Bloglander

MY FRESH BASKET WINS NOTABLE AWARD

Considered by some to be the grocery industry’s Oscars equivalent, the Progressive Grocer’s Most Outstanding New Concept Store for 2017-18 was recently awarded to Spokane’s My Fresh Basket.

Opening last summer, My Fresh Basket in Kendall Yards, at the corner of Monroe Street and Summit Parkway, was designed to cater to consumers’ preferences for buying local and organic products, among other trends. The store is also half the size of most other grocers and uses a perimeter layout to station its main departments, including the deli, produce stands and bakery.

“In an industry where stores constantly seek to differentiate themselves from competitors, we believe My Fresh Basket is the model for today’s shopper,” says store director Matt Grittner.

In conjunction with the honor, My Fresh Basket is featured on the cover of Progressive Grocer’s February magazine.

NEW FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL COMING TO COEUR D’ALENE

A new regional culinary celebration is coming to the Coeur d’Alene Resort on the first weekend of April. The two-day Coeur d’Alene Food & Wine Festival on April 6 and 7 is set to include several hands-on cooking demonstrations and wine tasting seminars, along with luncheons and two multi-course dinners with featured wine pairings.

Tickets for the festival’s events are available now online for the festival’s individual events, which range from $35 to $175. Some programs offered during Saturday morning’s tasting and demonstration session are already selling out; of those hour-long classes are a program on the “Art of Ceviche” with Spokane-based chef Chad White, a kombucha making demo, wine tastings and cocktail class.

A highlight of the festival is a six-course dinner ($175) with former NFL quarterback and Washington State University football star Drew Bledsoe, who now operates his own winery, Doubleback Wines. Saturday evening of the festival also offers the “Lakeside Dinner Experience,” ($125) which includes an hors d’oeuvres cruise on the lake and a four-course wine dinner featuring pairings from Latah Creek Winery.

Other regional wineries being showcased at the inaugural festival include the familiar local names of Barrister Winery, Maryhill Winery and Townshend Cellars, among others.

All-access festival packages are available for $249; the resort is also offering special overnight stay packages to attendees.

IN THIS WEEK'S ISSUE

This week's issue inadvertently has a sort of Asian theme, with a feature on two recently-opened restaurants serving two types of the region's cuisine. On Spokane's North side, Kobe Hibachi, Sushi and Bar opened last fall and is offering an immersive dining experience for guests who choose to dine at its live-cooking hibachi tables. The restaurant also specializes in sushi and other traditional Japanese dishes.

On the other side of the river, Chef Lu's Asian Bistro opened a few months ago in the Lincoln Heights Shopping Center, serving up a modern Chinese menu, along with sushi.

This week's edition also rounds up some other happenings and notes in the Inland Northwest food and drink scene, including the upcoming closure of a Five Mile neighborhood favorite and the arrival of a new pub near Gonzaga.

A version of this information originally appeared in our weekly Entrée food newsletter; sign up to get it delivered directly to your inbox here. Find the previous edition of the Entrée blog here.