Things are, apparently, happening. And if you followed us on Twitter you'd already know that Spokane has Italy fever!

First, Italia Trattoria has opened! Former Luna chef Anna Vogel is helming the Italian restaurant in the former Marron building. The word "authentic" has been thrown around, which certainly is a good thing, though we will wait and see for ourselves. Spokane doesn't have a history of much in terms of Italian authenticity.

Speaking of faux-Italian that goes better with our Olive Garden past, Ciao Mambo is opening in the Lincoln Plaza building downtown. You'll likely be pretty pleased if you've been looking for a new spot to hate. With a slogan like "Where even the pasta is sexy!" and "Italian Nachos" are proudly displayed as a signature dish... Well... Lord help us all... Look at the image above... Is that Italian and sexy? Is that what we've come to? Seriously.

But hey, they can always prove me wrong. There's a first for everything!

Well, tie me down and call me a fan.

It seems like someone should have thought of this before. Mixing coconut and porter? Something like that simply has to work. It's in the law of nature! (Look it up.)

It pours dark -- shocking, I know -- with about a finger worth of thick head. The lacing retains pretty well. This is a nice aromatic beer: Chocolates and possibly coffee meet your nose straight from the pour.

The surprise, to me at least, came in the flavor. It might be the coconut that gives off strong hints of smokiness, but really, I hadn't expected it. Not that it sits heavy or anything -- there's more of a creamy chocolate flavor to it -- but it's definitely there. There's a mild hoppy flavor at the end of the flavor too.

This might not be the most crazy complex porter out there, but as far as a refreshing porter, I can't think of many that would compete with the CoCoNut Porter. Seeing how it's really quite warm outside, I'd say that's a good thing.

Run out and try one at The Lantern or get a can from Rocket. Unless you're one of those anti-consumer Gen Y-ers of course.

Once upon a time, before the De Leons and Tumbras of the world, Rancho Chico was considered by many to be the Mexican place in town. I can sort of see why, seeing the competition at the time wasn't stellar.

And it's not that I don't like Rancho Chico. I kinda do. I don't love it, but the spot has a certain charm. Their steak special -- something akin to a steak ranchero -- wasn't too bad. The steak was a bit chewy, and there wasn't tons of flavor to the whole thing mind you, though the refried beans were good, if you're OK with lard. In other words, they aren't vegetarian friendly. 

I sampled Top That's burrito which was of the vegetarian type, and it wasn't too bad. Not spectacular or a flavor kick or anything, but definitely fresh tasting, which is just OK with me.

Rancho Chico isn't particularly exciting. But I suppose like many have their favorite old diner, this is a place where you can go for a type of comfort food. That's certainly acceptable. For quality Mexican, though, you'd be better off with De Leon or Tumbras or Guerrero or El Mercado del Pueblo or Michoacana or...

We're not huge fans of Chaps here at Team SpoCOOL, but we are happy to see Gina Garcia, formerly of BitterSweet Bakery, rocking it up in their new bakery, Cake.

And the baked goods are great, there are no doubts about that. The maple-pecan scone is perfectly baked with a nice sweet maple frosting, and you must literally be dead if you don't like the chocolate croissants. It's buttery, it's flakey, it's chocolatey, and all in all pretty amazing.

You know what you'll get if you've been to BitterSweet. Excellent baked goods.

There are issues though. With its newly expanded space -- which looks somewhat more French than the original Chaps' theme -- comes a lot of new customers, and that's all well and good, but it also seems to overwhelm the staff. During our visit it didn't seem like the right hand knew what the left was doing, and the line grew longer than it should. Seeing there's a counter where you place your order, there should be little reason for this to happen.

On a personal note, I've never been too into the crowd you see there either. It's all very "see and be seen." That I can pass on.

Your best bet is to grab the pastries to go. They're good. Very good. And nothing can take that away from them. 

We have talked a lot about JB's and so we will talk some more. Because it's awesome.

The storefront looks like that of a minimart, largely because it is. In fact the division of the interiors is quite interesting. On one side you will find your selection of the Natty Ices of the world, where unassuming patrons will discuss their latest baby-mama drama and how their dealer was busted. Truly. It happened last time I was there.

The other half, though, is beer-Nirvana. I swear, every time I go in there the craft brew selection grows. I don't know if it's by magic or not, but I'll take it either way. There are aisles of bombers (22 oz bottles), many which aren't seen any other place in Spokane. The owners head west at regular intervals and bring back some bottles that can be harder to track down on this side of the state. Reserves and special editions are plentiful.

Smaller bottles, of different sizes, and cans are also plentiful, and mix and match six packs are encouraged. 

The juxtaposition of run-down minimart hell and craft brew heaven makes JB's one of the more interesting stores in town. It also has the largest beer selection up north, and possibly in town.

Excellent store.

Avery is a brewery most beer enthusiasts should be familiar with. I can't remember ever having a bad ale from them, and flavor kicks always sit in the front seat. 

The DuganA IPA is no different. It pours a deep gold color with a nice creamy head, almost two fingers. Excellent lacing. 

A quick whiff reveals that this is going to be hoppy. Very hoppy. Floral and citrus scents are also abound. Give it a sip and the hops kick right in. This is bitter stuff, and not for those who aren't into the super hoppy stuff. A few more sips also reveal a good deal more depth. Oranges and possibly toffee lingers once you get used to the bitterness.

At 8.5% ABV this is a pretty strong ale, but I didn't find it boozy at all. That's a good thing.

Highly recommended IPA.

... but, and I have whined about this before, very few people seem to consider waitering much of a career in these parts. And by "these parts" I mean pretty much all of the US outside of larger cities like NYC or LA or whatever.

Hey, it is what it is I suppose and common sense and general friendliness can frankly push any server to a good level. Yet there are just a few basics I miss when I visit local restaurants -- some, like Latah Bistro and Sante, are often exceptions -- and I wouldn't be me if I didn't list them here. They might seem minor, but they truly can make a difference for a diner's experience. Trust me. I know these things. I have a blog.

• Pour wine or whatever from the guest's right side. It's just easier than leaning over the plate and a bit more elegant than the age-old "could you pass me your glass?".
• Likewise, serve plates from the right side. If you serve from a dish onto a plate already on the table, serve from the left. 
• When one guest has finished his or her meal, for the sake of everything that's good and holy, don't remove their plates. Wait until everybody at the table is done. This is one I don't get why people can't understand. Removing individual plates at different times interrupts the other guests and pretty much says "Hey! Hurry up!" 
• And finally, this one is for the guests, but can assist the server. If you place your utensils down when you're not finished eating, point them toward the center, fork on the left (approximately 7 or 8 o'clock position) and knife on the right (approximately 5 or 4 o'clock position). When you're done, place the fork and knife in the 5 or 4 o'clock position. Teeth point down and the blade points inward in both cases. This way you discreetly tell the waiter you're done.

That's four. Well, three and a half. There are many more, I'm sure, but I do think something as simple as this really makes for a happier dining experience for both customers and staff.

The Spokesman and The Inlander are falling over eachother writing about "pop-up restaurants" and lovely all the coverage is. This type of dining has been the rage in places like NYC for a bit now, and Spokane has actually jumped on the bandwagon at a fairly early time, at least with our previous timeliness taken into consideration. (That is, not very timely at all.)

It's great that these people who are taking chances are getting some mainstream exposure. If the chefs mentioned in these articles could make some money off the events, then hey, awesome. Yet when some people have been calling Ghetto Gourmand an "underground" dining experience, my mind started wandering.

The events mentioned in the articles -- Pop-Up (where I borrowed the photo from), 15, Ghetto Gourmand, and Wandering Table -- are, of course, not underground. Nor do I think they want to be, which is understandable. I, like  you, have had the chance to experience all of them -- though we only ventured out to Pop-Up -- and with the exposure they're now getting, they're close to being as commercial as a conventional restaurant. Again, there's nothing wrong with that, but it would be fun if Spokane had a true "underground" (and I do hate that word, but whatever) restaurant, i.e. a place that truly popped up at random times and location only available through speakeasy channels as opposed to mass e-mails and the region's largest newspaper.

These events are great, don't get me wrong, but to get a true dining-out-culture, I think we need something more mythical. True "underground" events don't receive media coverage, hence the name. It'd be fun to see that here.

As for the more upscale events mentioned above, I'm sure the food is extraordinary at each of them. (15 dishes by Sante? Come on...) I do, however, feel that these events serve more of a "see and be seen" purpose. Again, there's nothing wrong with that, but I, personally, am not a fan of those kind of things. I'd rather walk into Sante, pay up for a 5 or 7 or whatever course meal, and have them cook whatever they feel like. (And they do, it is even encouraged.) 

Wound an "underground" event bee all about "see and be seen"? Possibly. Probably, even. But I'm guessing on a lesser event than something that was mass publicized weeks before the event.

I suppose the really great thing that's coming from Pop-Up and 15 and its ilk is that we now have options ranging outside of our standard brick and mortar restaurant where we can get everything from burgers to fifteen course gourmet dinners. That is really awesome and it is extremely beneficial for the dining culture in Spokane. Now if we can get options that are really underground -- some have existed in the past, and probably still do, on smaller levels -- then I feel we have taken an important additional step.

Of course, maybe the underground events do flourish and I just don't know about them. Egg on my face if so!

OK, so Spokane might not be a haven for Italian restaurants, but there are a few bright spots. Mission Bistro, for example, delivers pasta cooked to perfection with an excellent marinera sauce. The former, especially, is important to me. Way too many places in town, be it upscale restaurants or quick-fix Olive Garden clones, steers clear of al dente noodles and instead go for mushy goopy messes. Why that is, I don't know. But the fact that Mission Bistro actually cooks their pasta perfectly is enough reason to recommend it for me.

Luckily there's more to the spot than that. Their stromboli -- a dish some claim was created in Spokane (I won't go in to it here, but I doubt what we now call "stromboli" actually was from here) -- is excellent. The crust is piping hot and has a wonderful texture. Dip it in the aforementioned marinera, and you got something good going.

What pushes Mission Bistro into the "excellent" territory, though, is the bread pudding dessert. Many places in town serve good ones, heck both Latah Bistro and Sante do them excellently, but this is probably the best in town. This is the stuff you'd expect a homemade Italian bread pudding to taste like. And that is good, in all its sweet gooeyness.

I don't know if Mission Bistro will transport you straight to the Mediterranean or not, but on the strength of the doneness of the pasta -- which you can also buy in bulk -- and the bread pudding, I'd have a hard time finding a reason not to recommend this spot. 

When the summer hits -- and I think it has, but I'm not about to let my guard down -- you can't go far wrong with an IPA, at least if you're a hop kind of guy/gal.

With a name like Hop Czar I definitely had certain expectations of Bridgeport's ale. And it is certainly is a good beer, just not quite as hoppy as the name suggests.

It pours a nice copper color with about a finger of semi-creamy head. The glass is laced fairly well. Give it a whiff and it smells extremely florally. The hops are definitely there.

Sip it, and the floral impression carries over with a mild citric hoppy flavor. It's definitely good and refreshing, but nowhere as hoppy as I had expected from a beer called the Hop Czar. Imperial IPAs tend to have a bit more kick than this.

Still. It is what it is, and it tastes good. It's a good ale for the summertime. Recommended for your rotation.