The Senior Scene

Arcoiris means “rainbow” in Spanish, and this relatively new restaurant has a rainbow of flavors in their homemade menu.  Beef and chicken, and lots of vegetarian dishes, can be ordered with or without sauces and in various combinations.

This establishment, tucked away on a corner near American Lake park in Lakewood, used to be an Asian restaurant, but new owners have remodeled and revamped it and are doing a good business for the surrounding community.

We found the service friendly and fast, and most of the food we ordered was very good.  Chips and a thin salsa came to the table, and we ate a lot of them as we ordered Steak Nachos (chips topped with beans, jalapenos and cheese, with sour cream and guacamole on the side for $10.25), Cheese Enchilada a la cart at $3.75, a single Authentic Chili Relleno (which is a chili pepper stuffed with smooth white cheese served with Spanish rice and beans at $7.75), a grilled Chicken Quesadilla plate with rice and beans at $9.95, and Steak House special of Taquitos with Guacamole served with rice and beans at $9.75. We also ordered Flan, an egg custard, at $4.95. We had water to drink.

The chicken quesadilla was a large flour tortilla with flavorful chunks of chicken and cheese, but we would have enjoyed extra sauce.

The authentic Chili Relleno was very good with mild cheese in a thoroughly cooked pepper. It was spicy enough for the diner who ordered it, and the rice and beans were generous.

The cheese enchilada was full of cheese  and the corn tortilla was tender. 

The Steak Nachos were served with guacamole which was delicious, bright in flavor and color, not overly blended, and I could have used more.  The rest of the ingredients for the nachos were put on the chips in separated stacks, and I found that I had to take a spoon and fork and mix everything together to get the flavor and texture I was expecting.  The steak was presented in short strips that were grilled but were too dry for blending into Nachos.  The Steak taquitos were very dry, and I opened up the two corn tortillas to find that the ends of the short strips of Steak were burned to cinders, and totally inedible. The guacamole was again delicious. 

The Flan was heavenly.  This egg custard with caramel sauce is supposed to be smooth and creamy, and this was perfect. The serving was unusually large, and that was appreciated since it was so delicious. I would return to Arcoiris just for the Flan.

IF YOU GO

Arcoiris Mexican restaurant

9124 Veterans Dr. SW., near American Lake Park in Lakewood.

253-582-1818

Open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week.

Carolyn Augustine, a freelance restaurant writer, writes the Senior Eats column for Senior Scene.

I used to live near Kin Ja Teriyaki, but except for having a meeting with coffee, I’d never eaten there.  I saw the firefighters across the street come over to get bags of carryout, and the local business employees came in since there wasn’t another restaurant in the neighborhood, but we didn’t eat there.

Oh, how I wish I had.

We went for lunch and ordered Chicken Pad Thai at $8.99 (thin rice noodles, egg,  tofu, mixed vegetables, and special sweet sauce, which we ordered medium), Ketsu Chicken ($8.99, breaded and fried, then cut into strips), Pork Yakisoba ($8.99, cooked pork mixed with Japanese noodles and vegetables), Pineapple Chicken ($8.99, deep-fried chicken chunks served in a thick pineapple sauce with chunks of pineapple, served with a side salad of lettuce), and Beef Stir Fry ($8.99, mixed vegetables, chopped and mixed with beef and fried). We also ordered a side dish of two egg rolls, filled with vegetables and chicken and deep-fried ($3.99).

Everything came with steamed rice, and everything was delicious. We fell on this food as if it was our last meal.

The fried chicken was some of the best I have ever had anywhere, and the Pineapple Chicken melted on your mouth.

The Chicken Pad Thai was aromatic, and the noodles were cooked perfectly.

The stir fry was tender and crisp, and the various flavors mixed perfectly.

The yakisoba was fun to eat, with the shiny noodles and sliced vegetables all coated with a delicious teriyaki sauce.

The portions were very large, and we had plenty left over. These were just a small sample of the dozens of dishes available on the menu.

Kin Ja Teriyaki isn’t fancy.  There is counter service and just a few tables, but the cooking is exceptional and the prices are reasonable.  I can’t wait to go back.

IF YOU GO

Kin Ja Teriyaki

8415 87th Ave. SW. in Lakewood. Located at the corner of 87th Avenue and Steilacoom Boulevard. Faces Western State Hospital grounds, and there is plenty of parking.

253-582-98488

Open Monday through Saturday 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Closed Sunday.

Carolyn Augustine, a freelance restaurant writer from Lakewood, writes the Senior Eats column for Senior Scene.

Going out for breakfast takes a bit of arranging and sometimes a special occasion. The event is made worthwhile if the food and service are above average and the prices are reasonable. 

On a recent Sunday, by good luck and a recommendation, we went to the Biscuit House and found that there were a lot of people with the same idea. Family-run, the restaurant has been at the end of the pleasant strip mall in the 9800 block of South Tacoma way for about three years. Hard work has paid off. There is seating in the bright, cozy dining room, but the line of people ordering food to go was sometimes out the door.

There is good reason for all this popularity, including the great big fluffy biscuits, (three inches across and two inches high), the delicious food (tasty and perfectly cooked bacon), delicious sausage and eggs, and the fast service and friendly smiles of the owners.

Each full omelette has four eggs, and if you want to take home extra biscuits, they are $2 each.

If you have tasted their pieroskies you will be happy to know that these meat-filled pastries may return this summer.

After looking at the menu boards over the counter, we ordered the ham and cheddar omelette with an English muffin ($10), which was  loaded with ham and cheese, one ham and cheddar omelette with white toast, ($10), and one Full Buiscuit Breakfast which came with two delicious sausage links and two generous pieces of bacon cooked just short of too much, which is just the way I like it ($8).

We also ordered a ham and cheese croissant sandwich ($4) and a Veggie Omelette ($8). We ordered sides of sausage gravy biscuits ($4), a side of O’Brian potatoes ($3), which is rough-cut home fries with skins on, and two plain biscuits to take home. We ordered water to drink, which was free. Service was informal, and we decided it would be helpful if we cleared our table on the way out.

Everything was piping hot and very tasty, with gentle seasoning of salt and pepper, a generous portion of cheese on the big omelettes, and servings so big that take-home was a necessity.

Breakfast or lunch at the Biscuit house is a great idea.

IF YOU GO

Biscuit House

9702 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma

253-301-3094

Open Tuesday through Friday 6 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Closed Monday.

Carolyn Augustine writes the Senior Eats column for Senior Scene.

When I moved here from Ohio in the last century, Cincinnati-style chili was not a “thing.” And now there is a Tacoma restaurant that serves this regional favorite locally.

The Chili Parlor serves chili over spaghetti noodles, topped with shredded cheddar cheese. Cincinnati style!

Wayne Whalen opened the cozy restaurant on South Tacoma Way about a year ago and now caters to a wide variety of tastes, as well as the people who come for the house specialty. We liked the vintage feel of the restaurant which resembled a diner, and found the staff welcoming.

We ordered Cincinnati Chili Three Way, small at $7.95, which is spaghetti noodles with a ladle of chili made with spices used in Mediterranean-style cooking such as cumin, cinnamon and cocoa powder, and topped with cheddar cheese. According to some diners, this is not standard Cincinnati chili because there were no beans, and I think it might be an acquired taste with noodles cooked in unsalted water, and sweet aromatic chili. But it was a generous serving.

We also ordered a chicken-fried steak sandwich at $8.95, which turned out to be a big, delicious breaded chopped steak in a crispy fried spicy coating with lettuce, tomato, fresh onions and mayo on a big, soft bun. It came with ribbon fries, salad or onion rings. I ordered the ribbon fries, which turned out to be a potato which had been “spiralized” with a special cutter that makes super thin ribbons out of any vegetable.  I thought it was dry, and like unsalted potato chips.

We also ordered a Chili Burrito at $6.95, a flour tortilla with lots of Mediterranean chili and cheese, a Cheese Coney which at $4.50 was a bun-length dog with chili and cheese, and onion rings at $4.50. The coney was very tasty, with the chili being a nice flavor blend with the hot dog.

The restaurant serves breakfast, daily specials including meatloaf, fish fries and barbecue, and I’d like to go back to try some of these, based on the great sandwich I had.

Plenty of seating at counter and booths. Bathroom is being remodeled but is not accessible to the disabled.

IF YOU GO

The Chili Parlor

5640 S. Tacoma Way in Tacoma (on the west side of South Tacoma Way, south of South 56th Street. There is on-street parking in front of the narrow storefront flanked with beach flags.)

253-472-6979

Open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Sunday

Carolyn Augustine, who writes the Senior Eats column for Senior Scene, is a freelance restaurant writer.