We've looked at it before, and here we are again, looking at what you (you!) have voted the best restaurants in Spokane. There have been changes in the list, particularly at the top, and... Well, just look for yourself.
So, Casper Fry. We did say we'd do a second writeup about it after visiting it on opening day, didn't we? Is there any need to do so? Not really. The spot has been remarkably consistent over the last year -- a rarity in the Spokane restaurant scene -- and you have voted it a shared number three in our tally of the area's best restaurants.
But, we did say we'd be back, and we did say we'd share our experiences, so here we are. Sharing, and happily so.
Having checked out their dinners on multiple occasions, we recently gave their lunch service a shot. The only issue I can think of having here was a relative slowness in getting our food, something that isn't the end of the world. As far as service went, it was both professional and friendly.
The food here is what it is, and during our visit it was great. I'm pretty picky as far as shrimps are concerned, and was somewhat expecting the shrimp po'boy to be a letdown. This, of course, was not the case, and I'd say the shrimp was about as good as anything I've found in Spokane. Even deep fried, they had the bite I look for in shrimps. Much respect.
Shrimp aside, the chili aioli had just a bit of kick to it without overwhelming the palette. Dunk it all onto the house roll, and this was pretty much as good of a sandwich I have had over the past few months. (I'm not kidding when I say we enjoy this spot.)
You probably also want to check out the grits which, while a side dish, are rich enough to be a full meal. The "Casper Plate" -- three sides of your choosing -- is actually a pretty good avenue to walk down, with eleven options to choose from. Make your own southern buffet.
We like Casper Fry. We think it's great, and apparently so do you. South Perry has slowly turned into what might be Spokane's most interesting neighborhood. Good for you who live there, and good for Casper Fry for being part of it.
Original June 7th, 2012 writeup
Had we not known better, we would have thought Casper Fry had been an established restaurant. This, of course, is not the case. We found ourselves there on their opening day, which, really, was as smooth of a start as anyone could reasonably expect. There's always a question if the quality will be the same a month from now, or even tomorrow, but we're looking forward to be checking up on that; Casper Fry is a restaurant that deserves multiple visits.
Menu wise, the spot seems to take more of an "upscale" twist on classic southern dishes. We started out with the pantry plate, which, for all intents and purposes, is a charcuterie plate. Served with toasted baguette, you get an assortment of sausages, a spicy pimento cheese, trout rillette, and some rather excellent pickled beets and asparagus. The combination worked well, and the plate is good for sharing.
Worth mentioning here is the well-stocked bar. The pantry plate is one of those dishes that accompany a drink well, and a fairly decent portion of Casper Fry's locale is dedicated to what I assume is 21-and-over-only bar area. The Negroni here was OK, though not mindblowing, and was probably not really worth the $9. Seeing that they have a decent beer selection, I'd probably go with that next time, though I have a feeling the mixed drinks will find their way soon.
Minor digression aside... The dinner menu had a good variety to it, with a selection of "big plates", "dinner plates", and even a whole section dedicated to side dishes. The latter might be worth considering if you want bang for your bucks. The Casper Plate is just shy of $13 and is a collection of three items from the side menu. We only tried the mac and cheese, and frankly, it might just be the best classic take on the dish we've tried so far. Expect this to be a contender for the $100 Mac & Cheese Challenge.
The pork belly was also a winner. The pork came well prepared, with a good crust and tender insides. It was accompanied by two sauces -- BBQ and Hollandaise -- both with a bit of spice to them, yet mellowed out by a cider reduction. A great combination. The ace in the hole was a poached egg, or at least it should have been. The yolk wasn't runny at all the way we had it served. The dish would have been pretty nigh perfect had it been.
The pecan pie is a good choice for dessert. It's not quite up there with what J-Walk -- may it rest in peace -- used to make, but still good. Not too sweet, and the crust was very well baked.
So we're talking niggles here, most of which would have been excusable at an established restaurant. For the first day, these things really don't matter at all, particularly with Casper Fry's great service taken into consideration. Our server was both friendly and professional.
It's still early in the game, of course, but our first impressions of Casper Fry are positive. Very positive. This spot is standing a very good chance of being a regular on our rotation. You probably should stop by and see what all the fuzz is about.
We'll be back soon, to see if Casper Fry can maintain this level of quality. We're optimistic it will.
Lalo's has, apparently, changed ownership. We don't know if this is just a remnant of a site in desperate need of updating or if there actually are new owners, but either way, we felt the need to investigate.
Going by memory, I would say Lalo's has changed a bit from the last time we tried them. The style of the pies is still the same: It's on the upper end of the Pizza Ritas of the world, and it's better than Pizza Pipeline. Granted, that might not equal a glowing recommendation, but like the proverb says: "It is what it is." And what it is, is not great, but it is OK for what it is. (Philosophical, no?)
Anyway, as far as changes go, the crust seems to be just a bit thinner and a bit crispier now. It's not too bad, actually, even though it's far from anything Veraci or South Perry would serve up. Remember those thin crust pizzas from Domino's? It's like that, just crispy and with hints of flavor.
The toppings... Well... They seem somewhat fresh when compared to Rita's wilted vegetables, and the cheese has just a bit of a char to it. The problem comes down to the relative lack of grease. That is in itself a good thing, but the toppings have next to no flavor. With grease you at least taste something.
Overall it is what it is, and it's not great. It is better than the aforementioned "fast food pizza" options, but that's kind of like saying the first Twilight movie was better than the second one. It kind of was, I suppose, but that's grading on a rather mediocre scale.
In that sense Lalo's is the Twilight of pizzas. We would generally prefer to watch True Blood, but once in a while you just want to shut your brain off and watch those vampires glimmer.
Ultimately that's what Lalo's is: Twilight. Take that for what it's worth.
There are certain locations around Spokane that seem to be cursed, something the multitude of Taajs can testament to. 112 N Howard might just be the next location to join the fray, what with Meritage, Santorini's, and now Phở City having tried its luck in the space.
That's not to say we want Phở City to go away or anything, but something needs to change for us to come back.
The service, for example, while friendly, was overly slow. For the most part we're pretty OK waiting a bit for our food, but it seems excessive having to sit around for half an hour to be served some phở and vermicelli. Furthermore, with only three occupied tables it also seems kind of ridiculous to have to wait close to fifteen minutes to have our order taken.
The food wasn't particularly memorable either. The server had forgotten to serve the phở with the sriracha and hoison sauces which gave us a good chance to taste the chicken broth by itself. There was very little going on there, bordering on being flavorless. Worse still was the bone I found in the chicken which doesn't exactly inspire much confidence in the dish.
Adding the sauces did add a bit of flavor to an otherwise dull dish, but not to the point we'd run back to try it. Phở Van does a far better job.
The vermicelli fared somewhat better, and the tofu had a bit of a bite to it while being nicely seasoned. Again, though, that was pretty much where the flavor train ended, and the rest came off as rather dull.
I do feel badly being so critical about Phở City. The staff was very friendly, but that can only get you so far when the food is bland and the service is slow. By all means give it a shot, but I doubt you'll be blown away by anything here.
