Fugazzi Bakery Adds Dinner

Whaddaya wanna hear first? The good news or the bad news?

Well, let’s get the bummer out of the way. Fugazzi’s bread baker extraordinaire Keith Goyden has returned to Seattle to help a friend set up a bakery and to study at the University of Washington.

Goyden, who has been baking bread in Spokane for two years, introduced a number of new varieties to Fugazzi’s lineup of rustic breads including a sweet potato-chipotle and a pumpernickel.

Now, the good news is that the new manager, Laura Inkster, has been working with Goyden for several weeks to make for a smoother transition.

But the really good deal is that the nifty little Fugazzi Bakery on Monroe has recently added dinner Tuesday through Friday from 5 until 9 p.m.

The menu is short in length, but long on creativity. For starters, there’s a bread salad (the panzanella) that has chunks of gorgonzola cheese throughout. Like lunch, dinner includes a couple of choices of soup and a pasta salad of the day.

Appetizers include hummus, antipasta, an assortment of spreads to smear on some of that fantastic bread and a seasonal fruit plate with various cheeses.

Currently, the entrees consist of a burrito stuffed with potatoes, black beans, jack cheese, tomatoes, ancho chili spread and baby greens, along with a daily pasta special.

They’ve also added some seasonal desserts such as blueberry-nectarine pie and chocolate-raspberry ganache cake.

Everything on the regular bill of fare is under $7, most well under that.

An outdoor dining patio is scheduled to open this week and the Bakery should have its beer and wine license soon.

Fugazzi Bakery is located at 810 N. Monroe. The phone is 324-9280.

Aloha, brah … Howzit?

Better brush up on your Hawaiian-speak, as yet another spot to score a island-style plate lunch opens in Spokane. Along with Scab Rock and The Aloha Grill, Chili Chili will be serving up da kine plate lunch starting next week.

For the uninitiated, a plate lunch is typically a scoop of rice, a hot dish and a scoop of potato-macaroni salad. In other words, enough carbos to get you through a marathon.

Chili Chili has set up shop in the old Thai Cafe (which moved across the way and changed its name to Thai on First). The owners previously had the Mango ‘N Chili shop for a number of years and their salsas and chutneys will be sold at this new place.

The menu will feature several kinds of chili including a veggie version and a super-hot style. There will also be teriyaki beef and chicken served on the plate lunch.

After Chili Chili gets established, the kitchen will start cranking out specials such as Jamaican jerk chicken and Buffalo wings.

Chili Chili is located at 410 W. Sprague.

Here’s the dish, it’s deep

Pizzeria UNO, a restaurant specializing in Chicago-style deep-dish pizza, opened this week at the Valley Mall.

In addition to the cheesy pies, UNO offers sandwiches, burgers, barbecued ribs, spicy chicken and pasta dishes.

This California-based company will open another Pizzeria UNO at NorthTown Mall in November.

The restaurant is located on the southwest end of the mall, not far from the theater. It’s open for lunch and dinner daily.

It’s too hot to cook

This is a swell time to check out the summer fare at some of Spokane’s more innovative dining rooms. Tables are easy to get, as loads of folks head out of town for their weekend lake places. (Lucky bums.)

Savory temptations include Luna’s carmelized Walla Walla onion tart, its house-smoked salmon wrapped in a risotto crepe and a new salad with baby spinach, white beans and a roasted shallot vinaigrette.

At Mizuna, they’re celebrating the season with a harvest wine dinner on Aug. 23. The five-course menu will include an apricot-hot pepper strudel with smoked gouda, followed by a cucumber-melon gazpacho, a salad with Asian pear, yellow wax beans, grilled oyster mushrooms and Walla Walla sweets dressed in a Brazil nut vinaigrette.

The main course will be a fava bean cake with lemon-basil pea puree, followed by a ginger-peach ice cream with coconut lemon crinkles.

Each course will be matched with lighter style wines. The cost is $50 and reservations are essential. To save a spot, call 747-2004.

At Cafe 5-Ten, chef-owner Michael Waliser has reworked his menu, adding more pasta dishes ranging from a linguine with broccoli, sundried tomatoes, roasted pine nuts, goat cheese and fresh sage to a puntanesca that shows off the restaurant’s calamari. Fresh seafood and steak will be the focus of the nightly specials.

Waliser’s trusty sidekick, Kyle Nelson, has relocated to Seattle with plans to break into that city’s vibrant dining scene. He certainly has the talent.

Speaking of departures…

James Bressi, the original chef at Combray in Pullman, has returned to the East Coast to work in a corporate kitchen. But he’s left the place in the hands of his assistants, who have been there since the place opened a little more than a year ago.

Darrin Gleason, a graduate of Spokane Community Colleges’ Culinary Arts program, along with Bill Campbell are working together to concoct the weekly three-course dinners and run the place.

Dinner is still served Tuesday through Saturday. For reservations, call (509) 334-9024.

Does size matter?

I recently got a letter from a reader who complained she felt ripped off when she saw the size of her entree at an upscale Spokane eatery. (Though she admitted, she loved the food.)

So, I was wondering: How much is too little? We’re not talking about super-sizing things here, but what should diners expect when it comes to ordering a meal? And would you choose quantity over quality?

I’m interested in reader input for an upcoming article on portion sizes. Drop me some e-mail at the address listed below or give me a call. If you get voicemail, be sure and leave a name and daytime phone number.

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.