The folks behind Primo Grill open Crown Bar on Saturday in the former Gary’s Steak Out on Sixth Avenue in Tacoma.

Crown Bar is currently hosting a three-night, invite-only scholarship fund-raiser for culinary students at Clover Park Technical College in Lakewood.

Starting Saturday, Crown Bar patrons can contribute to the scholarship too. Proceeds from sales of McGavick wines – made in the South Sound, in Grapeview – will fund the scholarship.

Here’s what chef-owner Charlie McManus says of Crown Bar’s menu:

“We are calling the appetizer part of the menu "World Street Food" with currywurst, mushroom quesadillas, and chicken tikka, spicy beef, Cajun shrimp and veggie kebabs with various sides.

“We will have Gerry Stokesberry's buttermilk fried chicken, Thundering Hooves range-fed curger, crisp fried trout on goat cheese olive campfire potatoes.

“We'll have scallops with polenta and cilantro aioli and grilled lamb top round with chickpea has and mint raita.

“We are still working on our steak choices; we'll have two, spice rubbed with house demi, the contenders being skirt, flat iron, rib eye, bone in rib chop and porterhouse.”

Crown Bar: 2705 Sixth Ave, Tacoma; 253-272-4177. Opens Saturday. Hours: 5 p.m.-midnight Sundays and Tuesdays-Thursdays; 5 p.m.-1 a.m. Fridays-Saturdays. Closed Mondays.

Have you been to Las Vegas lately? Where'd you eat?

I'm going to Las Vegas this week. It's an eating trip, which, no matter how you slice it, amounts to a gambling trip on its own.

I can Google. I can Zagut. I have a list of restaurants and brewpubs to check out.

Right now I'm interested in your Vegas dining experiences. Where'd you eat? What'd you like? Where'dyawanna go?

Your recommendations + my expense account ... that's what interactivity is all about, my friends.

Does anybody on this thread know where to find information on the wineries Ed mentioned,existence of a tasting room, hours of operation, etc. I suppose I could google each. My guess is that they are limited in that respect.

An Ed's Diner regular followed up on something I forgot to follow up on last week. That South Sound wine story I told you I was working on? It turned into a story about grape-growing and wine-making? It'll publish in the newspaper Oct. 7.

Click on the link to see the list of South Sound wineries, tasting rooms, hours and varietals.

It'll take all day and a tank of gas, but it's possible to make a South Sound Wine Country Tour, working your way from Tacoma to Lakebay to Hoodsport to Shelton, and maybe even Olympia and beyond.

There's a winery on Vashon Island, too, but the ferries make it hard to include Vashon in any loop on a single day.

As "wine country" goes in the South Sound, there's not a lot of there there. But console yourself at Trillium Creek, where Estrella Farms cheeses are sold in the tasting room.

=> Read more!

General manager Troy Christian and chef Sean Quinn, who helped start Sixth Avenue hot spots Asado and Masa, have parted ways with Group X Restaurants.

Group X principal Jon Xicto confirmed the departures. He said contractual obligations are unsettled. He declined to comment further.

I've placed calls to Christian and Quinn, but the numbers I have for them do not accept incoming calls. My telephone does: 253-597-8678.

An acquaintance sent me a glass of wine. Seeing as how she's not in the food or wine business, I accepted. This wasn't any glass of wine. It was a 1995 Opus One, a Napa red blend that retails for about 500 bucks.

Mother of Bacchus! Whatta wine. Smooth and polished. Legs lasted forever. Full of sexy sediment. Cherries, plums and florals floated from the crystal. I float just thinking of the sips I was sent.

But an off flavor permeated the pleasure: The woman poured the wine in celebration of her wedding anniversary, smack in the middle of her divorce. She'd plucked the bottle from her soon-to-be-ex-husband's cellar.

Anyway, I'm up to my grape leaves in deadlines this morning. I'm writing about South Sound winemakers. While I'm doing whatever it is I do that constitutes my craft, I invite you to belly up to the comments bar here at Ed's Diner to discuss South Sound wines:

The Rhone-style wines of McCrae Cellars in Rainier. The reds of Donedi in Tenino. Bob Andrake's bruiser reds from Olympia, and his son's more finessed reds called Hurricane Ridge.

Have you tried Walter Dacon's full-force syrahs? They're made in Shelton. What about the sangiovese at Stina's Cellars in University Place?

Have you visited Trillium Creek in Lakebay? Its tasting room is something to behold: a fairy-tale Alsatian castle. Its cellar is a cave. That's something, too. But this is better: The winemakers are friends with Kelly Estrella and they sell her extraordinary (and hard-to-get at retail) cheeses. They grow their own pinot grapes, too, plus a few experimental varieties.

Wine country, South Sound style. At least I think that's my story. My deadline's at 3. Join in. Check back.

The Harmon Brewery and Restaurant celebrates its 10th anniversary with a five-course $30 brewmaster's dinner Sept. 26.

Each of chef Scott Neilson's course will be paired with brewer Mike Davis' beers, including, Killerbrew, an Oktoberfest lager.

Here's the "tentative" dinner menu: assorted meat and cheese; Waldorf wedge salad; shrimp with clams and mussels; braised chicken with German potato salad and steamed asparagus; and white chocolate cheesecake.

"Our plan is to sell out the restaurant and only serve the brewmaster's dinner that night," Harmon manager Erica Booth said. "We will dress up in Oktoberfest gear and the
restaurant will be arranged to look like a more formal dinner."

The Harmon Brewery and Restaurant: 1938 Pacific Ave., Tacoma; 253-383-2739.

Nick-N-Willy’s, a Colorado-based dine-in/take-and-bake pizza chain, will open Sunday in the former Subway sandwich shop at Proctor and 26th Streets in Tacoma.

Local operator Chris Fox said his restaurant will be the first sit-down Nick-N-Willy’s in Washington, and will bake pies in a wood-fired hearth oven. The restaurant will also offer take-and-bake pies. The Nick-N-Willy’s in Puyallup is take-and-bake only, and the restaurant in Pasco is take-out only. Future locations are planned for Maple Valley, Mill Creek, Snoqualmie and Vancouver.

Nick-N-Willy’s 16-inch specialty pies start at $11.99 for cheese and top out at $20.99 for the five-pound family pie. Personal-sized pizza lunch specials are $4.99.

Fox said he’ll have a grand opening in late September or early October. He said operational hours “are kinda rough” but plans to be open seven days a week, approximately 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Beer and wine are on the menu, but won’t be served until the state Liquor Control Board signs off on Nick-N-Willy’s permit.

Nick –N- Willy’s: 2602 N. Proctor St., Tacoma; 253-444-3060

The newly formed Washington Beer Commission rolls out its Oktoberfest barrels Friday and Saturday at Saint Edward State Park in Kenmore.

Washington breweries will pour Oktoberfest specials, such as Marzens, Weizenbocks, Pilseners, harvest ales and other German lagers and fall seasonals. There will be German food and music, too.

Tickets are $25 and available only to people over 21. Designated-driver tickets are $5.

In other Oktoberfest news, Seattle's Fremont Oktoberfest happens Sept. 21-23. Dogs are allowed on the festival's last day.

Hungry for Oktoberfest food? Here are some places in the South Sound that serve German food (and some fine German beer, too).

=> Read more!

I was unemployed and packing for a camping trip when jets smashed into the World Trade Center towers Sept. 11, 2001. I left San Francisco and drove to Convict Lake.

Around a campfire, with my dog in the high dessert of the Eastern Sierra, it felt like Us Against the World. It was one of those moments of definition, of what do we do and where do we go from here.

I poached trout. I decided to go to cooking school and return to writing about food.

Something good happened that day.

Updated

This just in from the North American Self-Defense Association of Maple Valley:

Memorial Mug Lifting At Engine House No. 9 in Tacoma Tonight. This memorial event for ages 21 and older starts at 7 p.m. tonight. The cost is only $10 per person. We will have 38 Honorary Black Belts on display at this event which will be hand carried to the families of the New York Port Authority police officers killed in the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.

This follows on the heels of 343 Honorary Black Belts already presented to the families of the New York fire fighters killed in the 9/11 attack in previous years as well as 27 Honorary Black Belts presented to the families of all the New York City police officers killed in the 9/11 attack.

Dessert rarely excites me. Two desserts this weekend still have my tongue wagging.

Wherever Olympic Mountain's peach sorbet is served, find it. It's luscious like ice cream. I lapped up two bowls at Asado.

Meanwhile at Pacific Grill, butterscotch budino is Italian for butterscotch pudding. But that's a simple translation. Served in a martini glass, the pudding was velvety. Caramel laced the surface. Sea salt kissed the caramel. Frisky creme fraiche crowned the dessert.

You know how you hear the ocean in a sea shell? In my tongue's memory, I'm still tasting and hearing sea salt's crystalline crunch in a luscious sea of sweet and sour.

VIDEO Peter Twigg talks about Come Hither Cream Ale. VIDEO Janice Twigg talks about Come Hither Cream Ale. VIDEO Janice and Peter Twigg talk about Come Hither Cream Ale.

The winners of the Puget Sound Pro-Am home-brew competition flow this week.

Das Barley Wine, by Mark Emiley of Federal Way, recently went on tap at The Ram in Lakewood.

Keoki's Pale Ale 2, by George Hamasaki of Lake Stevens, gets tapped at 6 p.m. today at The Harmon in downtown Tacoma, where Hamasaki assisted Harmon brewer Mike Davis in the making of the beer.

"I am real happy with the way the beer turned out, though George has not tasted it yet,” Davis said.

Come Hither Cream Ale, co-brewed by Peter and Janice Twigg of Federal Way, is still lagering at Diamond Knot in Mukilteo.

The beers will be available as seasonals at their sponsor pubs while supplies last. Ten kegs of Das Barley Wine and Come Hither Cream Ale were brewed. Twenty kegs of Keoki's Pale Ale 2 were brewed.

Bottles of each beer will be judged in the Great American Beer Festival pro-am next month in Denver.

Kegs of each beer will be tapped for attendees of the largest beer festival in the United States.

"I've got my tickets all lined up for the GABF and am eagerly awaiting hearing the winners called out," Emiley said. "It is going to be a heart-stopper waiting for the announcement. When Bill Smith invited me in to work on scaling up the recipe, I knew that the Ram was as interested as I was in going for the gold. Even on the brew day, Bill allowed me to tailor processes and make decisions to keep the beer as true as possible.

"We both poured a lot of effort and sweat into making that beer and we couldn't be happier with the results. It was the most fun I've had brewing and I'm proud of the product."

If you want to taste Das Barley Wine, Come Hither Cream Ale and Keoki's Pale Ale 2 all in one place, the American Homebrewer's Association is hosting a membership drive at Elysian Brewing in Seattle on Sept. 22.

A year and a half in the making and four months after the owner says his restaurant was ready to open (parking issues aside), Bombay Bistro will serve its first meals Sept. 13, with a lunch buffet starting at noon.

"We are ready," owner Kamal Walia told me today.

Walia said Bombay Bistro will serve buffets for lunch and dinner for the first week of operation in order to acquaint diners with chef Parveen Puri's northern Indian cuisine.

Parveen, a 30-year veteran whom Walia called "a well-polished guy who is versed in everything," was formerly head chef at Gaylord restaurant in San Francisco.

Bombay Bistro is at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Stevens Street in Tacoma.

If you're wondering about those people you may have seen dining at Bombay Bistro, Walia says his restaurant has already booked 20 private parties.

Today's a deadline for the culinary creations vying for blue ribbons in the Puyallup Fair's home arts contests.

Are you entering anything? Tell me about it.

I have another deadline this morning, so I won't be baking any entries today. However, I spent my Labor Day weekend knuckles-deep in dough.

Yeasted Olive Oil Pastry
1 package dry active yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
10 ounces all-purpose flour (Note: I weigh flour. Buy scales, people. Otherwise, measure 2 cups that don't overfloweth.)

Pour water in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle yeast on the water. Stir. Add sugar. Stir. Let sit 5 minutes, or until yeast froths.

Beat egg, oil and salt. Combine all wet ingredients.

Slowly add some of the flour, about half, to the wet ingredients. Stir with the handle of a wooden spoon. Add the remaining flour as necessary to make a slightly sticky, slightly springy dough. Reserve a few tablespoons of flour.

When the dough is firm enough to be picked up with your hand, remove the dough (and any bits of dough/flour) from the bowl. Gently knead the dough for about six turns on a clean work surface, dusting with (and incorporating) the remaining flour. The finished dough should be shiny and springy, but not sticky.

Rub the dough lightly with olive oil. Return the dough to the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 1 hour.

This recipe makes enough for one double-crusted pie. It's easy to roll. It rolls thin. It doesn't tear. After it's risen, you can keep unused dough in the fridge for a day.

Here's what I made with three batches of yeasted olive oil pastry this weekend:

Open-face galette with tomatoes, basil and burrata. Yes, yes, yes, I know using burrata -- fresh mozzarella wrapped around a core of cream, $24.99 per pound -- is a bit like making mimosas with Dom Perignon, but I was in a decadent mood, so there. Every bite was a pillowy pleasure.

Open-face galette filled with leeks, shallots, bacon and peppered brie, and topped with thinly sliced and roasted yellow crookneck squash.

Open-face galette filled with blueberries and vanilla-whipped ricotta, topped with sliced peaches.

Double-crusted pie filled with ground beef, hot peppers, leeks, spinach, ricotta and raisins.

Pizza with roasted orange bell peppers, bacon and mozzarella (generic cheese, this time).

A food writer cooking on Labor Day? Sound fair to me.

I've worked on the copy desk and in a birthday cake bakeshop. Not a good combination vis a vis the comma, that period-with-a-tail that puts clause, and pause, in speech. If you're addressing someone by name, a comma is crucial, dude.

(Correct: Happy birthday, Ed. Incorrect: Happy birthday Ed. You can see how I almost got kicked out of cooking school.)

Hello, Cupcake, a new bakeshop on Pacific Avenue in downtown Tacoma, opened on Thursday.

I bought a darling dozen today -- chocolate, orange, vanilla, lemon, mocha. Each bite was moist to the last crumb. I liked the ones topped with cream cheese frosting best -- luscious Red Velvet and spicy carrot. Cake flavors include lemon, orange and vanilla coconut. Frostings include vanilla, chocolate, mocha, lemon and orange buttercreams.

The bakeshop is nice and comfortable, too, with plenty of places to sit and lick frosting off your fingers.

Cupcakes are $1.95 each, or $22 per dozen.

Hello, Cupcake: 1740 Pacific Ave., Tacoma; 253-383-7772.