Weekly Volcano Blogs: Walkie Talkie Blog

Posts made in: March, 2009 (283) Currently Viewing: 1 - 10 of 283

March 1, 2009 at 12:20am

Late night burrito place

MICHAEL SWAN: I NEED ONE NOW >>>

Where does this joint exist in the South Sound right now?

Late Night Burrito Place - watch more funny videos

Filed under: Food & Drink, Music,

March 1, 2009 at 8:36am

Matt Coughlin

TONY ENGELHART: WORTHY BENEFIT AT THE SWISS >>>

Matt Coughline Sherri is a longtime patron and friend to The Swiss. Recently, she was diagnosed with an incredibly aggressive form of cancer that has attached to her spine. She will need surgery very soon. Today The Swiss will be holding a benefit for Sherri to help with these medical expenses. Matt Coughlin and 10 Miles of Bad Road have graciously volunteered to play free of charge to help make the evening a success. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: There’s a fine line between a totally sappy love song and an intelligent portrait of a relationship. Not many singer/songwriters can pull it off, but Tacoma’s own Matt Coughlin has the ability to wear his heart on his sleeve without making me want to puke. Coughlin is a super duper cool guy who is always willing to share his talent for a worthy cause.

[The Swiss, with 10 Miles of Bad Road, Phil O’Sullivan, 6 p.m., donation, 1904 S. Jefferson, Tacoma, 253.572.2821]

Filed under: Benefits, Music, Tacoma,

March 1, 2009 at 10:59am

Love letters

SUZY STUMP: WAYZGOOSE WAY TODAY >>>

Wayzgoose-Beautiful-Angle-2 Blogs? Whatever. Before everyone and his great aunt were clogging up fiber-optic networks with quiche recipes and sociopolitical minutiae, there were zines. But even though zines are tangible, handmade publications invested with character and soul, zinesters are sometimes as isolated as bloggers â€" which is why local letterpress printers, book artists and King’s Books have teamed up to present Wayzgoose, a celebration of printed word.

Various print-related activities will be held at the free event, giving tips on everything from watching letterpress printing in action to creating your own book. Of course, attendees should expect to walk out a few bucks lighter â€" and a few pounds of letterpress-printed wares heavier.

Read Jessica Corey-Butler's full report here.

[King’s Books, Sunday, March 1, noon to 4 p.m., free, 218 St Helens Ave, Tacoma, 253.272. 8801]

Filed under: Arts, Books, Tacoma, Word,

March 1, 2009 at 1:00pm

Tacoma photo of the day

Filed under: Photo of the Day, Tacoma,

March 1, 2009 at 1:33pm

Phat Lipp

RON SWARNER: ELIOT LIPP AT THE NEW FRONTIER LOUNGE >>>

Popped into the New Frontier Lounge for the Eliot Lipp show just as the Brad Paisley concert crowd poured out of the Tacoma Dome. Cowboy hats and b-boys swirled about in peace at East 25th Street.

Raw-Paw-Three Inside the New Frontier New York City's Michna with his four-piece band, Raw Paw, played bangin' instrumental hip-hop creating a dense blanket of sound and texture with drums, electronics and Michna on trombone. Their light show dazzled.
.
Eliot-one The set from Tacoma-to-Brooklyn beat maker Eliot Lipp was a revelation in disco-infused electrofunk with laptop beats matched by cool synthetic keyboard noises and his interaction with the crowd.

Eliot-three-parents Lipp's parents dropped by to check out their son's blippy Lipp-y electronics.

LINK: More photos at the Weekly Volcano's Photo Hot Spot

March 1, 2009 at 3:36pm

Dear Old Town Jazz & Wine Festival

JAKE DE PAUL: LOVING THE OLD TOWN JAZZ & WINE FESTIVAL >>>

Hoodsport Oh, Old Town Jazz & Wine Festival, how we hate ourselves for loving you. With your Pearl Django and Malibu Manouche, how can we respect our toe-tapping, plate-balancing selves? With your 12 wineries, you taunt us. Even your silent auction items such as hotel packages, wine, theater tickets and much more threatens our wallets. Yet we find ourselves there, every year, gorging on your appetizers like the broke-ass gourmands we are.

According to the Old Town Business District's Web Site, "Proceeds from the festival and auction will go to support the Tacoma Old Town Park Performance Stage Project, headed by the Old Town Business and Professional Association, with the goal of building a permanent outdoor performance stage in Old Town Park."

For your 30 ticket, you'll score a souvenir wine glass and four wine tastes. Tickets can be purchased at the following Tacoma locations: Ted Brown Music, The Spar Tavern, and Metropolitan Market. You must be 21 and older to hang the Old Town Jazz & Wine Festival.

Dear Old Town Jazz & Wine Festival, when you combine alcohol with a benefit, that's our kind of party.

[Slavonian Hall, Saturday, March 7, 5-11 p.m., $30, 2306 N. 30th St., Old Town Tacoma, oldtownbusinessdistrict.com]

Filed under: Benefits, Food & Drink, Music, Tacoma,

March 2, 2009 at 8:38am

Morning Spew

BOBBLE TIKI: BREAKFAST WITH BOBBLE TIKI >>>

Breakfast-with-Bobble-Tiki The developer of Point Ruston wants to fill the tunnel!

Kopachuck. Fun to say but should it stay?

Score one for Christian fundamentalism: Scientists in Britain and Canada discover a way to make stem cells without destroying embryos.

Bobble Tiki's retirement WAS going to be one spectacular, endless cocktail cruise: Fed gives AIG $30 billion more.

Looks like Bobble Tiki’s late-night trips to 7-11 are helping: Consumer spending rises after six straight drops.

WTF? Rhianna is back together with Chris Brown at Diddy’s request.

Get this: it’s an anti-energy drink called Drank. Their slogan? “Slow your roll with Drank.”

Jimmy Fallon hosts his first Late Night tonight at 12:37 a.m. on NBC.

March 2, 2009 at 9:51am

Genius: Pacific Grill's tuna melt

RON SWARNER: CHAT WITH CHEF GORDON NACCARATO >>>

Genius-Pacific-Grill-ahi Yeah, we already know he’s a culinary genius, but Tacoma's award-winning chef Gordon Naccarato knocked me off his Pacific Grill chair with his tuna melt. The open faced grilled ahi tuna sandwich off his Pacific Grill's lunch menu deserves to be bronzed. I know it’s one of his favorites, too. He tried to take it off his lunch menu once, but people cried in the streets. It’s back on, thank goodness.

I caught up with Naccarato for the scoop behind this dish.

WEEKLY VOLCANO: Who came up with this creation? 

GORDON NACCARATO: Many years ago when I had my restaurant in Aspen, I was looking for a modern update on the classic tuna melt for my lunch menu. I think back then I used a New York white cheddar and served it without the bread (back before there was any decent bread in the U.S.) and used an opal basil butter … but I loved the white cheddar with the fish. When we were kicking ideas around for another sandwich for PG I remembered the dish from Aspen and how delicious it was. I wanted the sandwich served open-face on top of grilled La Brea Bakery bread. I love grilled bread. Everything tastes better with grilled bread â€" just like everything tastes better with bacon!

VOLCANO: Why do you think it works well?

NACCARATO: The combination of the vintage cheddar cheese with the soft, rare flesh of the tuna is very satisfying. The charred warm exterior of the flesh contrasts with the cool rare center. It all plays well against the contrasting texture of the grilled rustic bread. The charred rosemary mayonnaise is another layer of lusciousness. Charring the rosemary provides a slight natural smokiness. The grilled onions provide a sweet note against the rich cheese, and the tomatoes provide an acidic note of punctuation. I love watching people take a first bite of this dish; it always elicits a satisfying smile.

VOLCANO: What kind of beverage goes best with it?

NACCARATO: I would think either a refreshing wine, or beer. A Washington Pinot Gris would be good. It has medium body, and hints of apple and pear that would taste great with the cheddar, and it has enough acidity to cleanly cut through the rich dish â€" or a Belgian golden ale called Duvel, that we have right now, would be nice â€" as it is light bodied and has notes of citrus that would be refreshing against the rich fish.

VOLCANO: What sandwich did your mom always put in your lunch box for school?

NACCARATO: A tuna fish sandwich on Wonder Bread, made with mayo (never miracle Whip â€" YUCK) and pickles and iceberg lettuce.

VOLCANO: Plain, super heroes, sports figures â€" what was your favorite lunch box?

NACCARATO: My favorite Lunch Box was a brown bag … except for the time I set it on the ground and ran back inside my house to get a book I forgot, and when I came back outside the neighbor s dog had peed all over my brown bag lunch!

VOLCANO: Nice.

Do you have anything in the works to grace your lunch menu soon?

NACCARATO: I am planning our spring menus right now, and I am always thinking about new sandwiches â€" like when I put our version of a sloppy joe on the menu with roast pork shoulder in tomato sauce over grilled bread with shaved reggiano. I love tweaking classic sandwiches. Maybe I should do a patty melt on grilled rye, gruyère cheese, Russian dressing and sauerkraut â€" but a REALLY good version â€" or why bother?

[Pacific Grill, lunch served 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday-Friday, 1502 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.627.3535]

Filed under: Food & Drink, Genius, Tacoma,

March 2, 2009 at 1:00pm

Tacoma photo of the day

Filed under: Photo of the Day, Tacoma,

March 2, 2009 at 1:49pm

Return of the Kalakala

PAUL SCHRAG: READY FOR AN AWESOME VISION ? >>>

Kalakala
Steve Rodrigues is on a mission
. If he has his way during the next several years, the current owner of the MV Kalakala will transform the discarded, historic vessel and a prime piece of waterfront property into a crowning jewel on Tacoma’s waterfront.

Plans for the Kalakala would involve complete renovation and dry docking of the ferry at a site secured along the Thea Foss Waterway, between the now defunct Esplanade Condominium project and Thea’s Landing. Rodrigues has already secured seed funding for all phases of his dream, which he has dubbed the Columbia Gardens and MV Kalakala Project. The name honors both the vessel and a theme park in Rodrigues’s home town of Butte, Mn. The theme park was wiped out in the early 1970s to make way for a copper mine. And while Rodrigues laments the loss of Columbia Gardens, he is dead set on saving the Kalakala. Listening to him talk about it, you’d be hard pressed not to believe that he’ll do it.

“It’s been serious since the day I bought the Kalakala,” says Rodrigues, who purchased the vessel in a bankruptcy sale in 2003. “I have a different mindset that all things are possible if you believe.”


It may be that faith that has carried Rodrigues through nearly 10 years of struggle to find a home for the wayward ship. The ferry has bounced around Washington for years, and docked in a small inlet near Taylor way in Tacoma, awaiting renovations. His new plan would involve complete renovation and mounting of the ferry on a site currently owned by Seattle Inn at the Market owner Bob Thurston, who has abandoned plans to build a hotel there. Rodrigues has secured a deal with Thurston for transfer of the property for an undisclosed sum. The renovated Kalakala would become a multi-use attraction, and would include a 130-room hotel; some condominiums; an indoor winter-themed amusement park, complete with plenty of snow; restaurant; observation tower and corporate skyboxes. Rodrigues says he is prepared to complete this project as an entirely private venture, and has worked hard to remove all political barriers to it completion. His project team, meanwhile, boasts some big names, including London-based design firm S333 Architects, Economic Research Associates and PCL Construction, currently best known as builders of the new Seattle Monorail. Rodrigues will go before the Foss Waterway Development Authority tomorrow (Tuesday, March 3) to pitch the project, and hopes to begin moving forward with the agency’s blessing.

Kalakala HS_Cafe
Meanwhile, Rodrigues is battling to get his hands on four additional ferries that were part of the state’s original fleet. Those ferries have been sold to a Mexico-based scrap metal operation, and currently stand to be cut up and resold or discarded. Rodrigues says he would like to purchase them himself, use scrap from two of the vessels to help renovate the Kalakala, restore the other two, and put them back into service. He has drafted a petition, which he hopes to use to convince state lawmakers that the historic vessels are worth saving.

“Our project is designed around historic and community values that will also stimulate and attract other economic developments for other private projects that are currently delayed,” says Rodrigues. “Our project can bring more than just monetary value into the community.”

Kalakala Womens Lounge - 09
Kalakala Womens Lounge - 07
Kalakala Womens Lounge - 02
Kalakala Womens Bathroom - 05
Kalakala Womens Bathroom - 03

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