Of Seafood and Schoolhouses

Yesterday we took our out-of-town visitors to Cheney, home of Eastern Washington University. The old one-room schoolhouse on campus was open for visitors.

It was built in Newport, Washington in 1905 and used for twenty-four years. After sitting unused in the woods for a long time, they moved it to Cheney. Inside, they have some old pictures, including one of the building before they restored it:

Here's the inside:

One of the best parts of having Marcia and bobbi visit was watching them reconnect with old friends from when they lived in Washington. One of them brought a couple new doggie friends to run around on campus. 

They were both friendly and adorable. 

Next to the field we were watching them play in, was a giant map someone had painted in an old parking lot. 

Can you tell what state I'm standing on?

 And then we had one of my best seafood experiences ever. EVER! 

Bobbi and Marcia treated us to dinner at Anthony's, which is downtown Spokane, right next to the river. You can see it there on the right--the one with the triangular silver roofs.

 The first thing that won me over: delicious bread. I didn't leave much for the picture...

Oh, and I thought their house chardonnay was lovely.

The calamari was delicious, not chewy at all. Though if you prefer lighter breading, you may not like the fairly crusty version they serve. 

The clam chowder was perfectly chunky with bits of clam and delicately sized potatoes. The broth was also a perfect consistency, not overwhelmingly thick or disappointingly thin. It's either the best or the second best chowder I've had. It's hard to say since it's been a while since I've tasted the delightful chowder at Abalonetti Seafood in Monterey, CA.

Joe's salad was tasty: fresh fruit and spinach with a tangy rhubarb dressing and candied almonds.

My salad was tastier: crab, grapefruit, and avocado with a homemade Louis dressing.

And the crab cakes. Oh the crab cakes, the crab cakes, the crab cakes.

Two words: no filling. 

Look at them. It's all crab meat in there! Crunchy on the outside, crabby on the inside. No mush!

 After we finished eating, we visited the river.

We also enjoyed the fact that it wasn't 98 degrees for once.  

It was a nice evening.

Our visitors should be back in Michigan soon, and like everyone that has stopped in, they gave us a whole new appreciation for Spokane (and a lot of great food).