News in Browne's

Changes are afoot at CAFÉ MARRON: Nicholas St. Clair, who served as sous chef and pastry chef at Luna for the past year and a half, has taken over as chef at the Browne’s Addition dining spot. The restaurant has been through its ups and downs, but it maintains a loyal following, especially on the weekends for breakfast.

“My goal is to make breakfast really good so people will want to come back for dinner,” says St. Clair, adding that he’s simplifying Marron’s lunch and dinner menus. “We’re trying to do the small things right, and then grow. We’ll be adding some classic bistro lunches like a croque madame, steak frites and duck confit.”

At dinner, the top sirloin ($20) and wild salmon ($17) entrées are standbys, along with the surprising paella. For dessert, don’t miss St. Clair’s signature blackberry cobbler with lemon-zest ice cream.

Breakfast favorites like the chorizo scramble ($9), the avocado sandwich ($10) and the corned beef hash ($10) — braised in Guinness, with peppers and onions, and served over home fries — remain on the menu, along with pancakes, French toast (made with Bouzies brioche) and the house-made granola, with its hint of cinnamon. The breakfast menu is now available weekdays until noon (weekends till 3 pm), with the updated lunch menu kicking in then.

Early in his career, St. Clair spent about three years as sous chef at Los Olivos Café near Santa Barbara, California, one of the restaurants featured in the film Sideways. (It’s the place where Miles has his merlot meltdown before going in.) Later, after attending the pastry program through Le Cordon Bleu Schools, he worked with Chef Dan Bower at North Idaho’s Black Rock Resort and then at Wild Sage with Chef Alexa Wilson.

Café Marron also offers Happy Hour specials from 3-5 pm daily, with half-off drinks and dinner appetizers about $3 below regular prices. In addition, the former parking lot on the building’s south side has been turned into a patio, with outdoor tables and umbrellas. It’s a great spot to kick back and enjoy Spokane’s gorgeous summer weather.

Up the hill at LUNA, Marron’s sibling restaurant, Chef Anna Vogel is offering a casual Sunday-night barbecue dinner during the summer, grilled up on an old-fashioned drum-style grill on the back patio. For $25, you get an overflowing plate of backyard favorites — chicken, ribs and wild sockeye salmon, plus corn on the cob, coleslaw, potato salad and cornbread — plus a bowl of fresh-baked cobbler and ice cream for dessert. The chicken is served with a pineapple-based barbecue sauce; the ribs get a spicy dry rub and then are slow-smoked to tenderness; and the salmon is brushed with a simple, light sauce. Sitting on the patio, with a frosty beer or a glass of wine in hand, it’s the essence of casual summer dining. And you don’t have to stand over hot coals to make it happen. — ANN M. COLFORD

Café Marron, 144 S. Cannon St., is open Sun-Thu 8 am-8 pm, Fri-Sat 8 am-9 pm. Call 456-8660. The prix-fixe barbecue dinner at Luna, 5620 S. Perry St., is offered Sundays from 5 pm-close. Call 448-2383.