Boise Restaurant Chain Now Serving Crickets

You may be used to hearing, “Would you like fries with that?” but if you go to Boise Fry Company, you could hear, “Would you like crickets with that?” 

Let’s clarify.  We're not talking live crickets or chocolate covered crickets or crickets in a big sucker like you can get at a truck stop between Boise and Twin Falls, it’s “cricket powder” that is now available as a topping.  To answer the obvious question, yes cricket powder is exactly what it sounds like: crickets, ground into a fine powder.   

Believe it or not, crickets are extremely nutritious, which is why they’re so popular on shows like Survivor or Naked and Afraid.  For example, while you can get 10 grams of protein from a chicken thigh or 7 grams from a one ounce cut of beef, cricket powder will give you 19 grams for every ounce, plus it will also give you three grams of fiber and 10% of your recommended iron intake. 

Now that we have the health benefits covered, let’s talk flavor.  At Boise Fry Company, you can get your cricket powder in four different flavors: Za’atar Salt, Cajun Salt, Sichuan Pepper Salt and Togarashi Salt.  

Finally, if you’re a fan of always buying homegrown Idaho foods, good news: These crickets are local!  They were ground up in the mountain town of Salmon by a company called Orchestra Provisions, creatively named because a group of crickets is called an orchestra.   

Whether or not you ever try cricket powder, isn’t it nice to know it’s an option?