(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

The hands down winner for "Best Farmers' Market" in our 2010 Best Of... was South Perry. And why not? The neighborhood has increasingly turned into a very interesting area of town, with old institutions like The Shop still doing its coffee thing, and newer spots like South Perry Pizza gaining quite the following.

The market, too, deserves some attention. It's not big, but has anything you need, and is a perfect place to pick up some plants -- we grabbed tomato and pepper for our garden (and also a baby shower gift, not for the garden) -- and vegetables. In other words, exactly what you'd expect to find at a market like this.

More importantly, Veraci serves up pizza there too, and that is something we can get behind. (Although it begs the question -- should you go there or South Perry Pizza? The only logical answer is to try both.)

Thursday Market is pretty much what you'd expect it to be, and that's really all it should be. You can check it out on Thursdays, 3-6pm. We definitely recommend it. 

Update from the Veraci folks: "the market runs till 7 now. Also, starting next week 10-15 more venders will join the market (overflow into the school parking lot)"

Do you remember my soaring poem "Ode to the Salmon in the River"? Of course you do! "Im [sic] sure glad they rented that awesome JBL PA for this clown" you said, not believing "this is the joker reviewing Spokane restaurants and beers...???!!!"! It was a magical magical rendition.

And if you remember the poem, you remember the intense bongo-playing that accompanied it. 

Well, the bongo player himself, 9-year old CJ, now has his very own food blog. Called "That's my idea of fun!" the site has so far covered El Comalon, and promises more to come very soon. The blog has already created plenty of buzz in the Twitter-verse, and you should probably add it to your RSS reader ASAP, as this is a blog to watch.

Run over to "That's my idea of fun!" right now!

Remember how we have an art contest for SpoBREW? Well, these people do, and are vying for the coveted title of the ultimate homebrew artist in Spokane. 

Paul: We don't actually know much about Paul -- does he even exist?! -- but he submitted his art ages ago, and has set the bar high.

Chris Dreyer: You have seen his art if you have seen DOMA coffee bags. Can the artform translate into beer labels? We shall see. We. Shall. See.

Lars: An industrial designer about half as German as Dieter Rams, who has made stuff like this. We'll negatively (or possibly positively) stereotype him and say he's a huge Kraftwerk fan too.

Scott: Scott said "We're down" yet we don't really know who "we" are. Does it involve his wife or does it involve his team mate, Erick? Does it involve all of them? We don't know, but we're sure they'll do their best to cheat, so we'll see.

Allison: We don't know Allison, but apparently she recently ate burgers and tater tots. If this will help her or not is anybody's guess.

Jessica: Another unknown, but she does have an online gallery. She also "love[s] Northwest beers" which seems like a good baseline for this contest.

Jeremy: Jeremy homebrews kombucha, which he might also make a label for. Respect.

Will: In his own fighting words: Disgruntled homebrewer that learned of this competition far too late. I will exact my revenge in the form of smarmy beer art.

Crystal: Vegan and person who speaks to the river. But will the river answer? 

Becky: 7vs7 veteran and famous for her Nintendo Wii Mario Kart DUI skillz. How this will translate into beer art is anyone's guess, but it all seems somehow pertinent. 

Brandon: He used to work for Dark Horse. Yes, they make comicbooks. Therefore we can probably expect something cool here.

... and yes, expect some highly artistical entries from Team SpoCOOL, Top That and the poet behind this post, too.

So here's a rare miss from Deschutes, one that is frustratingly close to getting it right, but doesn't quite get there. It's too bad, and the idea behind this year's Twilight -- no relations -- is sound.

It pours a nice golden amber with a slight haze to it. A finger of head. In general it looks good, and the smell is there too. A bit of hops and orange on the nose give the impression of a summer-y beer, which of course it is.

Sadly, here is where the ale falls flat. The first flavor you pick up when it hits the tongue is orange, and that's great. It's refreshing straight up front. Right after, however, a strange soda-water like flavor takes over. It feels almost separated from the orange, and is very atypical from the standard Deschutes depth we have grown accustomed to. There are no traces of hops.

Overall, Twilight '11 isn't a horrible beer, it just lacks depth, and I'm not quite understanding the general lack of flavor. Disappointing, seriously, yet I still await Deschutes' new reserver which should be available within a few months.