(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

It's that time of the month again, where we take a look at the top twenty restaurants in Spokane, as voted by you. Want to make an impact? Go vote yourself!

Not as much movement this time around, though yet again we have a new number one. The list:

1. Casper Fry (3)
2. Manito Tap House (1)
3. South Perry Pizza (2)
4. The Flying Goat (7)
5. Sante Restaurant & Charcuterie (3)
6. Bon Bon Lounge (5)
7. Atticus Coffee & Gifts (6)
8. Central Food (9)
9. Jones Radiator (10)
10. Veraci Pizza (11)
11. Saranac Public House (8)
12. De Leon Foods (-)
13. Bennidito's Pizza (14)
14. Italia Trattoria (15)
15. Coeur Coffee (13)
16. Main Market Co-op (17)
17. Mizuna (18)
18. Wild Sage Bistro (20)
19. Huckleberry's (-)
20. Lindaman's (·)

It's been more than three years since we first(-ish) talked about JB's Foods (and now also Bottleworks) so it seems pertinent to have another look at them.

And you know, if anything, things have just gotten better. JB's already had one of the premier beer selections in town, and that selection has, if anything, grown. Significantly. Here you can find rarities and bottles no longer found on shelves anywhere else in town, and quite a few of them too.

During our last visit we saw a large quantity of Deschutes's Dissident 2012 on the shelves. I mean, really, it's been a good while since those could be found anywhere, so props to JB's for hanging on to some bottles for later sale. Price-wise they weren't bad either: $15 a pop.

Other bottles are hidden behind the counter. In our case they pulled out a bottle of Abyss 2011, which, hell, is not a bad find by any means. The only problem with it -- and whatever they pull out -- is the lack of a marked price. What you end up paying for the bottles seems a bit... random. In other words, make sure to ask for the price before buying. The premium could be steep.

Now sure, there still is a lot of minimart-ing going on here, but the beer and wine selection is slowly taking over. Soon they will also have taps for growler fills -- I was told stories of twenty-five taps, which seems somewhat hard to believe, but hey, keep an eye out. Taps can only make an excellent store even better.

Original July 22, 2010 Write-Up

We have talked a lot about JB's and so we will talk some more. Because it's awesome.

The storefront looks like that of a minimart, largely because it is. In fact the division of the interiors is quite interesting. On one side you will find your selection of the Natty Ices of the world, where unassuming patrons will discuss their latest baby-mama drama and how their dealer was busted. Truly. It happened last time I was there.

The other half, though, is beer-Nirvana. I swear, every time I go in there the craft brew selection grows. I don't know if it's by magic or not, but I'll take it either way. There are aisles of bombers (22 oz bottles), many which aren't seen any other place in Spokane. The owners head west at regular intervals and bring back some bottles that can be harder to track down on this side of the state. Reserves and special editions are plentiful.

Smaller bottles, of different sizes, and cans are also plentiful, and mix and match six packs are encouraged. 

The juxtaposition of run-down minimart hell and craft brew heaven makes JB's one of the more interesting stores in town. It also has the largest beer selection up north, and possibly in town.

Excellent store.

I'm not sure if any of the recent restaurant openings around town have been that exciting, but hey, at least the openings seem to keep pace of the closings. We think. Anyway!

First, Wild Dawgs is re-opening. Again. The downtown hot dog spot probably gained most of its fame (or notoriety) from its logo, to the point where they were set to change it. Then they closed down.

It seems somewhat odd to re-open this spot yet again under the same name -- at least throw a "z" in there, for heaven's sake -- but I guess that's how it goes. We'll see how well the hot dogs fare this time around.

In other news: You might remember Tinbender Craft Distillery announcing its existence last year, and things finally seem to be moving ahead. A liquor license is in the works for their 2nd Avenue location, and we assume we'll see their brandies soon. For now you can keep up with their going-ons on (blarg...) Facebook.

Silverdale is not what one would call a "pretty" city. I mean, if you like strip malls, then sure, it probably has its charms, but for the most part... Not an awesome town.

Its one shining beacon of light can be found in Silver City's brewpub. We're a fan of the brewery, and made our pilgrimage to see if the brewpub would fare better than Stone did.

Long story short: It did. Silver City might be on the average side as far as food goes, but the beer is what you'd expect to find in a good brewpub. Here you have a handful of brewery-specials on tap, mostly seasonal ales that you won't find anywhere else. (Some can also be found in bottles, assumably only at the brewpub.) There are some creative takes on standards, most of them seasonals. For $50 you can get a membership that grants you access to an even wider array.

Allured as we might have been by the special selection, we went a bit more conservative route this time, mostly because we haven't had the chance to try many of Silver City's fine libations from tap before.

And hell, it was all as good as we could have expected. The Fat Scotch Ale is still a favorite, and the Saint Florian is a great IPA. You really can't go wrong with Silver City's brews.

The food, meanwhile, fell in the so-so category. Having lived on Safeway sushi for the better part of a week, we tried a burger that wasn't too bad. Bonus points for actually serving it perfectly to order (medium-rare) but it still was just a fairly regular burger topped with bacon.

The pizza... Well, the toppings had some decent flavors to them, but a crust was more of a flatbread than an actual crust. That's fine, I suppose, but it should probably be advertised as such too.

Prices were in general a couple of bucks above what one would expect for an upscale bar-menu which, really, makes this a place more ideal for drinking than eating. The ambiance isn't too bad for that either -- think Twigs, but just a little bit nicer.

So the important part here is the beer. It is good. Very good. Should you happen to find yourself in the vicinity of Silverdale, you probably want to check the brewpub out, if only for grabbing a pint. It'll be good for your soul.