News from all over

#SpoCOOL – Spokane –

It’s Monday, and what better day is there to catch up on all the things we’ve missed?

The Spokane Dining Guide

#SpoCOOL – Spokane –

Here at the old SFB we’re all about guides. I mean, why not, if Google is any indication, people love to do research, so why not jump on the bandwagon, right? Right? Right!

The question we often get is “where are the ultimate places to eat in Spokane?” Sometimes it comes from people new to town, other times from people who have lived here for a while, but have yet to find the gems in a sea of mediocrity. Then there are, of course, visitors.

Therefore we have decided to put together a dining guide. And when I say “we” I mean “us” as in “all of us.” Yes, we want your input! The guidelines are simple: We want only the best places, all over town, in different price classes, representing the three standard meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as late-night dining. To start you off, here are some we’ve come up with:

Breakfast

Fine Dining: Sante
Cheap Eats: Satellite Diner

Lunch

Fine Dining: Mizuna
Cheap Eats: De Leon

Dinner

Fine Dining: Latah Bistro
Cheap Eats: Pete’s Piza—The Calzone King

Late-Night Dining

Fine Dining: Rain Lounge
Cheap Eats: The Satellite

You get the idea. Some of those might not even make the final cut. Or maybe they will, who knows"½Â How many will make it under each category—and if you have suggestions for additional categories, then please go ahead and suggest them—just depends on how creative we get, as well as the amount of suggestions we get from you guys.

Be a decider and contribute your suggestions in the comments.

Update: Forget about just the “fine dining” and “cheap eats” categories—making up your own is now encouraged!

The great beer challenge

Libations – Spokane –

What exactly lead to a panel beer test at a recent birthday party is too long of a story to get into, though sufficient to say, we gathered six people to try a wide array of beers to find a winner. The main goal was to wean one of the participants off Kokanee Gold. If we succeeded or not is unknown, but the results of the beer-off was surprising, particularly seeing most of the jurors didn’t consider themselves “beer people.”

Each beer judged on a score from 1-4
JurorBud
Light		 Kokanee
Gold		 Dogfish H.
60 IPA		 Rogue
Choc Stout		 Red Hook
ESB		 N.L. Crystal
Bitter		 Black Butte
Porter		 Laughing
Dog Cream
Juror 1 1 1 4 4 3 4 4 3
Juror 2 0 2 1 2 3 1 2 3
Juror 3 1 3 3 3 3 2 3 1
Juror 4 2 4 3 4 2 1 3 3
Juror 5 2 1 1 3 1 2 1 2
Juror 6 2 3 2 1 2 3 1 4
Total 8 14 14 17 14 13 14 16

Which means:
1. Rogue Chocolate Stout
2. Laughing Dog
3. Red Hook ESB (#1 in the tie breaker)
3. Black Butte Porter (#2 in the tie breaker)
3. Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA (#3 in the tie breaker)
3. Kokanee Gold (#4 in the tie breaker)
7. Northern Light Crystal Bitter
8. Bud Light

The science here is questionable, obviously. But it’s interesting to see how a wide array of people with different interest in beer judge a wide array of beer, and kind of surprising seeing the Rogue on top. What does it all mean? Probably nothing. But it’s a good excuse to drink beer.

Deschutes Mirror Mirror 2009

Libations – Spokane –

Deschutes is known for releasing weird and wonderful limited edition brews, some good, and some just weird. Mirror Mirror, luckily, falls into the former category.

This 2009 reserve oozes class. Black wax covers the top quarter of the bottle, and the label looks like that of a nice wine. Fitting, then, that this ale (classified as a barleywine) is aged in oak barrels.

Pouring, the beer is a deep red color, and gives a nice smell of cherry. The cherry carries over into the flavor, which also as an oaky hint to it, and is lightly creamy on the tongue. At 11% it actually tastes a lot milder than it is, but there is certainly a nice complexity to the flavor all the same. And, equally important, it’s really refreshing.

You can find a bottle at Yoke’s at Argonne, and I’m sure it’s available other places around town too.