Coeur D’Alene Dining Scene Is Cooking And Going Cyber
So much for winter being the slow season. The Coeur d’Alene dining scene has been cooking lately.
There are a couple of new spots, a popular place that is expanding its menu and the pending debut of the Lake City’s first cyber cafe.
Taco Dude, a casual family restaurant that puts a Southwest spin on Mexican favorites, will soon add bakery items and install a couple of computers so diners can surf the Internet or wade through the Web.
While it will share space with Taco Dude, the restaurant’s Cyber Cafe will be set up to encourage lingering over an espresso drink, a piece of cake and various chat rooms. Users will pay an hourly fee for computer time.
Along with new desserts like chocolate mousse pie, gourmet cinnamon rolls and Starbucks coffee, the new menu will soon include some pasta dishes and deli sandwiches.
The Cyber Cafe will go online March 1 at 415 Sherman Ave. Call (208) 666-9043 for additional information.
Although The Blue Moon Bakery and Cafe opened last spring, I’m sorry to say I hadn’t noticed it since I get over to CdA only once in a … oh, you know.
Anyway, this inviting spot has slowly been adding to its offerings. A variety of breads and goodies such as cookies, lemon bars, scones and muffins are made with mostly organically grown ingredients. Many of the dishes served are vegetarian.
Lunch specialities include muffelettas (sandwiches made on focaccia bread) and soups, such as a lentil or mushroom and rice, that are made daily from scratch.
The Blue Moon also makes fresh fruit smoothies and serves carrot juice. It’s located at 211 Lakeside Ave.
Monarch Fisheries - a restaurant-fish market - is owned by a former commercial fisherman who knows fresh seafood.
The menu at this small eatery is short and simple - the restaurant is only open for lunch at this point. Soups include a New England-style clam chowder and a du jour selection. Entrees range from crab cakes with a peppery lemon mayonnaise to fish and chips, salmon burger and a New Orleans-style blackened cod po’boy.
Daily specials are a bit more creative. Recently, a Thai cioppino with Asian vegetables and coconut milk was featured. A tuna steak served sashimi style - which means it’s raw in the middle - is another special. That preparation is also referred to as blue rare tuna.
Prices are extremely reasonable, ranging from $4 to $8.95 for steamed crab. Monarch Fisheries is located at 445 Cherry Lane, near Tidyman’s off Highway 95. For take-out orders, call (208) 765-6744.
Capone’s Pub and Grill is beefing up its menu, adding a lineup of gourmet pizzas, burgers and munchies.
The popular pub, which features a dazzling choice of 30 beers on tap, is adding a Thai chicken pizza with a spicy peanut sauce base topped with carrots, green onions and seasoned chicken. Other specialty pizzas include a Mexican pie and a barbecued chicken pizza.
Capone’s is located at 751 N. Fourth. The phone number is (208) 667-4843.
Nibble at The Taste
The first Taste of Spokane makes its debut on Fat Tuesday with a Mardi Gras theme.
Among the featured restaurants at this benefit event are Salty’s at the Falls, the Longhorn Barbecue, Hobart’s, Rosso’s and Bambino’s.
The tasting runs from 11:30 a.m. until 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Davenport Hotel. Admission is $3, with food samples then selling for $1. Proceeds benefit Spokane area Boy Scouts, Special Olympics and the Retired and Senior Volunteers Program.
For additional information, call 468-6770.
Dewey’s East menu revamped
This year, Dewey’s East celebrates its 10th anniversary with a brand new menu.
Always noted for its steaks and prime rib, Dewey’s East has recently added a shrimp combo plate with deep-fried prawns and sauteed Chilean shrimp, an Oriental chicken stir-fry and medallions of pork tenderloin seasoned with teriyaki.
Other new items include honey barbecued baby back ribs, grilled honey-mustard chicken and a few sandwiches that should evoke nostalgic hunger pangs: a deep-fried Monte Cristo, a tuna melt and a grilled Reuben.
The restaurant’s wine list has grown, too. It includes a few more reds. Namely, a Parducci petite sirah, Napa Ridge pinot noir and Kendall Jackson’s merlot.
Dewey’s East is located at 12909 E. Sprague (928-7688).
Small bites
Espresso Delizioso has expanded its weekend breakfast menu and is now open Sundays.
Some of the new morning specials include an apple omelette, buckwheat or oat bran flap jacks, Hawaiian-style French toast and eggs baked in tomato sauce and served with roasted potatoes and focaccia bread. Most items are served with sausage. All prices are under $5. Weekend breakfast is served from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Espresso Delizioso is located at 706 N. Monroe.
Waiters on Wheels now delivers in the Valley. Featured restaurants include Wine Stein’z, The Sizzler, Casa D’Oro, Peking Palace and Luigi’s. For a copy of the complete Spokane offerings, call 325-3500.
, DataTimes