Fiesta Charra

Mexican food!  This restaurant in (almost) Airway Heights has been here a long time.  I remember eating hear a long time ago, and I actually have a funny memory of this place....

 We were going out to dine with friends.... and we were running a little late... like five minutes or so.  When we arrived, the plates on the table before our friends were soiled and it appeared that everyone had already eaten.  I feared that we had been way more than only five minutes late.  Our friends were good actors too, until we finally figured out they borrowed some used dishes from a nearby table to pretend they had eaten.  Whew!

I laughed for days!

It was Mexican food then and it is today too, and the place is filled with color and great aromas of Mexican food.

 We loved the thin chips and salsa.  Unfortunately, I didn't like the photo I took of it.

 The food we ordered was good too.

Chile Rellenos, Beef Taco, Enchilada, Rice and Beans

Shredded Beef Taco, Tamale, Rice and Beans

Chicken Taco, Enchilada Rice and Beans

What is not to love about Mexican food, especially in Spokane?

Fiesta Charra
1520 S. Rustle Road
Spokane 835.5605

Hop Jacks

Last week Hop Jacks officially opened.  It's a little neighborhood-type of gathering spot, they say, and I must say, it is rather neat to have a place that welcomes the gathering of friends like the taverns and inns of old.   It's definitely a friendly spot.

Their specialty, I have learned, is hops and things made with hops, like beer, though I was at first, by sheer virtue of the name of the place, thinking it would be more like pancakes made really fast. You know.."Hop Jacks"  Nope.   It's hops.



In the "olden days," these were gathered by men on stilts!

As you see here, the taps are covered in ice.  At Hop Jacks, they guarantee that the beer on tap is extra cold.

Aside from the brew, their specialty is food, and you can even get pancakes, omelets  burgers, soup and salads here too!  This restaurant is part of a chain with restaurants in other cities.  My friend Nan says she goes to the one in Lacey all the time.

Fish Tacos

A Tasty Toasted Sandwich

Bowl of Clam Chowder with Salad

Cup of Clam Chowder

Asian Chicken Salad

They offer a rather eclectic menu for sure.

I have been here twice.  Located on Nevada street, near the WINCO store it's been rather convenient for meeting and eating with friends and co workers when on the north side of town.  The exact address is 9265.

The outside of the building is not unique, but the service here is great, very attentive.  I have never been to any other restaurant where they greet you and open the door for you as they do here, (unless of course this was just because of the grand opening week....  time will tell.  If you are in a hurry, let them know, for our group, they were very accommodating.

Bonsai Asian Bistro (Coeur d'Alene ID)

 The Bonsai Asian Bistro is located in Coeur d'Alene, ID.  I have blogged them before, but when out with friends enjoying a beautiful day by the lake, it seemed like a good thing to revisit them when we got hungry for lunch.  This time, instead of going to the Bonsai at nighttime, it was midday!

This place is located at 115 S. 2nd St, near the waterfront downtown area.    It's easy to walk to from the beach and boardwalk area.   Of course, the real draw to return, for me personally, was to add to my day the experience of the lovely little stream that runs through the lower level of the restaurant.  I love that feature!  Besides that, Asian food just sounded like fun to eat with friends.

Outside seating is a possibility too... when the weasther is like it was on this day, and there is a lovely little brooke that makes its way past your tables when you do, but if you eat inside.... upstairs you have a great view of the water... and downstairs....

                                  you get to
                              dine with turtles
                                   and fish!





 Last time, as well as this time, I really enjoyed the living turtles and the fish that swim in the water and bask on the rocks while you eat.

They had an extensive menu... making it hard to select, so we went with the three dish special, and so did our friends.

 Among our selections were the Carmelized Garlic Noodles, General Tso's Chicken, Tempura Vegetables, Kung Pao Chiclen, and Mongolian Beef and Carmelized Garlic Noodles with Prawns... with rice, both sticky rice and brown rice.

 and just when you thought that dinner was over... you can pick whether or not to have dessert!
We decided on the Mt. Fugi Molten Madness and the Bonsai Cheesecake Brulee.

Mt. Fuji exploding with chocolaty flavor.

Cheesecake Brulee

It was great fun to revisit Bonsai again.
Read the first TASTY TREK visit here.

G.W. Hunters Steakhouse (Post Falls, ID)

Hunters is located at 615 N. Spokane St. in Post Falls.  It's a steakhouse, which one might think means it's the place to go for dinner after 4:00, but we went there for breakfast and it was great.

As the name suggests, it is the kind of place hunters and gatherers would enjoy, because they specialize in steak, and because the place is decorated with taxidermed American wildlife...making it a great place to see how big some animals are... like bears and wolves and beavers.


Their specialty is at Hunters is meat, like elk and buffalo and you will find that on the menu as well as beef, pork and chicken, as well as fish.   You might say that it's a rather wild kind of place!

Shakey Jake displays the cinnamon roll.

I do however think another specialty they have is cinnamon rolls, as demonstrated here by "Shaky Jake."

Breakfast for us, was sausage with pancakes, french toast with bacon, and eggs, and coffee.