(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

There are certain things I associate with Old El Paso, very few of them being particularly good. «Flavorless» comes to mind, right up there next to «stale». Actually, truth be told, I really don't have any fond memories of their products.

But! Just recently I wandered past a «Mexican» aisle, and found myself mesmerized by one of Old El Paso's new products (or so I assume): the «Stand 'n Stuff».

This is pretty much what you'd expect it to be. A boat-shaped tortilla which does (or is supposed to do) exactly what it says on the tin. It stands upright by itself while you stuff it. The very notion of something like this was intriguing enough that I had to give it a shot.

Does it work? Well, yes. In all its basic-ness I suppose it does.

The package consists of eight flour tortillas, all sticking together like only Old El Paso products could do. Prying the tortillas apart without tearing them is quite the challenge, but let's give Old El Paso this: their products are, in their minds, both tasty and fun.

What you do at this point is up to you. Stuff the «boat» with meats, cheeses, and vegetables. Whatever you like; Old El Paso does not discriminate.

Stuff it, broil or bake it for a bit, and you have a boatload of a taco. It's easily stuffed and as easy to eat as a folded-over tortilla.

Which brings us to the real question: Why exactly does this exist? It looks nifty at first, but there aren't any advantages over a regular Old El Paso tortilla. They're both semi-stale and both break apart after the first bite. There's nothing here but a gimmick.

Surprising, I know!

So no, this should not exist. One could argue Old El Paso should not exist either, but that's kind of a moot point. Old El Paso is here and it is not going anywhere.

The «Stand 'n Stuff», however, is hopefully living on borrowed time, as its sole purpose now seems to be to annoy me.

So here we are then, your highest ranked spots no matter what category. Which places did you fawn over like affectionate dogs?

Best of Spokane
1	-	Veraci
2	-	Iron Goat Brewing Company
3	-	Flying Goat
4	-	Huckleberry's
5	-	DOMA Coffee
6	-	Coeur Coffee

Does it surprise anyone that Veraci (and «Veraci's KY location») took this one home? There was no contest, and this for a spot without a physical location. For now.

And there are some clear patterns here: Spokane likes its pizza and coffee. Flying Goat hit number three, with Iron Goat sandwiched in between the two places. Pizza and beer make for a good combination.

Likewise it wasn't exactly a shock to see DOMA and Coeur placing in the list here. Spokane's coffee scene has been evolving ever so slowly, and saw good boosts in quality over the last year or so. Both DOMA and Coeur deserve credit for that.

And right in the middle there is Huckleberry's. In that sense the list is a good combination of old and new-ish.

That's about it for our 2013 Best of… Quite the ride it was too, and thanks to all those of you who voted! Once again we saw record numbers, and this time the polls were only open a couple of days.

We reserve the right to look at some of the more non sequitur results over the next month or so. There were, as usual, some... interesting... results all around the various categories.

But that's for another day.

So here we are then. Best Restaurant. What spots did you consider to be the ultimate ones in Spokane? Where did you go, just to come out with your stomachs filled with love and your minds with wonder?

Best Restaurant
1	-	Sante
2	-	Italia Trattoria
3	(5)	Casper Fry
4	-	Wild Sage
5	(3)	Gordy's
6	·	Clover

The answer echoes those of previous years: The usual suspects hit the top five once again, with the only new entry being Clover. We think that is fair enough: Team SpoCOOL would probably also put Sante and Italia Trattoria in the top two Spokane restaurants. Casper Fry certainly is a deserved number three.

And to beat the drum we have beaten so many times this year: The top three here was very very close. In fact, the top six could have gone either which way for a while there.

Which again means these lists are somewhat arbitrary, even though the top six was voted in above and beyond the other entries. This is of course merely a few hundred people's opinion, but then we consider you the people of good taste and (possibly) good manners. That's just how we feel! We will not apologize!

Digression aside: This is a great top six, and one we can get behind. Say what you want about Sante, but the fact remains that they've topped this list three years running. It's the proverbial hat-trick. Thus it's clear that when say what you want, that what is clearly positive, and share in your Sante love fest.

Sometime next week: Top overall votes

So here we are, two categories left: Best Restaurant and Best Casual Eats. And let's just kick it off with the latter:

Best Casual Eats
1	(5)	Manito Tap House
2	·	Stella's Cafe
3	·	The Scoop
4	·	Saranac Public House
5	(3)	Boots Bakery & Lounge
6	(2)	Method Juice Cafe

We didn't see much movement in a lot of this year's categories, yet pretty much everything changed with Casual Eats. Manito -- possibly Spokane's most visited restaurant -- made a jump to the top, and deserved it is: their menu is excellent, and it doesn't hurt that it's flanked by fifty taps of quality beer.

The Scoop has been around for a good while now, and has become a Spokane summer staple with its large selection of Brain Freeze ice cream.

The two other new entries have also earned a great following. Stella's bánh mì has been named the best sandwich in town by many, and Saranac is, as some of you already know, a Team SpoCOOL favorite.

Boots and Method took a bit of a plunge, but once again we had an extremely close vote. In that sense the chart is for all intents and purposes somewhat arbitrary, yet still... Let's give credit where credit is due: Each and every place deserved its spot in the top six, and congratulations to them all!

Tomorrow: Best Restaurant