So what do we got this week? (Not a lot, but let's look anyway.)
Pinot's Palette is set to open its doors at 126 N Washington. That's the building currently housing “The Eye Care Team”. This franchised outlet is, apparently, all about painting while drinking wine, which... Hey, it's something to do I suppose. Opening date is “coming soon”.
Santé is turning five, and are celebrating it with a five course dinner tomorrow. (That's Friday.) Among the highlights is a five course throwback menu, and a one-time comeback of one of our favorite servers, Eric Sivanish. More information can be found in this web version of Santé's newsletter.
Should you find yourself anywhere where they serve No-Li -- which, frankly, is most places in town -- we highly recommend their Simcoe Red, should it be available on tap. It's one hell of a good amber.
And finally, in case there was any doubt about Spokane's love for zombies... The sixth annual Zombie Crawl goes down this weekend. Hey, at least it involves booze, and not sub-standard donuts.
Let's talk Rockwood Bakery for just a bit, because why not? Actually, there might be a reason why not. They really don't need to be talked about as people almost literally beat down its doors to get in there.
And I kinda get it. Kinda. I suspect its proximity to Manito Park has helped Rockwood cement its popularity, more so than the actual quality of the spot. Not that it's bad, mind you, but I've never considered it quite as over the moon as its reputation claims it to be.
Take the coffee. This isn't just bad coffee. It's awful coffee. Horrible, horrible coffee. The kind of coffee that punches you in the face and steals your wallet, just because it can.
The warning signs are, of course, all over the map. Those black, black, burnt beans sitting there, literally sweating in the grinder. But yes, I still took the bullet and tried the americano which goes down as most disgusting cup of coffee I've had in recent memory.
Luckily the baked goods don't suck, and that might just be Rockwood's saving grace. Not that they're necessarily sent from the gods, but the chocolate croissant was possibly the work of a demideity. Very good in other words, and definitely of a better quality than most Spokane bakeries.
The orange and cranberry scone wasn't bad either. Maybe a little dry, but then, that's not really a bad thing as far as a scone goes. (As long as it's not too dry, of course.)
Both baked goods felt fresh, and would have gone well with a good cup of coffee. The latter is not something you certainly won't find there, so take the goods to go. It's probably for the best anyway, as Rockwood tends to be packed almost to a stressful level.
Rockwood, then, is not bad. It's not as great as some might say it is, but that's OK. I don't see it being a big part of our rotation, but would still recommend everyone to give it a try, even though they likely would already have done so.
It might have been a while since Northern Lights changed its name to No-Li, but it has taken a good while for the brewhouse-menu to change. Now it has, and we decided to take an early look at it during its debut day.
First, the most important addition for many will be that of the poutine. A lot of people swear to the best thing to come out of Canada since Bryan Adams, and that's fair enough. I've never been crazily in love with the stuff myself, but hey... Fries, cheese, and gravy? It's hard not to at least like the stuff.
With that in mind, I'm sure there are better poutine judges than me out there, but I found No-Li's take on it to be good. The mushroom gravy was tasty, and few will argue with Tillamook's smoked cheddar.
Nice as the gravy was, though, it was all gunked solely on top of the fries. In other words, you'll go through the stash early on in the meal, and be left with just the fries toward the middle of it.
That's too bad, but at least the shoestring fries were nicely seasoned. (Though I assume some will want real think chips as opposed to the thin stuff.)
The real litmus test for for a brewpub, is the pretzel. And again, No-Li didn't do a bad job on it. The pretzel was dense, with a nice fresh flavor, and really only lacked a good outer crunch. It wasn't miles from the type of pretzels we've had in Switzerland, but also didn't quite reach up to Saranac's standards. (Which again doesn't reach up to Deschutes, the gold standard as far as pub pretzels are concerned.)
Thumbs way up for the cheese sauce, though, which was more of a cheese gravy. Often times these tend to be half-assed Velveeta clones, but No-Li really nailed it. This was a true, thick sauce -- made with an amber ale -- and it held its own against any other cheese sauce we've tried.
Finally, the pub greens. You can get a plate for $2.50 which is quite the killer deal. It's a great salad, nice and fresh, and should be a perfect compliment to pretty much any dish on the menu.
So. There are some ups and downs, but the former outweighing the latter. The brewhouse used to be worth going to for the wings and beer; now it looks like the rest of the menu also makes the trip worthwhile.
It's certainly still early goings, but we'll be back. With some minor improvements here and there, No-Li could become a real destination.
Well, what do you know? We've been so entangled in setting up the #SpoBREW recap page we missed a bunch of happenings. So let's have a look shall we...
As you probably know by now, Kendall Yards is expanding its restaurant offering with three restaurants joining Central Food. First and most importantly, Veraci is getting its brick and mortar spot. This is not unlike its Seattle cousin, but we hope the Spokane location does better than them. (The Seattle physical location is... not amazing.)
The Wandering Table -- another traveling outfit -- is opening a spot serving “American style woodfire tapas”. God help us all, and let's hope the food is better than the description. Its chef, Adam Hegstead, is also opening “The Yards, a Bruncheon” (quotations added because of the somewhat awkward “, a Bruncheon part”), described as a “contemporary style diner featuring breakfast & lunch”. All snark aside, we look forward to both spots opening.
The Inland Northwest Craft Beer Festival kicks off today, and it truly looks like it'll be better than ever. A bunch of the breweries are bringing some nice sounding rarities -- PDF list is available -- and the event should be well worth the price of admission.
Speaking of beer, No-Li's brewpub has changed its menu which now, among other things, includes a poutine dish. Poutine! We'll have a look at it all on Monday.
Finally, let the mellow, introspective tunes of Sébastien Tellier take you into the weekend.
