Traveling Feast

Geoff and Debbie White opened the Perry Street Cafe in the fall of 2006.  I’ve driven by often, but never stopped in.  This morning I did and the number one item on my hit list was to try Debbie’s signature cinnamon roll.  Our waitress also suggested the home fries over the hashbrowns with the omelete, and I was grateful for the recommendation.  I’ll be back for both.

Here is the visual rundown:

This summer we were about to go to press in July with a review of Cafe Neo – one of the only higher-end independent restaurants to survive on the north end of Spokane.  I even made a big deal of this fact in the review only to discover in trying to get professional photographs of the food that Cafe Neo wasn’t going to be the exception, but rather another example of the curious rule that keeps sinking restaurants that attempt to open up north without a pre-approved formula.  In retrospect my introduction was more prophetic than I intended.

The pictures included are mine snapped during the course of the meals I ate at Neo just before it closed its doors permanently at the end of June 2009.  Here is the posthumous review.

One Wonderful “Desperate Case” Of A North Spokane Bistro
Café Neo

An urban growth expert told me once that cities expand north first.  This makes real estate north of the current core a typically solid investment, but apparently there is no similar maxim for local restaurants.  If there is, Spokane would be a depressing exception since it remains almost impossible for upscale independent restaurants to survive on Spokane’s north side.

Café Neo opened last June, and I immediately assumed it would meet the fate of nearly all the bold bistro pioneers before it.  Situated in a half-vacant strip mall on Division by Whitworth University, I expected to see the “Space For Lease” sign back in the window within a month or two.  I didn’t even bother to put Neo on my list of restaurants because I didn’t want to fall in love with any dishes that I’d miss if Neo failed to survive like so many of its predecessors.

My pessimism was costly.  It kept me from both the delight of Neo’s Pecan Crusted Brie with a tart cherry and roasted garlic compote ($11.98) and their Schezuan Green Beans ($6.98).  Both beg to be ordered again, and only several bites in the green beans, I was calculating when I could return or recreate them at home.

Add to these appetizers the Crab Cake Po’ Boy on a Kaiser roll at the heart of the lunch menu ($12.98).  While the soft Kaiser roll would be anathema to any Louisiana po’boy purist, the full effect of the two crab cakes tucked inside the roll with fresh shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and stone-ground mustard aioli should not be dismissed so easily.  And if you can manage to set aside any fundamentalist dining tendencies for the duration of the meal, live a little and order one of your own.

The truth is that I may have underestimated both the determination and creativity of owners Kara and Scott Cook and executive chef Jeremiah Timmons.  The Cooks are anything but new to restaurant work; Scott started work in restaurant management when he was 16 and locally he managed Papagayo’s on Division, Cyrus O’leary’s and then worked on the management team that opened three Chili’s in the area.  Likewise, Timmons brings plenty of credibility to the kitchen:  he trained at the Western Culinary Institute Le Cordon Bleu in Portland and worked or managed kitchens in Maryland, Seattle, and Ellensburg before returning to Spokane.

Still, I’m convinced that all three are on a first name basis with St. Jude, patron saint of desperate cases, because they have also opened and maintained not only Café Neo but also Ambrosia Bistro and Wine Bar in the heart of the Spokane Valley, another supposed wasteland for upscale independent restaurants.  One restaurant in either place would be impressive; two just might qualify as a miracle.

At Neo this miracle includes half price bottle night every Tuesday, and a sit-up-and-take-note scallop dish that one top newspaper man in the city believes is the best entrée available anywhere… period.  This dish is Timmons’ pan-seared diver scallops dusted with porcini mushrooms and set on top of spinach and crisp cubes of Boursin cheese grits with a lobster sauce and fried leeks ($20.98).  A run-in with bad scallops several years ago makes me avoid most scallops on principle, but I had to see if the newspaper man had discovered the best entrée in town.  It certainly is a contender: even with my bad scallop bias, I don’t believe there was so much as a smear of sauce left on the plate, and the grits bordered on perfect.

Timmon’s Rack of Lamb ($24.98) served with a pomegranate-port reduction and mashed Yukon Gold potatoes is another standout on a dinner menu that boasts such creative comfort food a Crab Mac ‘n Cheese ($16.98), Butternut Squash Ravioli ($14.98), and a Walleye ($18.98).  I haven’t seen a walleye featured on a menu west of Minnesota for quite some time.

Timmons appears happy to channel entrée inspiration for his seasonally changing menu from all over the country.  His experience obviously helps here, but some of menu is simply the result of an active culinary imagination as well – imagination I love to see on the north side of town.  Like Ambrosia in the valley, Cooks wanted to create a neighborhood bistro when they opened Café Neo: a neighborhood bistro with a contemporary feel and a wine list worth exploring.  They have done just this, and I like the friendly and competent servers they have on the floor.

Bottom line?  Café Neo should have been on my restaurant list long before now, and I’d suggest you add it to yours.  Together we might be able to help Café Neo thrive on the north side.

Cafe Neo
10208 North Division
Spokane, WA 99218
(509) 467-5961

Slated to be published in Spokane Coeur d’Alene Living, July / August 2009 Issue

Spokane WA: I confess to being on a coast to coast gnocchi kick this summer.  It started with an ethereal version at Eleven Madison Park in NYC at the very end of May and included an almost polenta-like baked example at Tavolata in Seattle.  There have been several other fine variations along the way.

Yesterday I returned to Santé for a second run at Jeremy Hansen’s take on this Italian classic.  It is almost as different from both Eleven Madison Park’s and Tavolata’s as to be in a separate category, but it simply wonderful and one of the best entrees in downtown Spokane at $10.

Don’t count on it fitting well into a Weight Watchers plan, but please don’t let this stop you.  Bring a friend or two and share it along with a few other dishes: problem solved.  Sharing also means you’ll get to try a bit more on Hansen’s menu as a bonus.

I had a great chicken salad sandwich today.

The spot?  Christ Kitchen on Monroe.  If you’ve been around a while, you might remember the site as the former home of Taco Time.  Now the building houses something unique – an organization dedicated to offering hope to women in poverty.  They started with dry soup mixes with kitschy catchy names, but now offer more… including a great chicken salad sandwich with crunch from pecans and celery and sweet from Crasins.  A layer of sprouts is another welcome addition.

If you have a favorite chicken salad sandwich, let me know about it.  And stop in at the Kitchen any weekday but Thursday from 11 am to 1 pm to see how theirs measures up.

My new favorite taco truck in Spokane is adding a measure of authenticity in its daily special sheet.

I didn’t order the “Shrip Speasal” but took the spelling as a potentially positive indicator that English was a second language for whoever made the sign (and hopefully would soon be cooking my food). It turns out that Patty’s Tacos is turning out wonderful and quite authentic Mexican street  food despite the decidedly Anglo name and the dictionary difficulties noted above.

For the record, there are actually two different Pattys in the family that owns the truck: cousin Patty Pineda and sister-in-law Patty Ramirez.  Pineda was at the grill the day I stopped by and her Alambre taco ($1.25) approached the category of life-changing.  Think mini fajita with steak, grilled peppers and onions, and melted mozzarella on top.  Normally I would scorn a taco that didn’t come topped in more traditional Mexican cheese, but before you do the same, try Patty’s Alambre.  It was stunningly good.  The pork Adobada taco was also wonderful.

For those of you within driving distance of Spokane, put Patty’s Taco Truck on the top of your list.  The truck is open 10 am to 8 pm every day on North Division between Garland and Walton.

Last Friday the urge for a maple bar from the Donut Parade overwhelmed any more measured reflection on how to start the day right with fruits and fiber.  It would be a morning for some of the best carbs and sugar on the continent.

I gathered up the three kids in the house at the moment (my daughter, one of my twin sons, and his friend that we affectionately refer to as ‘not my son’) and headed from Hamilton and Illinois just north of Gonzaga to order a dozen maple bars and donuts and four glasses of milk.  The milk is critical for true donut delight.

Yet another part of the Donut Parade perfection is the place.  It is frozen in time (circa 1950) and every hard-to-reach corner is covered by a quarter century of fine fryer grease that should preserve it for all eternity.  Our turquiose vinyl booth has a tear in the seat mended with duct tape.  And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Friday’s visit also reminded me of how much I love the old diner counter and line of chrome stools facing the kitchen.  Invariably, the line is occupied by neighborhood regulars nursing a cup of coffee, reading the paper, and discussing the sad state of the world over a plate of the sacred maple bars.

I’m sure the faces at the counter change depending on when you come during the morning, but the stools are almost always filled and all their occupants appear to have been here before.

A friend sent me a distressed text yesterday from home (Spokane): “AAACK!  What happened to Bittersweet Bakery?  It is empty and has a for lease sign in the window.”

I’m in California briefly, but I’m already in mourning even before I see the sign with my own eyes.  The Bittersweet Bakery on the lower South Hill has been a strikingly hospitable… dare I say it, happy… spot for coffee, from-scratch pastries, and unique and delicious crepes.  Invariably when I arrived, the sun would be streaming through the front windows onto the hard wood floor and the corner of the pastry case.

If hungry, I ordered a crepe.  If not, I still rarely could resist a scone.  And now it is gone.  If any of you personally know the owners, could you pass along a way to contact them?  I’d like to thank them for the numerous bright mornings I enjoyed at a table not far from the door.

When is the last time you had to face down a burger as tall as a shake?

Fifty-seven years ago Lovie Yancy started serving late-night burgers to musicians out of her Los Angeles home.  The demand for these burgers outgrew her kitchen and so she bought the vacant lot next door and put up a hamburger stand and dubbed it “Fatburger.”

Last week Fatburger arrived in the Inland Northwest thanks to the Kalispel Tribe and the Northern Quest Casino and Resort. Fatburger bills itself as “the last great hamburger stand” and boasts a huge cult following across the country and  locations in Hong Kong, Macao, and Dubai.

Step up to the counter and order, and you’ll hear the staff member waiting on you call out each item aloud and the rest of the crew yell back the order in unison. Ask for onion rings and the call out and response will be “Homemade!” since they slice and batter Fatburger rings daily on the premises. The shakes are also the real deal with hand-dipped hard ice cream and milk topped with whipped cream.

Yet the ultimate reason to drive to Airway Heights is for a Fatburger itself. Possibly the most customizable burger in the nation, it is made with real pride by the crew and built around fresh lean beef, seven standard ingredients (mustard, relish, onions, tomato, lettuce, and mayo), and four premium add-ons (cheese, bacon, chili, and… yes… and egg).

Order it the way you like it and pick your size. The medium is the standard burger with a 1/3 pound of beef for $4.25. But the obscene wonder on the menu is the monstrous XXXL with its giant bun and four ½ pound patties for $9.50. It almost needs to be classified as the eighth wonder of the world and must be seen to be believed. Eat a whole one, and the crew will take your picture and post it on the wall.

Yet even if you have no interest in an XXXL protein coma, take a risk at Fatburger and order yours with the egg. As strange as it sounds, it works.  I’m not a big hamburger relish fan so I leave off the relish, and next time I plan to order my Fatburger with grilled onions.  Note that ketchup is not an option at the counter.  While you an add it yourself at the table, Lovie thought ketchup was too strong a flavor and hid the taste of her great beef.  For my money, if anything is going to overpower the tastebuds it would be the mustard, but they have yet to consult me on this.  A second note: Fatburger does have its own secret recipes for its mayo and mustard.

Most fast food outlets have target service times for people in the drive-through lane.  McDonald’s, rumor has it, aims to have your food in your hand one minute and thirty seconds after your order is placed.  Fatburger goes the other direction.  They don’t start cooking your burger until the person at the counter yells over their shoulder “Medium!”  or “Double X!”  So expect to wait a bit: 6-8 minutes is the Fatburger target time.

But if you can live with slightly-less-than fast food, you will be in for a truly memorable meal from a hamburger stand that has retained a unique feel even in franchise form.  A strange, added bonus for Spokane burger fans: since the Fatburger is in the casino and keeps casino hours, it is open 24 hours a day every weekend.  Lovie Yancy would be proud.

That would be mayo and mustard up the nose.

Fatburger @ Northern Quest Casino
100 N Hayford Rd
Spokane, WA 99224
(509) 242-7000

I’m used to eating my Vietnamese food in shabby or utilitarian spaces.  Chic Vietnamese like the Slanted Door in San Francisco hasn’t made it to Spokane just yet.  Neither do I think our local purveyors of this brilliant Asian cuisine spend much money on interior decoration.  The Pho Van location on Hamilton fits my stereotypes perfectly.  I’m still happy to eat there.

Yet the restaurant’s new sibling at the base off the Division hill (several blocks north of the General Store) is a revelation.  Think converted Pizza Hut on the outside, but inside the space looks sleek and upscale in a way that almost nothing on Division does.  Here is possibly the first Vietnamese place in town you could take a date to prove to them you are both cosmopolitan and classy.

The sign out front says “GIVE US A TRY.”  Take them seriously and do just this.  The menu features the classic northern Vietnamese soup Pho as well as several other typical Vietnamese plates (all under $10).  But they also offer several Chinese-American dishes like Almond Chicken if you aren’t ready to jump into a giant Pho bowl just yet.

Stop in soon.

Earlier this fall I  called 7 of my 10 Spokane restaurants that I feel simply must survive the economic rollercoaster.  Not in any logical order they are:

Moxie, Chicken N More, Tacos Tumbras, China Garden, Luna, Mizuna, and the Donut Parade.

I only have three spots left and there are a number of worthy contenders.  I am ready to call one more definitively.

Latah Bistro.

Latah should easily have made my original list, but it has been several years since I first reviewed it for Spokane Coeur d’Alene Living.  Several recent visits and some online time spent on Chef David Blaine’s blog From The Back Kitchen recomfirmed my original impression of Latah’s quality and added a new appreciation for the creativity of the current kitchen crew.  Not only do they know how to cook, they actually appear to be having fun while they are doing it.  Add in warm and typically competent front-of-the-house folks and Latah moves to the top of the ranks of the Spokane spots that deserve your more limited dining dollars.

Latah's Smoked Salmon Wrapped Salmon with small red onions in a port and cherry sauce... brilliant.

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.

Recession Blues

I’m expanding my ‘recession restaurant’ list for Spokane while waiting to hear yours for the Inland Northwest or wherever you call home.  Post on your list the five or ten places you absolutely DO NOT want to go out of business if the economy settles at the bottom of the pickle barrel for an extended time.

I was talking with one friend and restaurant owner yesterday who said that they felt very fortunate that their business was only down 5% thus far.  Already he has heard of so many others that have taken much deeper hits.

To my first four (China Garden, Moxie, Luna, and Tacos Tumbras), let me now add three more:

• Donut Parade up on Hamilton.  Though the Parade building has looked like it has been ground zero for a recession for years, Darryl’s maple bars are beyond words.  Try one hot and just frosted with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee and you can see why they don’t need a sign on the building to stay in business (literally there is no sign on the building and hasn’t been for years).
• Chicken-N-More downtown.  Several bites of a chicken dinner at Bob Hemphill’s BBQ spot at “you begin to feel right as rain” (bonus points if you can identify the quote).  The more at Bob’s includes among other things: ribs, catfish, pulled pork, greens, and red beans & rice.
• Mizuna on Howard near Riverfront Park.  Mizuna was the first place I ate in Spokane nine years ago and it has remained near the top of my list of favorites through both ownership changes and a shift from an exclusively vegetarian spot to a bistro with great vegetarian and sustainable carnivore options. Angela Parris puts Mizuna on her list and I agree.