South Sounders head outdoors when the sun shines. In mild weather, we throw on a light jacket and ante up to patio furniture. Summer living - and eating - in the South Sound is even sweeter, especially with a waterfront view. Since we've been hitting 70-degree temps, it's time to take Eat This Now waterside, soak in some Vitamin D while treating the taste buds.

This week's al fresco dining dash takes us to Steamer's Seafood Café at Titlow Beach where you must eat its Blackened Rockfish Tacos ($9) now. A pair of fresh, warm golden brown flour or corn tortilla shells overflow with fresh rockfish. The tender white fish arrives with a little heat, mixed with roasted corn, black beans, cabbage and a creamy dressing.

My, oh my.

Served up with a small side of coleslaw and French fries perfectly seasoned with sea salt, pepper and a hint of sesame, this dish begs for seaside snacking.

Bonus: Steamer's family friendly digs includes a handful of warm weather brews on tap to pair with the tacos and delectable, creamy ice cream concoctions.

Or, skip the beer and introduce your Blackened Rockfish Tacos to the shoreline or neighboring sprayground.

STEAMER'S SEAFOOD CAFÉ, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 8802 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.565.4532

Every week we swap out the Served banner art above, introducing you to the people who serve food and drinks in the South Sound. This week, meet Todd McLaughlin.

Server Banner Boy, June 2-8, 2014

Todd McLaughlin

McLaughlin tends bar at Engine House No. 9, a restaurant, bar and brewery housed in a historic engine house in north Tacoma. He has been with X Group restaurants since 2008, and specifically E-9 for the last two-and-a-half years. Since September 2013, McLaughlin has also tended bar at Doyle's Public House in Tacoma Saturday nights.

Why do you serve?

"I serve for the people. And for the beer. Actually, I mostly serve for the beer."

Who is your favorite server in the South Sound?

"Favorite server has to be Ben Williams next door at Masa. He's just an all around badass bartender."

What are you most proud to serve?

"I'm most proud to serve anything coming out of E-9's barrel and sour program. It is all phenomenal beer that really sets our brewery apart from others."

What's your current drink of choice?

"Beer, of course and whiskey."

Favorite movie?

Old School

What don't you serve?

"I'll really serve whatever makes the guest happy. But I do my best to avoid selling Bud and Coors Light and encourage people to drink real beer."

What's on your radar at Engine House No. 9?

"I'm really excited for our annual sour fest on August 23 and for the new and first ever E-9 Berliner Weiss, which we just brewed."

LINK: Meet R.J. Adler from Pint Defiance

LINK: Meet Rose Peterson from 1022 South J

If you're like me, you're probably left wondering where May went. It seems that just yesterday spring began. But now it's time to kick off June, and the summer drinking season can officially begin. The lawn can wait.

JUNE 6

Talbott Vineyard Wine Tasting

Morso will tentatively pour 2011 Sara Case Chardonnay, 2012 Diamond T Pinot Noir, 2012 Kali Hart Pinot Noir, 2012 Logan Chardonnay and 2012 Logan Pinot Noir. There is a $5 fee per person for this event and is refunded with a wine purchase. Any wines purchased from the tasting may be served without a corkage fee on the night of the tasting. 5-7 p.m., $5, Morso Wine Bar, 9014 Peacock Hill Ave., Gig Harbor, 253.229.0187

Emerald Downs Brewer's Night

Northwest Brewing Company will be at the track with $2.50 craft pounders, Ottomatic DJ, prize drawings and more. 5-9 p.m., Emerald Downs Race Track, 2300 Emerald Downs Dr., Auburn, $7 entrance fee, 253.288.7000

JUNE 11

Georgetown Brewer's Night

Puyallup River Alehouse hosts Georgetown Brewing Company for a night of Georgetown beers, giveaways, raffles, dollar tacos and more. 6-9 p.m., no cover, Puyallup River Alehouse, 120 S. Meridian, Puyallup, 253.268.0955

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It's spring - but if you don't believe the weather, check your highball glass. You'll find a farmers' market's worth of fruits in seasonal cocktails around the South Sound, including The Forum in downtown Tacoma. The hip restaurant and bar in the historic Olympus Hotel - think Paddy Coyne's with more AC/DC and Arcade Fire - has released a batch of infused booze, perfect for its outdoor patio - which makes for good people watching. You may choose from Black Cherry Peach Gin, Raspberry Vodka, Blueberry Gin, Pecan Bourbon and Cucumber Lime Vodka. Sip the infusions on the rocks, or create a cocktail.

OK, OK, I'm getting to it. Yes, The Forum has a dish full of delicious fat, cream, cheese and nostalgia. The Forum's thick, homemade mac and cheese is gobsmacked with cheddar and Swiss mixed with meaty elbow macaroni. It's not elegant. It's not trying to show off. It's just happy, fun food, served with crunchy garlic bread and Pico de Gallo.

THE FORUM, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to midnight Sunday, 815 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.830.2151

What is the one thing that virtually no one wants to do when the South Puget Sound temperatures push into the upper 80s and beyond?

If you guessed slave over a hot stove to cook dinner, you would be absolutely correct.

Who wants to cook when the temperatures are sweltering? Getting hot and sweaty over a stove burner or by the oven is just no fun whatsoever. Even the barbeque grill on some days can be oppressive.

And who necessarily wants piping-hot food anyway when you're absolutely wilting from the heat?

The easy way out is to prepare a simple green salad, a cheese and fruit plate or maybe cold sandwiches, right?

Yet, do those ideas seem a little, well "yawn-worthy?"

Well, it doesn't have to be that way. There really are some terrific, easy and interesting no-cook dinner ideas out there for those warm days (or really any summer day). Many of them take great advantage of the bounty of fresh and seasonal produce available locally this time of year.

We asked local food experts for their takes on easy and delicious recipes that require no cooking at all.

So sit back, chill out and prepare to be inspired.

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Last time I visited my friend Heide in New York, I stumbled, quite accidentally, upon a great corned beef on rye at one of her favorite breakfast diner stops. Finding a high quality sandwich at a small coffee shop known more for its matzoh brei and blintzes than its meat on bread wasn't really much of a shock. The Big Apple is the unofficial capital of ethnic delicatessens.

Back home again, I wondered how the South Sound's delis would stack up when the urge for one of Manhattan's famed heart-stoppers hits.

Seeing as this endeavor begs the question of sandwich authenticity, let me say that a little research proved that there is much confusion over the, er, Reuben. So many competing parties lay claim to its invention (and therefore proper construction) that it's hard to separate the possibly valid from the surely apocryphal. For instance, to grill or not to grill, that is a question that has bothered many a brisket.

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Over the years, I know I've made mention of this simple (if shameful) fact at least once before: There is nothing so wonderful and so free as riding your bike around Tacoma while loaded on beer. Yes, it is irresponsible and it is dangerous. But so is anything else that is part of your birthright of fun. It is with this moral dilemma in mind that I mention two bicycling and beer drinking events going down this week.

Wednesday, May 28

The Red Hot's "TRH Pint Pedaler: A Bike Map to Tacoma's Craft Breweries" made its debut during Bike Month last year, revealing the best routes for cyclists navigating their way to Tacoma's craft breweries, including the locations of the city's cool bike shops in case your chain slips. If you follow this year's map by numerical order, the route begins at The Red Hot (natch!), then leads to Wingman Brewing, Harmon Brewery and Eatery, Tacoma Brewing Co., Harmon Tap Room, Engine House No. 9, Ram Big Horn Brewing on Ruston Way, ending at the soon-to-open Pacific Brewing Co. on Pacific Avenue. That's a glorious circle of deliciousness. Each suggested brewery and bike shop will carry the maps, too. The map is printed on Rite In The Rain weatherproof paper, so beer spills/rain/sweat/nose bleeds need not ruin your copy.

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I'm thrilled to report former Weekly Volcano scribe Steph DeRosa will grace our masthead again. DeRosa was a Volcano food, booze and dive bar writer from 2007 to 2012. She established an international reputation for her authoritative reviews and in-depth features on the inner-workings of the South Sound food and drink scene. Here's a taste from her first feature, which will hit the street Thursday.

Call me a scaredy cat, a wuss, or a coward - I don't care. I don't like airplanes and how they are all up the air without strings or legs or anything holding them up but fire and gas. I don't like the tube they put you in, the lady hacking up a lung three rows back or the stomach virus that one guy from New Jersey had last night but he still got on the plane today anyway. The four-inch-wide seats are no compliment to my fat ass, and even though I don't smoke, being up in all that anxiety makes me want to take a long, hard drag on a menthol.

Oh, and there's my paralyzing fear of kidnappings, vanishing flights in the Indian Ocean, the Italian judicial system and malaria. Those are all probable forces that haunt my inner traveler's soul. 

LINK: Steph DeRosa's story on the halo-halo dessert has posted.

Every week we swap out the Served banner art above, introducing you to the people who serve food and drinks in the South Sound. This week, meet R.J. Adler.

Server Banner Boy, May 26-June 1, 2014

R.J. Adler

Assistant manager, bartender, server

Pint Defiance, a craft and specialty beer store and taproom on the edge of Fircrest

Why do you serve?

"I serve for the love of great craft beer. This answer is complete cheese, but I mean it."

Who is your favorite server in the South Sound?

"Oof, I have to pick just one? Sean at the Parkway seems to have a preternatural sense for knowing what I want before I do."

What are you most proud to serve?

"Anything local. I love being able to say, 'Here, a guy I know made this.'"

What's your current drink of choice?

Berliner Weisse

Favorite movie?

"No Country for Old Men"

What don't you serve?

"I try not to get snobbish about beer but you won't find me cracking any 'cold-activated' cans, if you catch my drift.

What's on your radar at Pint Defiance?

We always have awesome events on our calendar - Deschutes Brewer's Night on June 11, a sour beer night on June 25. I'm also looking forward to all the summer seasonal releases that are hitting our shelves. I'll be trying them all ... ya know ... for research.

LINK: Meet last week's Served Banner Girl.

Do you remember all those career-placement tests you had to take in high school? The endless guidance-counselor appointments taking up your free periods? In all that time, did anyone ever happen to mention the possibility of becoming a professional whiskey taster?

Wednesday, June 25, Jim Beam Distillery is sending one to Toscanos Café and Wine Bar in Puyallup.

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