THURSDAY, NOV. 1-7, 2012 >>>

In this week's issue, Kristin Kendle chats with Shannon Patten, owner of Legendary Doughnuts, the innovative doughnut shop opening this week on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue. Kendle discovered that the buttercream base used in many of the fillings and frostings is made with - drum roll - real butter! The joint crafts the craziest makes and models, including the Captain Jack Sparrow doughnut.

Art at Work: Tacoma's Arts Month kicks off tonight at the Tacoma Art Museum. It's a collective of events and exhibits packaged into one exciting month by the Tacoma Arts Commission. Some of these happenings take place year-round, others are Art at Work specific, but all of them invite the public out to see why Tacoma is such an amazingly artsy community.

"Our fall menu has some fun new items, like the Happy Hour Bottle Caps - spicy breaded deep-fried jalapeños with umami mayo - really spicy - really delicious if you like things hot like I do," says Gordon Naccarato. "Also my Chef Jessica came up with an Asian-style red curry Dungeness crab-dip served with won tons that is a fun take on that Northwest staple." That's right, we grabbed the scoop on Pacific Grill's fall menu.

The Stacy Jones Band will play Jazzbones Sunday, along with six other artists and bands as part of the "Back to Beale Street Blues" benefit for the South Sound Blues Association, to send its "band of the year" winners - House of Bourbon and Blues Redemption - to the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tenn. in January. Nikki McCoy falls in love with Jones's voice.  

McCoy also met a woman who was beautiful, intelligent, confident and creative. She has a PhD, she is a successful photographer and she is a world-traveler. She is also a visual voice for the people of Olympia. Her name is Jan Lewis, and she just completed Olympia Portrait Project, an 80-page photo essay book capturing the tapestry of people who work, visit or live in Olympia.

PLUS: Alec Clayton reviews landscapes at Childhood's End Gallery

PLUS: Josh Rizeberg has the scoop on the local Blue Nose Music label