(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

Here's the thing: there are a lot of restaurants that are kid-friendly that you wouldn't ever visit if you didn't have a child. Probably you'd avoid them at all costs. For me, these include places that end with things like .E Cheese and HOP. Manito Tap House does not fall under that category. The food is excellent, the tap list is great (not that I really care, but I'm married to someone for whom this is vitally important), and they have a lot of great servers. The fact that they are good at catering to the child crowd just makes it that much better.

The Tap House is not a kid place per se, but they are great at taking care of their child guests. Every server we've had has talked to our very outgoing two-year-old and made her feel as welcome as the adults. They bring her water in a plastic cup with a straw and lid, and play along when she toddler-speaks her own order. There are lots of high chairs/boosters, and the kids' menu doubles as a coloring sheet.

Kids' menu options are a beef slider with cheese, chicken strips coated with crunchy pretzels and served with dipping sauce, macaroni noodles served with butter and pecorino or cheddar cheese sauce, and a Monteray jack & cheddar quesadilla served with salsa. All kids' items are $4 and come with a choice of yam chips, carrot sticks, applesauce, or shoestring fries. Let me tell you: the food is really good. My husband sneaks tons of the delicious house-made applesauce every time, and I've been known to debate eating the remainder of Jane's mac 'n' cheese myself or taking it home for leftovers. It's a tough call.

A tip, though: go early. The Tap House is always packed, and with kids you obviously can't eat in the bar. We try to get there in the 5-5:30 range for dinner, or call ahead to put our name on the waiting list before leaving the house.

Check our other Manito articles if you so desire.

There is good beer, then there's great beer. There's even excellent beer, and quite possibly amazing beer. Then there's Firestone's Double DBA.

Double DBA is one of those ales that just gets it completely right. It's up there with Deschutes's Abyss and Stone's Belgo Anise IRS, in that at least I, personally, can find nothing wrong with it. Of course, at $15 a bottle it should be good, and thankfully there is no reason to regret this purchase.

Does it have much in common with the plain DBA? Not really. That is a pale; this is a barleywine. A heavy one at that, with a 12% ABV kick getting ready to send you wailing to the floor.

But, the black-out would be a smooth one at least. A common theme among Firestone's special releases is smoothness. I mean, we're talking velvet here. Literally, I think. I've never actually put a velvet cloth in my mouth, but I assume the feeling would be similar to drinking the Double DBA.

Of course, this also tastes good, which (again I assume) should put it a few notches above the fabric. The Double DBA is a beer with a balanced sweetness; vanilla and bourbon, flanked with just a bit of spiciness toward the back. Just a perfect little hint of hops and malts hold up the backbone. Keep tasting, and other flavors reveal themselves. Just a bit of coconut for example. And caramel. It keeps going.

The way the liquid-velvet coats the mouth is a step above anything even Firestone has done before. I mean, this is all just awesome, flavor to mouthfeel to stomach to you hitting the floor.

Am I overly enthusiastic? Yes. And I'm OK with that. You can find the Double DBA all around town, which is more than you can say about most limited edition beers. Therefore you need to pick up at least one bottle, and then be as enthusiastic as I am about it. It's worth it. Trust me.

We mentioned it on Twitter a few days back, and feel the need to repeat it here, because it's cool. The Complex City Guide has named DOMA the 13th best coffee roaster in the nation, which... I mean, these lists are just that -- lists -- but this kind of local recognition is cool. Their top pick? Stumptown, which should surprise no-one. And you can of course get their coffee at Coeur. More importantly, thumbs up to DOMA!

Are you familiar with CaffeiNation? We weren't either, but apparently they have a bit of a following, with a video series documenting a coffee fueled journey through the central and western US. Here in Spokane they visited Tom Sawyer and 4 Seasons, which... Well, the picks aren't exactly stellar, but whatever. Give 'em a view, the video is actually quite interesting in its own right.

There's a tribute event for Isamu "Som" Jordan on Friday, which will benefit his family. It goes down at the Shop at 6pm. Check the Facebook event page for more. A second event will be held at the Bing on Sunday, 1pm. It, too, has a Facebook page.

As for openings? Not too much going on, but Sante's Butcher Bar should be opening pretty soon. And that's kind of exciting. 

What? The fourth iteration of our homebrewing contest, #SpoBREW.

When? Saturday, September 21st, 4:30pm.

Where? The Porch, 1804 W Broadway.

How do I RSVP? By going to our -- god help us all -- Facebook event page.

How can this possibly benefit me? 

That's the real question, right? All these homebrewers -- are you just supposed to stand around and watch them?

Of course you're not!

Those who are twenty-one and over will be able to sample the wares! Sixteen teams are tentatively set to compete, eight teams in each category: hoppy and malty beers. I mean, how bad can the beers be? We don't know, but you'll have your chance to judge for yourself.

Not interested in beer? Veraci will be peddling their pizza outside. That alone is worth the trip for you, the Better Taster.

The event will be judged by New Belgium's Ely Johnson alongside Joe Petrilli and Kyle Sillars from Big Sky. It's all very professional. Or rather, that part is. The rest is not.

Consider this your invite -- RSVP at Facebook -- and look forward to some more event factoids over the next few weeks. Only a sad, sad person would pass up the chance to enjoy the #SpoBREW Classic!