SUNDAY, MARCH 28: ROUND TWO >>>

Which tacos deserve to move on to the Spicy 16?

Game 1: Josefina's (4816 Pacific Ave, Tacoma) vs. Taqueria El Rinconsito (72^nd and Pacific Avenue, Tacoma)

Old friends meet in Round Two. Josefina's surprised many of us at the Weekly Volcano World Headquarters when they dispatched Sam's Taqueria in Round One.  They will have their hands full again as they take on Taqueria El Rinconsito, once a cozy neighbor, who has recently moved to a new spot in the Fred Meyer parking lot. Most folks have El Rinconsito in the Final Cuatro on their brackets. Their spicy pork tacos should be bronzed.

>>> CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

Game 2: Azteca (4801 Tacoma Mall Blvd., Tacoma) vs. Moctezuma's (4102 S. 56^th St., Tacoma)

Two bitter South Tacoma area rivals face off here. Azteca, buoyed by its shopping induced famished crowd will do battle with Moctezuma's and its Happy Hour Homies.

>>> CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

Game 3: Los Tres Hermanos (12^th and Pine, Tacoma) vs. MI Taqueria (8424 S. Hosmer, Tacoma)

Here's an interesting match-up.  The popular Central Tacoma taco truck has a cocky smile as it stares down East Tacoma MI Taqueria, which showed promise by defeating Puerto Del Sol in Round One. Can't blame Los Tres Hermanos. It knows it has a secret weapon - Facebook.

>>> CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

Game 4: Taco Bell (various locations, Tacoma) vs. Tijuana Taco (10005 Bristol Ave., Lakewood)

Rocky, owner of Tijuana Taco, and his long-time manager, Mickey, told the Weekly Volcano they will not sleep until the tiny Lakewood fast-food joint defeats another corporate chain (they defeated Taco Time in round one).  In fact, late last night Rocky stood over his manager and a box full of fresh tomatoes barking: "Cut them Mickey.  Cut them!"  Such dedication.   

>>> CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

Tomorrow's Taco Battles

Game 1: Hildalgo Mexican Restaurant vs. El Tenampa

Game 2: MI Tres Amigos vs. Tacos Guaymas

Game 3: Taqueria Burrito Loco vs. Los Amigos Mexican Food

Game 4: Powerhouse Restaurant vs. Engine House No. 9

Confused? Read our Tournament of Tacos introduction here.

SATURDAY, MARCH 27, 2010 >>>

1. Tacoma's oldest and only Rocky Horror Picture Show "shadow cast" the Blue Mouseketeers will help you enjoy the movie at 11:30 p.m. inside The Blue Mouse Theater.

2. The Parks Campaign Kick-Off rally featuring Footloose the Moose, Rodney Raccoon, facepainting, sack races, and words from Tacoma City Councilmember Victoria Woodards and Executive Director of the Tacoma-Pierce County Humane Society Kathleen Olson at noon in South Park at 4851 S. Tacoma Way.

3. The Proctor Farmers Market opens for the season from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will continue to do so every Saturday until Nov. 20. If that wasn't magical enough, the Junior Daffodil Parade will pass by it around 10 a.m.

4. Another Artifakt Art Show hits Jazzbones at 9 p.m. featuring music from Yirim Seck, Graves, Life Cycle, B-Awake, AurasWon, DJ Reign, DJ SlimRock and art by Erik Soderquist, Graves, CASH, Laura Eklund, AcidTest, Mike Smith and Joey Rodrigez.

5. Agent Orange, South 11th, Broken Oars, The Dirty Birds, and Victor Cutoff take Hell's Kitchen beginning at 9 p.m.

Well, crap, OK 6 today:

6. The Dockyard Derby Dames return to the flat track with sharpened elbows for a roller derby bout at 6 p.m. inside the Pierce College Health Education Building in Lakewood.

LINK: Movie showtimes in the South Sound

FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2010 >>>

1. China Davis will perform at 8 p.m. inside Jazzbones.

2. Did you miss Montana author Pat Shannon's talk on Darwin's theory of evolution yesterday at Orca Books? The fittest should catch Shannon again at 6 p.m. inside King's Books.

3. Speaking of Orca Books, author William L. Marcy will discuss his book The Politics of Cocaine at the Olympia book store at 6 p.m. The book investigates the role the United States played - through flawed policy and tactics - in building South America's cocaine economy, specifically the mistake of mixing anti Communism and anti drug policies and the absolute havoc and death it created.

4. The all-ages Destiny City Metalfest 2 will host Culling The Weak, Mortal Remails, Never Met A Dead Man, Pity, Autumn Awakening, To The Wind, and Creature Of The Deep at 7 p.m. inside the Viaduct.

5. Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera HMS Pinafore opens at 8 p.m. for a five weekend run at the Lakewood Playhouse.

LINK: New movies open today

THURSDAY, MARCH 25: THE END OF ROUND ONE >>>

Yesterday's Results

Yesterday saw one blowout and two last-minute victories.

Here were yesterday's match-ups:

El Perran vs. El Tenampa

Reyna's Mexican Restaurant vs. La Fondita II

The Beach Tavern vs. Powerhouse Restaurant & Brewery

El Pulgarcito vs. Taqueria Los Parados

Game 1 yesterday saw the biggest blowout of the tournament so far. The authentic Mexican environment of El Tenampa crushed el Perran's sports bar like environment. El Perran must have not paid attention to Tenampa's massive dance floor in the back of its restaurant. They packed them in on the weekends for Mexican cumbia by large touring bands.

The hole-in-the-wall Reyna's held a slight lead all day until the nightlife crowd logged on. On the strength of its bar we believe, La Fondita pulled ahead in the final few minutes of the voting to capture 86.7 percent of the vote. We're sure no one expected Reyna's to go down in the first round.

The Beach Tavern also held a lead all day over the Powerhouse in Puyallup. Then the comments began to flow in - every single one cheering on the Powerhouse. Where were the Beach Tavern fans? Where was its cheering squad? Our guess is the Beach Bunch was inside their beloved Titlow Beach watering hole instead of logged online. Powerhouse, with 52.2 percent of the votes, moves to the next round.

El Salvador wins! The Salvadoran El Pulgarcito nestled in Ponder's Corner in Lakewood grabbed 55.2 percent of the vote sending Taqueria Los Parados packing.

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

El Tenampa

La Fondita II

Powerhouse Restaurant & Brewery

El Pulgarcito

Confused? Read our Tournament of Tacos introduction here.

Today's Competition

OK, time to move on to today's competition, which is the last day of Round One. Hey! We heard that sigh. Grab a bottle of Pepto and get back at it! ...

Game 1: Hidalgo Mexican Restaurant (806 72^nd St. E, Tacoma) vs. Bonita Restaurant & Lounge (5604 Portland Ave., Tacoma)

Hidalgo serves traditional opened-face tacos as one can find on the streets of Mexico City. While offering several meat fillings, we always head for the lengua (tongue). It's a strong competitor. Bonita is backed heavily by its loyal nightlife following. 

>>> CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

Game 2: The Swiss (1904 S Jefferson Ave., Tacoma) vs. Hell's Kitchen (928 Pacific Ave., Tacoma)

The Swiss' Thursday taco night squares off with Hell's Kitchen's popular Tuesday taco night. Both tacos are cheap, tasty and served fast. We expect the whistle to be blown constantly in this game.

>>> CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

Game 3: Matador (7212 Pacific Ave., Tacoma) vs. El Toro (various locations)

The Matador serves outstanding chorizo and fish tacos with a strong tequila bench in a downright sexy environment.   El Toro, locally owned with many locations in the Tacoma area, is the Cornell of the tournament. Nothing flashy - just a good consistent taco.  Flash versus a workhorse. Hang on to your hats folks.

>>> CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

Game 4: La Huerta 2 International Market (5605 Pacific Ave., Tacoma) vs. La Pecera Taqueria (10422 Pacific Ave., Tacoma)

The final game of Round One could be a blowout. Juan and Rossy Murguia opened La Huerta two years ago serving authentic Mexican food amidst aisles of grocery products, a meat department and a bakery. Their fresh tortillas alone could carry them to the next round. What La Pecera has in its pocket are authentic Mexican tacos served at unbelievably low prices.

>>> CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

Tomorrow's Taco Battles, Round Two

Game 1: Los Reyes Del Taco vs. El Guadalajara Lakewood

Game 2: Masa vs. La Fondita

Game 3: Taqueria La Fondita vs. El Purgarcito

Game 4: Top of Tacoma Bar & Cafe vs. Duke's Chowder House

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24: FOUR BATTLES ON THE DOCKET >>>

Yesterday's Results

We don't know about you but we're dreaming in greens, whites and reds. In fact, our co-publisher Pappi Swarner had a dream last night that he was eating chips and dip from the sombrero of a foot-tall statue in a restaurant with a striped poncho on the wall as its only decoration. The tacos are starting to mess with us folks. But we press on. ...

Here were yesterday's match-ups:

Tijuana Taco (Lakewood) vs. Taco Time (every freaking where)

Taqueria La Sinaloense (Tacoma)vs. Los Amigos Mexican Food (Tacoma)

Moctezuma's Mexican Restaurant (Tacoma) vs. Puerto Vallarta (Tacoma)

Taqueria El Rinconsito (Tacoma) vs. El Patio Taqueria (Parkland)

Tijuana Taco in Lakewood did it. It held a narrow lead over Taco Time all day yesterday finishing with 54.3 percent of the votes. Could it be its 300-year history in Lakewood? How about the young women behind the counter? Or that the owner's name is Rocky and he has a vicious jab? Hey Taco Time! Time to go.

Even though Taqueria La Sinaloense donned lights this past Christmas, the taco truck on Center Street might be a little Grinchy now with its loss to Los Amigos Mexican Food at 64^th and South Tacoma Way. Los Amigos will have its hands full when it battle Taqueria Burrito Loco on Monday.

We had our first come from behind win yesterday. Puerto Vallarta Family Mexican Restaurant led the popular Moctezuma's Mexican Restaurant all day. Then, around 9 p.m., the tide turned. Maybe the Pina Coladas kicked in. Moctezuma's sought revenge (we have no idea what that means) and inched past PV with 51.2 percent of the votes. Moctezuma's will have to get its game face on if it wants to beat the marketing machine behind Azteca when they battle Sunday.

Taqueria El Rinconsito took El Patio Taqueria out on the patio and whipped its ass with 64.2 percent of the votes. This popular joint located on the Fred Meyer's property at 72^nd and Pacific will be tough to beat.  Its food is flavorful and cheap. If we were the flamboyant Josefina's, we'd hide on Sunday.

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

Tijuana Taco

Los Amigos Mexican Food

Moctezuma's

Taqueria El Rinconsito

Confused? Read our Tournament of Tacos introduction here.

Today's Competition

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

GAME 1: El Perran (131^st and Pacific Avenue, Tacoma/Parkland)  vs. El Tenampa (3121 38^th St., Tacoma)

El Perran is not your typical Tacoma Mexican restaurant.  It's more like a Mexican sports bar - and the tacos hit a home run.  El Tenampa occupies the former Great Wall of China Restaurant (we miss their almond chicken) spot on 38^th Street.  Despite its spacious interior that throws "cozy" out the window, the tacos are the real thing.    

>>> CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

GAME 2: Reyna's Mexican Restaurant (411 Garfield St., Parkland) vs. La Fondita II (2620 N Proctor St., Tacoma)

Located in the shadows of Pacific Lutheran University, not only will you find delicious tacos al carbon at Reyna's, but if you need to brush up on some chemistry or trigonometry, just check with the student pounding the books in the booth next to you. This is a tiny joint.

La Fondita represents the Proctor District. It's known for its cozy, charming atmosphere and above average service. We typically throw back a couple shrimp tacos before heading across the street to the Blue Mouse to catch a flick.

>>> CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

GAME 3: The Beach Tavern (8612 Sixth Ave., Tacoma) vs. Powerhouse Restaurant Brewery (454 E Main, Puyallup)

The Beach Tavern brings a strong all-around game to the competition.  The picturesque Titlow Beach location, old-time shuffleboard and friendly regulars only accentuate the Beach Tavern's tacos.  The Powerhouse brewpub is known more for its ribs and ales, but it does have grilled bass fish taco on its menu. OK, Powerhouse will need to rally the Puyallup people to bury the Beach Tavern.

>>> CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

Game 4: El Pulgarcito (12134 Pacific Hwy. SW, Lakewood) vs. Taqueria Los Parados (5604 E Portland Ave., Tacoma)

We don't want to rain on Parados' parados, but El Pulgarcito in Lakewood distinguishes itself with its amazing Salvadorian tacos. And now that the El Pug sports a larger space with its recent move next door, the East Tacoma El Parados can't afford to look ahead.

>>> CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

Tomorrow's Taco Battles

Game 1: Hidalgo Mexican Restaurant (East Tacoma) vs. Bonita Restaurant & Lounge (East Tacoma)

Game 2: The Swiss vs. Hell's Kitchen

Game 3: Matador (downtown) vs. El Toro (various locations)

Game 4: La Huertas 2 International Market (Tacoma) vs. La Pecera Taqueria (Tacoma)

MY GO TO KOREAN JOINT >>>

Most of Lakewood's Korean restaurants are housed along South Tacoma Way, and many of them serve a cookie-cutter menu of barbecue and soup dishes common to Korean restaurants in this country.

But Palace Restaurant and Cafe is a clean, open concept with a décor that mixes dark woods, purple and yellow halogen lighting, and modern touches with hokey red ribbons on plants, Korean advertisements and Korean programming on large plasma screens.

The Palace's menu is divided between noodle dishes, seafood, chicken, barbecue, lunch boxes and casseroles. The goat casserole - more of a soup with a marvelous sesame oil and chili paste brother (rather than served with fettuccine noodles and topped with crumbled potato chips) - takes 25 minutes to prepare so they prefer you call ahead.

My Palace favorites are the mandu guk, a rustic soup stocked with meat-filled dumplings, and dolsot bibimbap, a pot of crunchy baked rice in which colorful raw veggies, a pile of chopped beef sporting a fried egg.

The palace also houses modern-ish bar that features exotic cocktails, Korean liquor and beer.

[Palace Restaurant and Café, 8718 S. Tacoma Way, Lakewood, 253.581.0880]

SUNDAY, MARCH 21: FOUR BATTLES ON THE DOCKET >>>

Yesterday's Results

The past few days saw mainly blowouts in the Tournament of Tacos. Yesterday's competition finally witnessed a close battle.

Here were the matchups:

Taqueria El Grande vs. Taqueria La Carreta

Taqueria y Restaurant vs. Los Reyes Del Taco

La Palma vs. MIS Tres Amigos

Blazing Onion vs. Engine House No. 9

Who advances to the next round? Which tacos took the popular vote?

Find out after the break:

Read more...

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.)

BURGERS AND DOGS FANCIED UP >>>

Burgerama

The history of the hamburger is fairly mythical. The Menches family of Ohio say they invented the hamburger at an 1885 fair in Hamburg, New York, when heat and humidity forced them to stop butchering pigs. In all probability, the hamburger was a good idea waiting to happen, and a bunch of folks stumbled upon it around the same time.

The Ram Restaurant & Brewery might not have invented the hamburger, but it has been serving them since 1971 when the Ram Pub opened in the old Villa Plaza in Lakewood. Ah, good times.

Today, The Ram has locations throughout the nation, and the burger is still front and center on its menu — more so than ever with its current promotion, Burgerama - "The transformation of the burger to an artform." The restaurant chain has created "10 works of art," according to promotions, which includes The Ricardo, Moody Blue Cheeseburger Salad, The Elvis, Reuben - Make Me A Burger ... and the two huge burgers I tried Saturday night at the Ruston Way location: the Hillbilly and The Cheeseburger Skirt. The Hillbilly comes with frizzled onions, blue cheese crumbs and blue cheese mayo. The Cheeseburger Skirt - and speciifically "The Skirt" is a bunch of cheese allowed to overflow and fry on the griddle, creating something like a dairy based piece of female clothing. It's a stretch, but it will fill your stomach. Both burgers, actually, are a lot of food - especially with fries included.

National Corn Dog Day

Like the hamburger, the origin of the corn dog is debatable. Doyle's Public House in Tacoma doesn't really care about the history. They know National Corn Dog Day is Saturday, March 20, and they're ready to celebrate. Held amidst the revelry of the NCAA March Madness hoops tourney, the Stadium District bar will offer $1 corn dogs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday - in addition to tater tots for 5 cents a pop.

Bonus

By the way, the Varsity Grill in downtown Tacoma is offering something called the Mac 'n Cheese burger beginning tomorrow.

5SATURDAY, FEB. 27, 2010 >>>

1. The Fan Club in Lakewood has reopened with Tacoma band Igneous Rocks performing at 9 p.m.

2. Hear multicultural aspects of permaculture design and how to include diverse populations in gardening projects from 2-5 p.m. at King's Books.

3. Poetry in the 253 Mouths and Mics - an open mic for poetry, music and stories - runs from 7-10 p.m. at the Café at 744 Market Street in downtown Tacoma.

4. Lakewood Playhouse's You Can't Take It With You - the classic comedy about the Sycamore family that gives up world success to live a happy stress-free life and convince every one they meet to do the same - hits the stage at 8 p.m.

5. Intervision will perform at 9:30 p.m. inside Doyle's Public House.

LINK: Movie showtimes in the South Sound