MORE COFFEE COMES TO LAKEWOOD >>>

Usually, those entering the City of Lakewood via Custer Road grabbed their morning coffee from a shack in front of a carwash or from a young woman frothing skim milk in a bikini 20 yards down the road.

This morning, at the corner of Lakewood Drive and Custer Road, Starbucks Coffee finally moved in under the sign that's been hanging since March. The new fancy coffee joint with a drive-thru opened in a mini-strip mall anchored by Sound Glass across from H&L Produce. Cheery apron-clad barista Tajana handed out free pastry samples to motorists idling in front of the Chevron station.

No word yet if Starbucks will try to compete with neighboring Hot Chick-a-latte's "White-T Tuesdays." campaign.

SOUTH SOUND NEWS, NIBBLES AND BITES >>>

Tacoma Avenue Hole: JoAnna and Tom Irick quietly opened the SideBar Bistro last summer, and now have quielty closed it – along with their other restaurant Hot Rod Dog next door at 11th and Tacoma Avenue South.

Cicada In Olympia: Chris Cratsenberg and Jen Thornson are the new owners of Cicada Restaurant and Lounge. While they say there will be little changes to the menu, the new owners will change the interior and have added two 50-inch TVs in the lounge for sports games. The new hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.

Pan-Asain: Cafe Banana will open Sept. 15 in the spot Goodfellas Steakhouse once occupied at Great American Casino in Lakewood. it's been tagged as an upscale Asain bistro.

Adding Land: Sushi rocks next to the cinemas at Capital Mall in Olympia has closed and Land and See Buffet is moving into its spot.

Maxwell's Speakeasy: Maxwell's new owners will roll out a new menu Sept 13 with a grand "red carpet" re-opening in mid October.

LINK: Half-priced wine bottles tonight!

ICONICALLY GOOD >>>

The phrase "destination restaurant" often creates visions of white tablecloths and fine china.

Not for me.

Pilgrimage worthy food doesn't always come from a cosmopolitan - or corporate - kitchen.  Astoundingly good vittles might be served out of a nondescript building in the most unlikely of places.

Like Burs Restaurant on Steilacoom Boulevard in Lakewood.

The place began as the Lakewood Coffee Shop in 1952 when Al and Jeanne McGinnis served homemade pies and pastries to go with that cup of morning eye-opener.

Then in the early 1970s, Will Burslem and his wife, Verna Burris, bought the business and renamed it Burs - a cute combination of their two last names.

Since then, the restaurant has been the unofficial meeting place for Lakewood.

Not only is the food good - you will make liberal use of your napkin - but the atmosphere of Burs reminded me of the feeling I get when I'm wearing a beat up pair of jeans, a loose fitting hoodie, oh-so-comfortable shoes and a well-worn baseball cap.

Add the fact that the waitresses seem to know everyone who walks in by their first name, and you're starting to get the idea.

Then again, there are the folks who have been coming into Burs since I was knee-high to a grasshopper.

Mike Gaines had just finished his breakfast of eggs, hash browns, toast and coffee when I slid into the booth seat opposite him.

He told me he first walked into Burs for lunch on February 11, 1975.  It must have been one damn good lunch because like clockwork he's been coming back every day since then when the doors open in the morning.

"Not only is the food good and the waitresses friendly, but at certain times on certain days you would see certain people sat in their spots," Gaines said with certitude.

Another cool thing about Burs is the 11-seat counter that runs parallel to the kitchen area. 

On the front page of a newspaper dated March 11, 1952, there is a picture of the counter.  As if caught in time, it hasn't much changed since then.

I often occupy seat nine when I drop in to grab a couple of orders of Wrecked Eyes for my wife and me.

Across the counter is a pie case, filled with apple, lemon meringue, cherry and banana cream pies, a picture of heaven.

To the right is a coffee machine that is constantly filled and refilled as the time passes.

And brother has time passed.

Waitresses, some of whom have been around for over a quarter of a century, talk with customers, many of whom have been coming in for 30 or 40 years.

Through a window I watch the cooks working and putting various dishes up of gin-u-wine homecookin'.  The smell of food overwhelms me like the leading edge of a Category 5 hurricane.

This is a place you're gonna want to return to.

You'll have to excuse me now - I'm hungry.

[Burs Restaurant, 6151 Steilacoom Blvd. SW, Lakewood, 253.588.4844]

LINK: South Sound coffee shops

THIS IS ACROSS THE STREET FROM AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL >>>

There's a guillotine sitting in the backyard of a home in Lakewood. We didn't grab a closer shot for obvious reasons.

C'MON ON! >>>

Monday's suck. It's a well-known fact. The party-of-a-lifetime hangover is still ripe and pounding. Your boss's view of what is priority is far from the top of your priority list.

You might be able to cure that horrible case of the Mondays with the follow South Sound specials:

Man Day Monday

Fast Eddie Felson from the 1961 classic The Hustler wasn't good with booze, money or women. But he could sure shoot a mean game of pool, and that made all the difference. Malarkey‘s Pool & Brew offers Man Day Mondays with half-priced burgers, 25 percent off drinks and free pool on the 9-foot tables. Half-priced burgers and free pool? Fast Eddie would be proud.

[Malarkey‘s Pool & Brew, Open until 2 a.m. daily, no cover, 445 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma, 253.383.3301]

Rockaraoke

Let's tally up the score for Jazzbones Rockaraoke, shall we? A chance to sing onstage with a live band? Yes. Two dollar Miller High Life? Yes. A valid excuse to drink on a Monday (repeat, Monday) night? Yes, yes and, oh God, yes.

[Jazzbones Restaurant and Nightclub, live band karaoke, 9 p.m., no cover ladies, $3 men, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.396.9169]

Pasta And Pints

If you've noticed we're pushing local breweries lately, you've caught us. We can't stay away from local beer. Plus, there's something about a local brewery that screams perfect date night. A couple pints of lager, a couple side salads, a doggy bag for the happy couple. ... Powerhouse Restaurant and Brewery in Puyallup offers a pasta and pint combination every Monday that's easy on the wallet. Buy pasta off the menu and get any one of Powerhouse's seven beers free of charge. 

[Powerhouse Restaurant and Brewery, Open until 9:30 p.m. on weekdays, 454 E. Main, Puyallup, 253.845.1370]

LINK: Happy hours on right now

ONLINE CHATTER >>>

Today's comment comes from Effie Huston in response to our restaurant listing for Lakewood's Barbecue Inn.

Huston writes,

The food is great and the staff (family) is very friendly.They really treat the military families with much repect.

Cocktails and dinner can be had outside on the nice deck. Bob sure knows how to keep his little back lawn very green and plush. And Ann loves to decorate with the flowers. Also, a horseshoe pit in the back. You can hear the music, be it the jukebox or karaoke, on the outdoor speakers! Great on a hot summer evening.

Make it YOUR place for birthdays, anniversary or any kind of party. They have a great menu, and with some planning ahead, Ann may be able to put her 'magic touch' to work in helping decorate for your own party needs. She is the queen of party decorating!

I LOVE the BBQ Inn and their employees. Judy, the bartender is really fun and she knows how to make any drink you desire!

They make you feel like part of the family and you leave with a good dining experience.

COME AND GET IT >>>

Bobble Tiki has been alive many years; he's been a male for all of them, and Bobble Tiki therefore doesn't roller-skate.  Granted, back when he was a tiny tiki - before he knew what the hell a dance was, let alone Farrah Fawcett, back when boys received their introductions to the sweet delicacies of girls at skating rinks - Bobble Tiki gave it a try.  To no avail, Bobble Tiki was the nerd tiki who inched along the rink with his hands fastened to the wall the whole damn way, usually with a Tootsie Pop dangling from his hair.  And because women back then didn't dig tikis who couldn't skate to Badfinger, or tikis with springs for that matter, Bobble Tiki was hopeless.

Since Bobble Tiki already had entered his lifelong enslavement to the allure of the opposite sex, he took it upon himself to learn the whole evil business of roller-skating, even if it killed him.  After five months, encouraged by his tyrannical hormones, Bobble Tiki made it through all of "Day After Day" without grabbing someone's headgear.

Unfortunately, by the time Bobble Tiki learned to skate, it was considered gay for dudes.

As the ‘70s rolled along, even women gave it up.  They traded in their skates at an earlier age than their mothers had, in favor of shopping, Peter Frampton and makeup, or whatever. Even the roller derby out of Portland Bobble Tiki used to watch on the tube faded away.

In 2004, the Women's Flat Track Derby Association emerged, establishing itself as the governing body over the confederation of leagues and independent teams around the nation, including Tacoma and Olympia.  The sport has attracted women of various backgrounds looking for an escape from the culture of shopping, Matthew McConaughey, makeup, or whatever. The Weekly Volcano has followed the action in Tacoma and Olympia since its inception in 2006.

And here we are today. Tacoma's original roller derby league - Dockyard Derby Dames - will roll onto the track for their final bout of their fifth season Saturday at Pierce College. First up, Tacoma's Dockyard Derby Dames Undertow battles it out against Joint Base Lewis-McChord Bettie Brigade. Then, Dockyard's All-Star team, Wave of Mutilation, take on a mixed team from around the Pacific Northwest - skaters from Bellingham Roller Betties, Jet City, Rat City, Rose City, Emerald City and Cherry City.

Bobble Tiki will attend the last Dames bout of the season, just as long as no one plays Badfinger on the loudspeaker. If Bobble Tiki hears "No Matter What," he'll instinctively head toward the wall. No one wants to see that.

Dockyard Derby Dames Final Bout

Saturday, Aug. 20, 6 p.m., $12 advance, $15 door
Pierce College Health Ed Center
9401 Farwest Dr. SW, Lakewood
website

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Tonight: Tacoma City Council set to vote on the proposal to 1) ban blightful digital billboards from the City of Tacoma, 2) require the removal of non-conforming static billboards by March 1, 2011 (Tacoma Urbanist)

High-ho, The Derry-o: Lakewood takes a stand on pot farms. (News Tribune)

Now What?: Time to buy gold and run for the hills. (Reuters)

Riots: This is really fucking up their Olympics image (New York Times)

Wow: Frances Bean Cobain is all grown up. (Stereogum)

Can't wait: On the set of Mad Men. (Inside TV)

MAKE MONEY OFF YOUR JUNK >>>

Happy pigs and human heads carved from coconuts. T-shirts, coffee mugs, salt and pepper shakers, trays, bells and toothpick holders stenciled with Florida iconography. One person's tacky is another's kitsch at Lakewood's community garage sale Junk in the Trunk, where people stuff their automobiles with, er, stuff they want to sell. I'll list more items you might find at Junk in the Trunk: metal frames bordered with leaping dolphins, necklaces, nightlights made from mollusks' shiny homes.

Even if you don't buy any of the crap they're hawking, it's worth a visit for people-watching purposes alone. And if you happen to be looking for old lamps, cheap socks or worn-down appliances, all the better.

Junk in the Trunk

Saturday, Aug. 6, 9 a.m., free
8 a.m. for those wanting to sell, $10 fee
Lakewood City Hall, 6000 Main St. SW, Lakewood
253.983.7887

THE WEEK'S FREEBIES JULY 18-25 >>>

If legendary cowboy Shane were in the South Sound for the week, he might ride along the Puyallup river, past Eric Anderson's moving van, past the ships docked along Schuster Parkway, around the sewer work at the closed Puget Gulch, then hitch his horse outside the future site of the Tacoma Food Co-Op, jump on the phone and help the Co-Op reach its fundraising goal. He would end his night at neighboring The Red Hot with a spirited game of Dominos, and then fall happily asleep next to the outdoor fireplace at Hotel Murano. He would wake up naturally the next day at sunrise, and do it all over again, adding a stack of flapjacks from Old Milwaukee Cafe and the free events listed below to his routine.

MONDAY 7-18: The week starts off on a wild note when the Tacoma Cult Movie Club presents a night of films centered around the theme: "He's A Very Naughty Boy - You Might Want To Give This Bad Boy A Spanking" beginning at 7 p.m. inside The Acme Grub Cage. We have no idea what that means, but we're sure Shane would side with TCMC co-producers Rev. Colin and Mat Hat Tobin.

TUESDAY 7-19: Shane might head toward American Lake Park for the rootin'-tootin'-est Lakewood's Brightest Star local talent competition finals at 6:30 p.m. Shane would do what comes natural, shooting his guns in the air after every song. No one in the crowd would flinch. 

WEDNESDAY 7-20: Shane's personal repression and remorse could surface if he attended Author Chellis Swenson Jensen reading of her book, Meet Mrs. Annathena Gilly Gully From Puddle Rumple Tilly Willy, at 10:30 a.m. inside the Garfield Book Company in Parkland. Afterward, all the kids would yell "Shane, come back!" but only because the cowboy stole their temporary tattoo stickers. Also Wednesday, Abby Road Live Beatles tribute band at Pioneer Park in Steilacoom from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

THURSDAY 7-21: Shane would have to push his horse Thursday. Naturally, Shane would attend the screening of archival films showing Schafer Brothers Logging Company operations in the 1920s at 7 p.m. inside the bitchin' new University Place Library. Shane would irritate the crowd with his mouth harp. Next, he'd gallop toward Tollefson Plaza before the 8:30 p.m. showing of this year's "Best of The Grand's 72 Hour Film Competition" on a giant outdoor screen. Afterward, he'd discover sake at neighboring TWOKOI Japanese Restaurant and spent the rest of the night on guard at the base of the 20-foot high welcome figure.

FRIDAY 7-22: The man, the myth, the legend, would probably make an appearance at the free outdoor screening of Shane at Donkey Creek Park in Gig Harbor at 9 p.m. No doubt Shane would be forced to spend the night in a Gig Harbor slammer because of his inability to deal rationally with the Good To Go system.

SATURDAY 7-23: At 2 p.m. Shane would rope his horse in front of King's Books for Gudrun Aurand's class on repairing torn paper. Fascinated with King's owner sweet pea's outfit of the day, the two probably would become close friends baking muffins into the wee hours. Also Saturday, Tacoma's EnviroHouse hosts a free 10:30 a.m. workshop titled "Garden Design, Soils & Pest Management."

SUNDAY 7-24: Someone Shane would get bit during NADOi endorsed dog trainer Jeanne Hampf's 1 p.m. free workshop on "How to Keep Your Dog Happy and Safe at the Dog Park" at the Gig Harbor Branch Library. Slumped over on his horse, Shane would follow the same path that he took entering the South Sound.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound