What says “late summer” like cornbread sticks and melon on the patio? Lots of things probably do. This is just one good summer meal. Not the best, not the “definitive” summer menu, just a good one in the spirit of this list.
Is this a top 5 list? No. Are these our 5 absolute favorite things in Tacoma? Nope. This is just the second group of 5 from a list of way more things we think are good in Tacoma. 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 down at sunset, a tree or garden to visit at a particular time of year. A lot 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 when many things closed down.
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 comparison and perfection?). Good is good.
1. Treasure Hunt at Earthwise Architectural Salvage - Eastside
Earthwise is a treasure trove for “Salvage, Reused, Reclaimed, Vintage, Antique” items of a wide variety. Go excavate. See if a reclaimed stained glass window might have a home in your front hall. Brainstorm the possibilities a section of salvaged bowling lane flooring might have in your kitchen. Seek a light fixture from days gone by to illuminate a dining table. Resurrect the days of pistachio green pedestal sinks. Brush the dust off a set of French doors. Find a side table for your record player. Certainly you can browse their inventory online, but nothing beats an in-person trip to get the creativity flowing. Most times we don’t know what we’re looking for until we find it.
2. Fair Weather Wine Tastings at Wildside Wine - West End
This is one of the delights of our nieghborhood at the west end of 6th Ave. It’s not really about the wine. It’s about the people gathered at colorful round tables along the sidewalk. Tables of two, tables of four and six, people waving at other regulars they recognize, leashed dogs wagging tails and watching intently for errant cracker crumbs. It’s about the way the chatter and jovial mood isn’t contained at one table, but extends and welcomes. It’s a small place, and we’ve enjoyed sitting in the cozyness of the L-shaped bar surrounded by shelves of wine inside, but these past couple of years fair weather tastings out on the sidewalk fit the bill best. Go visit and sign-up for their weekly email newsletter to stay informed about the weekly wine theme, special tasting events—like a wine tour through Greece without even leaving Tacoma—and other details such as desserts and small plates. Sit with a friend and make space in your own conversation to overhear others reminiscing about bike trips through vineyards in Europe. Let it rub off a bit. We think it’s nice.
3. The Point Defiance Rose Garden in Summer Bloom - Ruston
What else is good? The rose garden. It speaks for itself, really. Follow grass pathways wending their way between rosebushes bursting with summer blossoms. Find bumblebees asleep deep in the petals. Choose a favorite for scent, a favorite for the shape of the petals, a favorite for color, a favorite for its name, a favorite pair that just have to grow beside each other. Or don’t think about any of that at all and just walk a slow walk with roses at your elbows, and sometimes roses climbing overhead.
Since you’re here in the garden, go on just a bit further and visit the dahlias too. Robust and vivid, they don’t offer much to the nose, but they make up for it with their character from blossoms like tiny pom-poms to a giant lion’s mane. And then wander back through the roses again. But go soon. July through September is the peak season here in the garden.
4. The Antique Sandwich Co.’s Garden of Eatin’ - Ruston
From one garden to another. Since we’re here, here in the far reaches of north Tacoma where the city meets Point Defiance, we’d better stop in this place called Ruston, the place that bridges city and park. Ruston has its own energy, its own not-quite-city character, and a favorite Ruston spot from summer into early fall is the Garden of Eatin’. The name itself is proof enough that it’s a good place. The name painted on a sign that forms a gate welcoming each eater to the garden is further evidence (if you need more look up at the giant zinnias on the brick wall). Order inside The Antique. Choose a dessert made with local honey and whole wheat flour, a cup of coffee, a slice of quiche, a sandwich layered with roast turkey and sprouts, a salad dressed in homemade tahini dressing, a pot of calming tea, a creamy milkshake, then go to the garden. Find a table in the grass and watch the deer browse in the brush. Let the cars go by on their way to the ferry. You stay and let them go.
5. Little Free Libraries Scavenger Hunt - All Over Town
Scavenger sounds a bit too rough maybe as these books are offered freely and in the spirit of community. But little libraries do keep good books from going to waste, so feel okay about scavenging here. In the spirit of fun—or if you’re looking for something to pass the time while driving around town—go ahead and think of it as a scavenger hunt. Who can spot the Little Library out the window first? How many Little Free Libraries can you find in just one errand run? What if you drove a different way home, what might you find? What if you stopped at one library each week, dropped off a book or two, found something new, or just tidied up the shelves (the books do tend to be askew!). Some libraries are covered by living roofs with moss and succulents on top. Some are bright blue. Some are made of salvaged (scavenged?) materials. Some come from a kit ordered straight from the Little Free Library organization. Build your own if you want! These are just a few of the ones we see around Tacoma when we head out to take a book and leave a book.
You can read our first 5 Good Things here, and we welcome you to tell us some of yours too. It’s good to share, so we’ll keep at it. See you around Tacoma!
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