Leslie Kelly

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.

1. Fresh strawberries give a colorful lift to a tiramisu created by Karen Hansen of Take the Cake in Spokane. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review 2. Bill Steele prepares a dessert at his business in Coeur d'Alene, Pastry and More. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

When someone praises a small-town restaurant, the rave usually comes with a qualifier. It's a nice place for such a tiny town. Kristian's Dinner House in Chewelah would be a genuine find in any city.

There's really nothing like it in Spokane. The city's newest restaurant is located in a downtown health club. Not surprisingly, the Healthy Heart Cafe in the new Sta-Fit focuses on food that's, well, healthy. The restaurant is open to the public, in addition to Sta-Fit members, Monday through Saturday for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I just don't get it. Last Friday night there was four inches of snow on the ground and more coming down. Yet Red Robin was still packed with people waiting for tables. (The restaurant does not take reservations.)

Michael Scroggie chefs at Patsy's. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

Everybody loves a good comeback story. Last year, it was John Travolta. This year, it's Travo's. That family-owned restaurant closed in 1993, after 57 years in business, when the owners just plain got tired. Now, the Travo family is back with a menu that will lull diners into a nostalgic mood. Liver and onions. Crab and cheese melts. Iceberg lettuce salads garnished with a slice of pickled beet. And, of course, that famous clam chowder.

The readers have spoken in our unofficial palate ballot. However, just 20 people responded to a call to vote for their favorite Spokane restaurant on the heels of my recent Top 10 list. (That must mean everyone else agreed with me.) One restaurant came out on top with the majority of callers.

Growing up in Thailand, Mary Cameron learned the cooking basics from her paternal grandmother. "She used to take me to the market every day. She was a great cook," said Cameron, who rules the kitchen at the Coeur d'Alene restaurant that bears her name, Mad Mary's.

1. Linda Gabler and Jerry Lewis star in the touring Broadway production of "Damn Yankees." The rousing '50s musical won eight Tony awards in 1956. Photo by Carol Rosegg 2. Jerry Lewis fields media questions in Pasadena, Calif., earlier in the tour. Photo by Associated Press

Despite the name, Sprouts Fresh Cafe isn't exactly a health food restaurant. The newly opened eatery serves wholesome, healthful, nutritious meals made from scratch, but the menu is designed to appeal to everyone. "We have good, lean ham, turkey and turkey pastrami for deli sandwiches. We're not limited to the granola crowd, but we have that, too," said Marla Emde, who owns the place with her husband, Michael. Marla brings a lot of experience to this fledgling operation. While she was growing up in the Puget Sound area, she worked in her parents' restaurant. More recently, she was manager at Fitzbillie's.

This time of year, people are obsessed with making lists. Christmas card lists. Shopping lists. Lists of credit cards that are not maxed out. Meanwhile, writers are frantically scribbling their year-end Top 10 lists. Top 10 books. Top 10 movies. Top 10 reasons not to read Top 10 lists. So, I thought I would make a preemptive strike by sharing my favorite Spokane restaurants, especially because this is the season for dining out. The chefs and kitchen crews at these restaurants have distinguished themselves by taking basic ingredients and working culinary magic. They have elevated food above mere nourishment into something diners might ooh and aah over when the plate is placed on their table. And the owners and managers at these establishments deserve credit for creating inviting surroundings, whether the dining room is sophisticated and upscale or casual and charming. Here are my picks: 1. Luna. This place succeeds on every level - creative cuisine that changes seasonally, polished service and a gorgeous atmosphere. Chef Brett Fontana's menu combines the best of home-cooking and inventive, flavorful combinations in entrees such as a blackened snapper with a savory hard cider sauce. On the winter menu, the roasted scallops appetizer served with a spicy Thai peanut sauce and crispy veggie spring roll is a study in well-balanced taste sensations. The menu also offers the flexibility of more casual dining. Or, you can't go wrong with a bowl of one of the satisfying soups. Luna also deserves recognition for attention to detail, from the wonderful variety of freshly baked bread right down to the earthenware honey pot that accompanies tea service. In a perfect world, the acoustics at Luna would be improved, so conversation wouldn't be so difficult when the restaurant is crowded. 2. Fugazzi. Memorable meals in stylish surroundings. I'm still having sweet dreams about a dinner I ate there last summer. It was a blackened, butterflied, perfectly cooked trout served with a colorful corn and red pepper salsa. The fish was perched on a tasty cornmeal pancake. This pretty plate belonged on the pages of Bon Appetit magazine. Michael Waliser's menu is everchanging, playing off the seasonal flavors. The accompanying peasant-style bread baked daily on the premises makes an excellent companion. Meals are served by a savvy staff. This cosmopolitan dining room could be even better if it expanded its lunch offerings. 3. II Moon Cafe at The Mars Hotel. This restaurant defies easy categorization. The menu includes Mexican dishes, but chef Steve Quinones finishes them in elegant French sauces. There are entree salads with Oriental flavors along with all-American steak dinners. But, for my money, this spot serves the best seafood in town. I've tangled with a barracuda there and have savored the delicate flavor of an Atlantic blue bass. The shrimp enchiladas come bathed in an elegant champagne sauce. And then there's the best calamari steak in town. Unfortunately, uneven service can mar an otherwise delightful meal. The staff seems to vary in ability from competent to clueless. You might be kept waiting for a table, even with reservations. 4. Upstairs Downtown. This lovely setting re-creates an elegant dining room you might find in the French countryside. Chef Karla Graves shines by successfully updating old classics, while her husband Larry graciously oversees the dining room. A bouillabaisse-type stew is given a contemporary touch with the addition of polenta and a saffron aioli. A chile relleno takes on new meaning when a polbano pepper is stuffed with mashed potatoes instead of cheese. If I could make any improvements, I would reopen the upstairs section of the restaurant as a kind of post-dinner coffee spot and showcase the restaurant's magnificent desserts, made on premise by Kathy Scheibner. But I realize a dessert-only venue probably wouldn't fly in Spokane. 5. Fery's Au Croissant. Unfortunately, you can no longer eat at this downtown restaurant because it closed last fall. However, I was so impressed with the wonderfully seasoned, beautifully presented meals made by Fery Haghigi, I felt compelled to include this erstwhile restaurant on my list. While it was open, a small, loyal group of customers enjoyed Fery's peerless chicken curry and sumptuous specials such as grilled polenta with wild mushrooms and a flaky spinach tart. I'm still surprised this venue couldn't find a larger audience. Maybe it was a bad location or perceived lack of parking. But it wasn't the food. Fery's fans will be delighted to hear she is now selling her outstanding

The holiday season is a perfect time to let your creativity take over and bake some delicious treats. Photo by Molly O'Hara/The Spokesman-Review

Europa Pizzeria is throwing an elaborate benefit brewer's dinner on Dec. 4. The event will feature a multicourse feast with specially selected suds from Hale's Ales. Proceeds from the event will help pay the medical bills for Gina Brent, the 28-year-old former manager of the restaurant who is battling leukemia.

Chances are, many people are still stuffed after Thursday's feast. If you're looking to atone for that day of gluttony, maybe you should visit Spokane's only completely vegetarian restaurant. Eat-Rite uses absolutely no animal products in its food. Instead of butter and cream, cashew milk gives a vegetable soup its creamy base. "Steaks" are made from veggies and are then smothered in mushroom gravy. Tofu gives the popular lasagna a stick-to-your-ribs quality and Jerusalem artichoke noodles are used in the pasta salads.

Green Gables Inn has the ambience and the food for a great hideaway.

To some, autumn means crisp mornings, raking leaves into the street (don't do that this year!) and the delicious anticipation of ski season. But for those of us who use our tastebuds to monitor the change in weather, fall is all about colorful, creamy squash, tart apple cider and savory stews.

What I like about downtown Spokane's two favorite cucinas is that they make no pretense about serving authentic Italian. Purists who hanker for a traditional, romantic Italian meal should look elsewhere. These two spots take all sorts of interesting twists and turns with their pizzas and their noodles. And both do it in lively, casual settings that play well to a broad audience, but are particularly appealing to families. When Seattle-based Cucina!Cucina! opened this time last year, loyal Rock City customers wondered whether that homegrown restaurant could survive the competition. Well, Rock City is doing just fine. In fact, I think the food has improved significantly since it first opened in 1992. I'm a sucker for the pizza at Rock City. The thin crust creations are baked in a wood-fired brick oven (the first in Spokane, a neon sign in the kitchen boasts), so it has a slightly smoky flavor. I've extensively explored the pizza offerings and keep coming back to the Thai pie - flavorful chunks of chicken, prawns, mushrooms and peanuts atop a spicy peanut sauce and topped with mozzarella. It's a great mix of flavors. The only change I would make would be is to add fresh spinach to that list of ingredients.

On today's trend-happy cooking scene, tuna surprise and tamale pie would surely be considered culinary dinosaurs. But for anyone alive in the '50s or '60s, casseroles evoke warm feelings of nostalgia. (Or waves of nausea, depending on how many cans of cream of mushroom soup were called for in a recipe.) "We were raised Catholic, so every Friday we would have tuna noodle casserole with shoestring potatoes on top," said Sheila Collins, owner of Spokane's Catered for You. "I remember reading my mother's Sunset magazine and it was crammed with recipes for casseroles for breakfast, lunch and dinner." Unlike other comfort foods - mashed potatoes and meatloaf, for instance - casseroles have never made the leap to becoming chic eats. We contacted several area chefs and posed the question: Can casseroles be updated for the '90s? The answer was yes, but not without a bit of tweaking. To Collins, the traditional casserole is too heavy for today's fat-gram-counting eater. "Recipes would usually include something from all four food groups and you would end up with something incredibly high in fat," she said. Collins said for sake of convenience, the one-dish dinner is worth revisiting, but she suggested a saute or stir-fry instead of baking

Along with being a chef, Steve Quinones owns and trains horses at Playfair. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

A dozen years ago, the measure of a good Mexican place wasn't how many sombreros littered the walls or whether you were greeted with a forced "Hola, amigo!" It almost seemed the grungier the place, the better the food. These days, however, diners seem willing to put up with mediocre Mexican in exchange for an ongoing fiesta. As much as I appreciate a paper umbrella in my margarita, I'd rather have a good plate of enchiladas at a hole-in-the-wall.

Three Spokane businessmen have purchased Patsy Clark's. Tracy P. Niles, his father, Dalen Niles, and Steve Senescall bought Spokane's ultimate special occasion dining spot from Chuck Quinn and his Seattle-based company Charley's Incorporated. And while - as of press time - the papers haven't been signed, all parties agree it's a done deal. Quinn, who first opened the restaurant in 1982, put Patsy's on the market several months ago after he suffered a heart attack.

Chef Omar Fekhar of the Marrakesh once cooked for Brigitte Bardot. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

You can work up a fair appetite rooting for the old crimson and gray. Fortunately, there are loads of interesting restaurants in Pullman so fans can refuel after the big game. (The Cougs tangle with the Beavers from Oregon State this weekend at Martin Stadium.) For post-game grub, I like Swilly's, which offers a bit of everything from pizza to salads, soups and pasta dishes. And don't forget dessert. Veg-heads should definitely indulge in the meatless burger made with lentils. Swilly's is located at 200 N.E. Kamiaken in downtown Pullman.