Tag Archives: tacoma

Food, Restaurant

A Narrow Miss of the Mark at Marrow in Tacoma

Before moving to Seattle in 1999, business travel from the east coast took me to Tacoma several times. I fell in love with East & West Café, especially in its more hole-in-the-wall, pre-expansion, “little house” years, and I never felt the need to travel north of Seatac airport for my overnight dining.

Now that I actually live in Seattle, though, it’s hard to get me to Tacoma. I know that doesn’t work in reverse, as Tacomans tend to take trips up to Seattle to eat and do more. But when I ask for restaurant recommendations in Tacoma, all I hear is “Wow… the South Sound is tough.”

Still, a restaurant called Marrow held promise. Since its opening in 2011, I’ve admired the concept of the menu. The “marrow” side, in the words of the restaurant, focuses on “protein based dishes incorporating often overlooked meats.” That’s right up my alley, especially if organ meats are involved. Meanwhile, the “arrow” side showcases “elevated vegetarian dining.” I can live with that.

A recent business trip to Tacoma gave me a chance to finally visit the restaurant. As I hoped, the “marrow” part of the menu flashed some tempting dishes: alligator chowder, Cajun-grilled frog legs, and, yes, roasted bone marrow. But then something on the chalkboard of specials caught my eye:

3 Course Tasting Menu

Salmon and scallop tartare, wonton, dill cream cheese, fried capers

Braised goat cakes, fried eggs, red wine demi

Petite duck breast, pommes Anna, asparagus, cranberry mostardo [sic]

All that for… $25. What a deal! And with special appeal for those who’d rather forego dessert for another savory course. I had to try it.

The first plate (pictured above) was perplexing. I wasn’t sure if the wontons were meant to be eaten as cones (apparently not, as most of the fish fell out upon lifting), and there was a lot of cream cheese with dill looming on the plate. (I’d later hear someone at the next table ask, “What am I supposed to do with all this cream cheese?”) It was a nice quantity of salmon and scallop pieces, but the flavor was a little briny (not from the capers) and not fresh tasting.

The braised goat cakes were better, but heavy as a middle course. I appreciated the slightly gamey flavor, as well as the little fried eggs atop the cakes. Finally, the duck breast was a little overcooked (the prominent piece in the photo was the pinkest), though the potatoes (Anna-style means layers of slices cooked in lots of butter) were a nice accompaniment.

Given the great quantity of food, it’s hard to complain about a $25 tasting menu. Truth is, the meal wasn’t bad. But it wasn’t compelling, and despite the website’s comparison to “what could be found in the trendier neighborhoods of San Francisco, Portland, or Chicago,” the food is not quite at that level. What’s good for the South Sound falls short of what’s available in Seattle, let alone the other three cities cited.

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Health, News

Portland’s ZoomCare Opens Clinic in Qliance’s Boutique Health Care Backyard

Heading to Blue Moon Burgers on Broadway, on Capitol Hill, the other day, I passed a “store” called ZoomCare, that upon further inspection sold health care. Eating at burger joints always puts me in the mindset to research low-cost health care options, so I resolved to take a look at this interloper once back at the office.

Founded by two dollar-squeezing Portland doctors in 2006, ZoomCare tries a slightly different approach than Seattle’s Qliance, when it comes to offering the range of primary care that most people need, and for which a hospital visit is overkill, if you’ll pardon the expression. Where Qliance charges a month-to-month “membership” fee (ranging from $64 to $89 per month for adults on its Level 1 plan, after a one-time $99 registration), ZoomCare is completely a la carte.

For an office visit for illness, injury, or checkup, it’s $99 if you pay cash (they’re also an in-network resource for a range of insurers, as well, in which case it’s just a co-pay or deductible). You can schedule a 15-minute appointment online, and can walk in and get seen at that moment. If that’s too much trouble, you can also get a Skype consult for $49. (ZoomCare suggests this option for: “Sore throat, bladder infections, urinary tract infections, rashes, skin infections, sinusitis, pink eye, sprains, swimmer’s ear, minor headaches, upper respiratory infections, allergies, bronchitis, minor diarrhea, vaginal yeast infections, acne, cold sores.”)

Qliance, founded in resistance to the middleman waste inherent in the insurance system (“Oh! See him transferring administrative costs to me? Help! Help! I’m being cost-externalized!”), spends more time educating clients on high-deductible and health savings account strategies. While they are also focused on seeing the patient on schedule, the membership model is supposed to create an unrushed atmosphere, where your doctor takes the time really to see you.

The ZoomCare clinics have been popular in Portland, springing up everywhere. (Qliance now has clinics in downtown Seattle, Kent, Mercer Island, Mill Creek, and Tacoma, and is said to be “scouting clinic locations across the country.”) The low- and fixed-cost appeal is undeniable, although ZoomCare has gotten rapped for its refusal to deal with Medicaid, and for over-working staff. They are not the Country Doctor, for instance, the non-profit that provides “culturally appropriate primary health care that addresses the needs of all people regardless of their ability to pay.”

At ZoomCare’s Capitol Hill clinic (531 Broadway East, Suite 10), you’ll see David Feig, MD, Erin Grindle, PA-C and Katie Shaw, ARNP, for everything from asthma and ear infections to sprains and cuts. In short, it’s all the little things you might let progress to becoming a serious thing because of the high cost of health care, and the concomitant insecurity about how much this is all going to cost, which you often find out after the fact in a hospital setting, when you’re already on the hook for it.

All this is good on paper, but with health care, the main thing is that it actually work for you, and there’s nothing like first-person experience to determine if that’s the case. One thing that Yelp reviews make clear is that they are not an emergency room–if it is serious, they are not your first choice. (Qliance’s coordination with needed hospital care may be differentiator here.) But for minor in-and-outs, the price seems to be right.