(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

Books have been written about being a good host, but being a good guest, that kind of has been left to the individual's discretion. This is probably not a good thing, seeing how the Northwest for some reason thinks a plaid REI shirt is good enough for formal occasions.

So with the assistance of Skikk og Bruk, here are a few random etiquette pointers you might want to take into consideration next time you're invited to a dinner party or whatever other type of formal or semi-formal occasion. Heck, you might even get to apply a few of them to informal get togethers.

• Make sure to bring something. A bottle of wine is pretty standard. Even two bottles if you have a tendency to toss a few back. Bringing something, anything, is a good way to prove you're not there to mooch. 
• It might be worthwhile asking the host what you can bring for more formal get togethers.
• Don't bring food unless asked to. 
• If dietary restrictions prevent you from eating any types of food prepared in the same area as the foods you can not eat... Probably a good idea to mention this before the party as opposed to during.
• Give the host a head's up if you're going to be late. And if "late" means "an hour late" you probably should just RSVP with a "no."
• On the flipside, getting there too early is not much better than being late.
• No, seriously, a plaid REI shirt won't really do at a formal occasion. A tie won't help.
• Complimenting the food (or anything else) is kind of a must. Unless it really is bad. Then words like "interesting" or "enthralling" could be used instead. You have to say something at least!
• Don't bring kids to formal parties unless you check with the host that it's OK.
• Running off to talk on your cellphone is kind of rude. Excuse yourself and step into a private area if you have to make a phone call or SMS or whatever.
• Politics and religion aren't good topics of conversation unless you want to piss people off. (And that's kind of frowned upon during dinner parties.)
• Don't leave before dessert -- Larry David was sadly wrong about that one.
• On the other hand, leave gracefully at a decent hour. The host shouldn't have to ask you to leave.

Just a few good ones to keep in mind. We've all broken a few of those at least once, but hey, why not strive to be better?

Another good, though not great, canned entry from Maui Brewing.

It poured a light golden color, with a pretty decent head. A quick whiff revealed a citric scent -- think oranges and lemon; maybe something a bit sweeter like pineapple. There were hints of hops in the back.

This might have been the first sign of the slight disappointment I felt about the beer. Maui advertises no less than seven hop types used in the IPA. I had expected it to pull me by the nose down into the beer. It didn't.

In fact, a sip would quickly prove that this is more of a fruity ale with a delicate smooth hoppiness to it. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but the way it was advertised seemed to suggest a hop fest. Had it been a blind taste test, I would probably have guessed it was a pale.

So it is big and swell, but possibly not very IPA-y. Definitely recommended as a summer relaxer, but as far as hoppy ales go, it is kind of a letdown.

OK, so I am probably not talking about you. I am, however, talking about him. And her. And that one in the back.

You know the type: the self-proclaimed activist. Usually young in age and all about being local and a non-consumer. That's what they preach, at least, but any actions seems to be forgotten about. At night they turn into the hipster, but don't call them that, because they don't like "labels." Hipster-activists... Hiptivists... There are plenty of them in Spokane; the herd tends to mingle around Baby Bar with their fixies and complicated shoes.

The thing I don't quite get is this: If the Hiptivists are so into supporting local establishments, why don't I see them in local restaurants that are big on local ingredients and high quality food? A good example was our visit to Italia Trattoria where we were the youngest people by far. Shouldn't people be lining up around the block to support these restauranteurs? You can replace "Italia Trattoria" with anything from Sante to Latah Bistro. The Blue Hair Club is abundant at all these places; the Hiptivists are not.

So. What could the reason be? There are two possibilities I'm leaning toward...

A) The Hiptivists are cheap. This would explain why they feel extremely comfortable with $1 PBR nights. But I actually think the real reason is...

B) They have little taste. I tend to stick more with this one. I mean, why spend -- shock and awe and lo and behold -- $13 on some gnocchi when beer nuts come free? And hey, the Hiptivist uniforms don't come cheap either; gotta save up for those. 

My point here -- and I do have one -- is that many Hiptivists are leaving Spokane, claiming places like Seattle or Portland (god forbid they went anywhere else) are so much more cultural. If you want culture, then good dining is about as cultural as you can get. The Hiptivist, at very best, only minimally supports this. Possibly because they don't understand it.

Meanwhile, the Blue Hair Club is out there and they're loving it. When a new place opens, they're in line from day one. The Blue Hair Club literally hungers for culture.

In other words... Maybe the Hiptivist should put down the PBR and take some cues from The Blue Hair Club. You know. Support local businesses; support local culture; learn how to class up a bit. Spokane certainly needs some of the latter.

It's tough, but I hope to see it happen some day.

And with that I take my condescending-boots off. For a little bit.

Spokane has never quite been a haven for frozen yoghurt, possibly because a large part of the year here is... frozen... (See what I did there?!) This is too bad, but there you go.

Froyo Earth is hoping to buck the trend with its recently opened self-serve spot. I got to say, I quite like this whole concept: You grab a container and choose from ten flavors and add toppings of your choosing. Price is based on weight. Pretty straightforward.

You can, of course, choose multiple flavors, and with flavors paired up you can even create a swirl. Which is fun. 

Nothing was too over the top here in terms of selection. You have your standard chocolate, strawberry, peach, etc. The flavors were very good, though, and the fresh fruit toppings actually tasted fresh. In other words, everything here seemed to hold a pretty high standard, Hershey's Syrup aside.

Froyo has only been opened for a week, so we can only hope they will have a more exciting selection soon. What's there, though, is all very tasty. This is definitely a good spot for frozen yoghurt.