Latah Lounge

We auditioned a jazz group last Sunday called Charles and Craig. They were great. Craig played sax (tenor, alto, & bari), flute, and clarinet and Charles played a gorgeous Gibson electric guitar and sang. We will definitely bring them back and let you know when it happens via email. If you want to be on our list, just go to LatahBistro.com and sign up.
This Wednesday night Kalliope will be in the house from 6:30 - 9pm. Heather, Bob and Dave play acoustic guitar and keys with lots of vocals.

Small Vineyards, a Seattle based wine import company, features an incredible selection of Italian wines. They represent hand picked, small production, family owned wines grown using sustainable techniques. Latah Bistro and I proudly invite Charity Kowalczyk from Small Vineyards to present a handful of their finest selections. Please join us on Friday February 9^th for an evening of enjoyment, to sample the delicious foods of David Blaine accompanied with the delightful wines of Small Vineyards!

Sorting through thousands of wines presents a difficult challenge, but one the people at Small Vineyards proudly accept. Unless the wines meet definite expectations, they do not receive representation. Abhorring the use of machinery, they demand hand harvesting of the grapes. The production criteria typically falls under two thousand cases, although with some wines of awesome quality, exceptions occur. The wines also originate from family properties, as opposed to larger corporately owned ones.

Sustainable, bio-dynamic methods of producing wines receive a lot of attention in the new world market. To summarize, this means using a variety of environmentally friendly procedures to manage the various challenges of vineyard management. These include, but are not limited to; using wine friendly insects to regulate the wine unfriendly insects, planting certain types of flora to control the other plant life in the vineyards, using naturally prepared composts and materials to enhance the soil, and even manipulating the vineyards based on astrological influence. Far out!

All of this comes down to meaningless jibberish if the wine quality underwhelms, and I defy you to find any flaws in the wines that Charity will provide for us. We confidently roll out the red carpet, positive your palates will thank you for your attendance. Make your reservations now! 838-8338

Welcome to the Bistro! Sous Chef, Michael Clevenger and new cook, Matt Day.

Sunday night we had a private party in the Bistro. This is cheese plate designed by our new Sous Chef, Michael Clevenger. He placed it atop a long mirror and the effect was dramatic.Welcome Michael!

We offer Heather’s Spicy Roasted Rosemary Cashews as an amuse-buche at dinner. They have become so popular that we now sell them in 6oz bags for $4. Ingredients: large cashews, olive oil, rosemary, smoked paprika, sugar, salt, garlic and cayenne pepper.

The recent TV news stories of our flood were greatly exaggerated and way off mark. We were just playing with a ton of water and freezing cold temperatures in order to try and get that beautiful blue ice that Sasha Cohen likes in order to attract our own little US Skating Championships in the Latah Valley. Okay, really a pipe broke outside and after a visit from the very helpful Spokane Fire Department, some clean up by the slash king Mike Wiley and a little help from Servpro, we were up and running for lunch that same day.
nice ice

Washington State - highest minimum wage in the country. When we opened our restaurant in 2004, the wage was $7.16. How does this effect us? It doesn’t. We simply pass this cost on like all businesses. This type of circular economics makes no sense to me. When the minimum wage earner receives more pay, they pay more in higher priced goods and services. What benefit did they receive in actual standard of living? The effect seems to have a bigger picture. Won’t this type of economics lead to inflation which will ultimately continue to devalue our dollar on a global scale where labor costs are considerably lower? Where are we going Washington with this short-term, “feel-good” policy?

While in the Caribbean, we were lucky to find a gem of a restaurant in Old San Juan Puerto Rico called, “Mirabueno”. Spanish Chef Luisa Texidor exquisitly fused Spanish cuisine with local Puerto Rican flavors. This Paia dish was fantastic.

I think it was famed Economist, Kenneth Galbraith that said, “There is no such thing as a free lunch”. He obviously has not put his biz card in our bowl. Have you?

Our two most popular nights at the Bistro are New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day.Here are pictures of Chef David Blaine’s offerings from New Year’s Eve; Lamb Rack and Australian Rock Lobster. If you missed out, no worries. We will probably have variations for Valentine’s Day. Don’t forget to call early 838-8338.