TNT Diner

Get local: Tacoma candy shops to buy chocolates for your Valentine

The kind of chocolate you buy for your sweetheart can say a lot about you as a gift giver. Do you phone it in with a bag of Hershey kisses from Target? Or do you fail miserably at 9 p.m. Feb. 14 with a Hershey’s bar from the 76 station paired with one of those cheesy fabric roses (read: epic fail). Or do you make a sweeter, bolder, more local statement to your mate with chocolates made right here in Tacoma?

Forget Hershey’s and M&Ms. Tacoma is fortunate to have the Johnsons, Brown & Haley, Affairs and Great …

Valentine’s Day dining, there’s still time to book dinner in Tacoma (but act fast)

It’s getting late to book a table for Valentine’s Day dinner, but there still are restaurants with openings as of today. At this late stage, you may have to settle for a 4 p.m. or 9 p.m. reservation, or you could shoot for dining out this weekend or next. Some restaurants will have Valentine’s dinner specials through this weekend, some will have dinner deals on Valentine’s Day only. Read on.

TACOMA
Adriatic Grill near the Tacoma Mall is serving from its regular menu, but also has a special dinner planned for Valentine’s evening dining (price is not yet …

Taking a second bite: Zara Mediterranean Cuisine and Maxwell’s Speakeasy + Lounge

Today I return to two restaurants for second bites: Maxwell’s Speakeasy + Lounge, a St. Helens neighborhood restaurant with a new owner, chef and menu, and Zara Mediterranean Cuisine, a downtown Tacoma restaurant newly opened in August.

Maxwell’s Speakeasy + Lounge
Where: 454 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma
Information: 253-683-4115, maxwells-tacoma.com
Hours: 4-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 4 p.m.-midnight Friday, 5 p.m.-midnight Saturday, closed Sunday

For years, rumors have chased Maxwell’s Speakeasy + Lounge: The restaurant is closing. It’s for sale. The chef is leaving.

Two rumors have proved true in the last 12 months, but the …

On the move: Tacoma’s Celebrity Cake Studio relocates

Last October, Celebrity Cake Studio announced it was about to move to a new home near its longtime Freighthouse Square location – and now the move is complete. The bakery known for elaborate wedding cakes and fondant party cakes has a new stand-alone storefront at 314 E. 26th St. If you’re familiar with the Tacoma Dome neighborhood – that’s near Friesenburgers. This is the bakery’s second week operating at its new location.

Bakery owner Odette D’Aniello continues to offer a display case with sweet treats at the bakery – including my favorite cupcake in town, the pink …

Walk, sip and eat: A wine walk in Sumner, a self-directed chocolate festival in Proctor

Two self-directed Valentine’s events for you this weekend – a wine walk in Sumner and a chocolate festival in Proctor. The annual Sumner Sweetheart Wine Walk takes place at 14 locations, from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. Saturday Feb. 11 in downtown Sumner. Participants pay $20 for six tastes of wine and a passport directing participants to the wine tastings in downtown Sumner. Passports can be purchased the day of the event in the Bank of America parking lot. Click here for more details.

In Proctor, you can eat your around the neighborhood this weekend, picking up chocolate …

Construction update: Cliff House closer to opening, but not quite yet

In January, I told you that the Cliff House was hoping for a late January or early February opening. Well, early February is here, but the Cliff House is not yet open. After a slowdown from the icy weather a few weeks ago it became clear that a late January opening was out of the question. Owner Giuseppe “Joe” Nappo put the brakes on rushing opening to avoid something that could be a disaster for a brand-new restaurant – a Valentine’s Day opening. Instead, Nappo said he intends to open sometime after the busiest day of the year …

Brew news: Tacoma brewers pour at Belgianfest this weekend, and beer tastings in Gig Harbor and Federal Way

Here are five beer events over the next 10 days: South Sound brewers pour at Seattle’s Belgian beer festival tomorrow, the RAM hosts a brewer’s dinner, Morso Wine Bar invites Doug Tiede from Engine House No. 9 to talk about British beers, The Spar hosts Deschutes Brewery and 99 Bottles, the beer store, has a tasting with chocolate and brew.

Tacoma breweries pour at Belgianfest
When: Two sessions Saturday Feb. 4, 2012. First session is noon-4 p.m. Second session is 5:30-9:30 p.m.
Where: Bell Harbor International Conference Center, Seattle, washingtonbeer.com/belgianfest/
Cost: $35 at the …

Rise and shine: South Sound bars with weekend breakfasts worth a visit (breakfast cocktails optional)

Depending upon your dining preferences or the bar you frequent, breakfast at a watering hole can be a cultural odyssey or a gritty journey. I maintain that both can be equally delightful if you have a curiosity for interesting bar food that comes with a funky atmosphere and clientele. To my surprise, I had no trouble finding bars and restaurants widely known for their late-night shenanigans that also produce quality eats from the weekend morning griddle – in copious, delicious quantities. Here are five “bars” with breakfasts worth a try. I didn’t even graze the

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My top five South Sound burger stands, walk-ups and drive-ins

I’ve given the obligatory test run of Five Guys Burgers and Fries – the first South Sound stores of the national chain opened in Lakewood last week and in Puyallup in November. I realized as I was eating at Five Guys that I had not collectively written much about our home-grown burger stands since my burger-stand manifesto in 2009. So I hit the pavement and revisited some of my favorites, along with two new burger stands you may not yet know. Click “read more” to see my top five South Sound burger stand picks.

1. …

Dining calendar: Beer festival in Gig Harbor this May, and a slider cook-off at the Museum of Glass in March

Two events for your dining calendar – Tacoma’s Museum of Glass will have a slider cook-off in March with Tacoma chefs competing behind the grills. And in Gig Harbor, a first-time beer festival in May.

Museum of Glass Slider Cook-off
When: 6:30-10:30 p.m. Saturday March 3, 2012
Where: Museum of Glass
Cost: $35 in advance
Info: Click here

An event posted by local chefs keeps popping up on the TNT Diner Facebook feed, so it’s worth mentioning that the Museum of Glass will have a slider cook-off March 3 with Tacoma …