I was in Los Angeles last week (they now officially have more Vietnamese restaurants than we do, a change from my last trip there). I did a little trip to Disneyland with the family unit and found out, that, uh huh, just like last year's trip to Disneyland, the food at the park pretty much still sucks. I did eat a pretty good corndog in line for California Screamin', though. But enough about my trip southward.

Here's what I missed, and because I was gone, here's what you missed:

* The sad: Exit 133 reported a few days ago that Shakabrah Java is closing. Read it here. We're going to dig around a bit on the story, as well. Watch for a post later this week on that.

* The good: Brix 25 in Gig Harbor got a new top toque. His name is Bryce Lamb and he most recently was chef at La Fermata in Bremerton. Here are a few excerpts from a press release from Brix 25:

Chef Lamb is bringing almost two decades worth of culinary experience and travel to Gig Harbor. "My approach is to bring seasonal dishes with as many local ingredients as possible at the peak of their freshness," Chef Lamb said.

Chef Lamb's most recent tenure was at La Fermata where he served as the executive Chef for six years. La Fermata is an intimate seasonal Northwest restaurant with an Italian influence located in the Manette area
of Bremerton. "We are very fortunate to find a chef with this kind of talent and experience locally." said General Manager Jason Winniford.

Look for Chef Lamb's new seasonal menu to roll out toward the end of October. You can visit the Brix 25 website www.harborbrix.com for a full biography on Brix's new chef and his current menu when it is released.

So what else did I miss? Freeform, go ahead and post away dear readers.

Add Italy to the international mix of restaurants on that stretch of Pacific Avenue between South Ninth and South Seventh streets in downtown Tacoma.

Il Trattoria di Merende (merende means "small bite") is planning a soft opening Sept. 21. It will join India Mahal, Irish pub Paddy Coyne's and Tex-Mex restaurant Matador in what Merende co-owner Julia Lombardi calls a pocket neighborhood with "real European flair."

"I think we've all tried to engender that," Lombardi says. "This whole area has changed dramatically."

Lombardi, husband Kenneth and son Ian are co-owners of the new venture. Local favorite Jeff Bishop, formerly of Il Fiasco, will be doing his thing in the kitchen. Ian will be managing the restaurant, though he did his own chef training in Florence, Italy.

Merende will focus on small plates, priced between $10 and $12, along with larger entrées, small pizzas and a full bar. Said bar – of deep gray slate – was curing under fans Wednesday afternoon when I poked my head in.

The old Vin Grotto space has been transformed with exposed brick walls, slate floors, recycled-glass tile and industrial-style exposed ductwork overhead. (Pictures below.)

The Lombardis are shooting for an upscale feel that's still relaxed enough for families. By staying open until 11 p.m. or later, they'll offer a spot for theatergoers and UWT students looking for a late-night bite.

Check back for updates here when Merende opens its doors at 813 Pacific Ave.

Charlie McManus and a local pig.

The local foodie forces behind the drive to start a South Sound cell of Seattle's Chefs Collaborative chapter report encouraging turnout at Tuesday's meeting: about 50 people, including representatives from a dozen Tacoma-area restaurants and one from Silverale, turned out to disscuss how local chefs and farmers can work together.

There was, however, one casualty: A heritage pig that Summit farmer Cheryl Ouelette (aka Cheryl The Pig Lady) donated for the evening's dinner never made it to the meeting at Primo Grill.

Before the dinner-bound pig could be sent to slaughter, The Pig Lady's little piggy wandered into the wrong pig pen and "got savaged by a pregnant sow," Primo chef/owner/farm-to-table organizer Charlie McManus said.

The Pig Lady sent a replacement piggy, which gave McManus the opportunity to share some farm facts.

"We got a younger replacement," McManus said. "Pigs have two growth stages: bone growth and muscle growth. The replacement was at the peak of its bone-growth phase. It was a lean pig."

Nonetheless, McManus roasted the pig in his apple-wood oven and served it with caper-mint salsa verde, along with a side of Puyallup farmer Terry Carkner's greens braised in apple cider vinegar and butter.

Next up for the group: a meet-and-greet for chefs and farmers, possibly in August.

As for McManus, whose goal for his restaurant is total sustainability by the end of the year, he's sharpening up his butchery knowledge. He plans to buy 250-pound pigs from The Pig Lady and butcher them in his restaurant, making local pork a regular menu feature.

"It's been 15 years since I dealt with large hind quarters," McManus said. "This will be interesting."

Who attended Tuesday night's organizing dinner? Click below.

=> Read more!

The folks trying to organize a Tacoma chapter of the Chefs Collaborative -- a group that helps chefs and farmers network -- sent me two reminders today. The RSVP deadline is today at 5 p.m. And Kelli Estrella won't be bringing her award-winning cheeses. Read the update.

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

Alton Porter, barbecue chef/firefighter.

Alton Porter, the man who puts the heat into The Man, the super-hot sauce at Porter's Place Barbecue and Professional Catering in Tacoma, Bellevue and Safeco Field, fought a fire at his place Tuesday afternoon.

Kayla Krebs, Porter's catering manager, said the fire broke out among pellets stored by smoker grills on the side of Porter's Tacoma building near Interstate 5 and Portland Avenue, around 4 p.m. Tuesday. She said the grills were not in operation at the time.

Krebs said a cook called 911 to report the fire. She said firefighters first went to a downtown Tacoma location before arriving at Porter's.

"Porter stayed and fought it," Krebs said. "He put it out before the fire department arrived."

Krebs said the cause of the fire is under investigation. Kitchen and catering operations were not affected, she said.

Porter's Place Barbecue and Professional Catering, 2615 E. N St., Tacoma; 253-383-7603.

Matt Brandsey, right, with former boss Peter DeCaterina.

Matt Brandsey, formerly the chef at Tacoma wine bar Pour at Four and most recently the chef at DeCaterina's Market Grill and Bar in Puyallup, is the new executive chef at Sea Grill in downtown Tacoma. He came aboard in early February.

Tom Pantley, chef/owner of Toscano's Cafe and Wine Bar in Puyallup, with martini clams.

Chefs from restaurants in Puyallup, Gig Harbor, Port Orchard and Bremerton will perform live cooking demonstrations Saturday in what Seattle public broadcasting station KCTS dubs its “13th and newest restaurant recipe special.”

KCTS 9 Chefs 2008, which includes demos by 9 other Puget Sound chefs, in airs at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Tom Pantley, chef/owner of Toscano’s Wine Bar and Café in Puyallup will make martini clams and orange chicken. Dan Hutchinson of Brix 25 in Gig Harbor will make chicken marsala. Grant Matsuno of Amy’s on the Bay in Port Orchard will make crème caramel with poached pears in pinot noir and lavender. Bryce Lamb of La Fermata in Bremerton will make honey-balsamic roasted duck breast.

Of course, it’s pledge-drive time.

"Of course, we have a brand-new cookbook and DVD to go with the show," KCTS' press release says. "The KCTS 9 Chefs 2008 Cookbook is a one-of-a-kind collection, packed with more than 200 recipes from our viewers' favorite local restaurants – everything from starters to desserts.”

The program (repeats 3 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday) also includes highlights from past years’ shows, including Seattle culinary kingpin Tom Douglas making his signature triple coconut cream pie.

Click below for the full roster of chefs.

=> Read more!

Chef Charlie McManus prepares to roast a whole pig grown and slaughtered specially for Primo Grill.

My dream of reading my name in the New York Times remains unfulfilled, but I was pleased to see the name of a Tacoma chef in the paper of record today.

For those who can't get past celeb cook Jamie Oliver talking about killing his own chickens, here's what Charlie McManus, chef/owner of Primo Grill, says about what the Times calls chefs' "new intimacy with the animals they cook," and the "ewwww" factor that turns off some diners.

"For years, all I saw in kitchens was Cryovac steaks, chops, never anything to remind you that this was once an animal," said Mr. McManus. "It's our responsibility and our privilege to educate our customers. A lot of them don’t want to hear it, but that’s just sticking your head in the sand."

McManus is quoted not because he kills his own animals, but because of his relationship with Cheryl The Pig Lady, who raises pigs that McManus roasts.

McManus told me last year: "One of the most dramatic things that's happened at Primo Grill is bringing almost-warm pigs straight from the slaughterhouse. A lot of younger cooks have never seen a whole animal before. It's important that our staff understand that it's not just a piece of meat. It's a life that's given that day."

Thierry Rautureau, chef/owner of Rovers in Seattle, told me recently that he kills his own chickens at Rovers. If I ever get up to Seattle for dinner, I hope to watch him slaughter a bird before he watches me devour it.

Joel Mertens, at Tacoma's C.I. Shenanigans.

Joel Mertens, the chef at Tacoma waterfront restaurant C.I. Shenanigans, has been hired in the same role at X Group Restaurants, operators of Asado and Masa on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue. He'll start in mid-January, said X Group general manager Jeff Paradise, the former GM at Shenanigans who joined X Group in November.

ED'S NOTE: Today's guest blogger is rivitman, a Tacoma cook and frank patron at Ed's Diner. Regarding a story about kitchen health hazards (and more), I give rivitman the keys to Ed's Diner today. His opinions are uniquely his. They originally appeared in the comments of other posts. They're something to chew on.

UPDTED I've asked Anthony Anton, president of the Washington Restaurant Association, to offer his organization's perspective (or rebuttal) to rivitman. I'll post his response here if and when he replies. -- Ed Murrieta.

=> Read more!

Gary Lawrence is back behind the grill. He sold Gary’s Steak Out & Bar in June. Lawrence is the new owner of Big Bubba’s Burgers in Allyn.

“I got my own deal again,” Lawrence told me today. “Me and my wife run it.”

As for the two heart attacks and “blood pressure to the moon” that prompted him to sell his steakhouse, Lawrence said, “I’m doing good. I got away from all that stress.”

But big food followed him. In addition to refurbishing the 45-year-old burger shack on Highway 3, Lawrence added a 1-pound bacon burger ($7.99). That’s not four quarter-pound patties – that’s one 1-pound patty.

“I’ve got to keep my reputation,” said Lawrence, whose Big Food reputation stretches back to his days cooking 10-egg omelets at the Sunriser, which preceded Gary’s Steak Out on Tacoma’s Sixth Avenue.

Quarter-pound burgers start at $2.99. The halibut fillet sandwich is $5.99.

Big Bubba’s Burgers: 18471 E State Rte 3 Allyn; 360-275-6000. Winter hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays.