Diners are curious – what happened to the Indochine Café on Mildred in Fircrest?

It closed July 12 - and in the same location, Royal Thai Bistro opened Aug. 1. Heng Han is the owner of Royal Thai Bistro. His brother Eric Han manages it. The menu is mostly Thai - a change from Indochine’s broader focused Southeast Asian menu – but one of the Indochine Café assistant chefs joined the staff at Royal Thai Bistro.

Hong Ngov and husband Sean Yean, who owned the Mildred Indochine Café, still own and will continue to operate the sister Indochine Café on Pearl - and the head chef Savath Sok remains at the Pearl restaurant. And here's the back story.

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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 (coffee) buzz around the newsroom and blogosphere today is the unexpected closure of Tacoma's Black Water coffee, which recently moved to the St. Helens neighborhood.

TNT business reporter C.R. Roberts asks readers here where they will go for their coffee fix. Visit this thread to spread the buzz about places that can help fill the void Black Water leaves. I didn't get to Black Water more than once or twice a month, it was on the wrong side of town for my morning coffee fix. I've always been and always will be a devotee of Commencement Bay Coffee Company – mostly because of its proximity to the News Tribune office (it's at 25th and Jefferson, just down the hill), but also because I like their roasts and they serve a mean quiche. There's always a table open after the early morning rush and they have free wi-fi. The location is odd, but if you're in that part of town, it's a great morning stop.

Things I will miss about my occasional trips to Black Water: rich coffee that never tasted over-extracted, and Rachel, the owner who I remember fondly because of her gracious smile. I always wanted to sit down and clack-clack-clack on the manual typewriters at the old Black Water location. I'm fond of the old relics, and have an old Olympia on my desk here at work (if I could blog from it, I'd use it more).

Sorry to see you go Black Water.

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?

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Sea Grill serves up its last meal this weekend. Read about it here.

This is disappointing news for the Tacoma dining community. Sea Grill was one of the anchor restaurants in the revitalized Pacific Avenue "restaurant row."

I just finished writing a burger report for this Friday's GO section and TNT Diner, and I devoted ink to Sea Grill's prosciutto and Gorgonzola burger, and I had plans to write about their Happy Hour menu in April.

I rewrote the burger entry to read as an homage to what is (soon to be was) one of the best burgers in town. But you do still have until this weekend to enjoy the Sea Grill burger, so long as the restaurant keeps the regular menu until they close. I also give high marks for the bar's Happy Hour specials. It really is (was) one of the best deals in town.

What I had written about the burger (pre-homage):

Sea Grill Burger: The half pound, juicy burger was sandwiched between two of my most favorite things — a big portion of Gorgonzola cheese and two salty slices of prosciutto. The patty came just as requested – medium. I let the burger sit for a moment while I enjoyed a few of the crispy golden fries, and the Gorgonzola cheese melted into a delicious, pungent cheese bath over the fat, juicy patty. Each bite was a salty-smokey treat. I can’t say enough about what a great value this burger is during the happy hour discount. ($7 during Happy Hour. Priced $9 on the regular menu).

Sea Grill: 1498 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253-272-5656, www.the-seagrill.com.

Click "read more" to see the press release from the owners of Sea Grill about the closure.

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One pizza joint opens, another closes.

Last week, I mentioned a new Godfather's set to open in University Place. Now for the bad news:

The Purdy building that once held the popular Pearl's by the Sea restaurant – and then the Beach House and then the Beach House/Margarita Beach – has lost yet another tenant: Wings, Pizza N Things. WPT is a national chain headquartered in Texas. The local franchise sat just this side of the Purdy bridge and was owned by Patrick Ward of Bremerton and James and Natasha Jones of Purdy.

We posted about the place back in May, three weeks after the restaurant opened. At that time it was mostly just "Wings N Things." Ward told us county regulations demanded a bigger ventilation hood for the pizza oven, so he purchased an upgrade only to find it was too tall for the kitchen. He said it was going to take a about a month to work out the kinks and get the pizza oven fired up.

According to an item at the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal's site, the business shut down in late August/early September. A short handwritten note on the door announcing the closure calls to mind the way Margarita Beach closed up shop.

I made some calls to the owners last week, but they were not immediately returned.

With a craving for dumplings and a curious notice on the liquor control board web site, A&E editor Craig Sailor and I took to South Tacoma Way Friday.

We drove up to Hong Sheng Fung, ready and hoping for dumplings aplenty, but, sadly, the empty storefront was a punch in our gullets. I suspected it might have closed after seeing the restaurant's liquor license had expired. But it truly was sucktastic to confirm.

Here, look for yourself at the empty restaurant. (photo by Craig Sailor, I'm not capable of such photographic artistry).

What happened? Anyone know where chef-owner Jennifer Chang might be cooking? We came to adore her delicious dumplings, served fried or steamed. The Korean-born chef doled out delicious little dishes of the Korean appetizer banchan, too. The menu was limited, but well done. I've been to more than one party where Hong Sheng Fung dumplings were the main attraction (you could buy a bag of frozen dumplings for about $20).

Curious now, too... where should Craig and I go for dumplings? Comment and tell us, pretty please.

Click this link to read a review we published in our GO entertainment section last August after Hong Sheng Fung opened in July 2007. Sort of mean to post it, considering you can't eat there anymore, but it's a nice little eulogy for the restaurant. Rest in peace, Hong Sheng Fung.

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When Stadium Bistro waved good-bye in April, comments were a mixed bag. My favorite memory of the place didn't even involve real food. Virtual food, yes. The guys kicked my butt in a round of Cooking Mama for the Wii.

Unfortunately there are no wine tasting, coffee brewing or sauce simmering games for the Wii. Yet. (There should be!) When they make those games, perhaps I'll challenge some of the folks at the new businesses going into the old Bistro space.

I stopped by Monday afternoon to see what was going on in the place and chanced upon Stephen McConkey, one half of the team that started Sound Bites Sauce & Spread Co. a few months ago. Maybe you've sampled their wares at one of the 14 farmers markets they participate in. In Pierce County they do Sixth Ave., Gig Harbor, Puyallup and the Tacoma Farmers Market. And they're subletting kitchen space in the old Bistro spot. Sound Bites will prepare their sauces and spreads there and sell them in the wine bar. Stephen also confirmed that the building will retain its events room and that the small space next door will be a coffee shop.

Here's the description Sound Bites uses at its site, a bare bones page at the moment:

Sound Bites makes hand-crafted sauces and spreads from around the world, prepared with ingredients sourced from right here in the Pacific Northwest.
 
Visit us at a Puget Sound farmers market for delicious dips and sauces including hummus, pesto and chimichurri.
 
All of our products are made with varietal grapeseed oils from the Yakima Valley. Try our buttery Chardonnay Pesto, refreshing Garbanzo Hummus with Riesling Oil, and Chimichurri made with the rich flavor of Cabernet Sauvignon Oil.

 
I called Rich Hines, the other half of Sound Bites (and the president of the board for the Tacoma Farmers Market) to get his take on the neighborhood and the sauce-making biz.

"We don't know the opening timeline, but just last week they put in a door and window for the coffee shop," he said. He added that the building could be buzzing again in as little as two months.

He said he and Stephen are impressed with the hip "all-hours" activity of the neighborhood and are "excited about being part of that little food and beverage community that's forming in that building."

They're in talks with other wine bars and a Kent martini bar as well as local wholesalers, Rich said, adding that one goal is to put their sauces and spreads into local grocery stores.

"We've been getting calls from restaurants that feature hummus on their menus," he said. "They want to offer a locally made hummus, and we believe we're the only craft hummus makers in the Seattle-Tacoma area. Plus virtually every item in the container except the lemon juice is from the Northwest."

Company catch phrase: "Fiercely Local."

Bella Vita redecorated a former mini casino. Now it's a sports bar.

Ed's Diner regular monkeybob notes in The You Plate Special:

RIP Bella Vita on 6th Ave...

I just drove by and the sign now says "6th Ave Sports Bar and Grill"...

Sounds like a concept change.

The sports bar has the same telephone number as the failed fine-dining restaurant. A recording gives info on the sports bar's hours, and notes the place has pool tables and a 12-foot projection screen.

According to the state Liquor Control Board records, the owners of the former Bella Vita received approval on Thursday to sell alcohol under the new name.

6th Ave. Sports Bar and Grill: 6108 6th Ave., Tacoma; 253-565-1070.

The graphic says it all. Image: gringodeloco.com

After celebrating its grand opening last week, Gringo de Loco has closed its doors.

According to a note from the owners on the restaurant's Web site, it sounds like a big financial and operational mess that ended with the owners exercising a clause their purchase agreement that allowed them to walk away and toss most of the money burdens back on the previous owners.

Stadium Bistro's Weikels: Peter Jr., Peter Sr. and Catharine. RECENTLY ON ED'S DINER Stadium Bistro closing Recouping when a restaurant goes out of business Tiny Infinite Soups extends big gift-card offer

Peter Weikel Jr., who manned the kitchen at the former Stadium Bistro, is now cheffing at Green Turtle in Gig Harbor. Weikel was recently a runner-up for a gig at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center.

Meanwhile, Stadium Bistro's former landlords have cleaned up the food that was left on Stadium Bistro's stove and the garbage that was left inside the restaurant when Weikel and his father, Peter, closed shop three weeks ago.

Stadium Bistro's left-over garbage is particularly disturbing given that Peter Weikel Sr. was in the pest control business before he got into the restaurant business, where rotting food and exposed garbage attract bugs and vermin.

There are two other restaurants in Stadium Bistro's former building; they deserved better than to have one of their neighbors skedaddle and leave a potential health hazard rotting in their midst.

The Weikels have not responded to my telephone and e-mail messages seeking comment on the restaurant's closure or the rotting food they left inside.

Comment by Comment by Mike_T @ 09:37 - Sunday, April 27th, 2008

An employee of one of the two other establishments in the same building told that SB hosted a blow out early last week in which they finished off the last of the liquor there.

Mike_T:

That's inaccurate hearsay. I was in the former Stadium Bistro today. The liquor, beer and wine have been moved from the bar to some tables in the rear. The booze is merely out of view from the restaurant's front windows.

One of the owners of the building told me that he and his helpers had a few beers and some shots of Jameson after they cleaned up the mess in the kitchen.

Among the Stadium Bistro souvenirs that remain: two large stock pots of meat, bones and broth. They're in the freezer because the building's owners haven't been able to figure out what to do with the putrid pots that were left atop Stadium Bistro's stove.

Some vendors have already reclaimed their equipment. Other equipment will be sold at auction.

-- Ed Murrieta