Cast Iron on 17th — Restaurant in Ammon

So when I write reviews I tend to focus on the food. I am planning on doing that, but I am going to have a few things to say about the atmosphere, something I don’t generally tend to do. But first, the food, or rather the drinks.

I started with a drink called Silk Panties. Given the kind of sadly conservative area that this is, the name itself made me immediately intrigued. Someone here has a sense of humor! I am glad it tried it, because what began as a slightly amused choice on my part, ended in one of the best cocktails I have had in ages. While the drink is perfectly clear it has so much essence of peach that it reminded me of my mom’s home canned peaches. It was delicious, light, and refreshing—and frankly as smooth and sexy as well, silk panties. My friend had a Lia Collins which seemed quite good as well.

Next we had the cheese plate. It was honestly a fairly standard plate. I would have liked more creative offerings. More distinct and unusual flavors of cheese would have been great. A bit prettier presentation could also liven it up. Some fresh berries would certainly help make it more attractive and be delicious to have with the cheese. We also had bacon-wrapped dates, which were delicious.

Next we shared a strawberry side salad. It was a nice palate cleanser. The berries and dressing were a good balance between acidic and sweet. I think the addition of nuts would be nice with it. The fried pancetta went well but it would be truly great with the addition of something crunchier.

We shared the salmon for our main course. It was a little overcooked but overall with the breading it was delicious. There was a sauce with it, but it was much too subtle and lacked punch, and while it didn’t detract from the dish it didn’t add much either.

We ordered both the polenta and the mashed potatoes with the salmon. The polenta was incredibly flavorful. It was so good I could easily have eaten an entire dish of it! The mashed potatoes with horseradish were different and I enjoyed them. We agreed that they would go better with a beef or pork dish than salmon, but they were well-seasoned and unique. The green beans were incredibly tasty. I would have liked a few more of them on the plate, because they were magical!

So as far as the atmosphere goes, that was probably the least enjoyable part of dinner and frankly rather distracting.

The music in a restaurant isn’t always something I notice, but the rapid shift between old jazz standards to 80’s pop and 50’s rock was strange. Many of the songs didn’t seem like music suited to fine dining, but more what you might hear at a bar. The interior, while clean feels over decorated and really busy. Your eyes really don’t get a chance to rest as there is just so much in the restaurant that is jumbled together. The overall impression of the interior with the music is that it is a restaurant that doesn’t know what it wants to be. Is it a relaxing spot for fine dining? Is it a sports bar? Is it an antique store that happens to sell food?

My suggestion would be to let the food dictate the style of the restaurant. It is excellent for the most part, and some of the best food in Idaho Falls. So in that case, create an environment that showcases the food (lose the wall of handbags and the mismatched fabric and jewelry wrapped columns). Let the food be the focus and then this restaurant will truly be unique in an Idaho Falls and could be the absolute best restaurant in town.

(My suggestion? Lean into the beauty of the old farmhouse, go minimalist, a soothing environment, consistent instrumental musical choices, lamps/candlelight, if you want some fun—use antique dishes or linens, and...

The Cast Iron on 17th is one very unique restaurant and now one of my favorites in town. The restaurant itself is in a very old farmhouse, and the decor is something that you’ll have to see for yourself to understand when I say it is something you’ve never quite seen before. Still, it has a soft atmosphere that is unbothered and unrushed. The service is great. Our waiter was very attentive and was able to answer all of our questions easily, and also offered information about the dishes without even being asked. He did break a couple of dishes throughout the evening, but was very professional and laughed it off. This place truly gives off easy-going vibes that is welcoming to all who come within its doors. The food we had was amazing. Every side, dessert, entrée, or appetizer was carefully prepared and made intentionally to bring out as much flavor as possible. When you arrive, you get served a piece of toasted focaccia bread along with a sauce? Or is it a gravy? Whatever this liquid is, it is amazing to dip your focaccia in. I chose to have the mushroom soup with my entrée and it was very flavorful and very tasty with whole little mushrooms in the soup. If you are someone who doesn’t like mushrooms, I would recommend trying this so that you would promptly change your mind about mushrooms. It was very delicious. My wife got the pear salad. I think we both weren’t expecting it to be a literal pear that was the salad and instead of a salad that had pear on it, but regardless, my wife absolutely loved it. Well I thought it tasted very unique but OK enough. You have to admire how they plated the pear salad. I ordered the aged ribeye in butter and bone marrow that came along with mashed potato and sweet green beans. The green beans were maple flavored and tasty and decent enough. The mashed potatoes had a bunch of different flavors going on with it and it was very good. As for the steak itself, I ordered it medium rare and I have to say hands-down it is the BEST steak that I’ve ever had and I’ve had a number of steaks at restaurants and I can also cook a pretty good steak myself. However, this steak I crowned it the best. It was so flavorful, so juicy. The butter and bone marrow complemented it so well. My wife ordered the Wagyu steak. She got it rare and it came pre-cut. Along with the steak came a meticulously made square chunk of potato made up of slices that was so flavorful. The flavor of potato was so intense and very good. Her dish also came with I believe a cauliflower sauce that was smeared along the plate. Overall, the food was amazing. The Cast Iron on 17th may be a place that you go only for celebrations or if you’re lucky and can afford it, a restaurant that you can go very often. However, when you do go, I know you will have an amazing time. I recommend the Cast...

Nope. Nope. Nope. My husband and I have wanted to love this place. We have given it a try with every name change. It is close to where we live and it would be awesome to have something to choose from other than the 3 restaurants we frequent in town. I don't understand all the great reviews. Maybe my expectations are too high. The atmosphere is great- which is why i rated it 2 stars. When we walked in, I thought to self 'this is great'. I had a glass of wine, everything seemed to be going great. I don't even know where to start, I never write negative reviews. But spending over $100 on an 2 entrée dinners and a glass of wine, I just want to share my experience. I rely a lot on reviews when traveling... looking for a place to eat, stay, entertainment... so here I am sharing my experience. I had salmon and my husband had steak. The ranch salad dressing tasted nothing like ranch. It was more of a seasoned mayo. I could taste a lot of rosemary... I could tell they were really trying to be different- trying to step it up a notch from the typical ole restaurants we have here in town. Bread was gross and whatever sauce they serve with the bread was disgusting. The entrées looked as if they were going to be great. The smell was kind of weird- seasonings and wine blend smell- but hey we actually love a great sauce concoction so we weren't turned off yet. We anxiously dove in and wanted to devour our plates. After 1 bite we immediately looked at each other with poker faces. Um... I tried his, he tried mine... yuck. The entrées were edible and we were pretty dang hungry so we ate it. Not all of it, just until we weren't hungry anymore. It was so gross. The smell, after getting some food in our bellies, was making us want to puke. The service was good so we tipped our wait staff and we immediately headed down to Sandpiper for an appetizer to get that horrible taste out of our mouth. It was terrible and unfortunately, as much as we wanted to love this place, we will not be back. Good...