Spotting this little scene in Ruston isn’t on the list, but really, it’s the whole point. It’s what you see if you keep your eyes open for what’s good.
Is this a top 5 list? Are these our 5 absolute favorite things in all of Tacoma? Nope. This is just the first group of 5 from a long list of way more things we think are good around town. The list is long and growing: a corner we like to stand on, a window it feels good to sit by, a beverage we like to drink, a street to walk, a tree or garden to visit at a particular time of year (think Ross Gay’s The Book of Delights).
Some of it costs no money at all. It’s sights, experiences, foods, and spots both well known and lesser known. It’s things we would look back on with nostalgia if we moved away, or in some cases did look on with nostalgia during these past couple of altered years. There's something about the shutdown in 2020 and then the ongoing fear and uncertainty that gave us the chance to notice what we’d miss. Those times were (and are) offering a new way of seeing.
No city is the perfect city and no place has it all; this is a sample of what we do have. It’s a living, growing list of good things—not necessarily best (who needs all that over-the-top comparing and contrasting, best-of-the-best energy anyhow?). Good is good.
You too may find yourself gazing lovingly at a basket of Coles nachos, but not for long.
1. Chili Topped Nachos at Coles Bar & Grill - Ruston (Old Ruston, not Point)
You go in, order the nachos, ask for the chili on top. That’s it. Then you eat it. Unless any of that food (tortilla chips, melted cheese, onion, tomatoes, sour cream, pickled jalapeños, olives, made-in-house chili) disagrees with you, we’re pretty sure you’ll have a good time. The people at Coles are always sweet. There’s a Chevron across the street, but somehow that doesn’t really matter. If the weather is warmish and dryish you can sit on a stool and hang out along the bar counter on the tiny patio. That’s fun too. But this isn’t meant to be a full description of everything at Coles (brick floor, clam chowder on Fridays, fish tacos that feel kind of healthy and taste good and come with chips and veggie salsa)! It’s just us saying we look forward to going there and having nachos with chili on top. And then, when we get there and eat that we have a good time.
2. Oakwood Hill Cemetery - South Tacoma
Okay, we’re all the way from nachos to the cemetery. That’s life! We think this is one more good Tacoma place. You’ll find it at 5210 S. Alder St. If you want to turn this into more of a stroll, park near the Asia Pacific Cultural Center in South Park and head south on the paved path. If you climb up the hill you can peer through the chain link fence into the cemetery (looking in is a very different experience from being in, both good). At the end of the South Park path turn left at 54th and walk half a block or so east. There should be a nice wooden fence grown with Virginia creeper alongside you. Then turn left again on Alder St. which runs into the Oakwood Hill Cemetery.
Walk in long shadows under the oaks and evergreens. It’s peaceful in here, a bit secret. In early spring crocuses push up through the grass, in the fall oak leaves and acorns crunch underfoot. The headstones are mostly small and modest, some grown with lichen, others leaning just a bit. You can see the Tacoma Cemetery right on the other side of the fence, part of which was historically a pauper’s cemetery (read some of its story in the LA Times).
Sit in some shade. Read the names of people who came and went before. Wonder a bit.
3. Dry Goods Room at Marlene’s Market - South Tacoma
I really like this room. Maybe too much? It’s not even really about what you can buy in there. Though, yes, Marlene’s keeps this room stocked with good things (dried pineapple, many colors of quinoa, so many nuts, oats, every kind of rice, cornmeal, granola, muesli). It’s about the way the temperature, sound, and air quality change as soon as you step through the glass door (leave that cart behind) and enter the quiet, humidity controlled room with the whirring of the fan and the faint scent of oats and the cool air and the separation from the activity of the rest of the store and you take a deep breath and it’s this strange little sanctuary with groceries you may or may not buy that day, but in you will go anyhow. There are some items that might be outside of your grocery budget, but if you’re curious, just go in and experience it, maybe buy a pound of oats. It’s one of those places where I feel calm. Maybe you’ll feel that way too.
4. Lander’s Sunny Bar Counter With a West-Facing Window Overlooking N. Anderson St. - 3 Bridges District
Pull up a stool, set a cup of chai (order it for here—real dishes feel so good after those many months of to-go-ware) on the wooden bar counter facing west onto N. Anderson, and sit a minute. Look into the foamy cloud white face of the chai while the sun streams onto the wooden counter, into your cup, onto your cheeks—maybe into your eyes, but it’s well worth it. Talk to a friend, or don’t. Ask for cinnamon on top, or don’t. Have a treat with it, or don’t. Go explore the neighborhood afterward, or don’t. Basically, this is about the window and the wood and the warm.
5. Skyline Pedestrian Bridge at Sunset - West End
The West End and the West Slope are wonderful locations for sunset seekers in Tacoma. But you don’t have to have a West Slope view home to enjoy the sky. One of our favorite spots to soak up the show of color at the end of the day is the pedestrian bridge on Skyline that crosses Highway 16. Park a car or get off the bus at the Narrows Park & Ride at N. Skyline & 6th. Head north on Skyline to N. 9th where the bridge begins. It’s a bridge frequented by cyclists too, so if bike riding is your thing, add this to your route soon.
This place happens to be one of the good things that’s really near our house, so we go often, almost always with our dog. Sometimes we have the bridge to ourselves. Sometimes others are crossing, heading home from Swasey Library, or taking a photo, pushing a stroller, walking a dog, holding a sign or banner to get drivers below to honk and wave, or just pausing (as we suggest you do) to gaze past the highway, over the Sound, through The Narrows Bridges, out to the Olympic Mountain Range and the glow beyond.
We’re not saying this is the best sunset view in the city (remember this isn’t a best list, it’s a good list). We’re just staying it’s nice, it’s a place we’d miss if we moved, it’s a spot that feels like Tacoma and not like anywhere else.
If you’re not already friendly and familiar with some of this month’s 5 good things, maybe you’d like to get out there and make the acquaintance of these spots that feel like part of the good that makes up Tacoma. Maybe we’ll see you out there!
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