Ambrosia Bistro and Wine Bar

This place, Ambrosia, had been on my personal wish list for a long time.  I am intrigued by the building and at the seeming invisibility of the place when driving by.  You have to know it is there, have an address or something; or you kinda have to hunt for their sign on Argonne St.

The address is 9211 E. Montgomery  in Spokane Valley, same shopping center as Yokes and Timber Creek. 

Finally, my wishlist got smaller when we went here for an office party.

Despite some difficulty in finding this little tucked away dining spot, word on the street has been that it was a great little restaurant, so I was very happy to try it, especially as a gift dining-out for the office people over the holidays.

I didn't get very good photos.  I avoid using a flash and it was dark lighting.


 Everyone seemed to like their food, and with a large number of us attending together for dinner, I got to see a lot of the variety of the menu and hear feedback from different people.  Everyone seemed to like it, and there were no complaints about food, except for the person who didn't like horseradish in his mashed potato... It was, he said, "A little too much."
Someone else thought the amount of horseradish was great.  Goes to show ya.... tastebuds can be unique




The Szechuan Green Bean appetizer was a large portion and quite tasty...
I do love green beans.











Here is the Deep Fried Macaroni and Cheese...

The Deep Fried Mac was different.  Who would have thought it would be good.  Not me.  I did try it though.  It was good.   Geo liked it.

It came in interesting little square shapes too, served with an avocado and tomatillo sauce. Most definitely, this was a new twist on a traditional comfort food at least for me.




The dinner photos I have are blurry and would not do the dishes justice, so I will not be posting them.  You can look at Ambrosia's menu and prices here, and see what kinds of things they offer.   I will however show you some of our lovely desserts.  There were repeats among us, of course, and we did get to try a few as people shared.

Simply divine!  Perhaps this is why the name of the place is "Ambrosia."

Steam Plant Grill

Have you seen this place?  Have you driven or walked past these smoke stacks as much as I have without ever thinking much about what they are for; thinking they are just some old remnant of the past that has been left behind?

Ahhhh Grasshopper, do not be deceived, beneath them is a restaurant!

This is one place you don't want to miss, simply because the atmosphere is so unique!  Once inside, you are in an old refurbished steam plant relic of a place, one that actually used to heat the downtown area of Spokane, built in 1915!

We even had dinner there...

We both had soup... Creamy chicken lentil potato, a tasty and interesting blend.

  Geo ordered a Buffalo Burger

and I, the Fish Tacos....

Our meals came with a choice of house seasoned fried or sweet potato fries.... Geo had the regular and I had the sweet potato.  Never having eaten sweet potato french fries before, this was interesting.  I ate them with ketchup, but I must admit it was a little bit weird.  The fish taco was really good   Different than most because it was not deep fried.

As for the Steam Plant... it was cool.

Here is the downstairs bar..



and some special private dining rooms.

This is the boiler room and the hole in which the coal was put into the boiler.  You can read more about this place at their website.... Steam Plant Grill.com.

Twigs

Twigs Bistro... and Martini Bar has several locations.  I went to the Northside one, Twigs Wandemere, for lunch with a friend.  This location opened in 2008 at the Wandermere Business Park.



This was the view from our window.  I must say, looking out the window and experiencing the sunlight was nice.  The restaurant overlooks a man-made lake and some real Pacific Northwest scenery, trees, mountains and probably free roaming moose.  Didn't see any moose today though.  There are apartments and business buildings too, but we won't talk about those... just think of the nice natural looking setting.  It's supposed to be relaxing and serene... elegant....gourmet...

Let's talk food....

We ordered the Three Cheese Grilled Cheese with Tomato bisque soup and the Green Curry Salmon and Spinach Rice  Bowl.  The tomato soup was more like a spaghetti sauce... great for dipping...but not what I would expect.  The salmon was good, not too spicy.... a nice light lunch, but you have to like green.  IT was defniately green.
,

The restaurant is a little spendy, meaning, expect to spend some money here.  However, you can order a lunch from their menu for as little as 5.95, making it a place to try if you plan to eat light...  and there are several  two item options, so you can make your own little combo..

I don't quite get the booze scene myself... at least for a restaurant.  The place really glorifies libations.  I mean there was the empty wine bottle that say's TWIGS ...on the table.... the enormous booze bottle sculpture that could be seen (from where I sat)  over in the bar... and it was magnificent to say the least, like a Christmas tree...up to the roof!  There was even a martini picture (eight feet tall... at least...) hanging on the wall of the restaurant.   I felt tlike the booze thing was quite overblown here, at least in my opinion, for "a restaurant."  I think it should be noted that the place is more like a bar, hence the sign..."and Martini Bar."  So, I offer some advice.  If alcoholic beverages are your forte' that is one thing, but if alcohol is a problem for those in your luncheon party, this might not be the first choice restaurant for you.

Just American Desserts

This place is not "really" a restaurant, but it is a place to get desserts. I had tried this place for a b-day cake once before and didn't really care for the high prices and what I had was a "not so great cake," but yesterday was a different story....

Some friends and I went here, picked up some of their wares and headed to a special indoor party "picnic." My friend ordered a Tuxedo Cake and an"Almond Poppy Seed Cake and both were simply delicious. I should also tell you that we did not order whole cakes. (Have to watch the waistline you know!)

Was it "expensive"? Depends on what you are used to paying for dessert I guess, and depends on if you do not mind paying a little more for something gourmet...  beautiful to look at, made with real butter and elegance. One thing for sure is that Just American desserts does have a reputation for is using real ingredients, like butter, cream sugar... you know the "normal" things. (The cakes were also very pretty, perfect for our little picnic.") to be fair though, I have to say that I do not know about the price because she went in alone and came out with the cakes!

As with most food experiences, a lot must be taken into consideration when determining if something is good or not or expensive or not. Alot of the time, I think it depends on what you are used to and knowing that not every day is always a perfect day.  I am usually willing to give something a second chance.

When it comes to desserts, some people just do not like chocolate. Yes, it's true! My friend Derrick does not like chocolate. and if you gave him some, he would not like it at all. He would say that whatever it was he ate that had chocolate in it wasn't good. He HATES chocolate.  That is just how he is, and how it is with food sometimes.

And as for me, I like chocolate and I loved the white chocolate on the Almond Poppy Seed cake!