Spokane Food Blog

So it’s that time of year. The time when the Spokane Food Blog Editorial Board™ (SFBEB™ for short) takes off for a week, to do some heavy food-style Tripping, and when we won’t post until next year. Yes, that’s a week without us, and it’s horrible, we know. We leave you, however, with the inaugural SFB Best of ‘08 list. Have a good rest of ‘08!

The SPECIAL stuff…

Best Mexican place you had forgotten about because of De Leon
Hey, we’re not pointing any fingers, we love De Leon. But let’s not forget there are other Mexican places in Spokane that are quite excellent, and they don’t receive the love they deserve. Take Taqueria Guerrero, which is sort of the Toto to De Leon’s Steely Dan. Sure Steely Dan is the king, but who can not see the greatness of “Africa”? Guerrero might, in fact, one-up De Leon in some aspects. It’s certainly more affordable, their tortas are the best in the region, and their vegetarian burritos are great even for carnivores. Give Guerrero a shot. They’re awesome.

Best place a carnivore can be in heaven while holding hands with a vegetarian
Mizuna might be what jumps into most people’s minds here, but there is a great alternative, and a charcuterie at that. That Sante is so versatile might surprise some, but give it a chance and you will be impressed. You can enjoy a trio of cold-cuts with the “Butchers Board” while your vegetarian friend can dig into tofu baked in phyllo. The latter is, in fact, amazing. Truly fantastic. Everybody should run to Sante — it’s definitely Spokane’s best new restaurant of ‘08.

The place that literally made “Hershey” a cuss word
Literally! We love OMO and want to marry it. Run over right now and try the eggnog truffle or the caramel. Or anything else they have. OMO = love.

Best Spokane food blog
You’re reading it! But also go and look at the bottom of the site for a bunch of links we recommend, From the Back Kitchen to Burger, Revised.

Dessert you really need to try before you die
The pumpkin bread pudding from Latah Bistro. It’s on the menu right now, so stop reading this and go try some.

Grocery store you will love
OK, so it won’t (nor should it) stop you from going to Huckleberry’s or Fresh Abundance or even Safeway, but the Grocery Outlet is always interesting. Go in, browse the aisles, and you’ll find stuff you didn’t think existed. But apparently it does.

The standard stuff…

Best restaurant… Mizuna
Best local beer… Northern Lights
Best espresso… Lindaman’s
Best Mexican… De Leon
Best Korean… Kim’s Korean Restaurant
Best pesto… The Barn on Trezzi Farm
Best subs… Sub Division
Best restaurant that burned down… Churchill’s
Best pizza… Ferrante’s
Best vodka… 44 Degrees North Mountain Huckleberry

I’m sure you, like most of us, have that friend who always knows what’s happening around town. Want to know what restaurant or bar you’ll be checking out three months from now? That’s the person you ask.

Well, now you can be that person. Think about it! Your friends will flock around you and worship you because of your knowledge of anything and everything opening around town. You can, for example, dazzle them by informing about the brand new Cum Inn. No. I’m not making that up. It’s opening in the Valley.

“But Remi, how can we do this,” you might ask. Simple. Any Liquor License Application is posted on-line. And while it has been kind of eh trying to access it before, we have now made it that much simpler with our Liquor License Stalker. Currently in beta, the list updates live when a new application is submitted to the Liquor Board.

Go check it out, and let us know how it works. Yes, we are that nice to you.

Slimy vegetables make me feel like a failure. I know I sound like a stupid cow, but seriously. Every time I see a goopy onion, wrinkled carrot or black potato in my fridge, it’s like a slap in the face. It makes me ashamed to say I’m a vegetarian, much less claim that I cook my own food. I just… never seem to eat all my vegetables before they go bad.

This, my friends, makes me angry. First, rotten vegetables stink. Whether they’re inside your fridge, garbage, or compost, the slightest whiff is bound to cause fainting, dry-heaving, vomiting or all of the above. Secondly, I hate to be wasteful. I already feel guilty for living in America, living in a fuel-based economy and participating in capitalism. The last thing I need is a rotten eggplant on my conscious.

Finally, I hate to waste money. I’m lucky I can afford to buy expensive organic produce (I cut corners elsewhere), so why do I essentially throw my money away? I mean, it’s not like the economy or job market will help me out once I’ve thrown out all my spoiled food. So what you ask, or don’t ask, is the cultrate? Two things.

I don’t finish my vegetables because a: processed food like salsa and tortilla chips lurk about my cupboards and b: hiding food in the so-called “vegetable door” of my fridge makes me forget that I have it. Case solved. I’ll burn my cupboards and tear apart my fridge. If only the president-elects’ stimulus proposal for the economy could work this easily.

2008 has seen sort of a comeback for Redhook, after a couple of years where the Woodinville brewery seemed to have wandered sort of aimlessly.

The Double Black Stout was originally introduced in 1995 as a limited release craft beer, and has recently been brought back for a four month run through February 2009. It is a very dark stout with coffee added to it, enough so that you can probably just drink a pint of this in the morning instead of your regular Starbucks. Not that the coffee — or mocha I suppose, as there is certainly a hint of chocolate here too — is overpowering or anything, which often is the case with many coffee based stouts, but you don’t have to be an expert taster to notice it either.

Other than that the actual stout has a nice malty aroma to it, and is thick enough to give you that nice warm feeling you need during the sub-10° temperatures we’re “enjoying” right now. Dunk on Neil Halstead’s latest and pour yourself a glass of this, and you got a good evening going.

2008 has been a good year for Redhook. The Winterhook is definitely better than years past, and the Double Black Stout is surprisingly deep and flavorful.

• ABV: 7%
• IBU: 47

Spokane Food Blog says…

It has been some time since I’ve delved into the depths of my (semi-) guilty pleasure, Top Chef. Sad, I know, but my reasoning is simply that there hasn’t been that much to say about the past few episodes. Not that the show isn’t entertaining, but it has been hard gauging much of anything from the “cheftestants” thus far. And that Kathie Lee Gifford has the palette of somebody with an amputated tongue? Yeah, no, color me surprised…

With that said, here are some observations I’ve come up with during the past few episodes:

For the love of god, get her out of here…

Melissa has dodged elimination with something close to Dubya’s shoe-ducking abilities. Her use of habaneros in episode four — where she either didn’t taste the shrimp or showed she has numb taste buds — was unforgivable. De Leon has probably the best habanero salsa I’ve ever had, and even they don’t get it right every time. Heat for the sake of heat is not a good thing. Add to that her waffling excuses, her trucker hat, and… Really, that’s about the extent of her contribution. I’d be surprised if she survives another episode.

“What, is she funny or something?”

I’m sure Ariane is a lovely woman, but to award a Top Chef contestant a win for managing to cook some lamb properly? Not exactly the hardest thing to do, and the dish was clearly Jamie’s creation at any rate.

The Bride’s Maid

Jamie is sailing up as the one to beat in this competition, even though she hasn’t actually won a single challenge yet. I mean, seriously? Alongside Stefan she is showing more creativity and better technique than the other “cheftestants” and I’d be surprised if she didn’t make it to the end.

The Stefaning

We don’t really have the token douchebag this season, and though Stefan is a bit… shall we say confrontational… he clearly has the skill to back up his big mouth. He was completely correct about Gene’s asinine “DIY sushi” dish (seriously, what?) and though Jeff delivered a successful sorbet, I think Stefan was right raising a red flag over it.

I can’t quit you

The Chilean sea bass just screamed 1998, but regardless… Fabio might not have shown the best dishes in the competition, yet he’s far from the worst “cheftestant,” and I don’t think his full potential has been realized yet. Plus, come on… You’d have to be dead not to be charmed by him.

This piece was contributed by RyanMP. Not to be confused with the many other Ryans connected to this blog.

I am not an investigative journalist. If I was, I might have tried harder to find out about the new business applying for a liquor license in my neighborhood, South Perry. Instead I did a little Google searching and waited for the information to fall into my lap.

About two weeks ago I noticed the distinctive neon paper posted in an empty store-front window about three blocks up from my house (the space most recently occupied by the Pop Shoppe and before that The Scoop). Around here, that means someone applied for a liquor license, in this case “The Lantern.” Just saying liquor so many times in just a few sentences makes me feel seedy and disreputable. I’m not, really, but I like to drink a beer or cocktail on occasion. I also like to support local businesses, and since one of the reasons we bought a house in the S Perry neighborhood was the proximity to a small business district, I would especially like to support those businesses. You have to understand the historic potential of a business opening on Perry that will sell liquor. Because the neighborhood is also home to an elementary school, no one has successfully been granted a liquor license as far as anyone can remember. According to RCW 66.24.010 any school or church within 500 feet of the business CAN veto an application for a liquor license. Spokane School District policy 9125 states that the district WILL deny any application for a business SERVING alcohol.

See, part of the frustration of the succession of neighborhood cafes that have been denied a license is the presence of two convenience stores, one even across the street from the school. Both convenience stores SELL beer but they don’t SERVE it and therefore are not automatically vetoed by the school district. If you were a young teenager trying to buy beer where would you get it from? Would you walk into a bar and try to order a pint of a nut brown ale? Or would you find someone older but not wiser willing to procure a case of Nat Light from the closest gas station.

Whereas previously the 500 foot rule was measured from the property line, in 2006 the state liquor law was amended to change that definition to:

“…within five hundred feet of the premises of any tax-supported public elementary or secondary school measured along the most direct route over or across established public walks, streets, or other public passageway from the main entrance of the school to the nearest public entrance of the premises proposed for license.”

Door-to-door. The school district voted unanimously to revise their policy to reflect the change in the law. Although this change still excludes the majority of the small Perry businesses, the proposed location of The Lantern is apparently more than 500 feet from the entrance of the school. I’m guessing it isn’t much more than 500 feet, probably something like 519 feet, but it’s over 500 feet.

According to an article published in the Spokesman-Review today, the couple hoping to open The Lantern are new residents of both Spokane and the neighborhood, and hope to open an “upscale bar with primarily high quality Northwest beer and local wines.” Jeff Norvall was also quoted as saying, “it just looks like a good opportunity, I mean, there’s no competition at all.” I had to laugh when I read that – I wonder if he knows why.

But I agree with him. I think it could be a good business opportunity and I think it could be good for the neighborhood. We could use something in the neighborhood open after 7pm that is more than a place to buy smokes or a six-pack. Norvall and Laura Paisley (the co-applicant) are apparently hoping to open in the spring but are waiting for approval on the permit before moving ahead. Smart thinking, given the history of the neighborhood.

“We want to keep it classy, a good place for people to come and listen to acoustic music,” Norvall said. Uh, I’m not sure what type of renovations he’s planning for the bar, but the only acoustic music that will currently fit in that place might be a guy playing a harmonica or a solo a capella act. Musical acts aside, here’s to hoping that The Lantern opens this coming March to add a little night life to our burgeoning neighborhood.

Quotes liberally borrowed from this article..

Other commentary on the issue:

• It’s not a sign – It’s a trailer 3-12-07
• Grab Bag of News 10-16-06
• “The City” Part Three 7-24-06

If you, like us, are fans of BeerAdvocate, then you should probably check out the site’s first Spokane meet-up. (We also created a Facebook event for it, if that’s more your cup of stout.) This is a good chance to meet local beer enthusiasts, and maybe even run in to one or two of your favorite SFBers.

Word has also reached us that the Burger, Revised crew will be there in full force, fully ready to check the lard content of the brews.

Anyway, for those interested:

• What: BeerAdvocate meet-up
• When: Tomorrow, Friday 12th, 5pm-7pm
• Where: The Swamp, 1904 W 5th Ave

Update: As pointed out by Jacque in the comments, FBC will meet at The Swamp at 8pm for their Festivus ride, so if you want to hang out and enjoy a Festivus for the rest of us, then hey… Perfect opportunity.

If you were a member of Main Market Co-op’s Facebook group — and why on earth wouldn’t you be — you would already know about the “thank you gifts” the co-op is offering if you sign up for a membership before December 31st (prices vary greatly, so check which one fits you best):

• Revival Lighting (14 W. Main) – 10% off coupon
• The Elk (1931 W. Pacific) or Two Seven (2727 S. Mt. Vernon) Public House – $5.00 gift certificate
• Spokane Metro magazine – complimentary copy
• Kizuri (35 W. Main) – locally handcrafted & gorgeous bar of soap
• aNeMonE Handmade Paper Flowers (Riverpark Square, 2nd level) – free gift with $40 or greater purchase
• Sante Restaurant & Charcuterie (404 W. Main) – 50% off second dinner entree
• Hill’s Restaurant & Lounge (401 W. Main) – $10.00 gift certificate
• Tangerine Boutique (1019 W. 1st) – 10% off coupon

The co-op is scheduled to open sometime 2009 (Fall last I heard, but that has been removed from the front-page of the web site) and will bring an awesomeness to Spokane only seen in metropolitan areas like Moscow. It will be located at 44 W Main Ave, downtown, where Good Year is currently residing.

Speaking of Facebook group, you should totally join our group too. We will always be your friend! Your best friend!

Being the veggie tale (my pet name for vegetarians) that I am, I was excited to finally eat at P.F. Chang’s China Bistro. I’ve heard from countless vegetable lovers that the vegetarian menu is wonderful. Not wanting to dine alone, I drug a friend along for the ride. What we discovered was a somewhat friendly wait staff and somewhat edible food.

To make matters worse, our waitress seemed to ignore us. Perhaps it was because I was wearing a paint-stained sweatshirt, or perhaps it was because we ordered one meal to split between the two of us (we’re cheap and poor, a deadly combo). Regardless of the reasons, we felt snubbed. We literally waited more than a half hour to get our coconut-curry vegetables and tofu.

I wish I could say the wait was worth it. This dish was reasonably priced, only $8, it was just the curry that spoiled it. Unlike a more traditional, thick curry paste, what adorned these vegetables tasted like the left over juice in a fruit cup. It was simply too tangy and too watery. Although my friend liked the dish, I ended up eating only brown rice.

Luckily two good things came from the evening. First, our waitress took pity on us for waiting so long and brought us free dessert in a shot glass. Sadly, the only thing the dessert was missing was alcohol. Even better than the dessert is the fact that one drunken night I climb on top the giant horse that sits outside the restaurant. You may have taken my time and money this time, P.F. Chang, but I still rode your horse.

See also: Pee at P.F. Chang’s.

I haven’t been able to find much information about Eleanor’s Corner Saloon in Uniontown… Actually, I haven’t been able to find that much out about the scarcely populated town either, but that’s neither here nor there… Anyway!

Eleanor’s, from what I understand, prides itself on using all organic ingredients, which, while perfectly doable out on the Palouse, is still pretty impressive in a town consisting of only 345 people. The tap selection, in a bar which ceiling is covered with dollar bills, is equally or possibly even more notable. I might seem like a townie-hater here, but frankly I expected to see only Coors and Bud, not organic Fish Tale. 345 people. Organic beer on tap. Uniontown is OK with me.

As for the food, my burger was good in its own right, yet not up to the awesomeness of the side order of pottage. Pottage, if you’re not familiar with it, is a British type stew, and Eleanor’s is fresh and homemade. Which is pretty awesome. Dip some of their equally tasty home-made potato chips in it, and baby, you got a stew goin’!

Uniontown, then, is worth a visit if just for a stop by Eleanor’s. And hey, if you have time, check out The Artisan Barn also. It’s an impressive building, even if you’re not into anything artisan.