In 2019, Jonathan Seaman-Cwik became the first graduate of Spokane Community College's Inland Northwest Culinary Academy to secure an internship at Noma, Denmark's culinary mecca. But after he completed the course, he quickly ditched the prestige.
Instead, Seaman-Cwik is now running a from-scratch, farm-to-table, hidden-est of gems restaurant in a sleepy 800-person town 30 miles north of downtown Spokane. It's an experiment in local sourcing, efficiency, creativity and skill — values chef René Redzepi, founder of Noma, would surely be proud of.
The Seaman family bought Lakehouse Bar and Grill in Loon Lake in late 2022, opening officially in January 2023. For the past year, Lakehouse has been Seaman-Cwik's responsibility, experimentation station and playground.
3998 Highway 292, Loon Lake, WA
Open Mon-Thu 4-8 pm, Fri 4-9 pm, Sat-Sun 9 am-9 pm
"Whatever we make, we make here," he says.
That applies as much to the house-made ranch as it does to the beef and pork raised a mile or two down the road. Seaman-Cwik buys most ingredients from neighbors, many of whom have small farms, greenhouses, gardens and coops. He prepares all the food himself, creating high quality, hyperlocal, sometimes expensive plates. He has some local regulars, but he mostly relies on people to come from Spokane or Deer Park to seek out his food.
It's an ambitious plan. But Noma made a name for itself by turning the strange and impossible into the commonplace. So maybe this Noma grad is on to something, too. Maybe dining out will soon mean ditching downtown to get as close as possible to the source of our food. Maybe someday, small rural communities will be the hotbeds of innovation and farm-fresh meals.
MÁS TO CHECK OUT
PATRÓN MEXICAN RESTAURANT
3029 E. 29th Ave.
Open daily 11 am-9 am
Patrón opened on East 29th Avenue last December, replacing what used to be Jalisco's Mexican Restaurant and Tequileria after it moved to the North Side.
Patrón was originally the dream of chef and owner Isadoro "Izzy" Perez. He and his team have created some of the best salsas in Spokane, from classics like salsa roja and salsa verde to salsa ranchera, salsa de mole, salsa diabla and mojo de ajo. One of their most popular items, the Patrón special wet burrito ($16.95), comes drenched in not one but two kinds of salsas for guests who can't choose between red and green. A lot of the menu is customizable, since tacos, quesadillas, tortas, burritos and enchiladas (a staff favorite) can be served with whatever kind of meat you like.
TAMALE BOX
1102 W. Summit Pkwy.
Open Tue-Sat 11 am-8 pm
Enrique Mariscal and Lauren Murray opened Tamale Box, a counter-service restaurant that features the same tamale recipe his mother used (and never wrote down). Tamale Box started as a farmers market booth in 2019 and opened its first permanent location in Kendall Yards in February. Another location is in the works for Greenstone's new River District near Liberty Lake, which the couple hopes will be open by next winter.
Each tamale — black bean, cheddar and jalapeño, pork chile verde, shredded beef, or chicken chile rojo — is under $6. They're so plump that a pair is more than enough for an office lunch. Or, grab a side of homemade rice and beans ($4) with a single tamale for just as satisfying a meal. The menu is simple, especially since Mariscal oversees each handmade tamale.
"There are ways that we could expand," he says. "But keeping it to just tamales keeps it specialized. I think it's the best way to keep our quality at the level that we want it, especially because they're so labor intensive."
BIRRIERIA EL SAZÓN
11519 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley
Open daily 8 am-midnight
This new Mexican spot's got "the touch." The newest location of the El Sazón franchise, which also has locations in Pasco and Kennewick, is an offshoot of El Riconsito, a family-owned franchise that has over 15 locations in Western and Central Washington. It's not often that a franchise is known for fresh food. But the chain has an integrated supply chain within the company to keep ingredients, recipes and quality consistent across stores and over time.
Next to the register, an employee grills fresh corn tortillas on a hot griddle. Besides tortillas, all the salsas and churros are also housemade, says co-owner and general manager Matthew Gonzalez. The birria, the meat the restaurant is named for, is braised overnight and then cooked for six more hours before it's served in any form you like — burritos, tacos, tortas, sopitos, gorditas or mulitas.
