Arbor Crest offers a taste at River Park Square

Here’s a new reason to love mall shopping: the wine selection. Arbor Crest Wine Cellars’ has opened its secondary tasting room at River Park Square, next to the AMC Theater ticket booth and the third-floor atrium’s food court.

Jim van Löben Sels says the mall tasting room is a first for the state. He said they liked the idea of being a part of the downtown business community and being more visible to tourists. Van Löben Sels runs the winery with his wife Kristina Mielke-van Löben Sels. Her parents started the winery in 1982.

Shoppers can taste wines and purchase wines to drink at the tasting room tables, as well as buy Arbor Crest wines and gift items. (Now, local readers should not use this new tasting room as an excuse not to visit the winery and its Cliff House on Fruithill Road in the Spokane Valley. The view from the historic Riblet mansion and grounds at Arbor Crest are the perfect place to take guests.)

The tasting room at River Park Square is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Arbor Crest can be reached at 927-9463.

Sidestep those freshman trans-fats

Dining at Washington State University is now trans-fat free.

Starting last month, all food prepared in the WSU campus dining rooms is made with canola oil, said Gina Murray, marketing coordinator for dining services, in a news release. The move is part of a new philosophy at dining services to help promote healthier eating. It also offers vegetarian and organic options. The school has open cooking platforms so people can see how their food is prepared.

“In addition to expanded salad bars and an increase in vegetarian options, we have also made great strides in increasing the use of homemade foods and are in the process of eliminating most processed items,” executive chef Doug Murray said in the news release.

“It is our belief that homemade soups, fresh vegetables, meats, seafood, etc. are inherently much healthier than sodium or chemically stabilized processed products; we also gain the added benefit that the food tastes better.”

WSU Dining Services operates three dining centers, five retail markets and six espresso carts on the Pullman campus and has more than 15,700 individual sales each day. About 4,000 students have bought meal plans through the college.

Black tie fund-raiser

The Chefs de Cuisine of the Inland Northwest will serve a black-tie feast Jan. 28 to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network.

The 13th Annual Chef’s Culinary Classic will be held at the Davenport Hotel, with a menu based on Inland Northwest wild game and seafood. The meal will be prepared by local American Culinary Federation chefs and each course will be matched with award-winning wines to showcase its flavor and texture.

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the menu items: smoked pheasant and wild mushroom bundles; seared medallions of Alaskan wild sockeye salmon with tarragon shrimp mousse; and char-seared elk rib chop with smoked bison sausage.

Money raised by the event will be used to buy equipment and provide care for local sick and injured children, as well as fund outreach programs for Inland Northwest Health Services. To ask about sponsorship packages, please call 473-6370. Individual tickets are not available.