On Friday evening, my partner and I set out to the further reaches of North Spokane for a visit to 1898 Public House, an eatery we have long enjoyed for its consistent quality, service and value.
Once again, Chef Blake Kaba and team have brought an outstanding selection to the table for Restaurant Week, ranging from internationally-inspired dishes to comfort fare, and even picks for nutrition-conscious diners. The $45 menu is also incredibly filling — like, so filling we took a decent amount of our food home to enjoy for dinner the following night.
Thankfully, I'd made reservations weeks ago, because for Friday's dinner service the restaurant was definitely at capacity. Staff in the front and back of the house were well-prepared, however. As soon as we were seated, waitstaff came over to take our order. Dishes came out in quick succession, and after all was said and done, we left full and satisfied within about an hour. The entire dining room was filled with parties of varying sizes, from two-tops like us to groups of six to eight guests. It was buzzing with conversation and even song — the table behind us was celebrating a birthday.
Now, on to the food. For our appetizer course, we picked the ahi tuna crudo and short rib quesadilla. We immediately noted the generous portions of both — a whole quesadilla, perfectly crisped — and that normally this would be plenty of food to count as a full meal for us both. The tuna was perfectly fresh, accented with the crispy cucumber mignonette and the crunchy, garlic-oil drizzled wonton chips for layers of delightful crunchiness.
I, for one, love leftovers, and knew there would be plenty when my entree choice arrived, a heaping mini skillet of 1898's Cajun jambalaya pasta with two huge pieces of crispy garlic bread on the side. The creamy sauce, bits of okra, chicken and andouille sausage were a perfect medley in penne pasta. After such filling appetizers, I could only finish about a third of the pasta. (All those leftovers became a highly anticipated part of dinner the following night.) My partner, meanwhile, picked the Mediterranean chicken, a pan-seared French-cut chicken breast with a side of saffron rice and grilled squash. He noted that the entree's lean protein and veggies felt very healthy and not overly filling. The saffron rice was buttery and bright.
Dessert was decadent and generously portioned, too, and we ended up with even more leftovers of the rich chocolate peanut butter cake and strawberry bliss, a yellow cake with vanilla custard and strawberry compote. Getting to finish off these two treats the following night and stretching our first Restaurant Week 2024 meal even further was delightful.
1898 Public House is well worth the drive from wherever you're based, and making a reservation online is easy and convenient. (As of this writing, it looks like there's still availability through the rest of the week, too.) (CS)
HOGWASH WHISKEY DEN
For those looking for a fusion of Asian-inspired dishes and American staples, Hogwash is offering a delicious $35 experience for Inlander Restaurant Week. Feel free to dress as casually or as nicely as you’d like — you’ll fit right in at the first-come, first-served basement bar. When my boyfriend and I went on Friday afternoon, we were among the first to arrive, but every seat was filled by the time we left around 5:30 pm. We started out with the okonomiyaki tater tots and the mushroom tom kha soup, both of which packed in a huge diversity of flavors.
The okonomiyaki — roughly translated from Japanese as “what you like” or “to one’s liking” — was a large bowl of tots topped with delicious hoisin barbecue sauce, kewpie mayo, mushroom furikake (a dried seasoning blend), nori (dried seaweed) and scallions. There were actually so many tasty tots that we had to keep ourselves from overindulging in the savory, salty, creamy flavors so we wouldn’t spoil our appetite for the main course.
The mushroom tom kha soup, inspired by the coconut soup from Thailand, featured a great balance of sweet herbs and coconut milk creaminess, with a slight hint of spice. The soup gets its flavor from the ginger-like galangal, lime leaf, lemongrass, mushrooms and chilies.
For our mains, we got the Hogwash burger and the spicy chicken sandwich. Each one packs a huge amount of protein onto what, at first glance, might look like a smaller bun. Do not be fooled: we each tried half of each sandwich, and we were floored when we couldn’t make it through more than a few bites of each. If you looked at the to-go box I reheated for lunch today, you’d think I only took a tiny nibble, but I left very full on Friday.
The burger features two hefty, crispy smash patties, topped with sweet caramelized onions, Hogwash sauce, lettuce, mayo and American cheese on a brioche bun, landing on the sweeter side of this comfort food classic.
Meanwhile the fried spicy chicken hangs over both sides of the brioche bun, with the perfectly simple addition of pickles and spicy mayo bringing some freshness to each bite while keeping the chicken the star. For those who might be wary of the spice factor: I’m not someone who regularly puts hot sauce on anything, and this had a very manageable and tasty amount of heat for me.
To wrap things up, we went with the banana coffee bread pudding and the Thai tea poached pear. The bread pudding (emphasis on a pudding-like texture) is definitely the choice for those with a major sweet tooth, with the sweet pudding accompanied by warm bourbon caramel, candied pecans and maple whipped cream. The poached pear offered a much subtler treat to end the meal, with the still somewhat firm pear offering hints of lime leaf syrup and basil, with pieces of toasted coconut.
While you're there, don’t forget to try one of the many delicious cocktails or mocktails from the normal menu. The Horse’s Neck — Benchmark bourbon, Fever Tree ginger beer, Angostura bitters and “a whole damn lemon peel” — was a delicious take on a Kentucky mule. (SW)
