Walkie Talkie Blog
INSTANT ST. PATRICK'S DAY >>> Tacoma Irish bars on St. Patrick's Day are like casinos on the Vegas Strip: loud, crammed packed, and catalysts for regret. I'm spending my St. Patrick's Day in front of the fire with a bottle of Jameson and food to go from Affairs in University Place. Owner
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TUESDAYS ARE A GOOD BOOZE DAYS >>> Midweek tends to be dangerous territory for restaurants. Empty tables lead to idle wait staff, and as our mother always told us, the devil will find work for idle hands. Frankly, we never saw a problem with the devil finding work for slothful folks.
Walkie Talkie Blog
TUESDAY FILM SERIES ALERT >>> I often think the Academy Awards have about as much to do with honoring cinematic excellence as a high school cheerleading contest has to do with which girl does the best backflips. I wish the television broadcast could include a screening of the winning live action
Walkie Talkie Blog
BENEFIT FOR A GYMNASTICS SUPERSTAR >>> I'm going to start St. Patrick's Day off right this year. Before heading out to drink gawd-awful green beer, I'm going to load up on delicious Irish-ish food at Babblin' Babs Bistro. As you know, the break and lunch spot in Tacoma's Proctor District periodically
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EATING A SAUSAGE SAMMICH AFTER CLUBING >>> A frequently asked question around the Weekly Volcano World Headquarters is, "Where, at midnight, after hitting every bar from Lakewood to North Tacoma, can we stuff our faces and thus perhaps avert a hangover of colossal proportion?" Typically, if it's payday, we hit El Gaucho's
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FOOD MATTERS >>> Spew sifts through the Internets for local food stories so you don't have to. Of course we're going to lead off with our goodies. The Weekly Volcano tells you how to get your chocolate on Valentine's Day. Also, Jennifer Johnson explains how local restaurants are going smaller, fresher and
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LOVE COVERED IN CHOCOLATE >>> Label me a sentimental fool, but I confess up front to having an affinity for St. Valentine's Day that is hopelessly and helplessly romantic. Sure it's become a "Hallmark Holiday," but it's also a time of year when the imagination is the limit to the range
Walkie Talkie Blog
LET'S LOOK AT A MENU >>> Stop with the tirade about hating Hallmark holidays. Clearly, it's true that Valentine's Day is an artificial way of forcing you to synchronize your expressions of love, loyalty, and romance with those of the rest of the world, but you have to admit that it's
Walkie Talkie Blog
BE A PART OF HISTORY >>> They have become blues superstars by different paths, but for both vocalist Diunna Greenleaf and pianist Clay Swafford, it has been their reverence for the history of the blues that has made them such a big part of its future. In the immediate future,
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OUR CONTINUED LOVE AFFAIR WITH DIRTY OSCAR'S ANNEX >>> Since taking the lead in the kitchen almost six months ago, Chef Aaron Grissom of Dirty Oscar's Annex has seen firsthand how easily faces come and go in the restaurant business. "It's hard to find someone that fits with the other personalities that
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FIRST BITE AT CAFE BANANA IN LAKEWOOD >>> In more than a decade of writing for the Weekly Volcano, I've come to depend heavily on restaurant leads from its knowledgeable readers. I can't be everywhere at once, and feedback from readers has frequently led me to restaurant gems
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WE SAY SWALLOW >>> It's time for your big holiday feast, and you've decided to go as local as possible. You have your ham from Cheryl The Pig Lady, cheeses from Black Sheep Creamery, desserts from Mama's Bakery and your wine from - France? To make your meal truly local, try
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COOL WINE TASTING >>> Many wine tastings are stylish and graceful events held inside fancy restaurants. The wines are perfectly matched with complicated, delicious food that I wouldn't take the time to prepare even if I had the recipes. Or there's the other kind of wine tasting, where everyone shows up at
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COMFORT FOOD IN TACOMA >>> Macaroni and cheese, the college kid's comfort dish, isn't particularly classy or healthy. But, the list of pros weigh heavy, like a poundful of the stuff after the clubs close. Macaroni and cheese is cheap. And most importantly, macaroni and cheese is damn good. So where can
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IT'S TIME >>> With the approaching holiday season, restaurants are knee deep in potatoes, pork loins and root vegetables, pumpkin and cinnamon and apples and winter stews. restaurant owners are frantically poring over their paperwork, trying to figure out how to keep the lights on until the first Thanksgiving and Christmas
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"BOOM" BOOM" ON SIXTH AVENUE >>> Classic rock is the dinosaur that refuses to die, and Tacoma always seems happy to take on these guys - the many, the stoned, the deaf - and give them a room for a night. See Emerald Queen Casino. One such dinosaur is in Tacoma tonight.
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THURSTON COUNTY BOUNTY >>> We in the South Sound are fortunate. Restaurants are still opening in our area, despite the nasty economy. For Pete's sake, Thurston County restaurants Smitty's Pizza, Cancun Plaza and El Sarape (West Olympia) have closed. But, we're happy to report that The Cornerstone café will open next weekend
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ADD FIZZ TO YOUR MORNING >>> I usually start my mornings with an Americano, but today I decided to forgo my usual brew and sit down to a cup of sparkling toddy at Two teaspoons Café in Steilacoom. It's coffee, but with fizz. Check it: Smooth cold brew coffee Rich vanilla Sparkling water A touch
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LOL >>> Pho U is now open at 3707 Meridian S. in Puyallup. That's all we know. The end.
Walkie Talkie Blog
YES! >>> Everybody loves a comeback. We all cheered when Rocky returned to the ring (except that last time) and the world of funk was creaming its leather chinos when James Brown got out of jail. Well now one of Tacoma's greatest culinary legends has returned to triumphant fanfare and watering
