Tag Archives: vegetarian

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.

Happy 40th Birthday to Antique Sandwich Company

Happy 40th Birthday to Antique Sandwich Company

I love a good small business success story, especially if it’s a family business. The Antique Sandwich Company on Tacoma’s North Pearl Street is celebrating its 40th birthday this month. The business, started in 1973 by sisters-in-law Tamie Herridge and Shirley Herridge and their mother Arlene, was later joined by Dick Meyer, owner of Traditions Cafe in Olympia. The community is invited to a celebration of their 40 years of business this Saturday, August 24, from 5 to 9 p.m.

Forty years is a long time for any business to continue on, but especially a restaurant, which faces stiff competition, rising food costs and a whole host of other factors that make keeping the doors open a difficult task. Antique Sandwich Company has not only survived, but flourished, maintaining a customer base that keeps coming back for their homemade pies, giant milkshakes, freshly made cinnamon rolls and sandwiches.
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Broadway Sizzle

Broadway Sizzle

I see a lot of food-related events run across my desk each month, and I try to make it to as many as I can. One upcoming event that has stood out to me is Broadway Center for the Performing Arts’ Broadway Sizzle, August 31 from 5 to 7 p.m. Following the event, you can choose to combine the dinner with a show and attend the premier night of the national-touring musical, Chicago.

Call me crazy, but it sounded like a great excuse to get dressed up for a memorable night on the town. The dinner will be at a communal table set up under a tent in the middle of Broadway. Chef Dustin Joseph has created a menu utilizing all local ingredients (menu below), and if you love food, it’s a delight to read (and equally good to taste).

I’m very much looking forward to attending the event, and hope to see you there! Tickets for dinner only are $75, or $150 for both dinner and tickets to Chicago, and can be purchased online. Ticket sales benefit Tacoma Free For All, Broadway Center’s 100 percent free programming each month.

Menu for Broadway Sizzle

Wine and Beer Garden
Braised pork macaroons, pickled sweet onions (Walla Walla, WA), apple jelly (Yakima, WA), caramel sea salt biscuits

Compressed watermelon (Hermiston, OR), thyme-chevre, aged balsamic, honey (Lakewood, WA / Spring Valley)

Dinner
(Family style)
Grilled corn (Puyallup, WA / Sterino Farms), cilantro aioli, cotija cheese, chile dust Heirloom tomato salad (Yakima, WA),  fresh burrata, basil, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette

Cucumber-kale-farro salad (Puyallup, WA / Duris Farms), goat cheese, cherry tomatoes, lemon-cilantro vinaigrette Heirloom melon cornbread

(Plated)
Rosemary grilled (Columbia River, WA) salmon, crisp wild mushrooms (Olympia, WA / Ostrom Farms), sweet potatoes, rose hip jus

Pesto grilled hangar steak (Niman Ranch), chipotle potato salad, caramelized onions, grilled peppers (Wapato, WA / Inaba Farms), aioli

(Dessert station)
Honeyed biscuits, cinnamon creme, macerated strawberries Roasted peaches (Wapato, WA / Pence Orchards), lavender (Sequim, WA / Purple Haze Farms), pistachio Chantilly cream

Hilltop Kitchen Food and Drink Menus

Hilltop Kitchen Food and Drink Menus

I visited the newly opened Hilltop Kitchen for a little weeknight cocktails and dinner. What I found was a fantastic Latin-inspired menu that is mostly vegetarian…and has a good amount of vegan options, or items that can easily be made vegan.

Craft cocktails are all priced $10, and are divided between Goes Down Easy and Boozy and Odd. Everything we ate and drank was excellent, as was the service.

The photos of the menus are below — they’re not great, but they give you an idea of what Hilltop Kitchen has going on (click to enlarge).

Co-owner Chris Keil says they will soon offer lunch, and now have a happy hour with $6 drinks from 3 p.m.-7 p.m. daily.

Look for my full feature on Hilltop Kitchen in the Weekly Volcano/Ranger/Airlifter next week.

Their address is a bit hard to find online, so I have it for you below, as well as their current hours. Happy drinking!

Hilltop Kitchen | 913 Martin Luther King Way, Tacoma | Open Monday-Wednesday 3 p.m.- last call at 12 a.m., Thursday-Saturday 3 p.m.- last call at 1:15 a.m. Closed Sunday. Happy hour is 3 p.m.-7 p.m. daily.

Made in Tacoma: Sevierly Good Gluten Free

Made in Tacoma: Sevierly Good Gluten Free

There’s a Tacoma company making allergen-free baking mixes that are free of gluten, dairy, nuts, beans, soy, corn, and most are free of potato. Covering the gamut of food allergens for many people, Sevierly Good Gluten Free is bringing homemade pizza dough, waffles, muffins, biscuits and more to everyone for whom these foods aren’t able to be eaten when traditionally made. Add to it that their products are kosher, non-GMO, predominately certified organic, are made in an allergen-free facility, and can be made vegan, well, they are truly able to be eaten by all.

Sound too good to be true? I promise, they’re real! These mixes are a godsend for people with food allergies. Having a pre-packaged mix with easy to follow instructions, each of Sevierly Good’s products turns out deliciously, and with textures pretty darn close to traditionally made foods. To top it off, they use as many local products in the mixes that they can.

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