FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2010 >>>

1. Olympia Spring Arts Walk - a celebration of Earth and art - is proof Oly knows how to have a good time. It's one huge block party. It's a great place to bring the kids during the day and then hit the bars at night. All of downtown Olympia is transformed into a giant smorgasbord of food, fun, art and music for an entire weekend, more specifically this weekend - April 23-24. As part of Art Walk artist Skie Bender will hold a 5 p.m. reception for her new paintings inspired by the Oly Roller Derby Girls at King of Olympia at 206 Fourth Ave. W. For more Art Walk best bets, click here.

2. The Grand Cinema will screen the Israeli film Ajami, one of the five Oscar nominees for best foreign-language film, at 3:15, 6 and 8:45 p.m.

3. Being earnest is important. Just ask Oscar Wilde. Of course, after debuting The Importance of Being Earnest in 1895, Wilde would never write again. Damn Marquess of Queensberry! According to Wikipedia, the dastardly Queensberry attempted to throw vegetables at Wilde on opening night. Though he failed, it was just the beginning of the real-life drama that would end Wilde's career. Anyway, Paradise Theatre stages the play at 8 p.m. The Gig Harbor theater company will be checking for vegetables at the door.

4. The BareFoot Collective presents MOBILIZE, an evening of concert dance at 8 p.m. inside the Jan Collum Ballroom at the Merlino Arts Center. Co-Directors Carrie Goodnight M.F.A. and Amanda Herman M.F.A. will be presenting four new works as well as showcasing the talents of choreographers Ellie Klopp and Nicole Sasala of The Asterisk Project.  

5. The über talented singer-songwriter Camille Bloom holds a sneaky peek for her latest EP, Sneak, at 8 p.m. inside the Mandolin Café.

(6.) OK, we need to sneak one more in: Shakespeare-a-thon at the Speakeasy Arts Cooperative. We have seen Shakespeare in the Parking Lot practice twice for the event. It looks like a good one.

LINK: More Arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: New movies open today

WINE NEWS >>>

(Sip. closed Monday, May 24, 2010)

Today marks the one-year anniversary of Sip. at the wine bar & restaurant in the Uptown Gig Harbor shopping center. To mark the special day, the wine bar - which now serves booze, too - will release its spring menu. Here are a few new additions:

• BBQ Shrimp-Jumbo shrimp, apple-wood bacon, fresh basil and housemade
• Asian BBQ sauce, $13.
• Fried California Roll-Spicy crab with soy dipping sauce and wasabi aioli, $12.
• Crab Salad-Fresh Dungeness crab, watercress, marinated tomato, hard-boiled
• egg and lemon-caper vinaigrette, $13.
• Duo of Duck-Seared breast and leg confit with cherry sauce, potato gratin,
• fresh daily vegetable, $27.
• BBQ Salmon-Wild Alaskan salmon, grilled and basted with housemade Asian
• BBQ sauce, roasted fingerling potatoes, fresh daily vegetable, $23.
• Hand Cut Ribeye-10 oz. Certified Angus with housemade steak sauce, duck fat-whipped potatoes, fresh daily vegetable, $25.

The restaurant also adds Gig Harbor local Daniel Jackson as its lead wine captain. Jackson developed the award-winning wine program at Brix 25 Restaurant in Gig Harbor. His love for Northwest wines will no doubt influence Sip's wine menu.

[Sip. at the wine bar & restaurant, 4793 Point Fosdick Dr. NW, Gig Harbor, 253.853.3020]

SATURDAY, MARCH 20: FOUR BATTLES ON THE DOCKET >>>

Yesterday's Results

The second day of the weekly Volcano's Tournament of Tacos featured the undisputed popular favorite - Vuelve A La Vida- up against a golf course clubhouse. What can we say, we rated all the restaurants and taco trucks then fed them through the computer program Taco Tycoon to seed the tournament. This is science, people.

Unsurprisingly, Vuelve A La Vida received an astounding 80.8 percent of the votes in the readers' poll over The Grill at Meadow Park Golf Course. One voter said of Vuelve, "Their carne asada tacos are a step above cuz they use fajita meat and not ground beef." The Grill now has to carry Vuelve's clubs for life. Although Vuelve has little atmosphere, its authentic Mexican food is top notch.  The kitchen, open for view, prepares unbelievable carne asada, tasty tortillas and its tongue tacos are the best in the area.

Vuelve advances to the Second Round and will take on the winner of today's battle between Santa Fe Mexican Grill and Taqueria El Antojo. This humble, tiny restaurant could go all the way!

Taco Bell beat out Jack in the Box in the battle of the fast food franchises. Even though one voter said of Jack in the Box - "This is the "Best" substandard taco ever! Crispy and chewy in the same bite" - Taco Bell took the game with 56.3 percent of the votes. Taco Bell advances to the Second Round and will wait for the winner between Tijuana Taco and Taco Time.

One of the most popular taco joints on wheels Taqueria La Fondita parked at 38^th and G Street drove over Tiende Y Taqueria Zomora with 76.7 percent of the votes. La Fondita's tacos might be small, but their traditional thin corn tortillas rule.

Yesterday's last battle was between the local chain restaurants Mazatlan and Azteca. The Weekly Volcano favors Azteca, but that's mainly due to their strong margaritas. The voters also picked Azteca with 61.7 percent of the vote, although commenting on the great service more than the tacos.

Let's get down to the hard shell facts. The following are advancing to the next round:

Vuelve A La Vida

Taco Bell

Taqueria La Fondita

Azteca

Confused? Read our Tournament of Tacos introduction here.

Today's Competition

OK, time to move on to today's competition. ...

GAME 1: Taqueria el Grande (7202 S Park Ave., Tacoma) vs. Taqueria La Carreta (8302 South Tacoma Way, Tacoma)

It's East Tacoma vs. South Tacoma in this day three match-up.  If you're into tongue tacos, it's hard to beat Taqueria el Grande's version.

GAME 2: Taqueria y Restaurant (4002 McKinley, Tacoma) vs. Los Reyes Del Taco (6308 McKinley, Tacoma)

McKinley Avenue bragging rights are at stake in this game. Taqueria y Restaurant recently has taken over the space held admirably by El Compadre. The demise of El Compadre sent Ranger co-publisher Ken Swarner into a deep depression. His regular appearances at El Compadre earned him a "Norm!" status.

GAME 3: La Palma Mexican Restaurant (5701 Lakewood Towne Center Blvd., Lakewood) vs. MIS Tres Amigos (8013 Steilacoom Blvd. SW, Lakewood)

Lakewood bragging rights are at stake today. La Palma, which for years featured delightful German waitresses, is a Lakewood mainstay.  MIS Tres Amigos has carved a nice niche for itself near the Oakbrook neighborhood.

GAME 4: Blazing Onion (4701 Point Fosdick Dr., Gig Harbor) vs. Engine House #9 (611 N Pine St., Tacoma)

Gig Harbor's lone entry in the competition features a killer fish taco against the Engine House's Famous E9 Soft Taco - a stud for more than 30 years. We see someone going down in blazing flames.

>>> CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

Tomorrow's Taco Battles

Game 1: Taqueria Burrito Loco (5502 Orchard St. W) vs. Taqueria Las Torres (Sixth Avenue and Fife St.) 

Game 2: Dave's Meat and Produce (1312 N. i St.) vs. Tacoma Golf & Country Club

Game 3: Anahua Mexican Restaurant (9002 Pacific Ave.) vs. Tacoma Guaymas (10105 S. Tacoma Way)

Game 4: Sante Fe Mexican Grill (Frieghthouse Square) vs. Taqueria El Antojo (3801 McKinley Ave.)

THE GIG HARBOR WINE JOINT ADDS BOOZE >>>

(Sip. closed Monday, May 24, 2010)

The drunken junket is a wonderful thing. It's the sort of perk that makes up for the lousy pay in this typing business, at least for a few days. But times have changed since the halcyon hedonism of yore, when Hunter S. Thompson - the most celebrated master of the fine art of spending a jetting off to some faraway locale and imbibing and debauching on someone else's dime - was staggering drink- and drug-addled around the Mint 400, weaving his half-remembered adventures into fabulist prose. Nowadays, when a martini at lunch is looked at askance, there's a palpable button-down mentality that frowns on overindulgence. I prefer zippers.

So when I received word today that Sip wine bar and restaurant in Gig Harbor now offers a full bar service, I made my way upstairs to the publishers looking for an expense account - you know, to "really uncover the truth behind the added booze."

Their answer was automatic: Does Shane MacGowan need a liver transplant?

Until my research is finished, which could take weeks, I submit the press release announcing Sip's new boozy existence after the jump.

Read more...

MICHAEL SWAN: MONDAY, DEC. 14, 2009 >>>

1. The Graphic Novel Book Club discusses A Contract with God by Will Eisner at 7 p.m. inside the Tentwentytwo Lounge on Hilltop Tacoma.

2. Tim Kapler's works on display at The Swiss has an intensity and inventiveness that have much to be admired.

3. The Gig Harbor community comes together at Skansie Brothers Park for Hark The Harbor Community Caroling at 7 p.m.

4. Al Earick Band performs at 8 p.m. inside The Swiss.

5. Every Monday night at 9 p.m. inside Jazzbones you can sing on the stage with a live band before a live, dancing audience - talent or not - during Rockaraoke.

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: Local movie starting times

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

RON SWARNER: FOOD MATTERS >>>

Show Off Your Wine: The Dockside Bistro and Wine Bar in Olympia offers a $1 cork fee every Tuesday.

This Is Bogels: Panera Bread has invented Bogels - bite-size pieces of their Cinnamon Crunch bagel coated with cinnamon and sugar prepackaged in cup holder friendly containers of six or 12. Panera Bread is in the Lakewood Towne Center, along Point Fosdick in Gig Harbor, at the Lacey Market Place and on South 320th Street in Federal Way.

Plan Ahead: Chef John Edwards will teach a class on How to Cook a Thanksgiving Dinner Wednesday, Nov. 11, 6 p.m. at the Bayview School of Cooking in Olympia. The school will also teach a Cranberries Beyond Relish class Nov. 15. Reserve your space at 360.754.1448.

Food For Thought: If your plate is bigger than 9 inches across, you're going to eat too much, one expert says.

STEPH DEROSA: SOUTH SOUND HAUNTED HOUSES >>>

I'll be brutally honest here: I have yet to find a haunted house in the South Puget Sound that will make me poop my pants like the huge ones down in Texas did. Even back in the '80s we'd drop a cool $20 on admission into a three-story deserted warehouse turned death house. You should count your blessings that you're here in your safe, humble surroundings of evergreens and vegetarians. Here, admission is usually at a fair price, and the haunting is done in a controlled, well thought out environment. 

Are the haunted houses here scary?  Are they worth the money?  Do those adult-sized diapers really hold? These are questions only a haunt doctor can answer. Aren't you in luck? Dr. Steph DeCapitated DeRosa at your service right here.

ANNOUNCER: TACOMA FAVORITE TESTS THE WATER IN GIG HARBOR >>>

Sitting next to Gig Harbor's new Galaxy Theatre is sitting pretty indeed. Lele Tran, who owns Tacoma favorite Le-Le Restaurant with husband Andy, made the adventurous choice of opening another restaurant in Gig Harbor. Swinging open the doors nine years ago, the original Hilltop Le-Le's and the sadly failed Lakewood venture of 2007 provided great practice for the spotlight attention and scrutiny restaurants receive when opening in Gig Harbor's latest hot spot, Uptown Gig Harbor, a planned shopping, dining and movie-going complex that looks as though it were a Bellevue transplant. Elegant, graceful and beautifully appointed, this smaller space offers Vietnamese and Thai cuisine. Prices are not the easily affordable ones of Tacoma.

The boys review Lele Restaurant (yes, they slightly changed the name) in Gig Harbor on the Weekly Volcano's Web site.

STEVE DUNKELBERGER: SOUTH SOUND THEATER SCENE IS SET TO GO OFF >>>

The regular season for most theaters in the South Sound starts this week, so prepare yourself for a steady stream of theater now that the summer slump is over. Cue the sound of rejoicing.

I preview three production on the Weekly Volcano Web site. Check it here.

NEWS TEAM: GOOD MORNING SOUTH SOUND >>>

Pierce County: Election results

Thurston County: Election results

Baghdad: At least 95 killed in series of attacks.

60 Minutes Of Fame: Don Hewitt is dead.

Zombie Nuke Refuses To Die: Inside Obama administration, a tug of war over nuclear warheads.

Times Are Tough: Gig Harbor’s unlucky six.

Sacked: Seattle voters reject 20-cent grocery bag fee.

Should Have Done This From The Start: They go at it alone on health care.

Seriously?: One of the biggest political mysteries of the year?

It's A Howl: NYC artist compiles album of screams.