(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

This Steer Inn/Tony's Whatever location has seen its share of changes over the years. First it was the known and tolerated Steer Inn before it turned into Tony Ferraro's Burgers and Italian Bistro. The Ferraro family is behind the Steer Inn shops, so the fact that the new compromised name now is Tony's Steer Inn ("Ferraro" name out, "Steer Inn" in, "Tony" still there)... Well, one can wonder what happened behind the scenes.

Tony Ferraro's Burgers and Italian Bistro was for all intents and purposes different from Steer Inn. The selection of Italian dishes set it apart, and the spot was by no means bad. Not amazing, but a step above what the greater Hillyard area has to offer.

Tony's Steer Inn is not particularly different from it's previous incarnation. If that's a good thing or a bad thing is up to the individual to decide.

The meatball sandwich, for me, has its ups, though also its down... 

Yeah, that's a real mess.

As far as the flavor goes, it's not too bad. The bread might not be a religious experience, but it's better than any other sub shop in area. Granted, Subway and Sparky's might not set the highest bar, but you know what I mean.

The somewhat spicy meatballs fares better, and go well with a tangy tomato sauce. I'd skip the cheese -- oddly priced at $0.79 -- as it adds very little. The sauce completely overpowers it.

Really, there isn't that much to say about the sandwich. It's decent enough. I would try it again when in need of something to eat in Hillyard. I wouldn't travel out of my way to try Tony Ferraro's Burgers and Italian Bistro Steer Inn, but I wouldn't avoid it either.

Glowing recommendation? I guess not, but it's better than the neighboring Zip's at least.

We quite enjoy the tapped version of Infidel, and picking up a $6 bomber of the ale just seemed like the right -- even decent! -- thing to do. For those in need of a reminder, the Infidel is a Belgian style IPA weighing in at a hefty 8.2% ABV. Not a session beer in other words.

Now my memory might have lapsed here, but isn't this bottled version just a little bit different from what we get on tap? Similar, definitely, and obviously the same beer, but the bottle/tap divide seem larger than that of most beers. Or I might be way off, who knows?

The important part is that it's an excellent beer.

You're greeted by a light, hazy color with about a finger of crispy, white head, and a citric nose lures you further in. Right toward the back you will find the expected spiciness waiting for you.

Sip, and you'll easily pick up on how well balanced the Infidel is. Most Belgian IPAs don't seem to get this down very well, so thumbs up to Selkirk Abbey for its admirable balancing act.

The more typical Northwest IPA flavors hit right up front, with a sting of sharp, citric hop flavors. As the beer moves toward the back of the throat, the flavors open up to a spicier, maltier profile. The sharpness dulls down a bit -- and I mean that in a good way -- and the yeast shows the way to a smooth finish. That's one satisfying sip.

I mean, really, long story short: this is an excellent Belgian IPA. It might not be a style I often love, but I at least have somewhat of a crush on the Infidel. Seeing Selkirk Abbey's bottles in stores is a development we all can get behind, and picking up a bottle or two of Infidel is pretty much a civic duty.

How many new breweries can Spokane sustain? Apparently we're about to find out, as yet another one is set to open: Cloudburst Brewing has submitted a liquor license application, though we guess the opening won't happen anytime in the near future, seeing the submitted address is residential. Still, another brewery? Who are we to complain?

Speaking of local breweries, the Spokane Riverkeeper -- the Riverkeeper Red -- will launch tomorrow, Thursday 5th, at Zola. Brewed by River City, it is a "unique take" on their Red, or so we've been told. Apparently there will also be some surprises at the unveiling, so we are putting the pressure on the Riverkeeper to present something special here. The hoopla starts at 6pm and goes until 8.

Spokane Oktoberfest has, as you might be aware of, been renamed to the Inland Northwest Craft Beer Festival. We assume part of the reason was that people couldn't wrap their heads around an Oktoberfest in September (although that is when Oktoberfests traditionally is held, but never mind). The tickets are $15, and you can expect to see the usual suspects plus a few new local breweries show up.

In non-beer news: S & A Deli is opening on 3005 E Mission, just by SCC. The spot will specialize in bánh mì, egg-rolls, and spring-rolls.

There are things, names, and places that really shouldn't exist. Restaurants where the letter "s" has been replaced with a "z", for example. There are probably many, many things these places should rethink when they generously throw that "z" around.

Furthermore, we feel Spokane has seen a rather aggressive bro-ification as of late. This is not a good thing. And with the abundance of z's and bros, we often see ourselves asking the question: "Should this questionable place or item exist?" Thus we have found it prudent to raise this biting question in our new category: Should this exist?

And it's a somewhat surprising inaugural item we're kicking it off with.

I mean, Huckleberry's has always maintained a certain amount of class. With a long-running "organic" and "natural" profile, they found themselves on the trendy bandwagon before it was either trendy or bandwagon-y. So you can imagine our surprise when we learned they have a new item called the Bro-itto.

Chew on that one for a while.

Bro-itto.

Yes, Huckleberry's has thrown themselves on the bro-ification train, and they're not shy about it.

Again. The Bro-itto.

The name could of course be forgiven (at least to a certain degree) if this breakfast burrito was decently OK. But it's not. It's bro-like to its core. Kudos to Huckleberry's for clinging tightly to the theme.

Actually, it is a bit surprising how bland and ugh this is, as the idea behind it is sound. An andouille sausage burrito filled with potatoes and a spicy sauce? It doesn't sound half bad.

Yet it just doesn't work. It's fairly spicy, thanks to the sauce, I'll give it that, but that's about the only flavor I could pick up on. How you can make a bland andouille sausage is beyond me, but by golly they managed to do just that. The potatoes? Hard as rock. And when the whole bro-sized shebang doesn't pass the basic burrito test --can it be eaten by hand? -- then there is little to recommend here.

I suppose one could argue the lack of a "z" is a bonus, but that can easily be fixed by ordering two Bro-ittoz.

So, should the Bro-itto exist? No. Neither the name nor the burrito should have seen the light of day. It's a gigantic, flavorless mess with a bad name. And that's not something we can get behind.