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.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Now Local, From Scratch
The Coeur d’Alene Casino isn’t playing games when it comes to food. The latest phase in their $75 million expansion includes bringing their food service under the oversight of exactly one man.
“We do all the events, on site and off,” says executive chef Adam Hegsted. That’s close to 36,000 food customers per month spread among the Sweetgrass Café, the High Mountain Buffet & Grill, the Nighthawk Lounge and the Twisted Earth Grill inside the Circling Raven Club House — including catered events, room service and food service for nearly 1,000 employees daily.
Friday night buffet? How about 1,200 customers in five hours gobbling down 2,500 pounds of crab, and hundreds of other food options, now mostly made from scratch?
It’s all in a day’s work to Hegsted, the deceptively boyish-looking engineer of what is a near-complete overhaul of the casino’s food operations. Having served such Idaho venues as Black Rock Country Club, Cedars, Brix and the Beacon, Hegsted was up to his chef’s hat in Le Piastre, his first and unfortunately now defunct restaurant in downtown Coeur d’Alene when the casino called last year. Since then, the pace has been whirlwind.
“We broke ground on the new hotels and two new restaurants,” he explains. “They remodeled the whole kitchen, and in that was the café,” which was closed for a bit. While new construction continues outside — a steakhouse, pub, martini bar and spa are slated for completion in 2011 — Hegsted is busy inside training staff on his paradigmatic shift in vision.
“The biggest thing is: Now most of our food is homemade. We work really hard on putting out really high-quality products — not just rip open a freezer box and throw it into the steamer or oven,” says Hegsted. “We have incorporated small farms into our buffet and cafe, and have worked hard on sourcing a lot of great products,” says the chef. (He likes to use local products.)
Sweetgrass Café, for example, balances what Hegsted calls down-home food, like the country-fried steak ($7) with healthier fare like the lemon thyme-roasted Idaho trout ($9).
A staff of 60, including six sous chefs, prepares everything to order in small batches. “We have red-wine braised short ribs, prime rib, done the same way I did at Cedars. We just started doing sushi on Saturdays, and it has been going over really well. It’s just really great seeing the whole place evolve.”
The sample menu reads like the United Nations: enchiladas with charred tomatoes, baked penne pasta with prosciutto, roast maple-ancho squash, pot stickers, General Tso chicken, seafood paella, and Yankee pot roast.
The Casino’s investment in the food program is just one part of an overall healthier outlook. A fitness center will be included in the 105-room hotel expansion. The roof of the nearby Stensgar Pavilion features a man-made prairie of native grasses, part of a larger greening program for the resort, including a new water-treatment facility, the restoration of natural habitat and drought-resistant landscaping.
Now if they’d only do something about all that smoke. — CARRIE SCOZARRO
Each restaurant has its own unique (persnickety) schedule. Visit www.cdacasino.com/restaurants.html for details or call (800) 523-2464.
“We do all the events, on site and off,” says executive chef Adam Hegsted. That’s close to 36,000 food customers per month spread among the Sweetgrass Café, the High Mountain Buffet & Grill, the Nighthawk Lounge and the Twisted Earth Grill inside the Circling Raven Club House — including catered events, room service and food service for nearly 1,000 employees daily.
Friday night buffet? How about 1,200 customers in five hours gobbling down 2,500 pounds of crab, and hundreds of other food options, now mostly made from scratch?
It’s all in a day’s work to Hegsted, the deceptively boyish-looking engineer of what is a near-complete overhaul of the casino’s food operations. Having served such Idaho venues as Black Rock Country Club, Cedars, Brix and the Beacon, Hegsted was up to his chef’s hat in Le Piastre, his first and unfortunately now defunct restaurant in downtown Coeur d’Alene when the casino called last year. Since then, the pace has been whirlwind.
“We broke ground on the new hotels and two new restaurants,” he explains. “They remodeled the whole kitchen, and in that was the café,” which was closed for a bit. While new construction continues outside — a steakhouse, pub, martini bar and spa are slated for completion in 2011 — Hegsted is busy inside training staff on his paradigmatic shift in vision.
“The biggest thing is: Now most of our food is homemade. We work really hard on putting out really high-quality products — not just rip open a freezer box and throw it into the steamer or oven,” says Hegsted. “We have incorporated small farms into our buffet and cafe, and have worked hard on sourcing a lot of great products,” says the chef. (He likes to use local products.)
Sweetgrass Café, for example, balances what Hegsted calls down-home food, like the country-fried steak ($7) with healthier fare like the lemon thyme-roasted Idaho trout ($9).
A staff of 60, including six sous chefs, prepares everything to order in small batches. “We have red-wine braised short ribs, prime rib, done the same way I did at Cedars. We just started doing sushi on Saturdays, and it has been going over really well. It’s just really great seeing the whole place evolve.”
The sample menu reads like the United Nations: enchiladas with charred tomatoes, baked penne pasta with prosciutto, roast maple-ancho squash, pot stickers, General Tso chicken, seafood paella, and Yankee pot roast.
The Casino’s investment in the food program is just one part of an overall healthier outlook. A fitness center will be included in the 105-room hotel expansion. The roof of the nearby Stensgar Pavilion features a man-made prairie of native grasses, part of a larger greening program for the resort, including a new water-treatment facility, the restoration of natural habitat and drought-resistant landscaping.
Now if they’d only do something about all that smoke. — CARRIE SCOZARRO
Each restaurant has its own unique (persnickety) schedule. Visit www.cdacasino.com/restaurants.html for details or call (800) 523-2464.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Tequila and tacos
When I heard that the owners of the Elk had opened a new Mexican spot, I wasted no time. EL QUE, located in the former Cabin Coffee space in Browne’s Addition, did not even have a sign up yet, but the warm lighting and cozy interior beckoned me in. The orange and lime green walls, along with pink and mint-colored bar stools, give the place a hip, Latin feel. Votive candles with images of Mary glow softly and paintings of Jesus watch over the beer at the bar.
Past the religious décor, El Que is a serious tequila bar. In addition to the 20 different tequilas listed on the menu, the shelves behind the bar are lined with mason jars of house-made flavored tequilas.
Tequila infusions include flavors such as jalapeno-honeydew, pineapple, beet, vanilla bean, Serrano chile, cilantro and strawberry. “It’s amazing how much the flavors come through,” says manager Marshall Powell. El Que also serves wine, several cocktails and a good selection of Mexican beer.
If you’re not a tequila fan, El Que is worth a visit for the food alone. While the menu is fairly short, the dishes are long on flavor and at $3-$6 each, a night out won’t break the bank. The sopa de tortilla ($3 for a cup) is perfect for a cold night, with its slightly spicy chicken stock rich with avocado chunks, crunchy tortilla strips and fresh lime. Add a banana leaf tamale ($6), with chicken, roasted tomato sauce and poblano chiles and you’ve got a great, light dinner.
The menu also includes several kinds of tacos, a guajillo chili Caesar salad, and Vietnamese guacamole with fresh mint.
With a great neighborhood feel, interesting food and reasonable prices, it looks like El Que is set to mirror the success of the Elk in its own unique way.— KIRSTEN HARRINGTON
El Que, 141 S. Cannon, is open 4 pm-late, 7 days. Kitchen closes at 11 pm, 12 pm Thurs-Sat. Call (509) 624-5412.
Past the religious décor, El Que is a serious tequila bar. In addition to the 20 different tequilas listed on the menu, the shelves behind the bar are lined with mason jars of house-made flavored tequilas.
Tequila infusions include flavors such as jalapeno-honeydew, pineapple, beet, vanilla bean, Serrano chile, cilantro and strawberry. “It’s amazing how much the flavors come through,” says manager Marshall Powell. El Que also serves wine, several cocktails and a good selection of Mexican beer.
If you’re not a tequila fan, El Que is worth a visit for the food alone. While the menu is fairly short, the dishes are long on flavor and at $3-$6 each, a night out won’t break the bank. The sopa de tortilla ($3 for a cup) is perfect for a cold night, with its slightly spicy chicken stock rich with avocado chunks, crunchy tortilla strips and fresh lime. Add a banana leaf tamale ($6), with chicken, roasted tomato sauce and poblano chiles and you’ve got a great, light dinner.
The menu also includes several kinds of tacos, a guajillo chili Caesar salad, and Vietnamese guacamole with fresh mint.
With a great neighborhood feel, interesting food and reasonable prices, it looks like El Que is set to mirror the success of the Elk in its own unique way.— KIRSTEN HARRINGTON
El Que, 141 S. Cannon, is open 4 pm-late, 7 days. Kitchen closes at 11 pm, 12 pm Thurs-Sat. Call (509) 624-5412.
Pizza on Perry
Pizza is the most primal and ancient of foods: flat bread cooked on a hot stone, covered in just about anything that’s handy. It’s easy to imagine our cave-dwelling ancestors stuffing their pie holes with mammoth and pineapple pizza, washed down with some accidentally fermented yeasty concoction.
So remember that when you’re at the new SOUTH PERRY PIZZA, chomping on their already amazing pizza and connecting with your inner caveman. “This good,” you’ll think. “Want more!”
But there’s nothing old or too rote at South Perry — the latest landmark in the neighborhood’s resurgence. Across the street from the Lantern Tavern, which opened in April, South Perry Pizza took over a former storage space with two large garage doors and somehow transformed the forgotten building into a swank, and welcoming, pizza joint.
“Our goal is to be for friends, family, neighbors,” says Pat Kautzmann, who opened the restaurant with wife Sue and daughter Krista. “We’re a neighborhood place.”
Large windows line the building’s west side, looking out on to Perry Street, and inside is an open, warmly industrial dining area. Behind the bar sits the oven, the stainless-steeled pizza machine manned by the restaurant’s cook, Christopher Deitz.
The menu is uncomplicated, featuring eight pizzas, four salads and some appetizers.
“We wanted to keep things really simple,” says Krista. “There’s a lot of things that are complicated in life. Pizza shouldn’t be.”
This doesn’t translate to boring pizza. The dough, which took the family six months to perfect, bakes into a thin crust that is both crispy and chewy.
And check out the Sopressata. This pie’s main attraction is the Italian dry-cured salami, which is supported in its scrumptious fame by basil, mozzarella and a delicate tomato sauce. Of course, the old stand-bys are there for the habitual: pepperoni, margherita and cheese.
The restaurant also has a bevy of topping options, from mascarpone and Beecher’s cheese curds to prosciutto and arugula.
You don’t have to be a hunter-gatherer to get behind that. — NICHOLAS DESHAIS
South Perry Pizza, 1011 S. Perry St, is open Tues, Wed, Sun 4 pm-9 pm, and Thurs-Sat 4 pm-10 pm. Call 290-6047 or visit southperrypizzaspokane.com.
So remember that when you’re at the new SOUTH PERRY PIZZA, chomping on their already amazing pizza and connecting with your inner caveman. “This good,” you’ll think. “Want more!”
But there’s nothing old or too rote at South Perry — the latest landmark in the neighborhood’s resurgence. Across the street from the Lantern Tavern, which opened in April, South Perry Pizza took over a former storage space with two large garage doors and somehow transformed the forgotten building into a swank, and welcoming, pizza joint.
“Our goal is to be for friends, family, neighbors,” says Pat Kautzmann, who opened the restaurant with wife Sue and daughter Krista. “We’re a neighborhood place.”
Large windows line the building’s west side, looking out on to Perry Street, and inside is an open, warmly industrial dining area. Behind the bar sits the oven, the stainless-steeled pizza machine manned by the restaurant’s cook, Christopher Deitz.
The menu is uncomplicated, featuring eight pizzas, four salads and some appetizers.
“We wanted to keep things really simple,” says Krista. “There’s a lot of things that are complicated in life. Pizza shouldn’t be.”
This doesn’t translate to boring pizza. The dough, which took the family six months to perfect, bakes into a thin crust that is both crispy and chewy.
And check out the Sopressata. This pie’s main attraction is the Italian dry-cured salami, which is supported in its scrumptious fame by basil, mozzarella and a delicate tomato sauce. Of course, the old stand-bys are there for the habitual: pepperoni, margherita and cheese.
The restaurant also has a bevy of topping options, from mascarpone and Beecher’s cheese curds to prosciutto and arugula.
You don’t have to be a hunter-gatherer to get behind that. — NICHOLAS DESHAIS
South Perry Pizza, 1011 S. Perry St, is open Tues, Wed, Sun 4 pm-9 pm, and Thurs-Sat 4 pm-10 pm. Call 290-6047 or visit southperrypizzaspokane.com.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Americanized
A steaming plate of pork fried rice, beef with broccoli swimming in sauce, a big bowl of egg drop soup and, of course, the ubiquitous egg roll, thick-skinned and fried to a golden brown. While it’s laughable to call this Chinese food—most of us wouldn’t know authentic Chinese food if it poked us in the eye with a chopstick — it’s still plenty popular with Americans.
Regardless of whether you’re in Illinois or Idaho, the Chinese restaurant experience is often uncannily similar. Offerings include comfort foods like fried meat and abundant, affordable, satisfying starches — basically variations on the rice/noodles theme. Savory sauces. Just enough esoteric and vegetarian offerings to keep the purists happy. Huge helpings. Determine your own spiciness from blah to blistering. (For a head cold, you can’t beat the curative powers of Chinese mustard or hot-and-sour soup.) Dine-in or to-go. And a décor that blends culture and camp — zodiac, paper lanterns, etc. — in an ethnically exaggerated yet endearing way.
That’s why Wah Hing will likely succeed in its new Rathdrum, Idaho, location that formerly housed a quick succession of meat-and-potatoes places in this cozy prairie town of nearly 7,000 people. Good food. Predictably familiar dishes from chicken chow mein ($8.50) to Szechwan veggies ($9) to sweet and sour pork ($9.50). Fast service. Reasonable prices, like lunch combinations for $6-$7 and dinner from $8-$12.
The Rathdrum Wah Hing is the third of the Hing’s empire of family restaurants; it marks the midway point between Spokane’s Division Street store and the oddly placed Kellogg, Idaho, branch. The parking lot has been full to overflowing since the place opened this fall, so either plan on a bit of a wait or get there early.
While some may cringe at the idea of how wildly off-the-mark the Americanized Chinese restaurant is, others merely smile with a mouth full of Moo Shu and ask for a to-go box while popping open the fortune cookie that comes with your bill. At least in the world of Chinese-American dining, the future is always certain. — CARRIE SCOZZARO
Wah Hing, 15512 N. Hwy. 41, Rathdrum, Idaho, is open Mon-Sun 11 am-9 pm. Call (208) 687-1688.
Regardless of whether you’re in Illinois or Idaho, the Chinese restaurant experience is often uncannily similar. Offerings include comfort foods like fried meat and abundant, affordable, satisfying starches — basically variations on the rice/noodles theme. Savory sauces. Just enough esoteric and vegetarian offerings to keep the purists happy. Huge helpings. Determine your own spiciness from blah to blistering. (For a head cold, you can’t beat the curative powers of Chinese mustard or hot-and-sour soup.) Dine-in or to-go. And a décor that blends culture and camp — zodiac, paper lanterns, etc. — in an ethnically exaggerated yet endearing way.
That’s why Wah Hing will likely succeed in its new Rathdrum, Idaho, location that formerly housed a quick succession of meat-and-potatoes places in this cozy prairie town of nearly 7,000 people. Good food. Predictably familiar dishes from chicken chow mein ($8.50) to Szechwan veggies ($9) to sweet and sour pork ($9.50). Fast service. Reasonable prices, like lunch combinations for $6-$7 and dinner from $8-$12.
The Rathdrum Wah Hing is the third of the Hing’s empire of family restaurants; it marks the midway point between Spokane’s Division Street store and the oddly placed Kellogg, Idaho, branch. The parking lot has been full to overflowing since the place opened this fall, so either plan on a bit of a wait or get there early.
While some may cringe at the idea of how wildly off-the-mark the Americanized Chinese restaurant is, others merely smile with a mouth full of Moo Shu and ask for a to-go box while popping open the fortune cookie that comes with your bill. At least in the world of Chinese-American dining, the future is always certain. — CARRIE SCOZZARO
Wah Hing, 15512 N. Hwy. 41, Rathdrum, Idaho, is open Mon-Sun 11 am-9 pm. Call (208) 687-1688.
Steaks on low
Two years ago, Bill Alles had plans to turn his Spokane steak restaurant, Churchill’s, into a chain extending into Idaho and California. Now he’s just hoping to get the first location back on its feet.
In July 2008, a fire destroyed a neighboring business, Dorian Studio. Nine hours at 5,000 gallons of water per minute later, Churchill’s was still structurally sound but a complete mess.
Water and smoke damage shut down the restaurant just 11 months after its opening.
Then came waiting on the fire investigation, waiting on insurance companies — both of which Alles finally resolved last summer — and sorting out building plans. “It’s been a long struggle,” Alles says. “It’s been a difficult struggle to get from there to here.”
Reconstruction began in September, with Alles initially estimating a December opening date. Now he has reset his goal — he’d like to be open for the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which begin on Jan. 14. His contractor, however, is estimating an end-of-January completion date.
When Churchill’s finally gets around to reopening, it will continue to brand itself as a high-end steakhouse. Expect to spend between $25 and $55 on a USDA prime steak entrée. Amid economic concerns, however, Alles will extend his price points downward.
“This time around, we’ll probably have some items around that are lower in price so that they’re more approachable, but we’ll still focus on our prime steak reputation in what we do,” he says.
That will include a “casual-focus” bar menu with steak sandwiches and burgers.
“There was the genuine air of elegance to the place before,” says Alles. “We used to have a grand piano as you walked in. It was immediately in front of you when you walked in, with someone playing the piano seven days a week.”
Alles hopes to recreate that atmosphere and iron out a few kinks in the process.
“The chairs I had before were so big, you could fit a suburban family of six in one,” he says. The new ones, he says, are a little more slick.
The entryway piano won’t be back, but there will be live Dixie-style New Orleans jazz played on a piano downstairs in the bar. — ERIKA PRINS
Churchill’s Steakhouse, 165 S. Post, will re-open in mid- to late January. Hours: 11 am-midnight.
In July 2008, a fire destroyed a neighboring business, Dorian Studio. Nine hours at 5,000 gallons of water per minute later, Churchill’s was still structurally sound but a complete mess.
Water and smoke damage shut down the restaurant just 11 months after its opening.
Then came waiting on the fire investigation, waiting on insurance companies — both of which Alles finally resolved last summer — and sorting out building plans. “It’s been a long struggle,” Alles says. “It’s been a difficult struggle to get from there to here.”
Reconstruction began in September, with Alles initially estimating a December opening date. Now he has reset his goal — he’d like to be open for the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which begin on Jan. 14. His contractor, however, is estimating an end-of-January completion date.
When Churchill’s finally gets around to reopening, it will continue to brand itself as a high-end steakhouse. Expect to spend between $25 and $55 on a USDA prime steak entrée. Amid economic concerns, however, Alles will extend his price points downward.
“This time around, we’ll probably have some items around that are lower in price so that they’re more approachable, but we’ll still focus on our prime steak reputation in what we do,” he says.
That will include a “casual-focus” bar menu with steak sandwiches and burgers.
“There was the genuine air of elegance to the place before,” says Alles. “We used to have a grand piano as you walked in. It was immediately in front of you when you walked in, with someone playing the piano seven days a week.”
Alles hopes to recreate that atmosphere and iron out a few kinks in the process.
“The chairs I had before were so big, you could fit a suburban family of six in one,” he says. The new ones, he says, are a little more slick.
The entryway piano won’t be back, but there will be live Dixie-style New Orleans jazz played on a piano downstairs in the bar. — ERIKA PRINS
Churchill’s Steakhouse, 165 S. Post, will re-open in mid- to late January. Hours: 11 am-midnight.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Fresh Mex
A new Mexican retail and wholesale grocery store, MERCADO DEL PUEBLO, will make its debut in mid-December with piñatas dangling from the ceiling and fresh tamales on the shelf.
The store’s owner, Fred Meyer (no relation to the chain of mega-stores), promises fresh produce and south-of-the-border goodies like chilies, spices and bulk piñata candy. Mexican breads, pastries cakes, desserts will come out of the shop’s “authentic, baked-from-scratch” bakery, says Meyer. They’ll also take orders for weddings and quinceañeras (coming-of-age celebrations for young Mexican women).
“Spokane has a very small, but growing, Mexican population,” says Meyer. “You see multiple stores down in Central Washington and when you come to Spokane, to be honest, you see two stores” – not to mention, he notes, a lack of products from Central and South America.
Belonging to a food-loving family of Mexican in-laws and 30 years of experience in the baking industry inspired Meyer to fill that niche.
Meyer is most excited about offering tamales and his wife’s salsa, which are already a hit among family and friends.
If “December 14th at the latest” is too long a wait for your share of the tamales, Meyer hinted that they’re already making them to order with a variety of fillings. We’re just saying… in case you’re brainstorming easy ways to feed holiday guests. — ERIKA PRINS
Mercado del Pueblo, 1814 N. Division, opens mid-December, Mon-Sat 7 am-6 pm, Sun 12 pm-5 pm. Call 327-2856 or e-mail pueblospokane@msn.com.
The store’s owner, Fred Meyer (no relation to the chain of mega-stores), promises fresh produce and south-of-the-border goodies like chilies, spices and bulk piñata candy. Mexican breads, pastries cakes, desserts will come out of the shop’s “authentic, baked-from-scratch” bakery, says Meyer. They’ll also take orders for weddings and quinceañeras (coming-of-age celebrations for young Mexican women).
“Spokane has a very small, but growing, Mexican population,” says Meyer. “You see multiple stores down in Central Washington and when you come to Spokane, to be honest, you see two stores” – not to mention, he notes, a lack of products from Central and South America.
Belonging to a food-loving family of Mexican in-laws and 30 years of experience in the baking industry inspired Meyer to fill that niche.
Meyer is most excited about offering tamales and his wife’s salsa, which are already a hit among family and friends.
If “December 14th at the latest” is too long a wait for your share of the tamales, Meyer hinted that they’re already making them to order with a variety of fillings. We’re just saying… in case you’re brainstorming easy ways to feed holiday guests. — ERIKA PRINS
Mercado del Pueblo, 1814 N. Division, opens mid-December, Mon-Sat 7 am-6 pm, Sun 12 pm-5 pm. Call 327-2856 or e-mail pueblospokane@msn.com.
Natural start
Eating “green” is hip, but not hip enough to keep a much-loved local organic café afloat.
Just as Main Market Co-op prepares to open, another business selling organic, locavore food will close. Natural Start Café, near Gonzaga University, served its last customers on Sunday. When it re-opens as a “college-hangout” coffee joint, it will no longer carry exclusively organic products — most of which come from within a 30-mile radius of Spokane — in the way that Natural Start did.
Citing financial hardship, co-owner Marc Gauthier is selling his share of the business to his partner. Gauthier and his business partner, Gib Sharpe, believe that the hip-coffee-shop model will be more lucrative. “We’re going to take a break from baking,” Shape says. He’ll contract with Taste for all the baked goods and continue serving Doma Coffee.
But for Gauthier, opening Natural Start two years ago was more about promoting the organic, local lifestyle than owning a business. If it’s not about the movement, he’s not interested.
So Gauthier will instead direct his energy toward other businesses in Spokane pursuing the same mission — namely Coffee Social (113 W. Indiana Ave.) and the Main Market Co-op (opening soon at 44 W. Main Ave.). “I would like to see the organic community communicating better,” he says, pointing to the large number of small local farmers markets as an example of poor coordination in the local and organic foods movement: “It’s frustrating when even the people who are on your team are fighting.”
Gauthier says Spokane is a tough market in which to sell the organic and local concept. “It is an uphill battle here in Spokane and we knew that starting off,” he says. “We’re the only place in town selling free-range, organic chicken anything, and [Subway across the street] is booming all day.”
He’d hoped to see that battle through, but in the end, couldn’t continue to make ends meet. “It was just numbers,” he says. “I basically couldn’t afford to wait for Spokane to catch up.”
In late August, The Inlander spoke with Gauthier about the “buy local” label, a concept he says corporations have cashed in on to the detriment of consumers. The word “local” is now thrown around with no real definition, and corporations lobby to ease standards for the USDA “organic” label, he says, “diluting” its meaning.
Then, Gauthier said the shop was “surviving,” having intentionally positioned itself to compete with a Starbucks in hopes that their comparable prices and locavore ethos would give them an edge among social justice-savvy Gonzaga students. But consumers rarely distinguish between, say, partially fair-trade coffee from Starbucks and a salad from Natural Start made with greens grown just outside of Spokane. That makes it tough, Gauthier says, to compete with Starbucks’ advertising budget and brand recognition. “Corporations are to blame. That’s who I blame. I blame Starbucks,” he says. “I think this corporate model we’ve set up is failing us — we’re setting ourselves up for a huge failure because we don’t produce anything [locally] anymore.”
While the hegemony of Starbucks is a factor in the difficulties any small local coffee shop has staying open, the closing of Natural Start raises questions about the ability of the burgeoning locavore movement to sustain itself in Spokane. – ERIKA PRINS
The café formerly known as Natural Start, 1718 N. Hamilton, will reopen Dec. 1. Call 483-3366 for information and hours of operation.
Just as Main Market Co-op prepares to open, another business selling organic, locavore food will close. Natural Start Café, near Gonzaga University, served its last customers on Sunday. When it re-opens as a “college-hangout” coffee joint, it will no longer carry exclusively organic products — most of which come from within a 30-mile radius of Spokane — in the way that Natural Start did.
Citing financial hardship, co-owner Marc Gauthier is selling his share of the business to his partner. Gauthier and his business partner, Gib Sharpe, believe that the hip-coffee-shop model will be more lucrative. “We’re going to take a break from baking,” Shape says. He’ll contract with Taste for all the baked goods and continue serving Doma Coffee.
But for Gauthier, opening Natural Start two years ago was more about promoting the organic, local lifestyle than owning a business. If it’s not about the movement, he’s not interested.
So Gauthier will instead direct his energy toward other businesses in Spokane pursuing the same mission — namely Coffee Social (113 W. Indiana Ave.) and the Main Market Co-op (opening soon at 44 W. Main Ave.). “I would like to see the organic community communicating better,” he says, pointing to the large number of small local farmers markets as an example of poor coordination in the local and organic foods movement: “It’s frustrating when even the people who are on your team are fighting.”
Gauthier says Spokane is a tough market in which to sell the organic and local concept. “It is an uphill battle here in Spokane and we knew that starting off,” he says. “We’re the only place in town selling free-range, organic chicken anything, and [Subway across the street] is booming all day.”
He’d hoped to see that battle through, but in the end, couldn’t continue to make ends meet. “It was just numbers,” he says. “I basically couldn’t afford to wait for Spokane to catch up.”
In late August, The Inlander spoke with Gauthier about the “buy local” label, a concept he says corporations have cashed in on to the detriment of consumers. The word “local” is now thrown around with no real definition, and corporations lobby to ease standards for the USDA “organic” label, he says, “diluting” its meaning.
Then, Gauthier said the shop was “surviving,” having intentionally positioned itself to compete with a Starbucks in hopes that their comparable prices and locavore ethos would give them an edge among social justice-savvy Gonzaga students. But consumers rarely distinguish between, say, partially fair-trade coffee from Starbucks and a salad from Natural Start made with greens grown just outside of Spokane. That makes it tough, Gauthier says, to compete with Starbucks’ advertising budget and brand recognition. “Corporations are to blame. That’s who I blame. I blame Starbucks,” he says. “I think this corporate model we’ve set up is failing us — we’re setting ourselves up for a huge failure because we don’t produce anything [locally] anymore.”
While the hegemony of Starbucks is a factor in the difficulties any small local coffee shop has staying open, the closing of Natural Start raises questions about the ability of the burgeoning locavore movement to sustain itself in Spokane. – ERIKA PRINS
The café formerly known as Natural Start, 1718 N. Hamilton, will reopen Dec. 1. Call 483-3366 for information and hours of operation.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Family fun
“We serve fun at Shakey’s, also pizza. Shakey’s!”
The old ad jingle evokes memories of crew cut teens in Bermuda shorts and horn rim glasses, all piling into a wood-paneled van with their surfboards. In California in the ’60s, SHAKEY’S was where you hung out, mostly for the pizza and the irreverence. (Sample vintage sign: “In case of fire, remain calm and stay seated until all employees have left the building.”)
In the ’60s and ’70s, there were a couple of Shakey’s outlets on East Sprague; in the mid-’80s, there were a couple more on East Francis. Now the “Pizza Parlor and Ye Public House” has returned — and they’re still making their own pizza dough on the premises, fresh daily.
Steve Hersey, who owns the new Northpointe Shakey’s, says, “Everybody has a Shakey’s story — like standing on the bench and peering through the window as the dough was being made.”
Hersey tells of families driving in from the Tri-Cities and Seattle just for the taste. (Nearly all of Shakey’s U.S. locations are in California.)
The menu features appetizers, a salad bar, fried chicken (eight pieces with Mojos for $16), nine specialty pizzas (from Ultimate Meat to Garden Veggie, both thin-crust and pan, $7.50-$21), make-your-own pizzas ($4-$19), kids’ meals ($5), family meals and party packages.
Everything caters to large gatherings and family fun: the sports-bar nook (beer and wine only, but with big TVs), the arcade games in the next room (win long snakes of tickets on the Spin-N-Win!), the long-bench seating.
When Hersey says that he likes to “bring in the large groups,” he means it. Got 20 people you need to feed fast? Get four one-topping pizzas, two dozen pieces of fried chicken and Mojo potatoes (thin, lightly battered and fried potato slices) for $110. (It’s on the menu.)
From the oddball slogans to the fun room, from the uniformed sports teams slurping down soft drinks to the nostalgic gray hairs cuddling their grandchildren, it’s clear that Shakey’s is fixated on making sure that you have fun.
Oh, and they also serve pizza. — MICHAEL BOWEN
Shakey’s Pizza Parlor, 9602 N. Newport Hwy., is open Sun-Thu 11 am-10 pm, Fri-Sat 11 am-11 pm. Call 464-0200.
The old ad jingle evokes memories of crew cut teens in Bermuda shorts and horn rim glasses, all piling into a wood-paneled van with their surfboards. In California in the ’60s, SHAKEY’S was where you hung out, mostly for the pizza and the irreverence. (Sample vintage sign: “In case of fire, remain calm and stay seated until all employees have left the building.”)
In the ’60s and ’70s, there were a couple of Shakey’s outlets on East Sprague; in the mid-’80s, there were a couple more on East Francis. Now the “Pizza Parlor and Ye Public House” has returned — and they’re still making their own pizza dough on the premises, fresh daily.
Steve Hersey, who owns the new Northpointe Shakey’s, says, “Everybody has a Shakey’s story — like standing on the bench and peering through the window as the dough was being made.”
Hersey tells of families driving in from the Tri-Cities and Seattle just for the taste. (Nearly all of Shakey’s U.S. locations are in California.)
The menu features appetizers, a salad bar, fried chicken (eight pieces with Mojos for $16), nine specialty pizzas (from Ultimate Meat to Garden Veggie, both thin-crust and pan, $7.50-$21), make-your-own pizzas ($4-$19), kids’ meals ($5), family meals and party packages.
Everything caters to large gatherings and family fun: the sports-bar nook (beer and wine only, but with big TVs), the arcade games in the next room (win long snakes of tickets on the Spin-N-Win!), the long-bench seating.
When Hersey says that he likes to “bring in the large groups,” he means it. Got 20 people you need to feed fast? Get four one-topping pizzas, two dozen pieces of fried chicken and Mojo potatoes (thin, lightly battered and fried potato slices) for $110. (It’s on the menu.)
From the oddball slogans to the fun room, from the uniformed sports teams slurping down soft drinks to the nostalgic gray hairs cuddling their grandchildren, it’s clear that Shakey’s is fixated on making sure that you have fun.
Oh, and they also serve pizza. — MICHAEL BOWEN
Shakey’s Pizza Parlor, 9602 N. Newport Hwy., is open Sun-Thu 11 am-10 pm, Fri-Sat 11 am-11 pm. Call 464-0200.
Spirit's on
Soulful Soups is open under new ownership and a new name — well, an addendum to the old name. R.J. Portmann and Julles Messman bought the restaurant last summer and spent a few weeks learning the ropes before closing to make some minor changes. If the crowd on opening day is any indication, soup lovers are happy to see Soulful Soups back in business.
The new look includes bar-height bistro-style tables and chairs in a bold-red color theme. The front counter was revamped to make space for the beverages that will be part of the bar, Soulful Spirits, opening in two weeks. Nooks built into the walls showcase Grey Goose vodka and other libations that will be available when the bar opens.
Soulful Soups returns with all of the previous favorites, including house-made beer bread to go along with the rotating selection of daily soups. The menu is simple, with two sizes of soup, paninis and croissant sandwiches, ranging from $6.75 to $9. Regularly featured soups include spicy mac ’n’ cheese (the ultimate comfort food), clam chowder and tomato bisque. Specialty salads include a cranberry, walnut and feta cheese salad for $7. Great Harvest multi-grain rolls and bread bowls are coming soon.
The real change is evident after 3 pm, when SOULFUL SOUPS AND SPIRITS showcases the second half of its name. Lights will dim and Soulful Spirits will offer a selection of wines, beers and spirits from Washington, Idaho and Montana, along with a food menu that Portmann describes as “tapas-style snacks, but more eclectic.” Each menu item has a story, gathered from Portmann’s and Messman’s travels and life adventures. Customers are encouraged to share dishes from the menu, which will be offered in what Portmann calls “social portions” — enough food to be shared by the number of people at the table. The bar will also host wine tastings and other events. — KIRSTEN HARRINGTON
Soulful Soups and Spirits, 117 N. Howard St., is open Mon-Sat 10:30 am-3 pm. When the bar opens in few weeks, Spirits will be open Mon-Wed until midnight and Thu-Sat until 2 am. Call 459-1190.
The new look includes bar-height bistro-style tables and chairs in a bold-red color theme. The front counter was revamped to make space for the beverages that will be part of the bar, Soulful Spirits, opening in two weeks. Nooks built into the walls showcase Grey Goose vodka and other libations that will be available when the bar opens.
Soulful Soups returns with all of the previous favorites, including house-made beer bread to go along with the rotating selection of daily soups. The menu is simple, with two sizes of soup, paninis and croissant sandwiches, ranging from $6.75 to $9. Regularly featured soups include spicy mac ’n’ cheese (the ultimate comfort food), clam chowder and tomato bisque. Specialty salads include a cranberry, walnut and feta cheese salad for $7. Great Harvest multi-grain rolls and bread bowls are coming soon.
The real change is evident after 3 pm, when SOULFUL SOUPS AND SPIRITS showcases the second half of its name. Lights will dim and Soulful Spirits will offer a selection of wines, beers and spirits from Washington, Idaho and Montana, along with a food menu that Portmann describes as “tapas-style snacks, but more eclectic.” Each menu item has a story, gathered from Portmann’s and Messman’s travels and life adventures. Customers are encouraged to share dishes from the menu, which will be offered in what Portmann calls “social portions” — enough food to be shared by the number of people at the table. The bar will also host wine tastings and other events. — KIRSTEN HARRINGTON
Soulful Soups and Spirits, 117 N. Howard St., is open Mon-Sat 10:30 am-3 pm. When the bar opens in few weeks, Spirits will be open Mon-Wed until midnight and Thu-Sat until 2 am. Call 459-1190.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Community Thanksgiving
Chefs from the Davenport, Latah Bistro, Santé, Wild Sage, Catered for You and Scratch have all volunteered to carve up 150 turkeys that will be served at the The Women’s and Children’s Free Restaurant’s Thanksgiving Dinner on Tuesday, Nov. 17. “They can break down a bird in 12 minutes, and it looks great,” says Marlene Alford, executive director.
It takes a small army of volunteers to prepare 846 pounds of mashed potatoes, 65 gallons of gravy, Caesar salad, green beans, sweet potatoes, cranberries, pumpkin pie and the numerous other dishes that will be on the menu.
In addition to the volunteer staff in the kitchen (including one volunteer who grew and dried the sage for the stuffing), several local businesses have pitched in. Spokane’s Pawn 1 is sponsoring the event. Darigold is lending refrigerated trucks for extra cold storage, and the pumpkin desserts will be baked in the convection ovens at Meals on Wheels. “There’s a community teamwork feel that’s important to everyone involved,” says Alford.
This year, for the first time, the Free Restaurant is adding a second site to its annual Thanksgiving feast (everyone is welcome — not just women and children). Alford is expecting 500-700 diners at the Free Restaurant and another 700-800 guests at the East Central Community Center.
“We don’t cut any corners. We do all of the extra nice things — like nametags that allow people to visit,” says Alford, who strives to create a sense of community and not just a free meal. She notes that many come for the companionship as much as they do for the food.
In addition to the big event, the Free Restaurant serves dinner to women and children on Tuesdays-Wednesdays at 3 pm, and Friday lunch and Fresh Market for take home produce at 12:30 pm. — KIRSTEN HARRINGTON
Thanksgiving Dinner will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 17, from 3-7 pm at two locations: The Women’s and Children’s Free Restaurant at 1620 N. Monroe St. (inside St. Paul’s Methodist Church) and at the East Central Community Center, 500 S. Stone St. Free. Call 324-1995.
It takes a small army of volunteers to prepare 846 pounds of mashed potatoes, 65 gallons of gravy, Caesar salad, green beans, sweet potatoes, cranberries, pumpkin pie and the numerous other dishes that will be on the menu.
In addition to the volunteer staff in the kitchen (including one volunteer who grew and dried the sage for the stuffing), several local businesses have pitched in. Spokane’s Pawn 1 is sponsoring the event. Darigold is lending refrigerated trucks for extra cold storage, and the pumpkin desserts will be baked in the convection ovens at Meals on Wheels. “There’s a community teamwork feel that’s important to everyone involved,” says Alford.
This year, for the first time, the Free Restaurant is adding a second site to its annual Thanksgiving feast (everyone is welcome — not just women and children). Alford is expecting 500-700 diners at the Free Restaurant and another 700-800 guests at the East Central Community Center.
“We don’t cut any corners. We do all of the extra nice things — like nametags that allow people to visit,” says Alford, who strives to create a sense of community and not just a free meal. She notes that many come for the companionship as much as they do for the food.
In addition to the big event, the Free Restaurant serves dinner to women and children on Tuesdays-Wednesdays at 3 pm, and Friday lunch and Fresh Market for take home produce at 12:30 pm. — KIRSTEN HARRINGTON
Thanksgiving Dinner will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 17, from 3-7 pm at two locations: The Women’s and Children’s Free Restaurant at 1620 N. Monroe St. (inside St. Paul’s Methodist Church) and at the East Central Community Center, 500 S. Stone St. Free. Call 324-1995.
Bones goes dry
When The Inlander marched out its “Nuthin’ Fancy” cover story, we used Lazy Bones Barbecue as prime, juicy proof that in times of recession, casual restaurants thrived.
Oops.
Call the Lazy Bones number today and it will ring and ring and ring. And ring. Tuesday, Nov. 3, was Lazy Bones last day, owner John Fletcher says.
“There was a lot of factors.” Fletcher says, “It was an expensive location, the recession, we were under capitalized.”
Fletcher had been impressed by the solid, consistent business when Lazy Bones opened. “It’s slowed down in September,” Fletcher said back in late September. “I’m not sure if it’s a seasonal thing.”
That makes some sense. Barbecue is a summer-style food and may not fit with the soggy months of fall. And where the open rugged interior captured the spirit and light of summer, in the dark of the encroaching winter, it just seemed gloomy.
There may have been other problems: When Latah Bistro Chef David Blaine announced Lazy Bones’ opening on his From the Back Kitchen blog, three of the 10 comments were complaints about the parking.
Anyone who’s been tried to find parking at the Regal Pond strip mall understands the problem.
“It’s tough,” neighboring Twigs Bistro manager Rob Graham said. “People have to park on the street. There’s so many different restaurants in the strip here.” But Fletcher doesn’t blame parking.
“I wish I could say that was part of it,” Fletcher says. “We had lots of slow lunches were there were plenty of open parking places around.”
Wheat Montana, the previous tenant in Lazy Bones’ location, also closed in less than year. — DANIEL WALTERS
Oops.
Call the Lazy Bones number today and it will ring and ring and ring. And ring. Tuesday, Nov. 3, was Lazy Bones last day, owner John Fletcher says.
“There was a lot of factors.” Fletcher says, “It was an expensive location, the recession, we were under capitalized.”
Fletcher had been impressed by the solid, consistent business when Lazy Bones opened. “It’s slowed down in September,” Fletcher said back in late September. “I’m not sure if it’s a seasonal thing.”
That makes some sense. Barbecue is a summer-style food and may not fit with the soggy months of fall. And where the open rugged interior captured the spirit and light of summer, in the dark of the encroaching winter, it just seemed gloomy.
There may have been other problems: When Latah Bistro Chef David Blaine announced Lazy Bones’ opening on his From the Back Kitchen blog, three of the 10 comments were complaints about the parking.
Anyone who’s been tried to find parking at the Regal Pond strip mall understands the problem.
“It’s tough,” neighboring Twigs Bistro manager Rob Graham said. “People have to park on the street. There’s so many different restaurants in the strip here.” But Fletcher doesn’t blame parking.
“I wish I could say that was part of it,” Fletcher says. “We had lots of slow lunches were there were plenty of open parking places around.”
Wheat Montana, the previous tenant in Lazy Bones’ location, also closed in less than year. — DANIEL WALTERS
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Sunrise for Vito
It might take as much time for the distinctive smell of Market Spice tea to let go its hold on the former Sunshine Trader restaurant as it will for diners to discover that the Coeur d’Alene location has been newly transformed into VITO’S ITALIAN. When it does, this place has the potential to fill a niche for Italian food vacated by the recently closed Wine Cellar and to give lunch-goers a quieter, grown-up alternative to Tomato Street.
Dishes like Salsiccia Peperone (mild Italian sausage, sweet peppers and onions atop spaghetti with white wine/garlic scampi, $14) and Osso Bucco ($22) will appeal to hearty eaters. Lighter fare includes orange-glazed Arancia Chicken over spinach, with almonds and fire-roasted sweet peppers ($10).
For lunch, sandwiches predominate, with choices like the Italian grinder with prosciutto, salami, ham, pepperoni and provolone; the Caprese Wrap with mozzarella and marinated veggies; and the classic meatball or sausage sub ($8-$10). Oven-baked pita bread “pizza” has an Italian twist with fresh basil, Roma tomato, parmesan and chèvre ($8).
Everything is made from scratch, including traditional soups and daily desserts whipped up by Chef Rich Grow, whose New York roots lend authenticity to his delicious New York-style cheesecake. Owners Vito and Joy Barbieri give it an authentic Italian spin with their family recipes and a cozy dining area with dimmed lighting, images of Italian villas, and a Tuscany-inspired color scheme.
Although the Barbieris have owned Sunshine Trader since 2006, it’s only been Vito’s for a few months. After all, Sunshine Trader had previously enjoyed nearly 30 years in a town plagued by turnover in the casual dining market. And it’s hardly a central location — camouflaged by tall pines, set back from the busy health care-oriented stretch of Ironwood between 95 and Northwest Boulevard, neither downtown nor mid-town. It is, however, super-close to the freeway, making it a convenient location for diners both locally and out-of-town.
With a grand opening in the works, a small but reasonable wine and beer list and well-trained, friendly wait staff, they might just become your new favorite Italian family restaurant. — CARRIE SCOZZARO
Vito’s Italian, 1116 W.
Ironwood Dr., Coeur d’Alene, is open Mon-Thu 10 am-4 pm for lunch, 5-9 pm for dinner; Fri-Sat 5-9 pm. Call (208)
667-1233 or visit
www.vitositalian.com.
Dishes like Salsiccia Peperone (mild Italian sausage, sweet peppers and onions atop spaghetti with white wine/garlic scampi, $14) and Osso Bucco ($22) will appeal to hearty eaters. Lighter fare includes orange-glazed Arancia Chicken over spinach, with almonds and fire-roasted sweet peppers ($10).
For lunch, sandwiches predominate, with choices like the Italian grinder with prosciutto, salami, ham, pepperoni and provolone; the Caprese Wrap with mozzarella and marinated veggies; and the classic meatball or sausage sub ($8-$10). Oven-baked pita bread “pizza” has an Italian twist with fresh basil, Roma tomato, parmesan and chèvre ($8).
Everything is made from scratch, including traditional soups and daily desserts whipped up by Chef Rich Grow, whose New York roots lend authenticity to his delicious New York-style cheesecake. Owners Vito and Joy Barbieri give it an authentic Italian spin with their family recipes and a cozy dining area with dimmed lighting, images of Italian villas, and a Tuscany-inspired color scheme.
Although the Barbieris have owned Sunshine Trader since 2006, it’s only been Vito’s for a few months. After all, Sunshine Trader had previously enjoyed nearly 30 years in a town plagued by turnover in the casual dining market. And it’s hardly a central location — camouflaged by tall pines, set back from the busy health care-oriented stretch of Ironwood between 95 and Northwest Boulevard, neither downtown nor mid-town. It is, however, super-close to the freeway, making it a convenient location for diners both locally and out-of-town.
With a grand opening in the works, a small but reasonable wine and beer list and well-trained, friendly wait staff, they might just become your new favorite Italian family restaurant. — CARRIE SCOZZARO
Vito’s Italian, 1116 W.
Ironwood Dr., Coeur d’Alene, is open Mon-Thu 10 am-4 pm for lunch, 5-9 pm for dinner; Fri-Sat 5-9 pm. Call (208)
667-1233 or visit
www.vitositalian.com.
Comfy, Victorian
I should’ve known that the fireplace was going to be trouble. To call myself hot-blooded conveys the wrong image, but seriously, I don’t generally need an external heat source to keep warm.
Quite the opposite.
And so, usually, when I walk into a new place, I scope the fireplaces and set up camp as far from them as possible.
It’s just that, at Left Bank Wine Bar, there’s a fainting sofa parked right across from the hearth.
And that sofa … just … looked so. Damn. Comfortable.
(Spoiler alert: It was.)
It’s the duty of any coziness-concerned establishment — and Left Bank is such a place — that the first bite of autumn brings a roaring fire, and so, on this early October evening, the fireplace was in full blaze.
Quickly enough, my heat-related discomfort was offset by shock at the happy hour prices ($5 wine glasses, 10 beers at $5 and under, including the Dogfish Head Pumpkin Ale that Joel Smith loved so much in our Dining Guide) and generous portions. The flights on the night in question seemed like full pours.
We ordered two appetizers to accompany the quick after-work drunk and the thing started to feel like a proper fête. The cheese plate with the server’s suggestions of Humboldt Fog, Tallegio and Vache Fermier ($10) got more robust when upsized with prosciutto and salami (an extra $6). The Gorgonzola honey bruschetta ($8), though, with its nice interplay of sweet and tart on a wonderfully toasted medallion of baguette, got everybody swooning. (Good thing I scoped out the fainting sofa.)
This is simple, well-built, tasty food, a thoughtful counterpart to the well-chosen, well-priced wines and microbrews. The same goes for the comfortable, rich-looking environment.
Though it’s now long in the tooth, the enduring legacy of the whole shabby chic trend will be that it has put people at ease with the idea that ornate décor needn’t feel stodgy, and certainly needn’t be uncomfortable.
Left Bank isn’t shabby chic or anything. There’s no chipping paint in sight. Everything is nicely appointed — velvety damask drapery, adorable little chandeliers, that fainting sofa, etc. But without a doubt, the concept of cozy Victoriana (at less-than-Gilded Age prices during happy hour) is in full effect. — LUKE BAUMGARTEN
Left Bank Wine Bar, 108 N. Washington St., Suite 105, is open Mon-Fri 11am to “late in the evening,” and Sat from 4 pm to “late in the evening.” Happy Hour is 3-6 pm during the week.
Quite the opposite.
And so, usually, when I walk into a new place, I scope the fireplaces and set up camp as far from them as possible.
It’s just that, at Left Bank Wine Bar, there’s a fainting sofa parked right across from the hearth.
And that sofa … just … looked so. Damn. Comfortable.
(Spoiler alert: It was.)
It’s the duty of any coziness-concerned establishment — and Left Bank is such a place — that the first bite of autumn brings a roaring fire, and so, on this early October evening, the fireplace was in full blaze.
Quickly enough, my heat-related discomfort was offset by shock at the happy hour prices ($5 wine glasses, 10 beers at $5 and under, including the Dogfish Head Pumpkin Ale that Joel Smith loved so much in our Dining Guide) and generous portions. The flights on the night in question seemed like full pours.
We ordered two appetizers to accompany the quick after-work drunk and the thing started to feel like a proper fête. The cheese plate with the server’s suggestions of Humboldt Fog, Tallegio and Vache Fermier ($10) got more robust when upsized with prosciutto and salami (an extra $6). The Gorgonzola honey bruschetta ($8), though, with its nice interplay of sweet and tart on a wonderfully toasted medallion of baguette, got everybody swooning. (Good thing I scoped out the fainting sofa.)
This is simple, well-built, tasty food, a thoughtful counterpart to the well-chosen, well-priced wines and microbrews. The same goes for the comfortable, rich-looking environment.
Though it’s now long in the tooth, the enduring legacy of the whole shabby chic trend will be that it has put people at ease with the idea that ornate décor needn’t feel stodgy, and certainly needn’t be uncomfortable.
Left Bank isn’t shabby chic or anything. There’s no chipping paint in sight. Everything is nicely appointed — velvety damask drapery, adorable little chandeliers, that fainting sofa, etc. But without a doubt, the concept of cozy Victoriana (at less-than-Gilded Age prices during happy hour) is in full effect. — LUKE BAUMGARTEN
Left Bank Wine Bar, 108 N. Washington St., Suite 105, is open Mon-Fri 11am to “late in the evening,” and Sat from 4 pm to “late in the evening.” Happy Hour is 3-6 pm during the week.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Let them eat cake
No more delicious, buttery croissants. No more chocolate-orange scones. Those were the tear-stained, pastry-deprived thoughts of Bittersweet Bistro regulars when the favorite South Hill bakery shuttered its doors last June.
Gina Garcia, who ran Bittersweet, says not to fret: Those same croissants and scones will live happily again in your belly — you just have to stick it out until the first of the year. That’s when she plans to start firing up the ovens at Cake, a bakery being opened by Chaps Coffee Company’s owner, Celeste Shaw. Cake will open in a new 3,000-square-foot space connected to Chaps — baking all of the bread sold at Chaps and offering some of the delicious treats you could get at Bittersweet.
Garcia says that she and Shaw have been talking for years about collaborating on a bakery. When Bittersweet closed “for a number of reasons,” they started to get serious.
Cake won’t be the one-stop crèpe shop that Bittersweet was — they’ll leave the bistro end of things to Chaps. But Garcia says that Cake will be the spot for “bread you can’t find anywhere in town” — baguettes, sweet breads, pan loaves that are “different and really high-quality.”
Garcia, who’ll serve as the pastry chef for Cake, says that Shaw’s vision will enable her bakers to do things they couldn’t at Bittersweet, including top-notch ovens and high-end training — not to mention a huge, brand new space.
“We were trying to do so much in a small space up at Bittersweet. This is going to broaden our horizons even more,” she says.
More details to come — but Garcia promises to have those chocolate orange scones from Bittersweet on the menu.
“We sold the crud out of those things,” she says. — LEAH SOTTILE
Chaps, 4237 S. Cheney-Spokane Rd., is open Tues 11 am–3 pm; Wed–Thurs 11 am–3 pm and 4:30–close; and Fri–Sun 7:30 am–3 pm and 4:30–close. Call 624-4182.
Gina Garcia, who ran Bittersweet, says not to fret: Those same croissants and scones will live happily again in your belly — you just have to stick it out until the first of the year. That’s when she plans to start firing up the ovens at Cake, a bakery being opened by Chaps Coffee Company’s owner, Celeste Shaw. Cake will open in a new 3,000-square-foot space connected to Chaps — baking all of the bread sold at Chaps and offering some of the delicious treats you could get at Bittersweet.
Garcia says that she and Shaw have been talking for years about collaborating on a bakery. When Bittersweet closed “for a number of reasons,” they started to get serious.
Cake won’t be the one-stop crèpe shop that Bittersweet was — they’ll leave the bistro end of things to Chaps. But Garcia says that Cake will be the spot for “bread you can’t find anywhere in town” — baguettes, sweet breads, pan loaves that are “different and really high-quality.”
Garcia, who’ll serve as the pastry chef for Cake, says that Shaw’s vision will enable her bakers to do things they couldn’t at Bittersweet, including top-notch ovens and high-end training — not to mention a huge, brand new space.
“We were trying to do so much in a small space up at Bittersweet. This is going to broaden our horizons even more,” she says.
More details to come — but Garcia promises to have those chocolate orange scones from Bittersweet on the menu.
“We sold the crud out of those things,” she says. — LEAH SOTTILE
Chaps, 4237 S. Cheney-Spokane Rd., is open Tues 11 am–3 pm; Wed–Thurs 11 am–3 pm and 4:30–close; and Fri–Sun 7:30 am–3 pm and 4:30–close. Call 624-4182.
Upscale flapjacks
I always intended to swing into Dolly’s before it closed in December last year for massive renovation. The sheer seedy audacity of the formerly Pepto pink-and-white exterior promised a great greasy-spoon diner experience. The quality of the remodeling effort suggests that it was good that I waited.
Dolly’s today looks positively swank. Its cinderblock façade has been redone, with muted green and canvas arches in green, maroon and goldenrod over the windows. Inside, the transformation is equally upscale with high-backed booths, rich fabrics, polished wood and warm harvest colors on the walls. Then there are the bathrooms, which must be seen to be believed: Imagine a cross between high-end chic and an airplane lavatory.
It’s not just the bathrooms either: I find it stunning how many people can actually fit into the truly tiny building at once. From the street, you might guess five to 10 — but that many fit just at the counter that wraps around the tiny galley kitchen, which itself is just large enough for two cooks working shoulder to shoulder.
But the space wasn’t the most important thing Desiree Olsness bought when she took over Dolly’s 16 years ago. With the space, she got the name and a story stretching back to 1958: Dolly Mueller and her famous pies. For several years, Olsness personally served as custodian of the Dolly’s name, but in the late ’90s, she arranged a lease-to-own deal to save herself from restaurant burnout. That deal fell apart last year, and Olsness found herself faced with a building in serious disrepair — customers complained of a waterfall inside when it rained — and a business to resurrect.
And that’s exactly what she’s doing. The current menu doesn’t feature any of Mueller’s pies, but Olsness and her kitchen crew do serve up a great Belgian waffle and menu of diner classics.
These include chicken fried steak and eggs ($11.49) and eggs Benedict ($9) on the breakfast side of the laminated menu, and hot roast beef and turkey sandwiches with mashed potatoes and gravy at on the lunch side. For breakfast, I’m sweet on the waffle; at lunch, a great place to start is the straightforward mushroom and swiss burger. At either meal, grab a stool at the counter and listen to the regulars banter with each other, Olsness and her staff. — KEVIN FINCH
Dolly’s Café, 1825 N. Washington St., is open daily, 6 am-2 pm. Call 326-0386.
Dolly’s today looks positively swank. Its cinderblock façade has been redone, with muted green and canvas arches in green, maroon and goldenrod over the windows. Inside, the transformation is equally upscale with high-backed booths, rich fabrics, polished wood and warm harvest colors on the walls. Then there are the bathrooms, which must be seen to be believed: Imagine a cross between high-end chic and an airplane lavatory.
It’s not just the bathrooms either: I find it stunning how many people can actually fit into the truly tiny building at once. From the street, you might guess five to 10 — but that many fit just at the counter that wraps around the tiny galley kitchen, which itself is just large enough for two cooks working shoulder to shoulder.
But the space wasn’t the most important thing Desiree Olsness bought when she took over Dolly’s 16 years ago. With the space, she got the name and a story stretching back to 1958: Dolly Mueller and her famous pies. For several years, Olsness personally served as custodian of the Dolly’s name, but in the late ’90s, she arranged a lease-to-own deal to save herself from restaurant burnout. That deal fell apart last year, and Olsness found herself faced with a building in serious disrepair — customers complained of a waterfall inside when it rained — and a business to resurrect.
And that’s exactly what she’s doing. The current menu doesn’t feature any of Mueller’s pies, but Olsness and her kitchen crew do serve up a great Belgian waffle and menu of diner classics.
These include chicken fried steak and eggs ($11.49) and eggs Benedict ($9) on the breakfast side of the laminated menu, and hot roast beef and turkey sandwiches with mashed potatoes and gravy at on the lunch side. For breakfast, I’m sweet on the waffle; at lunch, a great place to start is the straightforward mushroom and swiss burger. At either meal, grab a stool at the counter and listen to the regulars banter with each other, Olsness and her staff. — KEVIN FINCH
Dolly’s Café, 1825 N. Washington St., is open daily, 6 am-2 pm. Call 326-0386.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
First impressions
For most of last week, the POST STREET ALE HOUSE’s bar was stocked and its neon signs were blazing but, alas, we weren’t allowed in. On the door, a sign read: Private Party. That party ended at 3 pm Friday, and another party began, this one big and open to the public. By sundown, this new pub was packed, the waitresses looked like frightened deer and almost every table was taken in the expansive location that once housed both 360 and Cavallino Lounge. First day, new staff, an untried menu and a packed house. Needless to say, there were some bumps, but plenty of potential.
Sitting down in the back of the restaurant, the place seemed familiar. Not in the I’ve-been-here-before way, but in the this-kinda-looks-like-a-chain way, despite it being locally owned by Walt Worthy, the man behind the Davenport Hotel, who bought the piece of land the new pub stands on earlier this year along with the Hotel Lusso.
While the décor did not overwhelm us, the menu, at first glance, did. Twenty beers on tap and a full bar promised many quaffable selections. And the food menu — with BBQ Pork Sliders ($7), Peel & Eat Shrimp ($8), Patty Melt on Grilled Marble Rye ($9) and Guinness Braised Short Ribs ($14) — was nothing to scoff at.
Looking closer, however, the beer selection wasn’t as awe-inspiring as hoped, mainly because there was nothing too surprising there — Bud Light, Northern Lights Chocolate Dunkel, Stone IPA, Anchor Steam, Moose Drool, Blue Moon and others ($3-$5). All brews you can get in many other locations.
And for vegetarians there is zilch. Some salads (which all come with meat, so you gotta tweak ’em) and appetizers (mainly deep fried) and that’s it. How ’bout a veggie burger or some fake German sausages?
A downtown pub is great. And we have high hopes that they’ll soon start staking out taps for truly strange brews, and add a little more greenery to the menu.
On this night, though, the place was packed and buzzing with cheery diners. “We’re staying across the street [at the Davenport],” I overheard the man next to us telling his waitress. “We asked for a great restaurant, and they told us to come here.” — NICHOLAS DESHAIS
Post Street Ale House, 1 N. Post St., is open daily from 11 am-2 am. Call 789-6900.
Sitting down in the back of the restaurant, the place seemed familiar. Not in the I’ve-been-here-before way, but in the this-kinda-looks-like-a-chain way, despite it being locally owned by Walt Worthy, the man behind the Davenport Hotel, who bought the piece of land the new pub stands on earlier this year along with the Hotel Lusso.
While the décor did not overwhelm us, the menu, at first glance, did. Twenty beers on tap and a full bar promised many quaffable selections. And the food menu — with BBQ Pork Sliders ($7), Peel & Eat Shrimp ($8), Patty Melt on Grilled Marble Rye ($9) and Guinness Braised Short Ribs ($14) — was nothing to scoff at.
Looking closer, however, the beer selection wasn’t as awe-inspiring as hoped, mainly because there was nothing too surprising there — Bud Light, Northern Lights Chocolate Dunkel, Stone IPA, Anchor Steam, Moose Drool, Blue Moon and others ($3-$5). All brews you can get in many other locations.
And for vegetarians there is zilch. Some salads (which all come with meat, so you gotta tweak ’em) and appetizers (mainly deep fried) and that’s it. How ’bout a veggie burger or some fake German sausages?
A downtown pub is great. And we have high hopes that they’ll soon start staking out taps for truly strange brews, and add a little more greenery to the menu.
On this night, though, the place was packed and buzzing with cheery diners. “We’re staying across the street [at the Davenport],” I overheard the man next to us telling his waitress. “We asked for a great restaurant, and they told us to come here.” — NICHOLAS DESHAIS
Post Street Ale House, 1 N. Post St., is open daily from 11 am-2 am. Call 789-6900.
Tacos Tumbras
The bright splash of yellow-and-orange paint on an otherwise drab corner of Second and Cedar was a sure sign of good things to come. Apparently I’m not the only one who had eagerly anticipated the opening of TACOS TUMBRAS. The restaurant was buzzing with diners and take-out orders on its second day of business.
Carlos and Susana Zuniga know a thing or two about the restaurant business. Along with their son Ben, they own three taco trucks and a second Tacos Tumbras restaurant in Spokane Valley.
“It’s just like a Mexican taqueria,” Carlos says of the new space, where patrons can perch on red vinyl barstools overlooking the kitchen or slide into a booth. The sound of sizzling meat and the clang of spatulas on the flat-top grill attest to the freshness of the food.
If you are looking for adventurous Mexican food, the menu includes tongue and tripe tacos. But don’t worry if you don’t fall into this category — the extensive menu includes simple à la carte tacos for $1.50, fajita platters and combination meals with rice and beans topping out at $11.
You’ll find your favorite burritos and enchiladas as well as lesser-known items like the huarache (Mexican sandal). Imagine a warm, foot-shaped corn tortilla, topped with beans, tender, tasty beef, lettuce, tomatoes and cotija cheese. It was deliciously satisfying and fun to eat.
Then there are the sopes. Palm-sized round tortillas are fried to chewy-crunchy perfection and topped with carnitas — rich, juicy shredded pork. I stole as many bites as I could before my 4-year-old scolded me for eating off his plate. At $2.50 a pop, I can afford to order my own next time.
The Zunigas plan to open a Mexican market in the back of the restaurant and have applied for a liquor license with thoughts of opening a bar in the adjacent space. In a section of downtown saturated with fast food, Tacos Tumbras is a welcome change. — KIRSTEN HARRINGTON
Tacos Tumbras, 1325 W. Second Ave., is open Thu-Sat 11 am-2 am and Sun-Wed 11 am-9 pm. Call 456-8226.
Carlos and Susana Zuniga know a thing or two about the restaurant business. Along with their son Ben, they own three taco trucks and a second Tacos Tumbras restaurant in Spokane Valley.
“It’s just like a Mexican taqueria,” Carlos says of the new space, where patrons can perch on red vinyl barstools overlooking the kitchen or slide into a booth. The sound of sizzling meat and the clang of spatulas on the flat-top grill attest to the freshness of the food.
If you are looking for adventurous Mexican food, the menu includes tongue and tripe tacos. But don’t worry if you don’t fall into this category — the extensive menu includes simple à la carte tacos for $1.50, fajita platters and combination meals with rice and beans topping out at $11.
You’ll find your favorite burritos and enchiladas as well as lesser-known items like the huarache (Mexican sandal). Imagine a warm, foot-shaped corn tortilla, topped with beans, tender, tasty beef, lettuce, tomatoes and cotija cheese. It was deliciously satisfying and fun to eat.
Then there are the sopes. Palm-sized round tortillas are fried to chewy-crunchy perfection and topped with carnitas — rich, juicy shredded pork. I stole as many bites as I could before my 4-year-old scolded me for eating off his plate. At $2.50 a pop, I can afford to order my own next time.
The Zunigas plan to open a Mexican market in the back of the restaurant and have applied for a liquor license with thoughts of opening a bar in the adjacent space. In a section of downtown saturated with fast food, Tacos Tumbras is a welcome change. — KIRSTEN HARRINGTON
Tacos Tumbras, 1325 W. Second Ave., is open Thu-Sat 11 am-2 am and Sun-Wed 11 am-9 pm. Call 456-8226.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Cherry-picked items
A dense-looking baguette, bisected and stuffed with some sort of cheese, sits in a cooler, wrapped in cellophane. Stuck to it is one of those red-and-white striped badges that reads, “Hello, my name is,” and then, handwritten, “Gruyere & Butter.”
The presentation makes me chuckle. I know what I’m having for lunch, because it just introduced itself to me.
Atticus, the new coffee and gift shop owned by Andy and Kris Dinnison, is (or will be, once they’re done painting and changing out the horrid ’90s track lighting) subtle and tasteful and clever in all the ways their other venture, the beloved adult toy store Boo Radley’s, is brash and hip and gaudy.
The Dinnisons have added their touch to the goods of sale, which still communicate the subversively quick-witted, bookish vibe of Boo Radley’s, while doing so in a toned-down way.
The Halloween décor they sell is all allusions to Poe and the Romantics. There’s a nice collection of inspirational cards and some antique-y furniture. There’s an insane collection of Four Seasons teas — along with those super-hip Tea Forte pyramids — and the location, which used to be a Four Seasons Coffee, is still selling the roaster’s bulk beans.
An autumn opening is fitting. The whole place — from the gorgeous, backlit window decoupaged with pages from To Kill a Mockingbird in a way that recalls a shoji screen to the pillowy foam on their lattes ($2.20-$3.35) — makes you want to curl up and tuck into a book.
The cleverest thing about the food selection, besides the name tags, is that Atticus buys from multiple local bakeries. They stock scones ($2.50), including the deliciously smoky ham-and-cheese, along with various turnovers ($2.50) from Bouzies Bakery. They stock éclairs ($2.50), macaroons ($1.75) and the tantalizing-sounding Citrus Madeleine ($1.25) from Santé. They have the Rocket’s famous no-bake cookies ($2.25) and a gooey-as-all-hell caramel almond roll ($2.75) from Sweetwater Bakery. “We just kinda cherry-pick,” Andy says. I don’t know why more coffeehouses don’t do this.
The signage by designers Richard and Kate Vande Wend — an outline of a bird on a branch with “ATTICUS” in a ragged-edged typewriter font above — communicates, with few cues, what the space is all about.
It’s pitch-perfect branding. You get it before you even walk in the door.
— LUKE BAUMGARTEN
Atticus, 222 N. Howard St., is open Mon-Sat 7:30 am-6 pm, Sun 10 am-5 pm. Call 747-0336.
The presentation makes me chuckle. I know what I’m having for lunch, because it just introduced itself to me.
Atticus, the new coffee and gift shop owned by Andy and Kris Dinnison, is (or will be, once they’re done painting and changing out the horrid ’90s track lighting) subtle and tasteful and clever in all the ways their other venture, the beloved adult toy store Boo Radley’s, is brash and hip and gaudy.
The Dinnisons have added their touch to the goods of sale, which still communicate the subversively quick-witted, bookish vibe of Boo Radley’s, while doing so in a toned-down way.
The Halloween décor they sell is all allusions to Poe and the Romantics. There’s a nice collection of inspirational cards and some antique-y furniture. There’s an insane collection of Four Seasons teas — along with those super-hip Tea Forte pyramids — and the location, which used to be a Four Seasons Coffee, is still selling the roaster’s bulk beans.
An autumn opening is fitting. The whole place — from the gorgeous, backlit window decoupaged with pages from To Kill a Mockingbird in a way that recalls a shoji screen to the pillowy foam on their lattes ($2.20-$3.35) — makes you want to curl up and tuck into a book.
The cleverest thing about the food selection, besides the name tags, is that Atticus buys from multiple local bakeries. They stock scones ($2.50), including the deliciously smoky ham-and-cheese, along with various turnovers ($2.50) from Bouzies Bakery. They stock éclairs ($2.50), macaroons ($1.75) and the tantalizing-sounding Citrus Madeleine ($1.25) from Santé. They have the Rocket’s famous no-bake cookies ($2.25) and a gooey-as-all-hell caramel almond roll ($2.75) from Sweetwater Bakery. “We just kinda cherry-pick,” Andy says. I don’t know why more coffeehouses don’t do this.
The signage by designers Richard and Kate Vande Wend — an outline of a bird on a branch with “ATTICUS” in a ragged-edged typewriter font above — communicates, with few cues, what the space is all about.
It’s pitch-perfect branding. You get it before you even walk in the door.
— LUKE BAUMGARTEN
Atticus, 222 N. Howard St., is open Mon-Sat 7:30 am-6 pm, Sun 10 am-5 pm. Call 747-0336.
Nautically Speaking
The Hayden Lake Marina is a little off-the-beaten path, on the southern part of Hayden Lake. But it’s nestled among the toniest of tony residences on one of North Idaho’s most stunning lakes.
With its casual, local feel and extensive deck overlooking the busy marina, The Boathouse should have no problem capturing the tourist crowd, yet it’s locals who’ll keep this place afloat through the long winters that have been tough on previous tenants docked there. Thus their menu is nicely broad-based: fairly reasonably priced appetizers, salads, burgers and an after-5 dinner menu that remains under $20.
Appetizers have nautically themed monikers like Life Rings and Buoys (onion rings and fries, $8) or the Bailer’s Bucket (clams in garlicky wine broth with warmed bread, $14). Other easy-to-share items include beer go-withs like chicken strips ($8), taquitos ($8), or the ever-popular fish and chips ($12).
Certified Angus beef is featured in the one-third-pound Boathouse burgers: classic ($8), mushroom and mozzarella ($9.50), the double-patty “works” burger with grilled onions, bacon, cheese and the usual garden items ($12.50). Other sandwich options include fish tacos ($8), and the Chicken Point Sandwich, which includes — no surprise — chicken ($9).
The regular menu lists five standard dinner options, such as the First Mate ($12), penne pasta with grilled veggies and a creamy Parmesan pesto and tomato sauce. The Lake Runner was an 8-ounce salmon filet (with lemon dill sauce or blackened), and either potatoes (thick with cheese and topped with green onion and bacon) or wild rice and seasonal vegetables ($18). There are also dinner specials like the Idaho Fried Chicken, which the reader board boasts is so good that it made the Colonel leave his wife. Sometimes it’s refreshing when a restaurant doesn’t take itself overly seriously.
While warm weather means dining outdoors on the deck, cooler weather is made all the more cozy by the small and lively bar scene that anchors one end of this eatery. There are six microbrews on tap at any given time and a modest wine list. — CARRIE SCOZZARO
The Boathouse, 3799 E. Hayden Lake Rd., Hayden Lake, Idaho, is open Mon-Thu 4–9 pm, Fri-Sun 11 am-9 pm. Call (208) 772-5057.
With its casual, local feel and extensive deck overlooking the busy marina, The Boathouse should have no problem capturing the tourist crowd, yet it’s locals who’ll keep this place afloat through the long winters that have been tough on previous tenants docked there. Thus their menu is nicely broad-based: fairly reasonably priced appetizers, salads, burgers and an after-5 dinner menu that remains under $20.
Appetizers have nautically themed monikers like Life Rings and Buoys (onion rings and fries, $8) or the Bailer’s Bucket (clams in garlicky wine broth with warmed bread, $14). Other easy-to-share items include beer go-withs like chicken strips ($8), taquitos ($8), or the ever-popular fish and chips ($12).
Certified Angus beef is featured in the one-third-pound Boathouse burgers: classic ($8), mushroom and mozzarella ($9.50), the double-patty “works” burger with grilled onions, bacon, cheese and the usual garden items ($12.50). Other sandwich options include fish tacos ($8), and the Chicken Point Sandwich, which includes — no surprise — chicken ($9).
The regular menu lists five standard dinner options, such as the First Mate ($12), penne pasta with grilled veggies and a creamy Parmesan pesto and tomato sauce. The Lake Runner was an 8-ounce salmon filet (with lemon dill sauce or blackened), and either potatoes (thick with cheese and topped with green onion and bacon) or wild rice and seasonal vegetables ($18). There are also dinner specials like the Idaho Fried Chicken, which the reader board boasts is so good that it made the Colonel leave his wife. Sometimes it’s refreshing when a restaurant doesn’t take itself overly seriously.
While warm weather means dining outdoors on the deck, cooler weather is made all the more cozy by the small and lively bar scene that anchors one end of this eatery. There are six microbrews on tap at any given time and a modest wine list. — CARRIE SCOZZARO
The Boathouse, 3799 E. Hayden Lake Rd., Hayden Lake, Idaho, is open Mon-Thu 4–9 pm, Fri-Sun 11 am-9 pm. Call (208) 772-5057.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Become friends, family
“Over food, strangers become friends and friends become family,” explains Tina-Marie Schultz, quoting her Nonna (grandma) Rosa Bonaventura, after whom Rosa’s Italian Market and Deli is named. It’s located across from Post Falls’ newly constructed City Hall in the town’s only historic-registry home, which Schultz converted to include indoor and outdoor dining.
Rosa’s place is abundantly about food: take-home entrees, fresh or frozen; pastries and breads, fresh or frozen; assorted wines, dried pastas, sauces, and a small wall of other market items; an espresso bar, and a dine-in menu of sandwiches (hot to cold), soups, salads, frittatas (like a quiche), pizza by the slice, and even breakfast.
Cold sandwiches like muffuletta ($7) — cappicolla ham, salami, mortadella, Fontina cheese, giardinierei (pickled vegetables), lettuce and tomato — showcase recipes and ingredients dating back to early American immigrant history, in this case the Sicilians in New Orleans. The Sinatra sandwich tips its hat to the legendary entertainer with sopressata and other salamis, sun-dried tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese ($7). Hot subs include Sabrett-brand hot dogs with sautéed potatoes, onions and peppers, inspired by Schultz’s other grandma, Nonna Tillie, and the ubiquitous meatball sub (both $7.25).
For dessert, traditional Italian treats include cannoli ($3.50) and decadent tiramisu ($4.99): lady finger cakes soaked in espresso and topped with a sort of mascarpone cheese custard, then a layer of cocoa.
With local delivery available, your dinner tonight could be veal or chicken parmesan, meatballs or pasta and marinara, pesto and other sauces (prices vary). An online menu makes ordering easy — and if you don’t know, Schultz can help you figure out what you need. — CARRIE SCOZZARO
Rosa’s Italian Market and Deli, 120 E. Fourth St., Post Falls, Idaho, is open Mon-Fri 7 am–6 pm, Sat 8 am-5 pm. Visit www.rosasmarket.com or call (208) 777-7400.
Rosa’s place is abundantly about food: take-home entrees, fresh or frozen; pastries and breads, fresh or frozen; assorted wines, dried pastas, sauces, and a small wall of other market items; an espresso bar, and a dine-in menu of sandwiches (hot to cold), soups, salads, frittatas (like a quiche), pizza by the slice, and even breakfast.
Cold sandwiches like muffuletta ($7) — cappicolla ham, salami, mortadella, Fontina cheese, giardinierei (pickled vegetables), lettuce and tomato — showcase recipes and ingredients dating back to early American immigrant history, in this case the Sicilians in New Orleans. The Sinatra sandwich tips its hat to the legendary entertainer with sopressata and other salamis, sun-dried tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese ($7). Hot subs include Sabrett-brand hot dogs with sautéed potatoes, onions and peppers, inspired by Schultz’s other grandma, Nonna Tillie, and the ubiquitous meatball sub (both $7.25).
For dessert, traditional Italian treats include cannoli ($3.50) and decadent tiramisu ($4.99): lady finger cakes soaked in espresso and topped with a sort of mascarpone cheese custard, then a layer of cocoa.
With local delivery available, your dinner tonight could be veal or chicken parmesan, meatballs or pasta and marinara, pesto and other sauces (prices vary). An online menu makes ordering easy — and if you don’t know, Schultz can help you figure out what you need. — CARRIE SCOZZARO
Rosa’s Italian Market and Deli, 120 E. Fourth St., Post Falls, Idaho, is open Mon-Fri 7 am–6 pm, Sat 8 am-5 pm. Visit www.rosasmarket.com or call (208) 777-7400.
Coming soon
Spokane has enough sports bars, at least in the mind of Chris Hale. So in anticipation of opening the new Hale’s Bar & Grill, Hale gutted and remodeled the old Parker’s Bar & Grill locale on Broadway.
Hale is keeping the Kokanee, the pool leagues, the NFL package on HDTV and, of course, the bar food. He also plans to offer healthier deli sandwiches and salads for lunch, plus a full (vegetarian-friendly) dinner menu and wine list.
Sports bar dudes may feel squeamish about their buffalo wings so close to vegetables (other than celery) in the kitchen, but Hale insists it’ll be OK. “There’s no reason why they can’t coexist,” he says.
No greasy bar food, however, is allowed at the The Local Pub. Brenda Mowry signed the lease for the old Merq Café building “on a whim.” They’ll exclusively offer local foods, local microbrews, local music and local art.
Mowry’s booking philosophy is a case study in “super-laid-back” — “Anyone, basically, if they wanna play here or they wanna have a good time, they’re welcome to hang out here and jam,” she says.
The food at Los Tacos Tumbra is authentic down to the lengua and cabeza — tongue and brain — tacos. “It has the flavor of Mexico City,” says owner Carlos Zuniga.
Five years ago, Zuniga and his sons were working in the fields in Walla Walla. Now the family operates three taco trucks, along with one restaurant in the Valley (and soon, a second one downtown).
“It’s hard to find an opportunity like this to open a business,” says Zuniga. The new Second-and-Cedar space (previously Cruiser’s Cuisine) comes equipped with a full kitchen, so he only had to spring for tables and chairs.
Which brings us inevitably to the 500-pound gorilla in any discussion of casual fare near downtown. Principals in the long-rumored, hotly anticipated, still-to-be-named Elk-owner-owned taco joint in Browne’s Addition aren’t ready to make any announcements.
Elk Manager Marshall Powell would only say that, yes, there will be a “taco shop” in the next-door space but didn’t have anything else to add. “I’d say we should know within a month,” Powell says, laughing, “but I’ve said that for about eight months.” — ERIKA PRINS AND LUKE BAUMGARTEN
Hale’s Bar & Grill is set to open in mid-October at 1011 W. Broadway Ave. Open 10:30 am-2 am every day. Contact halesbarandgrill@yahoo.com. The Local Pub is expected to open in mid-October at 706 N. Monroe St. Open 11 am-2 pm every day. Contact thelocalpubandpatio@yahoo.com. Los Tacos Tumbras may open as early as this weekend. They’ll be open for lunch and dinner (exact hours pending) every day — and until 2 am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Call 927-8220.
Hale is keeping the Kokanee, the pool leagues, the NFL package on HDTV and, of course, the bar food. He also plans to offer healthier deli sandwiches and salads for lunch, plus a full (vegetarian-friendly) dinner menu and wine list.
Sports bar dudes may feel squeamish about their buffalo wings so close to vegetables (other than celery) in the kitchen, but Hale insists it’ll be OK. “There’s no reason why they can’t coexist,” he says.
No greasy bar food, however, is allowed at the The Local Pub. Brenda Mowry signed the lease for the old Merq Café building “on a whim.” They’ll exclusively offer local foods, local microbrews, local music and local art.
Mowry’s booking philosophy is a case study in “super-laid-back” — “Anyone, basically, if they wanna play here or they wanna have a good time, they’re welcome to hang out here and jam,” she says.
The food at Los Tacos Tumbra is authentic down to the lengua and cabeza — tongue and brain — tacos. “It has the flavor of Mexico City,” says owner Carlos Zuniga.
Five years ago, Zuniga and his sons were working in the fields in Walla Walla. Now the family operates three taco trucks, along with one restaurant in the Valley (and soon, a second one downtown).
“It’s hard to find an opportunity like this to open a business,” says Zuniga. The new Second-and-Cedar space (previously Cruiser’s Cuisine) comes equipped with a full kitchen, so he only had to spring for tables and chairs.
Which brings us inevitably to the 500-pound gorilla in any discussion of casual fare near downtown. Principals in the long-rumored, hotly anticipated, still-to-be-named Elk-owner-owned taco joint in Browne’s Addition aren’t ready to make any announcements.
Elk Manager Marshall Powell would only say that, yes, there will be a “taco shop” in the next-door space but didn’t have anything else to add. “I’d say we should know within a month,” Powell says, laughing, “but I’ve said that for about eight months.” — ERIKA PRINS AND LUKE BAUMGARTEN
Hale’s Bar & Grill is set to open in mid-October at 1011 W. Broadway Ave. Open 10:30 am-2 am every day. Contact halesbarandgrill@yahoo.com. The Local Pub is expected to open in mid-October at 706 N. Monroe St. Open 11 am-2 pm every day. Contact thelocalpubandpatio@yahoo.com. Los Tacos Tumbras may open as early as this weekend. They’ll be open for lunch and dinner (exact hours pending) every day — and until 2 am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Call 927-8220.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Winter fresh
Summer squash, cucumbers, peppers and peaches still stock farmers’ market stands, but many area farmers markets — including the Spokane Farmers Market downtown and the South Perry Market — will fold up their tents for the season by the end of October.
But for the next four weeks, says Fresh Abundance owner Eden Brightspirit Hendrix, “we’re in the biggest bounty of our entire year.”
Another few weeks of juicy peaches is still just another few weeks, though. And then what? What do people even eat after the parking lots that bustled with produce shoppers and acoustic guitar all summer are buried in white?
Here’s what: more fresh seasonal produce. Spokane’s clamor for year-round fresh deliciousness has been heard by the produce gods, and they have granted us an unprecedented number of winter farmers markets held indoors.
The Community Building farmers market, which began informally a few years ago with just one vendor — Arabesque Farms & Bakery — now takes over as the downtown source for a weekly “fresh” fix when Spokane Farmers Market closes in mid-October.
Fresh Abundance’s Community Roots Market will continue at least through the end of the year, says Hendrix, offering root crops like carrots and potatoes, winter squash and “heartier greens” like cabbage.
Millwood Farmers Market began staying open for winter last year at the request of vendors, who were scrambling to figure out how to continue delivering their fresh meats, produce and bread to regular customers after the market closed, says Susie David’s Cattle Company owner Dave McCullough.
And Local Marketplace & Gallery owner Michael Peterson is making preparations for their market’s first winter in the arts-and-crafts shop as we speak. “In fact.” he says, “I’m just building shelving in one of the rooms to set up for the farmers market moving in there.” — ERIKA PRINS
• The Community Building Market is open Thursdays from 11 am-3 pm at 35 W. Main Ave.
• The Millwood Winter Market begins Wednesday, Oct. 7, from noon-5 pm at the Crossover, 8919 E. Euclid Ave.
• Community Roots Market is on Sundays from 11 am-4 pm at Fresh Abundance, 2015 N. Division.
• The Local Marketplace & Gallery Market is on Fridays from 2-7 pm at 122 N. Argonne Rd.
But for the next four weeks, says Fresh Abundance owner Eden Brightspirit Hendrix, “we’re in the biggest bounty of our entire year.”
Another few weeks of juicy peaches is still just another few weeks, though. And then what? What do people even eat after the parking lots that bustled with produce shoppers and acoustic guitar all summer are buried in white?
Here’s what: more fresh seasonal produce. Spokane’s clamor for year-round fresh deliciousness has been heard by the produce gods, and they have granted us an unprecedented number of winter farmers markets held indoors.
The Community Building farmers market, which began informally a few years ago with just one vendor — Arabesque Farms & Bakery — now takes over as the downtown source for a weekly “fresh” fix when Spokane Farmers Market closes in mid-October.
Fresh Abundance’s Community Roots Market will continue at least through the end of the year, says Hendrix, offering root crops like carrots and potatoes, winter squash and “heartier greens” like cabbage.
Millwood Farmers Market began staying open for winter last year at the request of vendors, who were scrambling to figure out how to continue delivering their fresh meats, produce and bread to regular customers after the market closed, says Susie David’s Cattle Company owner Dave McCullough.
And Local Marketplace & Gallery owner Michael Peterson is making preparations for their market’s first winter in the arts-and-crafts shop as we speak. “In fact.” he says, “I’m just building shelving in one of the rooms to set up for the farmers market moving in there.” — ERIKA PRINS
• The Community Building Market is open Thursdays from 11 am-3 pm at 35 W. Main Ave.
• The Millwood Winter Market begins Wednesday, Oct. 7, from noon-5 pm at the Crossover, 8919 E. Euclid Ave.
• Community Roots Market is on Sundays from 11 am-4 pm at Fresh Abundance, 2015 N. Division.
• The Local Marketplace & Gallery Market is on Fridays from 2-7 pm at 122 N. Argonne Rd.
Pancakes and patties
If you’re a fan of biscuits and gravy, chicken fried steak, and all day breakfast, there’s a new diner in downtown Spokane you should know about. Located next to the Days Inn hotel, it’s a place where generous breakfasts fuel weary travelers and hot-off-the-grill lunches feed those passing through the busy Third Avenue corridor.
The minimalist décor has a subtle Western theme, with paintings of wild game animals and rooms named “Back at the Ranch” and “Wild West.” Country music plays in the background, rounding out the ambience.
The breakfast offerings are plentiful, including standard favorites like pancake platters, strawberry-topped French toast and bacon and eggs. Breakfast prices range from $5 for a short stack to $9.25 for Joe’s favorite: pancakes, three kinds of meat, eggs, hash browns and toast. Omelets, oatmeal and Belgian waffles are also available.
For lunch or dinner, the menu features char-broiled burgers, tuna melts, and Reuben sandwiches served with thick-cut fries or applesauce. The Turkey Deluxe sandwich ($7) rates high on the comfort-food scale, with just the right amount of crispy bacon and melted Swiss cheese grilled between layers of golden sourdough. Our order was slow in arriving, but the kitchen seemed just to be getting warmed up, as other customers’ orders were filled promptly.
Starters include mozzarella sticks, onion rings, or soup of the day. Entrees ($7-$14) are traditional all-American favorites like chicken fried steak, charbroiled salmon, fish and chips and a rib eye with asparagus and hollandaise. For lighter appetites, Third Avenue offers a grilled chicken Caesar and a diner salad.
I had visions of ordering a chocolate milkshake along with my lunch, but it was probably a blessing to my waistline that the dessert options are limited to ice cream and cheesecake.
Third Avenue Diner serves its purpose by offering well-executed, tried-and-true favorites at affordable prices. After two failed Indian restaurants in the same space, maybe a little down-home comfort food isn’t such a bad strategy. — KIRSTEN HARRINGTON
Third Avenue Diner, 128 W. Third Ave., is open 6 am-10 pm, daily. Call 747-3251.
The minimalist décor has a subtle Western theme, with paintings of wild game animals and rooms named “Back at the Ranch” and “Wild West.” Country music plays in the background, rounding out the ambience.
The breakfast offerings are plentiful, including standard favorites like pancake platters, strawberry-topped French toast and bacon and eggs. Breakfast prices range from $5 for a short stack to $9.25 for Joe’s favorite: pancakes, three kinds of meat, eggs, hash browns and toast. Omelets, oatmeal and Belgian waffles are also available.
For lunch or dinner, the menu features char-broiled burgers, tuna melts, and Reuben sandwiches served with thick-cut fries or applesauce. The Turkey Deluxe sandwich ($7) rates high on the comfort-food scale, with just the right amount of crispy bacon and melted Swiss cheese grilled between layers of golden sourdough. Our order was slow in arriving, but the kitchen seemed just to be getting warmed up, as other customers’ orders were filled promptly.
Starters include mozzarella sticks, onion rings, or soup of the day. Entrees ($7-$14) are traditional all-American favorites like chicken fried steak, charbroiled salmon, fish and chips and a rib eye with asparagus and hollandaise. For lighter appetites, Third Avenue offers a grilled chicken Caesar and a diner salad.
I had visions of ordering a chocolate milkshake along with my lunch, but it was probably a blessing to my waistline that the dessert options are limited to ice cream and cheesecake.
Third Avenue Diner serves its purpose by offering well-executed, tried-and-true favorites at affordable prices. After two failed Indian restaurants in the same space, maybe a little down-home comfort food isn’t such a bad strategy. — KIRSTEN HARRINGTON
Third Avenue Diner, 128 W. Third Ave., is open 6 am-10 pm, daily. Call 747-3251.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Top Notch Returns
Walk into the newly reopened Top Notch Café and you can expect to be greeted with friendly service, a great cup of coffee, and classic breakfast and lunch options with a few twists. You also get to slip back in time.
The Top Notch first opened in 1931 on the corner of Monroe and Mallon, and original art deco touches remain in the renovated space. “Daily people come in with stories from the past,” new owner Don Torbenson says with a grin, “and I just found out that the grandfather of one of our servers used to wash dishes here.”
Torbenson also discovered that early in its history, a previous owner would leave the door open all night long with a hot pot of coffee on for beat cops when they walked by. They came, warmed up and left money on the counter for the coffee they drank.
The coffee is still hot and several notches above typical diner brew, but the door is no longer open 24 hours. Torbenson and his crew open at 7 am during the week (8 am on weekends) and close at 2 pm after the last stragglers from the courthouse have been in for their Reuben or French Dip ($8.25 each).
Order an early breakfast special and $4.95 gets you two eggs, hash browns, toast, and coffee. We like the fact that the bread comes from just across the street at the Alpine Bistro and Bakery, and the hash browns are sliced thick.
Overall the menu highlights comfort food and traditional fare. “We wanted to bring it back to what it used to be,” Torbenson says. But along the way he and his wife Tama also had a little fun. There is Tama’s Jalapeño Burger ($7.95) at lunch, amped-up enough to make you cry, and an omelet packed with… wait for it… sauerkraut, cheese and German sausage.
Torbenson asked Terry Best from O’Doherty’s in the Valley if he could put a Terry original on the menu, and notes that “the people that try it, fall in love with it.” But he adds with another grin that not everyone is willing to try it. You can decide whether you’ll stick to the standards or try a Top Notch adventure, but either way, swing in soon for some good, unfussy food and a little living history in the shadow of the courthouse. — KEVIN FINCH
Top Notch Café, 825 North Monroe St., is open 7 am-2 pm weekdays and 8 am-2 pm weekends. Call 315-5567.
The Top Notch first opened in 1931 on the corner of Monroe and Mallon, and original art deco touches remain in the renovated space. “Daily people come in with stories from the past,” new owner Don Torbenson says with a grin, “and I just found out that the grandfather of one of our servers used to wash dishes here.”
Torbenson also discovered that early in its history, a previous owner would leave the door open all night long with a hot pot of coffee on for beat cops when they walked by. They came, warmed up and left money on the counter for the coffee they drank.
The coffee is still hot and several notches above typical diner brew, but the door is no longer open 24 hours. Torbenson and his crew open at 7 am during the week (8 am on weekends) and close at 2 pm after the last stragglers from the courthouse have been in for their Reuben or French Dip ($8.25 each).
Order an early breakfast special and $4.95 gets you two eggs, hash browns, toast, and coffee. We like the fact that the bread comes from just across the street at the Alpine Bistro and Bakery, and the hash browns are sliced thick.
Overall the menu highlights comfort food and traditional fare. “We wanted to bring it back to what it used to be,” Torbenson says. But along the way he and his wife Tama also had a little fun. There is Tama’s Jalapeño Burger ($7.95) at lunch, amped-up enough to make you cry, and an omelet packed with… wait for it… sauerkraut, cheese and German sausage.
Torbenson asked Terry Best from O’Doherty’s in the Valley if he could put a Terry original on the menu, and notes that “the people that try it, fall in love with it.” But he adds with another grin that not everyone is willing to try it. You can decide whether you’ll stick to the standards or try a Top Notch adventure, but either way, swing in soon for some good, unfussy food and a little living history in the shadow of the courthouse. — KEVIN FINCH
Top Notch Café, 825 North Monroe St., is open 7 am-2 pm weekdays and 8 am-2 pm weekends. Call 315-5567.
Pho-Tastic
Sometimes the good stuff is right under our noses, like the fragrant soup served by Pho Thanh and Café. This humble eatery serving traditional Vietnamese fare actually was opened five years ago by Sau V. Nguyen, when he relocated to Coeur d’Alene from Spokane.
It took us awhile to discover what others already know: the food is delicious and well-priced (nothing over $9), and most dishes are so abundant you’ll need take-home containers. That may be why Pho Thanh has developed a loyal following, like the family who’d traveled up from the Coeur d’Alene reservation for a hearty meal of things like the No. 28 chow mein noodles with lemon grass chili beef, chicken, shrimp and pork ($9).
For us it was a starter of spring rolls (2 for $3): tender chicken, hints of basil, and spicy, peanuty dipping sauce. Other options are fried egg rolls and fried wontons most diners might associate with Chinese cooking ($3).
Of course we had to try the beef soup or pho bo, which arrived in a large bowl with a side of raw bean sprouts, basil leaves, lime and jalapeno slices. A perfect blend of soft noodles, crispy veggies and tender beef, which arrives surprisingly rare since it continues to cook in the steaming broth (our motto has always been: eat first, ask questions and do research later).
Variations on pho include the addition of meatballs, beef tendon, tripe and even chicken ($7 small/$8 large).
Steamed rice (com dia) and vermicelli-like noodles (bun) are menu staples, topped in numerous variations: lemon grass chicken, beef or pork; beef meatball; shrimp skewer; charbroiled chicken, and fried egg roll ($8.45-$9). Two stir-fried special dishes, wonton soup, and Vietnamese chicken salad round out the menu. Beverages include soda, traditional soybean and coconut drinks in a can and a small assortment of bottle beers ($1-3).
All tables are equipped with dipping sauces — hoisin, sriracha chili, soy, lemon grass chili — so you can adjust the spice of your food, as well as extra plates for sharing, which you’ll definitely want to do as you discover your new favorite. — CARRIE SCOZZARO
Pho Thanh and Cafe, 2108 N. Fourth Street, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is open Mon-Sat 9:30 am–9 pm, Sun 9:30 am-7 pm. Call (208) 665-9903. Reservations recommended.
It took us awhile to discover what others already know: the food is delicious and well-priced (nothing over $9), and most dishes are so abundant you’ll need take-home containers. That may be why Pho Thanh has developed a loyal following, like the family who’d traveled up from the Coeur d’Alene reservation for a hearty meal of things like the No. 28 chow mein noodles with lemon grass chili beef, chicken, shrimp and pork ($9).
For us it was a starter of spring rolls (2 for $3): tender chicken, hints of basil, and spicy, peanuty dipping sauce. Other options are fried egg rolls and fried wontons most diners might associate with Chinese cooking ($3).
Of course we had to try the beef soup or pho bo, which arrived in a large bowl with a side of raw bean sprouts, basil leaves, lime and jalapeno slices. A perfect blend of soft noodles, crispy veggies and tender beef, which arrives surprisingly rare since it continues to cook in the steaming broth (our motto has always been: eat first, ask questions and do research later).
Variations on pho include the addition of meatballs, beef tendon, tripe and even chicken ($7 small/$8 large).
Steamed rice (com dia) and vermicelli-like noodles (bun) are menu staples, topped in numerous variations: lemon grass chicken, beef or pork; beef meatball; shrimp skewer; charbroiled chicken, and fried egg roll ($8.45-$9). Two stir-fried special dishes, wonton soup, and Vietnamese chicken salad round out the menu. Beverages include soda, traditional soybean and coconut drinks in a can and a small assortment of bottle beers ($1-3).
All tables are equipped with dipping sauces — hoisin, sriracha chili, soy, lemon grass chili — so you can adjust the spice of your food, as well as extra plates for sharing, which you’ll definitely want to do as you discover your new favorite. — CARRIE SCOZZARO
Pho Thanh and Cafe, 2108 N. Fourth Street, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is open Mon-Sat 9:30 am–9 pm, Sun 9:30 am-7 pm. Call (208) 665-9903. Reservations recommended.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Logger hangout
A bar that pays tribute to logging should be described as run-of-the-mill; upscale or pretentious just doesn’t seem fitting for the humble history of backbreaking logging and millwork upon whose foundation much of the Inland Northwest was built.
THE MILL is just such a tribute bar, its dark-paneled walls adorned with historic photos, logging lore, saw blades and assorted beverage advertisements. A few history books on logging are scattered about, and rough-cut logs serve as end tables here and there.
But if you’re envisioning the Snake Pit or White Horse Saloon, kick it up a few notches. Even though the Mill is located on a former mill site, that site is now Riverstone — Coeur d’Alene’s high-end, river-view development along Northwest Boulevard, with condos starting in the $200s. Next door is Starbucks. Nearby is a chi-chi new movie theater and places like Zi Spa.
Inside the Mill, the overall feel is sort of a tastefully appointed man cave. There are darts, shuffleboard and televisions, of course, yet its storefront location, outdoor seating and overall sparse décor keeps it from feeling like a male-only haven.
The menu is mostly finger foods, such as our sweet-hot chicken wings ($7.25), which can be ordered hotter. The seasoned fries ($3.75) can be topped with chili, onions or cheese ($0.50-$1 each). Mozzarella sticks, jalapeño poppers ($6) and onion rings ($4.50) round out the deep-fried appetizer offerings. If you’re not into sharing, try a quarter-pound burger or chicken sandwich ($6.50), or maybe a corn dog and fries ($3.50).
Nothing goes better with griddled food than ice cold beer — the selection includes your basic domestics like Budweiser, but also Sam Adams, Fat Tire, Drop Top, Stella Artois and Deschutes. The best feature on the beer menu was the Red Light Wheat Lager from Wallace Brewing Company, a Silver Valley startup (opened in December 2008) with a growing following and a great sense of humor. — CARRIE SCOZZARO
The Mill, 2360 Old Mill Loop, CdA, is open Tue-Sun 4 pm-midnight. Call (208) 667-6455.
THE MILL is just such a tribute bar, its dark-paneled walls adorned with historic photos, logging lore, saw blades and assorted beverage advertisements. A few history books on logging are scattered about, and rough-cut logs serve as end tables here and there.
But if you’re envisioning the Snake Pit or White Horse Saloon, kick it up a few notches. Even though the Mill is located on a former mill site, that site is now Riverstone — Coeur d’Alene’s high-end, river-view development along Northwest Boulevard, with condos starting in the $200s. Next door is Starbucks. Nearby is a chi-chi new movie theater and places like Zi Spa.
Inside the Mill, the overall feel is sort of a tastefully appointed man cave. There are darts, shuffleboard and televisions, of course, yet its storefront location, outdoor seating and overall sparse décor keeps it from feeling like a male-only haven.
The menu is mostly finger foods, such as our sweet-hot chicken wings ($7.25), which can be ordered hotter. The seasoned fries ($3.75) can be topped with chili, onions or cheese ($0.50-$1 each). Mozzarella sticks, jalapeño poppers ($6) and onion rings ($4.50) round out the deep-fried appetizer offerings. If you’re not into sharing, try a quarter-pound burger or chicken sandwich ($6.50), or maybe a corn dog and fries ($3.50).
Nothing goes better with griddled food than ice cold beer — the selection includes your basic domestics like Budweiser, but also Sam Adams, Fat Tire, Drop Top, Stella Artois and Deschutes. The best feature on the beer menu was the Red Light Wheat Lager from Wallace Brewing Company, a Silver Valley startup (opened in December 2008) with a growing following and a great sense of humor. — CARRIE SCOZZARO
The Mill, 2360 Old Mill Loop, CdA, is open Tue-Sun 4 pm-midnight. Call (208) 667-6455.
Pork and plantains
There is nothing about BLUE ISLAND’S location or décor that does justice to its name. Housed in the Club Edge space on East Sprague, the exposed timber and rock wall interior is more befitting of a hunting lodge than a tropical island paradise.
But don’t let the location put you off. Club Edge still operates the bar, but Rolando Diaz and his wife Doralquis Labrada have taken over the restaurant operations with an extensive menu of Cuban dishes. The Diaz family personally welcomes their guests and is eager to explain their native cuisine to newcomers.
Blue Island describes Cuban food as “a mixture of Spanish, indigenous, African, French and Arabic,” and the menu reflects these multicultural influences with pork shashlik, eggplant roulettes, chicken cordon bleu and simple dishes like Cuban-style ground beef and lamb brochettes. Entrees ($10-15) are served with congri (beans and rice) or potatoes and salad.
Dim lighting at my table (think nightclub) made it difficult to read the menu, but that didn’t put a damper on my crusty, grilled Cuban sandwich with ham, roast pork and Swiss cheese ($6.50) served with house-made French fries and salad. There are 10 choices of grilled sandwiches, including a vegetarian option. My son finished an entire plate of Chatinos — a simple but pleasingly chewy snack of fried plantains. I was disappointed to learn that they were out of Cuban coffee, which I’ll have to try on my next visit because I am still thinking about it.
I satisfied my sweet tooth with the bread pudding, a cinnamon flavored, dense pudding reminiscent of cheesecake. The Cuban flan, creamy and drizzled with caramel, scored high marks too.
Blue Island is unique in Spokane for its diverse menu of Cuban cuisine from traditional snacks to vegetarian dishes and meat brochettes. If you want to try something new and enjoy being treated like family, I recommend a Blue Island get-away. — KIRSTEN HARRINGTON
Blue Island, 8122 E. Sprague, is open Tues-Sun 11 am-9 pm, full menu. After 9 pm, sandwiches, appetizers and drinks. Call 926-6921.
But don’t let the location put you off. Club Edge still operates the bar, but Rolando Diaz and his wife Doralquis Labrada have taken over the restaurant operations with an extensive menu of Cuban dishes. The Diaz family personally welcomes their guests and is eager to explain their native cuisine to newcomers.
Blue Island describes Cuban food as “a mixture of Spanish, indigenous, African, French and Arabic,” and the menu reflects these multicultural influences with pork shashlik, eggplant roulettes, chicken cordon bleu and simple dishes like Cuban-style ground beef and lamb brochettes. Entrees ($10-15) are served with congri (beans and rice) or potatoes and salad.
Dim lighting at my table (think nightclub) made it difficult to read the menu, but that didn’t put a damper on my crusty, grilled Cuban sandwich with ham, roast pork and Swiss cheese ($6.50) served with house-made French fries and salad. There are 10 choices of grilled sandwiches, including a vegetarian option. My son finished an entire plate of Chatinos — a simple but pleasingly chewy snack of fried plantains. I was disappointed to learn that they were out of Cuban coffee, which I’ll have to try on my next visit because I am still thinking about it.
I satisfied my sweet tooth with the bread pudding, a cinnamon flavored, dense pudding reminiscent of cheesecake. The Cuban flan, creamy and drizzled with caramel, scored high marks too.
Blue Island is unique in Spokane for its diverse menu of Cuban cuisine from traditional snacks to vegetarian dishes and meat brochettes. If you want to try something new and enjoy being treated like family, I recommend a Blue Island get-away. — KIRSTEN HARRINGTON
Blue Island, 8122 E. Sprague, is open Tues-Sun 11 am-9 pm, full menu. After 9 pm, sandwiches, appetizers and drinks. Call 926-6921.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Greasy pleasures
It’s late. Really late. I was ferrying my friends home when one shouted from the back seat, “I want a burrito!” As weary as I was, I wanted to tell him to shut his mouth and eat something when he got home but… I had a taste for some nachos, too. “Let”s go to the new place,” I shouted over the radio.
The new place, ABELARDO’S, is one of Spokane Valley’s few options for food at 2 am. The Cal-Mex restaurant, started by employees from the small California chain Adalberto’s, keeps its drive-thru open 24-7 and is always offering breakfast. All dishes are made to order so the drive-thru can take as long as 15 minutes.
The cuisine, which owners admit is based off Adalberto’s menu, is a mix of traditional Mexican recipes and fast food staples. For example, Adalberto’s “California” has melted shredded cheese, rice and traditional carne asada but Abelardo’s uses French fries instead of potato chunks.
After negotiations and bartering, we came up with something that resembled an order: two bean burritos ($1.99 each), a shrimp burrito ($3.89), two chicken tacos ($1.89 each), an order of super nachos ($6.29) and extra hot sauce. The final total was still under twenty bucks.
The shrimp burrito was the size of an energy drink and, if thrown with some might, it’d be heavy enough to take out a window. My chicken taco was an overstuffed half oval of grease and love. The slow cooked chicken dripped juice from the shell every time I took a bite.
The stand-out of the night was the super nachos. The house-fried corn ship was topped with refried beans, cheddar cheese, over half a pound of carne asada, a cilantro-heavy homemade salsa, sour cream and guacamole. It was not only a formidable midnight snack but made for a good breakfast the next morning.
Abelardo’s is far from healthy (almost everything will leave a puddle of grease on its wrapper), but in the middle of the night, who cares? — SAM STOWERS
Abelardo’s at 11519 E. Sprague Avenue in Spokane Valley is open 24 hours a day, Mon-Sun. Inside seating is available from 6 am to midnight. Call 924-7485.
The new place, ABELARDO’S, is one of Spokane Valley’s few options for food at 2 am. The Cal-Mex restaurant, started by employees from the small California chain Adalberto’s, keeps its drive-thru open 24-7 and is always offering breakfast. All dishes are made to order so the drive-thru can take as long as 15 minutes.
The cuisine, which owners admit is based off Adalberto’s menu, is a mix of traditional Mexican recipes and fast food staples. For example, Adalberto’s “California” has melted shredded cheese, rice and traditional carne asada but Abelardo’s uses French fries instead of potato chunks.
After negotiations and bartering, we came up with something that resembled an order: two bean burritos ($1.99 each), a shrimp burrito ($3.89), two chicken tacos ($1.89 each), an order of super nachos ($6.29) and extra hot sauce. The final total was still under twenty bucks.
The shrimp burrito was the size of an energy drink and, if thrown with some might, it’d be heavy enough to take out a window. My chicken taco was an overstuffed half oval of grease and love. The slow cooked chicken dripped juice from the shell every time I took a bite.
The stand-out of the night was the super nachos. The house-fried corn ship was topped with refried beans, cheddar cheese, over half a pound of carne asada, a cilantro-heavy homemade salsa, sour cream and guacamole. It was not only a formidable midnight snack but made for a good breakfast the next morning.
Abelardo’s is far from healthy (almost everything will leave a puddle of grease on its wrapper), but in the middle of the night, who cares? — SAM STOWERS
Abelardo’s at 11519 E. Sprague Avenue in Spokane Valley is open 24 hours a day, Mon-Sun. Inside seating is available from 6 am to midnight. Call 924-7485.
Tacos and tequila
Recently opened AGAVE LATIN BISTRO is a partnership between Ian Wingate (owner of the nearby Moxie restaurant) and Sergio DeLeon, owner of DeLeon’s Mexican Deli. Formerly Bluefish and briefly Aqua, Agave’s cool aqua walls and sleek black and chrome furniture give the place a hip, high-tech feeling. Friendly service, candles and miniature cacti on the tables make Agave warm and inviting.
“We use his [DeLeon’s] ingredients incorporated into my style,” Wingate explains. The warm chips are made from DeLeon’s tortillas and accompanied by a demi-tasse of salsa, made from DeLeon’s recipe.
The starter menu ($4-$14) includes grilled smoked paprika prawns, ceviche, and several salads, including a pear and arugula salad with prickly pear cactus vinaigrette. You’ll also find gazpacho and Spicy Tequila Lime chicken soup.
Taco plates ($12-$14) are served with DeLeon’s rustic rice, tortillas and a choice of mild rancho beans or spicy Cuban black beans. For fillings, you can choose from chipotle grilled tofu, ancho grilled chicken, steak or fish tacos. Garnished with lime crème fraîche, fresh peppers and cilantro, the tacos rate a notch above standard Mexican fare for their colorful and artful presentation.
The Wild Boar Chile Verde ($14) was simmered to buttery perfection in a tomatillo sauce with green peppers and cilantro. Accompanied by rice, rancho beans with peppers, warm tortillas and a crunchy cabbage slaw, it tasted as good as it looked. Peruvian Seafood Cioppino, Lobster Paella, tequila-and-cactus-braised short ribs, and duck breast with chorizo sausage risotto round out the menu, with plans to add a late-night tapas menu soon.
Desserts include flan, cheesecake and chocolate cake, made at DeLeon’s bakery.
If you are a tequila lover, you’re in luck. Try the popular bright pink Prickly Pear margarita with cactus juice, or one of Agave’s 25 tequilas, including a caramel-flavored one. Wingate plans to increase the selection to number 100 varieties.
Agave combines DeLeon’s solid Mexican flavors with Wingate’s upscale style. The resulting Latin fusion is a welcome and refreshing addition to Spokane’s dining scene. — KIRSTEN HARRINGTON
Agave Latin Bistro and Tequila Bar, 830 W. Sprague, is open Tue-Sat, 4 pm-midnight. Call 473-9180.
“We use his [DeLeon’s] ingredients incorporated into my style,” Wingate explains. The warm chips are made from DeLeon’s tortillas and accompanied by a demi-tasse of salsa, made from DeLeon’s recipe.
The starter menu ($4-$14) includes grilled smoked paprika prawns, ceviche, and several salads, including a pear and arugula salad with prickly pear cactus vinaigrette. You’ll also find gazpacho and Spicy Tequila Lime chicken soup.
Taco plates ($12-$14) are served with DeLeon’s rustic rice, tortillas and a choice of mild rancho beans or spicy Cuban black beans. For fillings, you can choose from chipotle grilled tofu, ancho grilled chicken, steak or fish tacos. Garnished with lime crème fraîche, fresh peppers and cilantro, the tacos rate a notch above standard Mexican fare for their colorful and artful presentation.
The Wild Boar Chile Verde ($14) was simmered to buttery perfection in a tomatillo sauce with green peppers and cilantro. Accompanied by rice, rancho beans with peppers, warm tortillas and a crunchy cabbage slaw, it tasted as good as it looked. Peruvian Seafood Cioppino, Lobster Paella, tequila-and-cactus-braised short ribs, and duck breast with chorizo sausage risotto round out the menu, with plans to add a late-night tapas menu soon.
Desserts include flan, cheesecake and chocolate cake, made at DeLeon’s bakery.
If you are a tequila lover, you’re in luck. Try the popular bright pink Prickly Pear margarita with cactus juice, or one of Agave’s 25 tequilas, including a caramel-flavored one. Wingate plans to increase the selection to number 100 varieties.
Agave combines DeLeon’s solid Mexican flavors with Wingate’s upscale style. The resulting Latin fusion is a welcome and refreshing addition to Spokane’s dining scene. — KIRSTEN HARRINGTON
Agave Latin Bistro and Tequila Bar, 830 W. Sprague, is open Tue-Sat, 4 pm-midnight. Call 473-9180.
Here Piggy, Piggy
Spokane’s annual extravaganza of overindulgence is already underway — the six solid days of PIG OUT IN THE PARK began on Wednesday and continue clear through Monday, Sept. 7 (aka Labor Day). Thousands will descend on Riverfront Park this weekend to hear the free music or partake of the beer gardens (three of them!), but the food is the heart of the party, as the name suggests. More than 40 food vendors offer a couple of hundred different food items, from chocolate-covered fruits and ice cream to pizzas and more noodles than you can shake a spatula at. Local vendors including Pizza Rita, Longhorn BBQ, Boehm’s, Azars and Pho Van join the usual selection of traveling vendors to bring food to the masses. Prices this year top out at $9, so hit up the ATM on your way to the park. And arrive hungry. — ANN M. COLFORD
Pig Out in the Park, sprawling across Riverfront Park, is open daily 10 am-10 pm through Monday, Sept. 7. Visit spokanepigout.com.
Pig Out in the Park, sprawling across Riverfront Park, is open daily 10 am-10 pm through Monday, Sept. 7. Visit spokanepigout.com.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
We're going nuts over it
Ice cream and chocolate — two of life’s most decadent pleasures. Now you can enjoy both at the same time with SPOKANDY’s new line of ice cream. The almost century-old chocolatier is teaming up with Mary Lou’s Homemade Ice Cream of Spokane Valley to offer eight flavors of ice cream with Spokandy’s goodies mixed in.
Spokandy recently remodeled its downtown location to include a larger retail area and room for the ice cream. “It’s something we’d talked about over the years,” says manager Natalie Vlasaty. They are also remodeling the wholesale area next door to allow customers to view the candy-making operations.
If you’re feeling a little nutty, then the vanilla ice cream with peanut brittle, macadamia nuts, coconut and white chocolate is just the answer. Or how about a scoop of coffee-flavored ice cream flecked with Spokandy’s dark chocolate? Grandma’s Maple Nut Cream features whole maple buttercreme candies mixed into maple ice cream. Peppermint Rainbow, one of the store’s bestsellers, features mint candy chunks in mint-flavored ice cream.
A generous scoop in a large waffle cone will cost you $3.50; two scoops, $5.50. A child-sized scoop is $2.50. If you’d prefer to indulge at home, pick up a half-gallon ($9) and one of Spokandy’s new dessert toppings: You can choose from caramel, butterscotch or chocolate truffle.
The seating area consists of two large sofas, minus any frills like tables, restrooms or a water fountain. But, hey, when you’re enjoying deliciously creamy, locally made ice cream with chunks of gooey goodness, surrounded by displays of fudge, almond bark and dark chocolate truffles, it’s hard to complain.
If you’re a coffee lover, you’ll be pleased to hear that Spokandy is working with Spokane coffee roaster Thomas Hammer on a new chocolate-flavored coffee to be sold by the pound, available sometime in September.
It’s nice to see local businesses working together, especially when they are combining all of my favorite things. — KIRSTEN HARRINGTON
Spokandy, at 1412 W. Third Ave., is open Mon-Fri 9 am-6 pm, Sat 10 am-6 pm and Sun 11 am-5 pm. Call 624-1969.
Spokandy recently remodeled its downtown location to include a larger retail area and room for the ice cream. “It’s something we’d talked about over the years,” says manager Natalie Vlasaty. They are also remodeling the wholesale area next door to allow customers to view the candy-making operations.
If you’re feeling a little nutty, then the vanilla ice cream with peanut brittle, macadamia nuts, coconut and white chocolate is just the answer. Or how about a scoop of coffee-flavored ice cream flecked with Spokandy’s dark chocolate? Grandma’s Maple Nut Cream features whole maple buttercreme candies mixed into maple ice cream. Peppermint Rainbow, one of the store’s bestsellers, features mint candy chunks in mint-flavored ice cream.
A generous scoop in a large waffle cone will cost you $3.50; two scoops, $5.50. A child-sized scoop is $2.50. If you’d prefer to indulge at home, pick up a half-gallon ($9) and one of Spokandy’s new dessert toppings: You can choose from caramel, butterscotch or chocolate truffle.
The seating area consists of two large sofas, minus any frills like tables, restrooms or a water fountain. But, hey, when you’re enjoying deliciously creamy, locally made ice cream with chunks of gooey goodness, surrounded by displays of fudge, almond bark and dark chocolate truffles, it’s hard to complain.
If you’re a coffee lover, you’ll be pleased to hear that Spokandy is working with Spokane coffee roaster Thomas Hammer on a new chocolate-flavored coffee to be sold by the pound, available sometime in September.
It’s nice to see local businesses working together, especially when they are combining all of my favorite things. — KIRSTEN HARRINGTON
Spokandy, at 1412 W. Third Ave., is open Mon-Fri 9 am-6 pm, Sat 10 am-6 pm and Sun 11 am-5 pm. Call 624-1969.
Get your licks in
Some foods just taste better out-of-doors. Ice cream, for example, on a warm summer evening is a sweet treat indeed, especially when rolled expertly into an icy cold mound and perched atop a crispy waffle cone. So when word got out that ROGER’S ICE CREAM AND BURGERS had reopened, it was no surprise to see the line snaking across the sidewalk on a recent August night.
Sure, the supermarket across the street has ice cream, maybe even Ben and Jerry’s or Haagen-Dazs, the stuff that reignited our love affair with this icy foodstuff. But as easy as it would be to pop into the market, it’s not the same.
At Roger’s, cones start at $1.50 and top out at $3.50 for a double, either cone or cup. There’s the usual strawberry and mint chip, and then the texturally laden pecan praline, bear claw and almond mocha fudge — 18 flavors in all, including huckleberry when it’s in season, and berry-pomegranate sorbet for those wanting something lighter.
We were there for the ice cream — but the smell of burgers on the griddle was heavenly, too. Burgers include lettuce, tomato, onion and special sauce (starting at $2.50), and fries are freshly made, not frozen ($1.50).
The menu hasn’t changed much from the previous ownership. A Coeur d’Alene landmark since the ’80s, Roger’s was recently reopened by Mark Randolph, who is the latest in a long line of owners since the restaurant was first established in Moscow in the 1940s.
Only outdoor seating is available — a few rows of benches on either side of the building — but that’s not a drawback: Folks seem preoccupied by their individual race to the bottom of the cone.
Their licking, biting and wiping methods are complex enough to warrant an anthropological study. Or maybe it’s more than that… maybe it’s something akin to reverie. We’re all lost in a rare little moment of icy cold joy. — CARRIE SCOZZARO
Roger’s, at 13th St. and Sherman Ave., Coeur d’Alene, is open Mon-Thu 11 am–9 pm, Fri-Sat 11 am-10 pm, and Sun 11 am-9:30 pm. Call (208) 930-4900.
Sure, the supermarket across the street has ice cream, maybe even Ben and Jerry’s or Haagen-Dazs, the stuff that reignited our love affair with this icy foodstuff. But as easy as it would be to pop into the market, it’s not the same.
At Roger’s, cones start at $1.50 and top out at $3.50 for a double, either cone or cup. There’s the usual strawberry and mint chip, and then the texturally laden pecan praline, bear claw and almond mocha fudge — 18 flavors in all, including huckleberry when it’s in season, and berry-pomegranate sorbet for those wanting something lighter.
We were there for the ice cream — but the smell of burgers on the griddle was heavenly, too. Burgers include lettuce, tomato, onion and special sauce (starting at $2.50), and fries are freshly made, not frozen ($1.50).
The menu hasn’t changed much from the previous ownership. A Coeur d’Alene landmark since the ’80s, Roger’s was recently reopened by Mark Randolph, who is the latest in a long line of owners since the restaurant was first established in Moscow in the 1940s.
Only outdoor seating is available — a few rows of benches on either side of the building — but that’s not a drawback: Folks seem preoccupied by their individual race to the bottom of the cone.
Their licking, biting and wiping methods are complex enough to warrant an anthropological study. Or maybe it’s more than that… maybe it’s something akin to reverie. We’re all lost in a rare little moment of icy cold joy. — CARRIE SCOZZARO
Roger’s, at 13th St. and Sherman Ave., Coeur d’Alene, is open Mon-Thu 11 am–9 pm, Fri-Sat 11 am-10 pm, and Sun 11 am-9:30 pm. Call (208) 930-4900.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
EVENTS - Of Dinners and Fairs
The midsummer cavalcade of food happenings continues this week with events across the region. Pullman celebrates all things lenticular this weekend (Aug. 21-22) with the NATIONAL LENTIL FESTIVAL, as noted in our Calendar (page 46), but that’s just the start. THE SCOOP (1001 W. 25th Ave.) will play host to the Flatbread Pizza Co.’s mobile wood-fired pizza oven again on Friday night, along with live music outside on the patio. Inside, of course, you’ll find the usual array of Brain Freeze ice cream flavors and made-onsite waffle cones.
On Saturday, the second annual MADELEINE’S STREET FAIR takes over the corner of Main Ave. and Wall St., next to the restaurant. Artisan vendors and musicians will fill Wall Street, which will be closed off to vehicular traffic, and Madeleine’s will be serving specials all day, along with pastries, cookies and delectables from the deli case.
If you’re feeling like a getaway, the LEAVENWORTH WINE TASTING FESTIVAL is set for Saturday (Aug. 22, from noon-6 pm) as well, at the Sleeping Lady Resort outside of Leavenworth. About two-dozen wineries from Central Washington (Leavenworth, Wenatchee, Chelan, Quincy) will show off their vintages, and there will be live music all day long. Tickets are $30 per person (or $50 per couple), available online (www.visitwashingtonfarms.com), or call the resort at (800) 574-2123.
One thing that separates chefs from the rest of us kitchen mortals (other than shallots and really sharp knives) is a mastery of sauces. The legendary French chef Auguste Escoffier, whose system of organizing the work of a commercial kitchen is still followed today, established what he called the five “mother sauces” — basic sauces that could inspire nearly endless variation — and these sauces continue to be taught in culinary schools everywhere. On Tuesday (Aug. 25, from 5:30-8:30 pm), Chef Jeremy Hansen will offer a COOKING CLASS AT SANTÉ on those five sauces. The class includes a recipe notebook and a group meal at the end of the evening. The cost is $75; send a message to mail@santespokane.com to reserve your spot — and don’t forget to bring along empty containers to take your creations home with you.
Finally, the Shared Harvest community garden in Coeur d’Alene is hosting its first fundraising dinner in the garden next weekend (Saturday, Aug. 29) — right at the peak of the growing season. The DINNER UNDER THE STARS kicks off with a silent auction at 6 pm, followed by dinner (prepared by a local chef) at 7 pm. There will be plenty of music, scads of local art for sale in the auction, and the full, lush beauty of the reclaimed garden (at 10th and Foster) all around. Organizer Kim Normand says the event is going as “green” as possible by using real dishes on loan from a local thrift shop. Tickets are a bargain at $25, available at the Art Spirit Gallery and Java on Sherman.
— ANN M. COLFORD
On Saturday, the second annual MADELEINE’S STREET FAIR takes over the corner of Main Ave. and Wall St., next to the restaurant. Artisan vendors and musicians will fill Wall Street, which will be closed off to vehicular traffic, and Madeleine’s will be serving specials all day, along with pastries, cookies and delectables from the deli case.
If you’re feeling like a getaway, the LEAVENWORTH WINE TASTING FESTIVAL is set for Saturday (Aug. 22, from noon-6 pm) as well, at the Sleeping Lady Resort outside of Leavenworth. About two-dozen wineries from Central Washington (Leavenworth, Wenatchee, Chelan, Quincy) will show off their vintages, and there will be live music all day long. Tickets are $30 per person (or $50 per couple), available online (www.visitwashingtonfarms.com), or call the resort at (800) 574-2123.
One thing that separates chefs from the rest of us kitchen mortals (other than shallots and really sharp knives) is a mastery of sauces. The legendary French chef Auguste Escoffier, whose system of organizing the work of a commercial kitchen is still followed today, established what he called the five “mother sauces” — basic sauces that could inspire nearly endless variation — and these sauces continue to be taught in culinary schools everywhere. On Tuesday (Aug. 25, from 5:30-8:30 pm), Chef Jeremy Hansen will offer a COOKING CLASS AT SANTÉ on those five sauces. The class includes a recipe notebook and a group meal at the end of the evening. The cost is $75; send a message to mail@santespokane.com to reserve your spot — and don’t forget to bring along empty containers to take your creations home with you.
Finally, the Shared Harvest community garden in Coeur d’Alene is hosting its first fundraising dinner in the garden next weekend (Saturday, Aug. 29) — right at the peak of the growing season. The DINNER UNDER THE STARS kicks off with a silent auction at 6 pm, followed by dinner (prepared by a local chef) at 7 pm. There will be plenty of music, scads of local art for sale in the auction, and the full, lush beauty of the reclaimed garden (at 10th and Foster) all around. Organizer Kim Normand says the event is going as “green” as possible by using real dishes on loan from a local thrift shop. Tickets are a bargain at $25, available at the Art Spirit Gallery and Java on Sherman.
— ANN M. COLFORD
CASUAL - Twigs Stix With It
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. That seems to be the motto of the folks at STIX BAR & GRILL (formerly Twigs, Bin 98 Twenty and 98 Twenty Bistro). Reincarnated three times with two major remodels in less than two years, the restaurant is moving away from fine dining to a more casual neighborhood bar and grill.
“There was a vast misconception Bin 98 Twenty was too high-end,” explains sous chef Christian Chally.
The most recent remodel removed the wine display and added more open seating, giving Stix a less intimate, more approachable feel. A large bar space doubles as a daytime dining area.
The restaurant reopened in mid-July, and things seem to be going well. The regular customers still come, and people aren’t afraid to drop by in their work clothes, or bring their families. “We’ve easily doubled our business, almost overnight,” says Chally.
The bistro-fare menu of salads, sandwiches and pizzas ranges from $6 for appetizers to $17 for main dishes. The Greek salad and the muffuletta sandwich are favorites from the 98 Twenty menu. You’ll find comfort food like chicken wings and mac-and-cheese, alongside a truffle spinach salad and ahi tuna with mango vinaigrette.
Our server recommended the fish tacos ($11), featuring grilled halibut with black bean and corn salsa. While the tacos could have used a little more zip, the accompanying Caribbean chicken soup was flavorful with a sweet and spicy kick.
I was impressed with the pizzas ($11-$12), which are hand tossed and brick-oven baked for a perfect thin and crunchy crust. We opted for the classic pepperoni, but the Italian Junker and the Taco Pizza sounded tempting also.
It’s rare for any restaurant to successfully re-invent itself, but this one seems to be working. Let’s hope it Stix.
— KIRSTEN HARRINGTON
Stix Bar & Grill, 9820 N. Nevada St., is open Sun-Thu 11 am-11 pm, Fri-Sat 11 am-midnight. Call 468-9820.
“There was a vast misconception Bin 98 Twenty was too high-end,” explains sous chef Christian Chally.
The most recent remodel removed the wine display and added more open seating, giving Stix a less intimate, more approachable feel. A large bar space doubles as a daytime dining area.
The restaurant reopened in mid-July, and things seem to be going well. The regular customers still come, and people aren’t afraid to drop by in their work clothes, or bring their families. “We’ve easily doubled our business, almost overnight,” says Chally.
The bistro-fare menu of salads, sandwiches and pizzas ranges from $6 for appetizers to $17 for main dishes. The Greek salad and the muffuletta sandwich are favorites from the 98 Twenty menu. You’ll find comfort food like chicken wings and mac-and-cheese, alongside a truffle spinach salad and ahi tuna with mango vinaigrette.
Our server recommended the fish tacos ($11), featuring grilled halibut with black bean and corn salsa. While the tacos could have used a little more zip, the accompanying Caribbean chicken soup was flavorful with a sweet and spicy kick.
I was impressed with the pizzas ($11-$12), which are hand tossed and brick-oven baked for a perfect thin and crunchy crust. We opted for the classic pepperoni, but the Italian Junker and the Taco Pizza sounded tempting also.
It’s rare for any restaurant to successfully re-invent itself, but this one seems to be working. Let’s hope it Stix.
— KIRSTEN HARRINGTON
Stix Bar & Grill, 9820 N. Nevada St., is open Sun-Thu 11 am-11 pm, Fri-Sat 11 am-midnight. Call 468-9820.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Classes, fests and wine
Just in case you’ve hit the midsummer doldrums, several food-related events are on tap this week.
Economic stimulus is an important thing — and if the first round doesn’t do everything you wanted, then it’s time for a second round. At least that’s the theory behind TWARP II — the second edition of the Troubled Wine Assets Relief Program, led by wine guru Carl Carlsteen at the Rocket Market on Friday evening. Part of the ongoing Friday wine-class series, TWARP II will demonstrate that plenty of dang tasty wines are available for no more than $10 per bottle.
Sip 10 different bargain quaffers, accompanied by cheeses and La Brea breads, while Carlsteen holds forth on the virtues of each vintage and shares stories about the wineries.
Speaking of Rocket Market, it’s also the place for the Sunday Brunch With DJs, featuring food by Chef Shilo Pierce and Pastry Chef Dena Carr, complemented by tunes spun by a different guest DJ each week. The music runs 11 am-2 pm, but the food is available both earlier and later. This week’s tune-spinner is Breezy Brown.
The Post Falls Food Festival is set for this weekend, too, albeit in a new location — on Fourth Street by the Post Falls City Hall. Organizer Tim Mitchell of Mangia Catering says to expect plenty of live local music and a variety of food vendors, along with arts and crafts booths at this second annual event.
The Main Market Co-op will host a fundraiser at the Fox Theater next Thursday, Aug. 20, with readings by local authors Jess Walter and Cheryl-Anne Millsap plus musical performances by pianist Brad Greene and Kaylee Cole and her band. Food for the event is catered by the Glover Mansion, and there will be raffles for prizes as well.
Also next Thursday, Huckleberry’s will offer the first in a series of classes on food canning, led by new Executive Chef Anne Bauer and Bakery/Cheese Specialist Amy Clark. This class will explore pickling — “It’s not just for cucumbers!” they tell us — along with canning basics. Preserving local produce is the way for locavores to stay local during the lean winter months, not to mention a way to save on the grocery bill. But even more important, it’s the path toward tasty treats like spicy pickled green beans. Yum.
Finally, we hear that State Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown of Spokane will be taking a turn as guest chef at Santé next Thursday; call the restaurant (315-4613) for more details. — ANN M. COLFORD
The TWARP II wine class will be held at Rocket Market, 726 E. 43rd Ave., on Friday, Aug. 14, at 7 pm. Cost is $20 (plus tax). Call 343-2253 to preregister.
The Post Falls Food Festival, on Fourth Street in Post Falls, Idaho, is set for Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 15-16. Visit postfallsfoodfest.wordpress.com.
“Local Artists for a Local Food Co-op” at the Fox Theater, 1001 W. Sprague, is Thursday, Aug. 20, at 6:30 pm. Cost is $25 until Aug. 14; $35, thereafter. Visit http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/72743 or call 624-1200.
Canning class at Huckleberry’s, 926 S. Monroe St., will be Thursday, Aug. 20, at 7 pm. Cost is $10 per person; must preregister and prepay. Call 624-1349.
Economic stimulus is an important thing — and if the first round doesn’t do everything you wanted, then it’s time for a second round. At least that’s the theory behind TWARP II — the second edition of the Troubled Wine Assets Relief Program, led by wine guru Carl Carlsteen at the Rocket Market on Friday evening. Part of the ongoing Friday wine-class series, TWARP II will demonstrate that plenty of dang tasty wines are available for no more than $10 per bottle.
Sip 10 different bargain quaffers, accompanied by cheeses and La Brea breads, while Carlsteen holds forth on the virtues of each vintage and shares stories about the wineries.
Speaking of Rocket Market, it’s also the place for the Sunday Brunch With DJs, featuring food by Chef Shilo Pierce and Pastry Chef Dena Carr, complemented by tunes spun by a different guest DJ each week. The music runs 11 am-2 pm, but the food is available both earlier and later. This week’s tune-spinner is Breezy Brown.
The Post Falls Food Festival is set for this weekend, too, albeit in a new location — on Fourth Street by the Post Falls City Hall. Organizer Tim Mitchell of Mangia Catering says to expect plenty of live local music and a variety of food vendors, along with arts and crafts booths at this second annual event.
The Main Market Co-op will host a fundraiser at the Fox Theater next Thursday, Aug. 20, with readings by local authors Jess Walter and Cheryl-Anne Millsap plus musical performances by pianist Brad Greene and Kaylee Cole and her band. Food for the event is catered by the Glover Mansion, and there will be raffles for prizes as well.
Also next Thursday, Huckleberry’s will offer the first in a series of classes on food canning, led by new Executive Chef Anne Bauer and Bakery/Cheese Specialist Amy Clark. This class will explore pickling — “It’s not just for cucumbers!” they tell us — along with canning basics. Preserving local produce is the way for locavores to stay local during the lean winter months, not to mention a way to save on the grocery bill. But even more important, it’s the path toward tasty treats like spicy pickled green beans. Yum.
Finally, we hear that State Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown of Spokane will be taking a turn as guest chef at Santé next Thursday; call the restaurant (315-4613) for more details. — ANN M. COLFORD
The TWARP II wine class will be held at Rocket Market, 726 E. 43rd Ave., on Friday, Aug. 14, at 7 pm. Cost is $20 (plus tax). Call 343-2253 to preregister.
The Post Falls Food Festival, on Fourth Street in Post Falls, Idaho, is set for Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 15-16. Visit postfallsfoodfest.wordpress.com.
“Local Artists for a Local Food Co-op” at the Fox Theater, 1001 W. Sprague, is Thursday, Aug. 20, at 6:30 pm. Cost is $25 until Aug. 14; $35, thereafter. Visit http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/72743 or call 624-1200.
Canning class at Huckleberry’s, 926 S. Monroe St., will be Thursday, Aug. 20, at 7 pm. Cost is $10 per person; must preregister and prepay. Call 624-1349.
Tiki sun
They blew into town this past winter like tropical winds bringing some welcome sunshine and Hawaiian-style barbecue to mid-town Coeur d’Alene. Then just as quickly, the storm passed and Teriyaki Tiki was closed. Now they’re back, the winds calmer now, as they settle into their recently approved-by-the-city location at Fifth and Spruce (behind the Corner Bar).
TERIYAKI TIKI is the Atteshi family’s latest endeavor after closing the Sunset Grill in Hayden a few years back. Daughter Tiara and mom Aggy are the ever-ready smiles at the counter of this takeout/outdoor-seating-only establishment. They’re joined by dad, Mic.
Aggy’s as likely to interject some of her native Filipino recipes into the mix as she is the Hawaiian fare she grew up on. She makes lumpia, or Filipino egg rolls (three for $4.50), once a week, offering them alongside such Hawaiian staples as kalua pork ($7.50).
The pan-Pacific approach is menu-wide. Hawaiian barbecue is the focus of Teriyaki Tiki, which serves plate lunches with two scoops of steamed, slightly sticky rice and a macaroni-potato salad hybrid. Pork, chicken and beef teriyaki ($7.50) are joined by Korean-style kalbi ribs ($9.25) and Japanese-inspired fried chicken katsu ($7.50).
Other island favorites include Loco Moco: a beef patty topped with egg and gravy ($5.50). And — what Hawaiian lunch would be complete without it? — handwritten signs announce Spam dishes, sometimes over eggs, sometimes marinated and served over a shaped mound of rice (aka, Spam sushi).
Sandwiches are a super deal at less than $5 for your basic hamburger, or choose a chicken katsu burger or a teriyaki pork burger. You almost want to order the mini Pupu platter (chicken katsu, teriyaki chicken or pork) just to be able to say “Pupu” — loosely translated to appetizer.
Save room for dessert. Haupia is a very, very firm coconut-based pudding that behaves like Jello ($2.25). The pineapple includes li hing mui ($2.25), a salty/tangy/sweet dried plum you (try to) suck on — almost as much of an acquired taste as Spam.
Call ahead to place an order and don’t forget to say mahalo (thank you!). — CARRIE SCOZZARO
Teriyaki Tiki, at Fifth and Spruce, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is open Mon-Sat 11 am-10 pm, Sun 2-7 pm (summer hours). Call (208) 676-0123.
TERIYAKI TIKI is the Atteshi family’s latest endeavor after closing the Sunset Grill in Hayden a few years back. Daughter Tiara and mom Aggy are the ever-ready smiles at the counter of this takeout/outdoor-seating-only establishment. They’re joined by dad, Mic.
Aggy’s as likely to interject some of her native Filipino recipes into the mix as she is the Hawaiian fare she grew up on. She makes lumpia, or Filipino egg rolls (three for $4.50), once a week, offering them alongside such Hawaiian staples as kalua pork ($7.50).
The pan-Pacific approach is menu-wide. Hawaiian barbecue is the focus of Teriyaki Tiki, which serves plate lunches with two scoops of steamed, slightly sticky rice and a macaroni-potato salad hybrid. Pork, chicken and beef teriyaki ($7.50) are joined by Korean-style kalbi ribs ($9.25) and Japanese-inspired fried chicken katsu ($7.50).
Other island favorites include Loco Moco: a beef patty topped with egg and gravy ($5.50). And — what Hawaiian lunch would be complete without it? — handwritten signs announce Spam dishes, sometimes over eggs, sometimes marinated and served over a shaped mound of rice (aka, Spam sushi).
Sandwiches are a super deal at less than $5 for your basic hamburger, or choose a chicken katsu burger or a teriyaki pork burger. You almost want to order the mini Pupu platter (chicken katsu, teriyaki chicken or pork) just to be able to say “Pupu” — loosely translated to appetizer.
Save room for dessert. Haupia is a very, very firm coconut-based pudding that behaves like Jello ($2.25). The pineapple includes li hing mui ($2.25), a salty/tangy/sweet dried plum you (try to) suck on — almost as much of an acquired taste as Spam.
Call ahead to place an order and don’t forget to say mahalo (thank you!). — CARRIE SCOZZARO
Teriyaki Tiki, at Fifth and Spruce, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is open Mon-Sat 11 am-10 pm, Sun 2-7 pm (summer hours). Call (208) 676-0123.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Brats in the vines
In past summers, Whitestone Winery hosted a catered sit-down dinner called Dine in the Vines, complete with live jazz, in the middle of their vineyard. The setting is spectacular — perched on a rocky down-slope on the south shore of Lake Roosevelt, the rich emerald vines are a shock of vibrant color amid the landscape’s stark geology — but it’s rugged and remote and lacks electrical power.
Delivering fancy food to guests in such a location was a huge challenge for everyone involved, says winemaker Michael Haig, but visitors raved about the event. While planning this year’s dinner, Haig had a revelation.
“What people remembered about the event were the views, the wine and the music,” he says. “The food was secondary. We thought, let’s do something that we can prepare ourselves.”
And what they can do is barbecue. Stocked with bratwurst and sausages from Egger’s and Sonnenberg’s, Haig and the rest of the Whitestone family will grill up a BORDEAUX BBQ in the vineyard on Saturday afternoon. Whitestone’s wines will flow freely, and 6’ Swing will entertain, but the atmosphere will be far more casual, more like an open house than a party with fixed hours.
“It’ll be all you can eat and all you can drink,” says Haig. “People don’t have to stay the whole time — they can come and go.” — ANN M. COLFORD
Whitestone Winery’s Bordeaux Barbecue in the vineyard is Saturday, Aug. 8, from 1-5 pm. Tickets are $55, available at the Spokane (111 S. Cedar St.) and Wilbur (115 NE Main St.) tasting rooms, online at whitestonewinery.com or by phone at 838-2427. Advance purchase is required.
Delivering fancy food to guests in such a location was a huge challenge for everyone involved, says winemaker Michael Haig, but visitors raved about the event. While planning this year’s dinner, Haig had a revelation.
“What people remembered about the event were the views, the wine and the music,” he says. “The food was secondary. We thought, let’s do something that we can prepare ourselves.”
And what they can do is barbecue. Stocked with bratwurst and sausages from Egger’s and Sonnenberg’s, Haig and the rest of the Whitestone family will grill up a BORDEAUX BBQ in the vineyard on Saturday afternoon. Whitestone’s wines will flow freely, and 6’ Swing will entertain, but the atmosphere will be far more casual, more like an open house than a party with fixed hours.
“It’ll be all you can eat and all you can drink,” says Haig. “People don’t have to stay the whole time — they can come and go.” — ANN M. COLFORD
Whitestone Winery’s Bordeaux Barbecue in the vineyard is Saturday, Aug. 8, from 1-5 pm. Tickets are $55, available at the Spokane (111 S. Cedar St.) and Wilbur (115 NE Main St.) tasting rooms, online at whitestonewinery.com or by phone at 838-2427. Advance purchase is required.
Cobs of fun
A cob oven doesn’t burn corncobs for fuel. Nor does one use a cob oven solely to roast corn — although you could stick a few ears in and they’d be really tasty. No, “cob” is the name for a time-honored building material made of clay, straw and sand, mixed with water and formed into a rustic earthen dome. The small wood-fired ovens are used to bake old-style breads and pizzas.
Last fall, Riverfront Farm in West Central Spokane built a cob oven next to their community garden, as part of a natural building workshop linked to Project HOPE’s “Jobs Not Jails” program. Next Thursday, Riverfront Farm teams up with Slow Food Spokane River to host a COB OVEN PIZZA DINNER AND POTLUCK at the urban farm. The aim of the event is to raise awareness of both organizations while building relationships in the neighborhood and across the city.
The basic ingredients for making personal pizzas will be available, says Slow Food’s Jennifer Hall — thus the nominal fee of $5 — but people are welcome to bring along their own favorite toppings. “We’re also asking people to bring a side salad or dessert to share,” says Hall.
The Plaid Cats will provide live music during dinner — but only you can bring along the community spirit. — ANN M. COLFORD
Slow Food’s cob oven pizza dinner and potluck, at Riverfront Farm, 2603 W. Boone Ave., is Thursday, Aug. 13, from 6:30-8:30 pm. Tickets are $5. Visit brownpapertickets.com.
Last fall, Riverfront Farm in West Central Spokane built a cob oven next to their community garden, as part of a natural building workshop linked to Project HOPE’s “Jobs Not Jails” program. Next Thursday, Riverfront Farm teams up with Slow Food Spokane River to host a COB OVEN PIZZA DINNER AND POTLUCK at the urban farm. The aim of the event is to raise awareness of both organizations while building relationships in the neighborhood and across the city.
The basic ingredients for making personal pizzas will be available, says Slow Food’s Jennifer Hall — thus the nominal fee of $5 — but people are welcome to bring along their own favorite toppings. “We’re also asking people to bring a side salad or dessert to share,” says Hall.
The Plaid Cats will provide live music during dinner — but only you can bring along the community spirit. — ANN M. COLFORD
Slow Food’s cob oven pizza dinner and potluck, at Riverfront Farm, 2603 W. Boone Ave., is Thursday, Aug. 13, from 6:30-8:30 pm. Tickets are $5. Visit brownpapertickets.com.
Comforts of home
SWEETIE PIE CAFÉ makes me think of a time when life was slower and simpler, and neighbors dropped by the corner café for the latest news and a bite to eat. While owners Marilyn Blair and daughter Julie Becker don’t actually live on the premises, you’ll feel as though you are dining in someone’s home. The café’s 15 seats are located in several rooms throughout the little house (just off Northwest Blvd. and Ash), with a cozy table for two tucked in one of the nooks. Shelves of games and magazines will make you feel right at home, and Hawaiian-themed artwork from Becker’s time spent living in the islands adds to the homey feel.
The menu is simple, with an emphasis on home-style comfort food. Breakfast (served all day) includes quiche served with potatoes and a biscuit ($8), omelets ($7), oven-baked French toast ($3.50), and biscuits and gravy ($4.50). The light, airy biscuits are a house specialty, drawing praises from diners at the neighboring table. “They’re layered, and I always add a little extra
baking powder,” says Becker, divulging her secret.
The lunch menu includes traditional hot and cold sandwiches (including meatloaf and French dip) served with a cup of soup or side of pasta salad ($7).
A half of a turkey sandwich with a cup of house-made clam chowder ($7) left me with just enough room for a piece of raspberry-rhubarb pie — the main reason for my visit. The tender, flaky crust and tangy-sweet fruit combination was perfect. For $3 a slice or $16 for a whole pie, regular offerings include chocolate cream, pumpkin and fresh fruit, or call ahead and order your favorite.
If you are looking for upscale dining with an extensive menu, then this homey little café is probably not for you. But if you like mouthwatering fruit pie and generous sandwiches served in a friendly neighborhood cottage, give Sweetie Pie a try. Maybe life isn’t so complicated after all. — KIRSTEN HARRINGTON
Sweetie Pie Café, 1724 W. Carlisle Ave., is open Tue-Sun 8 am-4 pm. Call 328-4458.
The menu is simple, with an emphasis on home-style comfort food. Breakfast (served all day) includes quiche served with potatoes and a biscuit ($8), omelets ($7), oven-baked French toast ($3.50), and biscuits and gravy ($4.50). The light, airy biscuits are a house specialty, drawing praises from diners at the neighboring table. “They’re layered, and I always add a little extra
baking powder,” says Becker, divulging her secret.
The lunch menu includes traditional hot and cold sandwiches (including meatloaf and French dip) served with a cup of soup or side of pasta salad ($7).
A half of a turkey sandwich with a cup of house-made clam chowder ($7) left me with just enough room for a piece of raspberry-rhubarb pie — the main reason for my visit. The tender, flaky crust and tangy-sweet fruit combination was perfect. For $3 a slice or $16 for a whole pie, regular offerings include chocolate cream, pumpkin and fresh fruit, or call ahead and order your favorite.
If you are looking for upscale dining with an extensive menu, then this homey little café is probably not for you. But if you like mouthwatering fruit pie and generous sandwiches served in a friendly neighborhood cottage, give Sweetie Pie a try. Maybe life isn’t so complicated after all. — KIRSTEN HARRINGTON
Sweetie Pie Café, 1724 W. Carlisle Ave., is open Tue-Sun 8 am-4 pm. Call 328-4458.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Mobile tacos
Far too many paranoid souls shudder at the mention of taco trucks. I, on the other hand, nearly swerve into oncoming traffic in excitement when I see a new taco truck parked alongside the road. Yet even I was a bit skeptical when a new truck appeared on North Division in the spot formerly occupied by one of the two Tacos Tumbras trucks.
My skepticism stemmed from the name spray-painted on the truck: “PATTY’S TACOS.” Accuse me of culinary racial profiling if you must, but I would have stopped the very first time I saw the new truck if the name on the side had been Eduardo, José or María. But every Patty I knew growing up in Montana made tacos with hard shells, ground beef and cheddar cheese.
I was wrong. There are two Pattys in the family that owns the truck: Patty Pineda and Patty Ramirez. Jonas Lopez manages the truck, but decided to name it after his cousin and his sister-in-law who split the cooking with him. Patty Pineda was at the grill the day I stopped, and the family truck is a brilliant addition to our local fleet. In fact, if you love Mexican food, drop what you are doing this instant and head for Division and Garland for a $1.25 Alambre taco piled with steak, grilled peppers and onions, and melted mozzarella. It is like a heavenly mini fajita. Add a dash of Patty’s hot sauce and pico de gallo (request both from the cooler), or eat it straight up. Muy delicioso. Then return to the window and repeat after me: “Uno mas, por favor.”
The two Pattys and Jonas also serve up a mean torta (a Mexican sandwich served on a bun with the meat of your choice for $4.50) and other authentic standards like burritos, sopes, huaraches, quesadillas and enchiladas. They also offer something less standard and quite welcome: vegetarian options. — KEVIN FINCH
Patty’s Tacos, parked on Division between Garland and Walton, is open daily 10 am-8 pm. Call 217-2504.
My skepticism stemmed from the name spray-painted on the truck: “PATTY’S TACOS.” Accuse me of culinary racial profiling if you must, but I would have stopped the very first time I saw the new truck if the name on the side had been Eduardo, José or María. But every Patty I knew growing up in Montana made tacos with hard shells, ground beef and cheddar cheese.
I was wrong. There are two Pattys in the family that owns the truck: Patty Pineda and Patty Ramirez. Jonas Lopez manages the truck, but decided to name it after his cousin and his sister-in-law who split the cooking with him. Patty Pineda was at the grill the day I stopped, and the family truck is a brilliant addition to our local fleet. In fact, if you love Mexican food, drop what you are doing this instant and head for Division and Garland for a $1.25 Alambre taco piled with steak, grilled peppers and onions, and melted mozzarella. It is like a heavenly mini fajita. Add a dash of Patty’s hot sauce and pico de gallo (request both from the cooler), or eat it straight up. Muy delicioso. Then return to the window and repeat after me: “Uno mas, por favor.”
The two Pattys and Jonas also serve up a mean torta (a Mexican sandwich served on a bun with the meat of your choice for $4.50) and other authentic standards like burritos, sopes, huaraches, quesadillas and enchiladas. They also offer something less standard and quite welcome: vegetarian options. — KEVIN FINCH
Patty’s Tacos, parked on Division between Garland and Walton, is open daily 10 am-8 pm. Call 217-2504.
State of breakfast
It was a bit like musical chairs when Beach House owner/manager Dave Libbey left to reopen CONNIE’S CAFÉ, a Sandpoint institution serving home-style meals since the ’50s. Libbey’s departure paved the way for Café Trinity’s owners to take over the Edgewater hotel location, now called Trinity at City Beach (Fresh & Tasty, 7/24/09). Yet it was music to the ears of loyal Connie’s customers who have followed the longtime restaurant’s struggles over the past few years as successive owners tried to make it.
The only part of the restaurant not fully restored to its former status, in fact, is the music portion in Connie’s Lounge, which is open but not booking bands right now.
In the meantime, the menu has been updated, along with some of the interior, booths, carpeting and parts of the kitchen facilities. But the general ambience is the same. It’s still the kind of diner where the light seems to be perpetually twilight, where a server will likely know your name if you’re a local, and where breakfast is a state of mind served daily until 2 pm.
Breakfast is chock full of the kinds of basics you’d expect at Grandma’s table: eggs, omelets, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, steak and eggs — even oat groats. The vegetarian benedict was a plentiful portion of crispy hashbrowns, poached eggs, avocado, tomato, spinach and hollandaise ($7, half/$9, full).
For lunch, steer toward the Angus beef burgers served with soup, fries or three kinds of salad (green, potato or coleslaw). Other lunch sandwiches ($9-$10) include home-style favorites like open-faced turkey or the Reuben. The Portobello salad with roasted red pepper ($9) and Caribbean chicken wrap with fruit salsa provide great appeal for health-conscious or summer-minded appetites.
For dinner, there are standbys like meatloaf ($9), fried chicken ($13), and weekend prime rib ($9/$20). Other menu items will come as a welcome surprise, like the bronzed escolar fish, which Connie’s does up Cajun style ($16), or Twisted Mac & Cheese with linguica sausage, fresh crab and roasted red peppers ($13).
Overall the menu has something for everyone, with reasonable prices and quick service. It’s the kind of place you can go for breakfast on a Sunday with the kids or hook up with friends for beer and appetizers out on the back patio and feel right at home. — CARRIE SCOZZARO
Connie’s, 323 Cedar St., Sandpoint, is open Mon-Sat 7 am-9 pm, Sun 8 am-8 pm. Call (208) 255-2227.
The only part of the restaurant not fully restored to its former status, in fact, is the music portion in Connie’s Lounge, which is open but not booking bands right now.
In the meantime, the menu has been updated, along with some of the interior, booths, carpeting and parts of the kitchen facilities. But the general ambience is the same. It’s still the kind of diner where the light seems to be perpetually twilight, where a server will likely know your name if you’re a local, and where breakfast is a state of mind served daily until 2 pm.
Breakfast is chock full of the kinds of basics you’d expect at Grandma’s table: eggs, omelets, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, steak and eggs — even oat groats. The vegetarian benedict was a plentiful portion of crispy hashbrowns, poached eggs, avocado, tomato, spinach and hollandaise ($7, half/$9, full).
For lunch, steer toward the Angus beef burgers served with soup, fries or three kinds of salad (green, potato or coleslaw). Other lunch sandwiches ($9-$10) include home-style favorites like open-faced turkey or the Reuben. The Portobello salad with roasted red pepper ($9) and Caribbean chicken wrap with fruit salsa provide great appeal for health-conscious or summer-minded appetites.
For dinner, there are standbys like meatloaf ($9), fried chicken ($13), and weekend prime rib ($9/$20). Other menu items will come as a welcome surprise, like the bronzed escolar fish, which Connie’s does up Cajun style ($16), or Twisted Mac & Cheese with linguica sausage, fresh crab and roasted red peppers ($13).
Overall the menu has something for everyone, with reasonable prices and quick service. It’s the kind of place you can go for breakfast on a Sunday with the kids or hook up with friends for beer and appetizers out on the back patio and feel right at home. — CARRIE SCOZZARO
Connie’s, 323 Cedar St., Sandpoint, is open Mon-Sat 7 am-9 pm, Sun 8 am-8 pm. Call (208) 255-2227.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Savory and sweet
The croissants, scones, and cookies all looked inviting at the PETIT CHAT VILLAGE BAKERY in the Whitworth area, but I came for the bread. The problem was making a decision. My mouth began to water as owner Brenda Gerhart described each loaf, noting her favorite way to enjoy each one. “The rosemary-cranberry bread makes good turkey sandwiches,” she says. I’m sure she’s right, but I’ll probably never know since we finished most of the loaf before we left the store.
When Brenda and her husband Kevin bought the bakery nine months ago, it had no retail outlet of its own. “We knew we wanted to go retail,” Brenda says, explaining that they remodeled the adjacent space and opened the retail shop several months later. Bakers’ racks filled with just-out-of-the-oven bread divide the retail space from the production area, allowing a peek at bakers crafting their artisan loaves and sweet pastries.
The bread costs a reasonable $5 a loaf, so I also tried the Nutty/Seedy Breakfast Bread, a slightly sweet whole-wheat loaf filled with dates, raisins, walnuts and a variety of seeds including fennel. I’m dreaming about a slice with my morning coffee, along with the remains of the enormous cinnamon roll with a hint of orange that I managed to confiscate from my kids.
Petit Chat has staples such as Tuscan and whole-wheat loaves, and a rotating selection of savory and sweet loaves each day, like the pumpkin-pecan loaf and hard-to-find brioche. The breads are made with Shepherd’s Grain flour, so you can feel good about supporting local farmers. Petit Chat also sells bread at Huckleberry’s on Monroe and supplies several local restaurants.
Whether you just make a quick stop to pick up a few loaves (they freeze well) or sink into a leather chair with a cup of coffee and a chocolate-dipped almond horn, you don’t want to miss Petit Chat. I’ll happily make the drive for high-quality, hand-crafted breads and European style pastries at this north Spokane gem. — KIRSTEN HARRINGTON
Petit Chat Village Bakery, 9910 N. Waikiki Rd., is open Mon-Fri 7 am-6 pm and Sat 7 am-4 pm. Call 468-2720.
When Brenda and her husband Kevin bought the bakery nine months ago, it had no retail outlet of its own. “We knew we wanted to go retail,” Brenda says, explaining that they remodeled the adjacent space and opened the retail shop several months later. Bakers’ racks filled with just-out-of-the-oven bread divide the retail space from the production area, allowing a peek at bakers crafting their artisan loaves and sweet pastries.
The bread costs a reasonable $5 a loaf, so I also tried the Nutty/Seedy Breakfast Bread, a slightly sweet whole-wheat loaf filled with dates, raisins, walnuts and a variety of seeds including fennel. I’m dreaming about a slice with my morning coffee, along with the remains of the enormous cinnamon roll with a hint of orange that I managed to confiscate from my kids.
Petit Chat has staples such as Tuscan and whole-wheat loaves, and a rotating selection of savory and sweet loaves each day, like the pumpkin-pecan loaf and hard-to-find brioche. The breads are made with Shepherd’s Grain flour, so you can feel good about supporting local farmers. Petit Chat also sells bread at Huckleberry’s on Monroe and supplies several local restaurants.
Whether you just make a quick stop to pick up a few loaves (they freeze well) or sink into a leather chair with a cup of coffee and a chocolate-dipped almond horn, you don’t want to miss Petit Chat. I’ll happily make the drive for high-quality, hand-crafted breads and European style pastries at this north Spokane gem. — KIRSTEN HARRINGTON
Petit Chat Village Bakery, 9910 N. Waikiki Rd., is open Mon-Fri 7 am-6 pm and Sat 7 am-4 pm. Call 468-2720.
Triple the view
Café Trinity, formerly located on Sandpoint’s busy First Avenue, recently moved eastward to Bridge Street to take over space inside the Best Western Edgewater Resort. Now known as TRINITY AT CITY BEACH, the restaurant is moving away from its original foundation of Southern-inspired cuisine to a more diverse menu that suits the new digs.
With nary a hitch nor interruption in service, owner and general manager Justin Dick transformed Trinity into a full-service daily restaurant serving not only the hotel clients, but also folks who flock to City Beach.
“Can’t pass up the view,” quips award-winning chef Edsol “Eddie” Sneva, whose extensive pedigree includes Sawtooth Grill, Brix, Cedars and Crickets.
Now with triple the staff, Sneva’s kitchen is serving up biscuits and andouille sausage gravy or West Coast benedict ($9) with smoked salmon for breakfast, and a dozen egg scrambles, combos or hash, like the prime rib hash with red peppers and green onion remoulade ($10).
Lunch could be corn/crawfish chowder ($8) or a salad with pecan-crusted chicken ($11), a few of the Southern-inspired dishes carried over from Café Trinity. How about a soft shell crab po’ boy ($9) with a tall glass of Laughing Dog or Blue Moon Belgian White?
For dinner, the menu is plentifully stocked with seafood: lemongrass-marinated prawns with tamarind glaze ($25), Gorgonzola scallops with prosciutto, garlic and cream ($25) or cedar-plank salmon with thyme-infused jasmine rice ($21).
Trinity offers an appetizing and affordable assortment of small plates, including gumbo, salad caprese with mozzarella and tomato, steamed manila clams, and grilled Korean short ribs ($4-$12).
Many lunch and dinner items are available on the “deck menu,” which features fun little nibbles like peel-and-eat shrimp ($12), chips and salsa ($2.50) and jalapeño poppers breaded in Idaho potato flakes ($6).
The breathtaking view and an expanded menu with prices that seem more reasonable than comparable hotel dining establishments means Trinity at City Beach has made all the right moves. — CARRIE SCOZZARO
Trinity at City Beach, 56 Bridge St. (at Best Western Edgewater Resort), Sandpoint, Idaho, is open Sun-Thu 7:30 am-9 pm, Fri-Sat 7:30 am-10 pm. Visit cafetrinitysandpoint.com or call (208) 255-7558.
With nary a hitch nor interruption in service, owner and general manager Justin Dick transformed Trinity into a full-service daily restaurant serving not only the hotel clients, but also folks who flock to City Beach.
“Can’t pass up the view,” quips award-winning chef Edsol “Eddie” Sneva, whose extensive pedigree includes Sawtooth Grill, Brix, Cedars and Crickets.
Now with triple the staff, Sneva’s kitchen is serving up biscuits and andouille sausage gravy or West Coast benedict ($9) with smoked salmon for breakfast, and a dozen egg scrambles, combos or hash, like the prime rib hash with red peppers and green onion remoulade ($10).
Lunch could be corn/crawfish chowder ($8) or a salad with pecan-crusted chicken ($11), a few of the Southern-inspired dishes carried over from Café Trinity. How about a soft shell crab po’ boy ($9) with a tall glass of Laughing Dog or Blue Moon Belgian White?
For dinner, the menu is plentifully stocked with seafood: lemongrass-marinated prawns with tamarind glaze ($25), Gorgonzola scallops with prosciutto, garlic and cream ($25) or cedar-plank salmon with thyme-infused jasmine rice ($21).
Trinity offers an appetizing and affordable assortment of small plates, including gumbo, salad caprese with mozzarella and tomato, steamed manila clams, and grilled Korean short ribs ($4-$12).
Many lunch and dinner items are available on the “deck menu,” which features fun little nibbles like peel-and-eat shrimp ($12), chips and salsa ($2.50) and jalapeño poppers breaded in Idaho potato flakes ($6).
The breathtaking view and an expanded menu with prices that seem more reasonable than comparable hotel dining establishments means Trinity at City Beach has made all the right moves. — CARRIE SCOZZARO
Trinity at City Beach, 56 Bridge St. (at Best Western Edgewater Resort), Sandpoint, Idaho, is open Sun-Thu 7:30 am-9 pm, Fri-Sat 7:30 am-10 pm. Visit cafetrinitysandpoint.com or call (208) 255-7558.
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