The Slice: They’ll come back well fed and eloquent

So what do visitors to the Spokane area take home with them?

“Huckleberry stuff,” wrote John Nelson.

That succinctly rounds up a few dozen other answers. You know, huckleberry jam, syrup, pancake mix, barbecue sauce, vodka, jelly, candy, popcorn, honey, dessert topping, apparel, et cetera.

Or, as Susan Johnson put it, “Huckleberries something.”

Wine was the second most mentioned takeaway treat. But there were other answers, ranging from freshly caught (and then frozen) trout to Gonzaga University sweatshirts.

“Bruttles,” said Linda Peters.

“Aplets and Cotlets,” said Sondra Curtis.

“My zucchini relish,” said Marilyn Ray.

“Knowing how to pronounce SPO-CAN,” wrote D. Neil Fitzgerald.

If Expo ’74 had never happened: “Spokane would now resemble Pottersville, which would be a shame,” wrote Sharon Beck. “But at least I would be able to find the train station.”

Slice answers: “My mom was (and still is) a great cook,” wrote Marla DeMars. “She made great food at home and, in addition to that, was also the lunch lady where I went to school.”

That was in rural Nebraska. DeMars said her mom whipped up such excellent meals that none of the kids ever contemplated bringing a sack lunch. “They would have been laughed out of the cafeteria.”

Richard White wrote, “My mother (Grace White) cooked at the famous Pine Tavern restaurant in Bend, Ore.”

Then World War II came along and the family moved to Spokane, where White’s mother managed food service operations at Geiger Field and Gonzaga University. “Sundays and holidays were really special meals at our house.”

One more.

“My mother came to this country in 1927,” wrote Loretta Totten.

Her recipes tended to be improvisational. “Just add until it feels, looks or tastes just right. She could cook for one or 100 and it would taste the same.”

Always delicious.

Today’s Slice question: What is your favorite Inland Northwest place name?

Please don’t say “Athol.”