Fire and Rain pizza 

A simple glance at The Rock Wood Fired Pizza’s new Fire and Rain pizza ingredients sent my belly afire: mozzarella, garlic, buffalo chicken, shredded carrots, celery and bleu cheese dressing.  The combination alone was enough to get my blood pumpin’ for the party about to happen upon my taste buds.  The toppings laid flawlessly atop the wood fired thin crust that just happened to hold it all together, without overpowering the perfectly paired menagerie of hot sauce, chicken, and veggies. 

Omit the finger-lickin’ mess next time you get a hankering for some hot wings and roll up your sleeves for this original feast of fire.  Oh, and don’t forget the beer, your mouth is going to need it. — Steph DeRosa

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

Ranch House reopens

Ah, such gooey goodness! BBQ sauce dripping from your beard and gumming your hands! Olympia’s famous Ranch House BBQ is reopening at last after being completely destroyed in a mudslide on Dec. 12, 2007. While operating out of a temporary downtown location, the business was hit again — this time with a roof fire — and the grand re-opening was delayed by snow storms and flooding. What more could go wrong?

But finally the day is near. The grand re-opening will be Monday, Feb. 9 starting at 11 a.m.

While owner and chef Amy Anderson and co-founder Melanie Tapia promise the same award-winning BBQ, you will notice some changes. “Just about everything is new,” says Tapia. “We really wanted to keep it the same ole’ Ranch but between the mudslide and fire, it was just all gone.”  Although the overall size of the building is the same, upgrades include the addition of air conditioning and central heat, a cocktail lounge and kitchen upgrades. Yum. — Alec Clayton

[Ranch House BBQ, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, 10841 Kennedy Creek Road S.W., Olympia off Highway 8, 360.866.8704]