Posted By Sue Kidd on September 2, 2010 at 9:57 am Share this

Research for the TNT Diner Bar Burger Noshdown - where I'll name the best bar burgers found in the South Sound - has been ongoing since June, but here's your chance to pick at least one of the restaurants where I'll dig into a delicious bar burger.

It's a closed poll so we don't tip off the restaurant of a visit, but we'll alert readers which of the bars was the reader choice  when the TNT Diner Bar Burger Noshdown publishes this Fall.

Click "more" to see the nominees, and to vote. (more...)

Categories: Bacon, Cool Things, TNT Diner Bar Burger Noshdown
Tags: burgers are good for you, Tacoma burgers, tacoma dining, TNT Diner Bar Burger Noshdown
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Posted By Sue Kidd on August 30, 2010 at 3:05 pm Share this

The Bistro Burger at the Cliff House restaurant

I’ve wrangled with two hands the towering, smoky El Gaucho burger, noshed the heck out of the chorizo-sirloin burger dip at Asado.

I’ve tuned out yelling sports fans as burger juice from a delectable kobe beef burger rolled down my wrist at the West End Pub. I’ve bit into the gooey, cheesy, bacony center of an inside out burger at Cheers South Hill Bar. I've enjoyed the delicious sweet tomato relish of a Katie Downs cheeseburger. And I've pillaged the savory juiciness of a bacon cheeseburger at the Parkway Tavern.

After being tipped off by a TNT Diner reader, I set my burger loving eyes this month on the meaty cheeseburger at the Cliff House.

Click "more" to read about my burger experience there, and read about how you can nominate your favorite bar burger for the TNT Diner Bar Burger Noshdown in September. You have until tomorrow to nominate your favorite burger joint, then I'll open nominees to a closed poll where readers can vote for where I should dine. (more...)

Categories: Bacon, Cool Things, Dining events, TNT Diner Bar Burger Noshdown
Tags: burgers are good for you, Cliff House burger, Cliff House restaurant, tacoma dining, TNT Diner Bar Burger Noshdown
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Posted By Sue Kidd on August 27, 2010 at 2:12 pm Share this

In today's GO section, I wrote about three new mobile hot dog trucks and trailers. I previously wrote about the same three mobile restaurants in an Aug. 2 blog post here.

I thought I'd share with TNT Diner readers what I wrote in GO today - that Tommy Chicago Hot Dogs this week has ended its run at 149th and Pacific and is now on the move. Click "more" for details of the hot dog truck's next location. (more...)

Categories: Cool Things, Mobile food, Restaurant changes
Tags: mobile food Tacoma, tacoma dining, Tommy Chicago Hot Dogs
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Posted By Sue Kidd on August 27, 2010 at 12:17 pm Share this

What's this? A second trip in a single week by the Burgerville Nomad to South Sound?

An email from company reps say the roving Burgerville truck will serve up burgers and fries and other Burgerville standards tomorrow, Aug. 28, during the Lakewood International Festival (a free event, click the link for details).

Last Friday, I wrote about how the Burgerville Nomad made its inaugural appearance in Tacoma. Click "more" to see the menu and five more reasons why I like Burgerville. (more...)

Categories: Cool Things, Dining events, Mobile food
Tags: burgers are good for you, Burgerville nomad, Lakewood dining, mobile food carts, tacoma dining
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Posted By Sue Kidd on August 24, 2010 at 4:01 pm Share this

Hey hop heads: 50 beers, two days, year five.

This Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 28-29, is the Parkway Tavern’s fifth annual IPA Fest. Also, tickets for the Tacoma Craft Beer Festival just went on sale. Click "more" to read details. (more...)

Categories: Beverages, Cool Things, Dining events
Tags: beer is good for you, Parkway Tavern IPA fest, tacoma dining
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Posted By Sue Kidd on August 20, 2010 at 2:26 pm Share this

Well, it's not the headline that we all wanted. We'd like our own Burgerville restaurant, thanks. But tomorrow, Aug. 21, the Burgerville Nomad mobile burger truck will be at the South Tacoma Auto Show from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.

For months, a few TNT Diner readers and I have been bugging reps from Burgerville, a Vancouver-based company, to bring the Nomad truck, or better yet, a Burgerville restaurant, to Tacoma. The Nomad was supposed to be here in March, but the stop was canceled. The closest Burgerville to Tacoma is in Centralia.

You may remember, former News Tribune business columnist Dan Voelpel had reported Burgerville intended to expand into the Tacoma market in 2009. I reported here that those plans were shelved. But we can hold out for burger hope.

Sorry for the late notice, they just told me. I'm waiting for an email back to tell me what the menu will be. Company spokeswoman Megan Alpers described the menu as "burgers, millkshakes and fries."

If you've never been to Burgerville, here are five reasons that might convince you to:
1. The company uses Washington and Oregon sourced cheese, berries, nuts and other locally sourced ingredients in many menu items. Burgerville is a small Washington-based chain of fast-food burger restaurants. Headquarters are in Vancouver.
2. A fresh, seasonal menu.
3. Cheeseburgers. Do I need to say more?
4. Burgerville burger spread. It's tangy.
5. They compost. Bins are in their dining rooms. I feel a little less like a wasteful American when I dine there.

Categories: All-purpose stuff, Bacon, Dining events, Dining trends, Mobile food
Tags: Burgerville nomad burger truck, Burgerville should open a restaurant in Tacoma, mobile food Tacoma, tacoma dining
5 Comments »

Posted By Keegan Prosser on August 20, 2010 at 1:35 pm Share this

Indochine bartender, Chad Sebring, created these three Gaga-inspired drinks for Saturday night. From left: the Disco stick, the Little Monster and Starstruck

Pop singer and fashion icon Lady Gaga is bringing her show to the Tacoma Dome Saturday night. And as her little monsters "Just Dance" the night away, you too, can get in on the action — for a fraction of the price.

In lieu of the concert, the bar at Indochine on Pacific Avenue is hosting a Lady Gaga night from 4 p.m. to midnight, Saturday night.

Bar patrons will be greeted with Gaga-esque music, Gaga-themed video clips and three Gaga-inspired cocktails. Click "more" for details. (more...)

Categories: Cool Things, Dining events
Tags: Indochine Tacoma, Lady GaGa Tacoma, tacoma dining
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Posted By Sue Kidd on August 20, 2010 at 10:18 am Share this

A BLT with pesto, ribs with home fries and a berry shake are available in the homey settings of Shorty's Grub House in Federal Way. Photo by Lui Kit Wong/Staff photographer.

Fans of nondescript places that are low on atmosphere and big on honest-to-goodness real-deal eats know what I’m talking about.
Many sub-genres exist within the hole-in-the-wall category – burger stands, barbecue joints and my current personal favorite – sandwich emporiums.

I’ve found three of those sandwich shops lately that qualify as legitimate holes in the wall. Little or no frills around the edges, simply furnished, clean and efficient, a friendly face to take your order at a counter. No Chihuly hangs in the lobby, no bubbly people wearing name tags and flair. Click "more" to read about them.

YOUR TURN: Tell us where to go to get the best sandwiches. Just click and comment below. (more...)

Categories: Cool Things, Drop-in Dining reports
Tags: Federal Way dining, good sandwiches, Lacey dining, Meconi's Italian Subs, MSM Deli, Shorty's Grub House, tacoma dining
1 Comment »

Posted By Sue Kidd on August 20, 2010 at 8:40 am Share this

Photos and artwork courtesy of Jeff's Ice Cream

Jeff Smeed might just be the hardest pedaling guy in town. Smeed, the owner of Jeff’s Ice Cream and a Westgate resident, operates a human powered bicycle delivery service that brings Washington made frozen treats to a handful of Tacoma neighborhoods.

This summer, with the weather vacillating between hotter than hot and gray, weird and drizzly, I have to wonder if a business operated by bike may not be a lot of fun. But if you talk to Smeed about his pedal ice cream delivery service, you won’t hear him complain. Ever cheerful, Smeed is a man on a mission and it’s a sweet one: he wants everyone to eat ice cream. I can get behind that.

Today, he’ll be at Frost Park serving his ice cream bars, frozen treats and paletas, delectable sounding Latin American frozen bars, at the Frost Park Chalk Off competition held at noon every Friday in downtown Tacoma. Click “more” to read about Smeed, his Washington-born frozen treats and the Frost Park Chalk Off. (more...)

Categories: Cool Things, Dining events
Tags: Frost Park Chalk Off, Jeff Smeed, Jeff's Ice Cream, tacoma dining
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Posted By Sue Kidd on August 17, 2010 at 4:33 pm Share this

Weren't those sonic booms fun? In case you missed it, here's our coverage of the two loud thwaps that could be heard from Seattle to Olympia (and beyond, according to News Tribune Twitter followers).

I just saw this on the Adriatic Grill's Facebook page: "In honor of the two F-15's that flew over Adriatic Grill on their way to protect the Commander-in-Chief, we are going to rename our wine bar "The Boom-Boom Room" for the rest of the day, and we'll have Kamikaze's and B-52's on special for only $2 from now until we close! So, jet on down to The Boom-Boom Room at Adriatic Grill! Check them out here - Adriatic Grill Italian Cuisine & Wine Bar"

I think we may all need one of those, or an ice cream bar. That was loud.

Adriatic Grill
Where: 4501 S. Steele St.
Phone: 253-475-6000
Web: http://www.adriaticgrill.com/
Facebook: here

Categories: Cool Things, Dining events
Tags: Adriatic Grill, sonic boom, Washington sonic boom
5 Comments »