Tuna salad croissant

Of course I love the Mandolin Café. It’s the Harmonic Concordance of restaurants. It’s one of those rare venues where students studying calculus, vibrant flamenco guitar music, businesspeople updating their Web sites, Tacoma French Club, family lunch, teens texting on comfy couches, espresso pulled right, warm interior and delicious food take a step forward in unison, and inward, cosmically and spiritually speaking. It’s shockingly cool interconnectedness of all spirit and sandwiches and music and wine make me want to tear my clothes off and make love in front of its fireplace while you sit home and scoff and shrug and watch Howie Do It.

And somehow I love the Mandolin Café even more today. Holy Bring Back Pluto As A Planet I discovered the Mandolin’s tuna salad croissant. I knew I had tasted perfection. Somehow owners Creig Kostoff and Marla Simms have managed to find the perfect combination of creamy tuna goodness with celery and cilantro and cheddar cheese and flakey buttery goodness grilled flat so people may fling it like a Frisbee and I would fetch it every time. — Ron Swarner

[Mandolin Café, 3923 S. 12th St., Tacoma, 253.761.3482]

Drunken Noodles with Chicken

I was Peter Rabbit in McGregor’s garden as my friends and I perused the menu at Galanga Thai on Broadway. One, two, three, or four stars?  How hot is four stars, really?  It takes a lover of all things heat to go for the gold, to go for the fourth star.  That lover was not me.

I went for the Drunken Noodles with Chicken ($8.95), three star heat.  Wide rice noodles mixed with fresh basil, tomato, onion, carrot, bell peppers, egg, chicken, and of course — chilies.  Eaten immediately upon arrival as the dish is still warm, these spicy red chilies exploded like a piñata in my mouth, dancing all the way through lunch. — Steph DeRosa

[Galanga Thai Cuisine, 1129 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.272.3393]

Blue cheese wedge

I asked Brian the bartender at The Rock Wood Fired Pizza the same annoying question I ask ever server, “What salad should I get?” If an employee of the restaurant thinks it’s good, it must be. Right? Right. In this case he was definitely right. Brian immediately suggested the new Bleu Cheese Wedge ($8.99) stating that it was deceivingly big. Luckily for Brian I like biting into things that are deceivingly big, so I was SOLD.

Two very fresh and crisp iceberg wedges were split apart on a medium-sized plate. Between the wedges a montage of goodies such as tomatoes, bleu cheese crumbles, and The Rock’s pepper bacon were cradled gingerly and covered in a light blanket of homemade bleu cheese dressing. Beside this precious salad baby came a warm, soft roll and a pad of butter.

I’m a huge fan of the pungent cheeses and peppered bacons, so this was right up my alley. With heavy toppings such as ones noted here, another lettuce besides The Rock’s crisp and hearty iceberg most likely wouldn’t have stood up. There’s no need for wimpy greens or zesty spring herbs, the entire flavor is taken care of right there in all its Bleu-ey, bacon-ey goodness atop a hearty wedge of lettuce. — SD

[The Rock Wood Fired Pizza and Spirits, 1920 Jefferson Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.1221]