Vuelve enchiladas

The genuine cuisine of Mexico isn’t easy to find unless you’re a guest in a Mexican home where traditional cooking is prized. But friendly staff delivering comforting, well-prepared dishes in an unpretentious setting comes close. Nestled off Pacific Avenue at 53rd, Vuelve a la Vida serves giant portions and buckets of beer that deflect your attention from the restaurant’s décor of Mexican tchotchkes.

I’m not usually a big fan of enchiladas in Mexican restaurants because what usually appears is a big, greasy mess of melted cheese on a plate, with tortillas that have disintegrated into mush. But the cheese enchiladas ($9.25) at Vuelve were terrific with wonderful texture as well as flavor, and not cooked to death as is typically the case. They arrive with guacamole, sour cream and your choice of a 6-ounce chicken breast or slab of carne asada on the plate. Chicken was a wise choice, which was pounded into the shape of a heart. I loved it.

As part of the dish, on a separate plate, rice and refried beans towered. The beans were creamy with a chicken broth taste. Yum.

[Vuelve a la Vida, 5310 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.473.7068]

Bluewater Wireless Café Business Center

Bluewater Wireless Café Business Center follows the “concept of creating a different kind of business with a customer-centered base,” according to their Web site.

I’ll tell you what they did. They stuck a café serving coffee and sandwiches in the back room of a telecommunications retail business that also offers a business center. They sell GPS tracking services, datacards, Blackberries and wireless solutions — and a tasty latte.

I surfed the Web in their café while watching the tragic events in Iran on Fox, sipped coffee and listened to tunes swirl about from multiple speakers. — JDP

[Bluewater Wireless Café Business Center, 3323 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.471.2675]