The Toynbee Floral Co. has been vacant for some time. I found a photo from 2012 in which it looked much the same as above. And I find no other mention of it during a quick web search. I love the painted storefront windows with my favorite detail being that the blinds on the window to the left are also paint!
There are Italian restaurant, French restaurants, all types of Asian restaurants, but very few Australian restaurants! But today I found one, The Australian Pie Co. at 425 SW, 152nd Street, Burien, WA. Dear husband and I drove there just to sample their meat pies, which are filled with chicken or steak with various additions (mushrooms, potato, cheese, onion, etc.) I had the beef and mushroom and he had the beef and cheese. The pies are kind of like pot pies, with each one having a wonderful crust and savory filling. We brought home a chicken and asparagus pie for dinner for us and a vegetable pie for dear daughter. Both of those were also yummy. We also brought home a sampling of desserts including a yet untasted Lamington Cake. There is also a small collection of Australian products for sale. The Australian Pie Co’s website is here.
The Nisqually Delta is one of 23 National Wildlife Refuges in Washington State and the only one in Thurston County. Today I went to visit because I had to get out of the house and into the sunshine. Dear husband got up extra early and opted for a nap and dear daughter was under the weather. I was afraid that the eagles would carry away the dogs (and it turns out they weren’t allowed anyway), so I went alone. I was surprised to see that the visitor center was open and there were only a couple of parking spots available.
http://www.fws.gov/refuge/nisqually/
The dairy barns above were built in 1934 as part of the large Brown family farm that had been on the site. The eagle below was perched on a tree near the barns. One of the highlights of the hike was an older man with a very nice telescope showed me a Northern Shrike, an unusual bird for this part of the country. Apparently this charming little bird will sometimes eat other birds! Live and learn.
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
Northern Fish Company at 2201 Ruston Way in Tacoma has a wonderful setting with Commencement Bay out its back door (if it had a back door!). There are two Northern Fish Co. locations in Tacoma with the other one being at 3911 South 56th. The Ruston Way location not only offers seafood to prepare at home, but also seafood chowders and baskets to either eat there or at home. Their website is here http://www.northernfish.com/
During this extended winter I’ve had more then my fair share of coffee. Today I went out for a walk, but it started to hail! So, I ducked into the Northern Pacific Coffee Company at 401 Garfield Street South, in the Parkland area of unincorporated Pierce County. The coffee shop features lunch, sweets, wine, beer, coffee drinks and frappes. I had a delicious Americano and a chai cupcake.
Northern Pacific Coffee Company’s facebook page can be found here http://www.facebook.com/pages/Northern-Pacific-Coffee-Company-NPCC/167740459948412
Update: Northern Pacific Coffee Company closed as of January 2017.
Days when everything goes right deserve a treat, so dear daughter and I stopped at a new to us place in Freighthouse Square called Seasonal Delights Cafe & Espresso Co. We shared this wonderful, still warm cinnamon bun and half was plenty. Next time we’ll go for dinner or lunch and try the crepes!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seasonal-Delights-Cafe-Espresso-Co/135368629853945?sk=photos
Ha! Nobody has ever accused me of being cutting edge, but two days after we were there the Tacoma News Tribune reviewed this restaurant 🙂
Update June 2013: Sadly when I stopped by this week to buy a pie, Season Delights was gone. It appears that they vacated the space in April or May.
