Spokane Food Blog

If it’s Friday, it’s De Leon for lunch. This time, I went for the carne asada burrito…

Among the notable Taste Everything Once reader reviews Marrakesh receives some well-deserved love while Golden Corral… doesn’t… Seriously, why are the majority of this place’s write-ups positive? Makes no sense! Ah well, at least Madeleine’s gets the positive reviews.

I would rather pee at PF Chang’s than eat there. 

I do love their bathroom.  Red glass-tiles covering the wall with an oversized round mirror behind the three automatic faucet sinks. Perfect mood lighting.  Ceiling to floor walls on three sides of the stalls, covered in tile.  A heavy wood door with working lock hangs nicely, making a 3/4 wall.  Clean lines, no fluff, a great design for a commercial restaurant bathroom.

Stop by for some vegetarian lettuce wraps, add your own flavor with the sauces, and don’t be afraid to consume too many beverages. You will want to check out the bathroom. 

I give it…

First, a disclaimer: I did not buy Zagat 2009 America’s Top Restaurants myself, but was sent a copy from Zagat for review purposes. (You don’t know me very well if you don’t think I’ll accept freebies.)

Now, the Zagatsurvey itself… Spokane is inexplicably not among the 42 cities covered? Can you believe it? I think it must be a misprint, particularly when culinary lightweights like New York is included.

Oversights not withstanding, I still find the Zagat guide a good travel companion. The picks seem to  be on the decent side, as proven by the inclusion of Salumi as one of the top Seattle restaurants. Are they all hits? Probably not, but the guide can definitely assist you off the beaten path, to places that aren’t in the middle of the tourist stream.

As it turns 30, Zagat is still a Spokane Food Blog Recommended Food Guide. Now if you’re looking for a Spokane equivalent… Hey, there’s always those sought after Taste Everything Once ratings.

Make that sixty.

First, carob chips. Awful. Anybody who claims those are a valid alternative to chocolate really must have seriously weakened taste buds.

As for the $120+ Scotch… The bottle apparently cost $180 or something insane like that and was from… 1978? Of course, when a libation has been stored for about 30 years, it’ll affect the flavor, which means there’s only one way to drink it.

• 2 part Scotch (30 years or older)
• 3 parts Diet Coke Lime (or alternatively any other soda that includes aspartame. Something to masque the flavor of the whisky.)
• A splash of soda, and garnish with a cherry

40 more to go!

More…

If it’s Friday, it’s De Leon for lunch. This time, I went for the chili relleno…

Taste Everything Once had 23 reader reviews this week, including two opposing opinions for Swinging Doors, a happy De Leon customer, and a less than stellar Wild Sage experience.

And finally, one review from us (me, whatever), of Vina.

A French inspired gourmet boutique in a salon? Not a bad idea at all, and one that owners Stacy Blowers and DeVerne Augustus are betting on will work. And having recently visited the Carnegie Square shop, I don’t see why it wouldn’t.

French Quarter, much like OMO, offers some pretty friggin’ awesome hand rolled truffles. Made using Guittard chocolate, the truffles come in unique flavors like toasted chipotle and tawny port. I kid you not. Being the basic, down to earth guy I am, I still have to give props to the honeycomb truffle, however. My one regret was not enjoying it with a cognac, which it would have paired perfectly with.

We also picked up a homemade three-berry jam, which somewhat ironically went really well on a shortbread from OMO. I call that fusion cuisine.

French Quarter will offer both wines and cheeses in November. All in all it’s a pretty awesome addition to the west side of downtown. Make sure to give them a visit; they’re open Tuesday through Saturday, 9am-6pm.

Light panic struck when word reached Spokane Food Blog Towers that OMO possibly had closed down. Located in the loosely knit SODO district, OMO makes some of the best chocolate in Spokane, and a world without it would be a gray place indeed.

After an emergency editorial board meeting, a committee was put together to conduct a fact finding mission. Was OMO really closed?

The answer, thankfully, was no. OMO had merely moved three doors down, to 224 S Washington.

Let us never speak of such a horrible thing again, and instead celebrate the wonder that is OMO. The new location is bigger and better, and the clothing and accessories that crowded the candy and baked goods section in the previous space is now in a separate room. This is a good thing.

For those not familiar with the chocolate… Well… You’re missing out, and words can’t fully describe the awesomeness of the products. No sugar is used, and the sweetness in the truffles is all natural chocolaty goodness. Any Better Taster needs to get down there and experience the wonders of OMO. Right now.

Proprietor Marta Johnson, who soon will be serving tea and coffee, told us she wants to create a place where people can just come in and chill out for a bit. I have no doubt she will succeed, particularly if you try one of her truffles. They will send you into a chocolate coma you never want to get out of.

A few weeks ago, I enjoyed a wonderful meal of potatoes and filet mignon.  My remaining meat sat close to my portion of stacked potatoes.  Which do I eat?  In the past there would be no question; I would eat the potatoes.  It never would have crossed my mind to go for the filet mignon, let alone any meat at all.

This time, though, I went for the amazing cow. My mind was baffled with the choice I made. Right up until that moment it wouldn’t have crossed my mind to go for the steak.  My previous mindset would only allow me to eat the potatoes.  Quite a concept to grasp if you are a meat eater, I’m sure. It’s maybe even hard to follow if you are a carnivore turned “veghead,” but these days there really isn’t a question in my mind.  As long as it is a great cut of meat from a reputable butcher I vote for eating the cow.

Does anyone want to support a local farmer and buy a whole cow with me?  I only want quarter of a it.  Do you want the remaining three?

The Omnivore Hundred was (from what I understand) a list published a few months back by Andrew Wheeler, a British food author and blogger. The contents of the list are basically hundred things Mr. Wheeler thinks any good omnivore should have tasted at least one time in their life.

Well, fair enough, I like a good challenge, and therefore I’m going for it. Whenever I attempt some of the stranger things on the list, I will write about it here. For now, the 58 items I have tried are bolded in the list below the cut, with the occasional comment… More…

I picture Budweiser (or Anheuser-Busch as it is, but you know what I mean) being a bit like Microsoft. They both have what probably would be the most popular product within each market segment (Budweiser Lager and Windows respectively), they are both laughed at by Better Tasters, and they both definitely want to appear to be better and hipper than they are.

Microsoft tried to achieve this by releasing Vista and the Zune. The former, of course, failed miserably. The latter… It was laughed at, it was mocked, but in general wasn’t considered that bad. Following that line, then: If Budweiser Select is Vista, then American Ale can largely be compared to the Zune.

The picture isn’t lying; this might very well be the first Bud that has some head to it. I kid you not. A mishap in pouring like that would not make much of a difference with a Bud Light, but the American Ale kinda reacted how you would expect any decent beer to react. My first impression was positive.

The color, much like the original Zune, had kind of a deep brownness to it, and a quick whiff… My god, was that hops I smelled?! Well, fear not, it only took a couple of sips before it became abundantly clear American Ale will not be much of a kick in the teeth flavor-wise.

Actually, American Ale is just plain strange. It’s like they took a fairly average ale, combined it with Bud Light, shook it around, and bottled it. When it first hits your tongue you have high hopes, but a second later it all falls apart. Kinda like when you realize you’ll never use the FM feature on your Zune.

I don’t know about all of this. It’s not that Budweiser American Ale is plain awful. If I had to attend a bad concert somewhere, I’d certainly pick this beer over Bud Light. But really, just like I wouldn’t replace my iPod or iPhone with a Zune, I will not replace my baseline choices of beers with American Ale.

Alternate comparison option: Sarah Palin.