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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 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 |
By Kevin Finch on November 2, 2010
Savory has been the buzz of the food scene for months as its details of its ambitious vision hit the press. More recently the skeptics have had plenty of fodder for gossip as the official opening date was pushed back repeatedly and rumors of turmoil in the kitchen leaked out. This week the rumors end and reality sets in. You can finally taste the initial results of all that buzz for yourself.
During their soft opening over the weekend to work out a few kinks, I slipped in to look around and try a few dishes. Already the kitchen is turning out a great steak and the steamed clam appetizer with a bit of chorizo sausage kick is great. Yet possibly the one item I couldn’t get enough of was a condiment: Savory’s from-scratch saffron aioli.
Aioli is just glorified mayonaise, but do it right and it can turn into culinary crack that addicted patrons will smear on anything and everything. My personal resolve to eat lean melted after just one fry dipped in the stuff.
Savory has also done a great job with the space and it looks like they’ve hired good staff. Chef Curtis Smith from the Inland Northwest Culinary Academy has stepped into the top spot in the kitchen as Interim Executive Chef for two months while the owners continue to look for the right combination of cooking chops and personality to preside over an open kitchen with a special chef’s table section.
One architectural detail of note: the men’s bathroom includes a wall of street-level glass that allows you to stare down Grand Avenue toward the cathedral while taking care of business. In theory the nearly floor-to-ceiling window is one way, but you just might be tempted to head outside to confirm this fact before dropping your drawers.
Posted in dining | Tagged aioli, Curtis Smith, Northwest restaurants, restaurant openings, Savory, Spokane restaurants |
By Kevin Finch on May 25, 2010
I feel a bit like a Pavlovian dog salivating for another burger that I can’t simply order when I feel like it.
Chef David Blaine from Latah Bistro has begun a culinary experiment called Pop-Up Restaurant. It is a culinary gypsy affair that “pops up” at random mealtimes around the region along trails, in parks, in parking lots. For a donation, you get food. Great food.
No problem with the food. No problem with the random locations. My only problem is my craving for another burger and uncertainty of when I might get to eat one. And if others are reacting the way I am, a desperate mob of people converging on the next location is not out of the question. I may need to prepare by bringing along a sharpened fork.
Posted in culture, dining | Tagged David Blaine, hamburger, mobile restaurants, Northwest restaurants, restaurants, Spokane, underground restaurants |
By Kevin Finch on April 1, 2010
I tend to eat as if I’m late for my next appointment. I blame it on the years when the twins were both in high chairs and plastic bibs with expansive bottom pockets designed to catch all the food that didn’t quite make it to their mouths (or did and was rejected).
Eating became frantic and little more than a survival skill for a few years.
The high chairs left the home over a decade ago, but the habit of eating pell mell persisted. I make a fitful effort to slow down for company, but still tend to be the first one wondering if it would be polite to dish up seconds.
Thursday night the wait for a table for six at Toro Bravo in Portland technically stretched dinner from 7 pm until 10 pm, but this mainly enforced leisure rather better pacing at the table. Apparently I’ve still got work to do on the bad habits.
Posted in dining, travel | Tagged Northwest restaurants, Oregon restaurants, Portland, Portland restaurants, restaurants, tapas, Toro Bravo |
By Kevin Finch on March 24, 2010
Scotty Anderson came across the maple bar post about Chuck’s in Renton and sent along a picture of the original building. For what it is worth, the original looks much more hopeful as a place that might have transcendent donuts. I’m not a big fan of strip malls.
Anderson notes that this version of Chuck’s was torn down the month after this picture was taken. He adds:
“The place you went to is pretty much the same spot where the old shop was located. They tore it down and the grocery store (Hop-in Grocery) to make room for the strip mall. The old shop was there from the first time I remember going there sometime in the early 80′s or late 70′s until it was torn down.
The old one had three small tables that sat two people each. There was enough room for a line two people deep and about 7 people wide. There were many times the line went out the door.
I love the maple bars for sure! The Maple Pursian has the same frosting and is bigger. I usually only do half of one of those at a time. The Old Fashioned donuts are also very good. I really haven’t had one that I have not liked.”
Thanks Scotty.
The place you went to is pretty much the same spot where the old shop was located. They tore it down and the grocery store (Hop-in Grocery) to make room for the strip mall. The old shop was there from the first time I remember going there sometime in the early 80′s or late 70′s until it was torn down.
The old one had three small tables that sat two people each. There was enough room for a line two people deep and about 7 people wide. There were many times the line went out the door.
I love the maple bars for sure! The Maple Pursian has the same frosting and is bigger. I usually only do half of one of those at a time. The Old Fashioned donuts are also very good. I really haven’t had one that I have not liked.
Posted in culture, dining | Tagged Chuck's Donuts, donuts, maple bars, Northwest restaurants, Renton WA, restaurants |
By Kevin Finch on January 30, 2010
Last week I followed up on a tip from Josie Urbick about a Seattle taco truck with a unique item on the menu: a Mexican hot dog ($4.50). She described it as an almost unthinkable gut bomb that had to be eaten to be believed.
At 9 pm last Thursday I decided it was time.
I found Flair Taco on just off the main drag between Fremont and Ballard (North 36th Street that turns into Leary Way). The beat-up truck sits in a parking lot at the corner of North 36th and Phinney Avenue North. When I arrived, 0wner Angel Aguilar was unloading food for Flair’s Friday and Saturday bar close rush.
“The cops stand right over there on the corner,” he said, “and when guys come out of the bars they have a decision to make: try to drive or come eat tacos. Most choose tacos. This parking lot will be packed tomorrow night.”
I had already ordered my Mexi dog, and asked about the story behind it. I make it a point to eat at nearly every taco truck I drive by and never had seen a hot dog on another menu.
“These are how everyone eats hot dogs in Mexico,” Aguilar said. “I grew up eating them just like this. Then I came to the states and saw a hot dog on a menu. I ordered it only to be stunned. This wasn’t a hot dog. It had nothing on it! Finally I saw the relish off to the side and thought at least they had jalapenos. But when I took a bite, I said ‘What the hell is this?’”
Long story short, when he opened Flair Taco with Johnny Flair, Aguilar added to the menu a hot dog the way Cardiac Arrest intended it.
I doubt I’ll eat another dog again without thinking about Aguilar’s Mexi version. I’ll also be back with friends. Sure it is a gut bomb, but some gut bombs are worth it once in a while.
I’m also making a note to bring my passport because Flair has another unique item on the menu called the Passport Meal ($9.00). It is whatever Aguilar decides it is when someone orders it, but he categorically refuses to sell you one without seeing your passport. His iPhone has picutres of everyone who orders the meal and comes with proper documentation.
Posted in dining, play, travel | Tagged Fremont, Mexican food, mobile restaurants, Northwest restaurants, Seattle restaurants, taco trucks, Washington restaurants |
By Kevin Finch on January 14, 2010
I’m in love. Mocha love.
This comes from a guy who only orders coffee if it might go well with what I plan to eat. It is a good thing I don’t live anywhere near Redmond WA or my wife might look at our VISA bill and begin to ask questions.
“What are all these charges at Kitanda Brazilian Bakery and Espresso?”
“Uh…”
“This isn’t like you. Are you meeting someone?”
“Well… um…”
“What is it? Tell me! There are 100s of dollars of unexplained charges here.”
“I’m too embarrassed. I didn’t think it would go this far.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m in love… but wait… before you do anything rash. It is only coffee. Nothing more. Delicious, beautiful Brazilian coffee, but that’s all.”
Counseling would probably be required. Things would be rough for a while. We’d make it. I’d probably be drinking green tea again within a few months, but there would be times I would break down and cry.
Yet since I live in Spokane I hope to never need to have the imagined conversation above. Our VISA bill won’t reflect daily charges at Kitanda and I won’t need to invent excuses to drive to Redmond day after day. But you can be sure I’ll be back when I’m in the Seattle area and I suggest you do the same.
One sip and you just might be in love too.
Posted in dining, drinks, play, travel | Tagged Brazilian mocha, coffee, good coffee, Kitanda Brazilian Bakery and Espresso, love, mocha, Northwest restaurants, Redmond WA, Washington restaurants |
By Kevin Finch on January 13, 2010
I claim that Spokane’s Donut Parade has the best maple bars in the Western Hemisphere (possibly the planet since large swaths of the world have no access to this pinnacle of raised donut perfect). Yet food gurus Jane and Michael Stern have a different opinion in their fun volume entitled 500 Things To Eat Before It’s Too Late.
They claim the best maple bar they’ve had is at Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland where the iconic bar comes topped with strips of bacon. I’m looking forward to trying a Voodoo bar, but believe a truly classic maple bar needs to stand on its own without a pork assist.
This leads me to their second recommendation: Countryside Donut House in Mountlake Terrace in the Seattle metro area.
Chance would have it that I’m in Seattle today for a family emergency, but I have a break this morning in my duties long enough to head to Countryside. Who knows? Maybe a fine maple bar delivered at the right moment could help in the family emergency. I’m willing to try. And I’ll get a chance to see how the bars at Countryside compare to Donut Parade.
Posted in culture, dining, play, travel | Tagged 500 things to eat before it is too late, Countryside Donut House, donut, Donut Parade, donuts, Jane and Michael Stern, Jane Stern, maple bar, marple bars, Michael Stern, Northwest restaurants, Portland, Seattle, Spokane, Voodoo Donuts |
