Noodle Works, Spokane

According to a June 2012 profile in The Pacific Northwest Inlander, Donna Byrd spent months simmering sauces over her kitchen stove and recruiting family members and friends for taste tests. After those months of experimentation, clear winners emerged and those champion recipes hold a place of honor in the Byrds' restaurant, Noodle Works. Guests order their vegetables, meats, and tofu stir-fried in a teriyaki sauce tinged with pineapple or a sesame and ginger-laced mustard sauce. Then, they watch chefs place the sizzling feast onto a bed of rice or yakisoba noodles to create a dinner in a bowl or onto a bed of rose petals to create a romantic dinner in a bowl. Visitors can pair noodle bowls with domestic and imported beers while taking in a sports game on television screens mounted on the walls.