Tag Archives: restaurant

Peanut Sauce Thai

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After a long day, I stopped at Peanut Thai for some delicious take out. My dear daughter has had a cough and she thought that maybe some spicy food would help. If only she would order something that that was indeed spicy! But it tasted good. The adults both liked the fried avocado and the pad thai and sizzling chicken were also delightful.

Ste 105, 5003 Tacoma Mall Boulevard
Tacoma, WA 98409-7120
(253) 475-4889

http://www.peanutsaucethaicuisine.com/index.php

Their complete menu is on their website.

Beyond the Bridge Cafe

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2010 was a good year for new coffee houses in Tacoma. One of the best is Beyond the Bridge Cafe at 2717 6th Avenue Tacoma, WA 98406 – (253) 572-9199. My dear daughter and I went thinking at first that it was at the west end of Sixth Avenue near the Narrows Bridge, but it was more towards the center/east end of Sixth. It had a unique art/coffee house feel with plenty of big comfy chairs. A different art bird was painted on to each of the tables and the wall also had a mural. This is the kind of place people come with their laptops and settle in for a while. The art on display made it all the more interesting and was reasonably priced.

We ordered a latte for me, a vanilla Italian soda for the teen and a full monty bagel sandwich minus the bacon to share. They forgot the drinks, but felt bad about it and not only gave us our drinks but a get two free card. In addition to coffee, they offer wine and beer. The sandwich was very tasty and so were the drinks once they arrived.

http://beyondthebridgecafe.com/

http://www.facebook.com/bbc4life?ref=ts&v=info

Note:  I’m sad to say that Beyond the Bridge Cafe closed its doors on May 14, 2011.

http://www.weeklyvolcano.com/entertainment/spew-blog/2011/05/The-last-day-of-Beyond-the-Bridge-Cafe-tacoma-coffee-shop-closes-ben-and-patricia-rubke/

Ruby Tuesday, one choice for the holidays

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Ruby Tuesday

Originally uploaded by Gexydaf

Today we went to see the Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 3D My dear daughter and I had recently rewatched the first two movies in the series and were looking forward to this recent installment. We really loved it. Much of the movie was set on the ship and the visuals of the sea were stupendous.

Anyway, we had 30 minutes to eat lunch. My dear daughter gets rather grumpy when not feed, so it was important to eat. While large chain restaurants are not our first choice, it was Ruby Tuesday or a Sports Bar and Ruby Tuesday was the clear winner. We had an appetizer each (a single crab cake for me and spinach dip for her) and also sodas. With the tip, it came to $30, which seemed kind of expensive. The food was good, but not that special. Service was pleasant and understanding about our short time frame.

http://www.rubytuesday.com/

There are 890 Ruby Tuesday locations, including several overseas spots (Chile, Iceland, India, Egypt, Hong Kong, and more). The original restaurant opened in 1972 in Tennessee. The chain is named after the Rolling Stones song.
Update 12/12 Both this Ruby Tuesday and the one in University Place have closed.

Traditions Cafe & World Folk Art

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Ever since one of my Flickr friends posted a photo of a lovely pair of earring that he purchased at Traditions Cafe & World Folk Art in downtown Olympia, I’ve been wanting to try it out. The place has two components, the store and the restaurant but there is an easy flow between the two. We ordered our delicious and filling paninis at the counter and the staff brought them out to us. Afterward we shopped a bit and I purchased a green hat that I love and some dead sea salt soap. What struck me about both the store and the cafe parts is how happy every one seemed to be, both the employees and the customers. I’m sure we’ll be back 🙂

Their website is here
http://www.traditionsfairtrade.com/pages/tradhome.html

An explanation of the concept of Fair Trade is here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade

Affairs Cafe & Bakery

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Today the ladies and I lunched at Affairs Cafe & Bakery and listened to a great program about the Broadway Center. I’ve been coming to Affairs on occasion for years and remember when they had a fire in October 2000 that closed them for some time. They are justly known for their truffles, cheesecakes, catering and delicious breakfasts and lunches.

Oh, and I also included a photo of a cool dinosaur that we discovered today!

2811 Bridgeport Way W # 15
University Place, WA 98466-4602
(253) 565-8604

http://www.affairs-chocolate.com/

4/2013 Update On March 16, 2013 Affairs closed. The owner, Gay, retired. Good for her, but I’ll miss the place! The opened on 12/10/1985.

Flying Boots Restaurant & Spur Room

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Flying Boots Cafe and Spur Room, so tonight I stopped to take a photo and consider it as my new place of the day. Tacoma Public Library shows the Flying Boots Cafe opening in 1930 and the new cafe opening in 1955 after remodeling. The bar part of the restaurant is called the Spur Room, and yes they have Karaoke. At night the neon wings on the boot turn on and off.

Flying Boots Restaurant & Spur
614 South 38th Street
Tacoma, WA 98418-6716
(253) 475-9628

 

Keep Clam

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 One of the few fast food restaurants that I actually like is Ivar’s Seafood Bar. I’m not sure how it got that name, since there is no ‘bar’ at the bar! These little restaurants have good food (mostly fried), extra friendly staff and are clean.

Ivar’s website informs me that there are 26 seafood bar locations, 25 of which are in Washington State and 1 is in Santa Clara, California. In addition there are more refined restaurants and also there are stands at local stadiums.

Per the website, the name Ivar’s Acres of Clams came from the last verse of “The Old Settler.”

No longer a slave to ambition
I laugh at the world and its shams
As I survey my happy condition
Surrounded by acres of clams.

http://ivars.com/

James Center
1820 South Mildred
Tacoma, WA 98409
(253) 565-5196
Sunday-Thurs 10:30am to 10pm
Friday-Saturday 10:30am to 11pm

A yummy, but crowded lunch at Panera Bread

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I know it’s a big chain, but I really like Panera Bread. Their food is tasty, service is pleasant and the decor is attractive. So, I was pleased when when one recently opened at the near by Tacoma Mall. I’m not a big fan of malls, but there is an outside door so I didn’t have to actually go into the mall. My only complaint with this new Panera is that it was too crowded and the tables where too close together.

4502 S. Steel Street, Tacoma, WA

http://www.panerabread.com/

Vertical Garden

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Originally uploaded by Gexydaf

 

To continue the art theme for the month of November, today’s new place is Goodwill’s Milgard Work Opportunity Center at 714 S. 27th St. In particular, the Living Wall or Vertical Garden at the Center is spectacular! It was designed by Patrick Blanc and has nealry 100 plant species. As you can see by the photo, the garden is really large at 20’x40′.  These sites explain it better than I could!

http://www.vegitecture.net/2009/09/tacoma-goodwill-green-wall.html

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw/2010642515_pacificplife10.html?cmpid=2628

The Milgard Center itself, which opened in September 2009, is pretty spectacular. I was taken out for lunch there by a dear friend and the food was wonderful and very reasonable. The public Neighborhood Bistro Restaurant is open M-F, 11 – 1:30.  http://tacomagoodwill.org/about/mwoc/

A lackluster meal at La Palma

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Originally uploaded by Gexydaf

I was going to go out to Snake Lake today to catch some autumn leaves, but it started to pour.   So instead I went out to lunch with dear husband. We have one of those Entertainment Coupon books and it’s expiring on 11/1, so I thought we’d use it. I riffled the pages and stuck my finger on La Palma. The interior is fairly standard Mexican Restaurant; there must be a warehouse of that stuff somewhere! The food was also very standard. I ate 1/2 of mine and boxed up the rest. Dear husband had a little more than 1/2 of his, but it made him sick! Not food poisoning sick, but too greasy sick. He’ll be fine, but I won’t be able to get him back there!  The service is the only thing that was exceptional about the experience.

 I probably should have read the Yelp reviews before visiting!  http://www.yelp.com/biz/la-palma-family-mexican-restaurant-and-lounge-lakewood