>>> VOTING CLOSED FOR MARCH 24 <<<

This is a tournament, folks, not a playoff. Each match is do or die - one misstep and you're out of the dance. Under-cook the batter, add a few too many shakes of powdered sugar or clump the cheese, and you can pack your oven and go back to obscurity, crying into your canned mushrooms.

This contest can only be decided by those participants willing to grab hold of destiny, coat it in 100 real whipped butter, and close the waffle iron for four minutes. Powerhouses and underdogs, favorites and unknowns - they all come out of the iron with a chance.

May the best breakfast win.

Yesterday's Tournament of Breakfast Results

Here were the match-ups:

Marcia's Silver Spoon (Tacoma) vs. Spring Lake Cafe (Fircrest)

The Homestead Restaurant (Tacoma) vs. Babblin' Babs Bistro (Tacoma) 

McMenamin's Spar (Olympia) vs. New Moon Cafe (Olympia)

Cicada Restaurant (Olympia) vs. Darby's Cafe (Olympia)

In a battle of breakfast supremacy, not surprisingly the institution well known for its delicious breakfast dishes emerged decisively victorious - with Marcia's Silver Spoon Cafe cruising to victory and securing roughly 66 percent of the vote by the time things were said and done. This one was over early, and the pummeling lasted all day. Luckily for all of us, Spring Lake Cafe doesn't need the Tournament of Breakfast to get by ... what it can do with eggs is pure magic. The high-powered Marcia's moves on to the Scrambled 16.

Everyone loves a good comeback, and this may have been one of the better clutch performances in the (obviously short) history of the Tournament of Breakfast. Down by a substantial margin by midday, The Homestead Restaurant was able to rally the troops at halftime, and by the time the final buzzer sounded the South Tacoma Way, family-friendly, barn-inhabiting restaurant had walked away with an impressive victory, racking up 57 percent of the vote against Tacoma's gourmet bistro, Babblin' Babs. There'll be some dazed looks in the Proctor District today.

If you visit New Moon Café's website, you'll see some lovely woodcut art and a photo of people enjoying themselves. If you visit McMenamins's website, you'll see trippy art and an army of hotels, pub and restaurants, including downtown Olympia's The Spar Café. Did the McMenamin brothers rally its entire organization to take on the quaint New Moon Café? Doubtful. It's hard enough to compete with The Spar's Hangtown fry and 4^th Avenue Mess, especially surrounded by a bevy of historical documentation. McMenamins moves into the Scrambled 16 with 52 percent of the vote. It was a well-fought battle.

Darby's Cafe held a slight lead all morning over crosstown rival Cicada. Then the comments began to flow in - every single one cheering on Cicada. Where were the Darby's fans? Where was its cheering squad? Our guess is the Darbyheads were inside their beloved Fifth Avenue breakfast spot, jammin' to the tunes, chattin' up a storm, instead of logged online. Cicada Restaurant and Lounge, with its wild huckleberry and bacon waffle and 70 percent of the votes - yes 70 - moves into the Scrambled 16.

Let's take a look at the stack. The following are advancing to the next round:

• Marcia's Silver Spoon Cafe
  
• The Homestead Restaurant
  
• The Spar Cafe
  
• Cicada restaurant and Lounge
  

The daily breakfast battles here on Spew are sponsored by Shakabrah Java on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue.

OK, let's check out today's Second Round breakfast battles. Vote for one breakfast joint per battle. Voting for today's breakfast battles ends at 11:45 p.m.

SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 2012 >>>

1. Tonight in Olympia Romanteek is back again, packing the group's unique sound of hypnotic vocals, sometimes breezy, sometimes moody melodies, layered with soul-soothing guitar riffs and dance-beat drums into the Capitol Theater for an event called "All of the Shadows Open." For this performance Olympia's Romanteek will pair with another local favorite, the Tallhouse Arts Consortium - a trapeze and aerialist troupe. The two live performances will weave story, music and movement into a spectacular show for all the senses.

2. Tonight the historic walls of Tacoma's Immanuel Presbyterian Church will be filled with some very fresh sounds. Indie groups Pearly Gate Music, The Maldives and Pickwick make up the impressive line-up. An eye-stopping cobalt blue poster heralds the event as Cathedrals Tacoma: Part One. 

3. This afternoon at the Washington Center Black Box Olympia Family Theater presents Animal Farm, which it says is best enjoyed by kids 10 and older. According to hype, "this dramatization remains faithful to the book's plot and intent and retains both its affection for the animals and the incisiveness of its message." In other words, watch out for the pigs.

4. Tonight at the Last Call Bar in Lakewood with DJ C-Lu busts out another renditions of Grown Folk Saturday, Look for old school, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s dance hits starting at 9 p.m.

5. It's a day full of music at Tacoma's Mandolin Café, as Harbor Voice Music goes on at 1 p.m., Graydon Holden & Friends get down at 7 p.m. and Paul Mauer gets going at 8 p.m. All the action is all-ages.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight in the South Sound

LINK: The Weekend Hustle

THE VIEW IS STILL AWESOME >>>

The Cliff House reopened March 14. New owner Giuseppe Nappo (who also owns Verrazano in Federal Way and Copper Falls in Auburn) offers Italian meets Northwest cuisine with global accents at The Cliff House. Fine dining is still the name of the game, though it's now presented in an environment that greatly benefits from a much-needed decorating makeover and update.

Open for lunch and dinner, menu items at the Cliff House range from $9 handmade ravioli lunch to $69 lobster and steak dinner. Average lunch price is $12; dinner is $24; happy hour ranges from $3-$7.

Service is friendly, knowledgeable and on point; hard to believe the historical Northeast Tacoma restaurant has been back on the scene for only two weeks.

My group stopped in for The Cliff House's happy hour.

Tender non-chewy ring and tentacle calamari ($5) arrived in an orange-hued breading, nicely complimented by a lemon aioli.

Dipped in a fresh pomodoro sauce, the Cliff House's fried provolone ($6) is the adult version of mozzarella sticks; square in shape they were firm at the edges and melted in the interior.

Black bean and garlic chicken wings $5) offer a welcome divergence from the usual barbeque sauce or a Frank's hot sauce.

Salmon sliders, with pickled cucumber and a small side dish of coleslaw, make a nice bite at $3 each. 

The Cliff House antipasti plate ($7) features the typical variety of meats, olives, cheese, vegetables and grilled bread.

A light seasoning and butter melted on top in no way masks the pleasant grill taste of a 14-ounce rib eye, which is on its dinner menu for $29. The red potatoes as accompaniment were chosen at bartender Jennifer Douglas' suggestion. Douglas was dead-on: they are so subtly sweet and creamy. Upon a recent visit, Douglas learned our names and those of other guests immediately; small gestures like this go a long way. She says her favorite dishes are the turkey panini at lunch and the stuffed chicken entrée at dinner.

As happy hour ended the clientele partly cleared out, but just as quickly seats were filled again - leaving the main floor and downstairs about 50-percent full. The vibe is comfortable elegance. The view is riveting. And the staff is personable.

[The Cliff House, happy hour daily 3-6 p.m., 9 p.m. to close, lunch served 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, dinner served 3-10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays and 3-11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, brunch served 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sundays, 6300 Marine View Dr., Tacoma, 253.927.0400]

WE SCENE IT >>>

It was all monkey business at Tacoma Art Museum Thursday with the latest 100th Monkey arts and community schoozefest sharing space with the internationally-acclaimed exhibition, Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture.

The concept behind 100th Monkey events is to encourage artists and community to meet, mingle and network as a way to make cool things happen. Participants bring food and wine to share. Entertainment and any program notes fall under the command of the 100th Monkey. The Tacoma Art Museum acted as the commander bringing in Duo Rubicund to keep it lively.

As a keepsake, and to determine the next 100th monkey, numbered artist tiles are sold for $5. At Thursday's event, Di Morgan-Graves, Lynn Di Nino and Claudia Riedener created the limited-edition tiles based on the theme of "gender identity and sexual orientation."

More information at www.100thmonkeytacoma.org.

>>> VOTING CLOSED FOR MARCH 25 <<<

Sixty-four South Sound breakfast joints were selected and seeded by readers throughout February for the Tournament of Breakfast, which is now 11 days into the competition. Brackets have been wheat pasted on buildings, sleep has been lost, friendships have ended and back fat has emerged. Everyone is discussing Benedict variations and oatmeal thickness. It's been more fun than a bowl of Ordinary K.

Yesterday's Tournament of Breakfast Results

Here were the match-ups:

Alfred's Cafe (Tacoma) vs. Ricky J's Restaurant (Puyallup)

Poodle Dog (Fife) vs. Johnny's Dock (Tacoma) 

Puget Sound Pizza (Tacoma) vs. The Hub (Tacoma)

A Renaissance Cafe (Tacoma) vs. Dirty Oscar's Annex (Tacoma)

Analysts agree, a key factor in determining Tournament of Breakfast success is experience. Restaurants playing in their first tournament game often have that "deer in the headlights" look. Meanwhile, experienced teams seem to be able to hold their composure in any situation. Alfred's Café and Bubble Room made it to the second round in last year's Tournament of Pizza. The Tacoma Dome District restaurant fell to eventual pizza champion Katie Downs. You can't buy that experience. And although Ricky J's has an amazing hangover breakfast, at least according to its loyal fans, experience catapulted Alfred's café to the Scrambled 16 with a whopping 70 percent of the votes.

We can only imagine the heated conversations last night around the bridge card game tables: "Confound it, Johnny's Dock's Dungeness crab and shrimp omelet is leaps and bounds above the Poodle Dog's blasted bennies. The Poodle Dog serves a cream waffle? What in tarnation is a cream waffle?" In a couple months, all will be forgotten and friendships will mend. This retro breakfast match-up was close until the final hour of voting. In the end, the Poodle Dog took the game with 52.8 percent of the votes. It was a fun game to watch.

Another fun game to watch was the battle of neighboring breakfast-serving joints Puget Sound Pizza and The Hub. The Hub grabbed a huge lead after the opening buzzer. In an era when star dishes often spend just a year or two on special menus before heading to the main menu, the Hub's breakfast pizzas are rarities. Both have seen their roles increase each year, as they have grown from doughy ideas fighting for minutes to chiseled dishes that, like yesterday, have seemingly willed The Hub into championship contention. Even with an amazing afternoon run by Puget Sound Pizza, no doubt due to its noon-awaking crowd, The Hub, behind its star breakfast dishes, managed to eek out a win with 53 percent of the votes. Both restaurants can hold heads high today.

A blowout Tournament of Breakfast game is usually over by 4:20 p.m. Dirty Oscar's Annex's beatdown of A Renaissance Café yesterday was over in the opening minutes. After scoring the first 18 votes of the game, DOA ran away with a 110-vote victory over the Museum District cafe. It is the first time in Tournament of Breakfast history a restaurants has beaten an opponent by 100 points or more. This No. 2 seed has analysts running back to think-tanks.

Let's take a look at the stack. The following are advancing to the next round:

• Alfred's Cafe and Bubble Room
  
• Poodle Dog
  
• The Hub
  
• Dirty Oscar's Annex
  

The daily breakfast battles here on Spew are sponsored by Shakabrah Java on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue.

OK, let's check out today's Second Round breakfast battles. Vote for one breakfast joint per battle. Voting for today's breakfast battles ends at 11:45 p.m.

SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2012 >>>

1. Hollywood has been responsible for some classic songs over the years - the combination of cinema and soundtrack joining forces to create a truly indelible moment. Today, coloratura soprano Diane Penning will be welcomed to Tacoma by the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra for a presentation of POPS: Hollywood's Greatest Melodies - a show featuring songs from Hollywood classics like Mary Poppins, Phantom of the Opera, Papa's Delicate Condition, West Side Story, The King and I, Porgy and Bess and Victor Herbert's Enchantress.

2. Tacoma artist Lynn Di Nino and her team of stalwart archeologists have found buried Hostess cupcakes under the ice in Antarctica. Tons and tons of cupcakes and other Hostess products, plus many other consumer products that have been popular throughout most of our lives. Those damn cupcakes last forever, and that's the point of their art-as-archeology exhibition, The Survivors, which has a reception today from 1-5 p.m. at Flow Gallery in the Tacoma Dome District. Read Alec Clayton's review of The Survivors in the Arts section at weeklyvolcano.com.

3.Olympia will be blessed with an East Coast legend tonight when Wu Tang Clan member Raekwon hits the state capitol for the first time, playing the Royal Lounge.  Since officially joining Wu Tang in 1992, over the years Raekwon has become one of the more recognized names in the group and continues to consistently release his Mafioso style of hip-hop. 

4. It's an all-ages bonanza today at Jazzbones as the Spring Rockcital, featuring Diet Love, Le Pomme De Terre, Selling Out Seattle, Nuclear Weapons, Angry Beavers, Gelatin, Case Of Fire, Thirty Years After, Shadow Sythe and Pain Haunts Me. It all starts at 2 p.m.

5. Glasses Malone will be all up in the Backstage Bar and Grill at the end of Sixth Avenue. Here's what Volcano hip-hop columnist Josh Rizeberg has to say about.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight in the South Sound

LINK: The Weekend Hustle

GRAB YOUR CANDY CIGS >>>

Season five of Mad Men hits the boob tube tonight. For Tacoma fans addicted to the show like it's characters crave nicotine, this is a welcome relief.

Tonight from 5 to 8 p.m., the Tempest Lounge is hosting a Mad Men mixer, and those who arrive clad in early '60s finery will have a chance to win a prize.

In addition, the bash will feature Mad Men-themed drinks, meaning brown liquor or clear, in a highball glass, from opening to close. Just, as Roger Sterling says, "don't be a sissy Mary" about it: "You don't know how to drink. Your whole generation, you drink for the wrong reasons. My generation, we drink because it's good, because it feels better than unbuttoning your collar, because we deserve it. We drink because it's what men do."

Yeah ... and women.

And women better dig out that Jackie Kennedy finery quick.

In terms of food, organizers Denise Tempest (Tempest Lounge owner) and Kris Blondin (co-owner of Stink Cheese & Meat) will fill your TV tray with deviled eggs, onion dip, pigs-in-a-blanket and other staples of the '60s.

The party is meant to be a pre-function. It ends at 8 p.m. giving partiers plenty of time to safely get home for the 9 p.m. start of the show.

[Tempest Lounge, Sunday, March 25, 5-8 p.m., 21+, $5 cover, 913 MLK Way, Tacoma, 253.272.4904]

MONDAY, MARCH 26, 2012 >>>

1. Flamenco, like tango, is one of those exotic music-and-dance idioms for which the Weekly Volcano presses our nose to the glass and watches all the colorful action, amused and amazed at the sights and sounds. Flamenco is made up of the song, the dance, the guitar, and the rhythmic accompaniment of finger-snapping, tongue-clicking, or even knuckle-bashing on a tabletop. The music grabs us by the scruff of the neck and demands that we dance, or at the very least surrender to their sultry and explosive spell. The New Frontier Lounge hosts Arte Eterno Flamenco en Vivo at 8 p.m. featuring the powerful voice of Sevilla-born singer Jesus Montoya of Sevilla. Montoya will be joined by guitarists Gerardo Alcala and Tyson Kikuo, as well as dancer Savannah Fuentes.

2. Kitzel's Deli in downtown Olympia hosts an Open Mic Poetry & Jazz Night featuring The Joe Mailhot Jazz Unit beginning at 4:30 p.m.

3. The Weekly Volcano has discovered a few things about the devil over the years. He says the word "soul" too often. He's seriously thinking about switching hell over to cheaper natural gas. He can play an amazing fiddle. He also bites his nails while releasing tiny, lethal farts. We're pretty sure we don't know everything about the devil. Thankfully, the Tacoma Cult Movie Club's monthly 7 p.m. Monday night screening of free movies at The Acme Grub Cage centers on the theme "The Devil Made Me Do It." Somewhere in tonight's movie, trailers and commercials screenings - even the craptastic door prizes - there has to be new devil details we don't know. If not, at least co-producer Rev. Colin says he has new club button, which is nice.

4. King's Books owner sweet pea might not believe in capital letters, but he does believe in books clubs. He hosts a gaggle of them, including the Capes & Cowls Book Club, which meets tonight at 8 p.m. The caped readers will take a chair and discuss Kurt Busiek's Astro City: Life in the Big City, a collection of loosely-connected stories about life in Astro City, in a world where superheroes outnumber book clubs. Afterward, the caped readers will venture next door to Doyle's, where they'll repeat the exact same conversation over beers.

5. Every Monday, DJ Melodica and guests DJs spin a wide variety of tunes in between band sets during Showcase Mondays at Magoo's Annex in Tacoma, which kicks off at 8:30 p.m. Except tonight. Producer DJ Melodica won't be at Magoo's. He'll be home having gusts sign his cast. Apparently, he's broken his leg. The Weekly Volcano can't confirm if a milk crate full of records was the cause. One would assume. DJ Darren Selector will step in as the host DJ with DJ Das Prompt riding in the sidecar. Will Selector continue the popular "Guess the TV Theme Song" segment regulars have grown to love? Not sure. We do know Magoo's will still offer $3 beers and $2 mondo hot dogs. And the Seattle band Watch It Sparkle will perform.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

>>> VOTING CLOSED FOR MARCH 26 <<<

Laid-back is the essence of Sunday. That means a lazy mid-afternoon brunch, no work, phone off the hook, flip-flops ... you know the routine. The mere thought of lifting a finger to wash the mountain of dishes in the sink should make you shudder. Yesterday, a good chunk of the South Sound changed its Sunday routine. Voting in the Tournament of Breakfast was added to the mix. Yesterday's vote was the second hishest of the tournament.

But, it's Monday. You're still in chill mode. Your boss' view of what is priority is far from the top of your priority list. And there's four South Sound breakfast games to vote on today. Before you vote, take a gander at yesterday's results. Woah.

Yesterday's Tournament of Breakfast Results

Here were the match-ups:

Pine Cone Cafe (University Place) vs. Affairs Cafe & Bakery (University Place)

Moon Rise Cafe (Lakewood) vs. Old Milwaukee Cafe (Tacoma) 

Norma's Burgers (Olympia) vs. Sage's Brunch House (Tacoma)

Hawk's Prairie Restaurant (Lacey) vs. Black Bear Diner (Olympia)

Affairs Cafe started the game with a psychological ploy, as owner Gay Landry pushed her delicious strawberry crepes hard, while dropping the egg dishes back to set up its zone defense. Affairs veggie skillet was red hot yesterday. The Pine Cone Café, even with its malted Belgium waffle having a good day, couldn't keep up with Affairs. Affairs Cafe ended up with 58 percent of the vote, and a seat in the Scrambled 16.

The Moon Rise Cafe triple teamed Old Milwaukee Cafe for nearly the entire game, forcing owners Pat and Chad to rely on their powerhouse griddle. Old Milwaukee took an early lead due to Chad's handy work with four spatulas, before the Moon Rise would close the gap with a strong showing from its salmon scramble. The triple team worked, and the North End Tacoma favorite fell, with the Moon Rise Cafe capturing 55 percent of the votes and a spot in the Scrambled 16.

Norma's Burgers held an advantage in volume yesterday, turning tables with cat-like quickness. Sage's Brunch House worked the biscuits and gravy hard, shuffling in and out the Migas at opportune moments. In the end Norma's held on to a comfortable lead, ending up with 62 percent of the votes, and a seat in the Scrambled 16.

Hawk's Prairie cruised to an easy win yesterday over Black Bear Diner with 66 percent of the votes, largely due to its relentless bear traps. Analysts agreed it was wise for Hawk's to give its broiled pit ham steak a breather yesterday. It will need the power dish in the Scrambled 16 when it takes on Norma's Burgers.

Let's take a look at the stack. The following are advancing to the next round:

• Affairs Cafe and Bakery
  
• Moon Rise Cafe
  
• Norma's Burgers
  
• Hawk's Prairie Restaurant
  

The daily breakfast battles here on Spew are sponsored by Shakabrah Java on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue.

OK, let's check out today's Second Round breakfast battles. Vote for one breakfast joint per battle. Voting for today's breakfast battles ends at 11:45 p.m.

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

City Of Tacoma Performance Report: Nuisance complaints are up, violent crime is down ... (Exit 133)

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Speaks: The national economy will have to rev up more substantially for the unemployment rate to keep improving. (CNN)

Opinion: Jeffrey Toobin says a health care defeat could imperil President Obama's bid for re-election. (CNN)

Tweets Prove It: Rich guy James Cameron's voyage to the bottom of the sea. (Daily Weekly)

Do They Make You Tell The Truth?: Wonder Woman Chuck Taylor sneakers. (Wired)

Record Store Day: A list of the goods. (Pitchfork)

Mad Men: The best lines from last night. (Flavorwire)

Today In Kick Ass