Not Another Dining Guide

 


Messiah is too strong of a word to pin to my friend Lucas. I am, however, counting on him to save the world. Lucas isn’t on Facebook, so his mind hasn’t been warped by the AI-enhanced billionaire oligarchs that are controlling the rest of the populace. We need Lucas to stay pure so he can guide us.

When I told Lucas I would be writing a blog rather than posting on Facebook, he said, “Good, I’m sure whatever you are up to in Washington will be more interesting to read than people posting pictures of what they are having for dinner.”

My apologies to Lucas, but this blog post is going to be entirely about what we’ve been having for dinner. I just realized that I’ve been remiss for the last month or two in providing my dear readers with a dining guide to the greater Tacoma-area. I think my last mention of the restaurant was the Italian place over in Gig Harbor. Lest you think Ann and I have been living on Ramen since then, I’ll go ahead and give up some of our dining experiences.

Doyle’s Public House


You know this place must be awesome, because although we still have a lot of exploring to do, we have been there twice! This last time it looked like it would be a long wait for a table, but we quickly found our way to two bar stools, our new technique to avoiding table waits. I once again ordered off of their regular pub-fare menu, but Ann ordered from a temporary Cajun menu. The bartender swore their cook is straight out of the Louisiana bayou, and by the taste of Ann’s dish we don’t dispute it. If pressed to pick a favorite, Doyle’s would be Ann’s favorite place in town.

https://www.doylespublichouse.com/

Jewel Box Cafe




There’s a free 5K run in Point Defiance Park (our backyard) every Saturday morning at 8 a.m. A few weeks ago Ann and I participated in it for the first time, then went hunting for breakfast. We headed to Point Ruston, a fancy new development right on the other side of our little peninsula. There we found the Jewel Box Café. It specializes in crepes, and has economical breakfast paninis. We had both, and enjoyed both. Would recommend.

https://www.jewelboxcafeatruston.com/


Chez Lafayette


Back in COMO, I always got kind of stuck on Valentine’s Day. I wanted to take Ann out, but when we tried to upgrade from the restaurants we usually went to, we tended to enjoy them less than our usual haunts. So I was excited to be in Tacoma – so many restaurants to explore! Valentine’s Day could mean ordering an entrée, rather than splitting an appetizer and a salad. So mid-January, I set about making a Valentine’s Day reservation.

Too late! I couldn’t believe it. Places in Tacoma take reservations, and everyplace, and I mean everyplace, was booked. I talked to one of Ann’s coworkers about this, and he said, “Yeah, for Valentine’s Day you want to be looking about six months out. Some places only take reservations four months in advance, though, so if you want one of those you had better be ready to book four-months out to the day.”

So for Valentine’s Day I made a little steak dinner at home, and then the week after Valentine’s Day we went out to Chez Lafayette, a “Creole Brasserie” in downtown Tacoma. It’s directly across the street from the main branch of the Tacoma Public Library, and is far enough away from the center of the restaurant and bar district that parking isn’t a problem. It’s in a very well restored historic building that offers incedible views of Tacoma and Commencement Bay. And the food did not disappoint.

https://chezlafayette.zoyaf.com/

8th Street Ale House



After our last razor clamming expedition, we found ourselves two hours from home at suppertime. This led us to stopping in at the 8th Street Ale House in Hoquiam. The bartender was also the only waiter, and although the place was busy, he handled it fine. We’ve noticed Washington establishments, grocery stores in particular, seem to be understaffed by Missouri standards. This may be because in Washington, the minimum wage is $17.13 per hour statewide, and in Seattle, it is $21.30 an hour.  You’ll have to ask an economist if that’s a good idea or not, but it’s pretty common to see a grocery store with only one or two checkers, and the rest self-checkout, and one or two waitresses working an entire restaurant.

Back to Hoaquiam, the 8th Street Ale House served me an excellent burger, and Ann some tasty wings. I would go back. Prices were a bit better than we’ve been paying around Tacoma.  

https://8thstreetalehouse.com/

We’ve also tried a couple of new places as part of a new group we joined, but I’ll save that for another blog post. 

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