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Rhein Haus

We went to Rhein Haus for the first time on Sunday, September 24, 2017.  We’ve returned there several times since then but in early fall 2017 it had only been open for a few months and from what we could see from the outside, it seemed like it was always crowded.  We finally decided to try it on September 24.  We went there for an early dinner arriving at 5:45 pm and got seated right away.  They’re a very large space with many high tables, a few low tables, a couple of bars, and a large fireplace in the middle along with a couple some more comfortable “living room” style chairs.  I think they even sell some a la carte sausages and pastries behind a glass counter as you walk in.  High on the walls were some elk and deer heads.  They had at least four narrow courts for playing bocce and a couple of other games.  One of them looked a little like shuffleboard with a long table.  Black and white streamers hung from the ceiling that I think were for Oktoberfest going on then.  Over the speakers they played rock and R&B music.

Rhein Haus actually wasn’t very crowded on that Sunday.  The server brought us each two menus: one for food and the other for drinks.  Their food menu had a couple of specials for Oktoberfest.  They gave us a glass wine-like bottle filled with drinking water.  But we still ordered drinks.  I got a Bunderberg root beer and my wife got a Salzburg ginger brew.  I tried it and liked it.  It wasn’t overly sweet.  On our table, steins contained silverware.  We placed our orders and they brought them out fairly quickly.  My wife got the Munich from the Wurst und Bun section of the menu.  It consisted of a large Polish sausage on a fairly small bun with crispy sweet onions and Emmental-beer fondue.  Like all the sandwiches, it came with French fries and a pickle spear.  It was a good amount of food for dinner.  I got the Braunswieger liverwurst that might have been one of the specials.  I haven’t seen it on the menu recently.  It consisted of several slices of liverwurst that tasted good along with some greens and spicy crisps.  Everything was good but it might have been an appetizer because it wasn’t a lot of food.  I had some of my wife’s fries to supplement it.

After dinner my wife asked them about dessert but they were out of roasted banana ice cream.  We have returned to Rhein Haus many times since then.  I think our second time was for brunch on Sunday, October 29, 2017.  I had the veggie hash with eggs and my spouse had the Leberkase breakfast sandwich.  We’ve also tried their pretzel appetizer and some of their other sandwiches and entrées.  Once we went there for an 80’s dance night but they played very few 80’s videos on their large screen near the small dance floor.  But it’s still worth returning.

Southern Golden Chinese Cuisine

We had a late lunch at Southern Golden Chinese Cuisine in Lodi, California on Friday, September 15, 2017.  We had traveled to Lodi to attend the wedding of my cousin at a winery in nearby Acampo the next day.  The wedding website mentioned several lodging options in various price ranges.  We chose the Days Inn that was a lower to mid-range option.  Most of the wedding guests chose the higher end option.  In the late morning of September 15 we flew into Sacramento Airport.  It was my first time there.  We had to take a tram to get from where we landed to the ground transportation section.  In one tall section near the elevators there was a large red geometric sculpture of a rabbit.   On the ground floor was a large sculpture of an old-school suitcase.

My aunt and uncle picked us up right away outside the terminal.  They had driven down from the Puget Sound area the day before and stayed at a motel or B&B north of the Sacramento Airport.  I think they drove us 40 or 50 miles to Lodi.  They were staying at the higher end hotel that was along a highway in a more open area without too much development on either side.  Our hotel, the Days Inn, was on a busier commercial street with shops and restaurants.  Just before our hotel (more of a motel) was an apartment complex.  The weather was very warm and sunny though there weren’t any wildfires in the area while we were there.

After our aunt and uncle dropped us off at the Days Inn, we checked in and went to our room up the stairs on the second floor.  I can’t remember if they had an elevator and I don’t remember much about the room.  I think it had a fridge and possible an air conditioner, definitely a heater that we did not need.  I do remember that it had windows on opposite sides, front and back.  The back window near the small bathroom faced the apartment complex we passed on the way there.  I think the bathroom had the sink outside the room with the shower and toilet.

We finished unpacking and went out to find a place to have lunch.  We walked on the sidewalk along Cherokee Lane in the opposite direction from which we had come.  It might have been north.  We passed a large ranch market that looked like a possible lunch option if we couldn’t find anything else.  We reached the parking lot of a strip mall.  There may have been a few empty storefronts and a Mexican place before we found Southern Golden Chinese Cuisine at 2:10 pm.  I don’t think we had researched the place beforehand.  It looked fairly unassuming.  I don’t remember if they had posted a menu.  Inside it was mostly booths, white walls, and Chinese décor in red and gold.  It reminded me a bit of Tacoma Szechuan.  The menu was simpler, though, with lunch specials and some interested dishes.  They did serve Pepsi products.

I can’t remember if we ordered at the counter or if they took our order.  I do remember that the prices were very reasonable and the food was very good, probably the best we had during the entire 3-day trip.  We shared the garlic fried chicken with fried rice lunch special, the aluminum foil chicken, and the fried green beans, an interesting option at a Chinese restaurant, but still delicious.  They were like green bean tempura, very crispy and accompanied by a sweet red “dipping area.”  The fried chicken consisted of a leg.  I think my wife had it and enjoyed it very much along with the fried rice.  At least two pieces of chicken were wrapped in foil for the entire entrée.  They were fairly small but delicious once unwrapped along with the chow mein that accompanied them.  In all, our orders amounted to plenty of food.

After dinner we walked along Cherokee Lane to the Days Inn.  On the way we stopped by the ranch market.  They had a deli that served Mexican sandwiches and other dishes.  We just got a carton of soy milk and some Alhambra bottled water.

That evening my aunt and uncle took us out to Cactus Mexican Dining for dinner along with many of our relatives who had come from across the country to attend the wedding.  I don’t remember much about Cactus Mexican Dining.  They were in an old brick building that used to be a lodge for the Independent Order of the Odd Fellows.  They were large with several rooms.  Their menu was also large, fairly traditional and priced mid-range.  I got a pork dish with green mole that was just OK.  My wife’s order turned out not to be what she expected and unimpressive.  I think there was a giant burrito that one of our party ordered.

After dinner we went to a welcome party for the wedding at a fancy estate house at the winery where the wedding would be held.  It had its own small movie theatre showing Frozen, very high ceilings, a refrigerator with double doors, a huge stuffed bear, some pictures of Elvis, and at least four dining room tables with large chairs.  I think a family actually lived there.

The next day I walked around downtown Lodi.  I caught a bus on Cherokee Lane that took me to the downtown transit center.  There was also some kind of festival going on that my aunt and uncle visited.  In the afternoon and evening we attended the wedding at the winery.  It took a while to get there but it was worth it.  The weather was perfect and everyone looked great, especially the wedding party.  The reception was held in a hall with probably the largest doors I’ve ever seen.

The day after the wedding we took an Uber from the Days Inn to Sacramento Airport.  After going through security we walked through the airport trying to figure out where to have lunch.  We settled on Cafeteria 15L, a trendy bar and café with seating on high stools.  They had a bar and much table and counter seating.  They served Pepsi products and played rock music over the speakers such as Michael Penn and Roy Orbison.  I got the Bahn Mi sliders and my wife got the buffalo chicken sandwich.  The place was cranking the whole time we were there but what we remember most was a patron with a very impressive mustache.  It looked like he took meticulous care of it making sure it curled up just right on both sides.  That was our last major impression of the Sacramento/Lodi area.  We flew back to Seatac soon after.

The Rock Wood Fired Pizza Kitchen

We had dinner at The Rock Wood Fired Pizza Kitchen on Monday, September 4, 2017.  We actually hadn’t planned to eat dinner there.  We had wanted to have dinner at The Swiss and participate in the weekly Monday open mic hosted by Chuck Gay.  But we found that The Swiss was closed for Labor Day weekend.  We did notice that The Rock was open and decided to just have dinner there.

We parked along Jefferson Avenue as we normally do for The Swiss and entered The Rock at 6:50 pm.  They are located in the south end of the triangular-shaped block in the narrowest section.  They’ve been there for at least as long as we’ve lived in Tacoma.  Naturally, their indoor space is narrow.  At one end they have a small bar and towards the other end they have booth seating in the restaurant section. They also have a few tables for outdoor seating in the summer.  After we entered, they seated us at a booth to the left.  I think they had given us a choice between the bar and the restaurant.  Right away we noticed the rock music theme.  The server wore a Beatles T-shirt.  The benches of our booth had the names of many classic rock songs in different colors printed on them including “25 or 6 to 4,” “Gimme Shelter,” “Rock Steady,” “Aja,” “Wipe Out,” “Kid Charlemagne,” “Peg,” “Surrender” (by Cheap Trick), “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “China Girl,” and “Boys are Back in Town.”  Near the ceiling on an arch going further into the restaurant it said, “Welcome to the Rock” in lighted letters.  Naturally, they played classic rock music over the speakers.

The server gave us menus that consisted of several pages and continued the rock’n’roll theme.  Pizzas were organized into four sections: Roadies, All Access, Headliners, and Improv Cheese Pizza.  The former three listed pizza nearly all named after classic rock songs.  The latter section listed ingredients for building your own pizza.  Unfortunately, they do not serve non-dairy cheese.  But they do have sections for other food with more conventional names: Burgers, Between Bread (sandwiches), Entrees, Soups, and Salads.  The only themed-name of the non-pizza sections is Opening Acts for appetizers.  A few of the items in these sections have rock-themed names such as Hurt So Good burger, the BTO BLT, Get Back Mac and Cheese, and Spicy Born on the Bayou Pasta.

We placed our orders and didn’t have to wait long for them.  My wife got a pizza that came on a metal pan and wooden pizza serving tray.  It was the “Evil Ways” pizza, a vegetarian option made with artichoke hearts, red onions, sautéed spinach, mozzarella cheese, sundried tomatoes, and pesto cream sauce.  It looked very rich for a veggie pizza and my wife enjoyed it.  I think she got either a 9-inch or a 12-inch diameter.  She might have had some left over.  I got the fish and chips that weren’t as rich but still good.  They consisted of a couple of pieces of cod battered and crispy over a small bed of crispy hot fries.  In a small bowl was some colorful and flavorful coleslaw and there was a small container of tartar sauce for dipping area.  Everything was good and an adequate amount of food.

We did not ask to see the dessert menu.  The place hadn’t been very crowded while we were there.  As we left a large party came in.  I saw on the door that The Rock was open until midnight.  We left long before that at 7:50 pm.

Taste of Peru

We had dinner at Taste of Peru in Gig Harbor on Saturday, August 12, 2017.  We’ve always enjoyed Peruvian food and have had it at several restaurants in Socal but so far Taste of Peru is the only Peruvian restaurant we’ve found in the south Puget Sound area.  They’re located in a fairly large shopping center west of the 16 freeway.  Earlier in the afternoon we attended a function in the area.  We then drove north on surface streets and found the shopping center easily.  Finding Taste of Peru took a bit more work because it is on the far side of the largest building in the shopping center.  After finding it we parked near it.  It was early so we did some shopping at the Fred Meyer marketplace and looked around the large Goodwill store.

I think we entered Taste of Peru not long after 5 pm.  They seated us at a small table along the wall towards the back.  The place was fairly small with maybe around 10 tables and booths.  It was a little under half full.  On the walls and a few small shelves were some Peruvian and Latin American décor.  On one shelf they had what looked like a Nativity scene with figurines dressed in traditional Peruvian outfits.  They also had what looked like Christmas ornaments.  The server gave us menus that consisted of several laminated white pages. They had sections for Appetizers that included empanadas, Salchipapas (Peruvian Style mix of grilled hot dogs and French fries), and Tamal.  The menu had a section for Main Dishes that went all the way to the next page.  For beverages, they served Coke products, Inca Kola, and Chicha Morada.  The menu had an inserted page with specials that had its own sections for appetizers, salads, and entrées.  The former included a ceviche sampler and quinoa salad.  The latter was comprised of Seco de Carnes, Arroz Chaufa Special, Estofado de Pollo, and Arroz con Camarones.  I think all their entrées were either made with rice or had it on the side.  They also had a wine menu that included glasses of Yellow Tail merlot and Chateau San Michelle Riesling.

We placed our orders that took a while because service was a bit slow.  They first brought my beverage order: Chicha Morada.  Per the menu it’s a traditional Peruvian juice infusion of dry purple corn with pineapple skin, cinnamon, and cloves mixed with lime and sugar.  It tasted good and sweet but not too sweet.  It had a dark purple color.  Eventually our main orders arrived.  I got the Peruvian favorite Loma Soltado.  You just can’t go wrong with beef, soy sauce, onions, tomatoes, fries, and rice.  The fries were hot and crispy and the tomatoes and onions were cooked just right.  With the Chicha it was a good amount of food.  My spouse got the Tallarine Saltado with Beef made with sautéed noodles, snap peas, Welsh onions, beef, broccoli, mushrooms, and sesame seeds.  It included many things with which we like to cook so it was very good.

I can’t remember if we looked at a dessert menu but we did not order any dessert.  I think it was after 7 pm when we left to drive back across the Narrows to Tacoma but it was well worth it.

Poke to the Max

We had dinner at Sam Choy's Poke to the Max on Sunday, June 25, 2017. They're on Pacific Avenue near the University of Washington Tacoma. They had just opened in Tacoma a couple of months before. Their first location opened in Seattle several years before. They also have food trucks that serve at events all over the Puget Sound Area. I think we arrived there at around 5 pm because they are only open until 6 pm every day. They have metal furniture, Tiki decorations, and a water dispenser. Customers order at the counter and pick up orders to the left. Later we noticed that they had some outdoor tables stacked in the restrooms. On the tables inside they had plants in metal buckets.

I believe their menu was either posted above or behind the counter or they had laminated copies. A photo on Yelp from August 2017 shows their menu on large flatscreen TV's mounted from the ceiling above the counter. I don't remember seeing these in June 2017. The menu include many sections such as Poke Rice Plates, Chef's Specials that include Ahi tuna tacos and ahi or salmon nachos, Loco Mocos, Rice Plates, Island Favorites, Hand-Crafted Musubis, Sides, and Desserts. Prices are very reasonable such as $12-$13 for Poke Rice Plates, $11-$12 for many other items, and $8-$13 for Musubis. We placed our orders at the counter. The place wasn't very crowded that Sunday. I think there were only one or two other parties.

We didn't have to wait long for our orders. They brought them out on plastic plates and we brought them to one of the metal tables. There was a station to pick up utensils and hot sauce including Sriracha. My wife got the tuna steak wrap. It was made with a spinach tortilla wrapped into a few layers. The outer layer contained white rice. The next layer contained lettuce and mixed greens. Then there was slaw made with carrots, radicchio, and wasabi aioli. The innermost layer was the tuna steak. They wrapped everything up tight and cut it in half. My wife enjoyed it. I ordered something that cost less but it was also less healthy and probably more filling. I got the Reconstructed Musubi for which I chose spam over Portuguese sausage. It came as a fairly large slab made with an outer layer of dark nori (seaweed). The thick slab of spam was sandwiched between layers of rice. I think the egg frittata came in a thin layer just below the spam. On top it was smothered in aioli and eel sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds and Welsh onions. Yeah, this wasn't the healthiest menu item, or the cleanest, but it was delicious and filling. I think I cut it into sections to eat.

We left at 6 pm, their closing time. With their menu, we have plenty of reasons to return.

Italia’s Corner II

I had dinner at Italia's Corner II in Linthicum, Maryland on Wednesday, April 5, 2017. There are located near the Aloft hotel where I was staying. I was in Baltimore for work and staying in Linthicum near BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport. For this trip I did not get a rental car. My colleagues had mentioned Italia's Corner, saying that they liked their calzone. In the later afternoon or early evening of April 5 I walked down Elm Road that did not have any sidewalks. I passed the Hilton hotel on the right and a museum, the National Electronics Museum. I had considered visited that museum but they were closed by the time I got back from the work conference I attended that day. I then had to cross the very busy thoroughfare West Nursery Road that had fast-moving traffic and no crosswalks in sight. I patiently waited for traffic to clear and carefully crossed when I had a chance.

I had to walk around to the back of a hotel, the Holiday Inn BWI, before I found Italia's Corner II. They're in a small building with a deck that may or may not have been attached to the hotel. I don't think it was. They're a fairly casual eatery where customers order at the counter and are given a number. Within this setup they still had laminated menus to consult. They had sections for Pasta, Pasta al Forno that consisted of baked pastas, Vitello (veal), Pollo, Frutti Di Mare, 9" Subs and Wraps, Hot Oven Specialties that included Stromboli and calzone, Insalata, NY Style Pizza, Sicilian Pizza, Antipasti, and Contoni that consisted of sides such as sautéed asparagus, meat balls, Italian sausage, fries, and onion rings. They served Coke products to drink along with espressos, cappuccinos, and lattes. All they had for dessert was cannoli and tiramisu. Prices were very reasonable at around $8-$9 for calzone, $13-$14 for pasta, and $17-$18 for Vitello, pollo, and Frutti Di Mare. I ended up not choosing anything from the large menu because I liked how the special of the day sounded. I asked if it had dairy and they said no and that they could make it without cheese. It cost around $18 but I figured it was worth it.

I placed my order at the counter, paid and took a seat at one of the tables. I can't remember if they had self-serve fountain drinks or not. They soon brought my order: the chicken puttinesca with Greek olives and spaghetti. The chicken came in two large slabs of white meat pounded flat, fully cooked but not too dry. They were covered in slightly spicy tomato sauce and sprinkled with parsley. It was very good with the Kalamata olives and spaghetti. It was also a lot of food. I think I may have doggy-bagged some of it and used it to supplement my breakfast at the Aloft the next morning. After dinner I walked back across the very busy West Nursery Road and returned to the Aloft.

This was a tough trip for me because I had a cold. It might have been the first time I traveled to Baltimore with a cold. I flew home the next day, Thursday, April 6. On the Alaska Airlines flight back I was able to order the miso chicken meal. The only allergens it contained were wheat and soy. The label said it was prepared by LSG Sky chefs in Linthicum, Maryland. I noticed that the teenager sitting next to me was eating a pink, purple, and blue lollipop that looked very similar to an orange and white one I had in Baltimore two years before. I have been there so many times now and eaten at so many places. I wonder what I'll try there next.

San Fermo

We had dinner at San Fermo in Ballard, Seattle with my cousin and my brother on Saturday, March 25, 2017. My brother picked the place that's close to where my cousin lives. He made the reservation, though I can't remember what time it was for. I think we took the 99 to Western Avenue to 15^th Avenue W, crossed the Ballard Bridge, exited such that we could drive north onto Ballard Ave. It was crowded in Ballard but we were able to find parking along the curb. We might have caught someone leaving their spot. I think we had to pay to park.

We found San Fermo in a very small yellow-white building that looked like a house and entered at 5:30 pm. The restaurant had more space inside that it looked like it had on the outside. Just inside is the host's desk and an open kitchen. The host had our reservation and took us to a table upstairs that was a smaller space than the ground floor. Our cousin arrived soon after us and my brother arrived later.

We first ordered some Italian Castelvetrano olives that are a shade darker than most green olives we've seen. They have a slightly different flavor, too. The ones they gave us still had their pits but they still tasted good. Their menu included many interesting Italian dishes including one made with halibut. For drinks they served Coke products but I later learned that they served ginger beer.

We placed our orders that took a little time to arrive but not too long. The place was cranking on both floors the entire time we were there. They soon brought our dinners. My wife got the Mafaldine alla Carbonara made with guanciale that tasted like bacon, black pepper, fresh egg, and pecorino cheese. She enjoyed it. I had the saffron spaghetti Bolonese that came in a bowl. Along with the pasta and sauce it contained ground veal sausage. It tasted great and was a decent amount of food. I don't remember all the dessert choices but my wife had panna cotta gelato with lemon flavor.

We spent a while at San Fermo talking to my brother and cousin and left later to make room for more diners. We don't eat out in Ballard much and it was a fun adventure.

Broth Bar, Peddler Bistro, and Sofie’s Scoops

On Sunday, February 12, 2017, we had lunch at Broth Bar, Peddler Bistro, and Sofie's Scoops. We had heard of Broth Bar long before as a place in Portland, Oregon that served bone broth. We referred to them as "the Bone Broth place" that we had to try the next time we went to Oregon. But we never got around to going to Portland before February 2017. Not long before February we learned that Broth Bar had opened a location in Olympia at a small indoor mall called 222 Market. My wife heard that they were having some Valentine's Day activities at 222 Market on February 12. We decided to check it out at and try the Bone Broth place once and for all.

I didn't remember the exact route we took to get to 222 Market. I know we left home at 9:55 am and took the I-5 south. It's very likely we took exit 105A onto 14^th Ave SE, continued through a traffic machine and turned right onto Capital Way S. We drove north about a mile and found 222 Market on the right. I think we just parked on the street near the Market. We may have had to cross a street or two to get there. They're in a building with several other eateries and a small grocery store that sells organic foods. I think it's possible to enter several of the businesses from outside. But a few are only accessible from an inside hall. Broth Bar and Sofie's Scoops actually have their counters in the hall.

We went to Broth Bar first. They let us try samples of the bison and chicken broth. You first choose your broth and then from a wide variety of seasonings including red alder salt. On this weekend before Valentine's Day they offered to add free chicken hearts to the broth. The broth came in cups of different sizes: regular and large. They offer many of their own combinations or you can build your own with the different ingredients. They also had halibut broth in a refrigerator along with truffles. My wife got the combo called "Warrior" with bison broth, black cumin seed oil, turmeric, cocoa butter, ghee fat bomb, and back garlic salt. She also added the free chicken heart. I had a regular bison broth with beef tongue. We enjoyed our bone broth but it wasn't enough food for lunch. We sat on stools at a counter in the hall. They also had a table set up for making your own valentines and some mustaches for taking selfies.

After finishing our bone broth we checked out some of the other places. We went to the small natural food store called The Pantry and got a blueberry newton and a jar of Eliot's Honey Chipotle peanut butter. We glanced at Chelsea Farms Arster Bar. They sold arsters for $3 each or $15 for a half dozen. But they only served them in the half shell. The Bread Peddler and Peddler Bistro are actually extensions of the same business. We went to Peddler Bistro that has a large and cavernous space, dark wood furniture, slightly dim lighting, and ornate chandeliers and glassware. I think their menu consisted of breakfast items and sandwiches. My wife got half a ham and comte sandwich. I got half a turkey and guacamole sandwich. Both were good and reasonably priced.

For dessert we went to Sofie's Scoops who are located in the hall right next to Broth Bar. My wife got the wafflato: a Liege waffle with cardamom gelato. I got a root beer float made with ginger coconut ice cream. It was a great dessert to end our visit to 222 Market in Olympia. Before returning to our car we visited a few of the nearby shops such as Browser's Bookstore that sold used books. I saw a copy of a book I had used in college for the class Intro to Major Religious Text. It was an orange book of religious stories from the Ancient Near East. After walking around we went to the Spanish service at Sacred Heart Church in Lacey and then drove home. The day brought to mind another day we spent in Olympia five years earlier. We usually have fun when we visit Olympia.

In late 2017 we learned that the Bone Broth place in Olympia had closed. We're glad we had the chance to try them. I guess if we want to have bone broth again we'll actually have to go to Portland.

Stonegate Pizza

We had dinner at Stonegate Pizza for the first time on Wednesday, February 1, 2017. We had been performing at open mics off and one for the past couple of months or so. My wife heard about an open mic at Stonegate pizza hosted by someone named Leify Green. To get there we took I-5 south and exited onto S. 56^th Street. This exit required us to first turn left onto Tacoma Mall Blvd and then turn right onto S. 56^th St. We drove west several blocks and turned right onto S. Tacoma Way. We found Stonegate Pizza on the right. The only parking that we were able to find was parallel along S. Tacoma Way. We've been back to Stonegate many times since then and always had to park on the street, sometimes on the opposite side. This first time we arrived at 6:30 pm.

We entered a room with a couple of pool tables, an upright piano, and possibly an unused bar. The main restaurant is in the next room to the left and one slight step up. Along one wall is an L-shaped bar. Along the street-side wall is the stage that is elevated fairly high and has at least one set of stairs on the left. The rest of the space consists of tables: a few high ones with stools along the wall opposite the bar and many of standard height that seat between two and six. Lighting is fairly minimal. The ceiling is high and there's some interesting décor on the walls such as a guitar and some art. I think there are even things on the ceiling such as what look like playing cards. On the wall opposite the bar was a chalk board indicating the live acts performing each day that week. Leify Green was listed for Wednesday. Before eating we walked to the back of the restaurant and found another upright piano painted with wavy stripes. Near it was a flight of stairs up to another room with a small stage, some benches, and floor space. But it wasn't as clean or set up as the main room. We later learned they have swing dance lessons up there.

We had originally heard that the open mic was held upstairs but that turned out not to be true. We sat down at a small table on the left side facing the stage. The server brought us menus that differed slightly from the ones we saw online. They did not have the calamari appetizer or the seafood salad. They did have sections for sandwiches, burgers, pizzas and calzones, appetizers, and desserts that included the dessert pizzas. For drinks they served Coke products but also specialty root beer and ginger beer. I think I had the root beer on this first visit and my wife had ginger ale. She had the ginger beer on a later visit and found it preferable to the ale. We placed our orders. The first thing they brought was my salad made with "leafy greens," tomatoes, and balsamic vinaigrette. I asked for no croutons and they complied. The salad was decent.

Our main courses took about half an hour to arrive. We listened to the classic rock satellite radio that they played over the speakers. The place was fairly empty when we arrived but while we waited more parties entered and sat down, some at the bar. When our food finally arrived it was well worth the wait. My wife got the Greek Calzone that was filled with garlic, feta cheese, red onions, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, mozzarella cheese, and pesto sauce. Most pizzas were available as calzones that were usually less expensive. The feta was actually on the outside of the Greek calzone. My wife enjoyed it. I got the peanut butter burger. I asked that they make it without cheese and they complied. It tasted great: a decent-sized burger cooked well-done on a toasted bun. But it was very messy. I still enjoyed it and it was plenty of food.

While we had dinner, the host of the open mike, Leify Green, arrived. He put the sign-up sheet for the open mic on a table very close to ours. He signed up to perform first and several others followed. Leify started his set at around 8:30 pm. On stage was a music stand that he used as a table for his drink. He played guitar and sang several mellow rock songs. I think he had written most of them but a few could have been covers. He started with "Give Me a Push" and followed with "The Next Train." Before the next song he described how he wrote it after a trip to Seattle for a gig several years ago. It snowed a lot and the gig was canceled. The song was "Snowstorm in Seattle" that would grow to be one of our favorite songs by Leify. He mentioned that the song had been played on King 5 radio. His next song sounded like one by Jane's Addiction and his last song, "Set Yourself Free" was one he wrote. It might have been during this visit to Stonegate or a later one when Leify noticed I was writing something down and asked if I was a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine.

I think Leify introduced the next performer as "Nate the Red" who did have red hair and a red beard. He started with one of his own songs, "Lonely Road" and followed with what he described as "the closest thing to a ballad about South Tacoma." It was called "Shine Over" and included the lyric, "this is where Tacoma comes to life." I think he used Leify's guitar, or that may have been the next performer, "Jonny No H." The last performer we saw was Dylan Gormly (sp?) who played some of his own songs on a keyboard he brought.

Over the next several months we returned to Stonegate many times. We went to many of the Wednesday open mics and performed some sets of cover songs. We learned that they had swing dance lessons in the upstairs room at 7 pm on Wednesdays. We got to know Leify and some of the other performers. We tried some other things on the menu such as their Alfredo, pot stickers, club sandwich, wings, and other pizzas. I tried their fries a couple of times. The first time they were undercooked but the second time they were good. We ordered ginger beer that was often Bundeberg brand. We purchased Leify Green's CD and always cheered loudly when he performed "The Same Way" that has some lyrics in Spanish. Leify Green stepped down as host of the open mic in September 2017. He said he would be replaced by Josh Alday, a frequent collaborator, drum maker, and part of the band Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo. We'll miss Leify but we're glad we visited Stonegate so many times in 2017.

Fujiya

We had dinner at Fujiya on Saturday, December 31, 2016, New Year's Eve. We had never eaten there before though we had eaten at the Mexican restaurant México Mágico downstairs from Fujiya several times. It was New Year's Eve and we had our First Night buttons. Prior to having dinner we had visited the Museum of Glass since the buttons covered admissions. It was quite crowded with others like us going to First Night. There were several exhibitions there including "Into the Deep," artwork inspired by the oceans and sea creatures, "Art Deco Glass," vases and artwork in the art deco style, prismatic artwork by David Hachthausen, and other artworks.

We arrived at Fujiya at 4:30 p.m. There were only two other tables occupied but we still had to wait several minutes for a table. They had seating along the walls with excellent views from the second floor windows. They had booths, tables, and a sushi bar. Just inside they had a coat rack. Décor included Japanese lanterns, lit-up glass pictures, and Japanese paintings. I think one was signed "CAVE MAN" from Tacoma. Their kitchen was partially open where they made the sushi. A notice on their door had said they started serving dinner at 4 p.m. so we arrived at a good time. We sat down at one of the two-person tables.

Their menu had sections for Appetizers, Salads, Beverages, Dinners, Noodles, and Sushi. They also gave us a separate menu for ordering sushi a la carte. We placed our orders and they served us quickly starting with the pan-fried arsters streaked with a white sauce. Normally I don't like arsters but I tried one of these and it was pretty good. They then brought a small bowl of miso soup and a salad made with cooked mushrooms, raw greens and small quarters of tomato. These were the accompaniments of my wife's order, the Makisushi Plate. It consisted of four rolls of sushi. One was made with raw seafood, one looked like shrimp, one was vegetarian, and the fourth also looked like raw seafood. My wife enjoyed them through they amounted to a lot of food with the accompaniments. I think I tried the shrimp and vegetarian rolls.

For my entrée I ordered the ramen noodle soup that came in a large bowl with spinach, bean sprouts, slices of cooked beef, Welsh onions, and slices of hard-boiled eggs. There were other things in the soup that I could not identify but they tasted good. Everything tasted good despite being somewhat messy. We had a big dinner but we were able to finish in plenty of time to enjoy most of First Night. Our bill was high at nearly $50.

We saw all of the World's Shortest Parade, completed the Year of the Rooster-themed scavenger hunt, and gave a less-than stellar performance for the open mic at Tully's. Well at least the audience was kind. We watched all the other open mic performances including some good covers by the hosts Nate and Ricky. We went home while it was still 2016 ready for the New Year.