(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

Here we are. August. In our third month of weather that can only be described as "inhumane". This fact has apparently escaped Redhook, as they've recently released a pumpkin porter. In August. Really? Seriously?

Well, it is here, and we'll just have to deal with that. The imaginatively named Pumpkin Porter is part of Redhook's "backyard series", which basically consists of limited run, (allegedly) creative beers.

And you know what? The Pumpkin Porter really isn't that bad, at least by latter day Redhook standards. It actually has quite a decent, balanced flavor. Had it been early October I could see us actually enjoying this. But it's not, and we can't. Temperatures hitting the nineties just don't make for pumpkin beer conditions. Porters, fair enough. A pumpkin porter, not so much.

For all intents and purposes you get exactly what you'd expect here: a dark beer with a nose full of pumpkin, spices, and malts.

Give it a sip, and the ale, again, has a potpourri of balanced flavors. The porter portion might not exactly be mind-blowing, but the pumpkin kinda holds its own. That might sound somewhat negative, but it sort of isn't. Most pumpkin ales fall flat on their faces, this one manages to stay on its feet.

The Pumpkin Porter is no Punkin -- possibly our favorite Dogfish Head -- but it keeps its head up well enough. Or it would in October. In August it just seems... odd. It's not an ale we can crave, and it's questionable if it even will be available come autumn. That's too bad, I suppose, but what can you do? Buy some and keep it in the cellar for a few months? Doubtful.

Either way, this was a wasted opportunity for Redhook. Could it have been a contender in October? Possibly. I guess we'll never know.

We kind of feel compelled to try the mac and cheese whenever we see it on the menu, if purely because of Patrick's bold and provocative statement:

And as the District -- which we generally found a lot better than what we had expected -- featured it as a side dish... Well, what choice did we have?

Here, sadly, something, somewhere went wrong. Granted, you can't really mess up mac and cheese that badly, and there were one or two things the District got right. The size, for example, was pretty spot on. Not too big, not too small. The bite of the macaroni wasn't awful either.

That's where it all stopped, however, and the flavor just kind of ended up killing the dish. Mainly because there was a complete lack of it. Flavor. None. Complete lack. Be it the cheddar on top, or whatever the white cheese mixed in with the noodles was, there was just nothing going on here.

In fact, the only thing saving the dish from complete blandness was the occasional jalapeño tossed in for good measure.

The District was for the most part a pleasant surprise. We had kind of expected the overall quality to be something like this mac and cheese. Should you happen to visit the spot, you probably just want to skip this dish. It'll make your day that much brighter.

You already know Ciao Mambo closed its doors on Tuesday -- thanks to Carey Williams for originally breaking the news on Twitter -- which probably didn't come as a shock to anyone. Maybe Spokane wasn't ready for sexy pasta?

The space will somewhat interestingly soon be occupied by MacKenzie River Pizza Company, a franchise owned by the people behind Ciao Mambo. Seems the downtown pizza scene is growing. Maybe not in the right direction, but growing none the less.

Meanwhile, Buffalo Wild Wings is set to open by the Valley Mall. It's a large chain, which rarely gets us too excited, but their wings are pretty legendary. It may or may not be worth checking out for any wing head.

Finally, Sante's Kickstarter succeeded! There's still some time left to pledge, so take a look at the perks and consider a donation.

After a less than mind-blowing opening, we continue our ever so Great Egg McMuffin Chase at Central Food. Their Bacon & Egg Toast is utilitarian both in name and appearance, and the toppings don't add much more complexity: simply eggs, cheese, and bacon on an open faced sandwich. Simple, and that's not a bad thing.

In a sense it all comes down to the bread. The bread is the basis of any good McMuffin Replacement™, and that alone puts Central ahead of most eateries in Spokane. The bread scene here (or the lack thereof) leaves something to be desired, but Central gets it right. Great tasting, great bite, and even great looking... You're pretty much dead to us if you're not fawning over this bread.

The comté goes well with the crispy bacon, and it's all topped with an egg cooked to order. Simple. Maybe not exciting, and that might be off-putting to some, but come on... Why would you want to add unnecessary layers to something that tastes good on its own accord? You know who would do such a thing? The Communists, that's who.

This is an excellent sandwich. It is what a McMuffin Replacement™ should be. Simple, fresh, and tasty, with a killer bread. Everything that's part of a great breakfast.

Pro tip, courtesy of Mrs Mr Spokane: To hell with cholesterol. Go crazy and ask for two eggs. Who doesn't love eggs?