Scheduled for Friday, June 25, through Sunday, June 27, the 2010 Taste of Tacoma in Point Defiance Park will feature more than 30 restaurant booths, products from 20 food companies, a beer garden and wine tasting, five live music entertainment stages, comedy shows, amusement rides, and - of course - endless craft, art and merchandise booths. All of this and free admission, too.

This year ushers in change at the annual Taste of Tacoma summer festival. A new slogan - "Try more and spend less" - has an appropriate $3 taste to go along with it. Every restaurant is required to provide one item at the budget-friendly price of $3.

Not sure where to start? A good choice would be the Hope Heart Right Bite, a healthier menu option of either vegetarian, lower calorie or low-fat items. Watch for the heart-shaped apple Right Bite logo denoting healthier items on menus. We at the Weekly Volcano (most of us, anyway) applaud the Taste of Tacoma for taking steps to offer food choices that will support healthy eating habits for kids and adults. Don't worry, though, full-fat items such as elephant ears and curly fries still will be available. Since no festival is complete without food contests and awards, Right Bites will be judged separately, and one restaurant will be given the "Best Right Bite" award for tastiest healthiest item.

Here's the thing about the Taste of Tacoma: There are two sides to every coin. You can be bummed that shockingly few Tacoma restaurants are participating in the Taste this year - which is not rare - or you can be excited to try food from places you're not willing to drive to for a simple taste of their cuisine. On the home front, Southern Kitchen represents T-town in a big way with bowls of its sensational gumbo and jambalaya, and Famous Dave's BBQ serves up a Georgia chopped pork sandwich, hot links, and ribs.

A little further from home, but headed to the Taste of Tacoma nonetheless, first year participant Milton's Russian Piroshky will offer a Right Bite of cabbage, carrot and mushroom piroshky. Puyallup's Aloha Hawaiian Grill plans to offer Kalua pork and chicken and - a favorite of mine - haupia coconut custard. Be sure to stop by and give them some Grit City love. 

And from outside the 253, Blue Elephant's grilled salmon over salad with pomegranate dressing seems worth sampling along with chicken and artichoke crepes from festival favorite Crepe Tyme. Sounding most intriguing, Columbia City's Eloi: Taste of the Caribbean will serve jerk chicken or pork on a stick, garbanzo beans and spinach over rice, and curry goat. Speaking of out of the ordinary, try spicy Korean pork tacos from Korean BBQ Tacos or Half Moon Bay's shrimp quinoa salad. Quinoa is a protein rich, naturally low-fat seed similar to fluffy, slightly crunchy rice. Thirty-year restaurant veteran Kaleenka Piroshky offers green Cossack, a delicious sounding dish of lemon parsley dill sauce topped potatoes.

Food that travels easily is always popular. New Orleans Cookery has alligator on a stick, and there will be honey lemongrass chicken skewers from Seattle's Bambuza Vietnam Bistro as well as East Indian-style butter chicken kabob and samosas from Chutneys Grille. An interesting take on "healthy food" is the Right Bite from Ziegler's Bratwurst; the bun-less veal brat is self-explanatory.

Also, being a veg-head does not have to be boring and droll.  Though there will be plenty of salad, nosh on tofu spring rolls, cabbage and rice, sweet potato fries, Korean tofu tacos, hummus, veggie filled crepes and gyros, and veggie stir-fry. I'm betting The Frankfurter's Right Bite is a meatless dog spiked heavily with sun-dried tomatoes.

On the sweet side, check out Eloi's iced coconut milk, Mrs. B's sugar free ice cream and assorted pastries, strawberry/raspberry shortcake from Arlington's Biringer Farm, and a variety of ice cream from this year's featured vendor - Ben & Jerry's.

All of this goes without saying 2010 is the 25th birthday celebration of the Taste of Tacoma. We're hoping the word "birthday" means there'll be cake.

Mmmm cake.

Taste of Tacoma

11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, June 25-Saturday, June 26, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, June 27, free admission
Point Defiance Park 5400 N. Pearl St., Tacoma
tasteoftacoma.com