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Coffee Cake at SideBar Bistro

Friday just after 6 p.m. I dropped by the SideBar Bistro to chat with nicest people in the world and owners JoAnna and Tom  Irick, and to kick off the weekend with one of Tom's martinis. Kate and I shared a chicken enchilada, a spicy delight smothered in cheese. However, it was their coffee cake that knocked me off their wooden chair. Wow. WOW! Chef Liam Riccardo bakes a towering coffee cake that's both sweet and savory - a gooey slice of heaven with cream cheese, sour cream, walnuts and brown sugar that rings in at $5.95, or $39.95. Several of SideBar's neighboring law offices order it whole. And The Irick's text one gentlemen as soon as the coffee cake is pulled from the oven.

And although it's the pastry gods' gift to a big, black cup of coffee, it's also deeply satisfying on its own, consumed on a park bench, slowly and deliberately.

STINK - Cheese and Meat

Kate and I dropped by best bud Kris Blondin's new cheese and meat deli she opened with partner Jack Noble in Tacoma's Triangle neighborhood. I grabbed an order of the mac 'n' cheese AND the grilled cheese - two specials that will change weekly. Opening week, the mac 'n' cheese arrived in a baking dish piled high with mission figs, baby portobellos, Brie, Muenster, rosemary and torchietti. Yup, it sports a sweet side and it works. Tallagio ruled the sandwich, holding the Granny Smith apples and caramelized onions between the multigrain grilled in sage butter - and then some as the cheese oozed on all four sides.

A tip of the hat to STINK's creativity and expertise. Delicious!

I'm wearing my Fat Pants today.

[SideBar Bistro, 1101 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma, 253.572.7227]

[STINK - Cheese and Meat, 628 St. helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.555.5555]