SATURDAY, FEB. 26 >>>

1. Tonight, from 7:30 - 10:30 p.m., check out Tacoma Urban Orchestra presents: Naïve. Briefly described as, "A unique creative musical experiment, in conjunction with dance, spoken word and a new indie Tacoma film directed my Lucas Smiraldo," more info can be found here.

2. As you're hopefully hip to, the Northwest Convergence Zone recently launched an all South Sound local music internet radio station. Suffice to say, it's rad. Tonight at the New Frontier Lounge in Tacoma's Dome District, the Convergence Zone will celebrate with a showcase featuring Brotherhood of the Black Squirrel, Trees Without Leaves, the Hardcount and Big Wheel Stunt Show - celebrating the release of their new album, Cheetah Milque.

3. Like pizza? Like all-ages shows? Like Fife? Well, then, do we have a show for you. Check in with the irresistible Cody Foster's Army, along with Suburban Vermin, Agodamnation and Dead Peasants tonight at Louie G's Pizzeria.

4. The exhibition American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell makes its only Northwest stop at Tacoma Art Museum today through May 30 - with 44 paintings and 323 original Saturday Evening Post covers. 

5. Are your kids feeling artsy? Begging for a story? Garfield Book Company has you covered with its Saturday Super Craft and Storytime - which runs from 2-3 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

PIZZA, CALZONES AND STROMBOLI ... THROUGH A WINDOW! >>>

After receiving my stromboli through the small window in the corner of the Eastside Club in downtown Olympia, these were the first words that came out of my mouth: "Are these caper berries?," "The sesame seeds are a nice touch" and "I didn't expect it to be that big!"

The first words that came out of my mouth after tasting the stromboli were, "Wow!,"  "The sauce tastes sooo fresh!" and "You can tell that mozzarella is the real deal."

The restaurant is Al Forno Ferruzza, and owners' Meme Rincon and Stephen Ferruzza couldn't be happier to bring their passion to Olympia. Located at 408 Fourth Ave. E. (the same address that formerly housed both the A2 and the Clubside Café), the restaurant shares a wall and window with the popular Eastside Club, allowing service to bar patrons.

Al Forno Ferruzza was spawned in Portland's street vendor culture, from a cart the duo dubbed "a purple people pizza feeder." From humble cart beginnings, Ferruzza and Rincon moved their way into a Portland restaurant and have been rocking steady ever since.

Now in Olympia, with the Portland location running smoothly in the hands of friends and family, they look forward to their newest endeavor.

"I'm excited about meeting new people, getting involved with the community and sharing our delicious foods," says Rincon.

Getting involved with the community is a crucial part of their business plan.

They are working with local produce growers and meat manufacturers, and plan to have a rotating menu based on what ingredients are in season.

They have also been working with folks at the Eastside Club to make the most of their location. The decision to serve slices through a late-night window and refurnish the restaurant were both made on advice from the Eastside. Where the short-lived A2 restaurant had picnic tables, there are now comfy booths and a new mural of scenes in Italy and Olympia.

"We're really listening to the locals on this one," says Rincon. They are also listening to their roots.

"The ocean air in Sicily is very similar to that of the Puget Sound, resulting in similar produce," explains Ferruzza, just back from a monthlong visit to the famed region.

Ferruzza imports olive oil from cousins in Sicily, and makes pizza the way his father taught him, with fresh ingredients and their trademark high temperature oven.

"It's fresh, it's simple, it's an art," says Ferruzza.

In addition to enjoying the restaurants' creations, which include pizza by the slice or whole pies, calzones and stromboli, patrons will be able to  bring home their own taste of Sicily, as there will be a deli case with a variety of homemade cheeses and imported oils.

The restaurant officially opens its doors Jan. 3, but if you can't wait that long, you can sample their selection through the Eastside's food window.

TOURNAMENT OF PIZZA PREP >>>

Farrelli's Wood Fire Pizza

Lacey, DuPont, Sumner, Tacoma and Parkland

Born: 1995

Pizza Style: Wood fired, whole wheat and gluten-free crusts available

Skinny: After owning several local restaurants – The Hob Nob, Engine House No. 9, John's Breakfast and others – Margaret and John Farrell, wife and husband, along with daughter Jacquelyn, opened Farrelli's Pizza and Pool Co. 15 years ago in Lacey. The Farrells interviewed potential employees for their first pizza joint on a card table where the Lacey store now stands. In 2007, they opened their fifth location at the Garfield Commons in Parkland, and in the same year was named "Independent Pizza Chain of the Year" by Pizza Today magazine. In article after article, the Farrells give recognition and accolades to their employees, many who have been with them since the card table.

Notes: The restaurants – especially DuPont and Tacoma locations - are full of character. Not so much the rooms, which are nicely appointed and clean, but rather the people that hang at the joints. The jovial bar crowd, many shooting stick, send a fun vibe throughout the restaurant. It's lively. And the service is uniformly good. On weekend nights, Farrelli's Tacoma location is packed — a press at the bar, the floor awash with families, the kitchen a riot of artigiani. On a Monday afternoon, the same Farrelli's is quiet, the service personal and personable. On a Sunday afternoon during the game, it's busy again and the service never misses a beat.

Farrelli's also serves calzones, lasagna, salads, appetizers, chocolate cake and a few more menu items.

Happy hours are top-notch with competitive drink specials and $.50-$6 food specials. Farrelli's also offers a $9.99 12-inch Late Night Pizza Special after 10 p.m.

The Pizza: Pushing The Rock Wood Fired Pizza aside for another day, the difference between the other pizza chains in the area and Farrelli's is like the difference between a kiss from your sister and a kiss from your lover. With the wood fired pizza ovens front and center – a show in itself - Farrelli's pies are hand-tossed, firm but chewy with a flop at the tip. I've never had an oily, runny, soagy, cardboard-tasting and/or burnt Farrelli's pizza. I have had a luke-warm undercooked Farrelli's pie, but only once.

My favorite Farrelli's wood fired pie, Jack & John Pizza (Italian sausage, Provolone/mozzarella blend, green and black olives, green onions, artichoke hearts, mushrooms - so yum!) slightly morphs at each location. It's what truly hooks me — minor notes of taste, of savor, of buttery goodness that seems to shift with the wind, with minute adjustments in the temperatures of the ovens, in the space, sometimes, of a breath. Each Jack & John pizza - loaded with cheese and a chewy thin crust that holds firm - is its own creation, possessed of its own character, absorbing down to each bite of buttery olive joy.

Hours: They vary per location, but basically they open at 11 a.m. and close at midnight Sunday through Tuesday, staying open to 2 a.m. during the party days.

The Weekly Volcano will host a South Sound Tournament of Pizza competition in March 2011, much like our Tournament of Tacos. Our readers will seed the tournament.

FORUM: Best pizza in the South Sound?

TOURNAMENT OF PIZZA PREP >>>

Engine House No. 9

611 N. Pine St., Tacoma, 253.272.3435

Born: 1972

Pizza Style: Medium to thin crispy crust

Skinny: Built in 1907 the former firehouse now neighborhood restaurant and bar serves 10-inch pizzas baked in an oven. They offer a basic pizza - red sauce with a cheese blend - and customers pick the toppings.

Notes: On a typical Friday night, you'll find yourself dining amid a sea of families with small children, college kids prefunctioning for the night, neighborhood couples watching the game and a couple "guys night out" groups working their way through E-9's beer club. And you're not unlikely to see a couple of high school kids on their first date. It's all about the karaoke Thursday and Saturday nights. Wednesday is their popular trivia night. To join the Engine House No. 9 Beer Club, all you need to do is quaff all 47 domestic and imported beers, lagers, porters, ales and stouts served by E9 (excluding Bud Light and ilk) in 90 days.  Happy hour is 3-6 p.m. and 11 p.m. to close daily.

The Pizza: The crust on E-9's pies is crisp with a raise outer rim; the sauce sweet and tangy with rich tomato goodness; and the mozzarella/Parmesan combo arrives golden brown loaded with enough whole-milk fat to glaze the whole top with the delightful luster. The 10-inch pizzas - which arrive on a plate - ring in at $8 with toppings $1.50 each. Your choices include pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, chicken, tomatoes, black olives, spicy (yes!) sausage, salami, Canadian bacon, pineapple, garlic, red and green peppers. They don't skimp on the toppings.

For not pushing their pizzas much in their marketing, I have to say that E-9 offers up a truly decent pizza. Maybe a spritz of basil and oregano before it hit the oven would put it more squarely in the pocket, but hey - you don't walk away broke like you can at several other pizza joints in Tacoma.

Hours: 11:30 a.m. to midnight Monday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday-Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to midnight Sunday.

The Weekly Volcano will host a South Sound Tournament of Pizza competition in March 2011, much like our Tournament of Tacos. Our readers will seed the tournament.

FORUM: Best pizza in the South Sound?

LINK: Engine House No. 9's happy hour

LINK: Engine House No 9's taco