Dave’s Meats and Produce

So close to my home I could walk, Dave’s Meats and Produce has the most sensational meat counter and the nicest folks working there. Fresh cuts, prepped and ready to cook, broil, sauté or grill provide an easy answer to “what will I prepare for dinner tonight?”

I stop in every other week for beautiful, fresh organic produce (you must see the size of the white mushrooms — enormous!) and to pick up a white paper wrapped butcher package that I may or may not try to pass off as my own handiwork to dinner guests. Grinning, I always cough up the truth and pass on the good word. I want others to shop at Tacoma resident and butcher extraordinaire Dave Wenstad’s sweet local grocery store (and because I’m just not a liar by nature or design).

The good word? Two medium-sized, tender skinless, boneless free range chicken breasts rolled in Italian herbs and provolone cheese stuffed with mildly spicy salami ran me $9.84.  Toss with a jumbo head of romaine, vine ripened tomatoes and a basil bunch, and they  make for one heck of a healthy chicken salad dinner for two for just over $15.

Muted greens, subdued reds, hazy whites, soft yellows — I love Dave’s produce. The colors are soothing, and the vegetables are visually flawed, which is good. Imperfections tell me chemicals were not used in the growing process to pump up color or add eye appeal; it tells me the little vegetable genes haven’t been messed with. Give me a veggie that still has some dirt on it from the farm, and I’m oh so happy.

Give me a steak cut and seasoned by Dave, and I’ll ask for nothing more. OK, maybe a nice cabernet to go with it and a hot guy to grill it for me, and then I’ll ask for nothing more.

[Dave’s Meats and Produce, 1312 N. I St., Tacoma, 253.280.9999]

Art N Soul

Proctor District’s Art N Soul café’s inviting appearance demanded a quick look. Fair trade organic coffee beckoned, but I was already too amped up by the clear, brisk sunny day. I opted for a hot verbena mint tea.

The pottery studio adjacent piqued my interest, too. Shelves and shelves of raw pottery items from bowls, to ornaments, to star shaped trinket boxes, serving platters, and more were just waiting for someone with a creative mind to buy them, sit at one of many tables and bring them to life with brilliant glaze colors before they take a trip to the kiln. Prices depend on what you choose to paint. Perfect for kids and parents to do together.

[Art N Soul, 2701 N. Proctor St., Tacoma, 253.756.0444]