TUESDAY, AUG. 24, 2010 >>>

1. Musig Christenson Duo will perform jazz (beginning at 4:30 p.m.) while folks shop for lettuce and the 6th Avenue Farmers Market from 3:30-7:30 p.m.

2. This world's most prestigious amateur golf championship - 110th U.S. Amateur Championship - continues at Chambers Bay from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

3. The 25 New Faces of Independent Film festival continues at The Grand Cinema at 2, 4, 6:15 and 8:15 p.m. Click here for today's schedule.

4. Mary Win and Sea Of Tides perform an all-ages 7 p.m. show at The Mandolin Café.

5. Santeria: A Tribute To Sublime hits Uncle Sam's American Bar & Grill at 8 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

RAMPING UP FOR OUR ANNUAL ARTS GUIDE >>>

Whoa, check out the calendar. Fall is on the way. And with the fall comes a slew of fun things to do, buy, eat, hear and more.

Our annual Fall Arts Guide will hit the South Sound streets Thursday, Sept. 9 chocked full of dance, theater, classical music, visual arts, literary suggestions - as well as where to eat and drink before and after the performances.

Added bonus: Tacoma artist Lance Kagey will design the guide's cover.

If you’re a South Sound arts organization, please send us your entire season's calendar here. We don’t want to leave anyone out. Please submit schedules by Friday, Aug. 27.

If you would like to support the Weekly Volcano's keepsake Fall Arts Guide, and reach our powerful, niche market, contact our advertising department at 253.584.1212 or by e-mail here.

Look for the Fall Arts Guide in the Weekly Volcano and at your favorite hangout Sept. 9.

SATURDAY, JULY 24, 2010 >>>

1. It's time again for Ethnic Fest, an annual event that's brought Pierce County's diversity together in celebration since 1986. Some of the best festival feeding you'll find, as well as visual arts, performing arts, dance, crafts and fun into two days of multi-cultural, multi-lingual, multi-adjective-for-awesome action from noon to 7 p.m. in Wright Park. Sealing the deal: Ethnic Fest is free.

2. Not many things go together as well as a beautiful weekend and classic, tricked-out, pimped-out hot rods. Luckily, the Pacific Northwest Nationals hot rod show  - presented by Goodguys Rod & Custom Association - will rev up at the Puyallup Fairgrounds from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

3. Tacoma's all women, flat track roller derby league - the Dockyard Derby Dames - hold its All Stars Bout #1 from 5-10 p.m. at Pierce College in Lakewood. The all-ages event, which features a beer garden with ID, will donate a portion of the proceeds to charity.

4. The Tacoma Tide Football Club takes on the Kitsap Pumas Soccer Club at 7 p.m. on the field at Curtis High School Stadium.

5. For 10 years strong Stonewall Youth has been providing support and empowerment to the Olympia area's gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, trans-gender, questioning, intersex, and asexual community - through programs and support groups that serve a valuable need. Saturday, the 10^th annual Stonewall Youth Drag Show Extravaganza will up the sass-o-meter to 11 inside the Capitol Theater beginning at 7 p.m. According to hype, expect a "West Side Story themed show is filled with drag, glitter, song, dance, and revolution."

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

DINING NEWS, NIBBLES AND BITS >>>

Burger Night: Crown Bar in Tacoma takes its delicious $12 to $13 gourmet burgers and reduces them to $7.99 every Wednesday night. Dude, seriously.

Drink To Your Health: Toscanos Café and Wine Bar in Puyallup hosts "Healthy Cocktails Night" today beginning at 4 p.m.

Beer Tasting: Sample two beers for $1 from 4-8 p.m. at 99 Bottles in Federal Way.

Afternoon Tea: Affairs Restaurant & Catering in University Place would like to host your afternoon tea party. Their tea menu includes cucumber sandwiches, ham and cheese filled croissants, miniature Beef Wellingtons, smoked chicken empanadas, chocolates and spices nuts, and more. Of course, the full tea service, too. For details, call 253.565.8604.

Future Things Are Coming: Primo Grill in Tacoma hosts a Northwest Seafood Preparations cooking class Saturday, July 24 from 2-4 p.m. The $65 fee includes recipes and instruction, lunch glass of wine, tax and gratuity. Reserve your spot at 253.383.7000.

Food Matters: Whose recipe database reigns supreme?

LINK: A bunch of half-priced bottles of wine tonight

LINK: Who's up for a happy hour?

LINK: Join our Nosh League you foodie

DINING NEWS, NIBBLES AND BITS >>>

Opening This Week: The Harmon Tap Room's outdoor beer garden will open tomorrow ... as long as the liquor board gives them the thumbs up. Once approved, the beer garden will be open everyday that the weather cooperates. There will be some table service. And managing partner Pat Nagle says they might even put a kegorator out there, too. Singer/songwriter Hannah Mendenhall will perform tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. in celebration of the beer garden and Tina Turnbull's 40^th birthday.

This Month: Pour at Four wine bar in Tacoma's Proctor neighborhood will be sharing a three-year vertical of Pinot Noirs from Winter's Hill winery as their featured flight for July. Climb on it.

Speaking Of Wine: The Wine Bank in University Place kicks off its "Big Summer Wine Sale" today. They will reduce every regular bottle 8 to 18 percent.

Future Things Are Coming: The 3rd Annual Seattle Luxury Chocolate Salon features artisan, gourmet and premium chocolates and confections Sunday, July 11 at Bell Harbor International Conference Center in Seattle.

Food Matters: "Candwiches" swaddle your PB&J or BBQ chicken on white bread in a cozy layer of aluminum.

LINK: South Sound happy hours

LINK: Restaurant coupons

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

A SHORT TIME AGO AT A RESTAURANT NOT SO FAR FAR AWAY ... >>>

On the drive in to the Weekly Volcano World Headquarters the sign at Captain Nemo's in University Place caught my eye.

Did Jango Fett have a mutant clone, too?

TODAY'S SPECIALS >>>

It's Back: Salty's at Redondo Beach will be serving Copper River salmon beginning today.

Wine Tasting: Water to Wine in Gig Harbor will be pouring tastes of Cantele Winery from 3-6 p.m.

Punch It: When you have lunch at Primo Grill five times the sixth lunch is on them. Get a DO YOU DO LUNCH? card the next time you do lunch at Primo and start saving money.

Beer And Nails Night: Donny Vomit - master of the strange, bizarre, odd and macabre nature - including hammering spikes into his skull, continues his tour of the Puget Sound with a stop at 99 Bottles in Federal Way. The beer store will be pouring his namesake, Coney Island Human Blockhead Ale, plus two other beers from Shmaltz Brewing from 5 to 5:45 p.m.

Wine Dinner: Chambers Bay Golf Course hosts its first wine dinner tonight at 7 p.m. Chandler Reach Winery wines will be paired with Executive Chef Dustin Joseph's menu. The cost is $65 per person plus tax and gratuity. Call 253.460.4653 to reserve your seat.

Food Matters: A Japanese company has developed a rice paddy bra. Now that's eating local.

LINK: Restaurant coupons

LINK: Wine and beer tastings, dinners and events

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

LINK: Send us your restaurant and lounge news

ON A SUNNY SUNDAY ... >>>

This much you might already know:

1. Pierce County designed the Chamber Bay Golf Course a former gravel mine overlooking Puget Sound in order to host national tournaments and cater to affluent golfers. The view is spectacular. And everyone and their mother enjoy the paved paths for exercise and leisurely strolls.

2. With 200 square miles of forest, 34 of which remain snow-covered year round, plus 25 glaciers, Mount Rainier National Park is impressive by any standard.

3. The Mt. Rainier Railroad Dining Co. in Elbe serves fill-course meals in a stationary dinner car from the 1910s. The attached Side-Track Room is a full-service bar with a karaoke/darts area. For $115 a night, you can overnight in their rustic caboose, The Hobo Inn.

4. The Last Exit Pub and Grill opened late last year in the closed Jambalaya spot, formerly known as From the Bayou, next to Pacific Lutheran University. They are known to serve a delicious burger.

5. Engine House No. 9 - housed in a 1907 fire station just off Sixth Avenue on Pine street - hosts live music every Sunday from 6-9 p.m. and they do so without charging a cover.

What I discovered yesterday:

Read more...

BEYOND THE EGG MCMUFFIN >>>

A great breakfast, in some worlds, means real maple syrup, a stack of hotcakes, farm-fresh eggs, and coffee. In Mexico, it means chiles and eggs - spiciness of one and the mildness of the other make a perfect whole. Below are three of my favorite local Mexican breakfasts - mainly because they actually serve it during breakfast hours instead of opening around 11 a.m. as most Mexican joints.

La Huerta International Market #2: This Mexican market opens at 8 p.m. (sometimes 9 a.m.!) with chilaquiles and huevos rancheros on the menu, among other authentic delights. The huevos rancheros are a revelation with fried eggs sunny-side up, a thousand sliced jalapeños, tomato sauce with hot chilies and onion, served over two fried corn tortillas with homemade salsa and additional, soft darn tasty corn tortillas on the side. Exit the tiny dining space to the right if you don't want to see the meat counter in all its splendor. Opens 8 a.m. daily, 5605 Pacific Ave. S., Tacoma, 253.474.1727, Web site

Masa Comida Mexicana: The red enchilada sauce works well with Masa's huevos rancheros - two thin. Lightly fried flour tortillas topped with your pick egg preparation, a tasty black and pinto bean puree, catija cheese, cilantro and avocado. The sauce, slightly runny, is fiery and sweet, with the earthy, roasty-toasty quality we always associate with the sun-ripened chiles of New Mexico. The dish comes with a side of soft black and pinto beans and a large mound of fluffy rice, or Masa's honey jalapeno home fries. A Masa Smirnoff Jalapeno Mary or Masa Fruit Mimosa are fine additions. Classic rock music always serenades morning diners. Breakfast is served 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. 2811 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.254.0560, Web site.

Taqueria Burrito Loco: Sure, this tiny joint in a strip mall behind a gas station serves damn tasty tacos, proven by their Final Cuatro appearance in our Tournament of Tacos. But it's the breakfast burrito that makes me glad I've secured a parking place in the bumper-to-bumper lot that's often populated with monster trucks. You'll find it listed on the takeout board above the counter: stuffed with Mexican sausage, eggs, rice, whole beans, onion, tomatoes, cilantro and ample sour cream. It's everything you'd expect from a bigger-than-your-head breakfast burrito - and a whole lot more. Opens 10 a.m. daily, 5502 Orchard St., University Place (on the edge of it), 253.474.1433, map

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

TASTES >>>

Wine retailers have already heard every Sideways reference there is. Not that most local wine directors, however exclusive their places of employ, would disagree with the movie's attitude: a good wine, truly savored, is its own special occasion - while any occasion, truly savored, can make any wine taste good. Of course, the film seeks to define goodness more generally, to evaluate value: when is it an inherent quality, when is it a legitimate function of context, when is it mere market-driven illusion? Such questions lie behind every wine list, including Wine Spectator's annual Top 100 list.

The Wine Bank in University Place just received two new wines that are part of the Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of 2009 list. I have listed them below with Wine Bank owner Bob Kinnaman's comments on each.

• #38 - Chateau Ste Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon. 2006 Horse Heaven Hills, Canoe Ridge Estate, 92 Points. This single vineyard Cabernet is sourced from a south facing ridge above the Columbia River planted in 1991. Winemaker Bob Bertheau aims for a soft mouth feel and employs daily, gentle pump-overs to extract tannin and flavor.  We have the wine at $27.97 and club priced at $23.77.
• #82 - d'Arenberg The Stump Jump 2008 Shiraz - McLaren Vale, 90 Points & Best Value. The Stump Jump wines may be built for daily drinking but this Shiraz is a knockout. The wine delivers fresh, ripe flavor and finesse. We have this wine for $10.97 with a club price of $9.32.

Pick up a bottle and judge for yourself.

The Wine Bank also hosts a Spanish wines tasting today from 2-4:30 p.m. The will pour tastes of Lagar de Castelo Albarino, Casa de Illana Tradicion, Bodegas Pinuaga Nature, and Bodegas Rejadorada Temple.

[The Wine Bank, 7017 27th St. W., University Place, 253.564.1101]

LINK: Taste wine today in the South Sound