(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

Saranac is starting up a mug club or, as they call it, a "Pub Club". While we usually don't fawn over these kind of things, we have to admit this $60 deal is quite worthwhile, at least if you frequent Saranac (or even downtown).

Among the benefits you have free parking, free food on your birthday, your typical mug club rewards, and more! Facebook has all the details. Thanks to the Brad Hauge for the heads up on this.

The Spokesman reports a second Waddell's is opening in Five Mile. The big(-ish) news here is the accompanying brewery, meaning they will serve their own beer. Which could, potentially, be awesome. The development will also feature an artisan pizza parlor. So, yeah, keep an eye out for that.

Somebody forgot to tell the Inlander that seared ahi (on a bed of rice) isn't too much of a surprise on any Spokane menu...

Jones Radiator will have patio seating this summer.

Finally, if it's Saturday it's Veraci at the Hop Shop, and this Saturday is no exception. We kind of stress this point every week, as Veraci never hits any of the "best of" polls. (Other than ours.) We can only assume that means some/many of you haven't tried them, something you probably should do.

Now and again we mention our "rotation"; places we frequent at a somewhat regular or semi-regular basis. This rotation tends to change now and again, and here are some picks of what we enjoy right now, in alphabetical order. The list was updated November 20th, 2013.

• Atilano's: Mexico meets Southern California in a holy matrimony of great burritos. 
• Coeur Coffee: Probably the best coffee spot anywhere, ever, at least if anywhere is the Inland Northwest.
• Huckleberry's: The Spokane evergreen is still our favorite Spokane grocery store. 
• Italia Trattoria: Fantastic Italian food, and a breakfast we can get behind.
• Main Market Co-op: Has shown constant improvement since its rocky inception. Great selection of groceries.
• Manito Tap House: Our favorite place for beer, in tandem with great food and restrooms.
• Revel 77: This is your place if you're in need of coffee on the South Hill.
• Sante: Still our favorite restaurant in town. And yours too!
• Saranac: Great casual food, and always (at least) one excellent beer on tap.
• South Perry Pizza: Great pizza and great beer. Our go-to spot in the South Perry district.
• Veraci Pizza: Our favorite pizza; alas, their season is pretty much done.

Looking to make good coffee at home? DOMA and Manners are our local roaster of choice.

Our preferred local breweries are currently No-Li and Iron Goat.

There are, of course, many other great spots out there -- all which you can vote for -- but these are the ones we've frequented over the last few months.

Here's one of those oddities -- in more ways than one -- from Stone, and I can't say I'm in love with it. The oak-smoked Old Guardian is a beer I can respect, mind you, but I don't see myself drinking it again.

Maybe it's just one of those religious things. I am all about great barley wines, and I'm not sure messing with the formula is a good thing. This might be, and probably is, a highly subjective opinion. The rest of the world seems to disagree with me, but I stand by my opinion.

So, let's have a look.

It definitely pours beautifully, all draped in deep ruby colors with a finger of head. The nose is very barley wine-esque, laden with caramel and citrus and gentle hints of the 11.4% alcohol. The smoke is there, too, and it's not entirely unpleasant. At this point I had expected everything to turn out OK.

And in a sense everything is OK, but not much more than that. The flavor is, in my opinion, pretty funky, and I have torn feelings about the harmony between the smokiness and the barley wine. Technically it works; this is not a case of a superfluous flavor being thrown in just for the hell of it. It's well thought out, and well brewed.

To me, in all subjectiveness, the combination just doesn't work. It just serves as a reminder of how good the original Old Guardian is and how ultimately pointless this beer is. It is, in a sense, like listening to a well made remix of a great song. You can admire the craftsmanship, but you really just want to go back and listen to the original track.

When all is said and done, this might be right up your alley. You might even love the oak and smoke; a lot of people do. The addition just doesn't do it for me, and I'd rather go back to the classic Old Guardian. That is my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.

Jeremy Hansen, who you know from Santé, has started a Facebook group called "Chef Jeremy L. Hansen's Food for Thoughts". It's definitely an interesting read (despite being on Facebook, which kind of ruins the ambiance) and you should probably "like" it right now.

Fountain Café is, as we mentioned on Twitter a few days ago, applying for a liquor license. This is the spot currently under construction next to the Riverfront Park fountain, and it's looking pretty impressive with its outdoor seating and all. The application covers beer and wine, so hey, there we have Spokane's Tavern on the Green. 

For those wanting to rate libations from one convenient spot, we now have a list to help you do just that. (And thanks to everyone who have already voted for that and restaurants so far. Just shy of 1,000 votes in a few days is more than we had ever expected.)

Finally, from the somewhat amusing corner we have Poole's Public House's menu. Here their Liza's Legs -- wings with an unfortunate name -- features the description, "You'll never want wings again". We assume they mean "never want other wings again", but we still find it kind of amusing.