Join TASTE on your favorite social networks! As of last week we’ve started Facebook Fridays and Twitter Tuesdays. Basically, every week you have the chance to win fresh TASTE treats online! Answer our question, RT our status or comment for a chance to get a tasty treat on us.

Not a follower or fan of TASTE? We’re on Facebook and @tastybuns on Twitter. Give us your feedback, check out what’s going on in the kitchen and enjoy free tastes!

Congratulations to Sharon Greene, Laurie L Ross and Tera Ray for winning our first Facebook Friday Chocolate Chip cookies! AND Congratulations to @nlawhead and @JohnFinn for winning Twitter Tuesdays Blackberry muffins.

images courtesy of ceoworld & beamups

A few months ago we were contacted by Kelly Pankey of Windermere City Group about an upcoming Bone Marrow Drive in April. The drive was held for a friend of hers who was in need of a bone marrow transplant to survive. They asked if we could possibly donate some pastries for the drive to provide to all who came for a cheek swab (to check and see if there was a match for her friend). We donated three dozen of Hannah’s morning pastries and displayed a flyer about the drive for three weeks in our window. Just last week we heard that the drive was successful–two donors were found, the transplant was a success and Kelly’s friend has fully recovered!

We are so grateful that we were able to spread the word and play a role in saving a life. Even if all we did was bake some pastries and publicize an event–it’s the little things that count! Thank you to all who frequent TASTE and help us give back to the community! If you made it down to the Bone Marrow Drive or saw the flyer, keep in mind how much impact one small gesture can have on a life!

Thanks to Leanne Sangster from the Downtown Spokane Partnership for featuring TASTE in the Street Beat newsletter on August 3rd!

Here’s the article for your reading pleasure!

Taste Cafe and Gourmet To Go is an upscale cafe on the corner of Howard and Second. Owned by a mother-daughter team, Taste provides fresh, quality ingredients in a cozy environment. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the cafe has a variety of dishes – from sweet or savory to Doma coffee and novelty cakes. Everything is made from scratch daily, including dishes like mac and cheese, shepherd’s pie, and lasagna, as well as eight to ten fresh salads, sandwiches and wraps.

Their blog “Taste Buds” shows some amazing cake work including a Louis Vuitton bag, an Alice in Wonderland themed cake, and a golf green complete with a duck floating on a pond and golf bag resting nearby.  Taste also caters a variety of events from small private parties to larger events of 350 people.

This Downtown cafe is a great place to meet a friend for a coffee or lunch break, or if you’re in a hurry, place an order “to go” on line, via fax or over the phone. And these warm summer months are the perfect time to enjoy their newly furnished outdoor patio. So work up your appetite and experience the flavors of Taste for yourself, at 108 S. Howard! For information visit TasteCafeSpokane.com.

Although we aren’t currently open for dinner–if plans transpire, our taste buds followers will be the first to know!

Thanks so much Leanne! Leanne also e-mailed us after finally getting the opporunity to come down to the cafe and said, ” Just wanted to let you know, I made it over to Taste with a friend of mine today, and we each had the salad sampler…it was great! My friend said she was definitely coming back, and I will be sending others over as well. Loved the asian chicken salad and the maple pound cake was AMAZING. So glad to have you downtown.”

Thanks for visiting us Leanne! We’re so glad you enjoyed it!

We’ve got sometime special for you at TASTE and it comes in the form of a new custom blend of DOMA Coffee. It’s called a Toddy–cold-brewed coffee soaked for 18 hours, steeped and best served with ice over a little bit of cream. Simply delicious! The process extracts the natural, delicious flavors of coffee without the bitter acids and oils. It’s easy on your stomach–and yet, it’s so very good! We describe it as refreshing, with a smooth, almost chocolaty taste. According to our friends at DOMA, we are the only ones in town serving cold-brewed coffee! You’ve just got to try it! The Food Network raves, “Cold-brewed coffee is unbelievable–all the hype is justified.”

Photo courtesy of hkfixed

TASTE’s cold-brewed coffee

Small-$1.75

Medium-$1.95

Large-$2.15

<PHOTO to come soon! They just keep leaving the case so fast, we’ve had yet to take a good snap shot!>

Last week we debuted Hannah’s new butterscotch cookies. They were a hit! After last week it looks as though they may be making themselves a permanent fixture in the case! This week we will have them again so if you are a lover of cookies and already are a fan of our secret chocolate chip cookies and white out cookies, you just have to try the butterscotch. Our butterscotch cookies will be baked fresh in the morning so come grab some and enjoy!

This week we’ve got beautiful Southwest Stuffed Peppers in the case. They are stuffed with a medley of rice, corn, black beans, mild poblano chiles, leeks and topped with cheese! We love this flavorful comfort food from the Southwest–hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Q. What inspired you to become a chef?

A. I’ve always been interested in cooking, as a child of nine I would make the cake for Sunday tea-time. By age 11 Saturday lunch was mine too.  My mother was a fabulous cook and I learned a lot watching her.

Q. Where did you learn how to cook?

A. I did a Cordon Bleu course in England many years ago and I’ve had a lifetime of cooking for my family.

Q. How would you define your cooking style?

A. I use the finest ingredients and prepare them simply and well.

Q. Who is the chef you most admire?

A. I enjoy Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa’s, books. I admire Gordon Ramsay’s drive and ambition, his sense of humor and enthusiasm for everything he does.   I went to his restaurant in Knightsbridge, London and the food was truly amazing.

Q. What is your favorite ingredient?

A. My favorite ingredients are fresh vegetables and fruits in season.

Q. What is your personal favorite of all your savory dishes?

A. I think my personal favorite savory dish is our Gourmet Cheese and Nut Loaf.

Q.What inspired you to open a cafe?

A. When Hannah, my daughter, wanted to go to pastry school we thought it would be a good project to open up a cafe together, she would be in charge of all the baked goods and I would be in charge of the savory dishes.  We thought Spokane was an ideal spot to do this.

Q. What’s the most exciting thing about working at TASTE?

A. I suppose the most exciting thing about working here is being able to build a business with Hannah as my partner, developing new dishes, working with different customers for their special events and growing with Spokane.