La Vanilla Bean
IDAHO FALLS
The smell of fresh bread wafts through the air of the city’s streets, drawing new customers into La Vanilla Bean’s doors.
Brioche, baguettes, rye bread, ciabatta, challah, piroshkis stuffed with meat, and ham and cheese croissants sit next to sweet pastries on display begging pastry lovers to take a taste—even the pickiest taste buds can’t say no to one of these freshly baked goods.
La Vanilla Bean just opened this March bringing a little bit of Europe to downtown Idaho Falls. The patisserie is owned by Kay Lynn Broadhead, who taught at ISU and attended culinary school in Vermont before deciding to open her own shop in Idaho Falls.
Her signature confection, the mille-feuille, is a native French treat said to have one thousand layers of pastry and cream beneath its icing top. It is available daily, as well as other cakes and pastries from other countries. For lunch each day, La Vanilla Bean offers a soup and special baked item. Broadhead says she is most excited about their puff pastries, tarts, and torts.
“Everything is made from scratch every day,” she said.
La Vanilla Bean is open Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. It is located at 489 Park Avenue just off of B street in downtown Idaho Falls.
Karie Anne’s
REXBURG
Hot summer days are closing in on East Idaho which means the Karie Anne’s Frozen Desserts trailer is coming back to Rexburg for the season. First opened in 2010 by Jonny Keeley, Karie Anne’s neon yellow and black food trailer serves Italian ice, gelato, and the house specialty, gelati which layers gelato and two scoops of Italian ice.
Rexburg locals love the smooth flavors at Karie Anne’s that can’t be found anywhere else in the area. In fact, the inspiration for Karie Anne’s comes all the way from a famous New Jersey restaurant called Rita’s.
Keeley developed his own recipe for gelato that starts with a custard base and is customized with different flavorings. Customers’ requests influence Karie Anne’s flavors. Chocolate custard was added to the menu by popular demand not long after it opened. They have a weekly Italian ice flavor and sometimes special custards, which have included huckleberry and cookies and cream.
Keely’s personal favorite gelati combination is tiger’s blood ice with chocolate custard and pina colada ice, but locals have their own favorite flavors like strawberry and mango ice with vanilla custard, or blue raspberry and pina colada ice with chocolate custard.
Karie Anne’s food trailer will open May 1 in the Clair and Dees
Parking Lot at 117 N 2nd E St in Rexburg.