(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

Best Restrooms

1. The Davenport
2. Nordstrom Cafe
3. Italia Trattoria
4. Twigs
5. Churchill's Steakhouse

I mean, seriously, you could eat a meal in the Davenport's restrooms. If they ever come into money problems they should just rent the facilities out as office space. It'd be awesome.

Best Places We Probably Should Have Included, and We're Sorry We Didn't :(

OK so there were probably quite a few other places that could have made the list, but really, I think we covered the majority. What we did forget about were Indian places like Taaj and Top of India. They should definitely have been listed under Cheap Eats. Some mentioned the exclusion of Bay Area Market under Markets, and that too should probably have been there.

There are more, but then again, you did have your chance to suggest places so we don't feel that badly about it. Top of India and Taaj are awesome though.

Best Guilty Pleasures

1. Pizza Rita
2. The Bulldog
3. Pizza Pipeline
4. Far West's Restroom
5. Celebration Cupcakes 

Some places didn't... fare too well, to put it mildly. With the amount of you who voted for Pizza Rita, though, it is obvious that we all are guilty of enjoying their $7 medium cardboard-crust-Velveeta-style pies. Hey, you get two pops included in the price!

Far West's restrooms are less than stellar, but then again, it's not like people shoot up in there or anything. Or so I assume. They could be worse is what I'm getting at!

And finally, Celebration Cupcakes? Come on, they're not that great but they aren't that bad either. That might have been the surprise low-vote.

Best Restaurant

1. Sante
2. Latah Bistro
3. Gordy's
4. Mizuna
5. Wild Sage
6. Luna 

I mean, really, what did you expect? Clinkerdagger? Anthony's? Of course you didn't; Sante jumped into the number one spot from the first vote and never budged. It just goes to show that great food and great service have a place in this town, and Sante is what the rest will be compared against. 

Then there was Gordy's. It's a great place, no doubt, but we didn't expect it to fight for second place quite as venomously as it did. In the end it had to see itself beaten by Latah Bistro, but it was an incredibly close race.

We think the top three paints an accurate picture of the best restaurants in Spokane. Both Sante and Latah Bistro deliver fresh takes on classic cooking, and are always great places to eat. Gordy's take on Sichuan cuisine, meanwhile, puts it head and shoulder above any other Chinese place in town. It's a worthy top tier restaurant.

Rounding out the top six are Mizuna, Wild Sage and Luna. Mizuna has been inconsistent over the past few years, but there's no denying that when they hit a homerun, they hit it better than most. The fourth place wasn't far behind in the votes either, so it looks like people aren't ready to give up on Mizuna yet.

Wild Sage -- the only restaurant in the top six that sometimes manages to squeeze into the mainstream press' lists -- braved crazy road construction to secure a respectable fifth place.

And finally there's the oldie, Luna. A pioneer of fine cuisine in the Inland Northwest, it still holds a place in people's minds and hearts. It will be interesting to see where the restaurant now goes, with chef Brian Hutchins back at the helm.

Tomorrow: Best Restrooms and Guilty Pleasures, plus Best Places We Probably Should Have Included, and We're Sorry We Didn't :(

Best Pizza

1. Veraci
2. South Perry Pizza
3. Bennidito's Pizza
4. Flying Goat
5. Europa
6. David's Pizza 

It was down to the bone, but the traveling pizzeria, Veraci, took it home in the end. We haven't tried the Spokane location(s), but if the Seattle branch is anything to go by, we more than respect the voters on this one. South Perry Pizza, our pick last year for best pie, came in as a close second.

Bennidito's is, alongside David's, kind of an institution in Spokane, and we weren't surprised to see them both doing well. Flying Goat is still a relatively new spot, and we're guessing it will amass a greater following as time passes. It is a SpoCOOL Favorite.

Europa is one of the few places in the region that does Northern European style pizzas the right way, and is kind of underrated in that sense, so fifth place is respectable.

Best Cheap Eats

1. Froyo Earth
2. Market St Bistro
3. El Mercado del Pueblo
4. Picabu Bistro
5. De Leon Foods
6. D Lish's

Spokane was missing a good, cheap dessert place downtown, and it's hard to argue that Froyo Earth wasn't awesome when the summer hit its hottest point. 

More surprising was the relatively low profile Market St Bistro hitting #2. It goes to show how well a cheap Italian-style eatery can do with something as simple as rustic good food. As for Mexican places, we had kind of expected De Leon to win this whole category, but it had to see itself beaten by newcomer El Mercado del Pueblo. 

Meanwhile, Spokane old-timers Picabu and D Lish's still holds a place in people's memory, both hitting the top 6.

Tomorrow: Best Restaurant

Best Farmers' Market

1. South Perry Farmers' Market
2. Spokane Farmers' Market
3. Liberty Lake Farmers' Market
4. Millwood Farmers' Market
5. Airway Heights Farmers' Market
6. Indoor Farmers' Market 

South Perry had a strong following in many categories, and Farmers' Markets was no different. It might be small, but apparently big enough to receive the love of the voters.

Best Market

1. Rocket Market
2. Main Market Co-op
3. Bottles
4. Huckleberry's 
5. Eggers Meat
6. De Leon 

In terms of being a true neighborhood market, there is little doubt that Rocket is a deserving winner. Vegetables, meats, baked goods... It's all there alongside one of the region's best beer and wine selections.

Main Market, meanwhile, might have had a rocky opening, but has recently made changes that resonated with the voters, beating out its closest (and more successful in terms of customer traffic) rival, Huckleberry's. 

Specialty markets also did well, with Bottles -- which incidentally shares owners with Rocket -- being a hit with Spokane's beer and wine shoppers. De Leon is still hanging on to the ranking as the region's most popular Mexican market despite strong competition from El Mercado del Pueblo.

Best Coffee Shop/Bakery

1. Taste Cafe
2. Rockwood Bakery
3. Atticus Coffee and Gifts
4. Lindaman's
5. Madeleine's Cafe
6. Rocket Bakery 

Look at the top five, and what do they all have in common? They all serve locally roasted coffee, and if you're looking for another commonality in the voting here, they all carry DOMA in one form or other.

Taste, despite traffic issues, just barely managed to inch out Rockwood and Atticus, though had we kept the polls open, odds are that the three of them would rotate spots. This is, of course, not a bad thing, and it looks like the cafe culture might be picking up around here.

Tomorrow: Best of Cheap Eats and Pizza