(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

I've never quite been able to get into American lagers. One can get the impression the breweries around here -- at least on the West Coast -- are throwing all their weight behind the ale, and fair enough.

I do miss a good German style lager though. The Germans really get that style of beer, to the point where I would forgive at least one world war.

And while Clem's Gold isn't a German lager, it's a good lager. The formerly-known-as-Golden-Hills brewery recently started peddling their wares in cans which can be found at an increasing amount of local grocery stores. (Main Market and Yoke's both carry them.)

Has Clem's Gold changed much from its Golden Hills days? Not from what I could notice. There is always a bit of a difference from tap to can of course, but as I haven't had the beer in a good while, I can't say I noticed much of a difference.

And again, that's not a bad thing, as Clem's Gold is good. Well worth the price of a four-pack to put in the fridge for days you want something light and crisp. Which is what the beer is, through and through. Light and crisp.

Golden color -- as the name promises -- emits a light malty nose that gently pulls you in. There aren't any standout complexities here, and that is just fine. The flavor is refreshing and smooth, and not something that initially screams “cold weather”, but then, first impressions can be deceiving. Pair it with an akevitt and a turkey, and baby, you got a stew winter meal going.

So little has changed with Golden Hills transforming into Orlison. The most, and possibly only, important thing is the introduction of these cans. Clem's Gold might not be the most crazy beer out there, but I feel it is one both geeks and non-geeks can agree on. Drink it as a refreshment, or make it the backbone for something stronger for an entirely different experience... Clem's Gold is versatile and tasty. Good one Orlison.

We already mentioned this in passing, but it bares repeating: A spot called “Spokane Downtown Daiquiri Factory” is opening downtown. I mean, the mind boggles at the possibilities.

First, an actual daiquiri factory? One can only assume the awesomeness that'll bring. And the fact that “downtown” is prominently displayed in the title? Does this mean we'll see a Daiquiri Factory up north? On the South Hill? In the Valley?! The mind does indeed boggle...

As for other openings, Cassie brings word an HDG operated NUDO Ramen & Yakitori House will open next door to Fire. Opening date is set for March.

In other news: The Onion recently announced “#Spokane's first major eating competition” to which the Riverkeeper angrily (or so we assume) replied, “@spocool's #spicewar was first”.

That's neither here nor there (but come on!), and you should probably show up for the “Onion Ring Bowl” tomorrow, at the northside Onion. What time? Who knows! Some seem to claim it's between 4pm-6pm, but the Onion hasn't done much in terms of advertising the actual starting time.

More importantly, original Spicavore and Spiceawar contestant Patrick O'Halloran will be one of the contestants. We have competed against him before, and fully expect him to take this one home.

Speaking of Spiceavore and Spiceawar... Preliminary planning has started for Nuclear Spiceawar. Give us a shout at @spocool if you have any interested in partaking in our third spicy food contest.

And finally, I will admit to having limited knowledge of the 32nd Ave area of the Valley, but apparently there are businesses there. Who would have thunk it? A “Brother's Office Pizzeria” is set to open there, so good for those who live in the area. (Maybe.)

Most everyone has a tequila story, and most all of them come with a less than pretty ending. I mean, it makes sense... Tequila? Dangerous stuff.

Yet the time of high school indiscretions might best be left behind as a new dawn rises. You have grown up and so has the tequila. (The latter probably has been an adult it was first introduced, but never mind...) And Borracho? It's not a bad spot at all. In fact, other than a definite bro factor, it has a lot going for it.

Let's get that bro part out of the way first. This being the former location of Ugly Betties, it should come as little surprise that the bros are still hanging around, though luckily they seem out of place.

During our after-work visit, the other half of the visitors were, well, normal people enjoying tacos and tequila in a nice relaxed setting. Relaxed, other than the... Well, you know. Hopefully the soon to open daiquiri place will lure the bros away.

That and previous tequila experiences aside, I quite enjoyed the infused tequila I tried. Salsa flavored? It actually lived up to its name, giving it a Bloody Mary-esque profile. I'm not sure if that's everyone's “thing” or not, but it worked quite well for me.

Mr Spokane has talked up Borracho's lengua tacos, and we can see why. The meat was perfectly tender -- kind of the litmus test for a good lengua -- with a spicy flavor kick. Add your standard toppings on a flavorful tortilla, and we had what added up to be a very good taco. And that's all we want.

Sadly the al pastor didn't work quite as well: the meat was too dry and lacking in flavor. The tinga fared better, even though it wasn't quite up to the standard of the lengua. It had some flavor to it, but was perhaps a bit too chewy.

One could argue the small tacos are a little bit too small for $2 a pop, and one might be right. Personally, though, I found them well-stashed with meat and toppings, enough so to be worth the price.

In a sense the burrito might be a better deal if you're looking for size-for-your-bucks. Again you can choose your type of meat -- the chorizo y papas had a great kick to it -- stuffed into a decent sized tortilla. Actually, worth pointing out are the papas: the tiny cubes of potatoes were really good, taking on the spices perfectly.

And that's probably a good way to sum up Borracho: It's quite a good place. We like it, and we'll be back. Hopefully the bro factor will be turned down a notch then, but it's hard to argue with the infused tequilas and tacos. Borracho was a surprise experience, and we mean that in a good way. You should probably check them out.

Of note: This is a look at Scratch's Coeur d'Alene branch. It's been a while since we tried the Spokane location, so the two spots may or may not be completely different. My guess is the similarities between the two would be more prevalent than the differences, but either way...

I recall quite liking Scratch way back when, and I guess I had expected a bit more than what we saw in Coeur d'Alene. It wasn't a downright bad experience, it just could have been so much better.

Take the “California chicken wrap”. I've ad worse, and though the inclusion of ranch and mozzarella felt a bit non-Californian, it was a fairly straightforward wrap, something I probably could have made at home for half the price.

Now sure, it did have a nice freshness to it, but there was absolutely nothing special about it. I also found the cold tortilla clashing with the hot fillings. And when I say cold, I'm talking out of the fridge cold.

The black bean burger was also a bit underwhelming without being horrible. The patty did fail the (very) basic test of not falling apart, which is annoying, but other than that? It tasted just fine.

You're not going to run out of the room claiming to have seen the light, and again you could probably make the same thing at home for half the price. But then, some days you probably don't want to cook.

This all sounds very negative, but our experience with Scratch wasn't really that bad. We could conceivably go back, because, really, maybe we just caught them on an off day? An underwhelming experience for sure, and one that we would hope would be better the next time around.