COVER STORY
38 • MAY 2014
The Splash
LIBERTY LAKE A hypothetical week of midday dining By Valerie Putnam
SPLASH CONTRIBUTOR
One of the keys to a good city is a diverse offering of lunchtime dining. Though its commercial and retail centers are still relatively young, Liberty Lake is increasingly making its case as a great place to have lunch. On a budget? In a hurry? Sky’s the limit? The Splash researched a week's worth of dining variety for the noon hour. The following hypothetical week-at-a-glance is designed to satisfy the palate of everyone from the diner seeking a quick bite to the epicure seeking a gourmet experience. For this project, we paid special attention to Friday — as this is the category that has changed the most since patios began opening for a spring lunch last year at this time. That would be the food truck option, and noontime hunger pangs on Friday can now be resolved by a trio of mobile vendors, whereas last year there was only one, and that one didn’t have the permanent location it now enjoys. Happy dining!
SUNDAY Lunch at the 19th hole GOLF COURSE DINING Liberty Lake Golf Course Clubhouse, 24403 E. Sprague Ave. MeadowWood Golf Course Clubhouse, 24501 E. Valleyway Ave. Palenque Mexican Restaurant, 1102 N. Liberty Lake Road
Whether you play 18 or skip straight to the 19th hole, local golf course clubhouses provide a variety of dining experiences for the athletic or the athletically challenged. Palenque Mexican Restaurant, located at Trailhead Golf Course, 1102 N. Liberty Road, offer authentic Mexican cuisine, while the clubhouses at the county-owned Meadowwood and Liberty Lake golf courses offer a full range of lunchtime fare. Golfer or not, diners have long enjoyed lunch at these links venues, all of which offer great views of open green space.
MONDAY Lunch on epicurean delights
EPICUREAN OPTIONS Barlows at Liberty Lake, 1428 N. Liberty Lake Road Hay J’s Bistro, 21706 E. Mission Ave. Twisp Café, 23505 E. Appleway Ave.
No study of Liberty Lake's lunch venues would be complete without exploring the epicurean options served by the area's finer dining options. Barlows owners Alicia and Michael Fry recently expanded their operation at a gorgeous new location. What hasn’t changed: their desire to provide guests the ultimate dining experience through a combination of great food, nice atmosphere and quality service. Its menu still highlights recipes passed down by Alicia’s mother,
but the new location is also open for dinner, and all day the influence of new executive chef Everett Fees can be seen and tasted. Hay J’s Bistro, 21706 E. Mission, offers nontraditional sandwiches, wraps, burgers and entrees from its menu, www.hayjsbistro.com, served in a unique location. Though found in a gas station strip mall, its interior reflects the high-end menu selections. Following the purchase of Twisp Café by owner Bobby and Stacy Taninchev last year, the menu changed to include a selection of American and Mediterranean dishes. Choices, found at www.twispcafe.com, range from several Mediterranean-inspired salads, sandwiches, paninis and soups, all made from scratch, including the sauces and dressing. For dessert, Bobby Taninchev makes his own family recipe for baklava. “I have the best baklava in town,” he said. “We make everything with lots of love.” Even Twisp's coffee drinks come with a special touch. Barista Kyle Siegel creates coffee art on his java creations.
TUESDAY
Lunch in a jiffy FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS Carl’s Jr./Green Burrito, 1317 N. Liberty Lake Road McDonald’s, 1306 N. Liberty Lake Road
SPLASH PHOTO BY VALERIE PUTNAM
Bobby Taninchev has put the focus on the food since purchasing Twisp last year. Whether your schedule means using the drive-up window or having the time to come inside to order, Liberty Lake offers several established fast food restaurants to choose from. Menus at these establishments offer a variety of quick, budget-friendly items. From grabbing a Big Mac at a fast food original (McDonald’s), to a hybrid burger/Mexican joint (Carl’s Jr./Green Burrito) to a pair of unapologetically south-of-the border establishments (tacos Time and Bell, respectively), the speedy options are readily available.
Should the desire for a fresh made sandwich overcome you, Liberty Lake boasts four venues that specialize in this lunch-time favorite. National brands Subway and Quizno’s have long claimed turf in across-the-street shopping plazas, while San Francisco Sourdough has also been a mainstay of the community since nearly the turn of the century. By those standards, the new kid on the block is Jimmy John’s, which recently celebrated its one-year anniversary in the community.
WEDNESDAY THURSDAY Lunch 101 — the sandwich
Lunch off the beaten path
SANDWICH STOPS
HIDDEN GEMS
Jimmy Johns, 1429 N. Liberty Lake Road Quizno’s, 1235 N. Liberty Lake Road
Taco Bell, 22312 E. Appleway Ave.
San Francisco Sourdough Eatery, 23801 E. Appleway Ave.
Taco Time, 1421 N. Liberty Lake Road
Subway, 1336 N. Liberty Lake Road
Eat Good, 24001 E. Mission Ave. R’nR Clubhouse, 23203 E. Knox Ave. Safeway deli, 1233 N. Liberty Lake Road For the adventurous types, Liberty Lake has a few gems off the beaten path worth discovering. Eat Good, located in the Meadow-
See LUNCH, page 39