Fork—OK, so, we didn’t really mean it when we said you might skip dinner at Fork in favor of dessert (see: 2nd Place: , Best Local Dessert). You definitely don’t want to skip dinner at Fork. Featuring locally sourced ingredients and truly inspired preparations, Fork handily took this category. If we were to guess, that’s because of dishes like the Wagyu beef Urban Burger, Moroccan-style brined Voodoo Chicken, and cast iron buttermilk fried chicken and cheddar waffle. Yeah, maybe that’s it. boisefork.com

2nd Place: Mai Thai Restaurant and Bar—Maybe it’s not a great idea that we’re writing this so close to dinnertime, because the compulsion is strong to close up shop and beat feet to Mai Thai. We’re too diligent for that but, if we weren’t, we’d be ordering the Peking duck rillettes to start, followed by the Mai Thai noodle (with sour-orange jungle curry sauce) and washed down with a Mai Thai Hawaiian. maithaigroup.com

3rd Place: State and Lemp—Dinner at State and Lemp is about much more than eating. Featuring a prix fixe menu prepared by its award-winning kitchen staff, offerings are guaranteed to be eclectic, inventive and bold. Don’t be intimidated, though, the folks at State and Lemp love food and love to share it. And it shows. stateandlemp.com