(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

As a result of the South Hill Five Guys (arguably) untimely death, a discussion on Twitter ended with an almost existential question: «Where do you get a good burger in Spokane?»

And a good question it is. After the Social Media Scientists let us down with their Fatburger advertisement love, we gave Burger Express a try, hoping that we might find a good burger in our area.

We're not about to give up on that venture, as Burger Express certainly did not deliver.

Soliciting advice from Twitter, we got some very worthwhile suggestions:

Cassie suggested Wolffy's which, as mentioned in her tweet, might not be our favorite, but it has its good share of followers. And, looking at our original review, we at least liked it, ourselves.

Her second suggestion, Mizuna, might also be worth a fact finding mission.

River City Red suggested both Saranac and Chaps. We haven't tried the latter, but Saranac does, indeed, deliver a great burger.

Barry threw in Butcher Bar's foie gras burger, as well as one from Central Food; Erin followed that up with Santé. We agree with all of these.

We haven't checked out Chairs Public House yet, but the burgers and avocado fries Holly brought up sound good.

And, as mentioned by Doxey, we will soon have a Wisconsin Burger. Butter burgers. How bad can that be? 

So, there we go. Suggestions.

We take these things very seriously, and we feel we have to look further into it. Will we see some great epiphanies along the way? Maybe, maybe not, but we're willing to take the risk.

Slickrock Burrito has been around since about the beginning of time, or, as it is, for as long as I can remember. That actually might not be particularly long, come to think of it, but I digress…

I'm personally not a huge fan of the place, but I can understand why some -- many, really -- like it. It has its place. Not a place in my heart, but maybe in yours.

The main menu is sorta dull -- the handful of choices don't offer much variety -- and I tend to think the «build your own» option is your best bet.

I went with the carnitas burrito during my last visit, and had it wrapped in a tomato tortilla. Black beans, rice, sour cream… Pretty much your standard burrito, and I'm OK with that, at least theoretically.

The initial issue I encountered was the carnitas themselves. Allegedly marinated in a tequila base, they came out flavorless and somewhere on the north side of dry.

Slathering on some more sour cream might have made up for that, but then, I actually think they used the perfect amount: just a couple of thin dollops on the tortilla. In that sense, the burrito was kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place, seeing how too much sour cream only serves to mask flavors.

Either way, I doubt better prepared carnitas would have made too much of a difference. There wasn't a whole lot going on in the flavor department, anyway, and it all just felt a bit... spartan? Bland?

On the other hand, one can go «glass half full», and say it had a comfort-food quality to it. You know, kind of like a winter stew. Warm and comforting, but perhaps not too exciting.

Maybe that's why people like Slickrock. It isn't my «thing», but the public in general doesn't seem to be all too supportive of me in that regard. I'm more of an Atilano's man, myself, but I am (somewhat) willing to accept that there being more than one school of burrito appreciation.

Go give Slickrock a try again, if you haven't in a while. It might just be time to figure out where you stand in the great burrito war. You never know what will sway your opinion.

Well, things are happening, so let's just dive into it.

Young Buck Brewing -- co-founded by two-time SpoBREW contestant Cameron Johnson -- has submitted a microbrewery application. The plans to open the brewery in the Public Market was announced in January. It is, however, kind of surprising seeing the same address on the application now that the market has closed.

Either way, good luck to them!

Mi Casa -- we mentioned them in December -- is also moving forward: a liquor license has been submitted for their 14 N Post location. (Former home of Rex's.) 

And, if you haven't noticed, Chapala's downtown location is now open. Its address is 603 W 3rd Ave.

Finally, Five Guys's South Hill location has shut its doors. Pour one out for it. 

We're with Barry on this one -- only violent street kids could have been the cause of this. Or possibly @esq_quest made more sense, suggesting Albertsons having bought up the land.

Phonthip Style is, as it tends to be for sensible people, our favorite Thai place in Spokane. Not that competition is stiff, mind you. I've always found many Spokane Thai restaurants to be rather average. Not bad; just average.

Our Thai House, thankfully, is better than that. Quite a bit better, in fact. It came recommended by #Spiceawar-Patrick, so who were we not to try it?

Which is as good of a segue into the spiciness of the food as I can think of.

This is one of the few places where four out of five star really has a good kick to it. Not to an inedible degree, but certainly to the point where your sinuses clear up. Go down to the three star, and you'll feel good hints of jogging-level sweat -- as opposed to marathon -- start forming.

In other words, go with the two-, or even one-star, if you're averse to the hot stuff.

Going mild isn't much of a big deal, anyway, seeing there are plenty of actual flavors abound. As with Phonthip, Our Thai House stands out from most local Thai spots: sauces aren't overly sweet, and there is a true difference between the type of dishes that tend to taste nigh identically at other places.

Take the pad se-ew, with its nicely flavored rice noodles. The soy sauce is sweet without being overpowering, and the crunch of broccoli contrasts the noodles well. Both are prepared the way they should be -- nothing is too mushy; nothing is too raw.

Yet, for me, it's the tom yum that really hits it home. The sour lemongrass has a fresh quality to it, and goes well with the four star heat. Get the broth right, and you have a good tom yum. It also takes a turn for the better when the broth evaporates into the mushrooms. The latter's texture gives the flavors that extra zing of quality.

And the Thai iced tea is, not surprisingly, quite tasty, too.

We like Our Thai House, then. It doesn't quite have that individualistic feel Phonthip has, nor is it quite as good. But it holds it own. It's probably the best Thai place south of Francis.

We were quite literally the only patrons in there during our meal. That is too bad. We don't want Our Thai House to fail, so you should probably check it out. We think you'll like it.