Restaurants

WANTED: Bagel shop in Tacoma

I had to make a run to Sea-tac airport this morning. Early. Aside from my morning pot of coffee, the chief motivator for me today was the notion of actually enjoying a fresh, authentic bagel for breakfast. Of course, there aren’t any fresh bagels to be had in Tacoma. How did I do it? What’s my secret?

Big Apple Bagel in Des Moines is a godsend. Every time I drop someone off at the airport in the morning, I find myself at Big Apple selecting 6 warm, soft bagels and a tub o’ cream cheese to bring back to the City of Density with me. Today it was 2 onion, 1 blueberry, 1 tomato basil, 1 cheddar herb and 1 swiss melt, all still warm. By this evening I will feel like a turkey, stuffed to the gills with bread. I look forward to this feeling.

For those of you who don’t know, the bagel is more than meets the eye. To the uneducated, it is simply a donut-shaped piece of bread. To those of us who know better, it is a precise concoction, boiled then baked, chewy, moist, soft. This is not found in just any bagel. Most bagels you find around here ARE simply bread in the shape of a donut.

Tacoma needs a real bagel shop, ASAP. Cascade Bagel didn’t make it downtown… but that was because they picked the worst location ever: inside a museum. Their Lakewood location is good. Located in a slumping strip mall, they’ve managed to keep that one open for years. Somewhere on Pacific downtown or 6th Ave would be a perfect place for the next great bagel shop in Tacoma. Offer fresh bagels, good coffee and a great sandwich lineup and you can’t fail.

Someone. Anyone. Please.

Forza breakfast sandwich from Pacific Grill

Forza has emerged from the depths of coffee anonymity with me. They have done exactly two things to win me over from a non-loyal, post-Starbuck’s, nomadic wandering.

First, they offered 24oz. drinks. Thank god. Often 20oz. is not enough.

Second, they began serving grilled breakfast sandwiches prepared by Pacific Grill. These are the very best breakfast sandwiches in Tacoma, and nothing else comes close.

Ordered together, they become a satiating force of apocalyptic proportion.

Pizza, coffee and a suntan TO GO

remember staring across Union at Poole’s Nursery on 6th Ave, wondering what if anything could ever revive that corner. It didn’t take long before Poole’s emerged in a far more industrious form, now known as Poole’s Corner. 3 stories of commercial energy rose out of the little corner, giving life to a host of businesses. Farrelli’s Pizza, Origin 23 and Bahama Tan provide a little retail something for everybody on the ground level, while offices buzz overhead.

The center has become so busy that I am usually forced to park in the underground garage (free) because all the street-level parking spots are full. Farrelli’s pizza is quite good, and the kitchen is open late every night. This is a huge bonus if you like midnight hot wings. Origin 23 (previously Firehouse) is home to coffee, snacks, gelato, wifi, and big tables, which naturally caters to UPS students, and anyone who despises the thought of contributing to the coffers of Hanoi Howard and the rest of the clan at Starbucks. Bahama Tan rounds out the bottom floor, and provides a pre-vacation tanning solution or a prophetic glimpse into the future of skin cancer; you make the call.

The little nursery is long gone, but the Poole name lives on safely for generations to come. For this corner, the building style works. I’m just not sure how many of these mixed-use buildings we want on 6th Ave. The concept usually gets rave reviews from our local, developmentally conscious (hippy, urban, art) people, but if they continue to pop up everywhere, we are left with nothing but a multi-level strip mall. Thoughts, anyone?

Much ado about nothing

Many people are saddened by the news that the Little Holland in Fircrest is closing. Personally, I’d be more disappointed if another one of my pets’ toys disappeared under a couch. The Little Holland’s building is in the way of a new commercial complex, and I assume they are being bought solely to clear space for this new business center. I find it amusingly ironic – the place that never had enough room for its patrons to park will now be bulldozed to make room for parking spaces.

In fairness, I should mention that the Mikie Burger was a very servicable “Smitty” type burger featuring a slice of Canadian bacon. This burger was delicious. Unfortunately, 75% of the time I visited them they were closed. They ran the goofiest schedule I’ve seen in the fast food world. If you happened to find them open, you would likely park a block away, walk down Center Street, place your order with some grumpy, old attendant and then wait 10 minutes for your order. They only had enough seating for a few people, so you were then forced to walk a block back to your car to eat. Fun. I haven’t been in over a year.

Because the business was sold for a good chunk o’ change and not simply forced to go under, I feel comfortable saying, “good riddance.” Take your money from the sale, and don’t open anything else.

New Mandolin Cafe kitchen open NOW

Without further ado, you are welcome to stop in for a meal at the Mandolin Cafe. They have done what few others have – the simple, the obvious, the lacking-in-Tacoma – free wi-fi, big tables, good coffee AND GOOD FOOD. Why is it so hard for restaurateurs to figure this one out?

Hopefully, Mandolin Cafe and The Spar will continue to lead the way toward a new kind of restaurant. Classic dining is a dying concept, in my often humble opinion. Who wants to sit idle in a restaurant while you wait to order, wait for your food, wait for your check, wait, wait, wait…  Can’t stand it. Give me laptop or give me death!

Now if we could just get an authentic bagel shop with wi-fi in Tacoma proper..