Walkie Talkie Blog
The best music has never been about noodling around, proving what a virtuoso one is as a player, or simply trying to fill up one whole side of an album with a 22 minute plundering of one marginally interesting idea. No, the good stuff pushes the fringes of what had
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The Franciscan Polar Plaza ice-skating rink has, at its heart, attempted to bring life to a patch of land that has been, well, a little barren for the past few years. Tollefson Plaza has been criticized by many as a hefty investment with little return for the community. On-again, off-again
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Purists will tell you that the only way to eat an oyster is live, raw, with just a few drops of lemon juice. That's nonsense. It's amazing what can happen when a chef, not a shucker, puts his or her hand to an oyster. Enter Hilltop Kitchen. The Hilltop Tacoma gastropub knows
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Ten ... nine ... Please, please tell me you're not at home while the clock's ticking. Not bidding adieu to the bucking Year of the Horse 2014 on the couch. Not munching stale popcorn. Not watching hair-gelled Ryan Seacrest hyperventilate you into Jan. 1. Eight ... seven ... six ...
Walkie Talkie Blog
Americana music owes its existence to the collision of post-punk insurgency with a modern take on the often rude sounds of old-time country, blues and bluegrass, with singer-songwriter fetishes thrown in for good measure. If that sounds like a mouthful, it's meant to be: Americana covers a pretty wide range
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The International Society of Pairologists has released its definitive list of 10 Greatest Christmas Carols of All Time And The Beer That Pairs With Each. The revered group of retired piano tuners who are also home brewers spent the entire year of 2014 holed up in their headquarters in Orting,
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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 Tanya Chapman-Hedstrom. Server Banner Girl, Dec. 22, 2014-Jan. 4, 2015 Tanya Chapman-Hedstrom By now, you're probably familiar with Tanya Chapman-Hedstrom. You most likely
Walkie Talkie Blog
Dixie Highway. Remember those words. You may already know them, but in a year you'll know them better. At the bluegrass family picnic, Dixie Highway is the loud and brash kid brother, the noisy upstart from down south who would just as soon stand on your sandwich and scream into
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Following on the successful heels of the Weekly Volcano's Tournament of Burgers, our editorial staff will present a new NCAA Basketball tournament-like contest this spring. Once again we'll host a number of daily games that pit one restaurant against another, leaving it to the readers
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You're lagging in the Christmas spirit this year. Just like last year. And the year before. Scrooging has always been your go-to reaction to the yuletide, but as your grow older, fatter and more sentimental, it's increasingly unacceptable to be crotchety and contrarian. It's unsavory. So, you decide to be
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During this time of year, it seems that no one can get enough of the celebrating, but some holidays are more noted by modern society than others. Nowadays, the winter solstice sometimes gets overlooked amid all the traditional eating and gift-giving days - but it's definitely significant. The winter solstice,
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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 Brittany Crowder. Server Banner Girl, Dec. 15-21, 2014 Brittany Crowder Brittany Crowder has been behind the bar at The Valley since its re-opening Aug.
Walkie Talkie Blog
Mention the words "rusty cleavers" in the South Sound, and odds are responses will range more to the punk-grass spectrum than lazy chefs. The Rusty Cleavers write rowdy songs. They take their musical influences - folk, country and bluegrass - and punk them up. They add growls, and serve them
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The modern art zing of the Hotel Murano's décor makes me dizzy with delight. My eyes are pulled from left to right, up and down, catching equal parts fine art and whimsy. Upbeat chill music reverberates through the lobby, right up to the lobby bar. Their restaurant, BITE, located on
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In the olden days (a.k.a. my childhood), ugly holiday sweaters were something worn once to placate the family, then hung in the back of a closet or tossed. Fortunately, irony is not a wasteful phenomenon, and allows us to laugh at the hideous things we would have otherwise forgotten or
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There are five gazillion beer events around the South Sound this coming week. And as much as I enjoy checking out your Untappd beer count, I want you to take care of yourself enough to reach next Wednesday. It's hard enough work juggling lagers and stouts and ales without all
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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 Kristina Vanous. Server Banner Girl, Dec. 8-14, 2014 Kristina Vanous Long long ago, Kristina Vanous was a Starbucks barista in high school, and then
Walkie Talkie Blog
Saturday night in downtown Tacoma children and adults danced on ice to "Field Sobriety Test." Rest assured, the Weekly Volcano isn't clever enough to be making this up. It happened. The crowd also danced to "Hopeless Love," "If Jesus Had A Gun" and chants of "Amphetamines." The band performing the
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It's a well known fact that cold weather = comfort food. And what's more comforting then hot and cheesy mac and cheese? On a recent rainy night, Boathouse 19 shone like a lighthouse for those craving comfort food. Next to the Narrows Marina, tucked behind the massive Narrows Brewing Co., you could
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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 Josh Hill. Server Banner Boy, Dec. 1-7, 2014 Josh Hill Josh Hill began bartending at The Swiss Restaurant & Pub shortly after his
