Sample a few of the features in our 2008 Spokane Sizzle Magazine.

Ann Louise Gittleman - Living Lean, Healthy and Fit
Bird Aviation Museum & Invention Center - Aviators, Inventors, Life Savers!
Barrister Winery - Urban Winemakers
Chef Spotlight - Gonzalo Carrillo
Davenport Hotel - A Toast to Spokane!
A Day in the Life on Green Bluff - with Townshend Cellars & Trezzi Farm
Chef Spotlight - Jason Rex
Steam Plant Grill - History Spotlight
Chaps - Celeste Shaw's Dream Come True

Ann Louise Gittleman - Living Lean, Healthy and Fit
“If nutrition could have glamour, she’s got it.” Dr. Robert Atkins

Ann Louise Gittleman has come a long way from her years as a religious schoolteacher back in West Hartford, Conn. This New York Times best-selling author has written more than 25 books in the past 20 years and has been a revolutionary in the field of nutrition.

Ann Louise was drawn to nutrition and its effects as a teenager. She noticed that what she ate affected not only her weight, but her skin as well.

“It made me realize you are what you eat, literally and figuratively,” Ann Louise said. She firmly believes that the skin is an eliminating organ and shows what is going on in the body internally. Years later, she noticed the effects sugar had on her pupils’ behavior, noting their increased hyperactivity after eating their sugary school snacks. Because of these two factors, as well as others, Ann Louise made the decision to go back to school and seek not only her masters degree in nutrition education from Columbia University, but also a Ph.D. in holistic nutrition. >>>more

Bird Aviation Museum and Invention Center - Aviators, Inventors, Life Savers!
Bringing new product ideas and technologies into the world and serving our local community and beyond; this museum is home to a world-wide operation along the shores of Lake Pend Oreille.

Dr. Forrest Bird is sometimes high above the clouds and sometimes completely grounded in realities that he sees as a need for change and innovation.

Just south of Sandpoint, Idaho, on a gorgeous scenic shoreline of Lake Pend Oreille, a rustic lodge is home to a brilliant star of the medical and aviation world. Deer walk by outside the windows; fluffy white clouds reflect on the lake in the forefront, with a backdrop of steep wooded terrain. This is where both geniuses and ordinary people come together to do the work that has saved countless lives; where creativity lives, thrives and comes forth into a world waiting for solutions it doesn't even know could exist. Dr. Forrest Bird, his wife, Dr. Pamela Bird, and a troop of workers, family and friends live and work in this Shangri-la along the lake. The gifts they bring to the world beyond this place are immense and necessary. >>>more

Barrister Winery - Urban Winemakers
Barrister Winery - Urban Winemakers

The alleys of Spokane hold many surprises, especially if you venture a little off the beaten path. Toward the west end of the downtown, nestled between galleries, edgy coffee houses and new loft condos in the Historic Davenport District, is where you’ll find Barrister Winery.

“People are always surprised when they walk in here for the first time,” said winemaker Greg Lipsker. “But once they find us, we can be pretty sure they will come back.”

In just a handful of years, Barrister has grown from a garage hobby shared by two friends and their families, to a successful wine business producing a Cabernet Franc with a cult-like following. On Saturdays, the tasting room fills with wine enthusiast discovering Barrister for the first time or returning to share their discovery with friends. >>>more

Chaps - Celeste Shaw's Dream Come True
In the early 1900s, boys were encouraged to persevere with their desire to attain the sacred possession of land ownership, pursuing lands made available for settlement by the United States government through land donation claims. People from all areas of the world traveled west to stake a claim.

As a boy, Hans Tveten said goodbye forever to his mother and left behind the echoes of the fjords, green mountains, clear streams and forests of Norway. Selma Olson was only a child, 15, when she left Minnesota to homestead under the Big Sky of Eastern Montana with her Norwegian immigrant husband. Hans possessed a handmade pair of chaps, a mother’s protective gift for the journey west.
 
Those 100-year-old chaps served as the inspiration for the journey pursued by one of their granddaughters to fulfill a dream. “If I could click the heels of my boots together, I would go to Montana, over the rainbow, to my grandma’s house,” Celeste said. >>>more

Chef Spotlight - Gonzalo Carrillo

Gonzalo “Gonzo” Carrillo, corporate culinary director for Cuisine Northwest, was born in Tijuana, Mexico, and moved to San Diego, Calif., where he was raised. He attended La Jolla High School and graduated from San Diego State University with his degree in hotel management. It was in San Diego where he was first introduced to the restaurant business at The Old Spaghetti Factory. While working there, he developed his passion for the culinary arts, and it has been his endeavor ever since.
At the Spaghetti Factory, Gonzo said that watching the cooks on the line and seeing their creativity in the kitchen inspired him to cook and to dream about the possibility of becoming a chef: “At the time, I was going to college, and I was in hotel management. I didn’t want to have to wear a suit and a tie. I like to get dirty.” Gonzo said his “first real cooking job” was at the age of 17 at the San Diego Marriott Hotel … >>>more


Davenport Hotel - A Toast to Spokane !

Once upon a time … isn’t that how all fairy tales start?

Once upon a time, on a mild and sunny day in Downtown Spokane, a man stopped
his convertible to see that some debris in the road was blocking his way to a beautiful day. The debris was roofing material from high atop the deteriorating Davenport Hotel. The man thought to himself: “Someone should do something about this once glorious hotel, now deteriorating out of control.” He remembered dating his wife there when they were young, trying to put together enough money to go for a nice dinner at the once fine hotel. He knew that the bones he saw before him still bore the spirits of elegance and hospitality, but he also knew that they wouldn’t be there for long if something didn’t change.

That change, luckily for Spokane, came at that moment; the moment Walt Worthy graciously picked up that roofing material lying at his feet and looked up. That action changed Spokane’s direction in a big way, and for good! Years later, as Spokane counts its many blessings, that moment is one of its greatest. >>>more

A Day in the Life on Green Bluff
with Townshend Cellar and The Barn on Trezzi Farm
Celebrating the life on Green Bluff

Don Townshend and Davide Trezzi share with us a little glimpse of the culinary lifestyle that suits their family businesses up on Green Bluff, an agricultural area just north of Spokane.
First there was Townshend Cellar…

Don Townshend moved to Green Bluff, Wash., in 1987. It wasn’t until after years of interest and toying with the idea of winemaking that Don and Townshend Cellar burst onto the scene in 1998 producing his first Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Huckleberry Port. Dedicated to producing quality wines from the state of Washington, Townshend wines derive their distinctive flavors from extensive oak aging in small French and American oak barrels and the selection of grapes from some of the finest vineyards in the Columbia Valley. They also produce a truly unique Huckleberry port-style wine made from Wild North Idaho Huckleberries. Don truly makes wines that Washington is proud to call its own. >>>more

Chef Spotlight - Jason Rex
Jason Rex and Connie Naccarato open Scratch
Thirty-two-year-old Jason Rex’s culinary career began in high school while working as a cook at Cosgrove’s Café in Coeur d’Alene. By the time he left the café two years later, at the age of 17, Jason was running the kitchen.

He went on to Portland, where he attended Western Culinary School, graduating in 12 months with honors. He returned to Coeur d’Alene, where he worked for two years at the various restaurants inside the Coeur d’Alene Resort. He went on to Fugazzi as a sous chef in 2000, where he worked for two years. He then became an executive banquet chef for Coeur d’Alene Inn but returned to Fugazzi, where he remained the executive chef for more than four years.

“Everywhere I go is a learning experience,” Jason said. “Trends are constantly changing, and I try to keep up with trends.”
Chef Jason is currently excited about his new adventure – Scratch. He has joined forces with Connie Naccarato, former owner and chef of Mamma Mia’s Italian Restaurant. >>>more

Steam Plant Grill - History Spotlight
Steam Plant Generates … a Premier Restaurant!

Historic charm, elegant food, award-winning local brews and special events to remember … all from dining in a power house? This is one unique place! Originally constructed to produce steam heat and electrical power for Downtown Spokane, the Steam Plant now produces a great atmosphere, food and service for your enjoyment!

Think of it as a cut-away version of a steam plant, with fascinating alterations that re-invented this entire mass of piping, catwalks and steam plant controls into both functional and interesting displays. This is a one-of-a-kind location that simply must be experienced! >>>more