I know gourmets who scoff at the thought of eating south of Center Street in Tacoma. So ask them to eat in Olympia and you’re likely to hear: “I’m sorry, maybe you are unaware, but I don’t dine among anarchists and women formally known as Joe.”

Olympia, overshadowed by peace marchers, ardent environmentalists and alternative lifestylers, may need a new branding campaign to get the favorable attention of their more conservative neighbors, something along the lines of: “Olympia: We taste better than our street kids smell” or “Olympia: Our vegan ragu won’t make you gay.”

My guess, however — aside from the few restaurant owners with grand illusions of getting rich, Olympia doesn’t think it needs to change to attract more Tacomans anymore than they want pesticides on their heirloom tomatoes or GMO chickens nesting in their dreadlocks.

To be accurate, the streets of Olympia do not flow 24/7 with Pride marchers and Green Peacers. Sure, bikers peddle past frequently, some sporting “Bush Sucks” bumper stickers plastered to their hemp man purses — but that’s the charm of a progressive, if not slightly pissed-off city.

Dining in our state’s capital requires little less than an open mind and an appetite. You must, however, appreciate a certain uncouthness — a funky vibe — especially a respect for the alternatives, to get this place. In our increasingly homogenized world, Olympia remains like nowhere else. And that, I figure, explains why I keep going back there to eat.

Oh the people you meet

Olympia cooks in a certain eight blocks at the heart of the city — between Fourth Avenue and Legion, Jefferson and Capital. To understand this area, one needs only to step inside tiny Buck’s Culinary Spice Store near the corner of Fifth and Washington, next door to one of the city’s best breakfast spots — Darby’s.

Think Olympia diorama when side-stepping around Buck’s random merchandise bandied about on tables and chairs, or while gazing at mixed-matched jars of rare spices marked with faded pen across decade-old tape ends.

Anne Buck, proprietor, tells me she markets across the globe (since 1973) but lacks the commitment to list online all of the many spices she sells or can make available. Want something? Anything? Call, e-mail or stop in the old fashioned way — she promises significant savings on everything from garlic peppercorns to black lava sea salt — but, like Olympia itself, she makes no pretenses or any (brace yourself Wal-Mart) aggressive merchandising efforts. Blink and you may miss her shop altogether — a culinary mistake of epic proportions (apropos considering Buck resides in a city that derived its name from the Olympic Mountains which, of course, traces it’s name to Greece where all things “epic” were born).

To meet Olympia’s next character, walk two blocks from the spice shop to visit Franco Cannova at Sorrento Italian Restaurant (430 Legion Way). Besides offering the South Sound’s (maybe the world’s) best rack of lamb, owner Franco takes most of the orders personally, delivering a show-stopping dramatic reading of the menu in one act. 

Cannova lacks piercing and tattoos, but he will describe his home baked bread as if it were a beautiful woman, and when he lovingly chastises the help, like only a real Italian curmudgeon can, it’s difficult not to (perversely) shout “encore.” In recent years he’s expanded the joint and filled in his whole smile with teeth, but since the beginning, the food remains Olympia’s best.

Da funk

I wonder sometimes if Olympians realize how lucky they are to have Old School Pizza (108 Franklin St.). Clearly the best college pizza joint not right next to a college, Old School bakes thin pizza pies in a shabby building plastered with rock posters, Star Wars mobiles and slightly surely order-takers — packing in everyone from La Leche leaguers to mid-level bureaucrats during the lunch rush.

Old School’s pizza monikers say all that needs to be said. There’s the Tree Hugger (your choice of five veggies), the Nuge (minced pepperoni, sausage, Canadian bacon and andouille), and the Al Green (no sauce, ricotta, broccoli and mozzarella). I especially adore the eggplant Parm pizza, but unless you want to eat standing up or over the Pac Man console, arrive early to get a seat.

After heavy pizza, ward off a needed siesta at Bandaloop Brothers Coffee and Tea (203 Fourth Ave.) for a Mayan Mocha. This bad boy features a little cayenne with its caffeine, plus a few other spices to warm your spirit — engage your senses — challenge you. Not only satisfying, but also when you boil things down, it’s exactly the message you should take home with you from Olympia.

The next seven days

Ready to cross Center Street? Take the following seven-day Olympia immersion tour and visit these classic spots in eight blocks to discover for yourself what a funky city tastes like.

Sunday: Sorrento (see above).
Monday: Darby’s Cafe for vegan or buttermilk biscuits and gravy (211 Fifth Ave.).
Tuesday: Old School Pizza (see above).
Wednesday: QB for finely crafted, real food sandwiches, tacos and burritos (216 Fourth Ave.).
Thursday: Urban Onion to discover how vegetarian dishes should taste (116 Legion).
Friday: Fish Tale BrewPub for organic bar food and, of course, local beers (515 Jefferson).
Saturday: Acqua Via to enjoy the cheese bar and duck prosciutto salad (500 Capital Way).