Kitchen 253

Ah, Pizza, how do we love you? Let me count the ways. We love an intensely tomatoey, spicy, and garlicky sauce. We love a crust that has some chew, something we can sink our teeth into. And we love toppings that pop with flavor. Recently, we tried two new to us pizza places: Fat Zachs-Downtown in Puyallup (621 5th St. SW), and Tacoma Pie on Sixth Ave (4417 6th Ave) in our T-Town.

Both pizza places were entirely pizza focused, both were different, and both produced very good pizza that we would happily eat again. Tacoma Pie in particular is a pizza that may become a craving with their deep focaccia-like crust. Join hosts Evelyn and Joe Lopez, and producer Doug Mackey, as we discuss the pizzas we love, and maybe don’t love that much.

If you have thoughts on pizza, or anything food related (or suggestions for our new air fryer!!!), please get in touch. Email: [email protected], or @True-Tacoma on social media.

We will talk more about restaurants — I promise. But first let’s talk about life and how right now, in this moment, it’s full of angst and worry. There is real existential dread. How do you deal with it? Well, I make jam. In this episode we talk about Tayberry Jam, and how else to find those moments of joy. Joe is enjoying gardening. Doug has music, reading, and garden time. We have our beloved pets (even if they are jerks). No matter what you are doing, take a moment and do something to nourish yourself. You need it. We all do.

Also, here’s the NYT article we were talking about:  How to Have Small Moments of Happiness in Your Life – The New York Times

If you have thoughts on this, suggestions or other feedback, please get in touch. You can email us at [email protected], or find us on social media.

Recently, I saw a post on Reddit where the poster was saying “times are tough! if your budget is busted do this: get some Knorr instant chicken bouillon and add rice” and I thought yes, but no. Yes, get the bouillon, and the rice, but then add beans. Definitely add beans. Because beans and rice will keep you alive. You will have the protein to thrive, and they taste good too.

So, for this episode, we talk about Broke Beans–the dish you make when you literally only have a few dollars and need to stretch those for a week. Broke Beans will keep you fed, happy, and ready for your next battle. As I say in the podcast, right now, keeping yourself fed and healthy is resistance, it is courage, it is critical. Feeding your family–even more an act of defiance, courage, and survival.

Broke Beans is hardly a recipe–it’s more a basic life food. You can add anything to the beans and rice:

Broke Beans and Rice:

1.5 cups dried beans (soak these overnight before cooking, or use 3 cans of beans)

1.5 cups of rice

Knorr bouillon (I used 2 heaping teaspoons of chicken bouillon with the beans, and the same amount of beef bouillon with the rice–next time I would probably use the same flavor in both–it’s mostly salt, but will make your rice and beans taste really good)

1 tomato

1/2 onion

cilantro

olive oil

Cook the beans in a pot or instant pot. I cook them like rice–for one cup of beans I add 2 cups of water. So, 1.5 cups of beans with 3 cups of water and 2 tsp of bouillon, cook over medium high heat until it boils. Boil for 1 minute, then put the lid on the pot, reduce to low heat and cook for 30 minutes. If you use canned beans you really only need to cook them until they start to bubble. If you use dried beans, check to see if they are tender after 30 minutes–sometimes they need more time.

Same instructions for the rice: Add 1.5 cups of rice and 3 cups of water to a pot or instant pot, add 2 tsp of bouillon, cook on medium high until it boils, boil for 1 minute, reduce heat to low, put the lid on the pot and cook for 25 minutes.

Optional topping: Dice up tomato and onion, add about a handful of diced fresh cilantro and enough olive oil to moisten (about 1 tablespoon).

Serve rice, topped with beans, topped with the tomato/onion salsa.

If you have questions or suggestions for topics, please reach out! Email: [email protected], or find me on social media @True-Tacoma

We had a restaurant set back–a place that was awesome on the first visit, was decidedly not on the second visit. We usually eat out once a week, and when the experience is disappointing, it is hard to shake the negatives. So, we went looking for a good vibe, and we found it on Hilltop at Bar Rosa.

Bar Rosa feels like your favorit neighborhood bar–a place where you might drop in for a quick drink while you wait for a takeout pizza, or maybe a sweet spot for a special date (think Lady and the Tramp tables, but over pizza rather than spaghetti).

We visited Bar Rosa on a sunny Friday, sitting at a small table behind the clematis screen. Easy music was playing, and I had a cold Campari and soda in a high slender glass with a ribbon twist of orange peel. Joe was enjoying his wine.

Starters: spiced olives, poached pear tartine. Yum. The olives were plump and meaty. Poached pears were on toast with a cloud of whipped goat cheese, amazing paper-thin slices of dried coppa (crispy and salty), drizzled with honey. Extra delicious to dredge the forkful through the honey pooled in the corners of the plate. Sweet, salty, creamy in one bite.

For our main dishes, Joe had the spicy rigatoni fresh pasta that was spicy, but not too spicy. I had the Pizza Calabria. What stood out was the nduja sausage (a soft sausage, almost like a spread, from Calabria). It was a delicious early dinner, and put us into the perfect relaxed, happy vibe for the weekend.

When you are in the mood for casual, but also with a cool, park your Vespa out front vibe, check them out.

If you have thoughts on this episode, or suggestions for other places to try, send us an email: [email protected], or find us on social media as True_Tacoma.

Cheers!

Evelyn and Joe Lopez

Oh, the joys and challenges of making dinner for your family–night after night! In this episode, host Evelyn Lopez meets up with Channel 253’s Erik Hanberg (host of Citizen Tacoma) to talk about meal planning, food buying. cooking and eating as a family.

There are a lot of pressures on families. Work, school, sports activities, social activities, and you still have to feed everyone. And I’m going to add to that pressure–eating healthy food, made at home, is a key to long-term health, and maybe happiness too.

Erik goes over his weekly plan, how he figures out menu options, uses the Fred Meyer app, has found which stores have the best values, and how a deep freezer makes it so much easier to have ingredients on hand for quick healthy dinners. It is not easy, but it is possible to fit home cooked meals into your schedule if you plan. And you may find that you really enjoy it too.

Erik also shared a family favorite recipe from New York Times Cooking:   One-Pan Salmon Niçoise With Orzo Recipe  

It was delicious!

Salmon Nicoise

Have a question or suggestion? Send me an email:  [email protected], or find me on social media @true_tacoma

Imagine you are reviewing restaurants and someplace just doesn’t measure up. How do you decide whether to give a less than glowing review? How do you dish out some constructive criticism? Hosts Evelyn and Joe Lopez continue the conversation with TNT Diner and food critic Kristine Sherred, along with our producer, Doug Mackie, in the lovely Moon Yard Studio.

We also talk about where to go when you have a mix of people at the table, what places have the vibe you are looking for, and where are some spots outside Tacoma that are worth your consideration. We hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed talking!

And we will definitely invite Kristine back, so if you have questions let us know.

Email: [email protected]

Other social media:  @True_Tacoma

Who doesn’t like to dish the restaurant news with a real restaurant reviewer?

Hosts Evelyn and Joe Lopez sat down with Kristine Sherred of the News Tribune, and producer Doug Mackie at the Moon Yard Studio, to talk about the local restaurant scene and the food industry. Kristine is the TNT Diner and has been closely following and writing about food trends in our town since 2019.

We talked so much that we decided it would be two episodes (and we could have talked more!). In this episode, we talk about how a reviewer decides which restaurants to review and which stories to tell, and we talked about the mystery of making a successful restaurant in Tacoma.

If you have questions or comments, please email us at [email protected], or find us on social media @True_Tacoma.

Also, Kristine will return to talk about happy hours at some point, so if you have suggestions on that let us know.

Cappy’s Produce peppers

Giant yams!

Red Chard–cut from the stem, start small

Cut leaves into 1 inch pieces

Questions or feedback? Send me an email, [email protected], or you can find us on social media at True_Tacoma.

Hello and welcome to Kitchen 253! Hosts Evelyn and Joe Lopez, along with our producer, Doug Mackey, are coming to you live from the glorious Moon Yard Studio.

Valentines Day is just around the corner, so we wanted to talk about places in Tacoma where you could find a table with a lovely view. There are a lot! Most of them on the spendy side.

We visited a place that was new to us, Stink cheese, meat, and wine bar in downtown Tacoma. Stink is located on what I would call the second floor of the brick office building that you might have known as the Russell Building or the State Farm Building at 909 A Street. I say second floor because if you come at it from street level you have to go up the stairs or up the elevator to get to suite 110.

The views are amazing! We were there on a very cold day with crystal clear skies. It overlooks the Foss Waterway, the Murray Morgan Bridge, and the Mountain. They have patio space that will open for the summer, and I can’t think of a nicer way to spend an afternoon.

Stink is generally only open until 6, but they regularly have special events and music nights during later hours. Check out their website: www.stinktacoma.com

The menu is largely sandwiches and charcuterie plates, but they also have a wonderful mac and cheese, and delicious desserts. We enjoyed the m&c, a platter with spicy Italian sausage, rosemary ham, and prosciutto, cheeses and olives, and tiramisu for dessert. It was delicious. Their wines are top notch. We enjoyed a Spanish red blend called El Goru. The m&c was mild rather than sharp, but with a deep cheesy flavor, noodles cooked to perfection. It was a blend made for a cold winter day. So satisfying. We will definitely visit Stink again!

View from Stink

And if going to a view restaurant is not in your plans, perhaps you would like to find a spot for a car picnic overlooking the waterfront? We discuss several scenic options, and a recipe for hand pies!

The key to easy hand pies is to start with pre-made puff pastry. I highly recommend Dufour, but Pillsbury also makes a great puff pastry. Keep the pastry frozen, then thaw it in your fridge for about an hour before you make the pies. It needs to be really cold, worked minimally, in order to keep the flakiness (that is the cold butter suspended in the dough).

First, a caveat about my recipes. I improvise and add ingredients to get the taste I want. For this pie, I wanted something both savory and sweet. I was inspired by my Mom’s Thanksgiving stuffing that was filled with apples, raisins, and walnuts (it was so good!). So, I will give you amounts, but don’t sweat it–any combination of ingredients is awesome when you wrap it in puff pastry. I have included photos so that you can see the steps of putting the pies together.

I promise you that this recipe is easy, but the end result is fancy! If you make a big pie, you could make a Beef Wellington, or Salmon en Croute, with the same process.

Tips for making hand pies: filling ingredients should be bite size, filling should not be too wet, and don’t overfill the pastry.

Ingredients:

Pie filling

Rolled out pastry

Filling to dough ratio

Pie envelope

Crimped pie end

You don’t have to refrigerate the pies on the sheet pan, but I did because it made sense to stop there and do some other work. I would suggest putting the pies in the fridge for about 30 minutes if time allows. Take the pies out of the fridge and brush the sides and surface with the egg wash. Slash several cuts in the top of each pie so that the steam can escape.

Pies to be brushed with egg wash

Finished hand pies

I hope you will give it a try, and let me know how it turns out! You can contact us by email at [email protected], or find us on most social media at True_Tacoma.