What are Tacoma's Signature Dishes and Drinks?
This story originally showed up in our forum, but we liked it so much we’ve brought it out here. It combines our love of local food with our general Tacomaness. Plus, it needs your input!
I have a travel writer coming to town who’s looking to do a travel story about – among other things – Tacoma’s signature dishes (or drinks) … particularly those that use local ingredients.
What would people who travel here not want to miss and not be able to get anywhere else? Any suggestions?
Thanks for any ideas you might have. She’ll be here in July.
I do believe the fresh blackberry gimlet I once had at Crown Bar should qualify as one of the best local drinks. But that’s just me.
Filed under: General
54 comments
P Paul Bennett April 25, 2009
I know they are bad for ya, and nothing at all like they were back in ’68 when I had my first one…. Frisko Freeze bergers, and fries!
T Tacoma1 April 25, 2009
Is there anything more “Tacoma” than Harbor Lights coleslaw, fresh cut fries, and bucket of Penn Cove mussels and clams?
L Liam April 25, 2009
The Spar is where I take out of town folks. Spar Chips are sinful!!!! The view from the back tables are great and …let us not forget Johnny’s Dock and Harbor Lights has already been mentioned…
Better views than anything in seattle.
T Thorax O'Tool April 25, 2009
Roca
A argyle April 25, 2009
The mushroom gorgonzola burger from E9 is the high point of human civilization.
J Julie April 25, 2009
Origins 23 (at 6th and Union) has amazing afogatos…. it’s a shot of espresso over a scoop of gelato. Seriously amazing. I always take visitors there.
W Whitney staff April 25, 2009
local ingredients
Well for actually produced here local food – not food from the Sysco truck – I’d have to say check out Primo Grill. Charlie, the chef and owner, often uses pork from Cheryl the Pig Lady – raised in Puyallup. His other establishment is Crown Bar and in the summer they use fresh fruit from the farmers market to make amazing cocktails.
The other place to scout out would be Babblin’ Babs. I’ve actually never been there but I know they use many many local ingredients.
Maxwell’s also does a seasonally changing NW menu. I’m not sure about their sourcing but it is a seasonal menu that celebrates whats grown here.
J Jesse April 25, 2009
A big combo pizza from the Clover Leaf Tavern.
P P April 25, 2009
Local ingredients? What if the ingredient is the dish? I think fresh raw oysters from the farmers market is a perfect food that is very Puget Sound.
O offbroadway April 25, 2009
I’ve often wondered why Tacoma never developed signature dished like cities on the east coast have. We often think out of the box, and have had our share of international influence. But it’s hard to think of that one historical signature dish that means Tacoma. A burger from the Frisco Freeze and a Jungle Burger from the Jive are good starts. The Red Hot is making nice effort. I’m glad we have until July to ponder this.
Y You're Welcome April 25, 2009
Huckleberries have been growing in our soil long before this country was settled. Anthony’s has an annual Huckleberry festival with cocktails and desserts. Yum!
C Corey April 25, 2009
Send her to 1022 South.
B broadweezy April 26, 2009
21 commerce had a black martini that tasted like a slurpee on south tacoma way – i think they took it off the drink menu – crimney!
T Tacoma (A)roma April 26, 2009
I would have to say that a Puget Sound Porter from The Harmon would be my pic.
K Karin April 27, 2009
I know its just a french dip, but my favorite one is named for this town. The Tacoma Dome Dip at the Harmon.
T Thorax O'Tool April 27, 2009
Why not run with the stereotype salmon or oysters? Or local fruit like snowberries or huckleberries?
Huckleberry salmon?
K Kristy Gledhill April 27, 2009
Thanks everyone. Keep em comin’. This all sounds awesome. Wouldn’t it be great if Tacoma’s top chefs got together for a Tacoma-off? Who can create the most quintessentially Tacoma dish or dinner menu? Including cocktails. Tell the story of Tacoma through food. Mmm…. It would include maybe a little bit of everything you-all have mentioned here, somehow. Has this been done before? Can you create (and market) a gritty huckleberry martini? :D What could you make gritty on purpose that would be tasty? Interesting!
P Princess Adora April 27, 2009
Why is there this overwhelming need to create a “signature” dish? Name me one from the West Coast. Rice-a-Roni?
K katie April 27, 2009
What about teriyaki? When we lived in the South (Georgia) not a single plate of teriyaki to be found. Don’t know about it being made with local ingredients.
J J. Cote April 27, 2009
Teriyaki Lamb Skewers, Quail eggs omlet avec fromage and a schooner of Bud Light to top it off
T Thorax Z. O'Tool April 27, 2009
Phở?
There’s one on every street corner.
K Kat B April 27, 2009
Shakabrah Java…mmmmmm, breakfast.
W WesS April 27, 2009
Salmon teriyaki.
Tim’s Cascade Wasabi Potato Chips.
Beverage? Valhalla coffee; Harmon Browns Point ESB; Tacoma Public Utilities tap water. No, that’s not a mixed drink, that’s three options. For mixed drinks, ask somebody at the Tempest.
D dale rush April 27, 2009
Those “lollipop scallops” on the H/Hour menu nightly at Stanley’s need a look-WOW……..and a beverage choice at $3.00 also in T.Town………..
A altered Chords April 27, 2009
Almond butter and blackberry jam sandwich?
D David Boe April 28, 2009
#4 – gotta go with Almond Rocca. My first introduction to a Tacoma ‘Food’ back in the Midwest was from my wife’s great Aunt and Uncle visiting from Tacoma. All the rest mentioned are Tacoma ‘takes’ on already established foods and drinks. I think it should be mandatory that wherever the Mayor of Tacoma goes, she always has some Rocca handy to pass around.
Y You're Welcome April 28, 2009
I like the Huckleberry Salmon. Add a side of Jo-jo potatoes and Roca for dessert. That’s what I’m talkin’ bout.
B boomer April 28, 2009
Gotta go with the seafood theme of course!
-fresh dungeness crab
-razor clams
-Pacific/Olympia oysters
-wild smoked salmon
Wash it all down with a Puget Sound Porter from the Harmon :P
S Squid April 28, 2009
To me, a signature dish has to walk – you have to be able to eat it on the run, like a Philly cheese steak. At first I was thinking oyster po-boy, but then I though N’awlins really owns that one. How about a crab po-boy though, maybe with that mystery white sauce on it from the Spar.
Nice toasted roll, some shaved iceberg lettuce, crab cakes, special sauce? Almost as good as Spongebob’s Crabby Patty.
R reenerb April 28, 2009
El Gaucho has been rated to have one of the best steaks in the U.S. Now that’s something to brag about!! Only a few restaurants are even able to buy that quality of beef. Yum!
T TacoMan April 28, 2009
Seems like a lot of the dishes mentioned so far could be from anywhere in the PS region. Maybe Taste of Tacoma could add an annual signature-dish competition. Something gritty, yet sophisticated; surprising and unique, but comfortable. An annually updated signature dish would reflect Tacoma’s evolving nature.
A altered Chords April 28, 2009
Squid’s on to something w/ the crabcake po’ boy.
I like TacoMan’s attempt at bringin an element of Tacoma to the “Taste of Tacoma” which has zero Tacoma restaurant representation.
E EW April 28, 2009
In the summer, The Harmon Hub has awesome clams on their menu cooked with the basics … white wine and butter. Very good. For a while, they were on their happy hour menu and I dragged my husband there 3 nights in a row for clams and a glass of white wine. Yummm.
T Thorax O'Tool April 29, 2009
“I like TacoMan’s attempt at bringin an element of Tacoma to the “Taste of Tacoma” which has zero Tacoma restaurant representation.“
Uh, Southern Kitchen?
It would be hella interesting in our stereotype fish-influenced Northwest to have Tacoma’s “Signature” dish be some soul food. And you all do know, we have native berries other than the mighty huckleberry.
How about: Cajun Salmon & Oyster Gumbo with a mason jar of Squashberry lemonade and a slice of Blue Elderberry Cobbler.
That gets my vote. And if Gloria starts serving that up @ SK, I may as well kiss my diet good bye.
T Thorax O'Tool April 29, 2009
For your “signature dish” designing needs, I present to the Community a short list of edible, native berries:
Common Wild Gooseberry (Ribes divaricatum)
Flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum)
Huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum)
Rainier Blueberry (Vaccinium deliciosum)
Saskatoon berry (Amelanchier almifolia)
Blue Elderberry (Sambucus caerulea)
Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa)
Squashberry (Viburnum edule)
Highbush Cranberry (Viburnum opulus)
Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis)
Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus)
Dewberry (Rubus ursinus)
Blackcap Raspberry (Rubus leucodermis)
Salal (Gaultheria shallon)
Oregon Grape (Berberis aquifolium)
Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis)
With such a wide variety of colors, shapes, flavors and textures, our native berries are sorely underappreciated. Imagine what a talented, motivated person could cook up with them…
R richard April 29, 2009
Why not choose on actual popularity? My guess is that the busiest restaurant by far in the central / downtown area is the Mc Donald’s on Tacoma Avenue. Wash down your mini meal with something (not to) tasty from the AIA and you have experienced Tacoma’s signature.
Sorry, no clams or blueberries.
A altered Chords April 29, 2009
Can’t be anything cajun. That’s not Tacoma.
Can’t be southern kitchen either. Tacoma is not in the south. It’s in the northwest.
I guess any dish made with any of thorax’s imaginary made up berries.
Nice work making up latin names too Thorax.
You know what? We don’t have a signature dish. We can’t just make one up. Look at all the trouble we’re having.
Lot’s of cities don’t have a sig food or drink.
A Always Curious April 30, 2009
What about the rich history of the immigrants from Japan and Korea? Koreatown- South Tacoma Way, has some great Asian food places!
Because of Fort Lewis we have a huge population of mixed nationalities who enjoy -Frisco Freeze to Kim Chee!
T Thorax O'Tool April 30, 2009
I assure you, we are actually in the southeast. AC, you’ve been holding your map upside down.
The way things are going lately, I’d say the plain white label US government-issue cans of jack mackerel, new potatoes and packets of dehydrated milk from the FISH food bank are posed to become Our signature dish.
T TacoMan April 30, 2009
I strongly support locally sourced vittles, but a true “signature dish” is going to be representative of the present and past people of Tacoma, not necessarily of ingredients that are only regionally available. A philly cheesesteak isn’t centrally identified with Phila because you can only find Cheese Whiz in SE PA, after all. To find something that resonates with Tacoma, then, it’s critical to approach the question from a more abstract perspective — one that defines the elements of the dish even before the ingredients.
I propose the idea of an annual competition because this is really an artistic question – we are seeking to create something that doesn’t exist based on an abstract sense of community values and shared history. So we need to find an opportunity for local culinarians – from whatever background – who think they understand these abstract characteristics to put something out there for us to nosh on and see if it resonates.
I agree with aC about the Taste of Tacoma being too underpopulated by truly local establishments. It suffers from a business model that favors the berries-n-crap-on-a-stick booths and their ilk which exist solely to cash in on this sort of venue. It brings in the necessary revenue for the festival, but at the expense of it being an event that really portrays the gastronomic profile of the community in any meaningful way. Even if they refuse to change their core business model in a way that creates better representation from locals, they could at least sequester the non-local food to the periphery.
So back to the competition concept- at the ToT or wherever. Local chefs/restaurants would compete for our T-Town-tainted affections and earn the right to brag that their establishment has the “official” dish of Tacoma for that year. We could even decentralize it — announce the competition and let restaurants create an official dish to enter that they put on their menu for 3 months. Advertise the participating restaurants and dishes on E133 (or el Volcano?) and tally votes at the end of the period. We get our signature dish and T-town’s restaurant industry gets a boost.
M Myrna Nagle May 2, 2009
The Harmon/Hub IPA beer and clams is my vote.
T Thorax O'Tool May 4, 2009
There are 3 major cities in the northwest.
Question:
Can someone name me the signature dish of Vancouver BC, Seattle and Portland?
C crenshaw sepulveda May 4, 2009
Teriyaki for Seattle.
Many curbside vendors sell Portland’s signature dish: the deep fried banana slug (smooth and crunchy varieties)!
For Vancouver it has to be something Chinese.
J Jesse May 4, 2009
Portlands dish is probably any micro-brew beer as there are so many micro brew pubs everywhere.
Seattle would be salmon.
Vancouver, BC would be Sushi.
But I’m just guessing.
Y You're Welcome May 4, 2009
Or, we could be the trendsetter. Tacoma gets a signature dish and inspires other cities to follow.
Curbside food carts would be great for us. Grab-and-go could bring so many new options for a Tacoma dish.
(I would guess that Seattle’s signature dish is espresso)
A altered Chords May 4, 2009
A signature dish is one that is pervasive to a region and is immensly popular. So popular in fact that other regions begin serving it.
There is no longer sufficient geographic isolation to dream up a “signature” dish that will be popular and pervasive and unique.
Terriyaki, sushi, pho, philly cheesesteak, reuben, pulled pork, lobster, ‘po boy, polish sausage, deep dish pizza, 7 way chili are already spoken for.
Since Seattle, Portland and Vancouver do not have a “signature” dish, we in Tacoma have every right to make “salmon” the official signature dish.
I like the competition Idea but do not like the annualization of the “signature dish” Once it’s decided upon, it must be, indeed it SHALL be PERMANENT. Generations to come in cities around the globe will have their Chicago deep dish pizza joints and Philly cheesesteak joints and Tacoma “TBA signature dish” joints.
C crenshaw sepulveda May 4, 2009
Teriyaki as we know it was invented in Seattle and pretty much imported around the rest of the country, I’d argue strongly it is Seattle’s signature dish. A good history of Teriyaki appears, I believe, in the Stranger.
S Squid May 4, 2009
aC: Here is my entry – take the ingredients of a crab cake and rather than forming a patty, just mix it all together in sort of a “scramble.” Put it on a toasted bun with iceberg lettuce and tomatoes and top with Spar white sauce. Eat in or take-out.
A altered Chords May 4, 2009
OK I was wrong. Tacoma CAN have a signature dish. Sorry to have been so negative.
Let’s organize the aforementioned contest. I just want to have that Tacoma Crabby scramble that Squid has invented.
Maybe wash it down with a Torax O’Toolatini made with some of his latin Tacoma berries.
This will unify Tacoma!
T Thorax O'Tool May 5, 2009
I’m in!
I’ll be out acquiring some squashberries.
A altered Chords May 6, 2009
Now I know you don’t drink but you can still have a drink named after you. Let’s experiment w/ various berries. I know the Tacoma Urbanist would be interested in taste testing this stuff.
We could probably get 701 to host some sort of event. Especially if Martini’s and food are involved.
T Thorax O'Tool May 6, 2009
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.
The kind of restaurant I see most frequently in T-Town is Phở. I can think of at least ten off of the top of my head just in areas I frequent.
Make some salmon Phở, and we have a signature dish.
A altered Chords May 7, 2009
Thorax – you’re not satisfied that the Tacoma signature drink is the Thorax O’Tollatini. You need your own signature food too? O’tool salmon pho? C’mon. Give the jungle burger and crabby scamble a chance.
T Thorax O'Tool May 7, 2009
If you do not dare to dream big, you will never achieve big.