The folks behind Primo Grill open Crown Bar on Saturday in the former Gary’s Steak Out on Sixth Avenue in Tacoma.

Crown Bar is currently hosting a three-night, invite-only scholarship fund-raiser for culinary students at Clover Park Technical College in Lakewood.

Starting Saturday, Crown Bar patrons can contribute to the scholarship too. Proceeds from sales of McGavick wines – made in the South Sound, in Grapeview – will fund the scholarship.

Here’s what chef-owner Charlie McManus says of Crown Bar’s menu:

"We are calling the appetizer part of the menu

Read more »

Have you been to Las Vegas lately? Where’d you eat?

I’m going to Las Vegas this week. It’s an eating trip, which, no matter how you slice it, amounts to a gambling trip on its own.

I can Google. I can Zagut. I have a list of restaurants and brewpubs to check out.

Right now I’m interested in your Vegas dining experiences. Where’d you eat? What’d you like? Where’dyawanna go?

Your recommendations + my expense account … that’s what interactivity is all about, my friends.

Does anybody on this thread know where to find information on the wineries Ed mentioned,existence of a tasting room, hours of operation, etc. I suppose I could google each. My guess is that they are limited in that respect.

An Ed’s Diner regular followed up on something I forgot to follow up on last week. That South Sound wine story I told you I was working on? It turned into a story about grape-growing and wine-making? It’ll publish in the newspaper Oct. 7.

Click on the link to see the list of South Sound wineries, tasting rooms, hours and varietals.

It’ll take all day and a tank of gas, but it’s possible to make a South Sound Wine Country Tour, working your way from Tacoma to Lakebay to Hoodsport to Shelton, and maybe even Olympia and beyond.

There’s a winery on Vashon Island, too, but the ferries make it hard to include Vashon in any loop on a single day.

As “wine country” goes in the South Sound, there’s not a lot of there there. But console yourself at Trillium Creek, where Estrella Farms cheeses are sold in the tasting room.

Read more »

General manager Troy Christian and chef Sean Quinn, who helped start Sixth Avenue hot spots Asado and Masa, have parted ways with Group X Restaurants.

Group X principal Jon Xicto confirmed the departures. He said contractual obligations are unsettled. He declined to comment further.

I’ve placed calls to Christian and Quinn, but the numbers I have for them do not accept incoming calls. My telephone does: 253-597-8678.

An acquaintance sent me a glass of wine. Seeing as how she’s not in the food or wine business, I accepted. This wasn’t any glass of wine. It was a 1995 Opus One, a Napa red blend that retails for about 500 bucks.

Mother of Bacchus! Whatta wine. Smooth and polished. Legs lasted forever. Full of sexy sediment. Cherries, plums and florals floated from the crystal. I float just thinking of the sips I was sent.

But an off flavor permeated the pleasure: The woman poured the wine in celebration

Read more »

The Harmon Brewery and Restaurant celebrates its 10th anniversary with a five-course $30 brewmaster’s dinner Sept. 26.

Each of chef Scott Neilson’s course will be paired with brewer Mike Davis’ beers, including, Killerbrew, an Oktoberfest lager.

Here’s the “tentative” dinner menu: assorted meat and cheese; Waldorf wedge salad; shrimp with clams and mussels; braised chicken with German potato salad and steamed asparagus; and white chocolate cheesecake.

“Our plan is to sell out the restaurant and only serve the brewmaster’s dinner that night,” Harmon manager Erica Booth said. “We will dress up in Oktoberfest

Read more »

Nick-N-Willy’s, a Colorado-based dine-in/take-and-bake pizza chain, will open Sunday in the former Subway sandwich shop at Proctor and 26th Streets in Tacoma.

Local operator Chris Fox said his restaurant will be the first sit-down Nick-N-Willy’s in Washington, and will bake pies in a wood-fired hearth oven. The restaurant will also offer take-and-bake pies. The Nick-N-Willy’s in Puyallup is take-and-bake only, and the restaurant in Pasco is take-out only. Future locations are planned for Maple Valley, Mill Creek, Snoqualmie and Vancouver.

Nick-N-Willy’s 16-inch specialty pies start at $11.99 for cheese and top out at

Read more »

The newly formed Washington Beer Commission rolls out its Oktoberfest barrels Friday and Saturday at Saint Edward State Park in Kenmore.

Washington breweries will pour Oktoberfest specials, such as Marzens, Weizenbocks, Pilseners, harvest ales and other German lagers and fall seasonals. There will be German food and music, too.

Tickets are $25 and available only to people over 21. Designated-driver tickets are $5.

In other Oktoberfest news, Seattle’s Fremont Oktoberfest happens Sept. 21-23. Dogs are allowed on the festival’s last day.

Hungry for Oktoberfest food? Here are some places in the South Sound that serve German food (and some fine German beer, too).

Read more »