JOHN HERBERT: GO GET 'EM CHC >>>

Tacoma’s Community Health Care kicks off National Health Center Week 2008 on Aug. 10 with special emphasis on promoting a new health center plan to create more health care homes in the future for the medically unserved. The program also recognizes doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health professionals who have chosen to serve in communities in need, and will include Health Care for the Homeless Day, Aug. 13, and Farmworker Health Day on Aug. 14.

KEN SWARNER: PERFECT FOR TOLLEFSON PLAZA >>>

Want to pack the perfect picnic basket, but either you lack time or talent? Let Chef Gordon and the kitchen staff at Pacific Grill make your job a whole lot easier â€" and they won’t tell a soul. Inside their front door they have brochures with seven salads, five sandwiches, three desserts, even three continental breakfasts that they will prepare for pickup, Monday-Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. They’ll even deliver in the downtown Tacoma area.

My top recommendation?

No one makes a better BLT than Pacific Grill. Served on toasted, rustic bread, it’s packed with apple-smoked Wisconsin bacon, lettuce and tomato with mayo. What makes the BLT work is a chewy texture coupled with strong meat and fresh tomato flavors â€" it’s hearty yet not overly filling.

Need to impress a date â€" this is your sure-fire secret weapon. Call them at 253.722.1490.

MATT DRISCOLL: THAT IS THE QUESTION >>>

So, Tacoma's Broadway Center for the Performing Arts wants to know if you'd like to see Carly Simon at the Pantages Theater. Furthermore, they'd like to know if you'd be willing to pay anywhere from $60-$120 for a ticket.

Seriously. They're asking you. Let them know what you think here.

KEN SWARNER: EATING INSIDE THE OLYMPUS SPA >>>

This week I had the rare opportunity to taste a few items available at the naked spa in Lakewood â€" otherwise known as Olympus Spa. While no men are allowed, chef Simpkins brought out a few banchan bowls for me to sample. Banchan accompanies a Korean meal â€" they are a series of bowls with small appetizer or side dishes. They can vary from restaurant to restaurant, or within one place, vary day to day. For a great pictorial of banchan, click here.

Simpkins told me that in Korean homes banchan always accompanies meals, but not as ceremoniously or extensively as in restaurants. Often, a family has large helpings of banchan in the refrigerator and each day a little is removed for the meal.

“It changes whenever the family gets tired of eating the same thing over and over,” said Jun Johnson, operations manager at Olympus Spa.

Check out the entire story on Olympus Spa tomorrow in the Weekly Volcano. Pick up a copy, go home, disrobe, ask your spouse to rub you raw, and enjoy.

Please don’t us send pictures.

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

MATT DRISCOLL: THINKS PINKERTON IS ONE OF THE BEST RECORDS EVER >>>

While I'm not in love with their new stuff, there will always be a soft spot in my heart for Weezer. The band's first two records (especially Pinkerton) almost singlehandedly helped me survive the awkwardness of adolescence. For that, I will always be a fan.

Live Nation announced this morning that Weezer, along with Tokyo Police Club and Angels and Airwaves, will play Key Arena in Seattle on October 11. Tickets for the show will go on sale Saturday, Aug 23 at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster outlets and LiveNation.com. Prices will range from $25 -$45.

To get you pumped, here's the band's "Pork and Beans" video. If you have yet to see it, you should consider moving out from underneath that rock.

SUZY STUMP: 5 THINGS TO DO TODAY >>>

10 A.M.: In affiliation with the Le Leche League’s World Breastfeeding Week, hordes of breastfeeding moms and their boob juice-slurping wee-ones will gather at Wright Park between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. According to a press release sent out by the co-producer, Hillary Ryan of Wai Baby, “The celebration will feature a mass nurse out at 11 a.m. to set the record for the largest number of simultaneous breastfeeding babies in Tacoma, as well as remarks by local lactation consultant â€" Debbie Knox, IBCLC.” Juicy details here

10 A.M.: The Pierce County Fair offers animal competitions, carnival rides, kids activities, FFA demonstrations, live entertainment, tons of fair food, and enough vendor exhibits to restock your entire ranch home. Starting today through Sunday, take some time to take part in one of this region’s most historical events. Get going to Graham.

5 P.M.: Remember The Crow Show at Mad Hat Tea Party? Freakin’ fun, right? Can you imagine how fun their For The Love Of The Cosmos show will be? The Hatters are calling it syncopated pandemonium. We think they’ll be a lot of love in the house tonight.

7 P.M.: Local choreographer and dancer Joel Myers wants to move you. Along with a cadre of professional body-movers, he will do just that when he presents The Joel Show III at Stadium High School Aug. 16. Grab a sneak peak tonight at 7 p.m. with food and beverages at The Helm.

7 P.M.: American storyteller Chris Chandler and blues guitarist John Benoit bring their General Election Tour to A Rhapsody In Bloom Florist & Café Latte tonight. Get there early or all the Victory Review people will grab all the chairs and eat all the desserts.

LINK: Viva South Sound arts and entertainment calendar
LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

RON SWARNER: BEST OF TACOMA >>>

Hey folks, our yearly Best-Of issue, in which your humble and helpful Weekly Volcano staffers â€" and readers â€" show some love for all the things that make the City of Destiny so nifty â€" is now online.

It's broken down into six categories: Gritty City; arts and entertainment; bought and sold; food and drink; sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll; and this year’s Best Tacoma Legend.

Hop on over to the Weekly Volcano Web site for the Best of Tacoma.

JAKE DE PAUL: THE MORNING BREW >>>

1. Eating inside Lakewood’s naked spa (Weekly Volcano)

2. Aim for Chambers Bay’s patio today (Weekly Volcano)

3. The best Japanese summer food and drink (Gadling)

LINK: Garlic scrapes at 6th Ave Farmers Market
LINK: Bar Exam visits the Valley Pub
LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide