By Kevin Finch on January 7, 2012
Thursday night we met two friends at Downriver for dinner. Four hours later we walked out the door. We were not eating the entire time: lively and wide-ranging conversation carried the night. But the new chef at DRG, Ryan Stoy, did surprise us with two off-menu dishes that were a delight. One will be what I really want to order every time I walk in the door in the future.
Chili lime-cured yellowfin tuna and avocado roll with an orange and green onion salad, broken Sriracha, and a blood orange olive oil vinagrette.
Posted in dining | Tagged Downriver Grill, Northwest restaurants, Ryan Stoy, Spokane restaurants |
By Kevin Finch on December 19, 2011
Just came across a brilliant repurposed design idea at The Flying Apron in Fremont: a wall between the kitchen and a hallway made out of old doors.
Posted in restaurant design | Tagged bakery, Flying Apron, Seattle restaurants |
By Kevin Finch on December 18, 2011
I had a very good meal last night at Salvatore Ristorante in Seattle. But I’m more than a little irritated about one thing: the price that appeared on my bill for one of the “specials” of the night.
I find it bad form to price specials higher than the typical regular entrees on the menu. This verges on criminal if the specials are described verbally rather than in print and the server fails to mention the price.
Enter my outrageous osso bucco. It was my first visit to Salvatore. I glanced at the menu and noted most of the entrees were upper teens and lower twenties: decent prices for a well-recommended Italian spot.
Then my server came over and launched into a verbal recitation of 14 (count them, 14) additional specials. He seemed particularly enthusiastic about the osso buco and I’d heard another waiter praising it to another table so I left the menu behind.
The dish was good… especially the bone marrow… but the bill arrived with a shock. The highly praised dish was nearly double the cost of much of the menu: $37.
I sucked it up and paid without complaint, but I’m complaining now. Osso bucco certainly should cost more than the basic pasta dishes on a menu, but pricing it just under $40 when the menu entrees hover between $20 and $25 is more than pushing it. Then selling the heck out of the dish but failing to mention its price to guests upfront is restaurant robbery.
Posted in dining |
By Kevin Finch on December 3, 2011
Leaving Seattle in 1999 meant leaving behind one of my favorite sandwiches on the planet: the Vietnamese Banh Mi.
I didn’t expect this.
The Inland Northwest has a number of Vietnamese restaurants, but the focus of all my favorites is on the classic northern Vietnamese soup Pho. Absent from the menus were the equally wonderful sandwiches that take a tiny torpedo of crusty French bread and turn it into an exquisite vehicle for grilled pork, grilled chicken, ham, or pate. Whatever meat you choose is topped with fresh cucumbers, shredded carrots, cilantro and a smear of mayo.
It is a great sandwich… but not one I could find locally.
Until now. A friend, Eric Wilson, texted me to insist I needed to try Vien Dong on East Sprague. It is a hole-in-the-wall serving Vietnamese and Chinese dishes.
Delight greeted me the second I opened the menu. Next to the page of Pho options was a page of sandwiches: Banh Mi.
Try one… soon. At $2.75 maybe you should try two.
Posted in dining | Tagged Banh Mi, restaurants, sandwiches, Vien Dong, Vietnamese food |
By Kevin Finch on September 14, 2011
Today, tomorrow and Friday mark the 5th anniversary sale at The Kitchen Engine in Spokane. Stop by and say ‘hi’ to Eric and Nicole Frickle, score something you need while it is on sale, and meet a chef or a factory rep. In the process you will be supporting a great local business run by a couple who can not only cook, but have a sense of humor.
If you need proof, I submit the following photograph as evidence:
Any place run by true kitchen ninjas deserves our business.
Posted in cooking, play | Tagged 5th anniversary, cookware, Eric Frickle, kitchenware sale, Nicole Frickle, shopping, The Kitchen Engine |
By Kevin Finch on August 24, 2011
I’ve been complaining that I missed summer. The wet spring spilled over into June. Work never really took a break. Life with three active teenagers (one about to leave for college) was less than restful. Even the typical (if truncated) summer outings to visit family in Montana and California didn’t do the trick.
Add in a crisis or two and… no summer.
I’d basically resigned myself to that until last night when we walked into Fleur de Sel in Post Falls to celebrate our daughter’s birthday. It was her request; I think we raised her well.
The whole meal – as anticipated – was excellent. Laurent runs a fine kitchen. Yet the biggest gift of night was a taste of summer in a salad.
There is no other way to put it. One bite and summer arrived. The Shrimp, Avocado, and Mozzarella Salad WAS summer for me so I need to stop fussing.
Posted in dining | Tagged Fleur de Sel, Laurent Zirotti, Post Falls restaurants, restaurants, salad, summer, summer salad |
By Kevin Finch on March 13, 2011
Brunch at Luna is a gift… the space is inviting and the menu is familiar without appearing tired. Jed will happily make you a Mimosa or a Bloody Mary while Lallah, Kara, or Barbara offer you a booth, a table, or a stool at the marble bar. Hope established a beachhead even before your drink arrives. Then you get to order.
Let me suggest that you consider long the somewhat misleadingly named Smoke Salmon Sandwich. It is really more an inventive Eggs Benedict with salmon in place of the ham and a side of sliced tomatoes and greens. If it were simply a Benedict with smoked salmon it would be a formidable brunch option, but with the addition of the ‘sandwich fixings’ it moves from formidable to nearly transcendent. Good luck trying to eat it as a sandwich, but something this tasty is worth a bit of awkwardness and knife-and-fork work.
Posted in dining | Tagged bunch, Eggs Benedict, Luna, smoked salmon sandwich, Spokane restaurants |
By Kevin Finch on February 9, 2011
If you appreciate a straightforward hamburger that reminds you of the best of McDonalds before it became the juggernaut of the restaurant world, the relatively new and unpretentious Stop N Go Family Drive-In on East Sprague should be your next stop. If you know where Ms. Kitty’s is (hopefully not from stopping in) you know where to find Stop N Go. It is just to the east and it is quite possible that its proximity to Ms. Kitty’s is why the sign emphasizes FAMILY Drive-In. The menu over the counter does have pictures, but nothing scandalous unless you are upset by the outline of a fish or a fully feathered chicken.
What makes Stop N Go refreshing is its simplicity. Cash only. Three burgers: a cheese burger, a double cheeseburger, and a triple. $1. $2. $3.
Fries for $1.25 or in a tub for $3.
Fish or chicken if you really like complexity. An ice cream cone (called a Softie on the menu) or a shake.
Tax is included in the price so a buck actually gets you a burger.
Don’t expect lettuce or tomato, but the Double Cheeseburger with fries and a shake is $5.25 and should leave you with a grin on your face. A great dipping tartar for the fries (or fish) is free.
Posted in dining | Tagged cheap eats, hamburgers, Spokane restaurants, Stop N Go, Zip's |
By Kevin Finch on January 6, 2011
I think of myself as open to change.
Yet the latest Starbucks logo leaves me cold. Maybe I’ll get used to it. Maybe not.
The Wall Street Journal story quotes Shultz as saying the design will give them more freedom as they broaden their product line. I beg to differ. I think they diluting their identity. Ironically, the new logo feels more “faceless” even as the actual face in the logo is larger. For me, the text and stamp-like quality of the the old label was the real face of the company rather the the smiling merperson that relates to their core business how?
My hope is that in our current society of hyper-feedback and public polling the reaction will be negative enough that the new ‘fish face’ logo for a coffee company will go the way of new Coke.
Posted in culture, drinks | Tagged coffee, Coke, Howard Schultz, logos, new Coke, Starbucks |
By Kevin Finch on November 4, 2010
This week I slipped into Italia for lunch and ordered one of the bruschettas on the menu with a side caesar. It was perfect… simple, tasty, and just the right size for lunch. When asked, I agreed to glance at the dessert menu even though I didn’t plan on ordering anything.
I typically get much more excited about savory appetizers and only order dessert if there is some compelling reason (like a review where I feel obligated to comment on the sweets). Yet I noticed that Italia offers a single scoop of ice cream with a piece of orange biscotti. $2.50.
This turned out to be as perfect as the bruschetta and salad: a small sweet finish that wasn’t going to break the bank. Several other places in Spokane are also offering small dessert portions, and this is a trend I love. A bit of sweet at the end of a meal can be fine end to a meal, but anything more reminds me of the Monty Python skit where a man explodes from a bite of a mint after an obscene meal.
Too often I’ve approached that same point myself… usually due to a full-sized dessert after a big meal. So it is rare that I order dessert when not working on a restaurant review. Yet this would change if more desserts were offered in sampler sizes.
By the way, the scoop I ordered at Italia was pumpkin with chunks of chocolate and roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds). The pumpkin was subtle and the pepitas added a great touch while the orange biscotti was close to addictive. Add the cup of Roast House coffee and I’ve become a dessert convert… at least at Italia.
Posted in dining | Tagged Anna Vogel, Bethe Bowman, biscotti, dessert, Inland Northwest restaurants, Italia, Northwest restaurants, portion size, Roast House |
By Kevin Finch on November 3, 2010
If it is time for a lobster tail and you appreciate a view of the Spokane Falls, Anthony’s has a deal for you. $19.95 gets you a tail all for yourself with chowder or a salad through the month of November. While we can’t speak authoritatively about the West Side locations, in Spokane the view is a brilliant bonus.
Posted in dining | Tagged Anthony's, Anthony's at the Falls, lobster, Northwest restaurants, Spokane Falls |
