Cosmic bowling, stellar food

Picture this: Stepping through the front doors at HUGO’S ON THE HILL, your eyes fall upon blackjack and poker tables manned by vested dealers, their bodies erect and alert; well-dressed food servers plowing through the swank seating areas to take drink and food orders from 16 lanes full of happy bowlers; music videos (which can be requested) playing above the lanes and music blaring over the dim hang-out area. Under the black lights, the bowling balls were glowing.

It felt like some space station-Las Vegas orbiting near the rings of Saturn.

And that’s just the top floor. Down below, the lounge has booths lining one wall, couches and coffee tables on another.

On the menu, the Fried Onion Tanglers, available with tartar, garlic and parmesan or prosciutto and bleu cheese ($5-$9) are eye-grabbing. I went cheap and got them with tartar. What came out was a mass of thinly-sliced onion rings, wrapped and snarled around each other in pile of greasy, golden deliciousness. Other toothsome starters include tapanade and bruschetta, feta and sunflower seed flat bread and gourmet sliders.

The veggie burger ($9) sported a full portobello mushroom cap, fried expertly and covered in bleu cheese crumbles standard burger fixins. My date went for the pizza: half margherita, half pineapple-and-jalapeno. The pizza didn’t stack up as well as the burger, but luckily my entree was big enough to satisfy both of us.

On tap, the lounge had Bud and Kokanee along with Widmer Hef, Northern Lights Amber, Longhammer IPA and Blue Moon, as well as a large collection of bottled beers ($3.75-$5.25). There’s a full bar, a martini menu ($7.50) and a small wine list.

Leaving, we found ourselves back in the parking lot. In Spokane. Nowhere near Saturn. — NICHOLAS DESHAIS

Hugo’s on the Hill, 3023 E. 28th Ave., serves food every day from 11:30 am to midnight. Visit hugosonthehill.com or call 535-2961.