BECAUSE WE NOW HAVE A MILLION IN THE AREA >>>

Neighborhood: University Place

Address/Phone: 4828 Bridgeport Way W., 253.564.9112

Website: Click here

Hours: 4:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Friday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. Sunday

Noshing/Sipping: In a glass display case, sandwiches, salads, breakfast sandwiches, yogurt and baked goods await your pressed nose. The sandwiches and salads are straight out of the Europa Bistro kitchen. My favorite, the Al Capone with proscuito, mozzarella, artichoke heart, basil, olive oil on sliced Como bread, bursts with flavor. Asked for it grilled. It's to kill for. I believe a full stick of butter went into the making of the bacon breakfast sandwich. Schwartz Bros. Bakery out of Seattle supplies the pastries, included bagged bagels.

Espresso is delicious. Their creamy, Mocha Italia tastes chocolaty but never sickly sweet, and the cappuccinos and lattes are rich and full flavored. The Venetian Latte with its brown sugar sends me to heaven without the crash. They also serve juices, sodas, tea and wine. Yup, wine.

Standard Cup o' Joe: $1.60-$2.10

Bean Source: Signature bean blend from Dillano's Coffee Roasters in Sumner

Crowd: I think it's the world headquarters for the Mother/Daughter Beauty Pageant. Seriously, at least in the morning, moms and their 20-something daughters have the full attention of the neighboring Precision Tune employees, that guy who's always there with his laptop, guys just back from a run and, surprisingly, the two elderly women knitting in front of the fireplace, which isn't turned on yet.

Soundtrack: Sometimes there's music in the morning, but it's too low to hear over the people chatting.

WiFi: Yes

Bonus Points: Choose glass pours and bottles of Novelty Hill-Januik, Stina's and Woodhouse Family Cellars off the wine board in the back. Also, Forza is giving away a scooter. Fill out the slip of paper before Sept. 15, then cross your fingers. You can enter once a day.

The House:

Forza, in Italian, signifies "Strength." You'll need every bit of your strength trying to pull into this Forza between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. on weekdays. The traffic stacks up in front of the parking lot in which is already filled with cars waiting for a tune-up. Plus, the cars idling in the drive-thru line overflow out onto Cirque Drive West. It's mayhem! Inside, during this hour, the baristas play bumper cars with their bodies.

The other hours of the day, this Forza - part of a local franchise founded by Brad Carpenter - has a mellower vibe. Golden hues and dark woodsdominate the long, narrow space. It's on the small side compared to the other Forza locations.

My guess if I hurled a Schwartz Bros. bagel at one of the barista's heads, I'd still receive a smile. Forza Coffee Company has received awards for its customer service. At this location, the staff has their sights on the next award.

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Keanu Reeves is 46 today.

Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger's outstanding documentary Restrepo - shot as the filmmakers were embedded with one company over 14 months in the Korengal Valley of eastern Afghanistan - returns to The Grand Cinema Friday. Released as the war in Afghanistan stretches drags on, the film offers a series of moments, some mundane such as digging trenches, building sandbag walls and surveying harsh mountainsides tend to do, and others jarringly singular.

The Tacoma Urbanist asks, "Will the City of Tacoma be able and willing to get parking rates right?" Will a price raise the perceived value of downtown? We'll see.

Spaceworks Tacoma gives a by the book Holly Senn report before tonight's reception for The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation Art Award Exhibit, 2008 – 2010.

Another offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded. Lovely.

OMG: Stephen Hawking says God didn't create the universe.

LINK: You probably need a happy hour today

SOUTH SOUND ARTS COVERAGE IN TODAY'S WEEKLY VOLCANO >>>

Twists and turns: A review of Tacoma Little Theatre's Sleuth, without giving too much away by Joe Izenman

The minds of Henry Jekyll: We contain multitudes, and the monster inside us may be lurking down the next fog-bound alley by Christian Carvajal

Impersonal portraits: Matthew M Johnson shows at Fulcrum Gallery by Alec Clayton

LINK: Arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

THURSDAY, SEPT. 2, 2010 >>>

1. The Final Fan Appreciation Night in the old Cheney Stadium begins at 6 p.m. when the Tacoma Rainiers take on the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. First 1,000 fans through the gates receive a 2010 team photo (hurrah!).  Post game fireworks and closing ceremony will bring tears.

2. James Coates performs at 10:30 a.m. at the downtown Tacoma Farmers Market.

3. The opening reception for The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation's Foundation of Art Award, 2008-2010 exhibit at Kittredge Gallery runs from 5-7 p.m.The exhibition itself includes work by the 25 nominees featuring works range from painting, sculpture, and prints to video, jewelry, and embroidery, among other techniques. Materials are as diverse as felt, Legos, found cardboard signs, and repurposed books to the more traditional media such as oil, watercolor, ceramics, and photography.

4. Groove House will perform on the patio of Tocanos Café and Wine Bar in Puyallup beginning at 6:15 p.m.

5. The Tacoma Runners will summon their inner cowboy/girl for tonight's Giddyup Run. That's right, the Runners will don costumes for their weekly run, which begins at 6:30 p.m. at Big Whisky Saloon in downtown Tacoma. We're talking chaps people.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

HORN PLAYERS ARE PEOPLE TOO >>>

Junkyard Jane is one of the hardest working bands around, having blues-rocked up just about every joint this area has to offer. The band also has an impressive history, and many awards to its name. Junkyard Jane's history includes renowned trombonist Randy Oxford and saxophonist Sue Orfield, both of whom were part of the band for the acclaimed Washboard Highway record. Friday, Oxford and Orfield will reunite with Billy Stoops, Leanne Trevalyan and the gang for what should be an infectious show at Stonegate Pizza.

Junkyard Jane Reunion

Friday, Sept. 3, 9 p.m.
Stonegate Pizza, 5421 S Tacoma Way, Tacoma
253.606.2255

GET YOURS WHILE YOU CAN >>>

It's very rare in the grocery world when something so hot takes over. Backroom receivers are at odds with how to keep their shelves stocked. The trickle down theory ensues and customers bitch at storeowners, storeowners bitch at vendors and vendors bitch at suppliers. It's supply vs. demand. The reality is, there is only so much to go around, and man oh man, I ain't seen nothing like this since the Pop Rocks fad of the '70s.

It all started on KISW 99.9 FM's little radio show The Men's Room. Potty room reference aside, this is a red HOT talk show, with a huge audience and demographic reach. While the show is clearly targeted at the men-folk, women also like to listen in for a look into the world of how men think.

The guys on the show like to drink. Hell, who don't (stole that from Tracy Morgan, SNL)? Enter supremely popular Elysian Brewery in Seattle. They brew a little beer for the guys on the show and call it Men's Room Ale. It sold at the brewery, very drinkable and popular. But that wasn't enough. ...

Soon the guys wanted to see the beer reach a wider audience - like their show. A new beer was brewed call the Men's Room Original Red. Soon it was being poured in more than 150 restaurants and pubs in the Seattle/Tacoma area, with bar managers clamoring for more. They began bottling soon thereafter and then it happened. ...

Grocery stores and specialty beer shops started bringing it in 20, 30, 50 cases at a time. 99 Bottles in Federal Way went through more than 90 cases in a week. Stadium Thriftway went through 15 (which is a lot for this store) and ordered another 20 to be delivered today. What the WHAT? (stole that from Tina Fey. I see a trend here)?

It certainly doesn't hurt that they promote EVERY venue that carries their delicious beer on their radio show. Most importantly, a portion of the net proceed from every Men's Room Original Red sold goes to help support the families of our military vets through the VA Puget Sound Fisher House and Joint Base Lewis-McChord's Fisher House.

I've spoken with many people in the industry, with my personal experience included, and no one has seen a beverage, beer or otherwise create such a frenzy in the marketplace.  Because of the Men's Room Red's popularity, there is only so much to go around and Elysian is trying their best, as is the distributor, to get the beer out as fast as they can.

This beer is a moneymaker for any store. It's basic math really. While the Men's Room Ale retails for $4.49 a bottle at 30 percent mark-up, the profit margin on this beer verses let's say a 22-ounce bottle Budweiser that's priced at $2.35, is pretty significant. Which would you rather sell (or drink)?

Nothing stays on top forever, but I suggest you jump on the bandwagon if you see a bottle of Men's Room Original Red at your grocery store. It may not be there tomorrow. Oh, and I should add it's pretty darn tasty. Hola Bitcholas!

Men's Room Original Red

Sold locally in many specialty beer shops and grocery stores including Stadium Thriftway, Tacoma Boys, 99 Bottles, Abby's on Broadway and more. Click here for a complete list of locations.

LINK: Kris Blondin's Grocery Stories column

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 1, 2010 >>>

1. What does Zines on Toast actually mean? No clue. That's one of the ways they get you. By "they" we mean, Northern; and by "get you," we mean lure you to their space at 7 p.m. for one of the best events of the week - the Zines on Toast Tour. Portland's Alex Wrekk (of Brainscan and Stolen Sharpie Revolution) has rounded up "zinesters" (you can't be cool without the lingo) from the UK and put them all on the road. Pure brilliance.

2. Ron Desmett has been working with glass for over three decades. His use of hollowed out walnut trees as glass molds allows him to "infuse nature that has lost its life with life anew." Desmett is in the Musuem of Glass' Hot Shop from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. as part of the Visiting Artists series.

3. The Grand Cinema, Old Milwaukee Cafe, and Pierce County AIDS Foundation invite you to a free screening of the HBO Film Life Support, based on the true story of AIDS activist Andrea Williams at 6:30 p.m. inside The Grand Cinema. A dessert reception provided by Old Milwaukee Cafe will follow the screening.

4. With popular culture more youth-obsessed than ever, promising talents like The Makeup Monsters' Shayne Weeks and Isaac Solverson seem poised for great things - provided they aren't squashed by the weight of peoples' Great Expectations. Check them out at 8 p.m. with Takhoma, Motorbikes and Trevor Dickson inside the Den Fulcrum Gallery. 

5. Sweatshop Union, Pigeon Hole, General Wojack, Josh Rizeberg, Whhikid Matticuless tell it like it is at 9 p.m. inside Hell's Kitchen.

LINK: More arts and entertainment ideas in the South Sound

TACOMA THEATER UNVEILS NEW FILM SERIES >>>

Traditionally snubbed by Hollywood artistes and not often backed by the major studios, horror films have carved out a bloody niche for themselves on the badlands of mainstream cinema. So it makes sense that The Grand Cinema will begin making screen space for this oft-overlooked genre with a new monthly series.

Says Executive Director Philip Cowan, "We spend a lot of time ... trying to bring films to Tacoma that would not otherwise play here. To me, that's one of the best definitions of independent film."

Where else will you possibly come across a gruesome Italian-made schlockfest like The Beyond, or, as we call it in the States, L'aldia - E tu vivrai nel terrore? In stomach-churning detail, director Lucio Fulci shows viewers what happens when you mistakenly build your hotel right over a portal to hell. The aftermath includes, in the words of Beyond distributorsGrindhouse Releasing, "chunk-blowing chain-whippings, sulfuric acid meltdowns, flesh-eating tarantulas," and worst of all, horrid dubbing of foreign actors.

Subtitles distract from the gore anyway.

The Grand will unleash an uncut 35mm print of this carnage Sept. 3 and 4 at 9:09 p.m., with a matinee on Sept. 5 at 4 p.m. Reps from horror magazine Fangoria will also dish out trivia and prizes.

A cult shocker scheduled every month, Cowan believes, should shake up the community's conception of fringe cinema - and of the theater itself.

"Independent films aren't just British period piece films or Scandinavian girls with dragon tattoos," explains Cowan. "If we can attract an audience who maybe has never been to the Grand, I'm all for that. Maybe they'll come back to see a French film another time."

Get a taste of this weekend's mayhem by checking out the Beyond trailer below, and visit www.grindhousereleasing.com.

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

This study claims heavy drinkers live longer lives than nondrinkers. What? WHAT?

LINK: South Sound happy hours

ART AT WORK IS ALWAYS IN THE WORKS >>>

The Tacoma Arts Commission knows you're a little blue today due to school/rain/construction work. Therefore, they sent out a little blast of excitement today:

The Tacoma Arts Commission seeks South Puget Sound artists to participate in an Art Slam as part of Tacoma's 9^th annual Art at Work month. On Nov. 17, from 7 - 9 p.m., visual and performing art submissions will be projected on the big screen of the Rialto Theater, set to a soundtrack of musical accompaniment. Live performances by performing and spoken word artists will be interspersed between segments of the show, followed by a reception.

Artists working in a broad spectrum of media including visual art, music, dance, performance, film and literary arts are encouraged to submit work to be projected during the show. Visual artists are asked to submit up to 10 digital images; performing artists, one 2-minute performing arts piece on DVD or CD to be projected on a large screen. Submission deadline for projected art is Oct. 25, 2010.

Performing artists who are interested in performing live at the Art Slam are asked to submit up to five pieces, each no longer than three minutes in length, for consideration. Work can include, but is not limited to spoken word, dance, poetry, acoustic music and theater. The submitted work must be the pieces that will be performed during the show. Submission deadline for live performances is Oct. 18, 2010.

Entry is open to current residents of the South Puget Sound region. Applications and guidelines for all submissions can be found at www.ArtAtWorkTacoma.com. There is no fee to apply.