(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

If there's something this town is lacking, it's restaurants that are completely casual and laidback but still serve good food. Now, granted, some may argue that the vast amount of restaurants in Spokane are casual, which they are, but they're still on the casual side of formal. Latah Bistro, Sante, Mizuna, Luna, etc. You know what I'm talking about.

Laguna Cafe, meanwhile, is straightforward casual. It doesn't try to be fancy, and features a simple but tastefully decorated setting, with a small menu consisting of good food.

The meatloaf, for example, was presented in more of a French style than its more famous 1950s ketchup incarnation. A couple of slices over whipped mashed potatoes, a bit of gravy, and vegetables. The meat itself was nicely cooked, not the dried out charred stereotype you often would expect with the dish, and the sauce had a nice juicy consistency. The potatoes, while not bad, did benefit from the latter to spice up the flavor just a bit. Overall a very good take on a classic.

The ravioli, stuffed with cheese and served with a mushroom sauce, were also solid. Definitely hearty, perfect for a fall evening, and a surprisingly good pasta. 

One could argue that none of the dishes are particularly original or mindblowing, but that is all kind of pointless. Laguna Cafe is a casual establishment in the word's truest form, and you get good food with a decent selection of wine and beer (in a bottle only, alas). Few places around town can offer that combination, making Laguna Cafe worth the trek to the South Hill. In a way it is sort of a unique restaurant here, even though it probably shouldn't be. More places should look at its casual concept; it's something that resonates with Spokanites.

The only thing that sort of kind of put a mild damper on the experience was an overzealous waiter, who I assume could have been one of the owners. An eight minute introduction to the menu is, at best, excessive, as is listing the "off the menu" items. Put it on the menu if you regularly prepare something. Leave "secret" menu items to In-n-Out Burger.

At least he was friendly, so it's hard to be too crabby about it all, but professional service does not equate to being over enthusiastically chatty. 

Overall, though, I'd highly recommend Laguna Cafe. It's casual and serves good food. Can't beat that.

Remember Spiceavore? Of course you do. And you also remember how Bart "The Riverkeeper" Mihailovich's Down To Earth team fought a valiant battle, but fell short from beating the might Team SpoCOOL.

Well, you can't keep a Riverkeeper down, and here is video proof of how he conquered the EWU Wing Contest at the Northern Quest Casino, with strong support from Team SpoCOOL.

2nd Ave restrictions: Yes, the construction is a pain and it's inconvenient, but your five minute delay is kind of small stuff compared to the hits local businesses are taking. Taste has reportedly taken a 35% loss of business since construction started; Frank's Diner around 40%.

The city, in its infinite wisdom, is doing as little as possible to help the businesses. On 1st and Howard there's a barricade signaling that you should not go south, which really doesn't do much good for the businesses located on Howard between 1st and 2nd. Like Taste. And that kinda sucks.

So. Drop-in business isn't booming around 2nd, and therefore we encourage everyone to go a bit out of their way to visit places like Taste, Churchill's, Frank's, etc.  

Spokane once again tells us their favorite places to eat in town. And the results are... interesting.

The "best of" posted in Spokane Coeur d'Alene Living tells us that Spokane thinks Marrakesh is an Indian restaurant, which is... Maybe it's time for some to go back to geography class? Marrakesh is, of course, not just the name of a restaurant, it's a city. In Morocco. But hey, Indian or not, the food is good.

It's nice to see Sante named best new restaurant two years after it opened. Hopefully they will win it next year too!

As for the rest, check out the list yourself.

Sure, going to a party is always a good option, but with Halloween being on a Sunday this year, you probably will have done that before the actual day. Therefore, if you are staying home, here is a good combination of how to get into the mood of the evening:

Drink: Sangria. This had its origins in Portugal and is served in different forms through the Mediterranean. While it is a summer drink, "sangria" literally translates to "bloodletting," and is therefore appropriate for Halloween. A basic recipe:

• A bottle of red wine. (A Rioja would go with the movie suggestion further down.)
• A shot of brandy. (Don't waste the good stuff here. A VS grade Armagnac or Cognac will do.)
• An orange or two cut into wedges.
• A lemon or two cut into wedges.
• Optionally any fruit you may have at hand.
• Two table spoons of sugar.
• Two cups club soda.

Mix the wine, brandy and the juice from the wedges together, and toss the wedges into the mixture with the sugar. Stir. Put in the fridge and let it chill and settle for a day or so. Mix in club soda just before serving. 

Food: Traditionally the sangria is kind of a punch, served with finger food, often just meats and cheeses. Therefore, head down to Sante and pick up some duck prosciutto. Then head over to Saunders and see if they have Cowgirl Creamery's Devil's Gulch, a spicy "winter cheese." This way you get something salty and spicy to go with the sweet sangria. Finish it up with a lollipop. Why? It's all in "who loves ya, baby."

Movie: It's technically an Italian movie, but it's set in Spain, Mario Bava's 1972 "lost" classic, Lisa and the Devil. A surreal movie, it follows Lisa, trapped in a house where the butler might be the devil. Dead people keep popping up, sometimes as real life human beings, other times as lifesize dolls, all while Telly Savalas hams it up with his trademark sucker always on display. (This before he made the sucker famous in Kojak. See the quote above? Get it? It's a Kojak quote, damnit. I'm very clever.) At the same time, the house's visitors are being killed, possibly to be transported to hell. Or maybe Lisa is just insane, imagining everything. Or possibly something completely different; it's a very vague movie.

The soft lighting, the dialogue which often seems just out of hearing distance, and the sheer oddity of the film makes it a must Halloween viewing.