I had a woman call the newsroom Monday with a question. Where in Tacoma can she find prepared ready-to-eat dinners she can pick up, bring home and serve to her family of semi-non picky eaters?

It’s a question I get from readers occasionally. I asked her if she had tried meals ready places where you can cook batches of meals, take them home and freeze them. She said she didn’t have time for that and wasn’t that kind of meal planner. She said she really just needs a reliable place where she can pick up prepared dinners on a

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Gari watch is officially over. Mina, manager of Gari of Sushi, just e-mailed me to tell me that they will open Friday, as planned. Her e-mail: “We are for sure opening this Friday as we have passed all inspections. We are very excited!”

If you go, post a comment here and let TNT Diner readers know what you thought.

Gari of Sushi: 1209 S 38th St., Tacoma; 253-475-3456

Readers have been calling and e-mailing for a few weeks about the reopening of Gari of Sushi, which closed late last year after an electrical fire damaged the kitchen and lounge of the Lincoln neighborhood restaurant.
TNT Diner reader David Berg e-mailed last week, "Gari of Sushi is by far our favorite sushi place in the area, so we were disappointed when they hadn’t reopened by my wife’s birthday."
Like many of its fans, the owners of Gari thought the restaurant would open in July. But as happens in the restaurant business, things don’t always go as planned. Construction delays, booths arrived late, some of the tables weren’t what they wanted (they plan to get others), the chairs aren’t quite working and will be replaced, etc. etc.
The good news: If they pass all inspections, Gari’s owners expect to reopen Friday.
Manager Mina Maxwell will update TNT Diner readers, so check back for updates as Friday gets closer.
I stopped by yesterday for a tour with Mina. What’s different? The layout. They moved the entrance to the parking lot side of the building. The restaurant is now separated into three dining areas. The lounge is gone. In its place, room for more diners. Mina said the restaurant will still serve alcohol, just without a lounge. A larger sushi bar flanks the kitchen. The decor is quite different. Custom stained glass from Big M Stained glass, located near the Tacoma Dome, separates the two main dining room. Spacious booths fill one dining area.
Some things at Gari remain, Mina said everyone is coming back, including chef-owner Kazuya "Kazu" Kamada, who was at the restaurant yesterday working on opening details. The menu will remain, but a few new rolls will be added to the menu. Said Mina as she and owner Mi Ja Lim tended final details yesterday, "We are so anxious to open. We know everyone is waiting." Absolutely, we are.

Gari of Sushi: 1209 S 38th St., Tacoma; 253-475-3456

Here, a glimpse of the main dining room.

Want to see pictures of the interior? Click Read More.

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The Tacoma Farmers Market sent out a release a few minutes ago about a dinner at Terry’s Berries in September.

Details from market manager Laura Edwards here:

Harvest Feast Tacoma … September 13th … get your tickets!

Join us for an evening on the farm in support of the Tacoma Farmers Market, our local farms, and the community our markets serve. That’s right–the 6th Ave Farmers Market and Broadway Market bring you our first annual “Harvest Feast Tacoma.”

This elegantly casual dining affair will be an event to remember! Fine cuisine that is locally grown

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TNT Adventure Editor Jeff Mayor had an encounter with paprikash at the Proctor Farmers Market last weekend. He found the Hungarian dish – chicken with a sour cream sauce that typically is served with some kind of pasta or dumpling or another starch– at the booth of Best of Budapest, run by Kristi Dohring. You might recognize Kristi from the Proctor Market on Saturdays and Tacoma Broadway Market on Thursdays. I just got off the phone with Kristi and she said she hopes to open a restaurant this winter in the South Sound area. She is working out details now.

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Our weekly Business Q&A again turned its focus to restaurants today as reporter Brian Everstine sat down with Kelly Wolff to talk about the opening of Jimmy John’s near the mall.

Wolff, a UPS grad, and her sister had run franchises before, “including a tea shop and a Starbucks in their hometown of Minneapolis.” Among the highlights from Wolff’s comments:

- I think franchises are a good thing because they are consistent. People know what to get, people know what to expect. It forces everybody to put their best foot forward.

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Last Friday, we started a new restaurant series in our GO entertainment section called Drop-In Dining. Click here to read my report last week about Honey Pig on South Tacoma Way.

Drop-In Dining reports will be written by TNT staffers. We drop in unannounced, pay for our own meal and write up our experience based on a single visit. The restaurants we’re trying are all new or new to us, and will range from burger shacks to linen and fine china restaurants. Have a suggestion for a restaurant we should try? E-mail us at tntdiner@thenewstribune.com.

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If you’re going to open a restaurant that specializes in gospel music, who do you call to book? Crystal Aikin, of course.

So it’s a good thing that Steven Ling, who plans on opening Stephanie’s Gospel and Jazz in downtown Tacoma sometime in mid to late September, is close friends with Aikin. She was one of the first people he called once he got the keys to the restaurant space. He also called musician Michael Powers. “(Michael) said let me know when you open up, I’ll be there,” said Steven when I talked to him on the

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