Madre - Boutique Taqueria — Restaurant in Boise

Madre was my favorite new restaurant of 2018 and remains one of my favorite Boise restaurants. I love everything about it including the relaxed dining environment, hospitality, creative menu and use of locally-sourced, high quality ingredients.

For my first visit, I stopped in for a late lunch/early dinner, around 4 PM on a weekday. I ordered the Idaho Spud & Chorizo and Chicken Tinga tacos with a side of rice and beans. I liked both tacos. While I didn’t care for the rice, which I found bland (unseasoned white rice with a few kernels of corn), I was astonished by the beans. They were perfectly seasoned and had been cooked in lard. I may have gone a bit overboard in raving about the beans to the restaurant staff and John Cuevas himself, because a few weeks later when I visited for the second time and told the young man taking my order how much I loved the beans, he responded “Yes, I know.” For vegetarian/vegan’s or anyone else who prefers to abstain from foods cooked in lard, Madre offer black beans as well. Needless to say, instead of rice and beans, I order “beans and beans.”

Here is a list of menu items that I have tried at Madre, as well as my thoughts about each:

Queso Fundido - melted cheese, rajas (“strips” or “slices” of pickled vegetables) and spanish chorizo served with flour tortillas. Can anything be better than hot melted cheese with mix-ins as an appetizer? I think not. I order it every time I dine with a friend.

Grilled Corn - charred with garlic aïoli, cotija cheese and chili. This is one of my favorite versions of this dish. I order it every time.

Refried House Pinto Beans - I order a side of “beans and beans “every time I visit. Need I say more?

Ensenada Fish or Salmon Taco - blackened fish, shaved cabbage and spiced crema served on a corn tortilla. This is one of my favorite tacos.

Crispy Pork Belly Bahn Mi Taco with shaved cucumber, pickled vegetables and burnt garlic aïoli. If you like pork belly or bánh mì sandwiches, you’re going to enjoy this taco. I like both.

Idaho Spud and Chorizo Taco - crispy potato, tomato mojo and jalapeño pesto served on a flour tortilla. I love this taco but I find the jalapeño pesto tends to easily overwhelm the other flavors when served on top of the taco, so I ask for it on the side. Ask them to remove the chorizo and it will be vegetarian/vegan friendly.

Braised Short Rib Taco -sesame-soy chili marinated, spicy kimchi and fried peanuts served on a flour tortilla. If you like beef and can tolerate a little heat, you’re going to enjoy this taco. So do others. It’s one that runs out quickly.

Mushroom Taco Crispy bacon, fundido and salsa roja served on a corn tortilla. I was impressed with how “meaty” and flavorful this taco was. If you remove the crispy bacon and fundido, It becomes vegetarian/vegan friendly.

Chicken Tinga - chipotle, avocado, tomatillo salsa, fresh cheese, pickled onion and guacamole served on a corn tortilla. While not my favorite version of Chicken Tinga, it’s still pretty tasty. Give it a try.

Tomatillo and Arbol salsas - I enjoy both.

There are also a few dishes I’ve tried that I don’t have photographs for, including:

Potato Taquitos - served with guacamole and arbol salsa. As much as I love potatoes, I would prefer to have taquitos filled with meat, but this dish gave me the opportunity to try the guacamole, which is outstanding. It would also be a great option for a vegetarian/vegan diner.

House-Made Flan - cooked cream and caramel. This dessert is exceptional!

If you haven’t visited Madre yet, you’re...

Madré Boutique Taqueria is a modern restaurant serving up Mexican-inspired food in an upscale environment. Located right by a collection of student apartments, Madré is clean, unique and is on it’s way to be becoming a Boise must-try.

The service was good, but I do have a complaint. When serving is our drinks, the owner told my husband “Here you go, bud,” which is condescending. I know he didn’t mean it that way. And my husband does look young. But he’s an adult, a respected and accomplished one, so the term doesn’t fit. And he absolutely hates it. He finds it patronizing, and I agree. Also, the restaurant describes itself as “upscale,” however IMO it’s not very classy to call your customers so. I hope that the owner will read this and maybe try to be a little more conscious about using that term..,

Moving on, the primary focus is tacos, however they also offer other dishes including burritos and salads. On this visit I bellied up to the Carnitas Burrito (choice of black or pinto beans, rice, cheese, guacamole and salsa, $14.00) and a Lemonade Cider ($6.00) that I completely forget the brewer of to wash it all down. Overall, I enjoyed it but I can’t say it was anything spectacular. It just tasted like any other carnitas burrito I’d ever had from a taco truck, for double the price. I’m okay with that, because you’re paying for the in-dining experience as well as the food. It was generously large, filling up both my husband and I. I didn’t quite enjoy the dipping sauce much either, next time I’ll be sure to ask for Tapatio. The popular “OG Crispy” taco seems to be a hit. I saw several leaving the kitchen, after I had placed my order. It’s basically a taco with crispy cheese blended to the rim, creating a piece that’s very pleasant to look at. I’ll make sure to order those next time, if I...

My wife, daughter, and I were going to a Boise State football game and came here beforehand. It is conveniently located a short walk from the campus, near the Brady Garage where we parked.

There is some outside seating but, of course, yesterday it was cold and windy, so everyone was sitting indoors. The interior was dark wood, a counter facing you as you enter. You order at the counter and seat yourself.

We grabbed a table and checked out the menu. We then went to the counter to order. A couple was in front of us, but the man behind the counter, who I took for the owner, brought us up to the front because this couple had not made up their minds yet. I appreciated that.

The gentleman behind the counter was very friendly. My daughter ordered an IPA and I was going to have the same thing, but the gentleman ordered something else for me, which took me by surprise. It turned out to be a good choice, and I'm sure he would have given me something else at no charge had I not liked his selection.

We all ordered tacos. My wife: carnitas. My daughter: one shrimp, one Al Pastor. Me: Two shrimp. My wife has specific tastes and thus ordered her tacos sans bleu cheese crumble.

My daughter seemed to like her order. My wife liked hers, though she allowed me a bite. I found the carnitas a bit dry. My shrimp tacos were good. I would have liked a bit more of their sauce but the shrimp were grilled very well.

One awkward aspect of the layout is that, in going to the restroom, there was a large party at a long table and I had to squeeze behind them to get there.

We don't go to the Boise State campus often, but the next time we're in the area we would...