Spokane Food Blog

Churchill’s set to reopen! Again! Mid-February is the target from what we have learned. Here’s hoping it’ll actually happen this time around.

South Perry Pizza will be open for lunch “this week.” Just not today, as their water has been turned off during some city work. If it’ll be open for lunch next week is anyone’s guess, but opening time starting tomorrow will be 11am. For the rest of the week.

Apparently, this is what we ate the last ten years. At least according to The Inlander. To call Spokane a “conservative food town” is probably correct, and The Inlander’s readers lead the pack pretty well on that. (Yes, I’m still bitter about The Melting Pot being picked the best new restaurant. I mean for heaven’s sake…)

Hey, it’s 2010! And what better time to start drinking beer properly. No, really. There are as many crazy “rules” to both serving and drinking beer as there is to wine. And to start you off, here is a basic one:

Temperature

Two common misconceptions about beer: It is supposed to be cold, and British pubs serve warm beer. Both are categorically wrong, and the one single truth lies somewhere in between. The only reason you’d want ice cold beer is to kill the flavor of it, which is great if you drink PBR, but otherwise… As for the second misconception, British pubs often serve the beer at the correct temperatures, which might be why it feels warm to some people. Yet it’s not warm per se, just warmer than a frosted glass. Really, you don’t want a frosted glass.^*

^{As for the temperatures, here are some general guidelines, courtesy of Realbeer.com:}

• Serve fruit beers at 40-50° F.
• Serve wheat beers and pale lagers at 45-50° F.
• Serve pale ales and amber or dark lagers at 50-55° F.
• Serve strong ales, such as barley wines and Belgian ales, at 50-55° F.
• Serve dark ales, including porters and stouts, at 55-60° F.

These are obviously just very general, and you can read a bit more about it over at Wikipedia. Some breweries, like Nøgne Ø, put the suggested temperature on the bottle.

For the most part it is, of course, impossible to get the serving temperature perfect, but if you can get it close… Well, your tasting experience will be that much better.

^*C.I. Shenanigan’s strangely enough serve their brews in frosted glasses. Why?! Show some pride in your own product.

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.

I mean, heavens, the list is growing, but here are this week’s new entries:

• Black Tie Coffee co: Good drive through coffee and excellent scones.
• Blue Spark: For the beer. Not for the food. But definitely for the beer.
• Scoop: Ice cream is never out of season. Never!

As always, if you feel we’re missing out on any spots, let us know in the comments. We will investigate.

If it seems like we’re showing the Blue Spark a lot of love lately, there is a pretty simple reason for that: When a local spot brings in something special, like the Abyss, on tap, then why wouldn’t we get a bit giddy?

Their latest special (and we don’t know if it’s still there — your loss if you missed it, we talked about it on Twitter!) is Life and Limb, a collaboration between Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head. An interesting partnership for sure: Sierra Nevada usually holds a good quality without being too exciting, while Dogfish Head can go either way, but always while doing something different.

Weighing in at a hefty 10.2% ABV, Life and Limb comes served in a snifter, which, among other things, means you can feel pretty classy while drinking it. Because this is a classy ale. The aroma is lightly sweet with hints of maple and citrus, which isn’t too surprising when its deep dark red color is taken into consideration.

The taste is spot on what you’d expect: nice and crispy on the tip on the tongue, and then laces your mouth in sweet syrup-y goodness. Nice hints of malts and fruits. This is one you can sit and sip — and you do want to sip it — for a long time while just to enjoy its depths.

As with many high alcoholic beers, opinions of Life and Limb will probably be all over the map. Don’t go in drinking this like it’s a Budweiser. Approach it like a fine cognac or whiskey. Then you will see the deliciousness of it.

Thumbs up to the Spark for featuring this.

Oh come now, we do claim to be a food blog, and thus we have to write about In-N-Out Burger at some point. It’s the law.

I like In-N-Out. Who doesn’t? Yet every time I eat there — i.e. every time I go to California — I walk out with the same slightly befuddled look on my face. Was it really that great? Sure, the ingredients were fresh, and you don’t feel like you’ve just had a meal from McDonald’s. But still. It wasn’t that great, was it? In the end, wasn’t it just a burger? A good one, sure, but not that amazing.

Of course, the myth might be what makes In-N-Out what it is today. The way they’re not franchised, nor are they a public company. The little bible quotes hidden away on cups and wrappers. The minimal menu. The (not so very) secret menu. Add that to the fresh ingredients, and all of a sudden the burger seems a bit more special than what it really is.

But if you look at it as a standalone food item… Well… You can get pretty much the same burger at D. Lish’s. And a better one at Crazy G’s. At least according to me.

But hey, In-N-Out… Definitely awesome for many reasons. Just not that awesome.

In the constant search for the perfect winter ale comes a strong local entry from Northern Lights, a brewery that should be celebrated more around this part, as they often deliver excellent products.

And their Winter Ale is good. Definitely up there with Jubelale, and a worthy opponent for my current ‘09/10 winter favorite from Nøgne Ø.

The ale pours a dark amber color with a good couple of fingers of thick head. Give it a whiff and it smells like what I’d imagine Santa’s cologne would smell like: lightly pine-y with hints of citrus. Yes. I am saying this winter ale smells like Christmas, and I am OK with that,

Heck, it even tastes like Christmas. Nicely hopped, and gives a gentle kick in the teeth. You’re not going to loose the teeth, but rather enjoy the strength of the kick. You know what I mean. It’s hoppy, yet not too hoppy. The citrus carries over to the flavor, with some nice hints of caramel, and a slightly dry finish. For whatever reason I imagine this one going well with a clementine.

So hey, if you really are the locavore you claim to be, then check out Northern Lights’ Winter Ale. It’s a really nice one.

Awesome entry from Northern Lights.

This is a raw foods recipe (which is also gluten free and vegan) and is sure to please anyone without a nut allergy.  It might sound a bit strange but I encourage you to try this easy recipe during the holidays.

Judy’s Raw Foods Cake

adapted from Ani Phyo’s Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Cake Recipe

Cake:

3 cups walnuts

2/3 cup cacao powder

1 cup dates (pitted)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup raspberries

In a food processor mix walnuts and cocoa powder.  Then add dates and salt and blend again.  Mush all the ingredients together and break into two sections. Line a pan (any shape about 8×8) with plastic wrap.  Place one 1/2 of cake mixture in the bottom of the pan.  Add a layer of mushed raspberries. Then take the second layer of cake mixture and form it on top of the raspberries. Set aside to add frosting.

Frosting:

1/3 cup dates (pitted)

1/4 agave syrup

1/3 cup cacoa powder

1 avocado

Mix the dates and agave in a food processor, then add the cocoa power and finally the avocado.  Frost your cake with the mixture and add whole raspberries in a decorative pattern to the top of the cake.

Alternatives:

Walnuts can be replaces with pecans or cashews. Raspberries can be replaced with any berry.

Need more instructions, just watch Ani make this cake on The View From the Bay.

And I think we covered a few good ones this time, and definitely one slightly odd one:

• Bottles: We listened to your input and we agree: Bottles is awesome.
• Grocery Outlet: Don’t even try to pretend you don’t love going there searching for strange brands from South Dakota.
• South Perry Pizza: Hot on the heels from yesterday’s review, it definitely has earned its place among the great and the odd of Spokane.

As always, we’re open for suggestions, so let us hear ‘em. Rumor has it El Que deserves a place on the list. Thoughts?

Speaking of Twitter, we now have more than 400 followers. What the hell? How did that happen? But hey, thanks! Follow us as @SpoCOOL.

We’re not quite sure where South Perry Pizza came from, but it’s here, and we’re fans. And so can you be — literally — on Facebook.

Located in a garage in its namesake neighborhood, South Perry Pizza kind of feels more like a Portland joint than most other pizza places in town. If this is a good or a bad thing is up to the individual, but the place is a bit different, and that’s refreshing. And it’s popular too. On an early Wednesday evening South Perry Pizza was packed, and people were taking advantage of both the table seating and the rather large bar.

The pizzas are good. Very good. The thin crust, cooked in a Wood Stone oven, is crisp yet has a nice bite to it at the same time. Our 12″ Artichoke pie ($11) was sparsely topped with mozzarella and feta, and sprinkled with kalamatas, roasted red peppers, and sprinkled with olive oil. No marinara sauce to be seen. In other words, a pie that felt decidedly more Italian than American, and a contender for the best one we’ve tried in Spokane.

The service, fast, even though front of house looked understaffed. In fact, the only two real issues we had with the place were that it was loud, and the tap selection was a bit on the small side, with six to choose from.

Regardless, that’s a minor complaint. We’re having some loving feelings for South Perry Pizza, and so should you. It’s awesome.

Web: http://www.southperrypizzaspokane.com/

Address: 1011 S Perry St, Spokane, WA 99202

It’s great. Live with it!