The Ritchies, Allison, Janet, Meredith and Mike dig in to Argentine-influenced cuisine at Asado.(Peter Haley/The News Tribune/2006)

This just in from TNT editorial writer Cheryl Tucker:
 

Here's a great addition to lunchtime options on Sixth Avenue: Asasdo.
 
Starting Monday, Asado will serve lunch. According to bartender Will, it's the first time the restaurant has offered lunch service.
 
I found this out totally by serendipity Friday.  With the day off and temps forecast for the high 70s, I thought I'd see who was serving open-air lunch on Sixth Avenue. A parking spot magically materialized near Asado, and I noticed the front windows wide open.
 
Wandering in, I was told that Asado was having a reservations-only free lunch (except for alcohol) as a dry run for Monday's real start to lunch service, but that clueless drop-ins like myself would be accommodated.
 
My dumb luck translated into an excellent lunch: grilled prawn skewer on poblano polenta with chimichurri sauce. And Will fixes a great Caipirinha (a South American cocktail made of cachaca, lime, sugar and club soda). His secret, which he happily divulged, is a brown sugar/molasses mixture instead of regular sugar. That gives the usually colorless drink a nice amber hue.
 
The skewers are also available at happy hour (2:30 to 6). I'll be back for  that, and I'd also like to try the fish, beef and lamb sliders. The rest of the lunch menu looks tempting, too.

Chef Andy Kenser of HG Bistro in Puyallup offers the Halibut Bijoux-- broiled halibut filet topped with a cherry compote and lemon parsley oil over arugua, served with mashed potatoes. (Peter Haley / The News Tribune)

By Craig Hill
The News Tribune

The locals call it The Goose, but it seems more like the ugly duckling.

Not because the HG Bistro is ugly, thanks to its Tuscan style décor it's anything but.

However, sitting in front of a concrete factory and next to a bowling alley, the restaurant with a gourmet menu couldn't be any more out of place.

"We do surprise people when they come in here," owner Tim Hall said. "But that's what we want to do. We want them to forget where they are and enjoy the experience."

The restaurant is steeped in more than 40 years of Hall's family history.

It started in 1968 when his grandfather purchased the concrete factory. In the early '70s, his grandmother, Marion Pattee, turned the building that's now the HG Bistro into a fireplace shop.

In the '80s, Carolyn Hall, Tim's mom, turned the fireplace shop into the Hungry Goose Eatery, named for the geese that use to flock to the field across the street. The gift and sandwich shop quickly became a local hangout.

Hall took over as manager in 1998 and when his mom passed the company to him in 2005, he decided to convert the popular shop into a restaurant.

The change has paid off. Seafood, steak, creative presentation and live music on weekends has once again made the Goose the place to be in Puyallup.

=> Read more!

Over at the GO Arts blog I have post up about The Green Spot, a new tea house on Bridgeport Way. It's having its grand opening Saturday.

Check it out here.

Farmers markets in Puyallup and Key Peninsula open this weekend.

The Sunrise Village Farmers Market on Puyallup's South Hill opens its first season Saturday May 30. Market Manager Janie Morris told me last month that the market would start small, probably with fewer than 20 vendors, but would increase as the season progresses. Morris said a number of South Sound farmers have committed. They include the Sunrise Flower Farm, River Road Farmers Terry Carkner and Doug and Keith Chadd. Also, farmers Maria Alverez and Ramon Ayala will bring produce from Yakima to the market. Stone Ground Bakery from Yelm will sell bread at the market. Click here for hours and the location of Sunrise, as well as other South Sound markets.

Also opening this weekend is the Key Peninsula Farmers Market, which opens Sunday May 31. Chanetta Ludwig, who many will recognize as "The Bee Lady" will return to the market this year to sell her honey and flavored honey sticks, as well as produce from her Lakebay farm. Click "read more" to find out how Ludwig farms her honey and to find a list of other South Sound farmers markets where she sells her honey.

=> Read more!

A few dining events in the near future:

May 30: Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church will host a Greek Taverna meal with appetizers, entrees, desserts, beer and wine. They advertise that nothing will cost more than $5. The event will be 11 a.m.-8 p.m. May 30 at the church, 1523 S. Yakima Ave. The event is free, except for the cost of food purchases. www.stnicholastacoma.org

May 30: Wilcox Farms in Roy, in conjunction with Tacoma Reads Together, will host a free omelet feed from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. May 30. Guided tours will be given, too. The farm is located at 40400 Harts Lake Valley Road, Roy. Members of the Wilcox family will cook the omelets. the family-operated farm, a fourth-generation business, celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. For details, visit www.wilcoxfarms.com

May 31: The Puyallup-Sumner Chamber of Commerce will have its first roving dinner through downtown Puyallup from 4:30-8:30 p.m. May 31. The Moveable Feast starts at 4:30 p.m. with a glass of wine at Northwest Vintage. Participants then board a bus that will take them to DeCaterina’s for a grilled endive with melted gorgonzola and prosciutto appetizer. next stop is Hungry Goose Bistro for a soup and salad course. Next stop is Mama Stortini's Ristorante for the main course. The final stop is Indulge Cupcakes for dessert. Tickets are $45. Money raised will support chamber programs. To register, visit www.puyallupsumnerchamber.com

June 13: The Tacoma Symphony Orchestra will have its second annual Celebrity Chefs Showcase at 5:30 p.m. June 13. This year’s event is a black tie picnic with food prepared by chefs who have been paired with South Sound farmers. Chefs will prepare the meal using ingredients from the farms. The event will be held at the Sharon McGavick Conference Center, Clover Park Technical College, Lakewood. Tickets are $150. For more information, call 253-272-7264.

I usually know when a Philly cheesesteak sandwich is going to be good even before it gets to my table.

I want to hear the clink-clank of metal spatulas banging the grill as the cook chops the meat – preferably thinly sliced ribeye or some equally tender beef – into a delicious pile of bite-sized pieces with just the right amount of crispness from the grill.

Next, I want to hear the sizzle of veggies hitting a hot grill, and more clink-clank as the grill cook mixes and dices the trifecta of my cheesesteak perfection: meat, onions and peppers.

My other hallmarks of a great cheesesteak: just the right ratio of meat to peppers and onions (three parts meat, one part peppers and onions is my kind of sandwich). The grill cook should let the cheese – make mine provolone – melt on the meat pile on the grill, rather than placing it in the sandwich cold (yuck). Sturdy, chewy rolls provide the best base for my perfect cheesesteak.

Pictured here: Joe McCollum, owner of Philly Joe's with the imperial cheesesteak sandwich. Photo by Dean J. Koepfler/The News Tribune

=> Read more!

Pictured here: Ewe Moon blue cheese

The Tacoma Broadway Farmers Market opens tomorrow (Thursday). Market hours will be 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on Broadway, between 9th and 11th.

Willapa Hills Farmstead Cheese will sell cow's milk blue cheese, sheep’s cheese, fresh ricotta, fresh yogurt cheeses tomorrow. Here's a look at their farm:

Who are the farmers? Stephen J. Hueffed and Amy Turnbull of Willapa Hills Farmstead Cheese, a 146-acre farm in Doty, west of Chehalis. The couple bought the farm in 2005 and live there with their three children, Willem, Lucas and Lillian. Hueffed’s mother, Marilyn, assists with cheese production and other grandma duties. They make cheese from sheep’s and cow’s milk. They tend a herd of 140 Lacaune-East Friesian cross ewes.

=> Read more!

Coming in June to 604 Fawcett Avenue: Minoela.

Pronounced min-oh-la, the restaurant will be a rustic wine bistro with a kick-back vibe. Located next to the Grand Cinema, in the location that formerly housed the One Heart Cafe (and before that, Kickstand Cafe), Minoela will serve lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturdays. Owners Danielle and Mike Kartes plan a June 23 grand opening.

“I’m a makeup artist turned foodie,” is how Danielle Kartes describes herself. Husband Mike works for Oroweat Bakery and intends to keep his day job while she works the restaurant.

Why now? A restaurant? In this economy?

=> Read more!

Gateway Cottage Restaurant & Lounge server Heather Guthrie, left, and owner Lynda Hogan, right. Photo by Dean J. Koepfler/The News Tribune.

If you blew Mother’s Day last weekend, this report is just for you. Shuttle the mom in your life straight to Gateway Cottage for a make-up meal. Gateway Cottage is one those restaurants where you’re likely to see ladies – of the red hat variety – lunching.

Located off 146th Street South and Pacific Avenue South, the homey Parkland-area restaurant opened in November 2000. It took owner Lynda Hogan two years to remodel a dilapidated residential home into the Gateway Cottage – and her touches are all over the restaurant.

She filled the dining rooms with artwork she collected while working at a now-closed downtown Tacoma antiques store – Corinthian Studios. Hanging on the walls is her plate collection.

She planted a courtyard garden around two large sheltering oak trees – and created quite a lovely space that looks as if it were made for graduation parties (something PLU families and staffers host there often). When the weather warms, Hogan will open the patio for seating and private parties.

If Hogan’s name sounds familiar, it’s because she and her ex-husband, Walter N. Hogan, are responsible for giving Tacoma one of the most spectacular view restaurants in the city – Stanley & Seafort’s.

=> Read more!

BLOG UPDATE 5/23: The commercial fishing season for wild Alaskan Copper River salmon began May 14. Post a comment on this thread to tell others where you found the fish around town.

=> Read more!

I just got off the phone with Amy Turnbull, who with husband Stephen J. Hueffed owns Willapa Hills Farmstead Cheese in Doty, near the Chehalis River.

This is the first year of production for the couple who bought their farm 5 years ago and have since built their herd to 150 sheep. They produce fresh ricotta, blue cheese and several other styles of cheese. This weekend is the first time they'll participate in the Seattle Cheese Festival, held May 16 and 17 at the Pike Place Market.

Production is way up right now for Willapa Hills. Not only are they going to sell at the Gig Harbor Farmers Market this weekend, but they'll also supply cheese samples at the Seattle Cheese Festival. Then, next week, the couple will start selling their cheese at the Tacoma Farmers Broadway Market, which opens May 21.

Watch TNT Diner next Wednesday for a story about the couple and Willapa Hills Farmstead.

Where to buy their cheese:
Gig Harbor Farmers Market, this Saturday
Seattle Cheese Festival, this Saturday and Sunday
Metropolitan Market, Proctor location
Direct from Willapa Hills Farmstead
At the Tacoma Farmers Market, beginning May 21

I've been working on a story about Happy Hours around town and I've sampled two Bloody Mary cocktails that left lasting impressions. I like a Bloody Mary with a peppery, horseradish-y bite. Extra points for garnishes that can double as a small appetizer. And if I get a puckery blast of lime juice, I'm an instant fan.

The recent sips that nailed my criteria:

Pacific Grill Bloody Mary: Priced $8.25 on the regular menu, the cocktail was spicy with a horseradish sting and dotted with flakes of freshly ground black pepper. I appreciated the garnish – a few olives and a fat spear of pickled asparagus. Click "read more" for the recipe from Pacific Grill bar manager Carol Reutercrona.

Pacific Grill
Where: 1502 Pacific Avenue
Contact: 253-272-6469 or www.pacificgrilltacoma.com

Duke's Bloody Mary: Priced $4.99 on the Happy Hour menu, Duke's Bloody Mary is more like a meal than a drink. The tomato is punched up with a bright lime flavor and the garnish is an impressive spear of two prawns, green onions and a wedge of lime. The drink is served with a pickled green bean spear and a salted rim.

Duke's Chowder House
Where: 3327 Ruston Way
Contact: 253-752-5444 or www.dukeschowderhouse.com

Your turn: where else in town can I find a good Bloody Mary? What makes it your favorite?

=> Read more!

This morning, at about 11 a.m., Sun Ok Chung will stand where she always stands – at the stove in the small kitchen of O-bok restaurant on South Tacoma Way. Today is the 20th anniversary of her Korean restaurant.

At that stove is where she’s stood just about every morning – yes, even today, on Mother’s Day – since 1989 when she opened O-bok, one of the first Korean restaurants in Tacoma. She rarely closes her restaurant, serving now a second generation of customers at the restaurant that was the first in the area to bring Korean tabletop barbecue to Tacoma diners.

“She’s at the restaurant for almost 12 hours a day, for close to 365 days a year,” said her daughter, Hyun Choi. Chung is the restaurant’s only cook.

Pictured here: Hyun Choi and her mother Sun Ok Chung.

=> Read more!

I can honestly say I’ve never been to a barbecue restaurant with tablecloths, pretty centerpieces and dolls on display wearing crocheted dresses – until I visited Papa Eddie’s Corner Café and BBQ in Tacoma, which opened April 24 in the location that housed JT’s Original Louisiana Bar-B-Que until two months ago.

In fact, some barbecue aficionados may call “blasphemy” at a barbecue joint that doesn’t sport battered chairs with a roll of paper towels on every grubby table.

Papa Eddie’s is homey with a side of cute – like someone’s grandma came in and gussied up the joint by painting the walls creamsicle orange and adding tablecloths.

Pictured here: Pappa Eddie's Corner Cafe owner Zach Hill holds a plate of his restaurant's signature dishes: barbecued pork ribs, red beans and rice, potato salad and cornbread. Photo by Drew Perine/The News Tribune.

=> Read more!

Three wine and beer events in Tacoma and Seattle will raise money for things deserving of your cash.

They are:
Wine tasting, May 9, in Puyallup, to raise money for the Fred Oldfield Western Heritage & Art Center.
Tacoma Wine classic, May 9, at Tacoma Community College, to raise money for TCC programs.
Hopscotch Spring Beer and Scotch tasting event, today and May 9 at Fremont Studios in Seattle, to raise money for Seattle International Film Festival.

Click "read more" for details of each event.

=> Read more!

I’ve had a few readers call and e-mail about JT’s Original Louisiana Bar-B-Que, which operated at 7104 Sixth Ave. for four years – up until a few months ago.

“We decided to relocate, to find a new location. The location we had wasn’t working out for us. It was more of a traffic issue,” said James Turner, who operated the now-closed restaurant with a daughter.

So what’s next for the Turner family? And what about the new bbq place that has opened in that location – Papa Eddie's Corner Cafe and BBQ?

=> Read more!

I just got off the phone with Micha Cornelius, the general manager of Sax, a new dinner and music club set to open at 2309 Sixth Ave.

He had hoped to open by today, but due to permit approval delays, the opening probably will be a few weeks away.

News Tribune nightlife columnist Ernest Jasmin has been writing on his Tacoma Rock City blog about the musical acts at the nightclub. The roster will include Tacoma jazz and R & B group Hybrid, which the club has hired to be the house band.

As for the food, take a look here at some of the menu items Cornelius told us about.

Cornelius will keep us posted as they get closer to opening, but he's looking at a soft opening in two weeks, followed by a grand opening the following week. Keep checking back here for details. Depending on permitting, that date could change.

Pictured here: Heirloom tomatoes, including brandywine, green zebra and cherokee purple, and others. Photo by Drew Perine/The News Tribune

Heading to the farmers market this week? Here's a look at what's fresh at the farmers market:

At the market this week: Heirloom tomato starts from Morgan Creek Farm, Saturday at the Gig Harbor Farmers Market, open 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays, 6808 Kimball Drive (Kimball Drive Park and Ride); 253-851-7397; www.gigharborfarmersmarket.com. Morgan Creek Farm also will sell at the Tacoma Broadway Farmers Market when it opens May 21 and the Key Peninsula Farmers Market when it opens May 31.

Who are the farmers? Steve and Donna White own Morgan Creek Farm, but they weren’t always farmers. The pair were flight attendants for American Airlines for 20 years. Then came a reassignment to Chicago in 2002. They missed each other, they missed their horses and their farm in Vaughn. They traded in grumpy passengers for growing flowers – dahlias, lilies and a few other varieties. Then they found they had a niche with heirloom tomato starts. This year, they planted nearly 10,000 tomato starts.

What?! Isn’t it too early for tomatoes? Of course, it’s way too early to plant fragile tomato starts, but now is a good time to buy. And here's why.

=> Read more!

After false starts with previous buyers, Brix 25 in Gig Harbor officially has sold.

Partners Katie Doherty and Thad Lyman took over the restaurant Friday.

They'll keep general manager Jason Winniford on staff. Chef Bryce Lamb is staying for a few weeks to help through the transition, said Doherty.

Doherty and Lyman are partners in life and business -- and have a solid background in wine-centric restaurants. They formerly were partners in the Napa Valley Grille, a Yountville restaurant that features cuisine inspired by various wine countries throughout the world. They were partners in that restaurant from 2003 until January this year when they moved here to purchase Brix 25.

Both Doherty and Lyman grew up in the Northwest and started their careers in Tacoma.

=> Read more!

Coconut, cherry mocha, sweet potato and lavender are just a few of the cupcake flavors Patti Frank and Barbara Kiker plan to whip up for their new cupcake shop and clothing store in Proctor.

Sweet Thing Cupcakes & Couture will open in late May or early June (depending on permits) – at 2510 N. Proctor.

Frank and Kiker have been working on the building for several weeks –much to the curiosity of Proctor neighbors, who are abuzz about the opening of the combo cupcake, coffee and retail clothing store.

Pictured here: Cupcakes! News Tribune file photo.

=> Read more!

Tempest Lounge will serve breakfast for dinner Wednesday as a benefit for HUMAnE, an organization that provides low-cost spaying and neutering for cats and dogs. On the menu: scrambled eggs, sausage, roasted potatoes and pancakes. Dinner will be served buffet style. Cost is $12. For “breakfast” drinks, they’ll serve bloody marys and mimosas. I’m in.

Tempest also will feature drinks all month that will benefit HUMAnE. First up, the pink pussycat cocktail.

In other HUMAnE news, several Tacoma area restaurants will donate proceeds from food sales Thursday, June 18 to HUMAnE. Participating restaurants include Carrs in Lakewood, Babblin' Babs and Upper Crust Bistro in Proctor and Casa Mia in Yelm.

Be Kind to Animals benefit
When: 5-7 p.m. May 6
Where: Tempest Lounge, 913 Martin Luther King Jr Way
Tickets: $12, benefiting HUMAnE
Info: 253-272-4904

Pictured above: Nader Morcos, co-owner of My Greek Restaurant with lamb chops, foreground, and other Greek favorite dishes at his Puyallup restaurant. Photo by Lui Kit Wong/The News Tribune.

By Sue Kidd
The News Tribune

When the South Hill Greek restaurant changed its name from Mr Greek to My Greek six months ago, the change was so subtle – the flip of a single letter – some Puyallup residents didn’t even notice.

For owner Nader Morcos, the switch was significant. Morcos opened Mr Greek restaurant in South Hill in December 2007 as the first U.S. location for the Canadian-based chain of Mr Greek restaurants. In September 2008, he made a break from the franchise and went solo.

Morcos said Mr Greek was a learning experience, but he said the corporation imposed restrictions requiring what he could serve, how it would be prepared and how much to charge for it. Simply put, he wanted out of the franchise and the corporate owners were agreeable. My Greek, as he puts it, is “my restaurant now.”

=> Read more!