Traveling Feast

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.

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.

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.

Food Service Typos #3 and #4

I almost hate to post these for fear that the next printing of Ginger’s menu will remove them, and a great typo can be such a source of delight.  I should also add that there is no correlation at Ginger between the food and the occasional menu hiccups.  All the food to date has been excellent, but even the best food rarely makes me chuckle.  Certain typos do.

“Ceviche” isn’t the easiest word to spell, and an internet search suggests that “cevice” has almost become an alternate spelling.   But those dang collective singulars like “shrimp” will kill you.  Then there is the “slice baby vegetable” and the random exclamation points included throughout! the menu with no! discernible pattern.

“Chom Mein” sounds like it could be a soft noodle dish designed for anyone who forgot to bring their dentures.

Yet rather than face the accusation that all I documented photographically at Ginger were typos, let me also include a shot of a stellar roll: the Black Jack ($12).  Inside is spicy tuna and crab.  On top is  it albacore and (as you might observe) quite a bit of creativity that included shaved radish, slivered scallions, and sesame seeds.  The light vinaigrette on the plate added another unexpected and welcome note to the dish.

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.

One simple and surprising addition to the many good reasons to eat at Luna on Spokane’s South Hill is a savory pastry that combines two traditions: a small pretzel-style bun with a European lineage and the stuffings of a classic New Orleans sandwich called a muffuletta.

Luna’s chef Anna Vogel is responsible for this savory combination that intentionally  steps away from your typical sweet breakfast pastries.  While I had my doubts about a savory pastry in the morning… particularly one related to a pretzel… Anna’s enthusiastic description of its merits made me return this moring to try it.

Bite One: Interesting.

Bite Two: More than interesting.

Bite Three: Dang!  This is great.

I’ve had the larger and traditional muffuletta in the French Quarter, and truthfully I think Vogel’s version with its unique pretzel bun is superior.  I also liked the smaller portion size.  Add a cup of coffee and a small table out on Luna’s wonderful patio and you have a brilliant beginning to your day.