(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

So let's talk about Drinking Made Easy's Spokane episode. We'd kinda forgotten about Zane Lamprey after the rather... uninspired... last season of Three Sheets. Hey, it's hard to blame anyone for the decline of the show; how excited can you be going to your twelfth distillery?

Drinking Made Easy is, of course, in essence the same show, just with a whole lot more Steve McKenna, Zane's "stunt drinker". The addition has actually worked pretty well, at least if the Spokane episode was anything to go by, as the crew can now focus more on him whenever Zane looks like he's bored out of his scull.

As for the episode -- the first we've watched of the show -- it wasn't too bad at all. Spokane was shown off in a good light, one that made it look like an actual interesting place. So that in itself is good.

Dry Fly was an obvious stop, and while I'm sure most of us already were fairly familiar with the distillery, we at least learned that Zane is quite the decent doodler, as shown by the drawing he made on one of the barrels.

Bon Bon was a more interesting destination, what with the story behind the "Monkey Gland" drink. It was also a good reminder that the spot's interiors are awesome. Good also to see Northern Lights featured; they make some good beer. It's almost a bit sad that we keep forgetting about them.

Steam Plant, Steelhead, and Baby Bar... Maybe not the most exciting picks around, although the two-story shot at Steelhead was pretty legendary.

I don't think we'll make Drinking Made Easy something we watch regularly. The three first seasons of Three Sheets were great, but the concept kinda lost its spark after that.

The Spokane episode was good, though, and they made it look like a pretty cool town. So hey, who are we to complain?

Drinking Made Easy runs on HDNet. I'm sure there will be plenty of reruns in case you missed the episode.

How much are four diamonds from AAA worth to a restaurant?

I assume they probably made people take notice when Masselow's -- located in Northern Quest Casino -- first plastered billboards with the claim to be "greater Spokane's only AAA Four Diamond rated restaurant". And that's great, though I do have some doubts that it caused too much excitement with generations younger than those whose hair has a blueish hue, but regardless...

We recently gave the spot a try, and though I tend to have some negative stereotypes about restaurants located in hotel/casinos, I gotta say that Masselow's is not bad at all. It's not an exciting spot, and it's hard to claim they're on the forefront of innovative cuisine, but what they do, they do well.

Sampling a few of their dishes, the somewhat surprising hit was the smoked Alaskan King Salmon. I say surprising because that dish, to me, suggests something incredibly stereotypically Northwest-hotel, but of course that doesn't mean it will be bad. And it wasn't; it was in fact quite good. The salmon was nicely smoked, and went well with a surprisingly spicy horseradish mascarpone. The accompanying griddle cakes were delicately sweet, making this a rather well balanced starter.

The braised veal shanks, meanwhile, lacked the oompf of the salmon. Don't get me wrong, it was nicely prepared for what it was -- meat falling off the bone -- but was lacking in seasoning. I assume the sauce was supposed to add that extra je ne sais quoi to it, but I couldn't quite make out what it even was. Hence it turned out a bit bland for my liking.

The polenta was good though, and I wouldn't say the dish was bad, just a bit on the dull side. 

A vanilla and strawberry souffle made for a good shared dessert, and the strawberry sauce was everything the main course sauce should have been; very flavorful.

The service throughout was professional enough, though the staff had clearly been instructed to upsell like it was going out of fashion, which kind of takes away from the experience. You don't want to feel like you're part of a high-pressure used-car deal when you're dining in "greater Spokane's only AAA Four Diamond rated restaurant".

So. Masselow's. It's good. We'd dine there again. But what we have learned is that four diamonds from AAA do not make the best restaurant in town. I doubt diners who prefer something a bit more exciting -- vague adjective as that is -- would prefer Masselow's over, say, Latah Bistro or Sante.

Yet Masselow's does what it does well, and I'm guessing there was a consistency there that AAA was looking for. We'd recommend Masselow's for what it is -- a top of the line Inland Northwest hotel/casino-restaurant where you certainly can find some very good food.

I don't know what to think about Ninkasi these days. They've made a lot of good stuff over the years, and after the disappointing Sleigh'r I had hoped ReNEWale would be a return to form, and, indeed, a renewal of what once was.

That is sadly not the case.

It pours a deep dark color, with a puny head that quickly disappears. Retention is so-so. This is not a good first impression.

Sniffing it brings forth surprisingly little. There might be a hint of coffee in the back, but otherwise there's little going on here, which is a bit odd for a porter.

And then it really falls apart. I can handle a dull porter, at least up to a point, but ReNEWale just doesn't taste particularly pleasant. Coffee flavors can be a fickle fiend in any beer and when the dominant taste is one of old Folgers, then... Well, you can imagine. Who really wants that?

Let it warm up a bit and a few other flavors come forth, mostly some malts and a vague hint of chocolate. That helps, at least marginally, but it is kind of a moot improvement when the mouthfeel feels like tap water.

Ninkasi has made some brilliant stuff, a standard ReNEWale sadly does not live up to. Fingers crossed the brewery will climb up on that horse next time.

First, SpoAP, our AeroPressing contest, will not happen this Sunday. I know many of you had canceled all kinds of appointments, seminars, weddings, funerals, floggings, etc. to attend this, but sadly a schedule conflict has come in the way. We're looking at rescheduling it for April-ish, and will keep you informed.

From the happier news department, Boots Bakery has a liquor license application in, and is looking at opening in May.

Was Simpler Times recently featured... anywhere? We're seeing a lot of hits from people searching for it. To save you some time: Don't. Drink. It.