We love food trucks! They offer an personal experience with the folks who make your food, and cut down a lot of the overhead so that the money goes where it matters most — into the food, the owners and the employees!
Lumpia World serves the South Sound with their unique fusion of Pacific Rim Cuisine. Check out this video featuring co-owner Derrick Ellis to learn more about their offerings! Check out their twitter page or instagram to learn where their food trucks are today!
Donuts from a Drive Thru! I must have crashed and gone to heaven!
If you have a hankering for donuts in Tacoma, check out Pao’s Donuts and Coffee Shop in Tacoma’s West End (making the West Slope Historic). You don’t even have to leave the comfort of your car—they have a drive thru window! Bring cash though because credit cards are not welcome. However the inexpensive pricing will have you searching your seats for change (I speak from experience).
A fresh selection of Old Fashioned donuts in Tacoma at Pao’s Donuts and Coffee Shop
Pao’s Excels in its Simple Approach
I am impressed with the pricing, the simplicity and the excellence in their offerings. Eating at Pao’s has changed what I accept as a good donut. The owners have been there to serve me each time I go. They are quick let me know which donuts are fresh, and which are discounted day old donuts. I was hesitant in ordering an espresso from a donut shop, but I must say, my double tall latte was well made. Pao and his wife seem to take pride in their work, and the community has noticed . Pao’s was voted Best of the South Sound in 2016.
Pao’s was voted Best in the South Sound for 2016.
Family Business
The atmosphere may seem familiar to you. Pao’s is a former Dunkin Donuts. Pink donut boxes, stacked high behind the counter. Pictures of Pao’s children are on the walls, some with giant donuts. You get the feeling that Pao’s is not just a business—but a means to an end—a vision of what America can be and is.
An assortment of syrups illuminated in Pao’s drive thru window, by the late day sun.
Don’t Forget The Cash!
Next time you’re cruising the streets, looking for some donuts in Tacoma, check out Pao’s Donuts and Coffee Shop. You won’t be disappointed–unless you forget your cash!
Game Day Doughnuts
Seahawks fans should be pleased by their options at Legendary Doughnuts. There is the Sherman, which is a raised ring doughnut topped with vanilla frosting and sprinkles of gresen and blue. The Wilson is very similar, but instead of sprinkles; it has sparkly blue and green sugar crystals. On Blue Friday and Game Day these doughnuts are in the shape of a football. Both of these doughnuts are in the “famous” class, alongside the Homer Simpson, Tinkerbell and Sex In The City doughnuts.
One step above the “famous” class is the “legendary” class, where sits a vanilla cake doughnut donning a blanket of vanilla-frosting and two blue and green chunks of bubble gum. If you haven’t yet guessed, this is known as the Pete Carroll (Learn why Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll is known for chewing gum)
Chandeliers and a 12th Man flag hang proudly in Tacoma’s 6th Ave. location.
Local Origins
Legendary Doughnuts opened in 2010 featuring their own cold press coffee and a bacon encrusted maple bar known as the Oprah (check out this recipe from Oprah.com). They became a hit in the South Sound and have since opened a number of new locations, to the delight of many a work place (click here to order a dozen doughnuts).
Legendary Doughnuts features “Fido Nuts” and “Fido Cannoli” for their four legged customers.
Doggy Doughnuts
Your pooch will be happy to join you. The “Fido Nuts” and “Pup Cannoli” look delicious. Thankfully there are other options to avert temptation, like the “doughsant” class of doughnuts–a ring of croissant dough, featuring a variety of topping options. For those counting calories Legendary Doughnuts offer smaller variations on many of their doughnuts. There are doughnut cakes and towers for those who are not.
A nine inch ring doughnut celebrating the Seattle Seahawks.
Nearest Location
Legendary Doughnuts is making doughnuts at their original Lakeland Hills location near Lake Tapps. They are in Tacoma on 6th Ave., in Covington near L.A. Fitness (oh the irony), and have two new locations in Federal Way and Frederickson.
Arista offers fresh pasta that is made in-house, and is a proponent of a “farm-to-table” approach. One such dish is their Pumpkin Ravioli, featuring locally sourced pumpkins and foraged Chanterelle mushrooms. They have a diverse selection of wine, including a chianti by the glass, and feature dessert from local bakeries.
Arista has 4.5 stars on Yelp, with gushing reviews. If you are looking for a spot to relax and a be served with food from the heart of a passionate, friendly chef, then find yourself in Arista in the near future, and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Arista offers a Farm to Table approach and diverse selection of wine.
“The amazing community of Puyallup has reached out! In short we made a decision off of what appeared to be an amazing opportunity to open Roast House in Parkland which has brought on a huge financial burden due to an unforeseen situation. Due to that situation we made a premature emotional decision to close however we apologize for the premature decision to close today. I am passionate about my restaurant. This is my love. We ask you for your support as we open tomorrow and purely focus on doing what Puyallup has proven to us that they love and appreciate in Arista. We ask for your support…we will be open for dinner tomorrow. Please come support us tomorrow!!”
The Legend of the Great Italian Tacoma Bakery Exists. And it’s called Dolce Si.
“Cake… nah, I will pass.” This is my normal response to most cakes. I’m just not a cake person, or so I’ve told myself. Well back the train up! OMG, did we ever stumble across a Tacoma bakery worth writing about. Not since I was in Europe have I experienced a cake quite like this.
“Where?” you say.
Tacoma’s own, Dolce Sí Sicilian Bakery and Cafe. This little Tacoma Bakery is located at Point Ruston (if you’ve not heard of Point Ruston, you have to visit this page) Dolce Sí is out of control good. It feels like you’re walking into a real Sicilian bakery. The colors, the smells, the food. Wow!
Yep, and it’s in Tacoma…. Oh Tacoma, I am so proud of you. Growing up to be such a wonderful little city (tear being shed).
When my wife was pregnant with our first born, she craved potatoes; mainly in the form of Pick-Quick french-fries. Many drives were made past the conventional fast food restaurants in favor of the fresh offerings and light atmosphere you can find at Pick-Quick — a 21st Century Burger Joint in Auburn, Washington.
Pick-Quick offers french-fries, burgers, hot-dogs and milkshakes — along with an assortment of self-serve sodas. One embellishment that I am fond of is the inclusion of Green River Soda, undoubtedly hearkening to Auburn’s nearby Green River Valley.
Customers enjoying a meal at Pick-Quick’s Auburn location.
Two South-Sound Locations
Pick Quick has two locations in the South Sound. Their first is a walk up window in Fife. Their second location, in Auburn, could be described as a 21st century adaptation of a mid-20th century burger joint. Many of the decisions made in design and construction are environmentally friendly. Pick-Quick does not hide this fact, scattering their restaurant with signs explaining their eco-conscious decisions. One such design choice is their use of chairs made from 111 Coca Cola Bottles (purchase your own here). The eco-friendly design extends to the parking lot with pervious concrete and parking spots for low-emission vehicles.
The Fife location opened in 1949. The Auburn location opened in 2011. Their third location opened in Seattle’s SODO district in the fall of 2016.
Pick-Quick offers great food and atmosphere for kids and adults alike.
Creating Memories
I recently made a trip to Pick-Quick’s Auburn location with my son. As you may know, he’s been eating there since before he was born. We shared a chocolate milkshake and an order of fries. He wanted a little more so I got him a hamburger. Perched on well intact bar stools, watching the short order cooks at work, lit by a partly cloudy sky, eating freshly made food, enjoying a weekend afternoon. Something simple. Something to be thankful for.
“Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness.”
-Thomas Jefferson
Of all the holidays we celebrate in the Northwest, Halloween offers some of the greatest opportunities to connect adults and children with their local farms and produce. There are a number farms across the South Sound region that are open to the public during late September and October–with hay rides, corn mazes and fields of pumpkins to peruse on a lazy afternoon.
Surely it’s a joy to clutch a hot coffee, or cider and get some mud on your boots, but is there some greater purpose to this tradition? As evenings wane into darkness, and temperatures invite longer sleeves, what is it that draws us back each year?
A 2014 English study found that Farmers, Forestry workers and Fishermen were happier with their jobs than other professionals, including bankers and entertainers. Perhaps this is one of underlying reasons to why urban dwellers are developing green thumbs—we all secretly want to be farmers.
I remember as a child getting marigold seeds in my Happy Meal. I planted those seeds and watched in wonderment as their flowers bloomed. Today in the cities you may see a front yard sewn into a garden, or the median between a sidewalk and road transformed with fruit trees, a “Topsy Turvy” Tomato planter hanging from a balcony, and lavender grown beside the door. Maps are being drawn, across the nation, of existing fruit trees, connecting urban harvesters with potential crops.
For those too busy to garden, or lacking the space, CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) programs provide fresh supplies of sustainable, local produce throughout the growing season. And of course there are your local farmer’s markets, where you can purchase produce from those that grow it. And then we are left with winter.
Is the autumnal stroll through corn stalks, framed by hills of orange and calls of geese something of a memorial? Is it all at once a recalibration of what we’ve done with what we might do next year? Perhaps the fiscal calendar has it right. Perhaps the year has ended with the harvest and we have already embarked on the new.
“The farmer has to be an optimist or he wouldn’t still be a farmer.”
– Will Rogers
This year as you arrange your squash aesthetically, and boil your cranberries with sugar, imagine if you will the farms and farmers that touched those items. Imagine the bogs, and the fields; the black cup of coffee before a hard days work, and as for the pumpkin. If all you do is carve out the guts, roast the seeds and stick a candle inside, know that you are supporting a farm, and in some small way celebrating the American Farmer.
All photos were taken by the author at Mosby Farms in Auburn, Washington
Of all the holidays we celebrate in the Northwest, Halloween offers some of the greatest opportunities to connect adults and children with their local farms and produce. 
A 2014 English study
