NNTP-Posting-User: bigstar Xref: alexander.INS.CWRU.Edu rec.food.restaurants:48796 Graymalkin wrote: >Eight months ago, we relocated from San Francisco to Spokane for my >husband's job. I really didn't want to leave the Bay Area, having lived >there for all of my 40 years, but the job was too good for him to pass up. >We've tried at least two dozen restaurants in Spokane, and have yet to find >one that's worth a second visit. Many of the restaurants we've tried here, >on recommendations from the locals, are ridiculously overpriced (in SF, for >this price, you'd get a truly fantastic meal); the food is mediocre and the >service annoying. In all honesty, Spokane is not a foodie town. So it's no surprise that the recommendations of locals would point you toward restaurants as you described. I have two suggestions. First, if the job is really that amazing, why not live in the Bay area and commute? I'm not trying to sound pompus, but Spokane has about as much in common with the Bay Area as Duluth does with New York. That said, another option is to bite the bullet, cook during the week, and then head out to destination dining spots on the weekend. One obvious option that comes to mind is the Patit Creek cafe just outside Dayton, which is about 120 miles due south of Spokane, about 3 hours by car. The Patit Creek is without question the best WA restaurant east of the mountains (IMO) most of the folks in the wine country visit, etc. Other than that, a few decent places in Yakima, etc., you're best bet to anything similar to the bay area is to visit Portland, Seattle, or Vancouver. Trust me, it's not as if there are some phenomenal, stunning restaurants hiding in Spokane's shadows that you just haven't foound. Simply put, the food in Spokane sucks. Jarrett
Washington
Spokane, WA
NNTP-Posting-User: bigstar Xref: alexander.INS.CWRU.Edu rec.food.restaurants:48799 Graymalkin wrote: >jarrett P. wrote: >> That said, another option is to bite the bullet, cook during the week, and >> then head out to destination dining spots on the weekend. One obvious >> option that comes to mind is the Patit Creek cafe just outside Dayton, >> which is about 120 miles due south of Spokane, about 3 hours by car. The >> Patit Creek is without question the best WA restaurant east of the >> mountains (IMO) most of the folks in the wine country visit, etc. >Thanks very much for the suggestions. Any other recommendations for specific >restaurants? One addendum, if you're thinking of visiting the Patit Creek, be sure and call first for hours and reservations. They rarely have walk up tables (that I am aware of ). There is a nice, quaint, country style fine dining joint in Yakima called Birchfield manor. Dinners are multi-course, fixed-price (about ~$75 a person) and not bad (though they aren't Stars). Beyond that, I'm at a loss. If you're headed to Seattle, try checking in on the usenet group seattle.eats as well as searching through the dejanews archives for recommendations. Good luck learning how to cook (it's not that hard) Jarrett