It seems like salad bars are hard to find anymore. They used to be in restaurants and grocery stores everywhere, then they seemed to fall out of favor.
So when I find one I haven’t tried before, I like to dig in deeply.
There’s plenty to dig at the salad bar at Marlene’s Market & Deli, near the Tacoma Mall. The bar contains 33 items, nearly half of them organic. There are seven salad dressings, all made from scratch.
And you won’t even feel guilty about packing your veggies home in a take-out container. The clamshell containers are made from compostable sugar cane.
We’d like to hear about your favorite salad bars for an upcoming News Tribune article. Where do you go when you’re craving fresh veggies?

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It was the summer of 1969. Men landed on the moon for the first time. Woodstock rocked.
And in Lakewood, a family restaurant was born.
Tijuana Taco opened as part of a multi-state chain, but the Lakewood location is the sole survivor, according to Kelli Van Scyoc-Gomez, daughter of Rocky and Sharon Van Scyoc, the original owners.
In August, the restaurant marks 40 years in business at the same location, off 100th Street near Lakewood Towne Center. There are celebrations and special prices all month.

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Frozen custard from Old School Custard, with add-ins of sprinkles and Butterfinger pieces

I started the week with pie, so it seems natural to end the week with ice cream. Actually, custard, not ice cream, if you’re keeping tabs. They’re both frozen desserts, but frozen custard is so, so, so much better, I hesitate to even call it ice cream.

TNT Diner reader VibeGuy posted about Old School Custard in Bonney Lake on the pie thread Monday, immediately making me crave a taste. It’s an independently owned and operated store right next to Jersey Mike's, which I rated high for meaty subs in this article here.

I can see why VibeGuy is an enthusiastic fan of Old School. Frozen custard is the frosty princess of the ice cream universe

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Sweet potato and pecan pie at B&B's Barbeque.

I'm still in search of seasonal berry pies, but I did encounter decadent Southern style pie. I dropped in at B&B's Barbeque for a slice each of sweet potato and pecan pie. And, no, I did not eat both slices by myself. I shared. Mostly.

The pies are a chewy, rich experience at B&B's Barbeque, which is located inside Freighthouse Square (also home to Cookies Your Way, a dessert emporium for lovers of straight-out-of-the oven homemade cookies).

Sweet potato pie and pecan pie are the pie choices at B & B --

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Our Adventure writers Craig Hill and Jeff Mayor penned a great travel food article about which restaurants in outdoor destination areas are good for loading up on calories before or after a strenuous outdoor adventure. Read the story right here.

When we were discussing the story, news editor John Henrikson asked at the news meeting if a hike from the car to Big Bubba's Burgers counts as an outdoor adventure. My answer: yes. Just don't think of the calories in a one-pound Big Bubba burger if you don't go rowing beforehand....

Peanut butter pie at Dock Street Sandwich Co.

Why does it seem to be so difficult to find pie? I’ve found exactly two places in my recent dine-arounds that serve memorable, flaky crust, delicious pie – Dock Street Sandwich Company in Tacoma and Don’s Drive-In in Puyallup

But I’ve got my pie radar set to “locate pie now!” And my radar keeps blipping empty. With berry season here and farmers markets, roadside stands and grocery stores loaded with berries – this is the time of summer we all want to dig into pie. We make it at home, but why does it seem so few restaurant serve it up for dessert? Or am I missing the restaurants that have great homemade – not prefab – pies?

Tell me where to find pie, please.

I’ll share my pie finds with you, if you share yours. Take a look at these two pie finds:

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By Craig Sailor
The News Tribune

One can be forgiven for strip mall overload. There’s only so many nail salons, tanning joints and Teriyaki #1’s a person can take before the eyes glaze over. And yet to dismiss the ubiquitous Asian restaurant simply because of its location would be a disservice to some potentially good eating.

Chili Thai is a three-restaurant chain (University Place, Puyallup and Lacey) that doesn’t stray far from the tried and true Thai-American strip mall formula. But it’s in the preparation and presentation of the food that gives these restaurants a little edge over their competitors. Quality ingredients – well prepared and presented on elaborate dishes, often with fresh orchids – are the hallmark of this eatery.

The setting: The University Place Chili Thai location tries for a somewhat upscale ambience with dark walls and booths but stumbles with mismatched furniture. A loud (visually and audibly) refrigerator emblazoned with Coke logos in the middle of the dining room gives the eatery a frat house feel.

Appetizers: We started with the reliable standby of chicken satay ($7.95/top photo) and were rewarded with four generously sized chicken skewers. Accompanied by peanut sauce, a pickled carrot-cucumber-onion salad, toast points and a mound of shredded carrots, the coconut milk marinated chicken had satisfyingly dark grill marks on it. Neither the sauce or seasoning took away from the savory pleasure of the chicken.

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There's not much time left to enjoy a Mighty Mike.

Business reporter C.R. Roberts writes in this story that the days for Little Holland - the burger lover's favorite little drive-in joint on the border of Tacoma and Fircrest -- are numbered. They close July 25.

Insert big sigh here. In my Burger Trail series I wrote in March, I gave Little Holland high marks. Can it be saved? I hope so.

That reminds me, I need to do more research for my Burger Trail, II series. I ate at Don's Drive-In in Puyallup recently and that rates high on my list - for burgers, as much as the homemade pie. It's on the list. Where else should I visit for burger love?

The Rainbow roll at Sushi Island

Two dollar sushi rolls automatically make me suspicious. It makes me think of gas station sushi. Sushi is not like a cheap burrito. It takes skill to make.

I paid a visit to Sushi Island, a new South Hill sushi restaurant that opened last week, not knowing that menu prices were as cheap as the dollar store. But there it was: prices for maki rolls in the $1-$3 range. The rolls were four pieces, not the typical six to eight. Even with fewer pieces, it still was bargain sushi.

A deal is not necessarily something I want from sushi- specifically maki rolls.

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Pictured here is the entree Strip Loin of Beef, served at the fine dining service at Bates Technical College. Photo by Peter Haley/The News Tribune

Grilled sea scallops with a watercress lemon butter sauce, a chevre-stuffed artichoke with sorrel butter, and wild salmon noisettes with a ginger peach glaze. It all sounds super fussy — and that, it is.

But that’s just fine with Bates Technical College culinary instructor Roger Knapp, who, with a team of second-year Bates culinary students, introduced the college’s first fine dining service June 16 in a small dining room that flanks the Bates cafeteria. It’s billed simply “The Dining Room” on the menu, which is full of lofty ingredients and dishes with flair.

Knapp has his eyes on culinary credibility: accreditation of the school’s culinary arts program by the American Culinary Federation. The foodie stamp of approval from the ACF would boost Bates’ desirability as a culinary training institution. A fine dining service, Knapp says, is one piece of achieving accreditation.

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Russ Carmack/The News Tribune

Buy, taste and learn to grow and cook with lavender this weekend at the Vashon Lavender Festival. The event is Saturday July 11 and Sunday July 12 at three farms on the island - Fox Farm, Lavender Sister and Lavender Hill.

Here’s a look at the schedule organizer/promoter Karen Dale sent me:

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Infinite Soups – which celebrated its second anniversary in February - will open its second location Monday in the Sanford & Son building at 744 Commerce. They’re calling it the Infinite Soups Lunch Counter at Sanford & Son.

The second soup location will be a smaller version of the “mother ship” -- the nickname owner Wendy Clapp gives the original Infinite Soups location at 445 Tacoma Ave. S. The Tacoma Avenue location will continue to operate, emphasized Clapp, who runs Infinite Soups with husband Todd DeShazo and Clapp’s daughter Laura Adams. Some customers thought Clapp and crew were moving the business to the Sanford and Son building. Not so.

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In case you missed it, TNT business reporter John Gillie broke news today that the old Elks building will become a McMenamins pub. Read it here.

Coconut prawns at Woody's on the Water

I took another detour into happy land last week with a visit to a waterfront restaurant that a few TNT Diner readers recommended – Woody’s on the Water. (For my recent Happy Hour blog posts, see this story here, here and here.)

Happy hour is 3 p.m-6 p.m. daily at Woody’s, with bar eats half off during that time. TNT Diner reader gmaglenda raved about the coconut prawns ($5 during happy hour) at Woody’s, and I can see why – the flavors were a complicated meld of spicy, sour and sweet.

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The margherita pizza and ham and brie sandwich at Minoela. Craig Sailor/The News Tribune

For popcorn fiends who also like to nosh, it might be a duel between The Grand Cinema's popcorn – I know people who say they go to the Grand just for popcorn – and Minoela, the new bistro wine bar that Danielle Kartes opened last week next door to the nonprofit arthouse cinema off of Sixth and Fawcett. (For background on Kartes, read this story I wrote in May).

I don’t know if the popcorn really is better at the Grand, or if it tastes better because the environment provides far more interest than a generic chain movie theater. Regardless, the Grand’s popcorn makes for great snacking. But filling, it’s not.
Enter Minoela: it seems on first perusal the perfect place to grab a substantial something before a movie at the Grand. And, based on a first taste this week, nosh lovers will like Minoela.

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I'm back from working with high school journalism students at the Seattle University Journalism Summer Workshop. I worked with four students who wrote articles you'll see published throughout the summer in The News Tribune and on the TNT Diner blog.

Here's a chef question/answer feature written by Peninsula High School's Ian Clarke with Tacoma chef Matt Stickle.

By Ian Clarke

Executive Chef Matt Stickle has worked at the Bite Restaurant at Hotel Murano for six years and has been working in the food industry for the last 10. The last two restaurants he worked at were the Little Nell in Aspen, Colorado and Mission Grill in Sister Bay, Wisconsin.
We phoned him up recently to throw a few non sequiturs his way. Here's what he had to say.

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