2nd Ave restrictions: Yes, the construction is a pain and it's inconvenient, but your five minute delay is kind of small stuff compared to the hits local businesses are taking. Taste has reportedly taken a 35% loss of business since construction started; Frank's Diner around 40%.
The city, in its infinite wisdom, is doing as little as possible to help the businesses. On 1st and Howard there's a barricade signaling that you should not go south, which really doesn't do much good for the businesses located on Howard between 1st and 2nd. Like Taste. And that kinda sucks.
So. Drop-in business isn't booming around 2nd, and therefore we encourage everyone to go a bit out of their way to visit places like Taste, Churchill's, Frank's, etc.
Spokane once again tells us their favorite places to eat in town. And the results are… interesting.
The "best of" posted in Spokane Coeur d'Alene Living tells us that Spokane thinks Marrakesh is an Indian restaurant, which is… Maybe it's time for some to go back to geography class? Marrakesh is, of course, not just the name of a restaurant, it's a city. In Morocco. But hey, Indian or not, the food is good.
It's nice to see Sante named best new restaurant two years after it opened. Hopefully they will win it next year too!
As for the rest, check out the list yourself.
Sure, going to a party is always a good option, but with Halloween being on a Sunday this year, you probably will have done that before the actual day. Therefore, if you are staying home, here is a good combination of how to get into the mood of the evening:
Drink: Sangria. This had its origins in Portugal and is served in different forms through the Mediterranean. While it is a summer drink, "sangria" literally translates to "bloodletting," and is therefore appropriate for Halloween. A basic recipe:
- A bottle of red wine. (A Rioja would go with the movie suggestion further down.)
- A shot of brandy. (Don't waste the good stuff here. A VS grade Armagnac or Cognac will do.)
- An orange or two cut into wedges.
- A lemon or two cut into wedges.
- Optionally any fruit you may have at hand.
- Two table spoons of sugar.
- Two cups club soda.
Mix the wine, brandy and the juice from the wedges together, and toss the wedges into the mixture with the sugar. Stir. Put in the fridge and let it chill and settle for a day or so. Mix in club soda just before serving.
Food: Traditionally the sangria is kind of a punch, served with finger food, often just meats and cheeses. Therefore, head down to Sante and pick up some duck prosciutto. Then head over to Saunders and see if they have Cowgirl Creamery's Devil's Gulch, a spicy "winter cheese." This way you get something salty and spicy to go with the sweet sangria. Finish it up with a lollipop. Why? It's all in "who loves ya, baby."
Movie: It's technically an Italian movie, but it's set in Spain, Mario Bava's 1972 "lost" classic, Lisa and the Devil. A surreal movie, it follows Lisa, trapped in a house where the butler might be the devil. Dead people keep popping up, sometimes as real life human beings, other times as lifesize dolls, all while Telly Savalas hams it up with his trademark sucker always on display. (This before he made the sucker famous in Kojak. See the quote above? Get it? It's a Kojak quote, damnit. I'm very clever.) At the same time, the house's visitors are being killed, possibly to be transported to hell. Or maybe Lisa is just insane, imagining everything. Or possibly something completely different; it's a very vague movie.
The soft lighting, the dialogue which often seems just out of hearing distance, and the sheer oddity of the film makes it a must Halloween viewing.