(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

Let's talk Taste of India, because, really, why not?

Spokane isn't really the epicenter of Indian cuisine, and that's fair enough. Taste of India has been the one hold out for more years than we care to remember, which, I suppose, makes it the go to spot for Indian food around these parts. That, too, is fair enough, even though Taste of India is far from mind-blowing. In any larger town it would likely have been considered a pretty average spot.

But average is OK when you have little to choose from, and even average Indian food can be good now and again. And it is of course all here, the kormas, the currys, the daal... You'll find pretty much any Northern Indian dish at Taste of India, made with everything from lamb to paneer.

Quality wise the dishes are... well... average. I mean, try the lamb korma, and it's not bad, just pretty much what you'd expect a lamb korma to be; nothing more; nothing less. You're not going to sing songs about it, but you'll likely enjoy it.

Rice, naan, it's all just fine, just not amazingly memorable.

While we wait for, and dream of, South Indian cuisine, we're fine with visiting Taste of India. It does what it advertises: It gives you a taste of India. We might prefer something that tempts us to more than just a taste, but one step at the time. 

Cafe Italiano is soon set to open in the old West Wing location. Of course, things are not quite as straightforward in real life, and although an opening of... something... will happen soon, it is unknown exactly what it is and what will happen to the current location.

The Liquor License Stalker reveals the spot has changed name back to Cafe Italiano's old monicker: Greek Street Pizza. This is a bit odd, seeing the proprietor just yesterday said they might not have pizza, as the new kitchen could be too small to accommodate a pizza oven.

This would be too bad, seeing Cafe Italiano makes a very good pizza.

Furthermore, they are looking for someone to manage the north side spot, and if they can't find one, the spot will have to close down.

So while we were hoping for two spots to get awesome Cafe Italiano pizza, we might end up with none. Not that their pasta isn't good, but really, we want it all! Fingers crossed this will work itself out.

Halloween might be a favorite to some, or even many of us, and those of us who do like it might not be particularly into crawling around with drunk-off-their-asses dochebags in costumes.

Therefore we propose something a bit more low key, something taking place in one building which is also all about being local.

First: Hit Saranac. It's a great spot to grab some food -- their new linguisa sausage plate sounds excellent -- and a beer to go with the current fall weather.

Then: Hit the Magic Lantern for their $7 triple Halloween feature: Trollhunter, a Norwegian mockumentary about (you guessed it) hunters of trolls, starts at 6pm, and is followed by Tucker & Dale vs Evil at 8pm. These will be followed by a surprise classic horror movie.

Make this halloween a Saranac building halloween!

So here we are again, our third annual Best of Spokane, where you, the discerning Better Taster, get to vote or, as it really is, score, Spokane's most awesome spots.

For those in need of a reminder, the system is simple: We've picked out a bunch of restaurants, products, and services from around the area, mostly ones we think belong in a poll like this, but also a good dose of random ones.

You score each entry on a scale from one (worst) to six (best!); leave the "-" for any spot you haven't tried or have no opinion about. Cast your scores based on the categories -- many entries are listed in multiple categories. It's all simple, really, so run over and vote now.

We put the poll out on Twitter yesterday, and the scores are already showing some good variations from the previous two years. Make your voice heard! Vote! It's your civic duty!