Every week we swap out the Served banner art above, introducing you to the people who serve food and drinks in the South Sound. This week, meet Brie Schafer.

Server Banner Girl, Feb. 2-8, 2015

Brie Schafer

After many years at The Ram Restaurant & Brewery on South Hill Puyallup, several years at Marrow on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue and a short stint at Brix 25 in Gig Harbor, Brie Schafer has fully come into her own behind the taps at 7 Seas Brewing in Gig Harbor. She knows how to warm a room - even if the room is a huge taproom.

Why do you serve?

"I started in the industry when I was 15 - as a busser. It seemed like a fun first job. Quickly I fell in love with the family and friendships that come from working so close. I have stayed in the industry for 20 years now because I love people. I am a natural caretaker. I love to host and make people feel full, satisfied and buzzed. It just fits; I get to do what I love. I get to take care of people."

Who is your favorite server in the South Sound?

"Jacob O'neill at Marrow. When I first met Jacob he was still new in the industry. It has been a pleasure to watch him quickly became a true professional and craftsman."

What are you most proud to serve?

"Currently our Belgium style Blonde. It is delicious! All the beer in the taproom is made with much care and love. Mike, Travis and all the brewers have such a passion to make craft beer. It is easy to sell good product made by good people."

What's you current drink of choice?

"I know I should say beer, but ... Tits & Bouch! A shot of Titos and a glass of Kombucha is all this girl needs. I like fancy food and simple drinks."

What's your favorite movie?

"Goonies. It still makes me unreasonably happy. Goonies never die!!!"

What don't you serve?

"Bullshit. You get what you see with me! I am in a place in my life where I am able to be genuine and in a place in my career where I don't have to serve mass produced crap made by people who don't care."

What's on your radar at 7 Seas Brewing?

"7 Seas is constantly going out to the community doing fun things - bringing our tasty beer to all your pretty faces. We are constantly keeping it fresh with rotating seasonals too. Personally, I am looking forward to finding my place in this family of rad people."

7 SEAS BREWING, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday-Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 3006 Judson St., Gig Harbor, 253.514.8129

LINK: Meet other South Sound servers

This week was a superb excuse to go on a lady date with my oldest, which is a rare treat. Usually we are wrangling my youngest ones and noshing on drive-thru fare because we are on our way to an appointment or errand of some kind. Instead, the husband held down the homestead and we headed out on a dining adventure. Where to go?!

Prerequisite menu item to be considered when dining with my daughter is hot wings. We both love them, so it's only natural we would gravitate toward an establishment that serves good wings. The Rock Wood Fired Kitchen has a generous, heaping serving of hot wings and good tunes, so off we went.

Though The Rock is best known for its bucket cocktails (damn tasty and super dangerous) and their pizza pies featuring quirky toppings and fun monikers named after albums and classic rock songs, my Eat This Now recommendation is the Sea Groove ($13). This sandwich is for the seafood lovers featuring a generous portion of Cajun seasoned yellowfin tuna grilled through while maintaining juiciness and loads of peppery flavor. It's topped with baby arugula that has been tossed in lemon and olive oil and garnished further with a housemade roasted red pepper, artichoke and olive mayo. Served on a brioche bun, it almost feels like something you'd expect to nibble on while dining along Ruston Way.

It's satisfying with pops of pepper and zings of lemon. It's a clear winner with the addition of beer battered fries.

You'll be happily and passionately lip syncing to Bon Jovi's "Blaze of Glory" between bites. Not that I have personal experience with that. ...

THE ROCK WOOD FIRED KITCHEN, 11:30 a.m. to midnight, 1920 Jefferson Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.1221

Beer festivals are an excellent way to sample a wide range of craft breweries and styles. But if the festival scene doesn't sound appealing, beer fans can create their own diverse festival at their own pace on almost any day of the week - while also getting the most bang for your buck and more beer for your belly. The answer: flights.

Fortunately for those fickle souls among us, most South Sound breweries and a few bars and restaurants offer beer flights. If you can't decide what beer to taste on a night out, taste as many as possible with these various flights put together by beer aficionados. Some establishments, such as Narrows Brewing Company, remove the burden of choice by offering a curated flight - often featuring their most recent brewed beers.

Of course, many places offer build-your-own flights, which opens a door to endless possibilities (and hours of waffling back and forth). If you can't make up your mind or have no idea where to even start when picking the beers yourself, ask your server; he or she should be happy to help fill out your flight or offer suggestions to get you started.

Either way, beer flights can widen your beer knowledge or help a friend broaden a narrowly focused viewpoint, as well as be a cost-effective way to train your palate to recognize the differences between similar brews.

Vertical flights demonstrate the way a specific beer can change when properly cellared, but they are more rare and usually reserved for special events. Finding several beers from a single brewery on tap is more common, providing a feel for a brewery's character. If you're in a restaurant or bar, multiple breweries most likely will be offered in a single flight.

Typically, flights land on a paddle or tray, six to eight small glasses full of beer, for a single price. Sometimes, the beers are priced a la carte.

My South Sound travels revealed most flights land with beers lightest to darkest. Generally, the lightest beers have a gentler character, lower ABV and lower hop bitterness than darker beers. If a dark beer is sampled before a light beer, it is likely that much of its character will be lost behind the forward charisma of the dark one.

Travis Guterson, head brewer at 7 Seas Brewing, suggests arranging his beers according to their hops content.

"Think about what's going to wreak the most havoc on your palate," says Guterson. "The rule of thumb is starting with the flavors that are going to be the more mellow, subtle, and move toward the more bold, hoppy flavors. Hops, in particular, tend to have a numbing effect on your senses. They can burn your taste buds out. We suggest not arranging by mellow to bold, but rather least hoppy to most hoppy. I'll put our Rotating Imperial Stout before our IPA, Ballz Deep Double IPA and Cascadian Dark Ale. Starting with our Belgian Style Blonde Ale is a good bet, then on to the Cutt's Amber, the 253 Pilsner, then the Stout, CDA and last, the IPAs. Of course, this is a bit beer geeky; the main goal is to taste several beers and have fun with friends."

My originally scheduled beer column for this week (different subject matter) was postponed due to technical difficulties. Since I logged some beer flight miles (didn't open the bag in the seat pocket once), I thought I'd post my beer flight column early (I had planned to visit many other establishments). Please check the reader board for how this affects your connecting flights.

7 Seas Brewing

The Gig Harbor brewery allows drinkers to mix and match any of their beers on tap. Each deep, handsome long-wooden crate comes with four ($5), six ($8) or eight ($10) 5-ounce glasses filled with whatever your heart desires. If you're one of those people who loathes making important decisions like what to drink on Friday night, you could just drink seasonals or IPAs. You could also drink single 5-ounce pours for $1.50. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday-Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 3006 Judson St., Gig Harbor, 253.514.8129

Narrows Brewing Company

The waterfront brewery is the perfect place to while away sunny days sipping on Joe Walts' handiwork while watching boats float along the Narrows waterway. To try more beer for less money, order a flight of six 5.5- to 6-ounce pours for $10.50. Bartenders Mary and Taylor pick the beers, which typically are the most recently brewed beers. 2-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, noon to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, 9007 S. 19th St., Tacoma, 253.327.1400

Odd Otter Brewing Company

You can mix and match or go with a server's recommendation based upon your preferences, but you can't really go wrong with the beer available at Odd Otter Brewing Company in downtown Tacoma. Known for their unique flavors - Ottermelon Hefeweizen, Cozy Camper Amber, Momma Otter's Pancake Porter and on and on - Odd Otter serves their beer flights in a la carte 5-ounce tasters for $2 an Otter - which are discounted during happy hour. Their beer paddle holds six, but more can certainly ride shotgun. Warning: The beer slots on the paddle are very shallow so find a spot and stay put.11-2 a.m. Thursday-Sunday, 716 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.209.7064

Pacific Brewing & Malting Co.

Down the street from Odd Otter, historic Pacific Brewing only drilled five holes in the old logs they used to carry their flights. Don't cry South Sound, the pours are 7-ounces for $14, and you can pick the beers. You know how Pacific Brewing is: Go big or go home. Their Moon Yard Strong Ale (7.3% ABV/89 IBU) with strong hop flavor and bitterness (named after a neighboring railway yard) and Dirty Skoog IPA (8.1% ABV/73 IBU) double IPA (named after a rumored speakeasy in Old Tacoma during Prohibition) is how they think. 4-10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, 610 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.383.BEER

Pint Defiance

The specialty beer store and taproom on the edge of Fircrest doesn't offer beer flights, but rather a "Sunday Beer Sampler" from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Assistant Manager R.J. Adler runs the Sampler, typically choosing four 3- to 4-ounce pours from bottles out of the cooler, centered around a theme - a specific brewery, certain beer style, holidays, topical event or, if he can, his favorite sours. "It's a way to try a unique bottled beer without drinking all 22-ounces," says Adler. The price runs $4 to $5.50. Bonus: Pint Defiance's third annual Valentine's Day Chocolate & Beer Event will feature special draft releases paired with artisanal chocolate from local Cocoa Tantily Feb. 13 and 14. 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2049 Mildred St. W., Tacoma, 253.302.4240

The Red Hot

The Tacoma Sixth Avenue craft beer and hot dog joint will pour you 5-ounce tasters of any of the 24 beers on tap for $2 less than the posted price. No paddles ... unless you're a jerk. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday, 2914 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.779.0229

Wingman Brewers

The Tacoma Dome District brewery serves a minimum of six 5.5-ounce pours for $12. According to head brewer Ken Thoburn, patrons will receive one of everything on tap that he has brewed. 2-9 p.m. Thursday, 2-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2-9 p.m. Sunday, 509 ½ Puyallup Ave., Tacoma, 253.256.5240

Macaroni and cheese - once a comfort-food staple of every Wednesday night dinner while your dad works through the night publishing a newspaper with hot type press - isn't what it used to be. And thanks to Marrow Kitchen and Bar, which makes no apologies for food steeped in indulgence, squiggles of meaty, housemade daily cavatelliare enmeshed in a Mornay sauce and delivered in a cast iron pot for an elegance of the re-imagined comfort food crafted like no other.

The immodestly rich recipe is completely hedonistic. Every chef, every cook, every kid and every home-kitchen tongs-twirler has his or her own version of macaroni and cheese, but Marrow's orchestration - with a $2 option for bits of salty, delightful pork belly nubbins - is so sensual - so wonderfully immoral - that it makes my heart race just thinking about it.

Each pasta piece is perfectly cooked al dente. Creamy, cheesy béchamel sauce with just the right amount of salt, this is what lovers of noodles and cheese sauce rhapsodize about. The baking pot arrives hot, the top layer of pasta burnished and browned. It's already awesome thanks to the Mornay sauce ($17), but the option to add the pork belly or truffle mushrooms ($2) should be all but mandatory.

An order of this love in a pot doesn't come with a hammock, as it's serving size leaves room for deviled eggs ($8) or mussels with bacon lardons and bone marrow Hollandaise ($10) and, of course, two nationally-recognized craft cocktails. Oh, I have 3,000 words ready to burst out on Marrow's steelhead gnocchi ($24), but that's for another day.

MARROW KITCHEN AND BAR, 3 p.m. to midnight, Tuesday-Saturday, 2717 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.267.5299

LINK: More mac and cheese dishes in the South Sound

LINK: The answer to why this mac and cheese column exists

Being a great bartender is about far more than mixing magic - although that element is certainly important. But a bartender's role behind the stick is also about spending time with those bellied up to the bar, whether they're high rollers or gravediggers. And Emily Myers, who has been pouring beer at the ParkWay Tavern since May 2013, deserves heroine worship for the way she straddles the line between professional and perky. She's engaging, exuberant, genuine and knowledgeable but never snooty. And she adores the ParkWay and its staff. A patron before an employee, it was the staff that drew her into the beer business. When she's not pouring, she's peddling. Myers other passion is bicycling, and she's thrilled 2015 is "Year of the Bike" in Tacoma.

Why do you serve?

"I truly like getting to know my fellow Tacomans. Without bartending, I would miss out on hearing all the rad stories and experiences of my regulars."

Who is your favorite server?

"Kendra Varadi is part of why I fell in love with the ParkWay. She's knowledgeable, genuine and always knows my current beer craving."

What are you most proud to serve?

"Any local beers I can get my hands on. When in doubt, go local. I'm so proud of our city's growth in the brewery and craft beer scene."

What is your current drink of choice?

"One of my current drink obsessions is cider, specifically gin-infused ciders like Seattle Cider's Gin Botanical. Really anything with an interesting flavor profile."

What is your favorite movie?

"Die Hard. It also doubles nicely as a favorite Christmas movie."

What don't you serve?

"Booze or assholes."

What's on your radar at the ParkWay?

"The Stone Brewery's tap takeover is Feb. 21, the Barleywine Festival will be March 28 and this July will be our 80th anniversary."

PARKWAY TAVERN, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily, 313 N. I St., Tacoma, 253.383.8748

LINK: Meet other South Sound servers

During a recent Monday Randall night at the ParkWay Tavern in Tacoma's Northslope neighborhood, I met with Joe Walts, head brewer for Narrows Brewing Company. Walts is leaving Tacoma to return to his former position as head lab technician for Ale Asylum in Wisconsin. Seated around us at the ParkWay were Tristan Litke of Tacoma Brewing Co., Zoe Brackney of Tacoma Beer Week and Todd Buckley of Tacoma Alcohol Consortium. We decided it was a good time to give Walts a Tacoma beer community exit interview.

MORGAN ALEXANDER: What's been your take on the Northwest brewing scene?

JOE WALTS: It wasn't that different from what I was experiencing in Wisconsin and Michigan, which have been in the lead, and other states are starting to do more such as Minnesota and Illinois. What I expected when I came out here was to be blown away by the hoppy beers. I was ready for that. What I found is a good IPA is a good IPA everywhere. The difference has been the people who are drinking craft beer because it's local or drinking craft beer for the taste - those people are drinking IPAs out here. Back in the Midwest, they're drinking amber lagers and cream ales.

TRISTAN LITKE: Let's talk about beer flavors. What are some of your favorite flavors?

WALTS: First of all, my palate sucks. I'm the first to admit it. I drink a beer and I think it tastes beery and delicious. So, I'm going to start with what I don't like. There's one flavor in beer that I don't like, and that's dextrines. So, really sweet beers - that come from mashing at a high temperature - that flavor and mouthfeel, I don't like across the board. You're making a Scotch Ale and it could be malty and overly sweet or it could be malty and delicious. It's a really specific type of sweetness. I don't mind sugar sweetness but I hate dextrine sweetness.

ZOE BRACKNEY: I totally trolled your Facebook pictures and lusted over the lambics and other beers you were brewing. Now that you won't be working crazy hours for a startup brewery, are you looking forward to brewing at home?

WALTS: I am excited about that. I'm probably going to jump back into lambics for sure. It's something I was doing at home before I moved out here and was two-and-a-half years into a three-year geuze blending project when I got this (Narrows Brewing) job and abandoned it. I am going to have to brew an Anniversary beer again - I only have two or three bottles left. I'll have to do something Belgian and huge and raspberry for my wife. I don't expect to be brewing every weekend or anything like that. The biggest issue is that I don't have any time with my family. Getting back to that is what this job is going to give me, so I'm probably not going to be spending much of that time brewing.

TODD BUCKLEY: Being from outside the area, what did you think about Tacoma?

WALTS: Tacoma has a mix that is really rare in the world. Tacoma is a liberal blue-collar town where people are really pragmatic but also fairly educated and really not snobby about it - and that's hard to find. Places that I've experienced either tend to be really, really academic or really, really ignorant. Tacoma reminds me of Portland, Maine - it's just a place that I really identify with and I'm going to be sad to leave Tacoma. As a town, I think it's wonderful. As far as the beer scene goes, I think the best word I could use to describe it is under-rated. There's so much good beer in Tacoma and nobody knows it. I don't think even people in Tacoma know it.  Before I came out here, I checked on reviews of Tacoma's breweries and not many people had good things to say. When I got to Tacoma and started drinking the beer, I'm like, "this is delicious!" I've had people say to me before, "that brewery's beer tastes like poison" and "this brewery's beer is s--- garbage" and "this brewery's beers are boring," and every single one of these breweries is putting out some great beer. I think there's a disconnect with Tacoma's reputation and what Tacoma is actually doing in terms of beer. I think one thing Tacoma's excelling at is - even if the community doesn't know it yet - they're really good at connecting with the community. I mean, Morgan and Ken down at Wingman are both Tacoma as Tacoma gets. And people are figuring out their niches. Like Engine House Nine and their sour program. It's just off the charts. And they're running with it and they're turning it into something fantastic. I don't know anyone that's making a hard ginger ale and Tacoma Brewing is just rocking it. And so all these breweries are figuring out what they do really well and I think people are going to recognize it someday.

Joe Walts official send-off party will be held from 5-7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20 in Narrows Brewing Company's taproom. The party is also a chance to welcome Mike Davis - formerly with Harmon Brewing Co., H-Fi brewing and Elliott Bay Brewing - as the new head brewer at Narrows Brewing Co.

NARROWS BREWING COMPANY, 2-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, noon to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 9007 S. 19th St., Tacoma, 253.327.1400

Morgan Alexander is founder and head brewer at Tacoma Brewing Company, 625 Saint Helens Ave., in Tacoma's Triangle District.

This week marks 38th different mac and cheese dish I have eaten since April 2014. Don't look at me like that. I have a soft spot in my heart for mac and cheese. After any major trauma in my life, a dish of macaroni and cheese has bolstered me and given me a full belly and clear mind with which to plow ahead. Mac and cheese is what I want when I'm sick, when I'm sad, when I'm happy, even when I'm not particularly hungry. It forms a protective layer of love around my heart. (To be fair, that could also be arteriosclerosis. But it's too good for me to care.)

Also ... I'm doing research for our Tournament of Mac and Cheese, which begins next month. My goal is to report on a South Sound mac and cheese dish every week up to the tournament - to spread the cheesy word, ease into tournament research and, obviously, build hype. With your help, we'll pit 64 of the South Sound's best mac and cheese makers in a elbow-to-elbow battle - a titanic, cheesy tournament the likes of which has never been seen in these parts, unless you count our previous tacos, pizza, breakfast, sandwiches and burgers tournaments.

This week, I found one of the best mac and cheese dishes at C.I. Shenanigans.

Crab mac 'n' cheese is hardly the novelty it once was, but in the expert hands of C.I. Shenanigans, it's elevated to new heights. The Tacoma waterfront fine-dining restaurant relies on a béchamel sauce spiked with blue lump crab, smoked gouda cheese and long strips of Hill's bacon to give their Blue Crab Mac & Cheese ($22.95) an assertive edge. The lumache pasta was fluffy but not insubstantial.

"Blue lump crab gouda cheese, bacon, sautéed in béchamel - those are the only ingredients I can reveal," says Marvin Spencer, bar manager at Shenanigans. "It's a secret formula."

It's one of the few baked mac and cheese dishes that's not overcooked, nor does it reveal a layer of grease and unemulsified cheese at the bottom (as so many baked mac and cheese dishes do). Instead, the giant bowl of mac and cheese is thick all the way through except for a crunchy layer of breadcrumbs and slightly crisped pasta at the very top. Be careful, though: It takes a good five minutes to cool off enough to eat; I like to spend that time enjoying their tableside margarita.

C.I. SHENANIGANS, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. to close Sunday, 3017 Ruston Way, Tacoma, 253.752.8811

LINK: More mac and cheese dishes in the South Sound

LINK: The answer to why this mac and cheese column exists

One evening in January, Olympia's South Puget Sound Community College student union turned into a tasting room as attendees of the Cascadia Grains conference helped themselves to a gluten-free, mostly vegan dinner, then ambled over to brewers and distillers to sample whisky, beer, liqueur and more.

Tacoma resident Brian Thiel poured tastes of his Ghostfish Brewery Company's Single-Hop Eldorado IPA, Buckwheat Brown and a stout - all experimental varieties concocted in a brewing laboratory he developed with $30,000 raised through Kickstarter.

The tasting topped off the Cascadia Grains Conference - a funky mix of craft brewers, farmers, academics, maltsters, marketing types and entrepreneurs sniffing out opportunities in the go-go world of craft brewing. Craft breweries surged from 537 in 1994 to 2,768 in 2013, according to the Brewer's Association.

New barley and quinoa varieties, organic certification, and the intellectual property perils of selecting brewery names were just some of the conference topics.

Thiel's Ghostfish opened Feb. 5 in Seattle; the grand opening celebration occurs in March. Thiel and his business partners considered locating in Tacoma and looked at property on Hilltop, but ultimately opted for Seattle.

Ghostfish is dedicated (but not yet certified) gluten free; that distinction has led to inquiries from several states and even the U.K.

"People are beating (your) door down," he said, asking, ‘When are you going to be in Maine?'"

Ghostfish packaged beer products will be distributed in Tacoma and the South Sound, says Thiel.

Craft brewing is a mix of science and spunk, clear-eyed corporate and folksy collaborative: propelled by the "Grain to Glass" model - the craft brewing answer to a growing focus on quality ingredients and local sourcing -conference participant Westland Distillery has started meeting with farmers and workers in its supply chain, said Westland's Matt Hofmann; a future Westland label might feature a farm where its barley is grown.

"People care about where their (product) comes from - not just whether it's local, but how it's made," he said during a conference lunch of chicken roulade, local beet quinoa salad, cauliflower tabbouleh salad and winter-roasted veggies prepared by Yelm-based Simply Organic.

"What cool barley varietal can you grow, and can you make whiskey out of it?" Hofmann asked.

That question could be asked of both farmers and scientists: Westland wants to participate in helping local academic institutions develop more productive barley varietals - a process that Hofmann says takes a minimum of 10 years - trying to "turn the tide" of barley production upward.

Westland uses 40,000 pounds of malted barley every week, and as GMO corn "keeps marching Northwest," Hofmann said. Westland wants to ensure a robust supply of Washington-grown barley.

"We've been helping these guys develop their business and saying in effect, if you build it, we will come," Hofmann continued. "Western Washington is one of the best barley-growing regions."

Scott Fisk, an Oregon State University faculty research assistant, affirmed U.S. barley production has declined over the last 30 years - losing out to corn, soy, wheat and grass - but stopped short of saying that the U.S. is experiencing an actual barley shortage. Fisk's department is breeding barley for disease-resistance, quality and yield. One component of this research involves making crosses with barley strains from Germany, which Fisk says are fairly well adapted for Willamette and Skagit Valley growers.

But Thiel's Ghostfish, as a gluten-free brewery, doesn't use barley malt, since barley contains gluten.

Gluten-free brewers must use gluten-free malt such as that made by Wellington, Colorado's Grouse Malting and Roasting Company - one of the only certified U.S. gluten-free maltsters. CEO Twila Henley said that Grouse's gluten-free malt costs 50 to 100 percent more than regular craft barley malt.

Seattle's first gluten-free brewery Ghostfish is open 3-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday at 2942 1st Ave. S., just a few blocks south of Safeco and CenturyLink fields. The brewery also serves an assortment of gluten-free pizzas.

I consider eating out my job, nay, sworn duty. Each nibble I take, each sip I imbibe I am always considering, "Is this something I should tell the beautiful Volcano readers?!" I often bounce from restaurant to restaurant until I discover a dish worthy of sharing. I've hit a rough patch lately with some mediocre dishes and sub-par service. Then came Valentine's Day, and my husband went all out and made reservations at El Gaucho in downtown Tacoma.

Consider my faith restored.

My husband knows I order multiple menu items. This is the best way to combat two things: one - indecisiveness, because why settle for just one dish when you can dig into several; two - it gives me the opportunity to decide what dish I would prefer to recommend. Therefore, a visit to El Gaucho can prove to be extravagant. After sampling several items, and ringing up a hefty tab, I feel El Gaucho's shareable side, the Lobster Mashed Potatoes ($24), is a must eat now dish.

El Gaucho has some of the best steaks in town - they are prepared to perfection and so buttery each bite virtually melts in your mouth. I suggest you get any among their selection and pair it with the Lobster Mashed Potatoes because it's rich, velvety bliss. A very generous, shareable portion of pillow-y whipped potatoes is presented, swimming in a nice brown gravy, salted just the way it should be and includes bits of Maine Lobster throughout. Le sigh, it's a downhome dish done in decadent style.

With a matrimony of speakeasy ambiance, stellar service, exquisite steaks and the wine selection, El Gaucho is primo date night material when you're feeling like really going all out.

EL GAUCHO, 4-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 4 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, 2119 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.1520

One of the great things about living in the Great Melting Pot is it's always some Americans' holiday. For a half-Anglo, half-Latino dude from L.A. and Oklahoma, I know a surprising amount about Chinese New Year. Chalk it up to too many hours spent in Chinese buffets, but also to genuine interest in the culture. My Oklahoma friends and I threw a Chinese New Year party each February; it gave me the chance to show off my burgeoning wok skills. Oh, make no mistake, I can still throw down a half-decent Buddha's delight, the vegetarian medley traditionally served around that time because the end of its Cantonese name, fat choy, sounds like the phrase for prosperity. Don't delve too deeply into the black "hair weed" that thickens the dish, though. Instead, think of it as Chinese black eyed peas, and bon appetit.

Much like Westerners' spring cleaning ritual, the Ch?njié (Spring Festival) of the Chinese lunar New Year gives families a festive reason to spruce up the house, clearing the way for all that good luck to come. It's a time of reunion, when red decorations appear, firecrackers get 'sploded, and money is liberally distributed in red envelopes. Why all that red? A Nián Shòu is a mythical, leonine beast. Legends tell us that a Nian used to attack a certain village each year on New Year's Day. The villagers left food in front of their doors in hopes the man-eater would devour it and amscray, until finally, the gods hinted to a local hero that he should consider hanging red banners and lighting fireworks instead. The Nian, secretly terrified of the color red, hit the bricks and was never seen again-unless you believe a story that it was later captured by a Taoist monk, Hóngj?n L?oz?", who wore red undies and thereby scared the Nian into serving as his personal show pony.

It may surprise you to learn there's no real agreement on which numerical year this is in the Chinese calendar. That's because mainland Chinese tend to not to assign numbers to years, and scholars outside the country never quite agreed on when their calendar should start. We do know that as of this Thursday, Feb. 19, the twelve-year astrological cycle lands on the Year of the Goat, sometimes prettied up as Year of the Ram. In America, goats are known for their stubbornness. That's true in China as well, but they're also thought of as kind, peaceable and popular, if not a bit clingy (cf. those adorable kid videos on YouTube).

So how should you, fellow Yank, celebrate the Spring Festival? Aside from the fireworks where legal, red banners, good-luck messages, and gifts of money to stubborn but popular Volcano bloggers, I recommend getting your eat on. (I know. I recommend that for every occasion.  It's a thing I do. Shut up.) A downside of being ethnic-American is one often has to work hardest on one's own cultural holiday, as my cousins could attest every Cinco de Mayo. So yes, my beloved Main Chinese Buffet will be open in Lacey, as will the always delicious Indochine in Tacoma. You might also brave the crowds at Din Tai Fung up in Bellevue, my wife's favorite restaurant on the planet. Have a family photo taken. By all means, have a drink. The traditional toast is "g?n b?"i," which means "empty cup" or "bottoms up!" Then wish each other a hearty "gong hey fat choy," meaning "congratulations and prosperity." Teenagers are free to add the jokey suffix "hóngb?o nálái": "now gimme a red envelope!" More jao gok dumplings, anyone?

Happy New Year!