East Idaho Foodies want you to eat better food. Here’s what they recommend.
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IDAHO FALLS — When the itch for the best food in town hits, who do you go to? For many, it’s the East Idaho Foodies.
With tens of thousands of loyal and hungry followers, Heber and Angela Sadovich of Shelley say they have turned their reputation as their friends’ go-to “foodies” into a thriving online community.
“My husband and I have always been into food in general. Eating it, cooking it, we travel for it,” says Angela. “Friends and family were always coming to us for recommendations on what restaurants to go to, and what to order when they get there, and if they go to a specific city, where they should go try, and we kind of found that we were kind of repeating ourselves a lot when people would just text us for recommendations.”
In 2019, the Sadovichs decided to consolidate all their food recommendations into one place, making it easy for friends and family to find. Little did they know what this Instagram page , and their later, even more popular Facebook page, would become.
“Facebook just kind of blew up,” Heber says. “We started writing (about) food, and our opinions, and it’s kind of morphed into just hitting those local spots where, if you see it on our page… You can go. We’re trying to really support local spots and help people find little local gems.”
Heber’s journey into the food world didn’t start like most, as he struggled with addiction.
“I was a crazy kid growing up,” Heber says. “Sixth grade was the last grade I finished, and I was an addict through my teenage years.”
Eventually, Heber says he found his way to culinary school and met his wife. Using his passion for food and support from Angela, Heber says a new world was opened up for him.
“When Angela and I met, she had to teach me grammar. I could barely read and write,” Heber says, “Now I write most of (our posts), and she’ll proofread it. It’s become something that I love.”
The Sadovichs, who are both originally from Utah, say they weren’t impressed with the food scene when they first arrived in eastern Idaho nearly 17 years ago.
“When we first moved here 17 years ago, we were really disappointed in the food scene,” Angela says. “But as the area has grown and more interest has popped up, I feel like more and more people are branching out and getting creative, trying new things.”
As they scour the area for new food spots, Angela says their mission is to help locals realize that there is much more food to enjoy beyond the national chains.
“Mostly what we’re trying to help along is getting people away from those chain restaurants, that on a Friday night, you’re waiting two hours to sit down at,” Angela says. “There are other places that you can just walk in and sit, and there’s a chef in the back cooking with his heart.”
Some of these places that have captured the hearts of the East Idaho Foodies include locally owned spots like Sully’s Gastropub, Thai Food Plus, D’railed, Los Gavilanes Mexican Grill, and Tandoori Oven.
“Another one of our motivations is to turn people’s eyes towards some of those places that they have never heard of before or never thought about going to try,” Angela says.
Recently, the foodies have enjoyed the seafood tower at Los Gavilanes Mexican Grill, the mango cheesecake at Tandoori Oven, and nearly the entire menu at Thai Food Plus.
“This is going to sound random, but there’s a dessert at Tandoori Oven that is a mango cheesecake. And that’s been a dessert that has been occupying space in my brain,” Angela says. “(It’s) not an overly sweet dessert, it’s so good, it’s just rich, it’s got some fruitiness to it. Some zippiness to it. It’s delicious.”
Together, the Sadovichs both work full-time jobs, parent their five children, and run a thriving online foodie community. For many, this would be too much, but the couple says they have learned to enjoy the chaos.
“We really do try to be interactive with our foodie base that we have here. If people are asking questions or needing feedback, we really do try to interact with them,” Angela says. “We’re very busy people. So we kind of just have to, we have, we’ve had to learn to find where our balance is.”
As for the reviews themselves, the couple says they have high confidence that if you listen to their recommendations, you’re in for quite the treat.
“If you see it on our page, go support it. It’s worth it,” Heber says. “It may not be your thing; everyone’s palate is different, but at least you know that we are saying it’s quality. If you see it on our page, that’s a place you can go.”