(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

I find very few winter warmers to be offensively bad, yet very few to be awesomely fantastic. Most, to me, seem rather average.

No-Li's entry into the winter warmer category, simply called Winter Warmer, is a few steps above average. It might not be quite top tier, but it's a respectable beer, one I'd try again without hesitation.

It pours a dark amber, slightly hazy color with a slightly creamy white head, with a definite winter look to it.

Sniff, and the piney hops come straight at you, flanked by expected citric notes. Give it another whiff, and you'll find a good kick of caramel too, alongside a somewhat surprisingly mild spiciness.

A quick sip reveals a flavor that follows the nose. It's hoppy, but not in a face-punching way, and the citrus rounds it out nicely. Let the beer warm up just a bit, and the spices come out a bit further in force than the nose would suggest. Hints of nutmeg, a bit of vanilla... It's really very pleasant.

Pleasant is definitely good, though this isn't a particularly complex beer. Winter Warmer does its job nicely though, and I can see it becoming a favorite in restaurants. For whatever reason I feel this could go well with a pizza.

My bet is that you'd at least like No-Li's Winter Warmer. Love it? I'm not so sure, but you probably should give it a try to find out.

Ask any self-respecting Spokanite -- which in this case is a synonym for self-aware -- and they will tell you Ginger Asian Bistro is the best place for sushi in Spokane. We rarely trust any self-respecting Spokanite as they more often than not are wrong. In fact, we tend to more follow the self-loathing type, but I digress... 

Obviously we did give the place a shot -- I mean, would I be writing this post otherwise? -- and you know? I don't know if the self-respecting Spokanite was completely correct, but that doesn't stop Ginger from holding its own. This is not a bad spot at all.

The rolls we tried were all tasty enough. The “Black Jack Roll”, for example, was topped with a nice, spicy ginger sauce. The tuna tasted fresh enough, but the temperature of it would suggest it was just out of the freezer. That's fair, as we'll obviously never have fresh tuna here, but it could have stood being warmed up just a bit longer.

More of a surprise was the avocado roll. I mean, avocado and rice? There shouldn't be anything particularly special about it, yet it had a surprisingly fresh flavor to it. I have no idea if Ginger has a special talent for picking out avocados, but hell... We were impressed.

Interior wise, the spot has a good vibe. The Mao on the wall is pretty awesome, and the bar is a good place to sit.

So the rolls are good -- if not overly creative -- and the service is friendly. It's a good space in general. There's absolutely nothing downright wrong with Ginger, and plenty of things are right. Most things are, even. In that sense, maybe the self-respecting Spokanite was close to hitting the nail on the head this time?

Ginger might not be Spokane's best sushi spot, but it's still very good. We'd go again.

Geno's sold out; it turned into Geno's, which subsequently got damaged in a fire; it got sold during a literal fire sale, and it is now Geno's. Hey, at least the name lives on, but the actual restaurant has changed drastically, from a subpar Italian spot to yet another Elk. (Or Moontime I suppose.)

So what can you expect here? More the Elk, really. I mean, you know exactly what to expect if you have visited any of the other -- what?  -- four Elks? The food is for all intents and purposes the same as any of the other spots, which is fine. There are additions and changes, but nothing major. You can expect what is expected; why mess with the formula?

As for the things that make Geno's stand out just a bit:

The Elk is well known for a good tap selection, and surprisingly that is where Geno's falls flat, at least for now. There are eight or so taps, all carrying the standard baseline Spokane fare, with No-Li being the premium choice during our visit. Worse still were the frosted glasses. I mean, come on. This isn't, or shouldn't be, Hop Jack's.

Hopefully this is all just a holdover from Geno's, Jr.

On the flipside, the cocktails were good. The "blueberry tea" didn't have any type of blueberry flavoring in it, though you could have fooled me. A great winter warmer.

Interior wise you simply get Geno's, Jr. with a spark of the Elk. It's not exactly an interior decorator's dream, but it does the job well enough. Geno's certainly has a comfortable atmosphere.

Other than that? The food was good, right up to the Elk's standards. Actually, bonus points for cooking the the gnocchi close to perfectly. Few places around town manage to do so. The red lentil burger, too, was great.

Again, Geno's is the Elk in a different location. There's nothing wrong with that, and I'd be surprised if they didn't do well here.

The real question is, how many more Elks do we really need?

We recently received a cryptic message suggesting South Perry Pizza was for sale. A quick inquiry on Twitter, was mostly met with silence, other than one (since deleted) reply denying the rumor.

And while rumors often do tend to be unfounded, it looks like they were on the mark this time. The South Perry Pizza liquor license is being transferred from South Perry Pizza, Inc to Fresh Pizza, Inc, the latter being registered to Paula Marie and John Siok. The spot will, apparently, keep its name, and we can only hope the pies don't see too much of an impact.

Update: The new owners shot us a mail, assuring us the menu and concept of South Perry Pizza would largely stay the same. Look forward to some new specials and salads, alongside old favorites.

The other big-ish change we've seen recently was EJ's closing down, though they will apparently re-open with a new owner who will take the spot in a new direction.

Two businesses changing owners in such a rapid succession? Strange days...

In other news: We forgot to mention Nothing Bundt Cake here, didn't we? Sometimes we get the site and Twitter mixed up... Anyway, the bundt cake franchise -- apparently something like that does exist -- is opening tomorrow on 2525 E 29th. Go and get your... bundt cake... on, I suppose.