Readers Proffer Praise For Alberto’s Mexican Restaurant

Recently, I was flooded with letters (OK, there were two) about a hot Mexican restaurant in Bonners Ferry.

Eva Thomson from Libby, Mont., wrote that Alberto’s on Highway 95 is the best Mexican fare she’s ever eaten. “The food is authentic Mexican cooking,” she wrote, making it worthy of the two-hour drive from Spokane.

I’m usually skeptical when I hear the phrase “authentic Mexican,” but Peter B. Wilson wrote to explain that the owners use recipes from their family kitchens in Mexico.

Wilson said the restaurant offers true Mexican flavors without making concessions to Americans fads. (The practice of smothering everything with cheese.)

The owners, Alberto and Connie Mier Y Teran, grew up in Mexico City and were influenced by the sophisticated flavors that converged in that metropolis.

“The way our families cooked, you could taste a French influence and, even Italian influences,” said Connie, who shares cooking duties with her husband. “We were spoiled.”

At Alberto’s, the couple work hard to find the freshest ingredients, even if it means having family still living in Mexico send supplies.

“Some of the things are hard to get; others that are easy to find can be expensive, like the saffron we use in our paella,” she said.

A Mexican restaurant that serves the classic Spanish specialty? Sign me up.

Actually, paella is served as an occasional special on some Friday nights.

Call (208) 267-7493 for details or for reservations.

New Chinese on South Hill

The short-lived Welcome Wonderful Cafe has been sold and is now China Bay.

In addition to offering standard Chinese fare at this tiny restaurant (there are just eight tables), owner and cook Shawn Lin spotlights dishes from his native Tawain.

For instance, an entree called Three Cup Chicken has three different sauces, including one made from fresh basil. The Tawainese chow mein is made with pork strips, green onions, bean sprouts and soft noodles.

Other house specialties include orange beef, ginger beef, General’s chicken, the spicy yu shian shrimp and moo shu pork.

China Bay is located at 2918 S. Regal. Call 534-5499 for take-out orders.

Shake it up

So, the curtain is falling on summer. One way to extend the season is to indulge in a milkshake on a sunny afternoon.

I like the selection at the funky Paul Bunyan Pak-Out in Coeur d’Alene, 23 flavors in all.

Some of the more offbeat choices include marshmallow, butterscotch, Oreo, Butterfinger, maple nut, banana, root beer, coffee and, this time of the year, fresh huckleberry.

What makes these cold concoctions so sweet, though, is the price tag. They are just $1.49, or $1.95 for huckleberry. And each week, a different flavor is featured on a special that sells for 79 cents. An amazing bargain. This week’s flavor is Reese’s.

Revisiting Roma

Cafe Roma is celebrating its 15th anniversary with some new menu items.

Among the entrees added to commemorate the South Hill eatery’s longevity is a penne pasta with eggplant, a vegetarian fettucine, a capellini pasta with fresh basil, tomato, garlic and mushroom, and a seafood kebab featuring skewered scallops and prawns.

Those are in addition to longtime customer favorites such as the lamb kebab, the tortellini with sauteed spinach sauce and the spaghetti with homemade pesto sauce.

Adding to the mood of celebration at the restaurant is the recent inclusion of Cafe Roma in The Wine Spectator’s annual issue recognizing outstanding wine lists.

The list received an award of excellence, one of few given in this state, for selections that focus on American and, especially, Northwest wines. Congratulations.

Cafe Roma is located in the Lincoln Heights Shopping Center. For reservations, call 534-5832.

Make way for Wolfgang

Wolfgang Puck, the founder of Spago (you know, the joint where all the celebs hang out), is opening a restaurant in Seattle before the end of the year.

The chi-chi eatery promises to deliver the latest in fusion food, drawing on all sorts of Asian influences. The place will be called Obachine and it will be located near Nike Town and just around the block from Planet Hollywood.

There have also been reports that another chef with celebrity stature, Jeremiah Towers, is bringing his culinary big guns into Seattle. Towers is best known for his slick San Francisco restaurant, Stars.

Is Seattle being Californized?

, DataTimes MEMO: Leslie Kelly can be contacted via e-mail at lesliek@spokesman.com or regular mail to Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.

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