JAKE DE PAUL: MONDAY FOOD LINKS >>>

Sonic opens today in Puyallup.

Seriously? Alfalfa sprouts?

The one-hour cup of coffee

Today’s South Sound Specials

Centered around the book Tacoma is reading â€" Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: "Around the Kitchen Table" is a community conversation about the food we eat beginning at 7 p.m. inside the Olympic Room at the Tacoma Public Library's downtown branch.

$5 Wine Mondays, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., $5 glass of wines, Rosewood Café, 3323 N. 26th St., Tacoma, 253.752.7999.

Half Price Wine Night, Budd Bay Café, 525 Columbia St. N.W., Olympia, 360.357.6963.

Future Thins Are Coming

DINE OUT FOR LIFE: More than 75 Pierce and Thurston county restaurant owners will participate in the Dining Out for Life event Thursday, April 30. Twenty-five percent of the night’s proceeds from food and non-alcoholic drink sales will be donated to the Pierce County AIDS Foundation. For a full list of participating restaurants in Pierce, Thurston or King Counties go to www.diningoutforlife.org.

LINK: South Sound happy hours

TAMMY ROBACKER: BILL’S BOOK SMARTS >>>

Bill is going out with a bang. And a book. Concluding the last days of his term as Urban Grace Poet Laureate of Tacoma for 2008-2009, William Kupinse has published a first book of poems this April to coincide with National Poetry Month. Titled Fallow, the 84-page volume features 43 poems, many of which are set amid the natural and urban landmarks of Tacoma. 

Advance copies of Fallow will be available at his farewell reading in Tacoma. Joined by colleague poet Hans Ostrom, Kupinse will read at University of Puget Sound, in McIntyre Hall’s Rausch Auditorium at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 30. This event will conclude with Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma announcing Tacoma’s next poet laureate, who will succeed Kupinse as the city’s second poet laureate. The event is free and open to the public.

Fallow, which is funded in part by a grant from the Tacoma Arts Commission’s Tacoma Artist Initiative Grant, will appear under the imprint of Exquisite Disarray Publishing, a nonprofit organization newly founded by Kupinse and dedicated to highlighting the work of Northwest poets. Exquisite Disarray Publishing is also currently publishing In Tahoma’s Shadow, an anthology of Tacoma-area poets.

With the support of the Tacoma Arts Commission, 100 copies of Fallow will be made available to local schools and libraries. Additional copies will retail for $12.95 and will be available at King’s Books in Tacoma . All proceeds from sales of the book will support the future publication of other emerging Northwest poets.

Deirdre O’Connor, author of Before the Blue Hour, comments,“Fallow engages reflectively with the world as it is â€" decaying, damaged, lush, fallow, oblivious â€" not the world as we might wish it to be. These poems warn and memorialize, notice, name, and remember. Kupinse’s compassion is personal and political, and these poems draw our attention to the natural world we inhabit â€" and which inhabits us.”

FALLOW

All’s at rest, nothing is happening here.
Yellow grasses crows carried
laze and shimmer in the animated
still life of a disused wheatfield.

All’s at rest, except the red worms
weaving their lattice work,
the pill bugs scattering the soil,
curling like armadillos at any small threat.

Nothing’s happening here, but the red and white clover
stitching the ground, fixing
nitrogen with a saint’s patience:
clover, trifolium, trinity; rhizobium, root of life.

All’s at rest, except the ant scout’s curved antennae
ground-bent, divining intelligence.
Inches and a world above, the bees
hum and dance, skim data of their own.

Nothing is happening, as the nuthatch
plucks the pokeweed’s acrid berry:
the land is dreaming with even breaths,
its mind washed in the milk of sleep.

All’s at rest; nothing is happening,
but the earth fixing its memories
of touch taste smell sound sight
and of all the other senses not yet named.

My last Poem-A-Tacoma will post Wednesday. Check out the Poem-A-Tacoma archives.

Poem-A-Tacoma is sponsored by Embellish Multispace Salon in downtown Tacoma.

TAMMY ROBACKER is a poet and writer living, breathing, typing and spitting words in Tacoma. She owns a freelance writing and marketing communications company called Pearle Publications. Her poetry has appeared in Plazm, Women's Work, The Wild Goose Poetry Review, and the Allegheny Review. A recent recipient of the 2009/10 TAIP grant, she will be publishing her first book of poetry, The Vicissitudes, through the generous support of this funding made possible by the City of Tacoma and the Tacoma Arts Commission.

PAUL SCHRAG: SHITTY ECONOMY BODES WELL FOR FARMLAND PRESERVATION >>>

For local farmers, there’s a bit of silver lining to this economic crisis. It’s an opening of sorts, and a chance to plant a seed. For years, Pierce County has struggled with preserving farmland, trying to balance the need for good soil with the need for soil to pave and build upon. We haven’t done a very good job of preserving farmland, says Dick Carkner, one half of the team composing Terry’s Berries, which lies at the edge of Tacoma in the Puyallup River Valley. Terry, his wife, is the other half. Of the Terry’s Berries team.

Carkner knows this struggle well, as a farmer and as eight-year chair of Pierce County’s farm advisory commission. In the past, public policy has deferred to developers, which means a great deal of fertile soil that could have been used to grow healthy local produce and agricultural jobs has been lost. A lot of it. But the drying up finance markets and sudden halting of development plans opens a window to look at how we use land, and how we can preserve some of it for farmers, says Carkner. Now is the time to start building public and political will to preserve farm land.

“There’s a lot of local interest in local food, and farmers markets are all very busy,” says Carkner. “But we need to find a way to convert that into political support for preserving farmland. The economy is weak, and destruction of farmland isn’t on the front burner right now. No one can get financing to buy land. But once things crank up again, I’m not sure what the attitude will be in regards to protecting agriculture.”

In the past, Pierce County has lagged behind other counties in preserving farmland, and has allowed developers to pave over some of the best soil available for growing food. The sad fact is that we don’t have as much land to protect because we’ve paved over so much of it. But Pierce County has stepped its game up in recent years, creating a farming advisory board and hiring an ombudsman to help find ways to preserve what’s left, among other things. Carkner said he was pleased to see that the recent round of county budget cuts didn’t eliminate support for farmers. But there’s more work to do if we want to maintain local farmlands.

The state Office of Farmland Preservation recently released a group of recommendations about how to do just that.

Thirty-eight farmers, ranchers, and agriculture leaders from Washington and Oregon gathered to discuss concerns and barriers and to suggest ideas and solutions that would make it possible for various incentive programs to work successfully for farmers. The conversations revealed a number of issues. Farmers expressed a need for fair payments for goods and land, insurance against liability, flexibility in crops, and a reliable marketplace. Interestingly, participants said they would like to see more cooperation between farmers and environmental groups.

In the meantime, Carkner says he has more demand than he knows what to do with. There are a lot of people interested in eating healthy, locally-produced goods, he says. Now is the time to manifest public support and political will to make sure we have enough farmland to keep going.

“If we’re going to make progress in saving farmland, we need to have some public funds to do it,” he says. “There needs to be some public will. There needs to be some political will.”

PHOTO: Flickr/Tacomamama- www.tacomamama.com

WEEKLY VOLCANO: JUST IN CASE YOU'VE BEEN LIVING UNDER A ROCK >>>

At this point, we're pretty sure this post constitutes as sloppy thirds - or perhaps fourths, depending on how you count it - but in case you haven't heard yet Tacoma's Neko Case will be making a valiant, alt country return to the Pantages Theater on June 2. This news has no doubt been enough to send plenty of local music fans into a crazed frenzy of excitement.

Tickets for Case's show at the Pantages go on sale Saturday.

Here are the details from the official press release:

SEATTLE - Seattle Theatre Group (STG) presents Neko Case with special guests Joey & John of Calexico, on Tuesday, June 2, 2009 at 8:00pm at the Pantages Theater in Tacoma, WA.

Alternative country singer/songwriter Neko Case won a steadily growing cult audience for her smoky, sophisticated vocals and the downcast beauty of her music. Born in Alexandria, VA, Case moved around often as a child, spending the largest part of her youth in Tacoma, WA. She left her parents at age 15, and three years later she started playing drums for several bands around the Northwest's punk rock scene. Case moved to Vancouver in 1994 to enter art school, and simultaneously joined the punk group Maow, which released a record on the Mint label. She also played with roots rockers the Weasles and eventually formed her own backing band, the Boyfriends, which initially featured alumni of the Softies, Zumpano, and Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet.

Case released her solo debut, The Virginian, in 1997, delving wholeheartedly into traditional country via a mix of covers and originals. She went on to perform with Carolyn Mark in the old-timey side project the Corn Sisters and began a long-running affiliation with the Vancouver indie supergroup the New Pornographers. Case completed her studies in 1998, and with her student visa expired, she returned to Washington and began work on her second solo album. The lovely, melancholy Furnace Room Lullaby was released on Bloodshot Records in 2000 and won high praise for its dark compositions, all of which were written or co-written by Case.

Case subsequently relocated to Chicago, home of a thriving alt-country scene, and released the home-recorded Canadian Amp EP in 2001. Its moody, late-night ambience carried over to 2002's Blacklisted, a darker yet more eclectic affair. Blacklisted garnered Case her strongest reviews yet, making many year-end critics' polls and landing her a tour slot opening for Nick Cave. In 2004, Case signed with Anti Records in the United States and released a live album, The Tigers Have Spoken, which was recorded during several dates with Canadian surf-country band the Sadies. She then returned to the studio to work on another studio album, a move that required her to take a break from the New Pornographers (which whom she had recorded and intermittently toured since the band's inception).

Fox Confessor Brings the Flood followed in 2006 and fared modestly well on the Billboard charts, peaking at number 54 and introducing a wider audience to Case's dark, country-noir style. The concert recording Live from Austin, TX was released one year later, capturing a 2003 performance for Austin City Limits, and Case contributed vocals to the New Pornographers' Challengers before returning to her adopted hometown of Tucson, AZ. Middle Cyclone was subsequently created in that home environment and is slated for release on March 3, 2009.

Tickets: $33.00 not including applicable fees. Tickets are on sale Saturday, May 2 at 10am through BroadwayCenter.org, by phone at (253) 591-5894 or (800) 291-7593, or online at STGPresents.org.

Here's what the Trib is saying

And Exit 133

MISS TAKES: A PHOTO SERIES >>>

Seen anything? Send your photo here.

STEPH DEROSA: IT'S BASICALLY RAW FISH >>>

Sapporo Japanese & Sushi Restaurant
Poki Salad
Price: $16.99
Rating: Four out of four croutons
 

Is it a good thing or a bad thing when you can walk into a restaurant and they know you by name? As I place my to-go orders, pick up my meals, or simply sit belly up to the sushi bar, they remember me and treat me as family. I feel like a star! But just as my head begins to expand, and my ego creates its own zip code, I realize the gritty truth: They know everyone’s name, not just mine. Dammit. I think in the case of Sapporo Japanese & Sushi Restaurant on Pacific Highway in Fife, this treatment given to all guests reflects their strong family values, one of the many reasons they are still thriving after being open more than a decade.

Description: There’s no messing around and covering up the fact that you’re eating raw fish when it comes to Sapporo’s Poki Salad. They lay it all on the line with bite-sized, yet substantial chunks of tuna, white tuna, and salmon. The cold, fresh fish trifecta is tossed amongst iceberg lettuce, avocado, cucumbers, and radish sprouts. Lightly glazing it all is a citrus-based Ponzu sauce consisting of rice wine vinegar, lemon, and chili pepper. (Don’t worry; the chilies add no heat to this dish whatsoever, just flavor.) Sapporo’s Poki Salad is garnished with sushi rice that includes light rice vinegar and seaweed sprinkles, along with pickled ginger and wasabi as condiment garnishes.

Taste: Seeing as how Sapporo’s Poki Salad costs upwards of $17, I consider it a rare treat to be able to consume its fulfilling contents. A perfect balance of sweet and sour comes with the rice vinegar, while my own addition of wasabi into every bite adds that perfect kick I’ve conditioned myself into needing in order to survive. Every bite is clean, savory, and rewarding. Textures collide with soft fish and crispy lettuce while chewy rice subsides along the sidelines, existing in every couple of my bites. As for the fish-veggie ratio, it looks something like 80-20. Yep, tons of fish, and just enough veggies.

Conclusion: If you’re one of those yahoos who says they “eat sushi,” yet you order rolls consisting of that imitation crab bullshit, this salad is not for you. There’s no hiding behind tempura prawns rolled in rice and calling it “sushi” anymore. If you truly enjoy the texture and pureness that comes with the exquisite art of sashimi, without the rice-roll barrier, then point yourself toward a Poki Salad next time you order. Be aware that every restaurant has its own interpretation of what a Poki Salad should consist of, so don’t expect them all to be as grand and meaty as Sappporo’s.

Dressing on the Side
My clogged, allergy-stricken sinuses are blocking the blood vessels leading into my brain today. I can’t focus worth a shit. Yeah, yeah, I know, like my brain functions on a higher level than mediocre on any other day, I get it. You’re funny. But today is worse than normal. High doses of coffee and Sudafed (The real shit used for meth, yo) have not even scratched the surface of my incoherent, inner-cranium ramblings.

As I sit and try to formulate the ingredients within this week’s “Dressing on the Side,” only small blurbs of indecipherable images come to the forefront. Maybe you can make something of them? Here’s what they are:

Men’s shoes
Pink straws
Kleenex
Dog ears

[Sapporo Japanese & Sushi Restaurant, 4803 Pacific Hwy. E., Fife, 253.922.5656]

STEVE DUNKELBERGER: BUDGETTRAVEL.COM BLUNDER >>>

BudgetTravel.com posted The Most Beautiful Ferry Rides in the U.S., which included the Seattle to Bainbridge Island run. The Web site describes the trip that leaves Seattle Main Terminal, Pier 52:

The Alaska Marine Highway System, Staten Island Ferry, San Francisco to Sausalito, and others are included in the list.

What is noticeably left off the list is the Steilacoom to McNeil Island run. I present the following description for BudgetTravel.com for use in its next ferry ride story.

Steilacoom to McNeil Island
Leaves from: Steilacoom Ferry dock
Passengers on this no-frills ferry to the rock not only get to walk through metal detectors and have the potential added treat of getting a pat-down from Department of Corrections on-deck stewards, but they also get to dine in a five-bar tan hotel for 10 to 20 years. The resort is lush with flora and fauna and completely protected from the harsh world outside with a series of barbed wire fences and men with guns ... all to keep the resort guests safe and sound.

MICHAEL SWAN: TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2009 >>>

1. Hell’s Kitchen meshes its Tightwad Tuesday night ($2 wells, $2 beers, $2 huge tacos) with a little punk rock: Russian Shai, Back From Hiatus and My Name Aint Skip.

2. Rare documents and medical equipment help uncover a century’s development of nursing in Washington as part of the Nurses at Your Service: A Century of Caring exhibit at the Washington State History Museum.

3. The Surrealist Impulse: New Acquisitions from the Tacoma Art Museum Collection ends May 10 at the Tacoma Art Museum.

4. "The 5th Annual Faith and Film Series: Blinded by Faith" continues with a screening of Earth (1998) at 6:45 p.m. at The Grand Cinema.

5. Danny Vernon presents his free The Illusion Of Elvis show at 6:30 p.m. inside the Red Wind Casino.

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound