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Nikki McCoy on February 10th, 2017
It's always a race to snag the best seats for Valentine's Day dining. And many local restaurants still have seats available, but you'd better hurry, be happy eating at 4 p.m. or 9 p.m., or plan to celebrate this weekend instead. To help you, sweethearts - here are some romantic
Features
Nikki McCoy on February 19th, 2016
Greek deli-style Gyro Spot boasts fresh, blue paint and stainless steel kitchen equipment. The business may look new, but the sticker on the front door tells curious passersby this place is the new home of longtime restaurant owner, Kenny Trobman.
Trobman's signature image - a big-eyed chef with tons of frizzy
Bars & Clubs
Nikki McCoy on October 1st, 2015
When it comes to football season, even casual sports fans appreciate good food, fans and atmosphere - and finding the right spot to watch the game can be half the fun.
For casual and hardcore enthusiasts alike, here are a few favorite bars and restaurants in the South Sound to keep
Military Life
Nikki McCoy on September 23rd, 2015
On a recent Friday morning in the Proctor district, a girlfriend and I headed into Compass Rose on 26th Ave. Next to an art gallery and Italian restaurant, the window displays caught my eye - a giant ice cream sandwich floatie, and a selection of cool back-to-school gear.
As I imagined
Bars & Clubs
Nikki McCoy on August 7th, 2015
The most cleverly-named beer festival in the South Sound is right around the corner. Brew Five Three is Tacoma's beer and blues festival, and in its 3rd year, is well on its way to becoming tradition.
On Saturday, Aug. 8, from 1-8 p.m., Broadway, between 9th and 11th, will turn into
Arts
Nikki McCoy on July 23rd, 2015
Compass Rose celebrates two years at its Proctor location in Tacoma. Following the model of its sister store in Olympia, which has been delighting shoppers for more than 17 years, the Proctor location features all the quirk, class and sass of its origins - with a T-town flair.
"Compass Rose hearts
Music
Nikki McCoy on July 2nd, 2015
The term "Parrot Head" was coined in 1985 at a Jimmy Buffett concert in Cincinnati, Ohio. At the show, Jimmy commented about everyone wearing Hawaiian shirts and parrot hats and how they kept coming back to see his shows, just like Grateful Dead followers, Deadheads. Thus, the term "Parrot Head"
Outdoors
Nikki McCoy on July 2nd, 2015
With many eyes on Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Tacoma's Fourth of July festivals, you may think that is the beginning and end of it. Here are the Top 10 in the area we'd suggest:TACOMA AREA1. Freedom Fest:Let's start with Freedom Fest at JBLM, the annual celebration that invites the public
News Front
Nikki McCoy on June 25th, 2015
It's not often that reporters get to make dirty jokes (unless you're Jon Stewart), but in this case, the event being covered is one giant innuendo - which perhaps makes this a little more fun for both reader and reporter.
And it should be infinitely more fun for those who actually
Music
Nikki McCoy on May 26th, 2015
With pro lighting, sound and fog machine, professional musicians and amateur singers forged together on stage to create renditions of everything from Tool to country and R&B, and even Disney's Frozen anthem, "Let it Go."
This was the scene on a recent Wednesday at The Town, Tacoma's newest venue.
The 7,000-square-foot space,
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Recent Blog Posts
Walkie Talkie Blog
Nikki McCoy on September 17th, 2014
The Moss Brothers Band is unmistakably Southern rock, but with a surprising funk twist. The songs feature whiskey-rattled vocals telling stories of betrayal and re-connections and phenomenal guitar solos break through, just to make sure you are still paying attention to what bad-asses these musicians are.
But just because they're bad-ass,
Walkie Talkie Blog
Nikki McCoy on August 27th, 2014
At one of five picnic tables at the Artesian Park and Commons in the core of downtown Olympia, I meet with Rob Richards, program director for the Downtown Ambassador Program, and Brian Wilson, downtown liaison for the city of Olympia. Both are in button-up shirts with to-go coffee in hand.
Walkie Talkie Blog
Nikki McCoy on August 13th, 2014
You know it's the peak of summer in Olympia when all the couches have sprung. They appear in front lawns, in alleys and on street corners - loveseats, davenports, hide-a-beds - all varieties of couch are in full bloom.
Some are stained.
Some are cushion-less.
Some couches are in near-perfect condition.
Some are littered
Walkie Talkie Blog
Nikki McCoy on August 7th, 2014
Out Delphi Road, near the Nisqually Nature Trail, is a farm. And not just any farm, this is "The Farm," home of "The Cannabis Connection," a new resource for lovers of the herb.
Now, this reporter, a fan herself, enjoyed the opportunity to visit The Farm on opening day Aug. 2.
A
Walkie Talkie Blog
Nikki McCoy on June 26th, 2014
Olympia seems to swell in the summer: kids come home from college, out-of-towners pay a visit and the normal rainy day recluses that inhabit the town seem to flourish come the long days and hot nights.
It's not surprising that we can't pack all the excitement Olympia has to offer into
Walkie Talkie Blog
Nikki McCoy on June 24th, 2014
The sprawling park, with its green grassy hills, where families picnic in the shade, or groups of friends share a smoke, where dogs sniff the air in anticipation, and where a rock band tunes up on stage.
This is Music and Art in Wright Park, MAWP, Tacoma's annual summer
Walkie Talkie Blog
Nikki McCoy on June 18th, 2014
Last night was the big reveal for the upcoming 2014/15 season for the Washington Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Olympia. Normally, Publisher Pappi Swarner attends such shindigs, but this year I pulled up my big girl panties and represented the Weekly Volcano.
And by representing, I mean drinking
Walkie Talkie Blog
Nikki McCoy on June 5th, 2014
Olympia has gone and done it again. It has outshone itself by coming out in droves to support the creativity and compassion that go hand-in-hand in the little college town.
Oly CLAW, the local chapter of the Collective of Lady Arm Wrestlers, made its debut before a packed Le Voyeur crowd
Walkie Talkie Blog
Nikki McCoy on May 29th, 2014
Now, here is a story that has all kinds of politics behind it. We could be subjective and argue morals; we could be objective and newsy and look at all sides. But that's not where I'm going with it. What I want to do with this story is talk about
Walkie Talkie Blog
Nikki McCoy on May 28th, 2014
In the magical back room at Le Voyeur Café and Lounge, where all kinds of artistic dreams come into fruition, a dozen ladies and a few men gather to discuss proper arm-wrestling technique.
Smack talking and muscle flexing is encouraged, and costumed characters and their entourage parade about the floor, practicing
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Recently Reviewed Movies
Nikki McCoy on February 21st, 2013
Take an international cast, a rolling landscape in Flint, Mich., the thundering music of Red Hex and the twisted, talented mind of Isaac Olsen and you have German expressionist art film, Ich Hunger.
"I've always wanted to do something a lot more abstract and experimental," says Olsen, who has also directed the
Nikki McCoy on October 25th, 2012
What's better than a gritty classic gore, horror or exploitation movie projected on the big screen in original 35mm film?
According to Justin Giallo and his growing number of Grindhouse Theater fans, nothing.
"I feel that cinema - in a sense - is dying and becoming careless," says Giallo, who refuses to
Nikki McCoy on February 26th, 2014
When in Hollywood, the red carpet likes to spend its off hours playing touch machines and smoking cigarettes at bars along Sunset. When in Tacoma, the red carpet likes to be stepped on by high heels and Converse, escalating partygoers into The Grand Cinema's presentation of the Academy Awards.
The event,
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Recently Reviewed Restaurants
203 4th Ave E
Olympia, WA 98501
(206) 434-8172
Cuisine: Wine bar
625 Black Lake Blvd.
Olympia, WA 98502
(360) 338-0515
Cuisine: Mexican
2822 Capitol Blvd SE.
Olympia, WA 98501
(360) 688-1234
Cuisine: Pizza
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