MICHAEL SWAN: MONDAY, JUNE 1, 2009 >>>

1. Ramin Bahrani has proven himself adept at chronicling the lives of people living under the radar of the American dream- immigrants, the poverty-stricken, the neglected in Goodbye, Solo at The Grand Cinema at 2:45, 4:50, 7 and 9 p.m.

2. DJ Jason Diamond spins roots reggae during The New Frontier Lounge's Rebel Monday at 9 p.m.

3. DJ Doll Hands spins vintage lady country music at The Brotherhood Lounge around 9 p.m.

4. The Ozzie Fuhrmann Band plays an all-ages show at 7 p.m. inside the Mandolin Cafe.

5. Rockaraoke at Jazzbones

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: Local movie starting times

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

JAKE DE PAUL: MONDAY FOOD LINKS >>>

Finally: Southern Kitchen Restaurant will be featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives tonight at 10 p.m.

Finally No. 2: Asado begins lunch service today. Check it Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Before The Finale: 500 Foods to Eat Before It's Too Late

Today’s South Sound Specials

$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.

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

NEWS TEAM: GOOD MORNING SOUTH SOUND >>>

Walk The Puyallup: Puyallup officials want you to walk their city.

Fife Likes To Read, Too: Fife City Council voted unanimously last week to put a proposal to join the Pierce County Library System on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Call Us Mr. Goodwrench: Apparently we own General Motors now.

Now Look What You Did: Susan Boyle seeks mental help after loss.

Not Cool When Planes Go Down: Air France flight 447 with 228 people on board went missing after taking off from Brazil.

They’re Going With This Test Thing: North Korea reportedly preparing another missile test.

Uh Oh, Amazon: Google's in the e-book business.

MICHAEL SWAN: WHERE DO YOU LIKE TO PEE? >>>

The finalists in the America’s Best Restroom VIII contest have been announced here. Tacoma didn’t make the list.

Where is the best restaurant bathroom in Tacoma?

My vote is the Tempest Lounge.

Where’s yours?

Oh, yes, and don’t forget to vote in our Best of Tacoma 2009 Readers’ Poll. The results hits the street July 30.

MICHAEL SWAN: MORE METAL-URGE >>>

Friday I spewed a little on Fulcrum Gallery’s participation in the city-wide group show Metal-Urge.

The Grand Impromptu Gallery is down for a little metal, too.

The Tacoma gallery will host figurative sculpture by stone carver LeeAnn Seaburg Perry with Metal Urge guest artists Joni Joachims and Micki Lippe as part of its Rock Paper Scissors show opening Thursday, June 4. 

The gallery’s co-operative member artists also join the fun with their materials, methods, and all variety of “madness.”  Exhibiting this month are Shirley Benton, Nick Butler, Bill Colby, Heather Cornelius, Becky Frehse, Bea Geller, Faith Hagenhofer, Mirka Hokkanen, Dorothy McCuistion and Peter Serko.

Read more on the Grand Impromptu Gallery happens here.

Photo: Micki Lippe's Large Leaf

MICHAEL SWAN: BROADWAY CENTER’S 2009-10 SEASON ANNOUNCED >>>

The Broadway Center for the Performing Arts has announced its 2009-10 season, which kicks off Oct. 8 with Pink Martini at the Pantages Theater.

They have tagged their season as “the best of times.” Judging the season’s line up I’d say that’s a good call. Here's a list of what they have scheduled so far. The following are my favorites:

Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble
Friday, January 29, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. | Pantages Theater
A tour de force and one of the nation's great modern dance companies brings one-act ballets, dance suites and pas de deux to stage

Ira Glass: Radio Stories and Other Stories
Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. | Pantages Theater
“This American Life” host and producer will give you a chance to look under the hood of his public radio broadcast

The Smothers Brothers
Friday, February 5, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. | Pantages Theater
Celebrating their 50 years performing together, Tom and Dick use folk music and comedy to bring sibling rivalry to a whole new level

August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson
Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 3:00 p.m.
Washington State History Museum
This staged reading of August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle 4 follows a family divided by the fate of their heirloom piano and is an appropriate reminder of heritage during Black History Month

Soul Street Dance Co.
Friday, February 12, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. | Rialto Theater
High-energy movement that will take you from Brazil’s Capoeira to New York’s break dance through hip-hop and dance

Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Friday, March 26, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. | Pantages Theater
Intricate rhythms and harmonies of South African musical tradition to the sounds and sentiments of Christian gospel music

Cirque D’Or
Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. | Pantages Theater
The Golden Dragon Acrobats present an award-winning show with spectacular costumes and visually stunning traditions that began more than 25 centuries ago

CABARET
Friday, April 16, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. | Pantages Theater
Join a zany crew at Berlin’s Kit-Kat Club that are determined to show the world what a good time can be had without hearing the noises of Nazism surrounding their delightful story

Seattle Men’s and Women’s Chorus: Glitter and be Gay
Sunday, June 20, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. | Pantages Theater
For the first time in Tacoma, Seattle Men’s and Women’s Chorus combine in a tribute to Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim

Broadway Center Member and multi-show ticket packages of four or more events are on sale now.  General public tickets are on sale Monday, Aug. 3.  To find out more information on how to become a Member, request a brochure or order tickets contact the Broadway Center Box Office at 253.591.5894. 

MICHAEL SWAN: HAPPY HOUR DISCUSSION TOPIC >>>

By the way, Asado in Tacoma has extended its happy hour from 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9:30 p.m. to close Sunday through Thursday.

LINK: South Sound happy hours

STEPH DEROSA: FRUIT AND VEGGIE CLEANSE >>>

Marlene’s Lunch
Price: $6.29
Rating: four out of four croutons

The sun has woken up and the temperature has peaked above 50 degrees. All is good here in the Pacific Northwest as summer awaits us and attitudes begin to improve. I feel motivated to detox my Volcano-induced, alcohol-laden liver with a fruit and veggie cleanse lasting approximately five days. After this cleanse I do what I can to keep on the straight and narrow, and Marlene’s always has the successful meal I need to accomplish this: Marlene’s Lunch.

Description: Tender, spring greens are tossed in Marlene’s secret spices (shhh!) and a light oil/vinegar combination. Full crowns of raw cauliflower and broccoli are included in this mix, as it’s all topped off with fresh tomato slices. In tow alongside this lettuce mixture is a solid warm brown rice mound housing cubes of soy cheese generously tucked inside. There are soy cheese options, and they come as Monterrey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese. I always pick the Pepper Jack because I love my stuff spicy, but in the end you can hardly taste the peppers.

Taste: Don’t come to this salad looking for anything sweet and creamy. There’s no ranch-style dressing, and no buttery croutons (thank God). Come for the tang of it all and the unadulterated freshness of each ingredient. There’s enough flavoring in Marlene’s secret spices (shhh!), so don’t fret over the bland-looking mound of brown rice. Because even still, the cheese begins to melt as it sits inside that brown rice, giving you hunks of gooey treasure as you explore the bowl’s endless bounty.

Conclusion: I think it’s the simplicity of this salad, and its pureness, that keeps Marlene’s Lunch ranked at the top of my favorite salads list. There’s no sloppy dressing disguising the ingredients, and I LOVE warm toppings on a cold salad. Best part is, I can mix up the hot and cold all on my own.  Only my closest friends know this about me, and now I’m telling you: I have to come out even in every bite. Being able to grab a hunk of slightly melted cheese, a tad of rice, and a few leaves of salad makes my heart happy. If I don’t come out even, there’s no telling what will happen. Faces could get punched, walls taken out, babies could get dropped, who knows? I shudder at the mere thought of it, so I’m just going to stop right there.

[Marlene’s Market and Deli, 2951 S 38th St, Tacoma, 253.472.4080]