Browse: Home / Spokane WA
By Kevin Finch on August 20, 2009
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.
Posted in dining | Tagged Eleven Madison Park, gnocchi, Jeremy Hansen, Sante, Spokane restaurants, Spokane WA, Tavolata, Weight Watchers |
By Kevin Finch on August 19, 2009
Does one of these new wine cubbys at the Rocket Market on Spokane’s South Hill have your name on it?
Wine guru Carl Carlsteen says they are just about ready to launch their wine-of-the-month club, and soon these cubbies will be home to specially selected wines each month. Details are still being finalized, but if your tastes in wine match Carlsteen’s passion and palate you might want to consider joining the club and score a cubby.
Posted in drinks, wine | Tagged Carl Carlsteen, Rocket Market, Spokane WA, wine, wine of the month club |
By Kevin Finch on July 14, 2009
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.
Posted in culture, dining | Tagged diner counter, donut, Donut Parade, donuts, Gonzaga, Gonzaga University, maple bar, maple bars, milk and donuts, Spokane, Spokane restaurants, Spokane WA, stool |
By Kevin Finch on June 23, 2009
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.
Posted in dining | Tagged bakery, Bitter Sweet, Bitter Sweet Bakery, coffee, crepes, restaurant closure, scones, Spokane restaurants, Spokane WA |
By Kevin Finch on May 14, 2009
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.
[caption id="attachment_431" align="alignleft" width="288" caption="That would be mayo and mustard up the nose."]
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Fatburger @ Northern Quest Casino
100 N Hayford Rd
Spokane, WA 99224
(509) 242-7000
Posted in culture, dining, play, travel | Tagged Airway Heights, burger, casino food, Fatburger, Fatburger xxxl, hamburger stand, homemade, Los Angeles, Lovie Yancy, McDonalds, milkshakes, Northern Quest Casino, onion rings, real shakes, Spokane restaurants, Spokane WA, steak fries |
By Kevin Finch on March 3, 2009
Daryl – the iconic figure behind the best maple bars on the planet has not returned to Spokane’s Donut Parade after nearly dying in ICU as a rare disease attacked. But on my last visit a little over a week ago, Daryl’s maple bars are back on the shelves and the magic is still there. For forty years he was the maple bar man, but apparently he was able to pass on some of his secrets. The current bakery crew is turning out fine product that is still far better than anything else available. I admit, this had me up worrying at night.
Get well Daryl and long live your brilliant bars.
One welcome change: the name “Donut Parade” is now painted on the door in rough letters. For years there was almost no indication outside that the best maple bars on the market were available inside. If you drove by on Hamilton, chances are you’d only see what appeared to be an abandoned building. Of course they still don’t have anything so obvious as a sign.
Posted in dining | Tagged bakery, best maple bar, Daryl, Donut Parade, donuts, maple bars, Northwest restaurants, restaurants, signage, Spokane restaurants, Spokane WA, Washington restaurants |
By Kevin Finch on February 6, 2009
Long before Sonic arrived in town to epic lines of cars waiting for Limeade and a burger, Kim’s Korean Restaurant had staked out space for a small dining room on the Division side of the same block north of the Spokane River. If you’ve driven by Kim’s several hundred times and missed it, don’t feel bad. Their tiny storefront is set back from the street just south of a Zip’s location and the particle board sign with black lettering doesn’t scream ‘come and get it.’
Korean food, like Vietnamese food, remains a far less popular export from Asia’s great culinary traditions than either Chinese or Thai. But this relative lack of popularity has the interesting side effect of allowing Americans a better glimpse of authenic Korean food rather than just Americanized versions of Asian dishes as is so often the case with Chinese food. Korean eateries in this country might tone down the heat level, but the food at Kim’s offers flavors that are intriguing in part because they aren’t typical tastes for most meat-and-potato Americans.
They also seem intent on pickling almost every vegetable known to humanity. The results for my untrained Korean palate are mixed. Some of the pickled side dishes that show up with every entree are great; others, I suspect, need to grow on you. But even those in the second category can be fun in small amounts: reminding you the world of food (like the actual planet) is wonderfully large and surprising.
I suggest you stop into Kim’s for lunch sometime soon. L-11 on the menu is a lunch combo that gives you both Mandoo and Bulgogi. The first is a dumpling much like a Chinese potsticker. the second is thinly sliced beef marinated and cooked in a soy sauce that has been sweetened. Both selections in the combo with six… count them six… side dishes and soup will only set you back $7.25.
And be sure to take note of the seat covers on each chair. Apparently grandmothers in Korea pass the time much the same way my grandmother did… or else the owners at Kim’s have a black market pipeline to Grandma Finch’s retirement community.
Posted in culture, dining | Tagged Bulgogi, Division Street restaurants, Kim's Korean Restaurant, Korean food, Mandoo, Northwest restaurants, Sonic, Spokane restaurants, Spokane WA, Zip's |
By Kevin Finch on January 9, 2009
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.
Posted in culture, dining, play | Tagged Division Street Chinese, egg rolls, pho, Pho Van, Pizza Hut, pork, rice noodles, Slanted Door, Slanted Table, Spokane restaurants, Spokane WA, vermicelli, Vietnamese food |
By Kevin Finch on December 28, 2008
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.
[caption id="attachment_270" align="alignright" width="500" caption="Latah's Smoked Salmon Wrapped Salmon with small red onions in a port and cherry sauce... brilliant."]
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Posted in culture, dining | Tagged Dave Dupree, David Blaine, Latah Bistro, Latah Lounge, Northwest restaurants, recession, restaurants, salmon, Spokane restaurants, Spokane WA |
By Kevin Finch on December 17, 2008
Latah Bistro distinguishes itself in chocolate. Since the day it opened back in 2003 it has featured a chocolate sampler on the dessert menu. You pick the three chocolates you’d like to try from over two dozen possibilities. That was dessert chocolate by design. The Bucket of Love secured its permanent spot on the menu more like a walk-on at training camp.
Chef David Blaine was experimenting with tiny chocolate chili cakes to accent another planned dessert only to have guests begin to ask for the “little chocolate muffin things” on their own. Now you don’t have to be a Latah insider to get them. Just ask for the Bucket Of Love.
Posted in dining, play | Tagged Bucket of Love, chili, chocolate, David Blaine, dessert, Latah Bistro, muffins, Northwest restaurants, spice, Spokane restaurants, Spokane WA |
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 |
