The Olympian ran a list of downtown Olympia restaurants aimed at the legislators milling about smartly.  It's short and sweet, except they left Cicada off the list.  Tragic. â€" Jake de Paul

The Weekly Volcano's Best of Tacoma issue will hit the streets July 31.  Yes, that seems like an eternity. 

While you wait we will periodically tease you with one of last year’s Best of Tacoma winners.  This week â€" The Best Service in Tacoma:

El Gaucho
Giving El Gaucho the nod for anything is like finally ceding the Florida vote count to Bush: at this point, it’s not as though this fine-dining treat needs some official stamp of approval. But that’s precisely because its popularity remains richly deserved â€" thanks not least to a waitstaff that’s every bit as gifted in its bailiwick as the chefs are in theirs. From the hostesses to the bartenders to the servers, everyone strikes that crucial balance between fuss-free formality and agreeability rather than familiarity. â€" Jake de Paul

[El Gaucho, 2119 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.882.0009]

Be part of the Best
Thanks to each and every one of you who filled out the Best of Tacoma ballot last year. If you have a category suggestion for this year’s issue, send us a e-mail here.

If you would like to advertise, kick us in the butt here.

If you find yourself at the State Capitol in Olympia, you may notice a new attraction â€" something far more appealing than the typical bureaucracy and partisan bickering.

After dropping a cool $200,000, our political leaders in Olympia (both Democrats and Republicans) have converted part of a hallway and the old visitor center into a shiny new gift shop. Apparently, if there’s one thing both parties can agree on, it’s the need for souvenirs and pointless Washington trinkets to be available for sale at the State Capitol. While the Weekly Volcano hasn’t stepped foot inside the new gift shop yet, reports from the AP tell us that merchandise will “include Washington-made crafts, Washington-grown foods, postcards, calendars and items that bear the states name or themes. There are chocolate replicas of Mount Rainier, an apple cake mix, soaps from Shelton and mints from Chehalis.”

Hot damn! No word yet on whether the new gift shop will carry Gov. Christine Gregoire bobble head dolls or Rep, Hans Dunshee beard trimmers, but one can hope. â€" Matt Driscoll

It's official. Tacoma Rainiers has a new Rhubarb the Reindeerâ€" 20-year-old South Hill resident Payton Foutz. He was one of several individuals who tried out for the mascot position over the weekend. Foutz was selected based on his “awesome performance,” according to Rainiers spokesperson Geoff Corkum.

Foutz was asked to react to several different scenarios during the tryouts including a scared 5-year-old child and a sexy girl in the stands several sections away. He wowed the judges with his finale, putting his high school high-jumping skills to the test and leaping over Tony Canepa of Schlegel Sports. Foutz, who’s expected to start his training soon, replaces 32-year-old Tony Villa, who relocated to Washington D.C. â€" Jamie Forsythe

The Tacoma Gnome finally received Bobble Tiki's belated Christmas gift.  Merry Christmas TG!

Bobble Tiki hopes the Tacoma Gnome's burns heal soon, too. â€" Bobble Tiki

I have had a soft spot for "Peter Pan" ever since I saw Sandy Duncan play the title role on television some 20 years ago. The store of flying fairies and the Lost Boys in Never Never Land and pirates with hooks for hands never tires.

The play is on tour and will be flying into Tacoma Wednesday night. â€" Steve Dunkelberger

[Pantages Theater, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 7:30 p.m., $44-$68, 901 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.591.5890]

Move over Tacoma museums, galleries, SOTA, Tacoma Art Place, M Space, glassblowing studios, cultural arts center, hello cupcake â€" downtown Tacoma has another space for folks to get their art on.  The Broadway Center for the Performing Arts, in partnership with the City of Tacoma, will open its new Education Studio and Broadway Center Conservatory Headquarters with an Open House and Reception on Friday, Jan. 18, from 9 to 11 a.m. Check it out on the north side of 9th and Commerce Street.  We’re talking coffee and pastries people.

Broadway Center states in a release that it will “use the Education Studio for a variety of education and outreach programs, serving as the headquarters for the recently launched Broadway Center Conservatory.”

Very cool. â€" Suzy Stump

Previously on Spew.

CLASSICAL
David Issacs
You say you’re a huge fan of Baroque music of Bach and late romanticism of Tansman? Who, for the love of the Weekly Volcano, isn’t? Get your fill tonight when classical guitarist David Isaacs takes listeners through a historical tour of classical guitar composition at the Tacoma Public Library Main Branch. Issacs has 20 years behind the guitar, a master’s degree in Classical Guitar Performance from California State University-Fullerton and a CD, Structures.  Good enough for me. â€" Suzy Stimp

[Tacoma Public Library Main Branch, 7 p.m., no cover, 1102 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma, 253.591.5666]

THE BOOKS
Banned Book Club
Reading fiction is a lot like eating out â€" there’s nothing wrong with occasionally indulging in tripe you can gulp down in a hurry, but the end result is almost always more satisfying when you can invest more time in savoring complicated flavors. Venturing into the literary world of fine dining can be bewildering, so it’s nice to find other people with whom you can compare your initial reactions. That’s what book clubs are all about, and there may be no better club to join than the Banned Book Club at the Tempest Lounge. Tuesday night, they’ll be discussing Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried,” the book Tacoma Reads Together chose as the citywide read for 2008.

Drop-in visitors are always welcome. â€" Brad Allen

[Tempest Lounge, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 7 p.m., no cover, 913 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma, 253.272.8801]

THE LECTURE
Michael Chabon
Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Chabon has lectured widely on topics including the art and craft of writing, the tradition of Jewish fiction, Vladimir Nabokov. He’s in the area Tuesday to discuss his latest book, “The Yiddish Policeman’s Union.” You don’t have to be Jewish to get down with that. â€" SS

[Pierce College, 7 p.m., $7-$15, 1601 39th Ave. S.E., Puyallup, 253.840.8416]

THE DAILY WORD
Learn it, use it, spell it

Dotage \DOH-tij\, noun:
Feebleness of mind due to old age; senility.

USAGE EXAMPLE: Though Brett Favre may suffer from dotage, his ass may sag like a bag of wet potatoes, and his hair might be grayer than Joan Rivers' nether region, his under hand flip to tight end Donald Lee in last weekend's playoff victory over the frozen Seahawks proved the old man still has plenty of gas in the tank to get the job done against Holmgren and Co. Oh, how he proved it.

THE MORNING NEWS

UNIVERSITY PLACE: How do we pick our next developer?

TACOMA: Hey, what happens if we push this red button?

NEW ZEALAND: Ninety-nine thousand (hic!) blades in the lawn. �

SPRINGFIELD: Surrounded by crutches.

HUSTLER OF CULTURE
You can stand atop the mountain and scream your naked desires to the universe or shed that synapse epilepsy and hug the South Sound today with your fellow man:

MUSIC: Baltimore, Maryland, is a long ass way away. Bobble Tiki doesnââ?¬â?¢t need Google Maps to figure that out. Bobble Tiki also knows that when a punk band travels all the way from Baltimore to play a show at the Viaduct in Tacoma, itââ?¬â?¢s worth supporting. Even if the music sucks, youââ?¬â?¢ve got to give any group of musicians willing to trek that far on a punk rock budget mad props. Even better, you should help them with gas money. Ruiner, a messy mix of punk and hardcore who will play the Viaduct tonight with Broadway Calls, are from Baltimore ââ?¬" and even better, they donââ?¬â?¢t even suck. In Bobble Tikiââ?¬â?¢s opinion, itââ?¬â?¢s a show worth missing Tuesday night TV for. Thatââ?¬â?¢s saying a lot for Bobble Tiki. Ruiner is a long way from home. The least you can do is give them a listen. 

MORE MUSIC: What's on tonight.

BAR EXAM: Steph DeRosa visits U.P. Station.

THREATS AND PROMISES COLUMN
Jazzbones has moved around some of its regular weekly gigs.  Randy Oxford jams on Thursdays now.  DJs spin under the title Mixed Tape on Wednesday.  Grab the juice here.

Breakfast with Bobble Tiki runs Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.  Deal with it.

One of the most artistically designed bathrooms in Tacoma is the Masa bathroom. It undoubtedly has the modern touch of class that makes you feel as though you are dining somewhere really special: square lifted sinks, metal counter top, heavy doors, and the best part of all¬" cool tiles surrounding the mirror by Tacoman Claudia Riedener. I know the Weekly Volcano has already written about how fantastic Masa is, so I won't go into detail on that part.

I go there because I love the food. I also love supporting my husband's old Bellarmine friend¬" John Xitco. What I always have a hard time remembering is that Masa is not a family restaurant where you want to bring your kids. I've tried multiple times, and I have to just realize that they cater mainly to Tacoma's adults. There's nothing wrong with that. As a matter of fact, they do a fantastic job at it.

So as I'm there with some of my peeps, drinking the best margaritas around, I take a break for the bathroom. I enjoy Claudia's tile, and I think of other places that are more kid-friendly. I remember places that should be painfully obvious where all kids are welcome. I remember KAke and I last Wednesday night. I remember the My Little Pony World's Biggest Tea Party. I remember it all very, very well.

Is it wrong that KAke and I had purchased fifth row seats for the World's Biggest Tea Party more than a month in advance? Not in our book. Our girls are die-hard My Little Pony fans. Collectively they have at least 4,236 ponies between them. Most are duplicates, and we have to meticulously mark them all with initials specifying if each belongs to or  So it was a no-brainer for us to jump on Ticketmaster as soon as we heard the news of said T-Dome pony performance.

The girls were in awe; it was the night they had been waiting for. We had each dropped a pretty penny on some souvenirs, scored some good floor seats, and we were ready to have ourselves a grand teatime. Music was playing, ponies were singing, every pre-kinder in Tacoma was dancing and hopping. The ponies on stage encouraged the kids to get up, twirl, bounce, and act like a teapot. Fun, fun, fun!

Unfortunately, security was TIGHT. And by tight I mean personnel sitting up front at the foot of the stage (in case some punk ass 4-year-old pony groupie wanted to storm Pinkie Pie Pony). By tight I also mean rigid old hags who tell your kid to stop dancing with the pennant flag they sold us when we walked in, but let the other kids do it (thus making your child cry). And by tight I mean that same old hag who physically stops your child from dancing by forcefully grabbing your child by the arm and pulling her.

To all the moms out there reading this, I'm sure you'll agree with my next statement:

I have respect for the rules, and I am thankful that you are concerned for my child's safety. But if for any reason whatsoever, unless my children are about to hurt themselves or someone else, should you lay a single hand in a forceful way on them, so help you¬" you shall have to contend with the wrath of MOM.

I respectfully let the hag know what I thought of her actions, then told her to get the F out of my face. Thankfully she was sent home on the spot and some T-Dome supervisor came over and apologized on behalf of the Tacoma Dome. I think she's lucky I didn't run into her in the parking lot.

So maybe My Little Pony wasn't as kid-friendly as I thought it should be. There certainly was a lot of pressure for those kids to sit still and behave. I mean, I'm 35, and I can't even sit still and behave. Speaking of behaving, I quickly finish up in the Masa bathroom, eager to return to my own little margarita tea party. The party that Masa knows how to do up just right.¬" Steph DeRosa