Heading through Blackfoot, Idaho, I saw a sign that read “Idaho Potato Museum” and knew I had to stop.
I just hoped they would serve potatoes– and they did! Before even entering the museum, I scoped out the attached cafe and promptly ordered a famous Idaho Spud with a choose-your-own-toppings adventure. (I mostly kept it simple but added black olives for fun).
After eating my lunch, I took in the displays and the surrounds. EVERYTHING in this museum was potato-branded, including the curtains (see above). And while the museum was not large, they did try to get across key facts about potatoes, including “How the Potato Changed the World”– which started very audaciously with “World Food Security” as #1, and then faltered a bit with #7, “Mr. Potato Head”– which, I GUESS changed the world, but on-par with ‘World Food Security’? Well…. not exactly.
There were some fun oddities, like the world’s largest potato chip, and some fun ‘potato implements’ if you will– a collection of peelers and mashers and weird kitchen gadgets made specifically for potatoes. Strangely, there was also a cardboard cutout of Marilyn Monroe wearing a potato sack?!
All told, I only spent about an hour at the Idaho Potato Museum– and would consider it a “get out and stretch your legs” kind of stop– not much to it, but worth the time (even if just for the yummy, hot baked potato one can eat in the cafe).
Posted by Sun
