Walking into Lieu’s in Parkland always was such a treat with the glitzy stuck-in-time decor that few Chinese-American restaurants still carry. Old timers will recall when the longtime Tacoma Chinese restaurant closed in 2012, but ...
We finally have a spot for Swedish meatballs (that don’t come from your grandma’s kitchen). Manic Meatballs in Lakewood opened three weeks ago with a menu built for Scandis, but with broader appeal to those ...
Verone’s Italian Kitchen & Sausage Company in Fircrest opened in late December and it brought with it five-napkin deli sandwiches, a refrigerator case stocked with take-and-bake delights, a display case filled with freshly-made sausage and ...
Like a lot of restaurant owners this weekend, Kerry Vetters is shopping for a carbon dioxide monitor. The carbon dioxide monitors can give air quality measurements that will be one vital measure for Pierce County ...
Never have I been happier to see a calendar flip. At the close of a year that proved brutal for local restaurants, I want to take a moment to celebrate new restaurants that expanded the ...
Staying home and skipping the big gatherings is necessary, but certainly less fun than the way we all want to celebrate the end to what has been a horrible year for most. But it will ...
The email messages started a few weeks ago. “Where do I get Chinese take-out for Christmas?” Every year I compile the list, and every year more people ask for the list earlier and earlier. That ...
Tacoma’s Unique Bakery has opened at 925 Market St. And it brings with it something this city is short on – a deep selection of French pastries. Local diners can swoop up croissants, macarons, cream ...
Making Christmas tamales together is a tradition spanning generations for some families. Except this year gathering to make those tamales becomes so much more complicated with pandemic concerns. That’s likely why Palmira Mendoza Martinez has ...
Jason Alexander stood at the bar last week at newly opened Gilman House. He hovered over a giant plastic bucket surrounded by smaller buckets half filled with house-made elixirs for which Gilman House and its ...
Shortly before 11 a.m. on a Sunday in November, the line started to assemble on Sixth Avenue. A woman who clearly had become a regular at The Cat & Rabbitt Cakeshop, which opened Nov. 15 ...
The difference between good hot cocoa bombs and excellent ones, Lisa Holmgren found, was about a half-inch. In the two-inch hot cocoa bomb mold, the Steilacoom bakery owner found she could fit some marshmallows into ...
Verone’s Italian Sausage could be one of the oldest food companies based in Tacoma that you’ve maybe never heard of. But that’s about to change with the opening of their new retail location. The five-generation ...
It’s always a good time to shop locally. Lucky us, we’ve got plenty of local food businesses producing fancy hand-decorated cookies, smoked landjaeger, boutique oyster packs, handmade ginger beer, hand-dipped truffles and pints of ice ...
Once again, Christmas dinner won’t look like it has in the past for any of us. Who could ever have predicted the most important ingredient during the 2020 holiday dining season would be Webex and ...
When the state order came in November requiring restaurant dining rooms to close, some restaurants started hatching plans to turn what most definitely is a negative situation into something transformative. What better time to rip ...
Traditionally around here, just after Thanksgiving, we all start thinking about al fresco dining season. Ugh. Not really. Out of necessity, and by state order, only outdoor dining is allowed right now. It’s not fun ...
Just in time for end-of-this-miserable-year stress eating there’s hope: A meatball restaurant is opening. If all goes as planned, Manic Meatballs will open in December in Lakewood’s Tillicum neighborhood just outside JBLM. UPDATE: The restaurant ...
Last day!! Restaurant Rally is here and that means diners get 30 percent off take-out food at participating restaurants through Nov. 19 (as a reminder, all dining rooms were ordered closed yesterday through Dec. 14). ...
With an unexpected batch of new regulations kicking in for restaurants tomorrow that will last through Dec. 14, full-service Pierce County restaurants will be struggling mightily the next four weeks. Pierce County Council today passed ...
Restaurant Rally is here and that means diners get 30 percent off food at participating restaurants through Nov. 19. The discount is good for dine-in and take-out food through today (Nov. 17) and for take-out ...
Restaurant Rally is here with 30 percent discounts on dine-in and take out meals through Nov. 17 and take-out only meals Nov. 18-19. I am featuring my favorite take-out dishes this week. Read to the ...
Just announced by Gov. Jay Inslee on Nov. 15, 2020: New restrictions for dining in Pierce County and across the state. Here are a few take-aways: NEW DINING RESTRICTIONS * Indoor dining is paused at ...
Restaurant Rally is here and that means diners get 30 percent off food at participating restaurants Nov. 15-19. Both dine-in and take-out food is included. Considering the rising virus numbers and that new restrictions were ...
Welcome to today’s installment in support of Pierce County’s Restaurant Rally. Today’s featured restaurants are Happy Teriyaki and The Mill Steakhouse & Spirits. I’ll be writing about locally owned restaurants throughout the rally, which takes ...
Welcome to today’s installment in support of Pierce County’s Restaurant Rally. Today’s featured restaurants are Yen Ching and Bar Bistro! I’ll be writing about locally owned restaurants throughout the rally, which takes place Nov. 8-12 ...
Today, I’m featuring Saigon House in Tacoma and E9 Brewing Co., two restaurants you should visit for Pierce County’s Restaurant Rally. I’ll be writing about locally owned restaurants throughout the rally, which takes place Nov. ...
Pierce County Restaurant Rally is now underway. Check out Fiesta Taqueria in Puyallup and South Hill and Cooper's Food & Drink in Tacoma.
Today, I’m featuring Chili Thai and Citron European Restaurant, two outstanding restaurants you should visit for Pierce County’s Restaurant Rally. I’ll be writing about locally owned restaurants throughout the rally, which takes place Nov. 8-12 ...
Two things a diner should do on a first visit to newly opened Tacoma Laotian restaurant Sweet Rice: Dip and pluck. Sweet Rice’s name nods to sweet sticky rice, a staple of Laotian cuisine. “In ...
The Sixth Avenue taco and cocktail spot El Borracho has closed permanently, but co-owner Kittie Davidovich said that if all goes as planned, she and partner Adam Pomerleau will open something else in that space ...
Restaurant Rally, a discount program offering diners 30 percent off meals at participating restaurants, is less than a week away and restaurant owners are prepping for a deluge of customers. Pierce County also launched the ...
Welp. This won’t be the Thanksgiving we want with all the pandemic concerns about group gatherings, but let me help you try and make the most of Thanksgiving 2020 anyway. With many families skipping the big ...
Five years ago, I used to have to send diners to King County when they’d ask me about a seafood boil/crawfish restaurant. Today, Pierce County not only has choices, it has multiple choices for seafood ...
In 2015, husband-wife baking team Roger Martinho and Mirtha Sanchez opened their tiny, tiny bakery inside Tacoma’s Freighthouse Square food court. La Waffletz and Macaron Station could barely fit two pastry chefs in its kitchen. ...
I love living in a town with such little pretense, especially when it comes to our food. Our economy relies on strip malls, so much so that strip malls have become ever present in our ...
The first thing you’ll notice about Old Town Wine Skins is how light and bright the space has become. That’s the work of co-owner Cosette Pfaff, who opened the wine bar and eatery on Monday ...
Chef Blake Lord-Wittig dug deep into hyper local ingredients at his last restaurant, De La Terre. With Spice Lab, his new restaurant opening in downtown Tacoma on October 21, the concept goes global in scope ...
Tacoma’s West End Pub very quietly opened its doors this week, during a period that has seen a slow roll of reopenings for bars and restaurants across Pierce County. So far this month, we’ve seen ...
We’re a city without pretense, which is why in Tacoma, it’s not unusual to find some of the city’s best eating in a strip mall. Enter Miyamoto, Tacoma’s newest sushi restaurant that opened September 24. ...
Restaurant work is grueling, but it’s just a little easier once you find your “people.” You rely on those people to make sure you don’t cut off your finger, get accidentally locked in the walk-in, ...
Well, this sounds awesome for restaurants and for diners. I saw that Pierce County Councilmember Marty Campbell posted about this new county program for restaurants. Pierce County Council just approved the program that aims to ...
It’s been two years since Bliss Small Batch Creamery opened its first brick-and-mortar location in University Place. Happy birthday to Bliss. Everybody gets a birthday benefit from their celebration. Get half-off ice cream (cups and ...
Opening a high-end concept restaurant in Tacoma is tricky right now, especially just after we lost the best fine dining restaurant in Tacoma. Cuerno Bravo in Tacoma’s St. Helens neighborhood quietly reopened two weeks ago, ...
About this time every October, a volunteer army piles into St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Tacoma, armed with buckets of tzatziki, hundreds of pounds of gyro meat, 11,000 wedges of baklava, and sturdy shoes. ...
Oh, what a glorious day for people in search of cheap eating. Wienerschnitzel opened today (Sept. 25) in Fife at 5156 Pacific Hwy E. and it brought with it $1.69 corn dogs, $1.99 chili dogs, ...
Tacoma’s first Laotian restaurant, Sweet Rice, is opening in Tacoma in October. UPDATE: The restaurant opened October 23. Read more here. The restaurant will feature Laotian specialties, including sweet rice, the Lao staple for which the ...
Magnuson Kitchen + Brewery will not be reopening at Point Ruston, the restaurant reported in a message. The restaurant and bar featured a menu of pub fare with a taplist heavy on Magnuson brews. The ...
Parkland’s newest taproom, Home Turf, opened at Garfield Station in late August. John Fosberg, founder of Gig Harbor Brewing Co., is one of the people behind the project. The taproom is within steps of Pacific ...
One bite into the brownie at newly opened Delish Bakery in Steilacoom, I knew it was in the top three brownies I’ve ever had in Pierce County. If you go to Delish Bakery for one ...
The Swiss Restaurant & Pub in Tacoma is closing permanently, the restaurant announced. The restaurant was in business for 27 years and was known as one of the best destinations in the area for live ...
Pacific Grill in downtown Tacoma is closing permanently. Read to the end of this article for a release from owner Gordon Naccarato of Naccarato Restaurant Group. It should come as no surprise, in an era ...
It’s happening. BBQ Pete’s is opening its Lakewood restaurant today (September 4, 2020) at Lakewood Towne Center. The Peterson family founded the longtime barbecue restaurant in Pierce County all the way back in 1972. That ...
Gary Wofford has closed his Bonney Lake Tavern, or BLT as the locals know it. The 23-year-old restaurant and bar closed this week because the restaurant’s owner could not come to favorable lease terms with ...
The national hot dog chain, known for its buildings painted in distinctive shades of ketchup red and mustard yellow, is opening a location in Pierce County. Wienerschnitzel will operate in Fife at 5156 Pacific Hwy ...
As I told you back in February, Tacoma’s Puget Sound Pizza is expanding. The Spanaway location of Puget Sound Pizza opens tomorrow (Sept. 2, 2020) at its new home at 124 146th St. S., which ...
Ice Cream Social is on the move, and it’s expanding. The Tacoma-based 8-year-old ice cream company founded by Layla Isaac operates two scoop shops. Isaac opened her first retail store in Tacoma’s Sixth Avenue neighborhood ...
The Main Ingredient, a new combo pizzeria and breakfast spot, has opened at 5419 South Tacoma Way. The restaurant is in soft opening mode with a limited menu as they work on building the kitchen ...
It’s been a long and fruitful career of sandwich making for Kristy Reopelle, but it’s the end of the line for her Quiznos sandwich shop in South Hill. She’ll close her sandwich shop on Sunday ...
So many diners have commented to me in the last few weeks that they don’t understand why restaurants have scaled back their menus. Apparently they missed the memo, but restaurants are struggling mightily right now ...
Step 1: Clear your schedule for Sunday brunch. Step 2: Secure a designated driver. Step 3: Reach into the back of your closet for your Thanksgiving pants. Step 4: Head to Gilman House, Tacoma’s newest ...
Two months ago, Mija Chang stood in the half-assembled dining room of BB.Q Olive Chicken in Lakewood and worried about the final details of opening her Korean fried chicken restaurant with her sister Mi Young ...
In this era of constantly evolving regulations guiding which businesses can operate (or can’t), locals are doing what we all should strive to do: Turn into scrappy fighters in the face of adversity. Here’s one ...
Today was a triumphant day for restaurant owner Tim Bartz. More than two years after a fire took out his popular downtown eatery Happy Teriyaki #4, he reopened the doors (August 3, 2020). “We’re very ...
Two years after he started work on the new home for his North End Tavern, Ron Kerns is still at it. The name is now North End on Pearl and when it’s done, it’ll be ...
Old Town Wine Skins is coming to Tacoma’s Old Town neighborhood. Late August or later is the target opening timeframe for the wine bar and small-plates cafe that will be across the street from The ...
In January, I wrote about BBQ Pete’s expanding to Lakewood. At the time, an opening was estimated for the spring. And then the pandemic hit. That slowed progress, but BBQ Pete’s fans will be happy ...
Delish Bakery is opening in Steilacoom and visitors can expect a menu of pastries, cakes, cookies, cake pops, macarons, cinnamon rolls, pies, croissants and “a little bit of bread.” The bakery is the project of ...
Little Radio in downtown Tacoma is all powered up. The restaurant and bar is from well-known Tacoma beer guy Ken Thoburn and his business partners at Tacoma’s Wingman Brewers. That brewery celebrated its ninth anniversary ...
Since 1999, Deborah Tuggle has lived by the motto that “sharing cookies is sharing love.” She started her cookie company Bite Me Cookies, Inc. 21 years ago in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood. She sold her cookies ...
Cooper’s Food & Drink is now open in Tacoma’s Westgate neighborhood. It brings with it the feel of a neighborhood restaurant, a family-friendly vibe and an outdoor dining area well equipped for socially distant dining. ...
The West End Pub & Grill in Tacoma’s Sixth Avenue neighborhood has new owners. The longtime bar that has operated since 1975 will join an arsenal of neighborhood bars owned by Jeff and Helen Fraychineaud. ...
It’s true – the Lakewood Black Angus has closed permanently after 41 years of grilling steaks at 9905 Bridgeport Way SW. I’ve had a number of readers ask about the restaurant since the sign was ...
UPDATE: FIND MY WINTER OUTDOOR DINING STORY AT THIS LINK July 2020 – If you’re searching for restaurants with outdoor dining on patios, decks and other al fresco dining opportunities, you’re not alone. I’ve been ...
When Crystal and Bakaffa Casey were stationed in Italy while Bakaffa was in the Army, taking a trip to another European country became a weekend tradition. Those mini vacations allowed them to eat their way ...
Mija Chang stood at the entrance of her new restaurant, BB.Q Olive Chicken in Lakewood two weeks ago. Construction dust was everywhere. “It’s been a lot of work, but there’s still so much more to ...
Grit City Ciderworks is now open in Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood.
So many people have asked me in Where to Dine Pierce County, the Facebook group, where to find live seafood tanks and fresh seafood. Here’s your answer. This is a growing guide to fresh and ...
Summer’s canceled. Or that’s how it feels right now. Concerts, festivals and fairs. We won’t be enjoying those this summer. But you know what’s not canceled, for at least three weekends? Elephant ears, Krusty pups ...
Coming soon to South Tacoma Way is The Main Ingredient, a combo pizzeria and breakfast spot operating in the same space that formerly housed Stonegate Pizza. UPDATE AUGUST 2020: The restaurant is now open. Read more ...
When Costella’s opens in South Hill, it’ll provide a little something for everyone: an Italian restaurant, deli counter, market and wine bar. All in one location. Mike Rubel is the building owner and also the ...
When Gilman House opens this summer in the Stadium neighborhood’s former Copper Door space, it’ll be a powerhouse cocktail and dining destination in a neighborhood full of solid eating and drinking. UPDATE AUGUST 2020: Gilman ...
Foss Waterway has a new deli destination for lunchtime dining. Dock Street Deli has opened at 1901 Dock St. in the home of West of the Waterway. That’s the event space that took over the ...
When Toast Mi opens, it’ll bring something to the Proctor neighborhood that it’s never had: a grab-and-go bánh mì sandwich shop. It’s not the first time a bánh mì spot has been destined for the ...
When Tacoma beverage superpowers align, wonderful things happen. This weekend is proof with a drive-thru cider and beer festival safe for social distancing. Tacoma Brewing Co., Tacoma Cider Co., Witch Dog Brewing and Mad Hat ...
Summer seems to be the best time to open a soup shop around here. Really. Zen Ramen & Sushi Burrito has proven that before when it opened in Parkland in July 2018. And don’t forget ...
Tacoma’s Steamer’s Seafood Cafe has a sense-of-place like no other and over the last 15 years, I’ve written more than once that Steamer’s Seafood Cafe at Titlow Beach is the most affordable view restaurant in ...
When Cider + Cedar opens on Tacoma Avenue South, visitors might wonder: Is this a furniture gallery or a cider taproom? The answer is an emphatic “both.” The name appropriately combines the interests of Mia ...
We’ve been waiting for what feels like an eternity, but Phase 2 for restaurant dining is finally here, announced this morning by Pierce County. This is the phase when restaurants in Pierce County can once ...
Who would have thought six months ago that frozen takeout cocktails and giant see-through vinyl domes would be the key to successfully operating a bar? And yet here we are. Tacoma bar owner Patrick Haight ...
When the noodle and dumpling stand Mogoso debuts at the Tacoma Farmers Market Thursday (June 4), the pop-up restaurant will merge the palates of its Korean and Chinese owners. It’ll also fill a need for ...
Opening during a pandemic is a crazy venture, but Vu Nguyen was up for the challenge. Since opening his Louisiana-themed restaurant Cravin’ Crawfish in Tacoma, he’s met a surprising number of people who love seafood ...
Multiple members of my Facebook group Where to Dine Pierce County – 12,000 members strong, come join us! – posted great questions this weekend. They all asked this – “Do we have a list of ...
Look out Tacoma, you’re getting another beer spot. Pint & Pie hopes for a June opening in the Stadium neighborhood. This one is a brewery that will serve a small and succinct menu of savory ...
Odin Brewing Company is expanding to Tacoma. The Tukwila brewery is opening a second Odin in the former Stadium neighborhood Hub space at 203 Tacoma Ave. S. UPDATE: Owner Dan Lee announced the brewery and ...
The intersection of Taco Tuesday and Cinco de Mayo on the same day any other year would generate lines out the door and packed bars. But these aren’t normal times. But you know what can ...
In the last four years, Brianne Day has operated her Spilled Butter Desserts out of a cubbyhole window in North Tacoma, her mother’s catering kitchen and a rented kitchen space. Out of those temporary spaces, ...
In a normal year, we’d pick out mom’s favorite Pierce County restaurant for Mother’s Day and make a reservation. There would be mimosas aplenty, a brunch buffet or maybe a steak-and-lobster feast with doting table-side ...
The Swiss Restaurant & Pub in downtown Tacoma knows how to throw a damn fine party. Especially when the longtime live music destination is celebrating its anniversary with a very loud band and plenty of ...
The statewide shutdown of construction could not have come at a more precarious time for Ken Thoburn and his business partners at Tacoma’s Wingman Brewers, which celebrates its ninth anniversary this week. While their brewery ...
For some Tacomans, Easter isn’t Easter without a coconut egg or chocolate bunny from Tacoma’s Johnson Candy Company. Good news: They’re open now for curbside pickup, or mail orders. Call 253-272-8504 between 10 a.m. and ...
Restaurants might be closed for in-person dining thanks to Covid-19, but Tacoma-area restaurants still want you to have a nice Easter dinner or brunch. I’ve gathered a collection of menus and information about 2020 Easter ...
These are weird times. Sometimes weird times call for extreme measures, like closing all restaurants for in-person dining to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19. Need to know who is open with takeout and delivery? ...
The Berliner Beerhall went from a derelict building to a downtown Tacoma destination. It took about 7 years to get there and what a ride it has been. And now it is opening. Check the ...
If you’re a local who is familiar with the area’s wine scene you already know the name Kris Blondin. Blondin’s Amitie Wine Company is downtown Tacoma’s brand new wine destination that opened in February at ...
The Berliner Beerhall is opening in downtown Tacoma this month. It’s not a wild hoax seven years in the making. It’s actually happening this month, as in March 2020. Seriously. I’m not making this up. ...
Sukiyaki is one of those elusive Japanese dishes in restaurants, although I have so many friends who cook it at home. It’s a one-pot meal with slippery noodles, thinly-sliced beef, tofu and veggies sunk into ...
Cooper’s Food & Drink is about to happen – about two years after co-owners and longtime restaurant owners Greg and Tanya Troger bought the building and land that was home to one of Tacoma’s diviest ...
If all goes as planned, by the end of March, the Foss Waterway will have a new deli destination for lunchtime dining and downtown delivery. Dock Street Deli will open at 1901 Dock St. in ...
Cafe Azure opened February 10 in downtown Tacoma and one of the first things owner Tracy Roberts likes to talk about with newcomers to her business is the pool in the building. “The building is ...
You’ve got just a few more weeks to enjoy the crepes at Savor Creperie. The downtown Tacoma creperie will close March 14. “We are delighted that Savor Creperie has been a successful part of Tacoma ...
Pour Me Bar & Bistro, opening at 18810 Meridian E. this spring, was born out of Dean Pitigliano’s need for a date-night spot that comes with a full cocktail menu, carries great beers on tap ...
Move over White Claw, the hard seltzer craze has officially come to Tacoma’s craft beverage scene. Tacoma Seltzer Co. plans a March 14 grand opening and you’re all invited. Tacoma Seltzer Co. owner Morgan Alexander ...
Puget Sound Pizza, one of Tacoma’s most favorite destinations for pizza, booze and karaoke, is expanding. Owner Cory Cannell will open a second Puget Sound Pizza location in Spanaway this spring. The original location in ...
Alfred’s Cafe in Tacoma’s Dome District has a new owner, but locals and regulars will recognize him. Longtime Alfred’s Cafe bartender Scott Wright is the new operator of the popular breakfast spot that previously was ...
Here’s some pretty big taco news. Taqueria El Rinconsito plans to open soon in South Hill. The good news about that is that the taqueria will be the first of what’s expected to be three ...
Cravin’ Crawfish, a new crawfish and seafood boil restaurant, plans to open this spring in Tacoma. Vu and Hana Nguyen will be the owners of the Louisiana-themed restaurant at 5015 Tacoma Mall Boulevard. Cravin’ Crawfish ...
Because restaurants are swamped and lines are long and reservations are so hard to come by, I tell diners to keep it simple for Valentine’s Day: Visit a local chocolate maker or bakery and buy ...
Expect an opening later this month for Perry’s Cocktail Bar. The downtown Puyallup restaurant and lounge will be a decidedly grown-up destination. Perry’s will offer a polished cocktail menu and a menu of playful New ...
Tacoma vegan restaurant Viva is now open in its new location in the Proctor neighborhood.
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Dine Pierce County is managed by Sue Kidd, a career food journalist. No advertising or payment for articles is ever accepted by Dine Pierce County. This site is funded by volunteer subscriber contributions only. Sue is a member of the Association of Food Journalists and adheres to the AFJ’s ethical standards for food and restaurant writers. Reach out through Facebook or Instagram. Links on this page.
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