(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

We mentioned this on Twitter a few days back, but for your benefit: Flora, a small batch, local yoghurt company, is running a Kickstarter to spread their goods to the world. Or Spokane. Same thing, right?

They will share kitchen with the soon-to-open BATCH space, and have collected $5,606 of their $13,000 goal. Go support them if you so wish!

Spiceologist has launched yet another Kickstarter, for spice blends and rubs. It's definitely well worth a look, and it has already collected $3,823 of $20,000.

(Neither here nor there -- or, possibly, completely here and there: Much as we love the ingenuity of all this crowdfunding, we can't help but wonder how long it'll take before the market is saturated.)

Liquor License Stalker tells us Ivory Table will open on June 3rd at 1822 E Sprague. That's the former Flying Pig Location. It looks like it could be a good, and atypical, addition to that neighborhood, at least if Instagram/S-R has it right.

(Does anyone still call it the «International District» or whatever? Because it never was particularly international.)

After a good year without too much movement, your top twenty sees some action for the second month running…

1. Manito Tap House (-)
2. Casper Fry (-)
2. Santé Restaurant & Charcuterie (3)
4. South Perry Pizza (-)
5. The Flying Goat (6)
6. Saranac Public House (5)
7. Central Food (-)
8. Main Market Co-op (11)
9. De Leon Foods (10)
10. Jones Radiator (8)
11. Veraci Pizza (9)
12. Bon Bon Lounge (14)
13. Coeur Coffee (-)
14. Atticus Coffee & Gifts (12)
15. Bennidito's Pizza (20)
16. Wild Sage Bistro (15)
17. Mizuna (19)
18. Huckleberry's (17)
19. Italia Trattoria (18)
20. Atilano's (16)

… albeit less dramatically this time around.

The top three is, once again, incredibly close, with Casper Fry and Santé now sharing the runner-up position. Meanwhile, the pizza war between Flying Goat and South Perry is intensifying; we expect Veraci to join them after their brick and mortar location opens.

As always, you can affect the list by voting! Stay tuned for the June list, which will be a very special anniversary one.

It's an interesting little world, the world of burger makers. Some try hard to achieve greatness; others don't try at all. And then there's EPIC, the Northern Quest sports restaurant (take note: not a bar). They do try. They try hard. Very hard. Too hard.

EPIC's big claim to fame in the burger world is their Surf & Turf Burger. Subjectively, I find this to be a less than stellar name, mostly because it reminds me of the «surf and turd» scene in Meet the Parents, but that is probably just me…

Anyway, the burger!

There is a lot going on here, and I can't help but think the surf part is sorta pointless. The shrimp aren't on the burger, they're skewered through it. What the point of them is, I don't know. Are we supposed to eat them alongside the burger? Or are we supposed to put them on it?

I tried it both ways, and can't say I would recommend either. A shrimp is pretty hopeless to work with if it's not fresh, and these were anything but. That flavorless stringy feeling? It was here, every bit as bad as one would fear.

Worse still was the patty's doneness. I can gladly live with being served a medium burger, even when ordered medium-rare. Really, how picky can one be? I can not gladly live with it being well-done, however, and that was how EPIC served it.

Too bad, as there were hints in there of something quite tasty.

The ciabatta bun fared better -- more bread-like than a typical bun -- and baby greens are in general a lot easier to eat than one big leaf of lettuce. Good points for both of those.

Yet, just when things were improving, the white truffle aioli came trampling in, almost overpowering the patty itself. There might have been more of a balance there, had the burger come properly to order, but…

Maybe it's just me, but I expect more than this from a $15 burger. Yes. That's fifteen dollars, which makes it the most expensive burger in this great chase so far.

I would have been a lot more forgiving had it clocked in closer to $10.

Flaws aside, this was overall a smidgen better than Post St's offering. EPIC was not a horrible experience, just an expensive average one.

1. Manito Tap House
2. Wisconsinburger
3. Saranac
4. Waddell’s
5. Churchill’s
6. Northern Quest EPIC
7. Post St Ale House

Photo courtesy of the Great Burger Chase’s official photography studio, Erick Doxey Photography.

So, what do we got here…

First, NUDO is opening tomorrow. This is, of course, the ramen place opening next door to Fire, downtown. I's being headed up by HDG Design Group.

Among the menu items is a ramen burger, so hey! We're all about something a little different.

The Avenue has a liquor license pending for its 13 W Main Ave location. Fun fact: that address doesn't really exist yet, at least not according to Google or Bing, but it should be right by the Saranac/Main Market/etc. (And apparently not in the Saranac Commons, which is on 19 W Main.)

The owners of Pacific Avenue Pizza are listed as applicants.

Finally, the Lantern will have a firkin (a small cask) of River City's Heritage English Pale Ale tapped at 6:30pm. A good reminder that it's American Craft Beer Week, so go drink!