By Kevin Finch on November 30, 2008
Like to Chinese restaurants.
Posted in play | Tagged advice, Chinese food, fortune cookie, travel |
By Kevin Finch on November 25, 2008
Alarmingly, we may have to try even more Reubens for our progressive lunch to be truly comprehensive. By my count, we now have TEN contenders. One friend travels up to Deerpark for the Shagnasty’s version with shredded corned beef, and I found out that the O’Doherty’s in the valley sports a different bread than its sibiling in downtown Spokane.
Lunch at the Davenport’s Palm Court revealed a Reuben on their menu, and a restaurant owner in town tells me that his Reuben of choice is to be found at Jack and Dan’s over by Gonzaga.
Objective criteria is another concern. It seems we need to rank the meat, the bread, the sauce, and the kraut as well as the overall impression. Anything else we should pull out for specific comment?
We still have a space or two in the van if you want to pile in.
Posted in dining, play | Tagged best Reuben, Davenport, Deerpark, Gonzaga, Jack and Dan's, Northwest restaurants, O'Doherty's Irish Grille, O'Doherty's Pub, Palm Court, rating criteria, reuben run, Shagnasty's, Spokane, Spokane restaurants, Spokane Valley, Spokane WA |
By Kevin Finch on November 21, 2008
I just discovered my cousin Ken and his wife Becky scored a trip to the Bahamas recently. I asked him to sift through his pictures for snapshots of food. Alas he didn’t take any of the impressive seafood they put away, but he did pass along this image of a roadside fruit stand. There were a few exotic items on display, but he said the bananas ‘tasted pretty much like bananas in the Northwest.’
If you have great travel food pictures and a story to go with them, let us know.
Posted in travel | Tagged Bahamas, bananas, fruit, travel food, vacation dining |
By Kevin Finch on November 17, 2008
Cravings can get out of hand. I don’t smoke, so a hit of nicotine isn’t the the stuff of fantasy for me. Food is, and in a surprising number of cases, that food is raw fish. This might sound a bit odd for a Montana boy raised on meat (well-done) and potatoes (mostly mashed). Yet within weeks of my first taste of sushi at a Belltown sushi bar in Seattle, I wanted more… and wanted it in a bad way.
This past Friday it wasn’t technically a sushi craving, but an overwhelming need for a close Hawaiian relative: poké. Poké (pronounced po-KHAY) is made up of bite-sized pieces of raw fish served with a variety of simple seasonings or a light sauce. Okané up on the South Hill in Spokane has decent version, but the one that I couldn’t get out of my mind Friday was Ian Wingate’s rendition at Moxie. It is sweeter than some and unusual in that Wingate adds with Macadamia nuts. It is worth trying even if you are extremely suspicious of raw fish.
Served with a scallion oil, a balsamic reduction, wasabi mayo, and pickled ginger on the side, Moxie’s poké is addictive. I phoned a friend just before I caved in, and asked if he could join me. He groaned: “I’m in Moses Lake all day. Can you wait?” I couldn’t.
But I’ll be ready for another hit as soon as he is back in town.
Posted in dining | Tagged addictions, addictive, Ian Wingate, jonesing, Moxie, Northwest restaurants, Okane, poke, Spokane restaurants, Spokane WA, sushi, wasabi |
By Kevin Finch on November 15, 2008
A Facebook request for REUBEN RUN votes produced some fun commentary.
Heather Estridge and Amanda Hyman weighed in in favor of O’Doherty’s Irish Grille.
Heather: “Ok, so it’s been a while but I loved the Reuben at the Irish pub downtown, O’Doherty’s.”
Amanda: “I vote for O’Doherty’s too…I always order it when I go there!”
Amanda also added: “Latah Bistro makes a good one too.”
Next came Mr. Benson with a vote for the Wall Street Diner on the near northside:
Kevin: “Oh! The Wall Street Diner knows how to make a good one. Let me know if you need more “reviewers”. YUM!!”
Kelley Damon confesses to regular visits to the Elk Public House for her Reuben fix:
Kelley: “My vote is the Elk. I had at least 100 during my last pregnancy! Love those cravings.”
And Blythe Thimsen suggests a second possible Reuben rivalry in close proximity. In Browne’s Addition the Elk and Cafe Marron go head-to-head across Cannon Street. Blythe says that the Reuben at Chaps is also a contender, and this creates a parking lot sandwich smack-down between countrified Chaps and upscale Latah.
Blythe: “No need to continue the voting, I have the answer – it is at Chaps – (across from Latah Bistro)”
Any place else we need to consider? We have seven sandwiches on the list thus far.
Posted in dining, play | Tagged Amanda Hyman, Blythe Thimsen, Cannon Street, Chaps, Elk Public House, Heather Estridge, Kelley Damon, Kevin Benson, Latah Bistro, O'Doherty's Irish Grille, parking lot rivalry, Reuben, reuben rivalry, reuben run |
By Kevin Finch on November 14, 2008
Today… halfway through an animated description of a disastrous Reuben experience… I realized I need to find the absolute best Reuben in Spokane. To do this, I need your help. Let me know what shop in town turns out your favorite Reuben.
The plan is the recruit 3-4 fellow testers and go on a REUBEN RUN at lunch in the near future. At each place identified as having a respectable Reuben, we will split a sandwich, make notes, and then move on… testing the top 4-5 sandwiches in town back-to-back. So I need to know where to go to find serious contenders. You are also welcome to let me know if you want to join in. I’ll take as many as fit in the van.
Here are the restaurants on the list so far:
O’Doherty’s calls theirs a Holligan & Hannigan and notes that if you can only eat one sandwich in Spokane, this is the baby to try. We’ll put that to the test. Where else do we need to visit?
Posted in dining, play | Tagged best Reuben, Cafe Marron, Elk Public House, Hill's Restaurant and Lounge, Holligan and Hannigan, O'Doherty's Irish Grille, O'Doherty's Pub, Reuben, reuben run, review, sandwich, Spokane sandwiches, vw van |
By Kevin Finch on November 13, 2008
Here is the recipe from Jean. The original in the Tastes of Italia (July 2004) called for sea bass filets. I won’t pretend I know enough Italian to translate the recipe’s title on my own. The magazine renders it “Sea Bass in Crazy Water.”
Jean’s version with tilapia left nothing to be desired so you don’t need to take out a second mortgage on your home to come up with sea bass.
Here is what you need:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 3 tablespoons capers, rinsed and chopped
- 2 cups Roma tomatoes, diced
- 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
- 1 pinch Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 pounds of tilapia filets (sea bass, red snapper, or grouper also work)
- freshly ground pepper (optional)
- additional chopped parsley for garnish (also optional)
In a large skillet, combine the olive oil, garlic and red chili flakes. Saute over medium heat for three minutes before adding the parsley, capers, tomatoes, wine, and salt. Bring to a boil. Add filets and reduce the heat to medium-low and cook filets about three minutes on each side. Arrange fish on plates and spoon the sauce/broth over the fish. Garnish with fresh pepper and parsley if desired and serve hot.
Posted in cooking, wine | Tagged capers, Crazy Water, fish recipe, garlic, Italian cooking, Jean Hernandez, olive oil, red chili flakes, sea bass, Tastes of Italia, tilapia, white wine |
By Kevin Finch on November 11, 2008
Food prepared with love is always a gift, and Jean Hernandez gives like few we know. The feast today was a stunning lunch in the Hernandez home after a tour of the rows and rows of cookbooks she has gathered over the years.
We counted it a very promising sign to see the corners of Post-It notes set like flags in the tops of nearly every cookbook on the shelf. The Post-Its suggested these books have been tools rather than just a colorful collection untouched by much besides dust.
And lunch proved beyond any doubt our hunch was spot on. It also provided more support for our view that many of the best feasts are simple meals eaten with friends at home. Jean’s ‘Tilapia all’ Acqua Pazza’ just may have been the best preparation of a fish we’ve had in years. Garlic, red chile, parsley, and capers along with Roma tomatoes simmered in white wine became the perfect foil for the flaky white fish.
I can hardly wait to make Crazy Water Tilapia myself, and I can assure you I’ll move heaven and earth to create an opening in my calendar next time Jean invites me over for a bite to eat. Let me know if you’d like a copy of the recipe.
Posted in cooking, wine | Tagged capers, cookbooks, Crazy Water, fish, hunch, Jean Hernandez, lunch, Post-It notes, Roma tomatoes, sliced garlic, tilapia |
By Kevin Finch on November 9, 2008
Several recommendations (including one from Nancy Leson… thanks Nancy) guided a group of us to a strip mall next to an abandoned KMart in Bellevue for a memorable Chinese meal at the Szechuan Chef. Above are the remains of the meal that included hand-shaved noodles, a savory “house pancake” with dipping sauce, Kung Pao fish, and Crispy Mandarin Tofu.
It was brilliant, and reminded me of several epic meals in Shanghai. Along with the food, the brisk service, funky lighting, and marble-topped tables summoned up Shanghai.
All that and possibly the humidity in the dining room from the steaming hot pots bubbling on tables all around us. Hot pot meals are one specialty of the house.
When you go… which you should… order hot pot for the table or do what we did. We chose instead to simply wander through the long menu picking this or that with the plan to eat family style. Szechuan dishes are noted for their heat, but don’t skip the Chef because spicy makes you nervous. Leson is right that a number of the “spicy” warnings littering the menu are overstated. We ordered several dishes listed as ’3′ on the heat scale that arrived quite mild. Of course there is always the chance that you will run into something with enough kick to make you sweat, but this just adds a bit of adventure to your evening out. Consider it a game… say Szechuan Chef Menu Roulette and expect a good story to tell next time conversation at work moves in the direction of chili peppers.
I counted it a very good sign that I was definitely a minority inside the Chef, and can’t wait to return to wander over more the menu.
Posted in culture, dining, travel | Tagged Bellevue, Bellevue restaurants, Chinese food, crispy tofu, eastside restaurants, ethic food, hand-shaved noodles, Nancy Leson, Shanghai, Szechuan Chef |
By Kevin Finch on November 5, 2008
I have one shirt from Nordstrom. It was a gift from a friend, Janet Moffit, who died from cancer just over a year ago. I love my shirt, and think of Janet every time I put it on.
This affection, though, for my shirt or for Janet has never compelled me to wander into Nordstrom to sample the food in their cafe. Call me food prejudiced, but there are Cafe Nordstroms in multiple locations. In my book the place qualifies as a chain and I tend to scorn chain restaurants. Prejudice point one.
It is also a restaurant in a clothing store. Prejudice point two. I don’t typically look to retail giants… even a high-end ones… for my food. And you might recall Nordstrom started as a Seattle shoe shop. The only link I can make between shoes and food is the smell of certain stinky cheeses.
Then prejudice point three: I assumed Cafe Nordstrom by definition would be solely the hang-out of a shopping set to which I will probably never belong. I don’t fit into a Size 4.
This said, I need to come clean. It turns out I’ve eaten ‘chain food’ food before and enjoyed it immensely. My grandfather used to take me, my sister, and our cousins to McDonalds in Kalispell Montana when I was young. The Big Macs I ate on those occassions are some of my best childhood memories.
As for prejudice point two. I need to consider the source. Part of a great meal is the setting and service and Nordstrom excells at both.
Then there was my assumption about Cafe Nordstrom clientele: one of the first people to wander in after I arrived was a guy who regularly works out at the gym where I am a member. So much for prejudice point three.
As I waited to order, I did notice quite a few salad coming out of the kitchen: stereotypical food for the Size 4 shopping set. Yet there is a possible alternative explanation; a great salad is a joy to behold and wonder to eat. And the first salad on the menu at Cafe Nordstrom is within striking distance of both.
I suggest you conquer any dining predjuces you have, and find the time to swing into Nordstrom yourself for the Chicken, Apple, and Goat Cheese Salad ($9.75). Well dressed (ha) in a champagne vinagrette (okay, maybe I’m a little prejudiced still… CHAMPAGNE?!), the salad tops organic baby greens and romaine with chicken, fresh and dried apples, spice almonds, red onion (not much… bad for your breath during round two of shopping), and soft creamy goat cheese.
The flavors work like a great food ensemble, but my favorite ingredient was the goat cheese. It is mild with the consistency of whipped cream cheese. Chain or not… clothing store roots or not… shopping clientele or not… I’ll be back and I’ll be ordering a salad.
Posted in culture, dining | Tagged apple, apple chips, Big Mac, Cafe Nordstrom, chain restaurants, champagne vinaigrette, chicken, goat cheese, Janet Moffit, Kalispell MT, McDonalds, Nordstrom, Nordstrom Cafe, salad, shopping set, Size 4 |
