FOOD | UPDATE
FOOD | OPENING
Old Favorite Spokane Valley’s Bangkok Thai adds some new flair to the local mini-chain By Annemarie C. Frohnhoefer Owners Yvonne Archer and Jeremiah Johnson at The Shop. Jennifer DeBarros photo
Summer Hub
The recently transformed Shop draws in the neighborhood for food and films By Jo Miller
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he Shop, an earthy coffeehouse in the Perry District, was essentially a man cave a year ago, with walls decked out in movie posters and license plates. That was until Yvonne Archer and her fellow co-owners got their hands on it. Archer says she wanted to transform the atmosphere into a cozy, inviting gathering place. It appears she was successful, judging by the friendlylooking clan sipping beers around a worn wooden table and the man strolling in with his dog and treating it to one of the free “pup cakes,” all amidst the metallic-vintage-meets-DIY-garage-hangoutmeets-cabin-in-the-woods milieu. It was March of last year when Archer and her two friends bought The Shop on a whim from its previous owner, who ran it as simply a coffeehouse for more than a decade. But for Archer, just a coffeehouse wouldn’t do. So she carted in the food. “I’m a foodie, so all the food recipes are mine,” Archer says. There are homemade breakfast cookies, quiches, quinoa salads, sandwiches, veggie burgers and locally made ice cream, among other offerings. Archer zeros in on serving healthy and largely allergen-free food. Most of the desserts are glutenfree and vegan, as are many of the items in the cold case, such as the truly dreamy “dream bar” ($3.25) made with rice flour and topped with goodies like
coconut, peanut butter, maple syrup and vegan chocolate chips. It’s hard to think of anything The Shop lacks in the beverage department. Of course there’s coffee, but there’s also beer (including a gluten-free brew), wine (with organic and sulfite-free options), mimosas and honey-sweetened lemonade. The fridge is even stocked with probiotic coconut water and kombucha. Archer says people thought she was a “nut bar” for bringing the latter two items in, but the drinks actually turned out to be top-sellers. With year-round trivia nights and live music, The Shop becomes even more of a neighborhood nucleus when summer hits. Its parking lot hosts the South Perry Farmers Market every Thursday from 3 to 7 pm. And once the sun sinks on Saturday nights starting June 29, a few hundred people from the neighborhood will snuggle in the lot for the annual outdoor South Perry Summer Theater and watch a flick projected on the brick side of Casper Fry. Included on the ticket for this summer: Wreck-It Ralph, Rocky III and the ever-popular Princess Bride. n The Shop • 924 S. Perry St. • Open Mon-Wed, 6 am-8 pm; Thu-Fri, 6 am-10 pm; Sat, 11 am-11 pm; Sun, 7 am-8 pm • 534-1647
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ue Ounpikul and her daughter May received the blessing of Bangkok Thai founder Kay Chidaprist when they opened the restaurant’s newest location two months ago on the corner of Argonne and Sprague, in what used to be Thai Grill. The women oversaw a total renovation. Bangkok Thai’s signature deep-colored walls and sandstone-hued replicas of Hindu-influenced wall sculpture now surround the diners, who linger at their tables, chatting with one another as servers replenish water glasses. The restaurant provides an intimate setting for quite possibly the most unrushed lunch crowd in the Spokane area. That could change once word gets out. The price of a lunch combo is the same at all three locations; a mere $9 allows you to sample three entrées, two mini-spring rolls and a generous helping of jasmine rice. The chicken pra ram — steamed chicken atop blanched spinach — is ladled with a tasteful amount of peanut sauce. Bright-green spinach curls against tender chicken tenderloin, with the jasmine rice picking up any of the remaining lip-smackingly nutty sauce. The chicken pad Thai’s tender rice noodles and crunchy alfalfa sprouts are complemented by the slightly tart sauce, while the gang daeng kai’s red curry paste imparts spicy zest to bamboo shoots, coconut milk and bell pepper. Servers readily answer questions about spiciness and adjust the levels of burn (on a scale of 1 to 5) to suit the patron’s palate. Other favorites include tom kha kai (chicken coconut soup), curries in all colors (green, yellow, red) and — from the dinner menu — crab fried rice ($17), ginger duck ($19) and pineapple chicken ($18). After receiving their steaming entrées, several diners commented on the similarity between Bangkok Thai’s locations. If you’ve been to the South Hill or Riverwalk locations, you won’t find anything surprising on the menu at the newest venue on Argonne in Spokane Valley. Kay Chidaprist’s menu features — and Bangkok Thai enthusiasts will swear to this — some of the best Thai cuisine in Spokane, so why change things now? n Bangkok Thai • 101 N. Argonne Rd., Suite E, Spokane Valley • 315-9943 • Mon-Thu, 11 am-9 pm; Fri, 11 am-10 pm; Sat, noon-10 pm; Sun, noon-9 pm
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JUNE 6, 2013 INLANDER 39