If you've thought about visiting Idaho at all, it has likely been one of those periodic escape-from-New York fantasies that haunt most Manhattanites. You've wanted to get as far as you can from the crowds, the fumes, the noise, the pace, the craziness of the city. Idaho, with its crystalline lakes, majestic pines, towering mountains, and pure air sounds like the ideal antidote. What you may not know, what you'll be thrilled to factor into your fantasy, is that these days you're as likely to find delicious and inventive regional cuisine in America's 43rd state as pioneer chow. Last year's Taste of Idaho was such a hit that we're bringing together Barbara Barry and Keith Otter of Otter's, Scott Wamsley of The Lodge Dining Room, the unparalleled taste of Teton Glacier Potato Vodka, and a newcomer, Rod Jessick of The Coeur d'Alene Resort, for yet another taste.

On a camping trip a number of years ago, Barry and Otter were trying to come up with a concept for the restaurant they intended to open in Ketchum. "Japanese-French? That's been done. Pacific Rim? Done," Barry recalls. The couple were just tucking into a nice caribou steak, grilled over the campfire, when it hit: "Why not use foods indigenous to the area?" Today, Otter's menu includes caribou, elk, quail, and venison, as well as mushrooms and berries for which the pair forage in nearby forests and meadows. But that's just the beginning. Writing in Bon Appétit, Nancy Rommelmann praised "the tastiest fish cakes I had ever eaten," sea bass "seared to perfection," and chocolate truffles "against which all others [should be] judged: not too sweet, rich without being cloying, with a dense interior that breaks into soft wedges on the tongue. Dreamy."

Speaking of dreamy, the Coeur d'Alene resort is certainly the stuff our dreams are made of. Rated by readers of Condé Nast Traveler as "the most impressive resort in the United States," Coeur d'Alene offers one-stop vacationing: spectacular scenery, fabulous shopping, elegant rooms, world-class golf, powder snow for skiing, and-of course-delicious and varied fare served at the resort's six restaurants. Overseeing this culinary empire is executive chef Jessick, who has worked in hotel kitchens for more than 30 years. He heads up a dream team of five chefs and a kitchen staff of 180 who prepare 8,000 meals a day. Before his promotion to top toque, Jessick was chef de cuisine at the resort's signature restaurant, Beverly's, a winner of the prestigious DiRoNA Award and Wine Spectator's Grand Award.

When railroad tycoon Averell Harriman founded the Sun Valley resort in the 1930s, he envisioned an elegant spot where, after an exhilarating day on the slopes, guests could indulge themselves with some après ski dining equal to New York's finest fare. Today, Lodge Dining Room executive chef Wamsley upholds the Harriman tradition. To pamper the palates of the discriminating diners who vacation in Sun Valley, Wamsley prepares the finest of indigenous foods in a classical, uncontrived manner. Wamsley, a 1980 CIA graduate, worked in kitchens in Vermont, Colorado, and California before finding a place to call home -Idaho.

Follow in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark, the first Western explorers of the state. Join us to explore Another Taste of Idaho as these talented chefs demonstrate once and for all that there's a whole lot more to Idaho than the "p" word.