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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huckleberries Online

Southern Idaho gem: Finger steaks tough to reproduce at home

 (Adriana Janovich / Spokesman-Review)
(Adriana Janovich / Spokesman-Review)

When I visit my family in Southern Idaho, I will often get my hands on a basket of finger steaks before I hug my mother. That has more to do with geography than the order of my affections. If I fly, I get off a plane in Boise, drive a rental car down Vista Avenue to the Bad Boy Burgers drive-through, and hit the freeway home, traveling at a rate of roughly one finger steak per mile. Apologies to Mom, but there’s something appropriate about this hierarchy: The finger steak is Idaho’s signature food. Our Philly cheesesteak. Our Cincinnati chili. People have been clamoring – OK, I have been clamoring – to put them on the state license plate for years. What about our famous potatoes? Sorry, but the spud is everywhere. It’s about as unique to Idaho as a hamburger. Finger steaks, on the other hand, are rarely found outside the Gem State/Shawn Vestal, SR. More here.

Question: Are finger steaks a big deal in North Idaho? Or is it like a potato thing -- southern Idaho centric?



D.F. Oliveria
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

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