The next few days, I’m going to write about restaurants with outdoor dining to enjoy our stretch of warm weather  – because who knows when it will just poof, leaving us with soggy socks under our sandals (I’ve seen waaaaay too much of that bad fashion lately). Today’s featured al fresco dining spot is another mobile truck – Barrel No. 51. This will be the third al fresco season for the truck and I’ve appreciated watching its evolution. Right now, the truck is parked at Cedar and South 23rd, near Target in the old movie theater parking lot. Read more »

What pairs well with unseasonably hot Northwest weather? Taco trucks. Usually it’s June or July before we get weather conducive to al fresco burrito dining, but our current stretch means two things: You must put on sun screen and you must go eat a taco outdoors. I have interesting news to report – two new taco trucks have popped up in unexpected South Sound neighborhoods. One is near Fircrest next to the Lowe’s, and the other is in sleepy downtown Orting. There also have been taco truck change-ups in Puyallup and Tacoma’s Sixth Avenue neighborhood. Read more »

In this week’s installment of my series about Korean dining in Lakewood, you’ll read about the other kind of KFC – Korean fried chicken. Two restaurants serving the sticky, spicy dish are in the neighborhood that is the region’s finest concentration of Korean dining. I’ll also take you shopping at three grocery stores with ingredients you can turn into Korean feasts. Read more »

If you were the kind of person who planned ahead, you already would have found a recipe, borrowed the molds and purchased the ingredients to make a magical batch of chocolate truffles for mom’s special day this weekend.
But you’re just like the rest of us. Off to the store you go for chocolate. Before you settle for a drugstore buy, consider this: South Sound is home to three chocolate makers who specialize in truffles – decadent chocolates made with a creamy ganache center. Two chocolate shops are cafes with a truffle side business; the third is one of the oldest candy companies in Tacoma. All three will sell truffles for Mother’s Day, but you best not delay your purchase because supplies are limited. Read more »

A name, the menu and pricing are still in the works, but one thing is certain – Tacoma’s Pacific Grill will manage the cafe at the LeMay Museum, which opens June 2. Gordon Naccarato, owner of downtown Tacoma’s Pacific Grill and a companion catering business, is working on the menu and concept right now. Naccarato also said he has hired Read more »

I asked chefs to send me their spring menus (yes! It’s really here! Until the sideways rain starts again. A-hem). Chef William Mueller of Babblin’ Babs Bistro, a breakfast and lunch cafe in the Proctor District, just debuted a menu that incorporates the things we love about spring – fresh peas and light flavors like lemon, guava and arugula. Click to read his menu, which he and wife Shannon Mueller change whenever the mood strikes. Read more »

Dirty Oscar’s Annex chef Aaron Grissom started cooking his new spring menu this week. I like the look of the salads, which sound as if they’re among the most flavor-drenched around town. I’m looking forward to trying the arugula and butter leaf salad with tangerines, manchego, a mint vinaigrette and Marcona almond “dust” (that reminds me of how chefs used to use the word “foam” to describe … soup). Another arugula salad comes with basil leaves, blueberries, chevre and a grilled citrus vinaigrette. Here’s something neat – Grissom’s menu is coded for people with dietary restrictions – “V” dishes are vegetarian and “G” dishes are gluten free. Other changes to the menu look promising – click below to see. Read more »