Seeing ‘disappointment after disappointment’ on Eagle Road, new Meridian restaurant opens
John Spahic and his family love Boise.
But 10 years after trading the “lavish California dream” for the “small Idaho community,” he says, they’ve noticed changes to the growing restaurant landscape.
Not all of them for the better.
There are four or five different types of flavors that “really are good in city,” explains Spahic, who’s been a professional cook for 20-plus years.
“But then there’s nothing but franchises. You go down Eagle Road, and it’s just disappointment after disappointment.”
As owner and chef at Imperium, 3161 E. Fairview Ave. in Meridian, Spahic hopes to combat the Treasure Valley’s culinary commercialization. Opened May 21 (but currently closed temporarily), Imperium is a new mecca for flesh-craving diners who enjoy sampling small portions with big, Mediterranean-influenced flavors.
Offering charcoal-fire-grilled meats, seafood and vegetables, Imperium’s straightforward yet tantalizing menu is an assortment of skewers and small plates. The restaurant describes its concept as “both keto and carnivore, gluten-free, sugar-free, and seed oil-free. We cook with animal fats from beef, pork, and chicken.”
Selections are priced and sized in a way that makes ordering multiple dishes virtually irresistible.
Smoked bean asparagus ($5). Cage-free chicken thigh ($6). Duroc pork shoulder ($7). Wild Argentine garlic shrimp ($9). Wild mahi mahi ($11).
Black Angus coulette ($13). American Wagyu teres major ($17). Wild Hokkaido scallop ($19).
At $21, Wild Chilean sea bass is the most expensive item.
Unlike skewered, sliced chunks of meat at Imperium, fish is the only protein “served as an actual piece of fish,” Spahic says. “About 3 ounces on average. Just depends on what it is.”
Imperium also sells desserts such as affogato and lemon cheesecake.
Beverages range from sparkling water and capuccino to beer and wine.
Diners are impressed so far. “Yes! Just yes!” wrote one reviewer on Google, where the restaurant has a flawless 5.0 rating. “… Our server was extremely polite, sweet and helped us with the menu. … The food was absolutely fabulous, just perfection.”
Unfortunately, Imperium suffered a setback less than three weeks after opening. The building’s HVAC system “just crashed,” Spahic says, forcing the restaurant to shutter.
But the landlord is addressing the crisis. Imperium plans to reopen by Tuesday, June 25, Spahic says, allowing him to start searing meats again.
And, hopefully, winning over new community-minded customers.
Idahoans who, like his own family, are “tired of all the same old spiel of franchises and commercialized places that just don’t add any local flavor,” Spahic says. “Or no value, actually.”
