One is a bar, the other is a burger shack. Both make decidedly upscale burgers with value in mind. Certified Angus beef, fresh-cut fries – magic words for burger and fries lovers. They sucked me in, and I left impressed. Dirty Oscar’s Annex on Tacoma’s Sixth Avenue and the Gourmet Burger Shop in Gig Harbor both opened in recent months. Both should be on your burger radar. Click “more” to read about them.

NEXT WEEK: I’ll tell you about four more burgers you should put on your burger radar. I’m out of the office on leave next week (I advance wrote the blog posts just for you!), but will return June 13. Until then, if you have rumors to check out, or restaurant tips to give, post ‘em here. Read more »

Salty’s Redondo, Brix 25 in Gig Harbor and Primo Grill in Tacoma will host dinners in May with brewers and winemakers. Click “more” to read about the dinners with brewers from Sierra Nevada and winemakers from Boushey Vineyards and Abacela Vineyards. Read more »

Jason Winniford’s new restaurant JW is the hottest seat in Gig Harbor. The small restaurant with seating for fewer than 30 opened March 4 and the word is that they’ve been packed ever since. I took a first look at the restaurant recently and will have a first bite report next week. Click “more” to see the menu that features seared sea scallops with risotto, wild boar bourguignon with grilled polenta and a tri tip steak with mashed potatoes. Read more »

The face and initials will be familiar to anyone who is a frequent diner in Gig Harbor. Jason Winniford, the former general manager of Brix 25, is opening his own restaurant in downtown Gig Harbor. Click “more” to read about his new restaurant, JW. Read more »

Some restaurants open with fanfare and glitzy marketing campaigns. Others open with a whisper.

A quiet opening was what chef/owner Robert Green had planned for his Green.House restaurant that opened Sept. 12 in Uptown Gig Harbor.

Then came the crush of diners. It’s slowed some, but diners still shouldn’t expect to get into the restaurant Friday or Saturday nights without a reservation.

If the people who run Green.House look familiar, they should. It’s virtually the same team who ran Sip, the short-lived wine bar that operated in the same space from March 2009 to May this year. Read more »

Deck?

Check.

Sun?

Check.

There’s a new waterfront Harbor restaurant to sit and enjoy a sandwich with the sun (while it lasts). The Red Rooster Café opened Aug. 2 at 3313 Harborview Drive. Owner Jamie English Radcliffe describes her restaurant as a comfortable 40-seat restaurant (18 of which are on the deck) with a focus on sandwiches, crepes, a full espresso bar and a few breakfast items. Click “more” to read about Radcliffe and to see the menu. Read more »

Did you miss my review last week of Gig Harbor’s Brix 25 in the GO entertainment section? We’ve been experimenting with keeping restaurant reviews in the News Tribune’s restaurants page. But I wonder, do you want me to post them over here, too?

If you’ve never been to Brix 25, let me just say that the restaurant was the highlight of my July. The flavors, the culture, the staff of Brix 25 is immersed in wine culture and it percolates in every dish, and extends to the conversation with diners. Brix 25, under the previous ownership, won the Washington …

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The Morso wine bar opened May 21 as an extension of the Water to Wine shop in Gig Harbor. Both are owned by Steve Lynn, who opened Water to Wine in 2005 with business partner Stephanie Huddleston

The food people behind the restaurant will read familiar to Tacomans. Jeff Bishop is the consulting chef. In the kitchen is Joanna Speer, formerly of Merende, the now defunct Tacoma restaurant at which Bishop last cooked (he’s also cooked at Il Fiasco and other South Sound restaurants). The other Morso chef is Colin Moore.

Lynn described the menu as small plate tastes with a revolving menu that will fluctuate seasonally or at the whim of the chefs. Click “more” to read about the concept, and to see menus. Read more »