A couple’s cupcake dream

Start with a cupcake, stir in a bit fascination for the city of love and what do you get? The Parisian Cupcake.

Melody Pugh and her husband, Steven, are selling the frosting-stacked cakes from their new cupcakery in what was the guest room of their South Hill home. Before that, it served as a neighborhood hair salon.

The Parisian Cupcake is tucked in below the Pughs’ home near the corner of 24th Avenue and Grand Boulevard. Signs point the way, if there’s no line out the door to guide hungry visitors.

The shop is open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday with trays full of tempting treats, from the popular Black Tie, a chocolate cupcake topped with white chocolate buttercream, to the seasonal cinnamon-spiked Snickerdoodle.

The shop opened at the end of August, but had to close for a week after a miscommunication left them without a necessary permit for retail sales. Melody Pugh says the Spokane Regional Health District worked with them to quickly resolve the oversight and they’ve been back in business ever since and selling out quickly on most of those days.

The couple bakes the goodies at a commercial kitchen and then sells them at their tiny shop, tempting fans with Facebook posts about the flavors of the day. Someday they hope to expand to a bigger store with a kitchen on site and perhaps add some seating.

Steven Pugh is a physician who is taking some time off from that vocation. Melody managed the office and the books for their medical practice and has worked as an office manager for other physicians. They have two children.

The Parisian Cupcake offers nine different flavors each day they are open and bake about 20 dozen cupcakes.

“We bake in small batches like you bake at home, because it maximizes flavor,” Melody says. “We don’t use artificial flavors … if it says banana cake, there is banana in there. There are chunks of apple in the apple cupcakes and strawberries in our strawberry cake and strawberry frosting.”

During the month of October, the daily Black Tie cupcake will be replaced with the strawberry-spiked Pretty In Pink flavor. Proceeds from sales will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Melody’s mother is a five-year survivor of breast cancer.

Melody Pugh says she’s loved meeting the neighbors since the shop opened.

“If you can walk next door to a little shop, and greet your neighbors on the way, that brings a community together. This was our way of bringing a little bit of that to Spokane.”

Cupcakes are $2.50 each, $13.50 for a half dozen or $23.50 by the dozen.

The Parisian Cupcake, 2403 S. Grand Boulevard, is open 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., or until they sell out, on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Saranac Public House opens downtown

The former Isabella’s Restaurant and Gin Joint is now the Saranac Public House.

Owners Brandyn Blanchat and Eric Johnsen worked at The Onion family of restaurants for 10 and 18 years respectively before they decided it was time to branch out on their own. Blanchat’s father is also a partner in the business.

The duo spent some time remodeling the restaurant and hope they’ve hit that restaurant sweet spot – good food at a reasonable price in a relaxed atmosphere.

They’ve heard their effort compared favorably – and sometimes not so favorably – to other local pubs. The truth is they didn’t set out to copy someone else’s idea.

“We wanted to create a place where we would want to hang out,” says Johnsen.

Restaurateur and chef Jonathan Sweatt, of Downriver Grill and The Flying Goat, served as a mentor for Blanchat and Johnsen while they were dialing in their plans. Johnsen used his experience overseeing the kitchens for both Onion locations and Frank’s Diners designing the menu.

Early favorites on the menu include a polenta flatbread appetizer, a polenta cake topped with tomato sauce, sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onion, basil and toasted pine nuts ($8). The chicken caprese sandwich ($8) and black bean burger ($9) served with house-made crinkle cut potato chips are also popular, Blanchat says, along with the Yaki udon noodle stir fry ($11) and mac and cheese ($8)

There are a dozen rotating beers on tap, with happy hour drink and food specials from 3 to 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. to close daily and all day on Sunday.

The Saranac Public House, 21 W. Main Ave., is open at 11 a.m. daily. Reach the restaurant at (509) 473-9455.

Taste & See Tea moves to larger site

Tea lovers will find Taste & See Tea in a new location.

The nonprofit tea house outgrew its location on the South Hill and has moved to 521 E. Holland Ave., Suite 30. The new location has allowed them to offer a walk-in area where diners can choose from more than 25 different loose-leaf teas and tisanes. A changing menu includes some of the traditional foods served at the full afternoon tea, including salads, soups, scones and other pastries.

Taste & See Tea still hosts its full afternoon tea in a room separate from the walk-in customers. Tea times are available between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The service includes fine china, crystal, silver and linen napkins. The tea service is $20 per person plus tax.

The ministry founder, Thada Ziegler, works with local women’s shelters to provide temporary employment at the business where the women learn skills that will help them re-enter the workforce. They are also paid with tips and gratuities from customers.

Taste & See Tea is open 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information or to make a reservation, please call (509) 714-0097.

Regal Street Seafood offering take-out

Regal Street Seafood has a new take and bake dinner for two.

The seafood market, at 30th and Regal on the South Hill, now offers a gourmet-to-go meal that customers can take home and grill or bake themselves, says owner Heather Lanzone. Side dishes are fully cooked but must be reheated. The salad must be tossed before serving.

Chef and manager Scott Diamond oversees the new offerings, which include wild king salmon with tomatoes, parmesan and spinach or Chilean sea bass with lime-soy glaze and a coconut jasmine rice this month. The October menu also includes scallops with spiced tomato jam, veggie skewers and brown rice. The meals serve two people and are $39.99 each.

The meals are offered at the market two nights each week, Tuesday and Friday.

Regal Street Seafood is also changing its name by the first of the year to Fish Market, 30th and Regal.

The market is open Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Reach the store at (509) 535-1966 for more details, or to get a menu of gourmet take-out meals.

Coming soon …

Sweet Frostings is bringing a bit of cupcake bliss downtown.

The signs are up at the corner of First Avenue and Washington Street, where Sweet Frostings, Blissful Bakery will be opening in the next few weeks.

Owners Judy Rozier and Sally Winfrey can hardly wait to show Spokane their sweet treats. Some have already had a sneak peek at their work. The women got started selling cupcakes at the Funky Junk show in March.

In addition to cupcakes, they’ll offer cakes, French macarons, whoopie pies, cake pops, cake truffles and decorated cookies.

Construction and remodeling is wrapping up. Baking and sales will begin by midmonth, Rozier and Winfrey say.