From Drive-Ins to Lumpia: A New Book Explores How Tacoma Eats

Tacoma’s food scene is getting something more lasting than another best-of list.

Local travel writer Peggy Cleveland has released Unique Eats and Eateries of Tacoma: The People and Stories Behind the Food, a new book exploring the chefs, restaurant owners, farmers and artisans responsible for feeding the city.

The 192-page book treats Tacoma’s restaurants as more than places to order dinner. Cleveland looks at the histories people have preserved, the businesses they have taken chances on and the communities that helped them succeed. The result is intended to be a portrait of Tacoma told through the people working behind its counters, grills and dining-room doors.

That story stretches from longtime drive-ins and traditional steakhouses to newer ventures that used community crowdfunding to grow from food trucks into permanent restaurants. It also reflects the culinary traditions that have become part of eating in Tacoma, including Vietnamese pho, Filipino lumpia, Korean barbecue, Argentinian wood-fired steaks, German pretzels, Eastern European pierogi and Latin American pupusas.

The city’s connection to the surrounding land and water also figures prominently. Pacific Northwest seafood and locally grown ingredients appear alongside the international influences that have made Tacoma’s dining landscape increasingly difficult to define with a single label. According to publisher Reedy Press, Cleveland’s focus is ultimately on the close-knit community connecting the city’s chefs, farmers, food makers and customers.

Cleveland is a travel writer and longtime supporter of Tacoma’s independently owned businesses. She previously wrote 100 Things to Do in Tacoma Before You Die, but the new book narrows her attention to the people shaping the city through food. Rather than simply recommending what readers should order, it provides a reason to look more closely at who created the restaurant—and what it took to keep the doors open.

The book arrives with an immediate opportunity to meet its author. Cleveland will hold a presentation and book signing from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, September 18, at The Essential Pantry, located at 3550 Market Place West, Unit A-105, in University Place.

Unique Eats and Eateries of Tacoma is a 192-page paperback priced at $27. It can be ordered through Reedy Press. Additional background is available from Visit Tacoma-Pierce County.