When you’ve done next to nothing other than lying on a beach all day, you’ve obviously earned a calorie-fest at all the restaurants you can find, right? That was my philosophy when I took a very leisurely weekend trip to the Sandpoint, Idaho area. Yes, when someone hears “beach trip,” they’re definitely thinking of a landlocked mountainous state. Who isn’t?! When we used to visit in my childhood, we generally just stopped by Pizza Hut because at 6,000 or so people, Sandpoint was the big city and actually had chain restaurants. In Bonners Ferry, we had none and thought Taco Bell and Pizza Hut had exotic fare. On my most recent trip, I chose somewhat better Mexican and Italian food.
The first place we checked out was Fiesta Bonita. It was a Saturday night and most restaurants we’d initially visited had really long waits. I have no idea why Fiesta Bonita didn’t. All the other restaurant visitors know about all the things these guys can do with cheese and tortillas, right? Anyway, we split their quesadilla appetizer, and I had the enchiladas de espinaca without shrimp. The quesadilla somehow made the cheese-mushroom combo even more magical than usual. It also included onions and bell peppers, with guacamole and sour cream on the side. It runs you around $10. I was sad we made the adult decision to just get one. Our stomachs could have dealt with the unpleasant fullness. They just needed to toughen up!
I apologize if your phone shorts out from the drooling you're doing over this quesadilla.
I guess I still needed room for the enchiladas, though, which included spinach, mushrooms, and pico de gallo with a side of rice and beans. It cost $12.50. The enchiladas made me wish I’d made my travel companion order them, too, so I could steal some of theirs without being noticed. I can be really sneaky if veggie enchiladas are involved. The sauce was so creamy and wonderful. It put my homemade enchiladas with the green sauce to shame. You should definitely stop by and ask for two entrees to toughen up that tummy.
Like I could manage to take a picture before eating enchiladas...
The somewhat conservative approach we made in actually having one entrée and half an appetizer meant ice cream was a possibility afterward. The dozing we did at Beaver Bay all afternoon totally warranted it. Panhandle Cone & Coffee was a hot spot, but we waited patiently while leaving trails of drool on the floor as we read the offerings. I went with salted caramel and brown butter cookie. I’m leaving trails of drool on my desk while I think about it. There’s a reason it has a five-star rating across all the rating platforms. I feel like it’s tough to limit them to just five stars. We should petition Google and Yelp about this injustice.
The last place we ate during our weekend trip was Second Avenue Pizza. It wasn’t quite as magical as Fiesta Bonita, but I really loved their pesto bread appetizer. We got the medium order for $6.50. It was basically just a pesto pizza, which is my favorite thing to make at home. In fact, my blender’s use is roughly 99% making pesto, and 1% blocking its cord so my cat doesn’t attack it. It was nice to enjoy a really tasty pesto pizza without having to actually make it myself. I’d definitely recommend ordering it.
This pesto bread was worth waiting more than an hour and scrolling through Instagram 17 times for.
I’d also recommend bringing a really interesting person or an adult coloring book because you will wait a long time for your food. It was at least an hour before the appetizer came out and at least another half an hour until the pizza came. To be fair, they do warn you about this, and the people are very nice. The regular pizza we ordered was pretty tasty, too. We got a medium two-topping pizza for $13.95. It’s a nice place to go if you’re meeting up with friends and want to spend a good while chatting. It’s also a good place to finally teach yourself to make napkin origami. You’ll have time.
We almost ate this entire thing, too. Vacation is for gluttons!
Honestly, all three places get my recommendation, as does lounging to watch the sunset at Sandpoint City Beach when you’re done. For more on Sandpoint eats, visit my This Vegetarian Be Tripping Sandpoint video!
