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Checking In With Wendy: Wendy Au began serving delicious Asian food at her walk-up counter in Freighthouse Square food court more than 20 years ago.  While Pearl Jam was still ruling the charts, she opened Wendy’s II, a sit-down restaurant near the Tacoma Mall. Both locations are popular among those looking for a tasty, fast and affordable bite to eat. Freighthouse does a solid bustling lunch business while the Tacoma Mall location offers a more leisurely dining experience with later hours. The place is casual with no side of pretension. It is what it is. The service is fast, the special board a must-see, and the food always hot and plentiful.

Vegan Thanksgiving: November is National Pepper Month, National British Appreciation Month, Aviation History Month and National Diabetes Awareness Month. An odd combination, if you think about it, yet somehow strangely appropriate. Almost all of the things celebrated in November are very good reasons for you to eat Thanksgiving dinner at Tacoma vegan restaurant Quickie Too.

3 Drink Minimum: It could be raining John Mayer CDs and Steph DeRosa still thinks the view from Katie Downs is gorgeous â€" where the windows are grand and the landscape vast. So what if it’s raining? It’s not the weather that’s going to determine the greatness of her day, but the people she chooses to be with in the rainstorm.  Because, you know what they say: Come rain, sleet, snow or hail â€" the only way she’s not having three drinks is if she’s in jail.