Dining Out in Tacoma

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Dining Out in Tacoma

You may have followed Sue Kidd on Dine Pierce County like my husband and me. We truly appreciated her dedication to the Tacoma dining scene and especially her support of small businesses. Whenever she reported on a delicious-sounding new restaurant in town, I would giddily text it to my husband, who undoubtedly have just read it as well. While we don’t eat out all that often — we have two young kids with the blandest of bland palettes and refusal to take a bite of anything new, not to mention the closure of restaurants for a good period due to covid — we do consider ourselves moderate foodies and enjoy a good cocktail and dinner out whenever possible.

All that said, I was saddened by the recent news of Sue Kidd’s passing. I did not know her personally, but I felt like I knew her over the years of following her restaurant reviews. However, it was heartening to see the pouring of love from the local restaurants for her online — from “Reserved for Sue” signs with a table setting to pouring her a cocktail in tribute.

My tribute to her is carrying her flag and sharing some of my favorite Tacoma restaurants. Let’s all show our support of our small businesses and restaurants just like Sue! And aren’t we all thankful to have a nice meal and gather at a table with friends and family?! Cheers, my friends!

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Coffee Crawl: Searching for the Best Pumpkin Latte in Tacoma

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Coffee Crawl: Searching for the Best Pumpkin Latte in Tacoma

It’s fall y’all, and you know what that means: Pumpkin everything time! This makes me so incredibly happy. I am a pumpkin fanatic. I get a bit crazy in the fall for all the foods and flavors. And this is silly, but I almost get anxious because I love it all so much and there is so much I want to eat and drink that I feel I have to keep baking and eating or else I won’t get to have it all. Serious problems.

Of all the fall flavors, though, pumpkin is my favorite. Wow, that’s a bold statement. I’m not sure I’m ready to make such a statement. I mean there is also apple. Apple is definitely a favorite. Oh, gosh. Well, for now, let’s say pumpkin because I’m about to talk to you all about pumpkin in our coffee. That’s right, the drink made famous by Starbucks, the pumpkin spice latte. Everyone is doing it now. It’s pumpkin and spice and it’s everything nice. Let’s drink it!

I took it upon myself to go around and try as many pumpkin spice lattes as I could. I’m looking for places that make their mix and not just using Torani syrup (not that there is anything wrong with that, but…). I’m looking for:

  • Flavor: What’s the pumpkin versus spice ratio? Is there a lot of pumpkin taste or more spice?

  • Texture: Sometimes with pumpkin it can feel heavy or grainy with too much actual pumpkin. Or many all those spices are grainy?

  • Toppings: Is there whipped cream or spices & sprinkled on top?

  • Sweetness Level: Is it sweet, or not sweet enough?

  • Coffee Presence: Is the coffee still there?

Mind you, I do tend to like things on the slightly sweet side when it comes to coffee. Not majority sweet like a white mocha, but a smooth subtle sweetness. Also, I must tell you if there are any good noshes to go with the latte. That is always a plus!

Let’s take a coffee tour together!

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