Boise's new wrinkle

A family shares a table at Donnie Mac's Trailer Park Cuisine in Boise.

By Buddy Levy

A blue-collar area west of downtown Boise, Idaho, has spun itself into a chic destination: the Linen District. The six-block stretch

takes its name from the 1910 Linen Building, now a stylish events center. The nexus is West Grove Street between 13th and 16th

streets; area code is 208. linendistrict.com.

• At Big City Coffee, enjoy massive pastries, lemon pound cake, and scones with your Mexican chocolate mocha. Try the steamed

scrambled eggs. 345-3145, bigcitycoffeeld.com.

• Eyes of the World Imports offers fair-trade gifts such as handpainted mirrors from Southeast Asia, Tibetan prayer wheels, and

ceramic sake sets from Japan. 331-1212, eyesoftheworldonline.com.

• Lounge in a 1941 Chevy Deluxe Sedan at Donnie Mac's Trailer Park Cuisine, home of the double-wide burger. Also on the menu:

macaroni and cheese, vegan chili, and, for kids, SpaghettiOs served in the can with a plastic spork. 384-9008, donniemacgrub.com.

• The Modern Hotel and Bar, a revamped 1960s motor lodge, now has Japanese soaking tubs in many rooms and stone fire pits in

a wooded courtyard. In the hotel bar, drinkers relax on Cherner walnut barstools while they sip regional syrahs and nibble smoked

trout, artisan cheeses, and panini. 424-8244, themodernhotel.com.

Photography by Robbie McClaren