local journalists in medium- to small-sized cities around the country.
It’s terrible news for local politics, the news ecosystem, and culture. Even folks who don’t have an active subscription will feel this impact eventually. When I was in Boise State’s journalism undergraduate program, Statesman journalists working as adjunct professors gave crucial insight on working in the rapidly changing industry. I can’t help but worry how the layoffs will affect the next generation of journalists in Boise.
Meta data center’s water usage and rights
Speaking of local news, BoiseDev reran a critical story about the water use of Meta’s new data center, which became operational last week southeast of Kuna. Essentially, the center says it expects to use 2 million gallons of water per day at peak summer heat, which is just over half of the allotted 3.7 million daily gallons granted by its farmland property rights. Meta inherited those farmland water rights, which means it also inherited water prioritization over newer water users. There’s a lot of important nuance in this piece, it’s worth the read.
Reminder: There are two new data center projects south of Boise. There’s also the Diode Ventures data center, which is tied up in a lawsuit headed to the Idaho Supreme Court.
1 thing giving me hope
Picture a table of five people, four of whom are women, at a wine bar, this past Wednesday. They’re deciding that fall really is a season of transitions. One of them is moving out of state in two weeks, another has a child who’s started kindergarten and is loving it, another just had a breakup, another is in a bad fight with a friend, and another is dealing with a coworker shelling their workload onto her. Something in the air. And that’s not to mention one of the many jarring headlines of the day, for example an ex-Anthropic whistleblower saying he thinks trackless AI development could doom us all within a decade.
And yet, how nice it was to be there together. The thing giving me hope this week is that a worry shared with laughter and really amazing pizza is a doomed worry. The pizza is from an up-and-coming pop-up I hope will be new to most of you, so I’m excited to share more about it soon!
That's the Weekend Countdown! Don't forget all these weekend shenanigans:
Friday, September 11
🎨 Art in the Park | 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. | Julia Davis Park | free entry
🏐 Boise State Volleyball Invitational | 3:30 p.m. | ExtraMile Arena | $5+
🌏 World Village | 4 - 10 p.m. | JUMP | free
⚽ Athletic Club Boise | 7 p.m. | AC Boise Stadium | $50+ vs. New York Cosmos
🍿 “The Fly” | 7 - 9 p.m. | Idaho Film Society | $11
🎭 Rock of Ages | 7:30 p.m. | Boise Little Theater | $25
🎸 Grateful | 7:30 p.m. | Shrine Ballroom | $33
😂 Fortune Feimster | 9:30 p.m. | Egyptian Theatre | $45+
Saturday, September 12
🥕 Boise Farmers Market | 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. | 1500 Shoreline Rd.
🥒 Meridian Main Street Market | 9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. | Meridian Rd. & Broadway Ave.
🛍️ Capital City Public Market | 9:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. | Grove Plaza
🤩 Kids Discovery Expo | 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. | Expo Idaho | $5, free under 10 years old
🍂 Boise Fall Festival | 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. | Expo Idaho Center Building | free
🎊 Rediscovered Books 20th Birthday Party | 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. | free (see after party at 7 p.m.)
🎨 Art in the Park | 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. | Julia Davis Park | free entry
🌏 World Village | 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. | JUMP | free
🏐 Boise State Volleyball Invitational | 11 p.m. | ExtraMile Arena | $5+
🎭 Rock of Ages | 2 & 7:30 p.m. | Boise Little Theater | $25
🏈 Boise State Home Football Game | 4 p.m. | Albertsons Stadium | $71+ | vs. Memphis
🤼🏻♂️ Northwest Submission Challenge | 6 p.m. | Egyptian Theatre | $35
🎊 Rediscovered Books 20th Birthday After Party | 7 p.m. | Rediscovered Books | $20
🍿 “The Matrix” | 7 p.m. | Idaho Film Society | $11
Sunday, September 13
👜 The Boise Flea | 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. | Albertsons Stadium parking lot | free
🎨 Art in the Park | 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Julia Davis Park | free entry
🪕 Folk Renaissance Fest | 6:30 p.m. | Common Ground Coffee and Market | $5
🎭 “The Heart of Robin Hood” | 7 p.m. | Idaho Shakespeare Festival | $30
🍿 “Barbarella” | 7 p.m. | Idaho Film Society | $11
🎸 Eilen Jewell | 7 p.m. | Shrine Ballroom | $36
🥀 Goth Night | 10 p.m. | Shrine Basement | free
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Thank you for reading, I'll see you Monday!
Blake Hunter
