(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

Elysian's 12 Beers of the Apocalypse series continues, this time with a spiced pale ale. Like the Rapture before it, Fallout is a winner for Elysian, a brewery that quickly is turning into a favorite for me.

I poured a bomber of it into a pint glass. The color held a golden hue of orange, and the finger's worth of head was crisp and white. A whiff revealed a wall of scents, with cardamom hitting first, followed by a florally, citric backdrop. A mellow sweetness was detectable toward the finish.

My initial worries that the cardamom would overpower the other flavors were quickly put to rest. The malts actually dominated, much like a standard pale, with the cardamom lingering in the back. In that sense, this is what a spiced pale should be -- the spices were there to flank the malts, and the hopiness just gently lingered in the back. The depth truly was sublime.

Fallout was very refreshing and drinkable, even at 7.3% ABV. A perfect spring beer, albeit a bit too big to be a session sipper. Head out and grab a bomber of it; Fallout is an excellent ale.

We've looked at Waddell's both for beer and wings before, but how does it all come together when you go there for the grill(e) part (the "e" is used on their sign, but not many other places... go figure)? Kinda shaky. Kinda shaky, yet Waddell's serves what probably should be Spokane's bona fide signature dish: hot wings with Pop Rocks. Let me repeat: Hot wings. With. Pop Rocks.

You're clinically dead if that doesn't blow your mind.

Somewhat surprisingly, the combination isn't all that bad either. It's actually pretty decent. Waddell's regular chipotle wings are, by themselves, some of the tastier ones in the region, and you don't really taste the Pop Rocks because of the sauce. Yet the popping, that magical, magical popping, is there, and that's quite an experience when the ghost peppers have you sweating. (You need to specifically ask for the ghost pepper-strength sauce, mind you. It's not on the menu.)

Outside of the hot wings, the food is just so-so. We tried the brisket sandwich, and the sauce was way too sweet, soaking into a bun which had that store-bought quality over it. Not a great success in other words, and the accompanying fries were dull. Much as Waddell's tries to sell their Squirrelly Beaver Sauce, it is just a bit too similar to Red Robin's seasoning.

With that said, the hot dogs aren't bad at all, but they're still just that... Hot dogs, and not cheap ones either.

Waddell's has made a good name for itself with the beer selection, and that's well deserved. Personally I find the emphasis on IPAs to be a bit too great, but take that for what it's worth.

As far as the combination of hot wings and beer goes it's hard to beat Waddell's. The rest of the menu is not an instant success, but then again, not an all-out failure either. Proceed with caution if you decide to head up there.

Imagine for a second that Pinterest was a store with a physical location, and not just a website with pictures of awesomely designed furniture, gadgets, and what have you. Now stop imagining and realize the store actually exists in downtown Spokane; you probably should go down to Wojo Works right now and show them some well deserved love.

The spot focuses on merchandise inspired by the mid-century modern designers, and you'll find a large assortment of furniture, accessories, postcards, and stationary. It all looks great, and is the kind of stuff you previously had to order from heavy hitters like Blu Dot.

They will soon also be carrying furniture from Modernica, which means we'll be seeing reproductions of items from designers like Ray & Charles Eames. Which is awesome.

Obviously there is more than big ticket items here, and you can also find anything from iPhone docks to wallets to wall clocks to glasses. Compare the prices to those you find online, and you'll be pleasantly surprised. The up-marking is minimal, less than you'd pay for shipping.

We're fans of Wojo Works, hence why we took the time to post about something a bit out of the usual. Run and check them out if you're a fan of beautiful design. The store is a gem, and probably our favorite in Spokane.

We like coffee, and we like jumping between different types of coffee here at ye olde Team SpoCOOL. Here are a couple we've tried recently:

Huckleberry's

OK, so Huckleberry's have many different types of coffee, and we can't quite remember the name of the one we tried, though it did have "vanilla" in the title. So look for that if you want to sample it.

And it's not a bad one either, if not mindblowingly amazing. It might not be the type of coffee where you'll embrace in tears, crying "it has arrived!", but it's still serviceable, particularly for a good wake-me-up cup in the morning.

The vanilla truly is the dominant flavor, and you won't need to add cream or sugar here if that's your thing. This is all very, very sweet on its own.

Gotta say, as far as a grocery store branded coffee goes, this one isn't too bad. (We were told it was produced by Four Seasons, but don't take that as gospel.)

DOMA La Bicicletta

This one is -- probably not too surprisingly -- a few notches better than the Huckleberry's one. It's more of one you'd break out any time during the day, and it's certainly a whole lot more balanced than Huckleberry's vanilla-fest.

La Bicicletta is nutty with a fairly creamy mouthfeel; very smooth in that sense. There's a touch of sweetness toward the end, and the flavor lingers nicely. Think The New Power Generation-era Prince, just as a coffee.

Hell, it makes for a good cup of AeroPress. Plus the Chris Dreyer art is cool.