Grandma's Homemade Mexican Food

The Broken Arrow Hits the Spot

On Friday night, Mari and I tried out the food at the Broken Arrow in the tiny town of Gibbonsville, Idaho, just over Lost Trail Pass from Sula.

The Broken Arrow is a small, homey place run by a nice lady that told us we could call her Grandma, as everyone else did. She has been running the place for 22 years. 

Our waiter was a very mature 14-year-old gentleman named Hayden. We asked him if the margaritas were any good.  "I've never tried them," he said "but people always get refills. I think we make them with Jose Cuervo, but I'll have to ask my grandma." Grandma knows what she's doing. Hayden took our drink orders, but Grandma brought us our drinks and any refills. "You'll like these," she said. "They'll make you happy."

The most popular dish is the All You Can Eat Mexican dinner, served family-style. You get a garden salad, rice and refried beans, chicken enchiladas and beef tacos. "How does the All You Can Eat work?" we ask Hayden. "I'll bring you out a plate of enchiladas and tacos.  If you eat it all, I'll bring you another plate."

The food was excellent, clearly all freshly homemade. It was not quite the Tex-Mex we were used to getting in Texas, but it was very good. Mari asked Grandma how she learned to cook Mexican food in Idaho. "I just cook what I like. I won't serve anything I don't want to eat. It's not authentic, though. I don't know what the hell authentic Mexican food is. I just cook it how I like it." Judging by the steady flow of business she had in the tiny hamlet of Gibbonsville, she cooks it how everyone likes it.