(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

(Alternate title: "A short rant about restaurants, reviews, blogs, and comments.")

It's not like it's a national secret or anything, how many restaurants will bend over backward to get positive reviews on the webs. Some do it in a better manner than others; putting out a little encouragement isn't exactly dishonest, just pushy in an obnoxious manner.

Some places, like Brooklyn Pizza Company in Tucson, AZ, meanwhile, go the more douche-y route...

If you're at all curious why our restaurant database closed down, it was largely because friends, family, and, even worse, owners of local restaurants spammed the site with glowing reviews under fake names. Note the plural there. Multiple reviews under different names. More often than not from the same IP address. Seriously, people.

These fake reviews rarely give a crap restaurant more than a few extra gasps of breath. People will make up their own minds. Granted, the way they make up their minds are often wrong -- Clinkerdagger's is still doing well last time I checked, proving there is such a thing as a wrong opinion -- which is why we're still posting our own reviews here. You know. On a personal blog. You might not agree with what we have to say, which is fine.

We've also gone the way of mostly turning off comments. Scroll down to the last third of this excellent post on Daring Fireball to learn why. You can still easily communicate with us on Twitter or even send us a blog post. We'd probably post it. 

Or, you know, start your own blog. Soap boxes are awesome.

Pullman might not be the most exciting spot on the planet for anybody not in college anymore. Should you find your way there, though, you could definitely find worse things to do than kicking it back with a Palouse Falls Brewing Company ale at Rico's.

I gave the Kamiak IPA a shot, and a surprisingly good beer it was. It poured a copper red color with a nice thick one finger head, and laced the glass just fine. The nose had some sweetness to it alongside the more predictable hops.

A taste quickly revealed a surprising maltiness. The hops were there, definitely, but the maltiness kind of made the overall mouthfeel a bit lighter that I had initially expected. This is not something I consider a bad thing; I could see Kamiak being an excellent summer IPA. I found it to be very drinkable at least.

I'm not sure where to find Palouse Falls brews in Spokane. Northern Lights used to have one handle, but I'm not sure if that's still the case.

Should you find yourself down in the Pullman area, there are definitely worse things to drink than the Kamiak.

Well, there were plenty of good entries, but in the end, we decided that...

Wait for it...

Ashley was the winner! We will be sending you an e-mail sometime this weekend. 

Her ten reasons for loving Sante were:

1. Chitarra pasta, seriously the best dish I have ever eaten. 
2. Forgetting about amuse bouche, and then being thrilled at their arrival. 
3. Goat Cheese crespella. There is nothing more to say here.
4. Bringing the cured meats, such as pastrami or mortadella, to family functions and treating my father to some of his old favorites.
5. Best patio seating in Spokane. 
6. A whole menu for my vegetarian husband, not just a few options (NOT tofu stir fry or portabella mushroom, finally!)
7. Of course, knowing that I am supporting a local food network. 
8. While enjoying my meal, watching a farmer carry in cartons of fresh eggs.
9. Rotating local artwork. 
10. Giant cups of wonderful coffee with endless refills.   

You can shout and you can beg, but there's no escape: The World Cup starts tomorrow, marking the one month every four years America halfway pays attention to something the rest of the world cares about sports-wise. I mean with pearls like this about Drogba's broken arm...

The level of football would only diminish with his loss. I haven't watched enough EPL this year to know whether he is a whiner or diver, but I know that he is a great goal scorer and hope he makes it.

... it is obvious that football fever is sweeping the nation. For the uninitiated, Drogba is a douche with a douche-y haircut playing for the Premier League's douchiest team.

My point here is that if you care about the game, then gloating in the face of injured players isn't just recommended, it's required.

And now I will step down from my pedestal.

There are plenty of places to watch the games, and most of them include good food and drinks.

Tomorrow's opener starts at 7am and features a talented but flawed Mexico taking on an unproven South Africa. It should be an entertaining match, and here are a few spots showing it:

• Heroes & Legends will be serving breakfast burritos and Bloody Marys. Frankly, what better way watching Mexico is there when you throw De Leon into the mix? Doors open at 6:30am.
• The Checkerboard is, of course, part of the "International District" World Cup extravaganza, and will kick it off with "International District blend coffee, Breakfast sandwiches, Bagel & cream cheese, breakfast burritos, Orange juice, V-8 juice, beer with Clamato, $7 pitchers." Doors also open at 6:30am.
• The Satellite will open their lounge for a World Cup "breakfast club" at 7am. (I'm assuming doors open a bit before that.)
• The Blue Spark has $3 Carlsberg, which, as a sponsor of Liverpool, I'm not OK with. Go for the $3 mimosas instead.

Most of these these spots will have events going for the majority of the games.

The US plays its first game on Saturday at 11:30am against an English side that might be the most talented team in the tournament, but also the one with the biggest egos. Hence why '66 likely won't happen again, and the US stands a good chance at beating them.