Golf course restaurant offers new menu, gorgeous view

The white linens on the tables are almost as crisp as the morning air these days.

From the broad bank of windows inside the Indian Canyon Restaurant, the view sweeps down to the ninth green and the valley below. Mount Spokane stands on the horizon beyond.

You don’t have to be a golfer to enjoy it, or suffer the typical grab-and-go fare of golf course hot dogs and premade sandwiches.

Restaurant general manager Doug Goddard says he took over this year with plans to share the view with diners year-round. Although the public golf course is celebrating its 75th anniversary, Goddard says more than a few lifelong area residents have confessed to him that they’re there for a first visit.

“Of course, they can’t believe the view,” he says. “We’re just three minutes from downtown Spokane. Four minutes if you do the speed limit.”

Goddard and chef Patrick Glass have expanded the menu to include some 30 items. The restaurant is open daily from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Despite the view, diners don’t pay a premium to enjoy it.

The menu is an easy assortment of pub-style eats – signature burgers and sandwiches, wraps and salads – with plans for more.

The Canyon Burger is a 1/3-pound patty topped with ham, cheddar and all the fixings for $6.75. The chefs will cook a 4-ounce steak to order for the steak sandwich and top it with caramelized onions and blue cheese crumbles for $7.25.

The fish tacos were stuffed with fried Atlantic cod, lettuce and cheese and served with a side of house-made pico de gallo, courtesy of sous chef Juan Carrillo, and lime- and cilantro-infused sour cream for $7.

The sesame chicken salad, with chicken, almonds, egg, dried cranberries and sesame ginger dressing, is $6.

Shareable starters include hot wings, sliders, bacon blue cheese fries and chicken tenders with fries.

A small card of beer and wine choices on the table is a good place to start. There are three domestic beers on tap and one handle rotates local and regional brews. Indian Canyon also offers some 30 bottled beers and up to 40 wines.

It recently hosted a beer and wine tasting with Odom Distributing and local winemakers from Barrister Winery have had a wine tasting there. The restaurant is planning a beer and wine sale on Sept. 26 at the end of the golfing season.

Breakfast offerings range from omelets ($6 and up) to French toast ($5.50) to a fried pork chop smothered in sausage gravy ($8). Cravens Coffee makes the restaurant’s signature coffee blend.

Diners can order off the lunch menu into the evening, but the restaurant also has some limited dinner entrée offerings for those who call ahead.

Manager Paul Shaw says ribs, grilled salmon and steaks are often available. If business continues to grow, they hope to offer a regular dinner menu throughout the year.

The venue is also open to private parties for weddings, retirements and holidays.

Don’t let the view distract from the historic Spokane photos hung throughout the clubhouse. Take a minute to browse the pictures if you visit.

“We just really want to share this with everyone,” Goddard says.

Ben’s Yogurt ’n’ Deli opens in Spokane Valley

Froyo lovers in Spokane Valley will be happy to hear about Ben Horwath’s new place.

Ben’s Yogurt ’n’ Deli opened at 9119 E. Broadway Ave., Suite B, in July. The eatery, next door to Starbucks at Argonne and Broadway, serves six rotating flavors of yogurt along with soups, salads, sandwiches and wraps.

Horwath, who grew up in the West Valley area and still lives nearby, says he wanted to bring frozen yogurt back to the neighborhood. Ben’s Yogurt ’n’ Deli is just three blocks south of the former Isaac’s Incredible Frozen Yogurt, where Horwath worked during high school.

“It was a staple for the Valley for years,” he says.

Horwath started preparing to get the store opened in October, doing much of the work himself, when he wasn’t at his day job as a lab manager.

He serves YoCream frozen yogurt from Portland. Customers can choose from one of six flavors, and more than 20 toppings (including the popular chocolate-covered gummy bears). There is always one sugar-free flavor on tap.

The yogurt and toppings are 40 cents per ounce. On Sundays, pay 30 cents per ounce for the “yogurt madness” special.

The current flavors are peanut butter, Cable Car chocolate, mango sorbet, red velvet cake, nonfat peach and sugar-free vanilla.

Sandwiches, wraps and salads are made to order. The So Cal, with turkey, cheddar, avocado, bacon, lettuce and tomato, is a popular choice ($6.75).

The grilled Roma panini ($4.99) includes tomato, basil and mozzarella and is served with a side of marinara.

Ben’s has a limited delivery area in the Argonne corridor from noon to 3 p.m. Call the store for more details.

A menu is posted on the deli’s social networking site on Facebook.

Ben’s Yogurt ’n’ Deli is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 9 p.m. Reach the store at (509) 893-8050.

Wine Commission launches new promotion

More than 70 restaurants, 50 winery tasting rooms and nine stores are participating in the Washington State Wine Commission’s new promotional campaign.

Washington wine lovers can save up to 50 percent by joining the new “World-Class Wine in Your Own Backyard” promotion. Download and print a “World Class Value Pass” from www.washingtonwine.org/backyard and use it to save on wines as many times as you want in September and October at participating businesses.

There is also a mobile version of the site so smartphone users can download the pass.

More than 40 of the participating restaurants are also involved in Seattle Restaurant Week, which takes place from Oct. 17 through 28. Those restaurants are offering diners a three-course dinner for only $25, with some also offering three-course lunches for $15.

“World Class Value Pass” holders will get special offers on Washington wine.

Organizers hope the promotion will encourage diners to discover more of the wines that are produced close to home.

There are only a handful of Spokane restaurants, wineries and businesses participating in the promotion, including: Vino! A Wine Shop, CI Shenanigans, Clinkerdagger, Barrister Winery, Overbluff Cellars, Mountain Dome Winery, and Albertsons and Safeway grocery stores.

Local restaurants, retailers and tasting rooms were invited to come up with their own promotions. Those are not detailed on the Wine Commission website.

A complete listing of participating locations can be found at www.washingtonwine.org/backyard.