Tomato Street

Location: 6220 North Division Street, Spokane, WA

Tomato Street has kind of ruined me. My first experience there was so awesome that I hold every other Italian restaurant in Spokane to their standard. I have yet to find one I like as much, so I was super excited when the girls suggested we go there for lunch.

My favorite item on their menu is their Baked Spaghetti. Unfortunately, it wasn't on the lunch specials menu, and I was trying to be cheap, so I made a different selection. I debated between Uncle Tony's Chicken Pasta and the Smoked Chicken Manicotti, but in the end I decided to give the Smoked Chicken Manicotti a whirl.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though, because there is the matter of bread that needs to be discussed. Tomato Street calls it garlic bread, but highly addictive buttery goodness bread would probably be more accurate. It is soaked in butter and garlic, and it's delicious. Hello carbs!

The lunch portions are quite generous and, in addition to the garlic bread, a small side salad comes with the meal. The side salad was truly the least exciting portion of the meal, so I'm just going to breeze through and get on with the good stuff.

The menu claims the lunch portions are half portions of the dinner entrees, and they are STILL huge. There were 3 pieces of manicotti, stuffed with smoked chicken, ricotta, mozzarella, provolone, smoked Gouda, bacon, green onions and Roma tomatoes. As if that isn't a rich enough mix of cheeses, they cover it in Asiago sauce.

So how did it stack up to my beloved Baked Spaghetti? Well, it wasn't a bad meal by any means, but it wasn't my favorite. Rumor has it I should have chosen Uncle Tony's Chicken Pasta, which I will definitely do next time. I'm sure I can arrange another visit to Tomato Street sooner rather than later.

On a bit of a side note, be sure to check out the servers' hats when you visit. Each server wears a fun hat that quite possibly reflects their personality. Our server had a viking-type helmet, which we joked was indicative of his level of brain activity. He forgot a refill on one of the girls' drinks, so it's only fair I throw in a little humor at his expense. ;)

P.S. Apologies for the lack of video in this post. We recently joined the 21st century and bought smartphones, and I'm still trying to learn the ropes. (My handy dandy videographer did not accompany me on this dining excursion.) Will you forgive me if I share a pic of that yummy garlic bread I told you about instead?

Sushi I

Location: 4314 South Regal, Spokane, WA

It had been months since I had sushi, and I was craving it like mad. My husband and I had been eager to try the new sushi place on Spokane's South Hill. Yollar featured a deal with $20 of sushi from Sushi I for $10, so I jumped on the deal and we stopped in to check them out.

They were surprisingly empty for a Saturday evening. The bonus to that was the service was amazing. We felt very well attended to. We sat up at the sushi bar and tried the Dragon Roll and Tiger Roll to start. Both rolls used similar ingredients, except one had masago and the other did not. They were equally enjoyable. We were not quite full from those two rolls, though, so we decided to also order the Lobster Roll.

Every once in awhile I order sushi that tastes original. Our first sushi experience after moving to Washington involved apples in the sushi. It was incredible. Sushi I managed to wow me with their Lobster Roll. In addition to the lobster, there was fried mozzarella cheese on top. I've never tasted anything like it, and I want more just sitting here typing about it. I told my friend about it, and now she is excited to try it out.

I saw several rolls on the menu I would like to come back and try myself. They actually have a Tempura Philadelphia Roll, which sounds amazing. We promised to come back, and I hope that business will pick up for them once more and more people check them out. They are worth keeping around, and I look forward to going back to do a second review.

Waddell's Pub and Grille

Location: 4318 South Regal Street, Spokane, WA

Let's face it.  Most restaurants can make a suitable burger.  They are pretty hard to mess up.  Every so often, though, you find a restaurant that can make a great burger.  Well, look no further.  Waddell's is that restaurant.  In my opinion, they make the best Mushroom 'N Swiss burger I have ever eaten.

It should come as no surprise that I went with my standby.  All the standards are there.  Your hamburger patty (of course), a fresh hamburger bun, sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions and Swiss cheese.  Easy breezy, right?  But Waddell's takes it one step further and adds in what they say is mayonnaise but tastes nothing like mayonnaise I've ever eaten.  It.is.amazing.  They have to add in something else to make it taste so good, but I have no idea what that is.

We were given the option of regular or sweet potato fries, though I am pretty sure you can order a house or pasta salad if those options don't suit you.  Waddell's seasons them with Squirrelly Beaver Seasoning, which is their own custom blend of spices.  While they are not my favorite fries ever, they are pretty tasty.  I definitely don't turn them down!

My husband is a big fan of their beer selection.  They have 35 beers on tap, which is pretty impressive.  He tried the Puget Sound Porter and was a fan. 

The service can be very hit or miss at Waddell's, but tonight they were a hit.  We were fortunate enough to score outdoor seating, and our waitress was pleasant.  There was an acoustic guitarist performing in between Twigs and Waddell's, which made for nice background music.