There’s no end to the variety of restaurants, cafes, and bakeries in the Sun Valley area and greater Wood River Valley, and complementing those eats are a bounty of fresh, locally grown ingredients as well as homemade creations from area bakers and cooks. Whether you’d like to enjoy a meal completely cooked from scratch while you dine out or simply want to pick up locally made cooks to enjoy at home or on the road, Ketchum, Sun Valley, and Hailey are home to many spots to eat local made and sourced food.
Restaurants
So many restaurants within the Wood River Valley make many of their ingredients from scratch, source locally grown food, or buy already made products from local producers. It would take up this whole blog entry to go into each in depth, but here’s just a selection of the best spots to eat local goods.
In Hailey, try dinner spot CK’s for globally inspired farm-to-table cuisine made with sustainable ingredients and lots of Idaho suppliers. Also in Hailey is high-end bike shop and pub the Powerhouse, which offers a selection of burgers, tacos, salads, and fries made with house-made, locally sourced ingredients. Ketchum dinner restaurant The Covey makes everything—and I mean everything—from scratch: pasta, sauces, bread, and more. Their menu is so hyper-fixated on what’s seasonal, local, and available that the menu changes constantly; it’s difficult to find a menu online since it changes so frequently.
Restaurant and wine bar Enoteca, located on Main Street in Ketchum, has a large menu, though the focus is homemade, hand-tossed, wood-fired pizzas with a smattering of seasonal, local ingredients. Other dishes, desserts, and ingredients are also made in-house. Head over to Cookbook restaurant, where the menu is also focused on house-made pizzas (also available for sale at Atkinson’s market) as well as other dishes like squash Bolognese with house-ground beef, homemade soups, and a market of to-go goods like house-made marinara or salad dressing.
If you’re craving to eat local goods for breakfast or lunch, head to Glow Live Food & Café, a mostly raw, all plant-based eatery that makes the majority of its offerings to order, like juices, smoothies, salads, and more. There is a pastry case filled with homemade desserts and to-go items like collard wraps. Similar to Glow is Ginger Sweet, an all-organic health food and cold-pressed juicery located next to Giacobbi Square. Juices and smoothies are made to order.
Food Trucks
The food truck scene in the Wood River Valley is slowly growing, and included in that scene are two trucks serving fresh made-to-order goods: the Wylde Beet and Joe’s Juice. The Wylde Beet is a newcomer to the area and can be found during the week at Sturtevant’s in Hailey and other times at special events like concerts and the weekly farmers’ markets.
Wylde Beet is all plant-based and uses as many local, sustainable ingredients as possible to create salads, soups, curry, burgers, desserts, and more. Joe’s Juice serves organic, cold-pressed juice using locally sourced fruit and vegetables, all from a solar-powered bus. The truck can be found at events like the farmers’ markets, Ketch’em and Hailey Alive, and more.
Beer and Spirits
Locally made goods aren’t just food, they’re drinks too! And there are several spots that make their own beer and liquor in the area. The first is Sawtooth Brewery, with taps rooms in both Hailey and Ketchum serving 25 taps with beer, wine, cider, and kombucha. The brewery produces over 1,000 barrels of craft beer per year, which is then sold all over the state.
The Warfield, located on Main Street in Ketchum, is a restaurant, distillery, and brewery all in one. They serve fourteen original beers as well as small-batch, handmade vodka, gin, brandy, and whiskey, all made on site, in addition to serving delicious, contemporary bar snacks, sandwiches, and more. In Hailey, Sun Valley Brewery has an on-site brewery that produces twelve beers to accompany the gourmet pub fare served up in its restaurant.
Coffee Shops
Almost all of the coffee shops in the area feature locally roasted beans and house-made goods. Java, with locations in Ketchum and Hailey, grinds their own beans and makes all of their delicious baked goods in house. Maude’s in Ketchum, a coffee house and vintage clothing store, makes its coffee using Maps Coffee, a unique, small-batch roaster in Boise (and owned by a Ketchum native) and sells locally made baked goods by Rasberrys.
Hailey Coffee, located in Ketchum and Hailey, has a lengthy menu of house-made baked goods, including a large selection of paleo goods. Lizzy’s Coffee in Ketchum freshly roasts beans to order and has a small, onsite coffee bar serving their local brew. Black Owl Coffee in Hailey serves locally roasted, custom-blended coffee; home-baked scones, muffins, and breads; and breakfast and lunch options.
Bakeries
There’s nothing better than fresh-baked bread, and bakeries Bigwood Bread and Hangar Bread don’t disappoint. Bigwood Bread is both restaurant and bakery, with restaurant items like sandwiches served on their house-made bread and lots of other menu items made in-house. Bigwood Bread loaves are also available for sale at all local grocery stores. Hangar Bread has a storefront in Hailey that sells some loaves of bread as well as ready-made sandwiches and other baked goods; their loaves and other goods are also available for sale at local grocery stores.
Cafes/Markets
For those who want to take goods home with them, there are lots of small markets selling a variety of local goods. Nourish Me is a supplement and health food store on Main Street in Ketchum that has an onsite café serving sandwiches, soups, and salads with house-made ingredients and also sells a small selection to eat local meats, eggs, desserts, snacks, produce, and more. Ketchum Kitchens, located in Giacobbi Square, is not only a kitchen store, it also has a market selling fresh Mason Family Provisions pasta, Hillside Grain flour, Ro’s Ramen bowls, Bigwood Bread ready-to-eat items, and their own line of deli items.
Mason Family Provisions is located next to Scout Wine & Cheese, sells freshly made varieties of pasta, soups, sauces, and desserts. Rasberrys in Ketchum is a lunch bistro that also dedicates a section of the restaurant to a deli case of daily made desserts, entrees, and sides. There is a selection of grocery items made on site as well like spice mixes, breads, and canned goods. Atkinson’s Market, with locations in Ketchum, Hailey, and Bellevue, sells many locally made goods, including yogurts, fresh produce, bread, cheeses, desserts, and so much more.
The weekly farmers’ markets (Wednesdays in Ketchum, Saturdays in Hailey) are a great source for lots of opportunities to eat local goods, from meat and cheese to produce to grains to sauces. Lastly, Hailey’s Café Della is a delightful lunch bistro is a delightful breakfast, lunch, and early dinner spot with a market, bakery, and café. The market offers prepared dinners to-go, house-made provisions, grocery essentials, and local produce, dairy, meats, fish, beer, and wine. The bakery makes baked goods daily from scratch like muffins, cookies, and galettes.
