Robin pointed me towards a really good article in the Boise Weekly for April 4, 2012. The article written by Guy Hand is Tales of a Food Critic: The Highs and Lows of Boise’s Food Scene. Basically, the article defends the premise that the lows of the Boise restaurant scene is due to economics and an assumption that Boise is a “Meat and ‘taters” populace – which I can not totally agree with. In the article, Guy states that 
“…In rapid succession, many of the Treasure Valley’s most innovative, chef-driven restaurants tumbled like elegant, ill-fated dominoes: Mortimer’s, Franco Latino, MilkyWay, Tapas Estrella, Andrae’s and SixOneSix. All fell within a few months.
[James Patrick] Kelly, like many I talked to about the subject, blamed the economy for many of the closures but added that the fall wouldn’t have been as swift or as efficiently targeted to such a specific class of restaurants if not for other factors.
“Boise is a burgeoning city,” he explained.  “And therefore, you would think it would be able to support innovative concepts that are a little more ‘big city.’ But I think at the end of the day, people are not as adventurous here in terms of dining. High-end concepts aren’t cutting it in Boise, and that has to do with the economic downturn, as well as people not necessarily wanting it. They may say they want this high-end, this big-city cuisine, but actions speak louder than words, and you actually have to frequent those places.”
I think that final statement, “… you actually have to frequent those places” is the key. Not necessarily that Boise is strictly a “Meat and ‘Taters” community, because it is not. What I am saying is that if you like a particular restaurant, whether it be La Cafe de Paris, or Chandlers or The Buzz or Yen Ching or Cottonwood Grill or Sushi Joy or a multitude of other ethnically diverse and well deserving establishments, you must support them by visiting them. I don’t totally agree with Mr  Kelley when he states that “… people are not as adventurous here in terms of dining …” because I do think they are adventurous in their eating habits. But their eating habits are ethnically diverse and not necessarily the more expensive the dinner is, the better it is. The people in Boise are adventurous in their dining.
For a city the size of Boise, there are so many different types and styles of restaurants here. Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Bosnian, German, Polish, French, Thai, Soul food and a host more.
And now, there is the growth of the Food Trucks. Look at the diversity, both in food styles and in cost.  I know that the last several Food Truck Rally’s in Boise were extremely well attended. And if you would like to go to one, here is a link to the April Food Truck Rally. (pdf format)
So is the decline in Boise of the high end restaurants economic? Probably partially. I just think that the folks here are more diverse in their eating and they are looking for diversity. Can I spend $45 a plate at Sushi Joy? Yes I can. Can I spend that much at the Cottonwood Grill? Yup! Do I consistently spend that much per plate? No. What we like is the different types and styles of food preparation. And I think that the population diversity of Boise dictates that diversity in food selection. 
The article by Guy Hand was stimulating and thought provoking. Thanks Guy, for your writings.