(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

Remember the $100 Mac & Cheese Challenge? Of course you do; Patrick pretty much promised $100 to anyone who could find a better mac & cheese than the one Saranac offers up. 

We received quite a few suggestions of viable alternatives, and Churchill's seems to be a crowd favorite. That one is shortlisted, and we will check it out soon.

Meanwhile, Latah Bistro stepped up to the plate with their take on the dish, and, frankly, it has thrown us all into some sort of conundrum. Really, comparing this mac & cheese to Saranac's is hard. What Saranac made was a very classic take on the dish; Latah Bistro stepped into a more complex territory.

Here the mac and cheese came with a smoked chicken strung into small pieces, which added a deeper flavor and different texture than Saranac's offering. And while Saranac's mac and cheese was a bit more soup-y, Latah Bistro's was in some ways more of a penne pasta dish. Gooey, to a point, but so balanced it was hard to compare with Saranac's more sassy, no-excuse nostalgia trip.

So this brought the panel of tasters into a deep, philosophical discussion: Is it really possible to compare these two dishes? We were certainly torn over which one we preferred, not so much in terms of execution, but in terms of style. For many, mac & cheese has a sense of nostalgia tied to it, and Saranac probably came out on top for those. For those of us who do not have those memories from years past, we sort of preferred Latah Bistro's.

(This is neither here nor there, but for me the winner was Latah Bistro's crab cakes. Great sauce.)

The $100 question, then, is not answered. Yet. There are other very, very serious questions that need to be addressed. Should we judge using two categories? Classic and gourmet? The prices of the two mac & cheeses varied by around $10, so it could easily be argued we're talking apples and oranges here. This might require a tribunal.

As it stands, both Saranac and Latah Bistro make excellent mac & cheeses in different ways. Check them both out if you have the chance. Meanwhile our panel of tasters will confer and figure out how to solve this pressing issue that is mac & cheese.

Who's keeping track of all the big box stores applying for the "spirits retailer" license? We're not, because, frankly, I don't see how it would be possible. The latest to throw their hats into the ring are Target, WinCo, and URM. The only one missing seems to be Best Buy.

Speaking of liquor licenses, David's Pizza is set to re-open at 803 Post, with Dan Spalding listed as one of the co-applicants. In other words, you'll soon find them south of the arena and west of the Flour Mill.

And speaking of pizza! Remember how Cafe Italiano closed? Well, they didn't -- and we only found out about this a month later -- and they're still at their Indian Trail location. You should check them out if you haven't already. Somewhat confusingly their Coeur d'Alene location (Greek St Pizza) has closed. So, yeah.

So here's a beer most breweries would sell in wax-covered bombers for a good $10+ a pop. Sierra Nevada, however, has somewhat generously decided to sell its Bigfoot barleywine in regular six packs at regular prices. The Bigfoot, in other words, is one hell of a good investment.

This is a big beer at 9.6% ABV, one meant for quiet sipping unless you want to hit the floor quickly.

It looks nigh perfect straight out of the bottle, with a deep amber hue and a think creamy head. Give it a whiff, and you can pick up on hops straight off the bat, but it's also nicely flanked by notes of sweetness and alcohol. I doubt Sierra Nevada intended to cover up the almost 10% of it here.

Sip, and the balance of hops and caramel-like flavors dances onto the tongue, like Fred Astaire with a vacuum cleaner. There is a bit of booziness going on, possibly a bit too much for some, but I quite enjoyed the warmth of it. Reminded me of a good cognac. 

Hell, serve this up in a snifter, and you'd give the ale the classy treatment it deserves.

Bigfoot is an excellent barleywine; sure it might not quite be up there with an Old Ruffian, but then you don't have to sell your soul to be able to afford this one either. Consider us fans.

Three days in, and Stella's can best be summed up with one word: Frazzled. Sometimes we like to be a bit more wordy, however, so we'll generously throw in a second one: Promising. Frazzled, but promising. There are worse ways to describe a recently opened business.

Granted, Stella's start has been a bit rocky. We have tried to stop by the last few days, a bit after the 7am opening hour, and though we saw employees working inside and the sign was turned to "open", the front-door was decidedly locked. That felt a bit passive aggressive.

Regardless. When we finally did get in, we found the owner to be friendly without being Starbucks-phony ("So, what are you doing today?!" was not a topic of conversation), though perhaps a bit all over the map, stressing out about a large sandwich order. Packages of Fred Meyer loaves were stacked behind the counter, which... Well, hopefully they were just a stop-gap measure.

And looking at the sandwich menu, good bread really could make Stella's something special. Bahn mi is not something one sees in too many cafes around town, nor are tempeh Ruebens. We didn't try either this time around, but aim at doing so in the future.

Fred Meyer bread aside, the coffee served is still DOMA (as it was with J-Walk, may it rest in peace) and as frazzled as the proprietor was, she put together a couple of great espresso drinks. The shots were pulled perfectly, making the Americano spot-on. An almond milk latte with a bit of honey was also exactly what it should be too; not too sweet, but nicely balanced in flavors.

There's frazzle and there are bad bread choices, but it's also Stella's first week. The sandwich menu and the excellent coffee make us feel optimistic about the spot. We will likely add Stella's to our regular rotation. Check them out; we think they have something going on here.