Tag Archives: event

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.

The Moveable Feast — THIS WEEKEND!

The Moveable Feast — THIS WEEKEND!

Tomorrow, July 28 from noon to 5 p.m. is the second annual Moveable Feast, my favorite outdoor food event of the year. Last year’s event was so much fun, and full of amazing food with a great sense of community.

Food trucks are the best way to try different cuisines in a relaxed, casual way without spending a bunch of money. While Tacoma does have its own unique food scene, in the past we’ve been noticeably short on food truck variety. Yes, we have great food trucks and now a couple of others for certain events, but we’re still way behind in the selection of Seattle and Portland.

This is why I love the Moveable Feast. For one day and in one place, you can choose from 38 food trucks/mobile food vendors and 7 breweries, all while enjoying live music and fun activities for the kids.

As if it couldn’t get any better, this year’s event has a new feature, the Made in Tacoma section, which will have hyper-local vendors like Lynnae’s Pickles, Little Eorthe Farm, Great NW Popcorn Company, Dry Soda, One Spot Jam, Libertine Tacoma salts and more. This doesn’t even include local Tacoma-area vendors Pampeana Empanadas, Barrel No. 51, Burrito Boy,  Choripan, Celebrity Cake Studio, Hello, Cupcake, Hilltop Pop Shop, Fleischkuechle, Ice Cream Social, Reciprocity Foods, Lumpia World and Rico’s Tacos.

You could almost put all the vendors in the Made in Tacoma section, which is awesome.

While general admission is free, VIP tickets are still available online for $10. It gets you one hour early entry to avoid the lines, a t-shirt and parking. Last year, I did this and it was worth it if you’re trying to get food quickly.

I’m not sure which trucks I’ll visit this year, but I’m excited to see some new-to-me folks like Jemil’s Big Easy, Tokyo Dog and the Box on Wheels. Check out the full list of vendors on their site and make your plan of attack.

For more information, check out the article I wrote about the Moveable Feast for NorthwestMilitary.com.

Also, check out my detailed recap of last year’s Moveable Feast, with full food truck listing.