I can't say I'm much familiar with Whistler Brewing Company, but I still took a chance on checking out a six pack of their 'Classic Pale Ale.' You know, for you, the reader!

The verdict? Not a bad little ale from the Canadian brewers. I'm not necessarily crazily in love with pales, but this one certainly was refreshing enough, and one that I could see being part of the summer rotation.

The color has a nice vibrant copper hue to it, and about a finger of head. It laces the glass well. There's a just a hint of caramel to the nose that carries over into the flavor. In fact, that's about the depth of the flavor, a slight sweetness with a bit of maltiness to it.

In other words, this might not be an exciting beer, but it is very drinkable all the same. The crispness of it does definitely suggest this could be a good session beer when the weather gets warmer.

Bonus points, too, for the classiness of the bottle!

I'm still kind of miffed Lazy Bones closed down; it was one of the few places in town that did barbecue the way it should be done, while even adding a bit of creative twist to it.

While we're waiting for its replacement, the more traditional Texan-style Longhorn is definitely worth a visit. The spot has become kind of a Spokane institution since, according to their website, the 40s, and while it's not superbly creative in what it does, it at least does its thing rather well.

I tried the Duke platter, which I had kinda sorta hoped was a tribute to The Duke, but as it seems, it was probably named after one of the owners. C'est la vie. The food, at least, was not shabby at all, with tender pork and some nice steak fries and slaw. In fact, the only sort of letdown were the beans, which were just a tad on the dull side. Not awful or anything, just a bit… Eh…

A quick sampling of the baked potato was also a pleasant experience. Slow cooked, with a bunch of stash in it. Not superbly exciting, but very good in a comfort food style of way.

It might not be the most exciting restaurant(s) in Spokane, but Longhorn is pretty satisfying when you crave some barbecue.