BAR FOOD BUT BETTER >>>

Through my 15-year stint in the hospitality and live music industry I've come to regard cooks and chefs, and even bartenders at times, as I do some musicians: They have songs they've written and never performed live for an audience. Much of the time, they're the backup band hired to play someone else's songs, slogging through predictable recipes and dishes. Those with passion for the cuisine d'art jump from place to place trying to find a situation that allows them to perform their craft their own way. Until a chef owns a restaurant or space (and can therefore truly make whatever they're inclined to), they're often much like a hermit crab trying new shells to see what fits.

In just a few short years chef Aaron Grissom has gotten his feet very wet in the South Sound culinary scene. Most recently, Grissom developed the fresh bar fusion menu featured at Gruv Nightclub & Lounge when it opened last fall, then Tacoma's only electro-dance club. (Gruv has since changed menus and motifs.)

When things soured between General Manager Calvin Murphy and owner Jason Rim, Grissom sought what he hoped would be fertile ground for his menu ideas at Varsity Grill downtown. Sadly, that proved not to be a fit, but Grissom will be back on Sixth Avenue, at Dirty Oscar's Annex, this month to take the position vacated by Kyle Wnuk, who departs July 1 for a co-venture with Jamie Kay and Jason Jones at Marrow down the block.

To read Jennifer Johnson's full story click here.

[Dirty Oscar's Annex, 2309 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.572.0588]