Spokane Food Blog

Put One World on your Valentine’s Day list of events. One World is hosting a fancy white tablecloth event for Valentine’s Day, with a vegetarian, seafood or vegan menu.

Not mentioned on the flyer is One World partnering with Lone Canary winery for the special dinner. Thirty dollars per-person for a 7 course meal, what a deal. You know we approve of their food.

Main Market Co-op had, as probably most of you know, its soft opening yesterday. And while there were some understandable small hiccups during our visit, we’re left with an early impression that is very positive.

It might have taken a while to open, but as you walk in, you know that there’s something special about Main Market. The colors are vibrant and inviting, while the aisles are wide. It doesn’t feel like a supermarket, merely a market, and that is a very good thing. If you’ve checked out the Moscow Co-op, you will know what we’re talking about.

Not all the shelves were stocked yet, this being a soft opening and all, but those that were, impressed. A large selection of in season vegetables meets you as you enter, and there are plenty of raw food choices. If you like Ezekiel whole grain products, you’ll find a great selection here. The beer and wine shelves are stocked with local and semi-local organic and non-organic choices, as well as a variety of high quality products produced a bit further away. And surprisingly, theres also a good selection of airplane carry-on approved toiletries. No, seriously.

We were also happy to run into Marc from the old Natural Start at the store. He’s now in charge of the Main Market green house, which seems fitting. He could also tell us that the Moscow Co-op had helped out with certain aspects of Main Market, so that would explain certain similarities.

Some shelves need to be stocked, and other minor niggles need to be ironed out, but honestly, the market is looking really quite impressive as it is. Run down and check it out ASAP, and get a membership if you don’t already have one.

Because, why not? People love lists. And here are our choices for best of ‘09:

Best restaurant: Sante. I mean, really, they seemingly can do no wrong.

Best meal: The Latah Bistro vegetarian feast. We’re not vegetarians here (anymore, for some) but Latah Bistro hit a home run with their vegetarian six course dinner.

Best new restaurant: Agave Latin Bistro. Ian Wingate + De Leon = Awesomeness. Plus they’re affordable.

Best Mexican: De Leon. You knew that. Next.

Best pizza: South Perry Pizza. Well, hello. A new place snuck in and took the crown. And we’re OK with that.

Best grocery store: Rocket Market. Great layout and great selection, without being overwhelming.

Best beer store: JB’s Food. A tight competition here, but the selection of bombers and the price of them put JB’s on top.

Best subs: Sub Division. Simple subs are great. Sub Division gets that.

Best wine store: Bottles. Clean layout, great service, and free tastings. You can’t go wrong with that.

Best coffee roaster: DOMA. There are other good ones, but DOMA is just pure class.

Best coffee shop: Coffee Social. Good DOMA espresso drinks, good food, a good place to hang… In other words, it’s good, and we think that is good.

Best chocolate: OMO. OMO’s truffles are pure art. It’s as simple as that.

Best variety: One World. Their selection changes daily and holds a high standard. Plus, you know, it’s organic and you pay what you can for what you eat.

Best bar for beer: The Blue Spark. Others might have a larger selection, but the Blue Spark definitely has the most fun variety.

Best local libation blogs that are not this one: Drink Nectar and Spokane Dive Bars. Sure, we are obviously awesome, but Drink Nectar’s musings about wine are equally great. On the flip side, Spokane Dive Bars covers the dive bars in Spokane with great enthusiasm. And we like that.

Most Googled SFB posts: Post Street Ale House and Kirkland Signature Beer. Seriously, people still want COSTCO beer? And the abomination known as Post Street Ale House seems to be still doing well, despite Paul’s Voice’s opinions.

We’ll be the first to admit it: The strike of discomfort we felt when we discovered that Natural Start was closing was something reserved for Dario Argento movies. Kind of like this…

Sunday will, indeed, be the last day for Natural Start as we know it, with new owners taking over soon. The new spot will, from what we have heard, be very different.

Natural Start was, of course, a great player in the locavorism movement in Spokane, with a large portion of their ingredients coming from within a 30 mile radius, paired with DOMA coffee. There was definitely a reason we included the spot over at Only Eat Here.

The re-imagined Natural Start — and we don’t know if it will keep the name — will apparently not be focused on much of anything local, and the odds of them serving DOMA coffee are slim. DOMA is now confirmed! Woo! Not that we’re ready to judge the place yet (it might end up being a good spot for all we know), but when it is set to be redone as a “cool college hangout spot…” Well, let’s just say we’ll wait and see. The original’s awesome empanadas and creamcheese muffins will be missed at any rate.

As for co-owner Marc Gauthier, you might (note the emphasis there) see him working to some degree with another coffee spot in town, Coffee Social.

We highly recommend checking out Natural Start’s awesome baked goods while you still have the chance. And when they’re gone, go to Coffee Social — they deserve your support.

Over the next few weeks we will be launching a few sites more ore less related to ye olde SFB. In fact, let’s go wild and just launch the first one right now: Only Eat Here.

The concept of the site is simple — every week a few dining spots, be it restaurants or grocery stores, that in one way or other are outstanding will be added to the guide. These places are sometimes off the beaten path, sometimes not, but should all be checked out by locals and visitors alike. Agree or disagree? Comment here on Spokane Food Blog and feel free to suggest your own spots while you’re at it.

The inaugural spots are:

• International Food Store
• Kim’s Korean Restaurant
• Natural Start Bakery
• Sub Division

Owners and chefs are also encouraged to submit their own 200 character blurbs for their spots.

Now go enjoy Only Eat Here!

Tomorrow is the premiere of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but, as far as SFB is concerned, everything is not sunny in Philadelphia, what with the library closings and all! And therefore we have decided to organize yet another meeting of the Spokane Beer Party, where we will celebrate the finest television show set in Philly, while protesting the upcoming Philly library closures.

As we are all about a big community outcry, we now encourage you to set up your own “It’s NOT Always Sunny in Philadelphia: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Viewing Party, and Library Closure Protest!” (INASiP:IASiPVP,aLCP for short.) This is a simple protest that can be done by following these six steps:

1. Invite a group of friends for a It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia viewing, tomorrow, Thursday, 10pm at FX. (Remember to leave some time for the actual protest.)
2. Print some of our Sunny protest fliers. (Or, for more fun, make your own!)
3. Drink some beer! (Or anything else.)
4. Take some pictures of yourself protesting the library closures!
5. Watch some Sunny.
6. Send us pictures of the protest, and we’ll send them on to our Philly library contacts.

And there you go — that’s all it takes to be part of the Spokane Beer Party!

Word has reached us (through phone calls, Twitter, Facebook, and numerous other places) that the librarians got a nice morale boost from our previous gathering, and that the message climbed up the chain of command.

Do you really want to sit idly by and see one of the largest and most historically significant cities in the US close its library system? Of course you don’t — the negative effect of something like this will likely be felt far and wide. All the way (2,542 miles) to Spokane.

Join the Spokane Beer Party and fight the good fight: Save the Free Library of Philadelphia!

What?! All libraries in Philadelphia are set to close on October 2nd. This isn’t hyperbole or empty threats, but cold fact. While we can’t do much here in Spokane (although there are some more info here), we can show support to our well-read Philly brethren.

How?! By joining the Spokane Beer Party! Join us tonight to drink some brews in support of the Philly libraries.

Where? When?! Tonight! At around 7:30pm at Far West! We’ll drink a few beers, and take some pictures that we’ll send over as a morale booster for the Philly librarians, showing our brotherly love.

A bit more information about the closings:

It seems slightly odd and a bit embarrassing that the sixth most populous city in the US, and definitely one of the most historically significant ones, to be closing its entire library system. The very first public library in this country opened in Philadelphia, and the historical significance here shouldn’t be lost on anyone even if they haven’t entered a library in their life.

A bit more:

We have been asked to begin to make preparations. Virtually all employees – 575 full-time, 70 part-time, and 91 seasonals will be laid off.

As reported before, this would lead to the closure of the Library system, the Recreation Department, Fairmount Park, and the Commerce Department; and include layoffs at police and fire, limited trash pick-up, and numerous other cuts in services.

Hello, Locavore Contestants (Becky, Mark,Unknown Neva, Moneeeq, Andrew, Hank, Brightspirit, Paul, Remi, Bart, Crystal, Stephanie, John Speare, Rachel, Brandi) and Friends & Family,

Do you have extra food or need new items?  Meet at the Magic Lantern Theater to swap our food with all of the Locavore contestants and watch the movie Fresh.  The movie was sponsored by Main Market Co-op, so it is free for the public and donations are happily accepted.

The movie it not listed on the Magic Lantern site but it is playing:

Time: September 3, 2009 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm

Location: Magic Lantern Theater 25 West Main St.

Come around 6:00PM and meet in the lobby to trade food.  If you can’t make it early, we can swap after the film too.

We received an email from Wallace Grain & Pea to let us (and you) know a bit more about their local (100 miles radius) farm.

Wallace Grain & Pea is a family farm that produces lentils, whole wheat, pearled barley, split peas, and garbanzo beans.

They have information about how their farm is sustainable, by ways of  transport and processing facilities, and can even pinpoint what field your items were grown in.

Right now you can buy Wallace’s products through their Amazon.com store, and in the near future you will be able to order through their web site.