Chapala

 Located on Hamilton Street in Spokane, (1801 N Hamilton St, to be exact,) this restaurant has been at this location for years.  It is near Gonzaga University and since we pass by often.  Well, tonight, we were in the mood for Mexican food, so we stopped by to see what was on their menu and how the restaurant has changed over the years.  We had been here long ago before it was painted bright yellow.




 

This is definately a colorful place, and I loved the murals painted on the walls...

The decorations were lively and festive.  With a separate lounge from the restaurant  you could tell that this was a place people come to have fun.  The sign outide says that they offer karaoke at 9:00 on Fridayand Saturday nights.  We were there on a Friday evening but it was only about 6:30, so we missed the karaoke fun.

 when we arrived we were seved the traditional chips and salsa.  THAT is the amazing thing about Mexican food eating... chips and salsa!  Yum.  The best part is that you can start eating as soon as you arrive hungy.  I love it.

Unfortunately for my taste the salsa was not very spicy, so I took the opportunity to ask if they had any other salsa, something with a little more kick.  They brought us a spicier salsa and some pico de gallo too.  Geo says that Pico de Gallo is to Mexican Food what Kim Chee is to Asian.  It was good.

 We ordered their daily special, which was two fish tacos with beans and rice for $10.95 and a combination dish from the menu... the one with the chile relleno and tamale... two of our favorites that we like to try.

The Chile relleno was good (this according the the chile relleno fiend himself... and the tamale was good too.  The best thing about the Chile Relleno was that it tasted freshly made as opposed to tasting like it was in the refridgerator too long, like some other places we have been. 

I thought the food was a little on the salty side, but it was good.   It gave me a new appreciation for eating Mexican food in Spokane, which kinda went by the wayside for a while after a couple of not so good Mexican food experiences in recent years. I do love Mexican food, especially good tamale, which I have decided, is pretty hard to find after you have had the best... which is, by the way, is in Phoenix Arizona.

What can I say....I love chips and salsa.... rice and beans....

I do love Mexican food, but quite frankly, a few times I have been places where it just wasn't very good.  However, I am learning that there really are some good Mexican food places and  I am beginning to get an appreciation for Mexican food, here in Spokane.I am just wondering where we should go next....

Safari Room

The Safari Room is part of the Davenport Hotel in downtown Spokane.  It is actually located in the Davenport Tower on the corner of  First and Post.  You can go there for breakfast, Lunch or Dinner.  We chose Dinner.

I was surprised to discover that the Safari Room, is not actually a room... it is the whole Tower lobby, and the whole lobby is decorated with wild African animal art.  you feel sort of like you are in a palace on the savanna.  Your adventure begins as you walk on the giraffe skin styled flooring and encounter the wild cheetah chairs.  There are wild things represented all through the place. 

The place is amazing.... and the food...  quite delicious.  I forgot to photo it until we had eaten it all.   I actually photographed our empty plates, but I will spare you the dirty dishes and just tell you we thoroughly enjoyed it

We didn't quite know what to order, but our lovely waitress graciously helped us choose.  She had no problem recommending that Geo try the ribs and I the shrimp and basil fettuccine.  Good choices for sure, and certainly good selections for us to try... but I suspect that everything on the menu has merit... after all, it was hard for us to choose.

We loved the elephants...  and they were everywhere.  Did I mention that there were animals all over the place?  There is even a taxidermy tiger. Now personally I am not too much into the taxidermy thing, but I do find it interesting to see what an animal looks like, up close and personal, sort of. 

We were offered a lovely selection of desserts on a dessert tree  There were tiny tastes of various treats... Key Lime Pie, Chocolate Mousse,  Cheesecake and our utmost favorite of the evening,, Creme Brulee..

The desserts are usually $2.00 each, but they were half price that night, so we splurged and tried them all.  If the prices at the Safari Room are a bit out of your budget but you still want to hit the downtown scene sometime,  remember, they have special deals from time to time.  Some of their specials even include accommodations overnight.   All you have to do is check their website, or call and ask about dining specials...which they do have, making a visit here quite affordable for the person who lives local,  particularly during "happy hour."

The Davenport Hotel has specials worth checking out from time to time as well... and of course there is always valet parking!


HEre are some animals in the lobby of the Tower...
a hippo and a rhino....

and I am not certain, but I think this pool of water is smiling. If it is, it must be because we had a lovely time at the Safari Room at the Davenport Hotel Tower!

Maggie's South Hill Grill

The name of this place i fun to say, at least I think it is... Say it, will ya, "Maggie's South Hill Grill."

Maggie's is located at 2808 E. 29th Avenue.  You can view their menu up close and personal at the website.

This is the second tie we have been to Maggie's, the first time we did not stay.  We didn't eat wither.  The place was crowded and we left because we were uncomfortable.  Frankly, this format for serving food to customers is awkward in my opinion  and Geo just happens to agree with me. 

I cannot figure out whay people like to be served this way... and I wonder, "IS there something wrong with your waitress comming to your table and taking your order?  On this particular day that we didn;t stick around to order anything, we came in sat down, looked at the menu and thought about getting up to oder but were thinking that maybe someone would come and take our table while we were up... and then when they got up to order we would probably take their place.  Not only that, but what if you order food and then there is no where left to be seated?  This is how crowded it was.  It was all so awkward and crowded that we just left, but tonight when we peeked in, it was not so crowded and we decided to try it again.  It is obviously a place people like to come to eat.

The customers here were really nice.  We talked to several before even sitting down.  One person enlighted us to the pork tacos, which they had ordered tonight and said were very good.  She told us the Black and Blue Salad was exceptional too. 

Maggies is obviously a South Hill neighborhood thing.  The place is friendly, even if the method is as awkward...but how is the food...  (THAT is really want you are looking for aren't you?)

You will have to check out their menu... which by the way features some "gluten free foods."

I  was considering ordering the Fish Tacos, but ended up ordering the Ruben.  I am thinking I kinda like Spokane selection of Ruben sandwiches.... anyhow, sandwiches and wraps at Magpies come with a side dish, and  I selected the Butternut Squash Soup.

Geo ordered the Thai Chicken Wrap also with a cup of soup ... whatever the other soup of the day was.  I forgot what it was called.

We shared half and half on the entrees.

I loved my Ruben Sandwich!  It was great.  The soup.... hmmm,soup with a baby food consistency is just not my thing.  As for the wrap.... I thought it was odd to have noodles in a spinach tortilla... but the flavor was wonderful.  My wrap, which actually was quote tasty, ended up witting a little long on my plate and getting soggy, so I just ate the inside.... which had some wild purple cabbagey stuff in it.  I liked it.  I think I would prefer however ust to order the Thai Chicken Noodle dish and skip the tortilla..

Interesting photo huh?

We began by eating inside and then moved outdoors.... they have a little veranda of sorts, adjacent to the parking lot.  I imagine this is handy when it gets crowded here, especially in the summertime... but really the sights and sounds are a bit unattractive... that is, if you ask me.  At least half of the tables were occupied out doors.  Here are the ones by the wall. 

My advice, if you order a spinach wrapped Thai noodle sandwich... eat it first, and try to sit indoors.  The traffic and the moving sign noise is unappealing. 

While sitting indoors, near the counter, I had to opportunity to hear a lot of people order desserts and I got to look at the desserts in the cooling case.  There was a lot to pick from, and one item was even gluten free.  I venture to guess that in addition to sandwiches and salads, dessert is another of their specialties.


 
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