JAKE DE PAUL: TOUGH CALL >>>

Marcia's Silver Spoon Café will install new high-gloss tables with glass tops in its dining room soon. Underneath the glass will be local advertisements.  Owner Marcia Crelling has contracted out the sales portion of the job.

Certainly Marcia’s tasty food makes it an interesting business opportunity. However, we all know the portions are gigantic. I’m not sure how much table space will be visible while you chow down flapjacks the size of your head.

If interested, drop by Marcia’s at 2601 S. Tacoma Way and fill out a query postcard.

RON SWARNER: IKE SHANAMAN BENEFIT >>>

Dropped by Hell’s Kitchen Saturday night for Ike Shanaman’s benefit. Caught Neutralboy’s excellent punk rock set. Ike's sister, Kate, won the auction for the right to shave off Cody Foster’s trademark sideburns.

The benefit raised $1,200 toward Shanaman’s medical expenses.

MICHAEL SWAN: TODAY’S HAPPY HOUR DISCUSSION TOPIC >>>

Discuss the above video over happy hour at:

Azteca
4801 Tacoma Mall Blvd., 253.472.0246
Happy Hours: 3-6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.-close Monday-Saturday, Sundays all-day
Drink Specials: $3 wells, $3.95 margaritas, $1.75 16 oz. domestics
Food Specials: $4.75 nachos, $4.95 chicken wings, $5.95 pork wings

LINK: More South Sound happy hours

MICHAEL SWAN: POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS FOR HIPSTERS >>>

Twenty slides, 20 seconds each: That's the challenge issued to creative types in this international phenomenon known as Pechu Kucha, wherein invited presenters may expound upon their private worlds, credos, outlooks or whatever in a visual quickie with strict restraints.

Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of "chit chat," it rests on a presentation format that makes presentations concise, and keeps things moving at a rapid pace.

Tacoma’s version hits number 3 Wednesday, Dec. 2 inside The Hub’s Event Space & Art Gallery. The theme is “Work.” There’s still room for a couple more presenters. Visit the Pecha Kucha Web site for more information.

[The Hub, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 5:30-8 p.m., no cover, 203 Tacoma Ave. S., 253.683.4606]

JAKE DE PAUL: IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE … >>>

The fine folks at Randall PR sent us the recipe for Peppermint Ice Cream Pie with Hot Chocolate Sauce by Executive Chef Robert Green of Sip in Gig Harbor. “Succulent hot chocolate meets festive peppermint in this easy-to-make dessert,” claims the agency.

Here is the recipe:
 

Peppermint Ice Cream Pie with Hot Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients:

1 gallon peppermint ice cream
1 container Cool Whip
1 package of Oreo cookie crumbs
1 small can of Hershey’s chocolate sauce
3 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:

Combine finely chopped cookie crumbs and melted butter. Pack into the bottom of pie pan and up the sides. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Press in peppermint ice cream and top with Cool Whip. Freeze overnight. When ready to serve, heat chocolate sauce and cut pie into desired portions. Top one piece of pie with hot chocolate sauce and serve. You will be all the envy on the block!

MICHAEL SWAN: TUESDAY, NOV. 24, 2009 >>>

1. The Strange Boys will lean a little heavier on the R&B side of things, which nicely balances their requisite fuzz clatter with The Drug Purse and Jetty Cats at 8 p.m. inside Olympia’s all-ages venue Northern.

2. With classical forms and an almost revolutionary approach to media, Jill Nordfors Clark has become synonymous with Northwest basketry. Her work can be seen alongside drawings and prints by her daughter, Erica Nordfords Applewhite, at The Sandpiper Gallery in Old Town.

3. Jazzbones’ Ha Ha Tuesdays hosted by Ralph Porter features MC D Lamont Hall at 8 pm.

4. Saxophonist Kareem Kandi hosts an open jazz jam at 9 p.m. inside Sax on 6th.

5. Muckleshoot Casino hosts an ‘80s Night featuring That ‘80s Show beginning at 9:30 p.m.

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: Local movie starting times

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

RON SWARNER: FOOD MATTERS >>>

Tightwad Tuesday: The last time you can have $2 tacos, $2 beers, and $2 wells at Hell’s Kitchen’s Sixth Avenue spot before they reopen in downtown Tacoma.

Classical French Cooking: Classically-trained French Chef Thierry Liot teaches French Holiday Cuisine tonight at 6 p.m. inside the Bayview School of Cooking in Olympia. The class costs $45. Reserve your spot at 360.754.1448.

Plan Ahead: Charlie McManus, co-owner of Primo Grill and the Crown Bar, will lecture on the changing culture of food Wednesday, Dec. 2 in the University of Puget Sound Wheelock Rotunda. The City Club of Tacoma event begins with a 6 p.m. wine social followed by the dinner program. The cost is $23 for members, $30 for everyone else. Reserve your spot at 253.272.9561.

Food For Thought: Learn how to make pastry from the man who Obama dubbed "the Crustmaster."

LINK: Weekly Volcano’s Eat & Drink section

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

LINK: South Sound Happy Hours

LINK: Wine and beer tastings

MICHAEL SWAN: ONE CITY. 30 DAYS. WHAT WILL YOU DO? >>>
 
Art at Work Month: Tuesday, Nov. 24

November 2009 marks the eighth anniversary of Art at Work: Tacoma Arts Month. There is something for everyone to enjoy throughout the month: lectures, music, dance performances, readings, workshops, theater performances, visual art exhibits and more.

Here are today’s highlights:

Tacoma Artist Claudia Riedener unveils her tile mural at the South Tacoma Public Library at 5 p.m.

Victory Music's oldest open mic begins at 7 p.m. inside the Antique Sandwich Company in Ruston.

There are many more events today. For a complete Art at Work schedule, click here.

MATT DRISCOLL: O EH, O EH, O EH, O EH >>>

Remember that time in elementary school you took 7th place in the talent show with your lip-synced version of Miami Sound Machine’s “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You”? Yeah, well, Raw Talent #2, a local talent show at The New Frontier Lounge on Saturday, isn’t going to be anything like that.

Benefiting Second Cycle, Hilltop’s loved bicycle co-op, Raw Talent #2 will be a chance for anyone to check out a cast of local performers â€" many of them relative newbies â€" busting out spoken word, poetry, music, comedy and maybe even a puppet show or two.

Only time will tell, but one thing is certain â€" Raw #2 should be a sight to see and experience.

[The New Frontier Lounge, Saturday, Nov. 28, 7 p.m., $5, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020]

MICHAEL SWAN: WEDNESDAY, NOV. 25, 2009 >>>

1. Doyle's Public House hosts its infamous Bad Holiday Sweater Contest beginning at 8:35 p.m.

2. Tacoma Art Museum's A Concise History of Northwest Art is a big, big, big show - parts of which should appeal to everyone since it has photography, painting, sculpture, jewelry, glass and ceramics covering Northwest art history since the 19th century, including art from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and even British Columbia and Alaska. Check it out from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

3. Hell's Kitchen hosts its final all-ages show tonight and it's kick ass: Girl Trouble, the Gypsies, Johnny Chzbrgr, Apache Chief and Rex Hex from 6-9 p.m.

4. Jazzbones hosts Vicci Martinez with Intervision at 8:30 p.m.

5. The Hub hosts a Thanksgiving Pre-Funk with Myles Crew at 8 p.m.

6. Rumor is there's a Mustache Contest at The New Frontier Lounge.

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: Local movie starting times

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide