North end walking

I took my first walk through the north end with my daughter in a stroller and my faithful puppy dog earlier today. While it has always been apparent that the neighborhood is walkable, it occurred to me that I couldn’t ask for a better place to raise a child in this region.

During a 45-minute walk, I encountered very few cars, enjoyed smiles from several other walkers and enjoyed the nice, smooth sidewalks some of us may take for granted. Never have I lived anywhere with better sidewalks. The city recently forced many residents to pay for sidewalk repairs, mostly due to tree-root damage. At first this seemed unreasonable to me, but today I realized the benefits.

Little kids, skateboards, strollers, inline skates, wheelchairs… whatever it is you use to travel our sidewalks, you should have no trouble getting from point A to point B. Just another reason North Tacoma is the best neighborhood in the world.

What’s with Puget Sound area banks?

Washington Mutual and now Rainier Pacific. Both have gone from riches to rags and both originated in our backyard. While not as spooky as the WaMu debacle, the Rainier Pacific dissolution seems to be exactly what this region needs to avoid. This pattern of 1 step forward and 2 steps back is not going to take our economy where it needs to go anytime soon.

Rather than a bank named Umpqua, I sincerely hope that something fun will go into the corner space at N 26th & Proctor previously used by Rainier Pacific Bank. North Tacoma needs more places to have fun and less places to do business, in my opinion. Take your business downtown!

The global economy still wavers. The stock markets are as fickle as my 5 day old daughter. Real estate may or may not be picking up steam. What are your thoughts on the economic health of the region? I give up trying to make my own predictions. Hopefully some of you will step up and risk an opinion.

Happy Sad

Tacoma, the times they are a changin. Here are a couple things of which to be aware.

Happy: 1022 South
Hilltop is home to a craft cocktail lounge. Have you ever been to a bar that takes the art of making cocktails VERY seriously? It is interesting to see what they can do with alchemy and infusion. This is not something out of the movie Cocktail, mind you. We’re talking about scientific, laboratory-style concoctions that fizz, smoke, bubble, and glow. 1022 South is the type of place where cocktails transcend being just a beverage. Ordering a drink can be quite a complex experience: choosing a drink, ordering it without feeling stupid, watching the process it takes to make it, and of course, enjoying your selection. If you are out and about looking for a place to “just have a drink or two” I highly recommend 1022 South, located at 1022 South J Street in Tacoma.

Sad: Rector’s Antiques
My favorite antique store in Tacoma has closed. Located across the street from MSM, Rector’s was usually my go-to spot for funky furniture, antique lighting and old clothing/costume items. Being far removed from the official antique row downtown has taken its final toll on Rector’s. If anyone should hear that they are planning on relocating, please post follow-up information here.

WANTED: Bagel shop in Tacoma

I had to make a run to Sea-tac airport this morning. Early. Aside from my morning pot of coffee, the chief motivator for me today was the notion of actually enjoying a fresh, authentic bagel for breakfast. Of course, there aren’t any fresh bagels to be had in Tacoma. How did I do it? What’s my secret?

Big Apple Bagel in Des Moines is a godsend. Every time I drop someone off at the airport in the morning, I find myself at Big Apple selecting 6 warm, soft bagels and a tub o’ cream cheese to bring back to the City of Density with me. Today it was 2 onion, 1 blueberry, 1 tomato basil, 1 cheddar herb and 1 swiss melt, all still warm. By this evening I will feel like a turkey, stuffed to the gills with bread. I look forward to this feeling.

For those of you who don’t know, the bagel is more than meets the eye. To the uneducated, it is simply a donut-shaped piece of bread. To those of us who know better, it is a precise concoction, boiled then baked, chewy, moist, soft. This is not found in just any bagel. Most bagels you find around here ARE simply bread in the shape of a donut.

Tacoma needs a real bagel shop, ASAP. Cascade Bagel didn’t make it downtown… but that was because they picked the worst location ever: inside a museum. Their Lakewood location is good. Located in a slumping strip mall, they’ve managed to keep that one open for years. Somewhere on Pacific downtown or 6th Ave would be a perfect place for the next great bagel shop in Tacoma. Offer fresh bagels, good coffee and a great sandwich lineup and you can’t fail.

Someone. Anyone. Please.

You’ll like Tacoma

Several of my relatives plan to move back to Tacoma in the near future. This has me thinking about the City of Density and how it is here today compared with how it was here 10 years ago.

I regularly complain about all sorts of things in Tacoma ranging from traffic cameras, to bad urban development, to the lack of useful retail downtown. That being said, I think Tacoma is much cooler today than it was 10 years ago. Does this mean Tacoma really sucked in 99? Or is it actually cool here now? The answer to this question depends largely on who you ask.

I moved back to Tacoma in 99 and I’ve had no regrets. I love my neighborhood, we have several great bars & restaurants to enjoy, traffic and cost of living are manageable and the geographic location and climate are ideal. What more do you need?

While it’s been interesting to watch the city grow to this point, I’m even more interested to see where it goes from here.