12-04-2025
Fried bologna to espresso martinis. TNT staff's best eats and drinks of late
Chasing down the news leaves us with a powerful thirst and a gnawing hunger. Here's what we at The News Tribune have eaten and imbibed the past few weeks to take the edge off.
Reminder that this best eats column will run monthly. If you haven't already, please sign up for the TNT Diner newsletter by staff writer Kristine Sherred. She's got the weekly skinny on the Pierce County dining and food scene.
Cheers!
The best bite I've had recently was from a fluffy cinnamon roll at Meridian Cafe in downtown Puyallup, an old favorite. Warning: These rolls fill up the entire plate. Share one with a friend or four. The diner's historic Puyallup decor makes it a fun place to take visitors for a casual brunch.
Honorable mention goes to the scoops of honey lavender and grasshopper pie (think mint chip on steroids) that I had in downtown Puyallup at Lick Homemade Ice Cream.
I see they have Girl Scout cookie ice cream this week. Yum.
Alexis Krell, communities editor
The black pepper strawberry and fennel Danish from Three Hearts wasn't the afternoon carb-kick I expected, but it's the one I'm glad I found. The flaky dough cradles a vanilla pastry cream specked with black pepper – I initially thought it was flecks of vanilla bean – vibrant strawberries and licoricey fennel. Everything works great together. The tang of the fennel/strawberries combo bounces off the richness of the cream, and the black pepper gives a little warmth to the back end.
Brian Hayes, visual journalist
Growing up fried bologna was a delicacy: two slices of thin, pan-seared mystery meat with melted American cheese – you know exactly the kind I'm talking about – on untoasted white bread with a smear of Miracle Whip.
On the first Friday of the month, The Red Hot does a fried-bologna sandwich special. If you grew up eating them like I did, get it. Their take on the southern specialty is zhuzhed up to the max. Two thick pieces of well-seared bologna on top of pimento cheese, with grilled onions, Carolina Gold BBQ sauce, pickles and coleslaw all on a structurally sound brioche bun that can support this hefty sandwich.
Brian Hayes, visual journalist
My favorite drink in the Harbor recently has been this super creamy espresso martini at Greenhouse in Uptown Gig Harbor.
If you haven't been, Greenhouse has a great bar that's the main focus of the restaurant. There are no TVs if that's your vibe. Their seasonal cocktail list is full of fun names like 'Fig Around and Find Out' and 'Millions of Peaches, Peaches For Me.'
I'm one of those weird creatures who can drink caffeine at any hour, so I always gravitate towards their espresso martini with the housemade whip.
Stephanie Pedersen, editor
