Just Like Home At New Luigi’S

It was just like old home week when the new Luigi’s opened its doors last Monday at its spiffy digs.

For starters, there were lots of familiar faces among the service staff, including longtime fixture Chris Corey, whose considerable bartending chops date back to the old St. Regis Cafe. More than a dozen staff members have returned.

At the very busy new place, customers seemed pretty good-natured about waiting for a table, some finding old friends or making new ones while waiting in the cozy lounge.

And then there was the incredibly considerate guy who stopped by to settle his tab from the night the old Luigi’s went up in flames. His credit card was never billed for the $37 he spent that night two years ago.

“How nice is that?” said owner Marty Hogberg.

Hogberg has spent the past couple of years scrambling to resurrect his popular Italian restaurant. Now that it’s opened, he’s not likely to kick back and relax, though. Last Friday, he served as host and troubleshooter. He looked like a proud papa showing guests to tables in this stylish space.

Not surprisingly, the menu looks similar to the Luigi’s of old.

Italian favorites include lasagna, pasta primavera, gnocchi alfredo, eggplant parmesan, chicken cacciatore and linguine with clam sauce. Prices for those main courses range from $11.95 to $15.25.

House specialities run slightly higher, from $15 for tortellini to $19 for veal dishes, a prime sirloin steak and seafood fettuccine.

Fresh sheet specials included a mixed grill, salmon brushed with a lemon-basil butter and grilled pork loin with a port and shallot sauce.

Of course, there’s a section of the menu dedicated to the platters of pasta that made Luigi’s so famous - spaghetti, ravioli, manicotti and gnocchi. All those are served with marinara for under $10. Add a couple bucks extra to include meatballs or Italian sausage.

A kid’s menu includes pizza, pasta and grilled cheese, served with a drink and spumoni ice cream for $5.95.

Starting Tuesday, Luigi’s will be open for lunch. And in August, the deli (Lil’ Luigi’s) will debut, serving breakfast, lunch and food to go.

Luigi’s is located at 245 W. Main, just across the way from its old home, which is now the Italian Kitchen. Call 624-5226 or 624-5310 for reservations.

Second spot for Aracelia’s

There’s now a senora in the kitchen at the old Senor Guillermo’s. Aracelia’s II has moved into that spot on Trent in the Valley, just five miles down the road from its other location in the Schade Brewery.

Like Luigi’s, there were some familiar faces serving food when I checked in for lunch earlier this week. Some of Guillermo’s signature dishes remain on the menu, too, like the excellent cabbage salad. There’s also the chili Colorado, with chunks of tender beef in a spicy red sauce, and the chili verde, pieces of pork in a green sauce.

Our server said the kitchen will make every effort to duplicate dishes diners fondly remember from Guillermo’s. So if you don’t see it on the menu, ask.

The lunch specials included lots of food for little money (under $5.) I liked my enchiladas, and the pinto beans and rice on the side tasted fresh and flavorful. The bite of tamale I snagged was very good, too. I also appreciated the option of ordering my meal either mild, medium or hot.

Aracelia’s II is located at 7905 E. Trent. They now have their liquor license and are offering a full bar. The phone number is 924-4304.

Speaking of second locations

San Francisco Sourdough has opened a shop in downtown Spokane, near the Olive Garden in the Old City Hall.

The area’s first Sourdough sandwich place, the Northwest outpost of a family venture based in California’s Bay Area, opened in downtown Coeur d’Alene last year.

As you might guess from the name, the big selling point is the bread on which these hand-held meals are built. Thinly sliced top-quality deli meats and cheeses are sandwiched between heavenly slices of a warm-from-the-oven sourdough baguette.

Choices include roast beef, corned beef, tuna salad, German salami, Italian salami, even turkey salami. They barbecue their own beef, ham, turkey and chicken and slow-cook the corned beef.

I had a ham and pastrami and it was terrific — piled high with stuff, but the bread held firm. The meat was tender and tasty.

A full sandwich with a cold, crisp pickle spear is $5.50. (Wish they offered a half-sandwich option, because these are hefty.)

The place has only been open for a few weeks, and it looked like the crew was still working out the kinks when I was there for lunch last week. If you’re in a hurry, you might want to phone in your order. Call 838-2264 or fax ‘em at 838-2351. But if you want it by lunch, you’ve got to get that in before 11 in the morning.

Another San Francisco Sourdough is in the works at Liberty Lake. Stay tuned.

This sidebar appeared with the story: The Dish

When the thermometer hits 80, the forecast calls for a tall cold one. Yes, it must be milkshake season.

Of course, some folks are year-round shake sippers. But I think the creamy, cold drink tastes so much better when the weather’s warm.

So, I recently enlisted the discerning palates of a couple of 9-year-olds and hit the streets in search of the perfect shake. The main criterion was that the shake be made with hard ice cream, which gives it that rich, thick texture that makes you sip it slow or risk getting a brain freeze.

First, we hit Roger’s on Sherman Avenue in Coeur d’Alene and sampled the huckleberry and fresh raspberry. Both passed the cold, creamy and sweet taste test, but were light on the fruit flavor.

At Mary Lou’s in the Valley, a so-called “super” huckleberry shake tasted like straight vanilla.

We finally hit pay dirt at Hogan’s Hamburgers, a 1950s-style burger joint in the Lincoln Heights shopping center.

To the beat of “Rock Around the Clock,” we dived into old-fashioned soda fountain glasses of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla shakes. They had great flavor, were super creamy and came with whipped cream and sprinkles on top. Plus, as if that weren’t enough, there was a second helping in the stainless cup the shake was mixed in.

This liquid blast from the past convinced me that summer had indeed arrived.

Leslie Kelly