Papa Joe's Italian Restaurant - Boise

I don't often eat Italian food when I am out. Don't get me wrong, I love the stuff. And I don't seem to have a limit when it comes to lasagna, carbonara, pizza, etc. Do I need to continue? I can be just this side of out-of-control when l am around anything carby. Really, I have no limit. Plus, I am type "O" Positive blood. Type "O" folks typically don't do well with wheat and corn. But they are in everything and I like them both.Cut to the chase.When my brother-in-law and sister-in-law invited us to dine at Papa Joe's in Boise, I was in. Papa Joe's is old school Boise. One of those places that has been there forever, and I drive by it all the time, and yet have never been in. I'm not sure why not. Likely, because Boise has so many choices in dining now that the old established greats get overlooked. But as of late, I am not on a quest for slick, hip and cool, I'm in for old school. You know, a place where they act like they are happy to see you and where they write your order on a piece of paper.And…They make everything from scratch.What? It didn't arrive prepackaged from who knows where? It didn't show up on a large truck with Sysco on the side? Where the owner looks like a regular schmo? The waiters, Grant and Jeff, remembered our names? What? Old school.Did I mention they write down your order? None of those hand-held devices. You know the ones the server puts in your face and "offers" to let you pay a 35% tip for marginal service?You can ask the waiter at Papa Joe's what he likes and he can tell you because he likes the food and he likes working there. They can describe the food because they care. So much of the time in the modern service world I feel like whomever is there to help us, doesn't really want to be there. They would rather be anywhere else and/or looking at their social media feed.Papa Joe's has this sweet brick fireplace right in the middle of the place. The folks sitting there left, and so I asked if we could move to that spot. They practically carried us over there. Old school.And of course, the food was terrific. I ate a huge carbonara (if you are not familiar with this dish, don't do it. It's like crack pasta!) I ate it all. I then finished Mrs. Swaim's ravioli dish. The whole time I was doing that, I was eyeing the beautiful pizza my sister-in-law had ordered. Yep. I had a slice of that too. Excellent. Did I mention all the great garlic bread I downed? Oh yes, I had a green salad too, but only because I should.The valley has grown, and with the growth the choices for restaurants have grown as well. Folks, you have a lot of choices to dine! Give the old established restaurants around us a try or a retry. They are still around for a reason.Cheers to Papa Joe's, may you live long and create carb addicts for years to come.ksPS: Here is a link to Papa Joe's menu and they love reservations, no need to wait in line: Papa Joe's Boise 1301 S Capitol Blvd. Boise, ID 83706, (208) 344-7272