Restrooms and anticipated new spots? I suppose we could make an analogy about how excited you may or may not be about places opening and what it does to you, but eh... The results!
Restaurant restrooms are important. I'm sorry, but that's just a fact. And once again we see the Davenport reign supreme! That should come as a surprise to absolutely no-one. I mean, come on. You could literally eat your meal in there. I'd even argue the food doesn't live up to the quality of the restroom, but that's for another day...
Best Restroom
1
-
The Davenport
2
·
Churchill's Steakhouse
3
(2)
Italia Trattoria
4
(3)
Nordstrom Cafe
5
-
Twigs
6
(4)
Manito Tap House
Only newcomer was Churchill's, which made its debut with a bullet -- that's a telltale sign people really do care about pairing a good facility with a steak. Other than that there was little movement. People find their favorite restrooms and stick with them, and that's fair enough.
Which bring us to your most anticipated spots -- where will you be dumping your cash next year?
Most Anticipated New Spot
1
·
Veraci in the KY
2
·
South Perry Brewery
3
·
The Wandering Table
4
·
Brain Freeze
5
·
The Yards: A Bruncheon
6
·
NUDO Ramen & Yakitori House
Apparently in Kendall Yards. Veraci, Wandering Table, Brain Freeze, the Yards... Four out of six will be hitting the neighborhood, which all of a sudden will have quite the scene going.
And again, Veraci was far and beyond your favorite choice. I suppose people don't always want to stand in the rain waiting for their pizza... This works out for all of us!
South Perry's new brewery has some good names attached to it, and even though some might claim the brewery scene is a bit over saturated we say the more the merrier!
... but rather Hannah! Kendall Yards made a smart move vying to find a restaurant to open early on in their neighborhood, and people clearly appreciate Central Food's breads.
Many remember Hannah's baked goods from Main Market, and they -- like us -- liked them enough to follow her to Central. A well deserved top spot for Hannah.
Other than that there was minimal movement in the top six, other than the venerable-ish Taste finally making an appearance there. Really, the biggest surprise was that it didn't happen sooner.
The battle for the top three was fierce, and in the end we saw each entry change places from last year. What does that prove? That these lists really are arbitrary. But whatever.
Number five and six saw the debut of two international markets. Cassano is, to my knowledge, the only proper Italian market in town, and De Leon has of course created quite the good reputation for itself over the last few years.
Hey, they're all awesome spots -- it's a top six that makes perfect sense -- and we're sure you check them all out semi-regularly anyway.
Monday: Best Restroom and Most Anticipated New Spot
... where we might as well dump Veraci off the ballot next year. I mean, really. It is so far and beyond your favorite pizza... place-ish (strike the “ish” next year)... that there's no need to include them anymore. Just put it on top and call it the day.
There was generally very little movement on the list with the exception of Fire hitting #4 with a bullet. The former Coeur d'Alene-only spot does pizza a little bit different than most spots around town, and people apparently do appreciate that variety.
Bennidito's? Hey, it's good to see an old Spokane classic still going strong.
Yet again we saw minimal movement here (is Spokane finally seeing some consistency?) though Bon Bon managed to just inch out Jones. That one came down to the wire, as did Manito and Saranac hitting #3 and #4, putting the Lantern and the Hop Shop back where they sat last year.
It's probably not a bad thing seeing votes running this close. Granted, five out of six are predominantly known for their beer selection, but the high averages do indicate people truly appreciating their individual qualities.
And with a cocktail place besting them all? Somewhat surprising, but definitely not in a bad way.
Libations: It's what keeps us going. Does that mean we all have drinking problems? Maybe, but who are we to judge?! As for your votes...
Best Brewery came in as somewhat of a surprise, or at least it did to me. With all the new breweries that have opened lately, your top four was identical to last year. Though that does kind of make sense, doesn't it? Iron Goat on top, with No-Li and Laughing Dog right behind. Selkirk wasn't far off either.
Best Brewery
1
-
Iron Goat Brewing Company
2
-
No-Li
3
-
Laughing Dog Brewing
4
-
Selkirk Abbey
5
·
Orlison Brewing Co.
6
·
Wallace Brewing
Those four have the perfect combination of a fairly wide distribution network and high quality beer. Will the picture be the same next year? Possibly not: Slate Creek and Republic both received high average scores, but not enough votes to make it into the top six. That could very well change soon. (For what it's worth: We're fans of Slate Creek.)
Orlison and Wallace both hit the list with bullets, and good for them. Orlison goes after a different market than the top four, and they do it well. Wallace? Well. Maybe they got better since we checked them out last?
As for wineries...
Best Winery
1
-
Barrister Winery
2
-
Robert Karl Cellars
3
-
Townshend Cellar
4
(5)
Arbor Crest
5
·
Overbluff Winery
6
(4)
Mountain Dome Winery
... we saw little change. People like Barrister. They like Robert Karl. They like Townshend, albeit to a lesser degree. And why not? I can't remember spitting out any of their wines.
Arbor Crest made a small jump up, and Mountain Dome a short one down. Overbluff was the only new entry to the list. Some could say that's boring, other can say the Spokane libation scene has stabilized.
At least for now.
As far as breweries go, we wouldn't be surprised to see a change to what is considered local favorites when more beers are distributed more widely.
