Flip-N-Out Burgers

Dropped by the new Flip-N-Out Burger joint during March Snowstorm 2009.This independently-owned restaurant in the former 12th Street Diner spot across from Mandolin Café had a snow-free parking lot providing little chance of me flip-n-out on my back.

The kitchen makes thick, hand-formed patties (with plastic gloves) free of “preservatives and fillers,” grinded on site, then cooks them on the grill until they’re well done but juicy. The burger comes loaded with mustard, mayo, ketchup, lettuce, tomato, and grilled onions unless you ask for the other free options: hot sauce, steak sauce, jalapeno peppers, pickles, grilled mushrooms, and more. My cheeseburger was a stratum of flavor and texture, thereby elevating the importance of the interplay of toppings and folding everything — toasted bun, burger, American cheese, mustard and ketchup, grilled onion, sweet tomato, pickles, lettuce and grilled mushrooms — into a single, over-arching burger gestalt.

The menu also includes double burgers and cheeseburgers, kosher hot dogs, bacon hot dogs, cheese dogs, veggie dogs, fries, Coke products and shakes.

The burger options are priced $3.39-$5.89. The hot dog options sit at $2.49-$4.09. Free peanuts are available in the dining room. — Ron Swarner



[Flip-N-Out Burger, 4008 S. 12th St., Tacoma, 253.267.7002]

Chicken quesadilla

Family owned by Reyna and Felix Guzman, Reyna’s Mexican Restaurant holds true to what a family restaurant should be.  Reyna herself greets you at the door and helps you decide what to pick from the menu.  After scooping up their homemade salsa, Felix makes his way out of the kitchen, pulls a chair up to your table, and asks you how your day’s been.  It doesn’t take more than a few visits to really feel as though you are part of their family.

My chicken quesadilla came out warm, thick, and chocked full of those damn pickled jalapeños I love so much.  Those little suckers are on my list of top five favorite pickled food items.  Yes, such a list exists. Don’t laugh. — Steph DeRosa

[Reyna’s Mexican Restaurant, 411 Garfield St., Parkland, 253.538.2368]

Grilled Salmon Salad

I beat Tacomachickadee to our lunch date destination, Over the Moon Café, by about 15 minutes. That was just enough time to grab the perfect corner chair and snuggle up to a deep, oak-flavored glass of red wine. And by “chair” I don’t mean hard piece of wood covered in something resembling a cushion. I mean a REAL chair — the wingback kind you find in your grandma’s living room where the seat is lovingly worn and you sink into luxury the minute your ass hits the fabric. If there is such thing as a heaven, this place was it, and I was there. After perusing the lunch menu a bit, I made the difficult salad decision (they all looked wonderful) and chose their Grilled Salmon Salad.

 

Description: Fresh spring greens are a perfect base to the best of salads, and Over the Moon Café pulled out no stops when it came to providing their guests with this fundamental salad foundation. Sautéed in olive oil, a wild salmon filet rested underneath rings of pickled purple onions and beside chunks of dill- seasoned celery, onions and capers. Note: No croutons!

 

Taste: Salmon, as with almost fish, can be tricky. Over the Moon Café provided this salad with a salmon that was perfectly juicy on the inside, yet lightly crisp on the outside — all while holding it’s own when it came to flavor. There was nothing overpowering about the fish, and it graciously allowed its pickled accompaniments to do their job by simply enhancing what salmon is supposed to taste like.

 

My favorite part, and the most deliciously refreshing salad topping I’ve had in a long time, came to me by means of onion. The flavor that those purple pickled onions put out was unbeatable. Partnered with their extremely fresh dill-seasoned celery, texture and zest married together delightfully well.

 

Conclusion: Over the Moon Café wraps you in comfort from the minute you walk in. Guests can feel the privacy as they dine, and end up being totally unaware there are other people in the room. Unique décor, mood lighting, and comfortable arrangements make this Opera Alley café top notch in the ambiance department. Add to that their homemade desserts and dreamy entrees, and Over the Moon Café has the perfect relaxation destination ready for you — right in the middle of Tacoma.

[Over the Moon Cafe, 709 Court C, Tacoma, 253.284.3722]