Category Archives: Coffee Shops, cafes and bistros

EAT at Shake, Shake, Shake

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EATDear daughter has been working hard on her mural, so as a treat I took her and her friend out for a meal at the recently opened Shake Shake Shake, 124 North Tacoma Avenue. Dear daughter had the Cheese Griller with a chocolate shake, her friend had the Classic Deluxe Burger with a coconut shake and I had a Tacoma Dog with a frozen latte shake. The service was fast and friendly, the food tasty and the decor a lot of fun. Dear daughter declared her shake, the best she’d ever had. Shake, Shake, Shake opened March 13, 2013. The building was constructed in 1925 as a grocery store and in 1938 became an I.G.A. In 1999 it was converted to a mini mart.

A review can be found here and their Facebook page can be found here.

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Mad Hat Tea

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8403401219_8727163692_bMad Hat Tea at 1130 Commerce Street in Tacoma has more teas available to brew then I have ever seen in one place. I had seen packets of Mad Hat Tea loose tea available for purchase around town and it is of course there is also a large selection available here. I bought a bag of orange peel and another bag of butter cookie, which I have discovered at home, go well together. Mad Tea has a no cell phone policy, which is refreshing and the customers were visiting with one another and the employees. Altogether a great atmosphere, thought it would have been nice of there had been something to snack on.

http://www.madhattea.com/

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Tullys in the Stadium DIstrict, Baby It’s Cold Outside

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While out running errands I stopped at Tully’s in the Stadium District (24 Tacoma Avenue North). This is one of three Tully’s in Tacoma and one of 200+ locations in the US. The first Tully’s opened in Seattle in 1992.

I usually order an Americano, but today I drank a peppermint mocha because it just looked so darned good advertised up there on the board.

Unbeknownst to me, Tully’s has been in the news the past few days. Apparently the chain is up for sale and Starbucks is one of the potential buyers. There are 47 company owned stores and I don’t know if this is one of them. Another potential buyer is a Grey’s Anatomy actor Patrick Dempsey’s investment group.

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Hula Girls Coffee Company

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Hula Girls Coffee Company at 1901 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma, is a wonderful alternative to Starbucks. It’s been in place at the 76th Station for about a year and in April 2012 was painted a bright, cheery yellow that really makes it stand out! The owner was friendly, the coffee (Kealas Hawaiian) was really good, their prices were righteous and they had pastries from Corina’s Bakery and that is always a sign of quality. I’m sure I’ll be back.

The link for the coffee and the stand can be found here

http://www.kealashawaiiancoffee.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hula-Girls-Coffee-Co/272640566099129

Classic Coffee

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A little ways back I purchased a Living Social coupon for Classic Coffee at 7609 Custer Road in Lakewood. It was a buy a $20 coupon for $10 coupon and today I stopped to pick up fruit smoothies for dear daughter and me.

http://www.classiccoffee.biz/

208 Garfield

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Lunch today with some of my favorite people at 208 Garfield,which sensably enough is located at 208 Garfield Street South, Tacoma, WA near PLU. The restaurant really has a great menu. I had a delicious grilled cheese with grilled red onions and a small side salad for only $4! I also had a filter dripped coffee for $2.

http://208garfield.com/

Cutters Point Coffee

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There are twelve Cutters Point Coffee Shops, 11 in the Puget Sound area and one in Savannah, Georgia. There first shop was founded in Gig Harbor in 2001. This Cutters Point is at 1936 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, WA and is an asset to the museum/school vibe of the area. Inside there is a fireplace, comfy chairs, tables to work at and some fun artwork. I like that they have their logo installed on the floor — its classy.

Their website is www.cutterspoint.com/

After our coffee break dear daughter and I went to the Washington State History Museum to see the exhibit on the Great Depression. It was great!

Update 1/2017 this coffee shop has closed

Forza in University Place

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I hadn’t realized this Forza at 2700 Bridgeport way in University Place existed. It’s a typical, well done Forza with a small, private meeting room. There are 15 Forza locations, down from 23 locations in 2/2011.

forzacoffeecompany.com/

Freeze

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Freeze Frozen Yogurt at 3806 Bridgeport Way West (Green Firs Shopping Center), University Place, WA has been around for about six months and the employees (owner?) was friendly. They have ten flavors (Mango Tango, Alpine Vanilla, Pomegranate Raspberry, Thin Mint,Cake Batter, Milk Chocolate, Hawaiian Pineapple, Sweet Coconut,Cheesecake and Lemon Bar) at any one time and a nice assortment of toppings.

On the way home this little girl was wandering around in the street, stopping traffic. How could I leave her there? So I scooped her up and brought her home. After an hour or so the owner called me back and we took her home. She was a very sweet dog, but growled at our two pups.

Update: June 2015. There is a sign up at Freeze that says they are closed because of mechanical issues, but the sign has been up for a while and I wonder if they are just closed.