In Spokane for a few days? Make sure you try out a few of my favorite restaurants located downtown. Hopefully the following list serves as a resource to help you get the most out of your visit to our beautiful city.
Breakfast
Satellite Diner - 425 W Sprague 509.624.3952 The Satellite is Awesome!!! They serve breakfast until 4a.m. and it is tradition to hit the Satellite after the bars close for some grease. Don't let this scare you, the food could compete for some of the best breakfast in all of Spokane and the staff is very good at what they do.
Franks Diner - Breakfast in a train car! Franks is so popular that you should expect a wait Saturday and Sunday mornings. I always get the Eggs Benidict and it is perfect every time. Although a little on the spendy side don't let the cost and the wait keep you from trying this Spokane landmark.
Dolly's - 1825 N Washington 509.326.0386 I have to admit, I have not ate at Dolly's since the remodel. It is always my go to for biscuits and gravy. Dolly's is known for their exceptional service and the quality of the food. This is a hidden gem located just a few miles north of the Spokane River.
Lunch
The Globe - I have been eating lunch at the Globe for years. Chef Howard Batemen might just be one of the most talented chefs in our city. The atmosphere of the Globe reminds me of Cheers and the wait staff actually cares about the food they serve and that the guests are happy. I am reuben connoisseur and still haven't found one better than Howard's. The Globe also offers a happy hour as well as an excellent dinner menu. p.s. They serve drinks until 2 a.m.
Madeleine's - This is a fairly new restaurant but has earned rave reviews. I have been here once and was quite impressed. I think this restaurant is best experienced during the hot days of summer when you can sit out on there patio and do some people watching. Think deli with a lot of eclectic menu items. Definitely a good place to take a date.
The Elk - Plain and simple - The Elk is the fricking bomb!!! Located just west of downtown in Spokane's historic Browne's Addition neighborhood. Sometimes I dream about the lamb sandwich that The Elk has become famous for. They also have a full bar with an impressive selection of beers from around the world. The Elk is one of the most popular places in town. I do have to say, sometimes the service is questionable, don't be thinking that you can swing in for a quick lunch because it's probably not going to happen.
Rocky Rococo - This is my hangover cure. Rococo's has one of the best salad bars I have ever seen and is very affordable. Rococo's is a chain, which I normally don't promote, but they have done such a good job over the years that they deserve to have business sent their way. Did I mention they have some of the best pizza in town.
Tacos El Sol - 401 W Sprague Downtown's taco truck, it is also open late for the bar crowd. Not much to say here, it is what it is. Not all taco trucks are equal, but this one is above par. At least once a week you will catch me standing on the sidewalk with guacamole on my face ;)
Domini's - 703 W Sprague 509.747.2324 Domini's is an institution. I have been eating here for special occasions ever since I was a youngster. Domini's is hands down the best deli sandwich you will ever eat. When you walk in to the place it is like stepping back in time. I have never finished a whole sandwich, they make great late night snacks. Want to impress a client, this is the place to do it.
Chicken-N-More - 414 1/2 W Sprague 509.838.5071 Every time I eat here I get mad at myself for not doing so more often. This is genuine soul food from the south. Ribs, chicken and catfish with the best sauces on the planet. This is another one of those places to impress a client because the food is so good. It is one of those restaurants that you go home and tell your family about.
Dick's - 10 E 3rd 509.747.2481 Another Spokane landmark, although those in the know refer to it as Richard's on 3rd. I'm sure you have heard of the famous hamburger stands in Seattle with the same name, oddly they are not the same company, yet they are pretty much identical. It would be hard to find a Spokanite who hasn't had a Whammy from Dick's.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Lake Chopaka, Okanogen County, Washington
Lake Chopaka
This is one of my all time favorite trips every spring and I try to make it every year. Lake Chopaka is where my love for fishing with good friends was born. This is one of those trips that you start planning while hunched over a fly tying vise during the dark days of winter. Like a little kid you pull out your fishing gear to start preparing two or three months in advance. You will need dozens of chronomids, buy every color of v-rib that you can find and scud hooks in four different sizes. Also stock your fly boxes with ‘Chopaka Mayflies’, a version of a grey parachute adams that replaces the tail and wing with dark deer hair as well as using brown hackle to wrap around the post. I have had epic days sight casting to huge rainbows who gobble these flies readily, we’re talking 20-30 fish days, with some of them over 28”. Chopaka also boasts a damsel fly migration that has every fish in the lake pouncing on anything green and stripped on a medium sink line. I have also landed some large fish by fishing leeches at night. The campground is one of the coolest I have ever spent time in, it flanks one side of the lake and has restrooms, and a few sites that have a structure with a picnic table underneath.
This was taken from the road above the campground looking up the lake. The whole left side is available for camping.
Once you are here, there really is no reason to drive out of the mountains to go get forgotten supplies. Basically, if you forget something you are screwed. My friends and I have also lost plenty of tires to the rocky road up to the lake, check your spare and make sure you have a working jack. We have also had a few friends that were not smart enough to get to the lake, bring a map, or you might end up spending the night stuck in snow or mud on the top of the mountain.
How to get here: From Spokane you have three options, your final destination is Tonasket, WA. Tonasket is pretty much the middle of the state a few miles south of the Canadian border. You can head out Highway 2 and either cut down at Wilbur to the FREE Keller Ferry to cross the Columbia and continue north to Republic, WA. Or you can stay on Highway 2 passing Grand Coulee and then pointing it north to Omak, WA. Finally you have the third option, and my favorite. You can take 395 north out of Spokane to Kettle Falls, WA, and go over Sherman Pass to Republic. Sherman Pass is awesome!!!! I always try to take the Keller Ferry on the way to Chopaka and then come back over Sherman Pass. The history of these two areas is what Washington was founded upon.
From Tonasket you head north to the town of Loomis, there is nothing here, a few houses and an unreliable gas station. Top off your tank in Tonasket and head up the road. Just out of Loomis this is what you will see:
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Heading north from Loomis, the Chopaka grade reveals itself |
If you look to the lower right of the hill in front of you, the road up is barely visible. This area is known as Tote’s Cooley or the Chopaka Grade. You will turn left on Chopaka Lake Road and drive through some farm land before you come to the fork in the road where you will start your climb to the top. Use your head, I don’t think anyone would survive going over the side – there is no guard rail!
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You can see the road in this photo
When you arrive at the top of the hill, stop, get out of your car and crack a beer. The sunrise was chasing me up the hill due to the fact that I left Spokane the night before. I was a happy camper at the top.
This is a photo from the top of the Chopaka Grade, looking back at Loomis.
I cannot tell you where exactly to turn to go down to the lake, it’s one of those things you just never forget. You will travel almost an hour on a windy dirt road before you break off down to the lake, use your outdoor skills to figure it out. Up the mountain, into a valley, follow the most warn path – simple.
We take a shortcut to gather wood on the way in:
There is no better feeling than coming over the hill and knowing you are about to enter paradise.
Hug your buddies, crack some beers and………….
If you’re lucky
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| Look at this pig!! They were everywhere |
Tight Lines ;)
Sunday, October 10, 2010
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