Lady Lobby Lizards

Today I sat at a table in the lobby of the Davenport Hotel in Spokane sipping Ripassa wine and munching on Crab Louie salad. On business trips to Spokane, I never stay anywhere else. The Davenport is a magnificent hotel that opened in 1914, closed in 1985 and was renovated in 2000. Sitting in the grand and ornate lobby, I expect to hear the Glenn Miller Orchestra play “In the Mood” while sophisticated patrons mingle in chiffon gowns and top hats around the center fountain. The elegance of this hotel harkens back to a refined era that is not reflected in the modern-day Budget Inn.While I enjoy the grandeur of the past I also appreciate the reality of the present. I have traveled on business as a single female for over 30 thirty years. In the past, I was often seated in the back of the hotel restaurant as the pathetic loner and obvious loser. Waiters continually asked is I was waiting for someone, perhaps to offer hope to my solitude. Now I can confindently order a table for one and ask for the wine list and no one calls the authorities to haul me away. My 80-year-old widowed mother still refuses to go to a restaurant alone. My 29-year-old daughter has entered a restaurant in Spain and competently ordered a menu in Spanish. Progress, indeed.Here’s a short list of my favorite female-friendly places for Lady Lobby Lizards in the Northwest:1. Davenport Hotel, Spokane, Washington2. Coeur d’Alene Resort, Idaho3. Four Seasons Hotel, Seattle, Washington4. Chandlers Steakhouse Bar, Boise, Idaho5. Oba! Restaurant, Pearl District, Portland, Oregon