The hummus dip at Merende.

Here’s another dose of happy hour. Today, my happy hour stop is Merende. Yesterday, I toured El Gaucho’s happy hour menu. Tomorrow, come back for thoughts on happy hours at Pacific Grill, Stanley & Seafort’s and Duke’s.

Now for today’s offering….

Il Trattoria di Merende

Five dollars makes me happy at Merende. It’s all I need – five bucks – to enjoy a plate of hummus with pita, or a helping of mushroom risotto, from the “everything five bucks” happy hour menu at Merende. I appreciate a menu full of $5 options. Here’s what I ate:

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The Bates Technical College’s Culinary Arts program will open its first ever student-run fine dining service June 16 at the downtown campus.

Roger Knapp, a culinary arts instructor at Bates, said the fine dining service will be one more level of training students need. He’s tweaking the menu, but entrees will include things like grilled sea scallops, stuffed lamb chops and wild salmon. Knapp described the menu as classic cuisine with a modern twist. A sample menu is included below.

"We’re making it like a real restaurant," he said. "Students will be out front, taking orders."

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The El Gaucho burger, priced $8 on the happy hour menu. Photo by Peter Haley/The News Tribune.

It’s happy hour week at the TNT Diner blog. Why? Because we can all use a dose of happy. I’ll have reports of five happy hours around town this week. Today, read about El Gaucho. Tomorrow, you’ll hear about Merende. Friday, you can read about Pacific Grill, Stanley & Seafort’s and Duke’s.

Now for today’s offering….

El Gaucho

4 p.m.-6 p.m. Mondays-Fridays and 10 p.m.-close; 10 p.m.-close Saturday and 4:30 p.m. to close Sunday. Bar eats are half off during happy hour.

El Gaucho’s happy hour usually makes me happy as a clam. Or at least that was the case before I sampled El Gaucho’s clams. I’ve given them my designation as "Tacoma’s grittiest." But the sand-laden clams at El Gaucho were just one of a few problems with their happy hour eats. Mostly happy hour there is a guaranteed good deal, and well executed – and the snazzy appeal of the deeply sunken dining room, a handsome room, tuxedoed servers and live piano music makes it a must-stop for any late night wooing you might need to do. Happy hour bar eats are half off during designated hours. A taste of what I sampled during two happy hour visits:

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I’m just back from a Portland cheese eating tour. I’ve returned with a cheeseworthy appreciation for Oregon artisinal cheese. One of my favorite stops was a cheese shop called Steve’s in a small neighborhood in Northwest Portland. I also developed a major addiction to Juniper Grove chevre and Willamette Valley Cheese Co. smoked fontina. I’ll be writing more about Oregon cheese later in the summer. Stay tuned.

Now that I’m back from my cheesy detour, I thought I’d do a quick check-in on what’s opened, or opening soon. Let’s take a look, shall we?

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