Tag Archives: MSM

GRITTY CITY SHOWDOWN: Reubens

17 Sep

Our first ever showdown! For this maiden voyage, our mission is to find the best reuben in Tacoma, and we think we did. Hit “continue reading” to read the full write up!


This post has been a long time in the making. The brilliant idea of a showdown-style no-holds-barred food battle struck us very early on, we just wanted to wait for the right moment to tackle such an epic undertaking. We settled on the reuben partly from an earlier post about the MSM Deli, in which I get carried away about the reuben, suggesting that maybe it was one of the best in town other than perhaps The Swiss. I spent some time thinking about that statement, and realized how incredibly naive I was being. I hadn’t tried every reuben in Tacoma.  How could I even begin to suggest it might be one of the best? Turns out it’s not. I am a dick. Simple solution: we needed to find the best. Ladies and gentlemen, this post is my redemption.

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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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