Cast Iron on 17th offers evolving menu, eclectic decor and fun atmosphere

AMMON — Inside Cast Iron on 17th, customers will find it’s never the same seven days a week.

The menu is constantly evolving and changing but the one constant is its “ridiculously mind-blowing food, unlike anything you’ve tried before,” according to Cast Iron on 17th’s Facebook page.

The restaurant’s social media pages describe the restaurant as a redneck fancy, French-influenced steakhouse.

Cast Iron on 17th opened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Purchased by Josh Swain and Trevor Noles in the fall of 2020, the investment was a risky bet. However, with the help of Chef Justin Wheeler and server Steve Sloan, Noles says they were able to pull it off.

“It’s eclectic and fun. We wanted to bring that back into the community after everyone being stuck at home with nothing to do (during the pandemic). We wanted to bring back the fun atmosphere,” Noles says.

The operating owner says one of their dishes made it on the front cover of the July edition of the Idaho Falls Magazine. The dish called “End of Summer Citrus Salmon” has fresh salmon steak encrusted with a citrus zest, thyme and shaved horseradish root breading, pan-seared to a golden brown, and served with a handmade fresh citrus hollandaise.

“We won Best New Restaurant. It’s been one (dish) that we’ve had since we first opened up back in December. The crust on that salmon is actually a citrus crust with panko and fresh zested lemons and limes and orange. The fish is an Atlantic sockeye that we get from Orca Bay. The risotto that is on the bottom, is a Mediterranean risotto. The rice had been cooked in our own house-made vegetable stock,” he said.

Noles explained their French onion soup is another hit. It has slowly sweated down onions inside a homemade Au jus with a homemade beef stock that reduces for about four or five days.

“We do it with pepper and red wine so it’s sweet and peppery at the same time. We top it with a bread crumb that we actually crust in-house. So it should be melted and delicious at the same time,” he said.

All of the dishes are fresh, made in-house, and are cooked over a long period of time with fresh ingredients.

Another dish called the New York Strip with black garlic compound butter is a must.

“So it’s a black garlic and it’s a type of fermentation of garlic and it takes about six to seven weeks to do in the dehydrator so it’s something that we just finished and is now turned into compound butter and melted on top of the steak,” Noles explained.

Noles says they also offer wine from a variety of places.

For unique desserts, Cast Iron on 17th also offers a baklava cheesecake.

“In the crust, it’s a baklava crust that we’ve actually soaked inside of an orange so it’s kind of citrusy and you can’t really feel it but it’s there and then the cream cheese on top is the actual cheesecake itself. It’s different. Traditionally it’s done with the graham cracker crumb. Instead, we use phyllo dough, do the whole layering with the butter and then soak it after it’s baked in orange. It’s really good. We also use a walnut and pistachio crust inside of it. It’s kind of a hidden flavor,” Noles said.

Noles loves Cast Iron on 17th. He helps cook the food and says it’s a passion of his that he owes to his aunt. He grew up in Idaho Falls and watched his aunt cook food.

“I owe it to her that I got the drive and education to start out cooking,” he said.

Cast Iron on 17th has another fascinating detail specific to the restaurant that most people won’t find anywhere else.

“Even the dishes you get, the forks to the cups, everything is just different,” he explained.

The cutlery does not match, the chairs and tables don’t match, even the plates and cups don’t match. All of it is different and styled to look like the customer is in an antique shop. Noles says, if customers like something inside the restaurant, whether it’s a cup, a chair, a plate, they can ask to buy it. Customers can even get a plate signed by the chef or the whole crew!

There is also a dress code. No neckties.

“If you come in wearing a tie, if you got a tie that you don’t like, you can bring it in and we will ask you if it’s okay if we can cut it off. You get to sign it, date it, and then you get to become part of the restaurant. We have ties all over the place (in our restaurant) hung up, stapled to the walls. We encourage top hats and bowties. Why not? It’s something different and fun. You don’t have to wear dress shirts or dress clothes. You can come in casual. It’s fine casual. How we like to explain it is fine dining with a redneck flare,” he said.

Since the restaurant is upper class and different, it’s slightly more expensive due to the food being fresh and taking days to prepare. Food can range anywhere from $8 to $30, to $80 depending on what you’d like to try.

Cast Iron on 17th is located at: 3520 E 17th St, Ammon, ID 83406.

The restaurant is open Tuesday-Sunday. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, they are open from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. On Fridays and Saturdays, they are open from 12 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Click here to view their Facebook page and “like” it.