Order This Now: Royal Thai Bistro’s Beef Noodle Soup

Order This Now: Royal Thai Bistro’s Beef Noodle Soup

I recently went to Royal Thai Bistro for the first time, at the recommendation of some of my Twitter buddies. Feeling a little peaky, I really was in the mood for pho, but didn’t want to drive all the way to my favorite pho spots (Pho V&V or Pho King).

Browsing their menu online, I saw they had beef noodle soup. Consider me intrigued. I’d never seen beef noodle soup on a Thai restaurant’s menu before.

I ordered it take-out, brought it home and was pleasantly surprised. First of all, it’s a huge portion if you order it take-out. I’ve since been back to the restaurant and ordered it eating in, and it was probably half the size. When you order it take-out, you get a full soup container of broth and herbs, and a full container of noodles. Let’s just say I ate it out of a mixing bowl, and it was a good four servings.

The soup has a deep, rich beef broth — more unctuous and flavorful than any pho I’ve ever had. I keep comparing the soup to pho, but it really isn’t the same thing. The noodles in Royal Thai Bistro’s soup are more akin to the rice noodles in pad Thai. When you order, they ask you the level of spice you’d like (as opposed to pho, where you add your own). The broth is laden with cilantro, crushed peanuts, some bean sprouts and lots of quality beef. I’m not entirely sure the exact cut of beef they use, but it’s a higher quality than you’d normally get in pho. It’s more of a tender steak.

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Ginkgo Forest Winery Grand Opening Saturday

Ginkgo Forest Winery Grand Opening Saturday

Did you know a new wine tasting room opened in Old Town? I’ve driven past a few times, making mental notes to check it out. Tomorrow is the perfect time to do so. Ginkgo Forest Winery, from Mattawa, WA (just outside Vantage in Eastern Washington) is having its grand opening tomorrow, September 28 starting at 11 a.m.

There will be food and wine pairings and live music from guitarist George Turner and art from Bill Colby. You can also enter to win a gift basket, and there will be specials on wine.

Even if you’re not able to make it to the grand opening, stop by Ginkgo Forest in Old Town and give them a nice welcome to Tacoma.

Here’s a handy-dandy video to learn more about Ginkgo Forest Winery.

Ginkgo Forest Winery | 2221 N 30th Street, Tacoma | (253) 301-4372 | Open Wednesday-Saturday 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Sunday 1 p.m.-6 p.m.

Drink Up: Dune Cocktail Event at Hilltop Kitchen

Drink Up: Dune Cocktail Event at Hilltop Kitchen

You may or may not be familiar with author Frank Herbert, a Tacoma native, who wrote the original Dune series of books. He’s well-loved with the science fiction literature set, and he’s got quite a fan base here in Tacoma, including Hilltop Kitchen’s own Chris Keil.

Why not combine your love of literature and booze? Hilltop Kitchen is hosting a Dune Cocktail Event on October 8 from 7-10 p.m. It’s a day that also happens to be Frank Herbert’s birthday, so you can raise a glass…or two…to him.

I had a chance to preview the cocktails that will be available at the event. And no, I did not drink all of these by myself. If I had, you would have seen me on the news in handcuffs with the title, “Tacoma Foodie gets rowdy and publicly embarrasses herself”, or something like that.

There will be six special craft cocktails in honor of Dune and Frank Herbert, including the Harkonnen Cocktail, Orange Catholic, Bene Gesserit, Duncan Idaho, Honored Matre and  the Golden Path (not pictured). All cocktails will be priced at $10.

My favorite was the Harkonnen Cocktail, with mezcal, Zaya rum, and smoked demerara salt, served over one of their signature hand-carved giant ice cubes. Those ice cubes get me every time. Conveniently, here’s a video from Brian of Better Cocktails at Home demonstrating how to make it yourself.

Though I didn’t get to taste the Golden Path, it sounds pretty amazing. It’s served hot, with cinnamon-infused tequila, mulled apple cider and Becherovka, which I’ve termed “a fancy version of Fireball”.

If you want to learn more about Frank Herbert and his writing, or about the event and cocktails, Post Defiance has a nice piece about them both.

Whitewood Cider Co. Wants Your Homegrown Apples and Pears

Whitewood Cider Co. Wants Your Homegrown Apples and Pears

I really love this idea — Whitewood Cider Co. (which I wrote about recently for the Weekly Volcano) is looking for your homegrown apples and pears to use in their ciders. For more details on how to participate, check out Whitewood Cider’s blog.

Just think…you could be part of Whitewood’s amazing story, just as they’re blowing up big time. Imagine stopping by Pint Defiance or your other friendly retailer, popping open a bottle and knowing that you had something to do with its production. Their South Sounder cider (which I’ve had, and it’s delicious) is made up of 100 percent local apples. So very cool.

According to Whitewood Cider, thousands of pounds of fallen apples go to waste each year. So if you’ve got extra apples or pears, be part of this hyper-local business and drink to sweet success.

Image via Whitewood Cider Co.

Maxwells’ Chef Hudson Slater Wins Ethan Stowell Charity Cook-Off

Maxwells’ Chef Hudson Slater Wins Ethan Stowell Charity Cook-Off

Tacoma’s own Chef Hudson Slater of Maxwell’s Speakeasy and Lounge won first place in last weekend’s Ethan Stowell Fried Chicken Cook-Off for charity. Ethan Stowell Restaurants, which include Staple & Fancy, Tavolata and How to Cook a Wolf, just to name a few, held the charity cook-offs to benefit Fetal Hope Foundation.

Ten chefs competed, including Josh Henderson from the Huxley Wallace Collective; Ryan Donaldson, chef at The Stone House; Tricia Marino from Stoneburner; Tobie Robinson from Parsnips Catering; Dan Braun from Oliver’s Twist, Paul Rosquita from Taste at SAM, as well as Ethan Stowell himself. Four home cooks also competed, including Joe Jeannot, Rocky Yeh, Luuvu Hoang and Cameo McRoberts.

Attendees of the event voted for their favorite fried chicken entries.

Chef Slater won with chicken that he brined in a smokey brine for a day, then in buttermilk, maple syrup and hot sauce, which were then dredged in seasoned flour and fried.

“It was a great day with a lot of cool chefs,” said Chef Slater.  “We were drinking beer and bourbon, eating chicken and talking smack. It was a lot of fun.”

To see what sets Chef Slater’s fried chicken apart, get to Maxwell’s early each Monday. You can order his winning fried chicken first come, first serve. It will be offered for as long as there’s demand.

Chef Slater is hoping to get involved in the next cook-off, which is slated to be macaroni and cheese, though so far there is no firm date yet set for this event.

“There was talk of mac and cheese so I would be pretty stoked for that, considering we have the best mac and cheese in town,” said Slater.

Tickets will be available to the public, so check the Ethan Stowell blog for more details.

If you can’t attend the Ethan Stowell Cook-Offs, make sure to check out all the amazing food Chef Slater and Maxwell’s is putting out right here in Tacoma on a daily basis.

Update: Maxwell’s has started serving the fried chicken on Mondays, and it’s a hit! Check out the photo below. Looks amazing.

Chef Hudson's winning fried chicken at Maxwell's

Photos courtesy Chef Hudson Slater