Azteca

After living in the Great Lakes region of the USA for 5 years without REAL Mexican food it was great to move to Spokane where there was REAL Mexican flavors once again.   Azteca has been in Spokane as long as we have, maybe longer and I think it is pretty authentic tasting.... rice, beans, asado, cilantro... fajitas... all without oregano and mozzarella as the main ingredient, you have to love that!

We grew up in the Southwest where burritos, tamales and enchiladas are part of life...thought of as American food.  What we endured back east just wasn't the same.  (The stories I could tell.)  We did get rescued during that 5 year period when someone finally opened a good Mexican restaurant, but it was three  long years of leaning to eat Italian flavored "Mexican food" while laughing at it.  It was tasty, but not Mexican, not by far.  We endured.

Geo has a chile relleno addiction, and I love tamales  so Mexican food sounded especially yummy today when some friends invited us to dine with them for lunch!  The place of choice was Azteca, (on the north side of town.) located at  9738 North Newport Highway, in the Northpoint shopping center.

Azteca, to my knowledge, has always been one of Spokane's favorite Mexican food stops.  People talk about it all the time.  We have been here before, but not in a long while.

The first thing I look for in a Mexican food restaurant is good salsa, and Azteca has it.  I also like their chips.  What I do not like is their big, fat, heavy, photographic menu, (but that is just a personal preference.)  Besides being heavy to hold, I think it is a confusing menu.  Looking to try something out of the ordinary for me, left me... ordering nothing unusual. 

Photos on a menu are helpful if you want to know what something looks like... I can appreciate photos... but I was a bit disappointed that one of the photos had a disclaimer that the food  in the picture, (a three enchilada dish) was not served in a hot plate dish as it is pictured in the photograph,  which made me dislike the menu more... but hey, we are not eating the menu, right?  We are eating the real stuff that they bring you and that is what really matters: 



Here is what our food looked like:

 

 Mine was the green plate.

Unfortunately, and I am sad to report that  my taco arrived soggy.

Fortunately, and thanks to my friend Steve who had flour tortillas with his meal, I was rescued!  I simply created my own "Paco Taco" as we call them and I didn't have to cry.


My food was good, and I was in the mood for a tamale,  (I always am,) which was on my "combination plate."  I was not so happy about the soggy taco though...


Soggy taco?
(They are supposed to be crunchy!)
This was a bummer...my stuffing kinda fell out of my taco.


Nan ordered a dish and asked for "no cheese."  you should have seen the waiter's expression.  A few minutes after taking our order to the kitchen,  the waiter came back, told her this was nearly impossible with what she ordered and asked her how much she did not want cheese in her food.  She changed her order, glad that he was attentive.  Funny thing was though, she ended up with cheese on her beans and didn't eat them!  Geo noted, "Ordering Mexican food without cheese is a little bit like ordering a hamburger without meat."  She was a little bummed-out about not getting a salad as per the first thing she ordered....

Geo says his enchilada was cold, and his relleno, good, but not "the best."  He always makes me try a bite.... and I didn't like it, but then I seldom do.  I have had good rellenos though!  (It just seems to me that too often these restaurants make a common practice of making them ahead instead of fresh... and this was one of those."

Azteca is a lot of people's favorite place for Mexican food in Spokane.  We do not think it is the best, but we know why people like it.  It has a fun, festive "Mexican" atmosphere, (Mexican music, waiters who speak Spanish.... and (in my opinion) great salsa... good chips and delicious guacamole...and three convenient locations too.  It's always been a good place to gather with a few friends for food and very accommodating for a large group as well as kids.   I think one reason people like it so much however is not the food, but the "happy hour" and the specialty beverages they have with their food...margaritas, tequila... etcetera....Not being drinkers, we go for food, and usually drink water with our meal.

The food at Azteca, at least today, was "good," but nothing I would call "excellent."  It was a nice time however with our... muy buenos amigos."

As for the food:

"Quizás la proxima vez."

Asian Bistro

The Asian Bistro, formerly Tokyo Stop on North Division Street has always had good food.  Last evening I "stopped" for some food to go and so now I have to blog about it. Here is their menu.  You can double click on it to get a closer look if you'd like.

I have been in this restaurant several times, but this was the first time with Geo... or rather... eating with Geo, and the first time since it opened under new owners.  Yes, it is no longer Tokyo Stop.  Now it is called Asian Bistro.

Nate has eaten here and he really liked it, so have I, but not Geo.

I ordered Yakisoba and Chicken Teriyaki and being as I LOVE, Japanese food, I was very excited to take it home to surprise Geo who had to work later than usual.



The to go package was nicely wrapped up and the food was OH SO DELICIOUS!  I loved it.

Geo was happy, although he likes saucier foods.  I added to our dinner at home with sliced bell peppers and some cilantro lime shrimp.  It was way more than we could eat an unfortunately Nate missed out on this tasty treat.
Maybe next time!

It took about 20 minutes for them to prepare it, but it was just enough time to run and do an errand at a nearby store and back while it cooked. 

Here is our delicious dinner:

the teriyaki came with a salad and both meals came with rice and a slice of orange.





Geo says the noodles were especially good!  They were yummy!




One feature of the new management is the addition of a Lunch Buffet and a new Sushi Menu.

Here is a picture of their Sushi stuff... Who knew there were so many options?

This restaurant is located at 7458 North Division Street in the Northgate Shopping Center just East of Costco on Division...It is in the corner of the southern  building near the dance studio and the karaoke studio.

Crazy G's

My friend Dave told me that this new place in Spokane has the best hamburgers around, so we just had to give it a try.  The name of the place is Crazy G's. and it is located just North of the river on Division Street. (It is on the west side of the road on the part of Division that heads south... You cannot miss the big green "G". 

I thought it was rather fun to think that there was another specialty burger place in town.

It was very busy when we arrived.





I waited until the people left to take this photo inside the restaurant.  One thing I liked about this restaurant, and you can perhaps tell by the photo, is that they kept it very clean!  They were even prompt to wipe off tables when they saw that costumers had left.  (One thing I dislike about eating as some hamburger places, especially where people clear off their own plates, is not always knowing if the tables are clean or not.)

Gary’s “Crazy” burgers have the special toppings of Gary's "secret" sauce, sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, and your choice of cheese: provolone, cheddar or Swiss.   If you don't like these be sure to tell them when you order because these are what certifies his burger.

There are also "Super" add-ons if you like, things like bacon or pastrami that you can add to the 6-ounce Angus patty, which is the feature of every burger here.  If you drop the "crazy" toppings, add your own, or add your very own old favorites to Gary's list.  They offer, grilled jalapeños, lettuce, tomato, mustard, ketchup, pickles or sauerkraut for anything on the menu.  They have Philly's, Dogs and Chicken-y sandwich options too.

We didn't set out to Crazy G's, in fact we were headed for our usual favorite.. Asian food, but when we remembered Dave's conversation,  something about a hamburger just sounded good... so off we went.

Here is our lovely American "hamburger dinner." Geo had Root Beer,and I had a Cherry Coke. 
Geo ordered the Hot Dog, and I ordered the Crazy Burger... then we shared half and half.

He ordered the Onion Tangles with his, because Geo loves onion rings and things like that,  I ordered the fries, but we didn't share those much.  I liked my fries better and he liked his tangle-y onion things, and we ate them all.

It's really great to have a good burger and fries from time to time... one you can write home, or on your blog about. 

I tell you, "Dave was right."   This is pretty good, and it's right in the heart of Spokane. 

Above is the story of Crazy G's and how it started, you can read it better on their webpage... www.crazygs.com.

Also to note, this is a sit down or "To Go" place, not a drive thru, and it will take about 15 min for your order to be done, that is what they told us anyhow, and just about how it was as well.  That is because they make the food to order, just the way you like it too.



We enjoyed our food very much, although it was a little messy. It was worth it though because the caramelized onions on both the hamburger and the hot dog was delicious!


The other people in the restaurant could be heard telling the guys in the kitchen how good they thought their food experience was as well.  They had been there before, but this time they had brought a friend!  I was impressed with the friendly and personable atmosphere and it was apparent that the owners and staff are practiced in making customers feel welcomed here, and well fed!

Here is their menu board... you can view their menu and prices at their website too.


Geo says he would definitely come to this place again... but I reminded him that it might be a little while, after all, we are on a Spokane Tasty Trek and there are a few more places we hope to try.

Crazy G's is located at 812 N. Division
Hours:  Mon-Sat 10:30 AM - 9 PM: