A common group activity amongst rushing Greek life, getting ice cream at Panhandle is truly a delicious experience. There are many unique as well as classic flavors, including vegan options and seasonal flavors. Panhandle also sells fantastic coffee, which makes it the coffee shop (with indoor seating) open the latest in the city, closing at 9pm. I’ve personally had many night study sessions sipping an affogato and debating buying another scoop.
Ampersand Oil & Vinegar Taphouse
A specialty oil and vinegar store offering free samples of oil and selling interesting cooking supplies, ingredients, and cookbooks. However, what’s most interesting is the cooking classes. You can check their website for the schedule and pricing but there are several themed cooking classes that are hosted throughout each month. Included in the experience is a meal, and a discount on anything in the store.
Home of live, local music and Wednesday karaoke, this extremely cheap dive bar is walking distance from the university and is almost always lively.
Mingles Bar & Grill
Another bar downtown, focusing on pool. It has good food, and most notably on Wednesdays it has a list of cocktails (including classics like Blue Hawaiians and Long Island Iced Teas) for half price (last time I was there this meant $2.50). This deal makes an excellent combo with John’s karaoke night.
After a night of karaoke and drinking, the Grub Truck offers cheap and delicious late night mac and cheeses with interesting flavors, tacos, and dessert burrito. It also streams the line and all transactions to Twitch so you can tune in and see all the antics people get up to.
My favorite place in the city to sit and work (it’s actually where I took my diagnostic exam for grad school!) One World is a large two story coffee shop that is quiet and has an excellent selection of baked goods and classic coffees. It also just recently started selling beer. Although it’s not open super late, it does start its day early and its location on Main Street means that it’s very easy to reach from the university. Keep an eye out for the events it hosts as it often hosts small local artists of varying genres.
Although this shop is a bit of a ways out from the UI, it is a really cool place where you can rent time on one of Hog Heaven’s consoles to play on. There’s a huge game library, and beyond that the shop hosts TCG events, D&D and just functions as a perfect gathering hub for anyone interested in gaming.
Moscow Farmer’s Market
From May to October on every Saturday, Main Street is converted into a bustling local market that lets you purchase from local food trucks, artists, or farmers. It feels great as a way to connect to the community, it’s a really easy way to get delicious food, and it very frequently features live music, or demonstrations from the Nez Perce Native American tribe.
Astrophotography
One of the most amazing parts of going to the UI is that it is rural. That means that nature is all around and at night it is so easy to see stars. This is the ideal setting to learn how to do astrophotography. You can drive on the backroads for ten minutes and get less light pollution than driving an hour would get you in a bigger city.
Hiking
The mountains and hills around the Palouse are ideal for going on hikes. There are all levels of difficulty, and every one is gorgeous. Some that I would recommend are Idlers Rest, Robinson Park, and any of the Moscow Mountain Trails.