The Senior Scene

This is the season of celebration, and if you are looking for a special place for one, try Stanley and Seafort’s, perched on a cliff overlooking the city of Tacoma and the tideflats, serving delicious food in an elegant setting. We went for lunch and had a great time, seated at the second level, looking out the sparkling windows and enjoying the good service.

We looked over the brunch menu and ordered Chicken Dijon Asiago with Yukon gold potatoes and wilted spinach and bacon leek relish, at $15.95.This was a very tasty, pounded chicken breast loaded with Asiago cheese, with very flavorful vegetables.

We also ordered the Battered Halibut lunch special, at $21.95, which was three playing card-sized portions of very fresh halibut, in a crispy batter with herbed fries and a scoop of coleslaw.

A Petite Chophouse burger was a large hand-formed beef burger with cheddar cheese, onions, thousand-island dressing, and shredded lettuce on a brioche bun. This was a really good burger with lots of flavor, and the texture of the bun held up well to the meat. The burger at $12.95 was served with a small order of fries and a small scoop of coleslaw.

We ordered a Broadway Pea starter salad with fresh peas, water chestnuts and bacon, with creamy pepper dressing at $6.95. Fresh, crunchy and full of flavor, served on butter lettuce leaves and garnished with sliced plum tomatoes, this salad was a very nice addition to lunch.

We enjoyed the food, the view and the feeling of warm welcome that is a trademark of Stanley and Seafort’s.

During peak hours, be sure to make reservations, and enjoy your visit to this Tacoma landmark which has been serving locals for over 40 years, making everyone feel special.

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

IF YOU GO

Stanley and Seafort’s

115 E. 34th St., Tacoma. Best reached by taking 38th Street South to Pacific Avenue and turning north toward downtown Tacoma, then East 34th east from Pacific. Watch for the restaurant on the left.

253-473-7300

Lunch Monday-Friday, 11:15 a.m.-3 p.m.

Dinner Sunday-Thursday, 4 p.m.-9 p.m., Friday-Saturday 4-9:30 p.m.

Early dining menu Sunday-Thursday 4 p.m.-5:30 p.m.

Weekend brunch 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Happy Hour: Monday-Friday, 3-6 p.m. and 9 p.m. to closing. Saturday and Sunday, 2-6 p.m. and 9 to closing.

Open for 36 years, the Southern Kitchen has been serving country-style food to generations of diners who love home cooking with a southern touch.

Taking a trip to the south sounded like a great idea, so soon after we found a parking space in the tiny lot shared with a car repair shop, and we were seated at an oilcloth-covered table, looking at menus. Everything looked tasty,  and seeing orders coming to other tables, we had a hard time deciding. But we were there for breakfast and finally decided on country-fried steak with onion gravy, grits, one biscuit and two scrambled eggs ($13.95) and coffee ($1.95). We also ordered French toast with two scrambled eggs and four sausages ($10.95),  hot cider ($1.95),  and two pieces of fried chicken at $8.95.

The six triangles  of crisp, buttery toast were perfect, as were the eggs, and the warm syrup to dribble over everything was just the right addition. Yummy.

The chicken-fried  steak was crunchy on the outside, which gave the gravy loaded with onions a good base and set off the mildly spicy meat. The grits were a smooth complement, and the biscuit was light and fluffy and very hot. The fried chicken was extra crunchy but thoroughly cooked, with lots of flavorful breading.

Our server, Skitzo, who runs a Seahawk-themed entertainment company when he is not waiting tables (go Hawks), was happy to answer questions about Guy Fieri’s “Diners  Drive-ins and Dives” show from 2009, which still brings people from all over the country to try the food. Pictures from this visit, as well as many awards for excellence, cover one whole wall.

A visit to the Southern Kitchen is worth the limited parking and the crowds that show up daily to sample the time-tested recipes and enjoy the friendly atmosphere.

IF YOU GO

Southern Kitchen

1617 Sixth Ave., Tacoma (corner of Sixth and Sprague)

253-627-4282

Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to  9 p.m. Saturday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

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

Operating in a rural park area on the eastern outskirts of Buckley for nearly 25 years, Wally’s Drive In Restaurant offers a glimpse back to a time when eating in your car was an everyday enjoyable activity and drive-ins were common in every town.

Wally’s has a big, colorful sign and welcoming  parking lot lined with parking spaces, each one provided with a menu and a speaker for ordering,  and a broad walkway for the carhops delivering orders, packed ready to go. Inside the 1950-decor dining room, you can have table service, but we stayed in the car.

The food is mostly reasonably priced and tasty, and the famous milk shakes are thick.

We decided on traditional drive-in food, including a Cheese Charburger ($4.59) with two slices of American cheese, mayo, ketchup, lettuce and pickle, and we added fries ($1.59), which were thick-cut and mouth-scalding  hot. Yum.

We also ordered one piece of cod with frie,( $8.99), which came with tartar sauce and ketchup on the side. It was a breaded deep fried piece the size of the palm of a man’s hand and very good.  ]

The grilled chicken sandwich ($6.99) was tender and juicy. The bun was fresh and soft and the sandwich was very satisfying.

We ordered a vanilla shake and a blackberry shake, both small-sized at $3.59. The  vanilla  was intense and sweet and thick. The blackberry was actually berry-flavored with berry pieces throughout.  Both were very good, but I think a bit overpriced for the size.

The food was good, and  I recommend this enjoyable experience that is not common any more.

IF YOU GO

Wally’s Drive In

282 State Route 410, Buckley

360-829-0871

Open Sunday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday-Saturday  8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

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

Dim Sum are oriental appetizers, served as small bites of various meats, vegetables and bean curd in various wrappers and buns, steamed, sometimes fried, served hot and sometimes with dipping sauce.

The Ginger Palace on Tacoma’s Hosmer Street just off I-5 prepares an extensive menu of dim sum on weekends and holidays to enrich their regular menu of tavern cuisine. Some of the dim sum are mysterious, with textures and spices that the average diner doesn’t recognize. Some are familiar, such as chicken wings.

When we visited, there were 36 different items on the dim sum menu. After looking them over and consulting with our server, Amy, we ordered four fried and steamed Chicken Feet at $3.95, since I have seen people eating chicken feet on TV and always wanted to try them. They were very tasty, but the little bones were troublesome. Chiu Chow dumplings were pork and peanut in steamed wrappers and very good, at $3.95. Four bacon shrimp wraps (shrimp wrapped in bacon and grilled) cost $6. Four  Garlic Hawaiian wings were also $6 and also very good. We also ordered four fried plain dough donuts, bland but very crisp at $2.75; four deep-fried sesame seed balls at $2.75 which were sesame-covered dough balls filled with sweetened bean paste; and four steamed Barbecue Pork Buns at $2.75. We also ordered Mini Roast Duck Burgers at $5. These were delicious, with sliced barbecued pork and  green onions on steamed buns.

The food was all freshly cooked, and there was no oily taste which can happen. It came to the table very hot, and even the things that we took home were warm when we got there. One thing that was not up to standards we have come to expect in local restaurants was the state of the dining room and washrooms. It appeared that it had been a rough night, and the cleaning staff had not gotten in yet.  After noon, I expect more.

If you are interested in trying something new and are willing to ask questions, stop by the Ginger Palace and check out the dim sum.  Plenty of parking, and no reservations needed for the large dining room. You will be sure to find something you like.

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