Archive | August, 2011

IPA Festival at The Parkway Tavern

29 Aug

A recount of the delightfully hoppy affair at the Parkway Tavern, showcasing the Northwest’s best IPAs and some unique BBQ

I’ve long had a love affair with the Parkway Tavern.  I remember the humble beginnings of what would become one of the premier taprooms in the South Sound, before the glorious mahogany bar and zebra safari room, when you could count the taps on one hand and touch the low popcorn ceilings with the other.  Hell, The Parkway provided the keg of Boundary Bay IPA for my wedding a few years back.  But this is not a write up on the Parkway, we’ll save that for a long weekend when we can hit most of the menu and all of the taps.  This is a thread about the glory that is the annual IPA fest.  Love and Hoppiness.

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On Douches: Figurative and Literal

28 Aug

Another non-food post, this one about the evolution of the word “douche” and our appropriation of it as a moniker. 

You too can own a douche plate. Trixiedelicious on Etsy.

Our occasional reference to the term “food douche” or “food douches” has been a point of some debate between our friends and relatives, and I can only assume for the victorian hordes of Gritty City Food readers everywhere.  For me, the debate makes the term even more hilarious, but perhaps it is only fair to uncloak the mystery for those who think we are describing an edible female (un)hygienic device.

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STINK

26 Aug

Welcome to the first ever Gritty City Food blog banter!  Yay you!  For our first foray into this dialogue-styled post, we chose Stink – a deli/meat and cheese shop on 628 St Helens Ave.  It seemed only fitting.  Tacoma is so well known for it’s aroma, and Stink is the perfect example of how that aroma is shifting toward a more delightful odor.  We’ve traded burnt socks and rotten eggs for aged cheese and cured meats.  I think we got the better end of that bargain.  This post features both Adam and I in our most robust and finest – instant messaging over Facebook, typing between mouthfuls of inspiring drink.  Enjoy!

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Comments!

25 Aug

While Adam and I prepare our minds and bodies for our first blog banter (on new cafe/deli Stink), I made some changes in the comment settings so readers could join in the discussion more easily.  You will no longer be asked to enter your email, and only your first comment will need approval (although this feature does require you input your email).  Sooooooo, get talking.  Tell us if your experience somewhere was completely different from ours, or if we overlooked something awesome, or if our posts become increasingly incoherent and tangential….which they are.  We just want to hear your take.  So, comment away!

do this....

PHO 701

22 Aug

#26 - Vermicelli Rice Noodles...lightly glazed with crack sauce

In the not so distant past, it seemed like pho places were popping up like weeds.  They each took on punny names like “Pho You” or “What the Pho?”  This of course is due to the fact that “pho” rhymes with a favorite curse word – unbeknownst to many city commerce officials – making it rife with immature possibility.  Each of these places followed roughly the same business model: strip mall, tile floors, formica tables, hermetically sealed chopsticks, and monstrous bowls of salty broth filled with meat and noodles.  Pho 701 may not get top honors in the name department, but this place far surpasses your typical noodle house.  You better pho king believe it!

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MSM Deli

19 Aug

Reuben stacked and ready for business

It is a goal of this blog to document the unique and unknown in Tacoma.  It is however inevitable that we will showcase the diners, dives, delis, and taco trucks that make this gritty city great.  MSM Grocery & Deli on 6th and South Trafton is certainly one of those places.

MSM Deli (or Magical Sandwich Makers to those not so keen on brevity, or Magical Sandwich Makers Grocery II & Deli to any Ents in our reading audience) is as unassuming as they come: a rectangular white box of a building stacked with refrigerator banks and minimart-esque wire racks filled with assorted snacks and grocery items; however, a jampacked parking lot and steady stream of hungry sandwich enthusiasts betray the sleepy exterior.  A well known Tacoma fact is this place makes a mean sandwich.  So mean, you’ll likely find yourself standing in line for some time while some creepy lady with a Disneyland sweater makes gooey eyes at you.  MSM is so accessible, and so reasonably priced (sandwiches start under $5), it isn’t uncommon to see a suit diving mouth-first into a club sandwich seated next to a crack head (partially based on assumption….ok, largely based on assumption).  This last bit of info surely won’t scare the typical Gritty Tacoman, but this does help to repel the Bluetooths and Beamers.  Douchebag repellant.

To the jump!

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TWOKOI

18 Aug

TwoKoi Japanese Restaurant is exactly what you expect as you walk in the door: clean, fresh and obviously Asian inspired decor. What attracted us today was their Monday-Thursday lunch special: all you can eat sushi rolls. You must sit at the bar to get the deal, but it’s fun to spy on the chefs as they skillfully cut and wrap the fantastic ingredients together to create your sushi desires. The rolls span anywhere from $5-15 per roll, but when you have the special you only pay $19 for all that you can stuff into your body. We must have put away $80 worth of sushi today which was well worth the price! Read on to see the exciting rolls we had and to read our final thoughts on TwoKoi in Tacoma.

Look at that master roller!

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