Mizuna switches up lunch

Mizuna has a new lunch menu.

If you haven’t been in for the midday meal in awhile, expect to see a whole bunch of new items.

Most of the starters and salads – except for the new carrot-lentil salad – remain the same. (Don’t worry: the popular seared sesame-miso ahi salad is still on the menu.)

But, almost all of the main plates are new. That means the portobello mushroom burger is gone, at least for now.

Instead, for summer, look for savory corn fritters with bacon and eggs, Oaxacan black beans and eggs, a grilled chicken and fresh mozzarella wrap with chimichurri and peppercorn aioli, and a grilled cheese Caprese with basil-walnut pesto and a balsamic reduction.

Other new hand-helds include a falafel pita with chevre, a spicy ahi sandwich with tomato-orange marmalade and aioli, the 11:59 burger with bacon and an egg, and the 12:01 burger with bacon, avocado and grilled onions.

Only a couple of mains from the previous remain. Those favorites are the smoked trout linguini and the house-made lemongrass-green curry with scallops, prawns and clams.

Chef and owner Mike Jones has worked at Mizuna since 1996, starting there shortly after it opened – and shortly after he turned 21. He bought the restaurant in 2006.

He’s preparing to open his second restaurant, a Texas-style barbecue eatery, in downtown Spokane this summer.

Mizuna is at 214 N. Howard St. in downtown Spokane. Call (509) 747-2004. On the web: www.mizuna.com.