DOWNRIVER GRILL

DOWNRIVER GRILL

Ok, Downriver Grill lived up to all the hype. It is the restaurant I will send people to when they are looking for a great high-end lunch/dinner in Spokane. The staff and owners at Downriver Grill really care about their customers and the Spokane community as a whole. They love being a hot spot for many “Spokanites.”

Downriver Grill has something for everyone. It’s nice, clean, comfortable, conveniently located, and incredibly delicious. They see some of the same people in their restaurant about three times a week, one comes almost every day. That is my new dream job- eat at Downriver Grill every day. How do I get that?

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Downriver Grill is unique in that they offer a new fresh sheet menu about every two weeks. In addition, their menu changes seasonally. They focus on the words “local/ seasonal/ and fresh.” The staff and owners are true advocates of Spokane, and it shows through the care and love they put into their food.

Downriver Grill will be introducing a new summer menu in the next week or so, including an ahi tuna appetizer and a light salmon dish. The tuna was gone in about .5 seconds and my husband said that if we were to come back with unlimited money, he would order five of them. The tuna’s consistency, flavor, and seasoning could not have been better.

They are known for their gorgonzola fries appetizer and it’s pretty clear why. When a fry doesn’t require ketchup or ranch, you know it’s a good fry. The real question is which part of the waffle fry is better? The edge/skin pieces or the center/no skin pieces?

 

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The staff at Downriver Grill focus on finding the freshest food from as close to Spokane as possible. Ninety percent of their wine comes from Washington Wineries. They host wine dinners where they feature a local winery and the chef creates a dish to pair with the featured wine.

We got to meet the chef and the owner and they are very passionate about their food. They know it tastes good and they know the science behind why it tastes so good. Both owners are also chefs which makes a big difference in the quality and flavor behind the food Downriver Grill serves. Not only must it be approved by the head chef, but it must pass through two additional chefs (the owners) before it is deemed worthy to add to the menu.

Below is the Grilled Chicken Panzanella Salad, made with butter, lettuce, grilled chicken, tomato, fresh mozzarella, grilled bread, roasted red pepper, kalmata olives, and housemade fresh avocade dressing. This salad was light and the dressing was fresh. This is one of their most popular salad choices.

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This salmon dish is part of their new summer menu. It is pan roased with curried cauliflower, roasted beet, and peppers in a thai coconut sauce. There is no starch, which makes this dish light, gluten free, and dairy free. This is a “patio dining, summer sunning, I don’t want to leave here bloated and over-full” kind of dish. It was full of flavor and the pairing of the salmon with the cauliflower, beets, and curry was unique and unexpectedly great. This is totally the type of dish I would order.

Their Grilled Pork Chop was the best we have ever tasted. I get nervous using the word best, so I use it wisely. I only use it went I am SURE of something 100%. It came with apple chutney, brown butter spaetzle, and bacon vinagrette. The pork was cooked perfectly, seasoned perfectly, flavored perfectly. We had so much food but Dan kept eating this until it was gone. He couldn’t stop. It was one of those things where you want to stop because you are so full, but you can’t because eating more is worth being more full. “One more bite… Ok, this is my last bite… Well I can’t leave that little piece on the plate… Alright, I’m done.”

The chef gets his pork shanks from a local farm and he preps all the meat himself. It takes him a long time becuase he takes extra care to ensure that they get the most meat on the bone as possible. Well Chef, all of your extra work and time spent with these pork shanks is much appreciated.

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We finished with their tiramisu and seasonal cheesecake which was a lemon blueberry poppyseed. I am a huge dessert fan. Both of these hit the spot. The cheesecake had fresh lemon shavings on top. The Tiramisu was too strong for Dan but he’s kind of a light weight. It made an even better breakfast the next morning. 🙂

Downriver Grill has been making Spokane a better place for 14 years. Their sister restaurants are the Flying Goat and Republic Pi.

If you follow them on instagram you can keep up to date on their new fresh sheet menu items and specials like Happy Hour all day on Wednesdays.

Downriver Grill (3315 W Northwest Blvd // 509.323.1600)

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