NEWS TEAM: WANKERS OF THE DAY >>>

Downtown shooting

Cowardly And Crazy Pilot-Man

Gisele Bundchen’s wedding

Ezra Merkin

NEWS TEAM: GOOD MORNING SOUTH SOUND >>>

Ruston may go away.

Pierce County home sales up.

Italian earthquake’s death toll continues to climb.

WTF? Bank of America pays U.S. $713M in dividends

A.P.: Just the facts, Mam

Somehow the recession is good news for the huge percentage of American teachers all set to retire around the same time.

Dudley Do-Rights win right to form union.

Flutter: The New Twitter

JAKE DE PAUL: TUESDAY FOOD LINKS >>>

Flatbread with lamb meatballs at Pacific Grill.

Nooooooo!: Cocoa prices are on the rise.

Produce is seasonal. Why not meat?

Today’s South Sound Specials

Don Corson of Camaraderie Cellars chats up his wines and pours tastes, 5:30-8 p.m., complimentary, Pour At Four, 3814 N. 26th St., Tacoma, 253.761.8015.

Six brown ales tasting, 5-7:30 p.m., $5, 99 Bottles, 35002 Pacific Hwy. S., Federal Way, 253.838.2558.

Tightwad Tuesdays with $2 tacos, $2 beers, and $2 wells, Hell’s Kitchen, 3829 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003.

Wine Tuesday, 20 percent off bottles wines on regular list, Toscanos Cafe and Wine Bar, 437 29th St. N.E., Puyallup, 253.864.8600.

Future Things Are Coming

Culinary tour guide and Thai cooking instructor Pranee Khruasanit Halvorsen will share dishes from Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand Thursday, April 16, at the Bayview School of Cooking in Olympia. The cost is $50, which includes wine pairing. The 6 p.m. class is held at 516 W. Fourth Avenue. Reserve your spot at 360.754.1448.

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

RON SWARNER: IT’S RECORD RELEASE DAY >>>

Neil Young Fork in the Road

Bob Mould Life and Times

Bat for Lashes Two Suns

Lady Sovereign Jigsaw

Jadakiss The Last Kiss

Rascal Flatts Unstoppable

James Taylor Other Covers

Neil Young - Fork In The Road

STEPH DEROSA: BALSAMIC VINEGAR EXPLOSION >>>

Ravenous
Antipasti Chop Salad
Price: $9.50
Rating: Three out of four croutons

Once again my faithful downtown Tacoma lunchtime partner in salad crime, Tacomachickadee, met me for lunch â€" this time at Ravenous. I’m not gonna lie here, It’s been most likely a solid decade since I’ve rested my hungry bum inside Ravenous. But on this day it was after stopping by the Broadway Center Conservatory’s office to ruffle the feathers of friend Nyree Martinez that I found Ravenous completely convenient for feeding my hunger. I wonder how busy this tiny place gets before and after shows at Pantages and Rialto. Maybe one day I will scope out the night scene at Ravenous.

Description: Not a brown edge was spotted on this bed of fresh chopped Romaine lettuce, which held up a menagerie of cured and marinated delicacies for me to pick through with my fork. Chunks of salami, artichoke hearts, capers, and garbanzo beans were marinated in Ravenous’ special house marinade consisting of balsamic vinegar, oil, and herbs and set upon the aforementioned bed of romaine.

Taste: Like I said, the romaine was fresh. I liked that. The marinated toppings were robust and definitely marinated in a strong balsamic concoction. I liked that even more. But then again I’m a sucker for the cured and pickled foods, so the sweet and tangy combination of anything balsamic-flavored tends to speak heavily to my heart. The hearty vinegar that I loved so much in this salad took over any and all flavors that would’ve otherwise bored me, like garbanzo beans. Everything tasted balsamic, and I was happy.

Conclusion: Did I mention this salad tasted of balsamic vinegar? Well, it did. Once I reached the last 25 percent of my Antipasti Chop Salad at Ravenous, I was vinegared-out. I found myself still picking at it as Tacomachickadee and I chatted, simply because it was sitting in front of me. It had taken me a minute to realize my mouth had become raw from the acid before I reached for my water and tried to wipe it clean with some Ravenous crusty bread.

As much as I loved this salad, I would’ve maybe preferred to be able to actually taste some of the salami, capers, and artichoke hearts, instead of pure balsamic.

Dressing on the Side
I took a hooky day with my daughter yesterday and did a huge no-no: I spaced out on writing my Tossing Salad column. My apologies, but DAMN have you SEEN the weather outside??? Can you blame me? The last thing my brain wants to do is sit in front of this retched computer and string words about lettuce. I mean, think about it, maybe if my column was about hot men I’d be more inclined, right? But nooooo, Pappi Swarner and his selfish salad requests â€" F that noise. Just for that, I think I’ll attach a hot man picture to this column.

People of the Spew, I present to you Seattle Sounders soccer team player Fredrik Ljungberg. Enjoy.

[Ravenous, 785 Broadway, Tacoma, WA 98402, 253.572.6374]

JESSICA COREY-BUTLER: SEEMS LIKE A KILLER DEAL TO ME >>>

You love Tacoma. You really love Tacoma. You want to keep local Tacoma alive.

Wanna put your money where your love is? In a proven-to-please place?

Dwell is up for sale, unofficially-ish, but officially. Turns out owner one â€" Shelly â€" has a hubby who’s been accepted to a doctorate program â€" in Chicago! â€" and owner two â€" April Donato â€" also has relocation plans in her future.

So for less than 100K, you can buy a business in the black, with rising income level and stable customer base, in a good part of North Tacoma. For less than 100K, you get a 1,000-person plus customer base, current inventory and vendor contacts, and all fixtures (and current, rad! location.)

Inquire within, or tell your friends to inquire within, or become a collective of friends and inquire within. Because the last thing Tacoma needs is another vacant-spaced “for lease” sign.

[Dwell, 2716 N. 21st St., Tacoma, 253.761.1889]

LINK: Previously on the Weekly Volcano Web site

JESSICA COREY-BUTLER: WE'RE LOSING ONE GREAT DANCER/TEACHER >>>

Birds are singing today. Loudly. Coulda’ been they are singing about warm weather and spring. Or, are they singing songs about a petite T-town songbird-staple, and a strong-limbed graceful dancer flying from our pond to make it in a bigger lake near a big red bridge?

Rumors have been murmured, that dancer Kate Monthy is going to spread her wings and work professionally in San Francisco this fall, leaving MLKBallet (Web site disappeared) in a passionate board of directors’ hands. I’ll follow up with this sad-for-us, great-opportunity-for-her news soon.

LINK: Previously on the Weekly Volcano Web site

LINK: Previously on Spew

STEVE DUNKELBERGER: A CHEAP NIGHT OUT >>>

I’m a fan of Hell’s Kitchen’s Tightwad Tuesday. Hell, who wouldn’t: $2 tacos, $2 beers, $2 wells and free pool.

You also never know what will happen at Tightwad Tuesday. Last week, some dude paid for his $5 meal and booze bill with quarters. Also, the newly painted floor wasn’t completely dry so I was making tracks on the glossy black surface as I loaded up on tacos.

Check it out tonight.

[Hell’s Kitchen, 3829 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]