Three days in, and Stella's can best be summed up with one word: Frazzled. Sometimes we like to be a bit more wordy, however, so we'll generously throw in a second one: Promising. Frazzled, but promising. There are worse ways to describe a recently opened business.

Granted, Stella's start has been a bit rocky. We have tried to stop by the last few days, a bit after the 7am opening hour, and though we saw employees working inside and the sign was turned to "open", the front-door was decidedly locked. That felt a bit passive aggressive.

Regardless. When we finally did get in, we found the owner to be friendly without being Starbucks-phony ("So, what are you doing today?!" was not a topic of conversation), though perhaps a bit all over the map, stressing out about a large sandwich order. Packages of Fred Meyer loaves were stacked behind the counter, which… Well, hopefully they were just a stop-gap measure.

And looking at the sandwich menu, good bread really could make Stella's something special. Bahn mi is not something one sees in too many cafes around town, nor are tempeh Ruebens. We didn't try either this time around, but aim at doing so in the future.

Fred Meyer bread aside, the coffee served is still DOMA (as it was with J-Walk, may it rest in peace) and as frazzled as the proprietor was, she put together a couple of great espresso drinks. The shots were pulled perfectly, making the Americano spot-on. An almond milk latte with a bit of honey was also exactly what it should be too; not too sweet, but nicely balanced in flavors.

There's frazzle and there are bad bread choices, but it's also Stella's first week. The sandwich menu and the excellent coffee make us feel optimistic about the spot. We will likely add Stella's to our regular rotation. Check them out; we think they have something going on here.

So let's talk about Drinking Made Easy's Spokane episode. We'd kinda forgotten about Zane Lamprey after the rather… uninspired… last season of Three Sheets. Hey, it's hard to blame anyone for the decline of the show; how excited can you be going to your twelfth distillery?

Drinking Made Easy is, of course, in essence the same show, just with a whole lot more Steve McKenna, Zane's "stunt drinker". The addition has actually worked pretty well, at least if the Spokane episode was anything to go by, as the crew can now focus more on him whenever Zane looks like he's bored out of his scull.

As for the episode—the first we've watched of the show—it wasn't too bad at all. Spokane was shown off in a good light, one that made it look like an actual interesting place. So that in itself is good.

Dry Fly was an obvious stop, and while I'm sure most of us already were fairly familiar with the distillery, we at least learned that Zane is quite the decent doodler, as shown by the drawing he made on one of the barrels.

Bon Bon was a more interesting destination, what with the story behind the "Monkey Gland" drink. It was also a good reminder that the spot's interiors are awesome. Good also to see Northern Lights featured; they make some good beer. It's almost a bit sad that we keep forgetting about them.

Steam Plant, Steelhead, and Baby Bar… Maybe not the most exciting picks around, although the two-story shot at Steelhead was pretty legendary.

I don't think we'll make Drinking Made Easy something we watch regularly. The three first seasons of Three Sheets were great, but the concept kinda lost its spark after that.

The Spokane episode was good, though, and they made it look like a pretty cool town. So hey, who are we to complain?

Drinking Made Easy runs on HDNet. I'm sure there will be plenty of reruns in case you missed the episode.