Coming this summer to Steilacoom: A new farmers market.
The Town of Steilacoom’s farmers market will run Wednesdays from June 24 to Aug. 19.

The idea of the market spun from Kelly Barkhurst, a Steilacoom resident and caterer. In a town that is easy to navigate by foot and has many attractive amenities, she was surprised there wasn’t already a farmers market when she moved to Steilacoom from Puyallup a year ago.

She liked the idea of a market built around the notion of fresh, healthy produce.

“I was thinking we don’t have fresh produce available. It’s such a luxury to walk into town to buy fresh produce. Farmers markets are becoming such vital parts of a community, it just seemed something we could add to our community here,” she said.

She took the idea to town hall.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Farmers Market Fresh is a weekly series featuring farmers and food producers who sell at South Sound farmers markets. Each week in this space, we’ll write about a different farmer and the markets where they sell.

What’s at the market this week: A variety of fresh and aged cheeses, including fresh mozzarella, chevre and ricotta, from the River Valley Ranch Cheese Farm in Fall City. Available Saturday at the Proctor Farmers Market, open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays at North 27th Street and Proctor; 253-961-3666; www.proctorfarmersmarket.com.

Who’s the farmer: Julie Steil started her 20-acre Fall City farm in 2006. Before that, her cheesemaking was a hobby. But then a cheese buyer from Whole Foods tasted her homemade cheese at a parent-teacher meeting at the high school Steil’s children attend. With encouragement from the buyer, she ditched her high-pressure career in real estate property management, bought some cows and goats, purchased some land by her home and started River Valley Ranch Cheese Farm.

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El Guacho, Maxwell’s Speakeasy + Lounge, Brix 25 and A Grand Affaire catering will provide decadent noshes paired with wines from L’Ecole No. 41 and Corvus Winery for the annual Star Chefs dinner, held May 3 at the Pantages Theater. The event, hosted by the Broadway Center for Performing Arts, also includes an auction.

The cocktail party and formal dinner also will include a circus style show with trapeze artists and live music. Tickets are $150 each.

Proceeds from the dinner, which starts at 5 p.m., benefit arts education programs serving more than 25,000 students and teachers each year.

Here, a glance at the menu.

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Patsy Surh O’Connell, a Gig Harbor resident and board member and founder of the Asia Pacific Cultural Center in Tacoma, will lead a tour of the Boo Han Supermarket in Lakewood tomorrow. O'Connell, pictured here (in a photo by News Tribune photographer Lui Kit Wong), will explain ingredients and answer questions.

Her tour is co-sponsored by the Tacoma Public Library and the Asia Pacific Cultural Center. The event is part of the Tacoma Reads Together program.

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I just got off the phone with Elisa Marzano, chef and owner of Marzano Italian Restaurant in Parkland. She told me she's cooking a delicious sounding porcini sausage dish for next Thursday's Dining Out For Life – the fundraising event in which 64 participating Pierce County restaurants give a quarter of the day's food sales to benefit the Pierce County Aids Foundation. More diners means more money raised for the foundation, so be sure to plan some nosh time next Thursday, April 30.

Here's what Marzano said she will make, "Artisan sausage with porcini mushrooms with a lamb ragu. The artisan porcini sausage … it comes from the Piedmont region. I'll serve it over fresh pappardelle pasta." What else is on her menu? "We’re also going to be doing a risotto with locally picked morels." The morels come courtesy of Jeremy Faber, owner of Foraged and Found Edibles. Marzano said she'll come up with a fish special for the night, too.

Marzano is one of a few restaurants that have participated in Dining Out For Life since its inaugural year 15 years ago.

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Sarah Rolstad and Blythe Oliver, foreground from left, drinks cocktails at 1022 South, a Hilltop bar that recently opened at the former Monsoon location. Photo by Janet Jensen/The News Tribune.

By Ernest A. Jasmin
The News Tribune

The scene: 1022 South is the thinking person’s watering hole. New Frontier owner Neil Harris opened the hip Hilltop hangout at 1022 S. J St., formerly the Monsoon Room, in late March. General manager Chris Langston gave the cozy lounge a slick makeover, replacing the Monsoon’s tiki accents with new seating, shelving and bar backing, all of them painted black for a reserved aesthetic.

“I wanted more of a masculine feel,” Langston said. “I knew that it was going to have a literary theme, so I wanted it to complement that.”

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I stopped by the Sonic Drive-In last night at 136th and Meridian in Puyallup and saw a crew of people on roller skates training for opening day Monday.

Some skaters carried trays to the empty drive-up stalls, and other skaters rolled around the parking lot. A Sonic worker skated up to me and I asked him what time they open Monday. He told me 6 a.m. He also said that Sonic serves a full menu all day – just in case I want a burger and a soda bright and early Monday morning.

UPDATE: Managers at Sonic told News Tribune business columnist Dan Voelpel in a story we published today that the opening of Sonic is 10 a.m. Monday. But don't be surprised if they sneakily do open at 6 a.m. Monday.

If you're hungry for burgers, be sure to read my dining report of 12 burger joints that published March 27.

Oregon writer Tami Parr has a new book out that I don't think I could live without now that I've read it. If you're a person who loves cheese, you'll understand.

Parr researched 71 Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia cheese farms and wrote brief profiles of each farm. The book is a collection of fascinating details about the history of each farm, as well as a look at the styles of cheese each farm produces. It also tells readers how to get to each of the farms – complete with maps. I am already planning on visiting a few when I take some time off in May. I'm sure I'll end up writing about them.

From our region, a handful of cheesemakers are featured.

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Depending on which way you count it, this Saturday will be either the 4th or 9th annual Barleywine festival at the Parkway Tavern.

It’s year four if you count in barleywine years. It’s nine if you count in Parkway years. The mismatch comes from the festival’s organizers jokingly calling the first festival the “fifth” in a snarky attempt to give it some inflated credibility.

And how did it get organized? The way all good events involving spirits get organized: a bunch of people sitting around a bar talking big.

But it started small.

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Ann and Kevin Bell of Olympia stop in for glasses of wine at the Water Street Cafe and Bar in Olympia. Peter Haley/The News Tribune

By Craig Sailor
craig.sailor@thenewstribune.com

The scene: Water Street Cafe and Bar is a warmly lit and inviting space in the American Legion Building, near Heritage Park and Capitol Lake in downtown Olympia. The dining room is small enough to feel intimate, but three private dining rooms can accommodate groups of up to 60 people.

People in the kitchen: Jeff Taylor is the chef-owner of the seven-year-old establishment. Taylor formerly owned Olympia’s Capitale and Tumwater’s Luisa restaurants.

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Mama Stortini's Restaurant and Bar will be the newest addition to the Kent Station shopping center, which already is home to a Pizzeria Fondi, Duke's and other restaurants.

The Kent Mama Stortini's – an outpost of the popular family style Italian restaurant in Puyallup – will open in May.

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TNT nightlife columnist Ernest Jasmin has been reporting on his Tacoma Rock City blog the details of the opening of Sax, a new Sixth Avenue nightclub that its owners are touting as a high-end dinner jazz club.

Depending on inspections and final details, owners Jenny and Andy Yee – who also own neighboring North China Garden restaurant – are aiming for an April 27 soft opening, with a grand opening to follow. The club will offer lunch and dinner daily, with happy hour daily from 3 p.m.-5 p.m.

They e-mailed us a first look at their menu.

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I had to do a double take. Was this Capers Downtown? Or the new restaurant Seven-Oh-One? It seems the answer is – both. Sort of.

The same: The pastry display case that doubles as an ordering counter. The chef, as well as a lunchtime menu of interesting salads and sandwiches. Pretty, modern looking decor. The view of the old Tacoma City Hall from the window seats.

Different: The name, and the owner. Dinner service Wednesday through Saturday nights. And cocktails. $3 martinis, to be exact. Oh, and $8 bottles of wine with dinner on Wednesday nights. Did I mention the half-price menu on Thursday nights?

Pictured here: The Chinese chicken salad at Seven-Oh-One. Photo by Craig Sailor/The News Tribune

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The brushetta, brie with onion relish, and chicken pesto panini are noshes available at Harbor Greens wine bar in Gig Harbor. Photo by Lui Kit Wong/The News Tribune.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Drop-In Dining is a restaurant dining report where reporters drop in unannounced and sample the food, on TNT’s dime, then report what the scene and the food were like. Have a suggestion for a Drop-In Dining feature? E-mail us at tntdiner@thenewstribune.com.

By Sue Kidd
sue.kidd@thenewstribune.com

With dwindling dining dollars and more people searching for value, I took to two new South Sound wine bars in search of affordable splurges. My goal: a few glasses of wine and a few nibbles for around $40 or less.

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Update: The opening day for the Sunrise Village market has been moved to May 30 to avoid a conflict with the Memorial Day weekend holiday.

A new farmers market is coming to South Hill Puyallup this spring. Beginning May 30, the Sunrise Village Farmers Market will operate every Saturday in the upscale Sunrise Village shopping center off of Meridian East and 156th.

The shopping center – home to a Target, Staples, Pet Smart, LA Fitness and restaurants that include the RAM, Pizzeria Fondi and Qdoba Grill – will host the market at the rear of the mall where a big box retailer formerly was to anchor that portion of the 65-acre site.

Janie Morris, former manager of the downtown Puyallup Farmers Market and past president of the Washington State Farmers Market Association, will manage the market on behalf of Investco, the company that manages the property.

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I headed to Freighthouse Square today in search of lunch on the cheap. In the last month, three new restaurants have opened at Freighthouse and signs indicate two more restaurants will open soon. Freighthouse always seems a revolving door of restaurants. Sometimes disappointing, sometimes hidden gems – what you get at Freighthouse always is a mixed bag.

My dining partner and I stopped in at the newly opened Cyber Pasta, located just off the main food court at the mall. It's an order-at-the-counter place with a pasta concept merged with coffee (serving Pura Vida free trade coffee) and free wifi. The restaurant offers mix-and-match pasta and sauces. Diners can pair penne, spaghetti, fettuccine, tortellini or linguine with seven sauces that range from marina to alfredo to a sesame ginger. Any pairing is $4.99.

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The Spaghetti Factory offers bargain prices through May to celebrate its 40th year in business. The family-friendly downscale spaghetti restaurant is offering select menu items at lunch and dinner at 40 percent off.

The discounted meals include any spaghetti diner with a choice of sauces, a salad and dessert. Prices run from $4.79-$6.59.

Want to find more bargains around town? Read more here.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Drop-In Dining is a restaurant dining report where reporters drop in unannounced and sample the food, on TNT’s dime, then report what the scene and the food were like. Have a suggestion for a Drop-In Dining feature? E-mail us at tntdiner@thenewstribune.com.

Creole Café
Where: 10716 A St. S., Tacoma
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Phone: 253-536-7881
Price range: $ (entrees under $30)

By Sue Kidd
sue.kidd@thenewstribune.com

Blandon Dillon grew up learning how to cook in his mother’s kitchens in Maryland, Germany and Tacoma.

It didn’t matter where the family was traveling for his father’s Army assignments, two things remained constant: The cooking teacher was his mother and the food prepared always Louisianan.

His mother taught Dillon to appreciate and craft classic Louisiana-style food from scratch, using as many native ingredients as they could import from his mother’s hometown of New Orleans. Those ingredients and cooking techniques are what Dillon brings to Creole Café – the Tacoma restaurant that he and his mother have operated solo or jointly in various forms since 1994.

Pictured here: Clockwise form left is fried catfish and hushpuppies; crawfish and crawfish etouffe. Photo by Drew Perine/The News Tribune.

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A documentary about independent beer makers will screen at two South Sound theaters at 8 p.m. April 16. See the film at Century Theatres in Federal Way or the Regal Stadium 17 at the Auburn SuperMall. A list of theaters screening the film is here. Tickets are $15 each.

The film, "Beer Wars," is directed by Anat Baron and tells the stories of independent brewers Sam Calagione, founder and CEO of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, and Rhonda Kallman, co-founder of the Boston Beer Company (the maker of Samuel Adams beer) and the CEO and founder of the New Century Brewing Company.

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The Olympia Farmers Market opened today. Next up: Gig Harbor and Proctor. Both open Saturday.

Opening soon are Tacoma, Puyallup, Federal Way and other markets.

Need to know when all the markets open and where they're located? Find our farmers markets list here.

I stopped by the opening last night of Pizzeria Fondi in Puyallup's Sunrise Village Shopping Center – the upscale(ish) retail mall that includes the tenants L.A. Fitness, Target and the restaurants The Ram and Qdoba Grill.

It was a slow night for the new pizzeria, with servers and kitchen staff outnumbering the handful of diners. The restaurant is a fast-casual concept where diners order at the counter, take a number and a table and wait for the food to be delivered. The food is a slightly abbreviated menu compared to the sit-down versions of the chain restaurant owned by Restaurants Unlimited. The Gig Harbor Fondi location, like Puyallup, is a fast-casual restaurant, but the Seattle and Kent locations are sit-down restaurants with a longer wine list and more menu choices. (Restaurants Unlimited also owns Stanley & Seafort's, in case you're keeping tabs.)

Pictured here is the prosciutto and arugula pizza from Fondi, $12.95.

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TNT Diner reader ldozy1234 asked in the Sea Grill closing thread what diners should do with Sea Grill gift certificates.

Andrea Courtney, a spokeswoman for Mackay Restaurants, which owned Sea Grill, told me today that all Mackay restaurants will honor the gift certificates. Also, the same is true for anyone who won Sea Grill dinners at local auctions.

In Tacoma, El Gaucho is the only Mackay-owned restaurant. In Seattle, diners may use the Sea Grill gift certificates at the El Gaucho there, or Waterfront Seafood Grill or the Troiani Italian Restaurant. El Gaucho restaurants in Portland and Bellevue also will honor the gift certificates.

For addresses of Mackay restaurants, visit their web site.

Any questions? Concerns? Trouble with your gift certificate? Just e-mail me at tntdiner@thenewstribune.com