TUESDAY, APRIL 3: WE HAVE A WINNER >>>

After three weeks of voting the Weekly Volcano readers have picked the most popular breakfast in the South Sound.

The Tournament of Breakfast Championship match pitted the Moon Rise Cafe in Lakewood against the new kid on the block, Dirty Oscar's Annex in Tacoma.

Yesterday's championship battle saw the most online voting before dinnertime (5 p.m.) of the tournament, topping out at just over 7,000 votes. The Moon Rise Cafe had a commanding lead by the time the voting switched to the live ballot voting at 6 p.m. during the Tournament of Breakfast Party inside Meconi's Tacoma Pub and Eatery in downtown Tacoma. At the party, folks filled out breakfast voting/raffle ballots when they weren't tossing back $5 martinis and screaming at the NCAA Men's Championship hoop game on the tube.

As promised, we tallied the on-location votes during halftime of the hoop game, which Dirty Oscar's owned. The Sixth Avenue bar that serves awesome food won the on-site voting by six votes.

A large representation from the Moon Rise Cafe and Dirty Oscar's Annex were in the house. The Moon Rise arrived early with their black and purple Moon Rise T-shirts. Supporting the Lakewood Cafe and wearing the same T-shirts were The Villa Caffe and Imbibery owners Robyn and Jason.

"Jason and I invented the Villa Caffe over breakfast at the Moon Rise. We have a soft place for it in our hearts," said Robyn.

The Dirty Oscar's Annex also arrived in black T-shirts, but that's just how they roll. 

Team Moon Rise Cafe / Photo credit: Winter Teems

Team Dirty Oscar's Annex / Photo credit: Winter Temms

Dirty Oscar's Annex owner Jake Barth and Moon Rise Cafe owner Christine Curren / Photo credit: Winter Teems

It was a breakfast love fest. The two competing restaurants hugged it out, complementing each other on their talents. Old Milwaukee Cafe owners Pat and Chad attended the party to give props to both resturants. The Moon Rise had nothing but kind words for number two seed Old Milwaukee. The Moon Rise beat the popular Sixth Avenue restaurants in second round action.

At halftime of the basketball game, Pappi Swarner jumped behind the mic, grabbed the house PA, and gave away six or so raffle prizes, most to the lucky employees of Dirty Oscar's Annex.

The Weekly Volcano staff quickly downed their drinks and tallied the ballots. After combining the ballots with its 77 percent vote lead accumulated online, the winner of the 2012 Tournament of Breakfast was announced:

Moon Rise Cafe.

Both South Sound breakfast joints will be receiving Tournament of Breakfast trophies after completion of the engraving. Also, look for an upcoming feature on the Moon Rise Cafe in the Weekly Volcano.

So it's official: The Moon Rise Cafe is the winner of Weekly Volcano's 2012 Tournament of Breakfast. Eat it up, South Sound.

EDITOR'S NOTE: More photos from last night's Tournament of Breakfast party will be posted soon.

Thank you!

We would like to extend special THANKS! to Shakabrah Java for sponsoring the Tournament of Breakfast. The popular Sixth Avenue breakfast joint made it to the Poached Eight before falling to Dirty Oscar's Annex. It's a damn tasty breakfast.

Also a big thanks to Meconi's Tacoma Pub and Eatery for hosting our Tournament of Breakfast Championship party last night. Good times.

But most of all, thanks to all the awesome folks who voted. You rock.

LINK: More Tournament of Breakfast 2012 Party photos

MONDAY, APRIL 2: THIS IS FOR ALL THE SAUSAGES >>>

The titanic breakfast throwdown finale in on! Voting for the 2012 Weekly Volcano Tournament of Breakfast Readers' Poll Championship game is live right now.

After three weeks of voting, you have picked the most popular breakfast joints in the South Sound area. What began as 64 omelet-slinging joints has been narrowed down to two: Moon Rise Cafe and Dirty Oscar's Annex.

Who do you think has the best breakfast?

>>> The daily breakfast battles here on Spew are sponsored by Shakabrah Java on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue.

Today's Championship Competition

Welcome to the big dance. Online voting will end at 5 p.m. Voting will resume at 6 p.m. live at the Tournament of Breakfast Party at Meconi's Tacoma Pub and Grill in downtown Tacoma.

SATURDAY, MARCH 31: EAT BREAKFAST OUT THIS WEEKEND >>>

Over the past three weeks, the Weekly Volcano challenged 64 of the South Sound's best breakfast joints to go griddle-to-griddle in a showdown of culinary combat. Some fell easily by the wayside, either due to inferior skills or simply because they faced a superior opponent. Stack by stack, we ate our way down to yesterday's Final Four: Cicada Restaurant, Moon Rise Cafe, Alfred's Cafe and Dirty Oscar's Annex. It was do-or-die, fry-or-bake, bring-your-best-pancake. After the last egg was cracked, nearly 5,000 people voted yesterday.

Believe it or not, fine readers, there have been days during the Tournament of Breakfast when, by noon or so, it was already obvious which breakfast joints would be moving on and which would be going home. There were blowouts ... oh were there ever. Sometimes, it made our job a little easier; we could work on the next day's copy at a decent hour of the evening without fear the game would suddenly turn.

Oh, but yesterday was different. Yesterday, the votes just kept coming - from tipoff to the final buzzer. And both games did a complete 180 at night. Crazy.

Yesterday's Tournament of Breakfast Results

Here were the match-ups:

Ciciada Restaurant (No. 10 seed) vs. Moon Rise Cafe (No. 7 seed)

Alfred's Cafe (No 1 seed) vs. Dirty Oscar's Annex (No. 2 seed)

The Moon Rise Café and Cicada Restaurant match marked the biggest comeback in a Tournament of Breakfast game. In fact, it was the biggest comeback in Weekly Volcano food tournament history. Cicada was handing it to the Lakewood café, smoking them with 70 percent of the votes at 6 p.m. Then, just as they had to do when a senior citizen rammed his car into its front dining room early this winter, the Moon Rise rallied back. Lead by its one-two punch hikers scramble special and Moonrise Benedict, with outside help from that secret homemade raspberry jam - the Moon Rise mounted a surge. When the buzzer went off at 11:45 p.m., Moon Rise Cafe looked up at the scoreboard, and collapsed with smiles at the 563-vote victory margin. It was one for the menus.

The other match, Alfred's Café and Dirty Oscar's Annex, also involved a comeback, although not as dramatic. Alfred's Café came into the tournament as the East Region's number one seed and didn't disappoint - at least in the opening 600 minutes. Alfred's lead all morning and afternoon with an average lead of 30 votes, without any help from the Internets. Its tasty biscuits and gravy, and a stream of Bloody Marys, was maintaining its lead. At 5:43 p.m., with the help of its late-rising crowd, Dirty's Oscar's poured it on - and over its pancakes stuffed with cheesy sausage. The Sixth Avenue "Public House" began racking up votes in an eye-popping display of waffle wizardry and Jack Daniels caramel cinnamon roll with poached egg cooked in the center awesomeness. In the end, when the last braised elk hash left the kitchen, D.O.A. managed to score a whopping 700 votes over Alfred's Café, and a date with Moon Rise Café in the championship game Monday.

>>> The daily breakfast battles here on Spew are sponsored by Shakabrah Java on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue.

Monday's Breakfast Battle: The Championship Game

Here we go. Moon Rise Cafe out of the West Region will face Dirty Oscar's Annex, the top breakfast out of the Greater Downtown Tacoma/Sixth Avenue Region, Monday, April 2 when the polls open around 9 a.m. Online voting runs until 5 p.m. At 6 p.m. the voting opens back up live at the Tournament of Breakfast Final Party at Meconi's Tacoma Pub & Grill, 709 Pacific Ave. in downtown Tacoma. Ballots will be handed out, which will also serve as free raffle tickets for awesome prizes. The live vote will close at halftime of the NCAA Men's Tournament final and the South Sound Breakfast Champion will be announced.

This weekend, pack the car and eat breakfast at the Moon Rise Cafe one morning and Dirty Oscar's Annex the other morning. Compare notes with your neighbors. Then come Monday, vote here on Spew then join us at Meconi's.

Thanks again for voting.

FRIDAY, MARCH 30: FINAL FOUR BREAKFAST BATTLES ON THE DOCKET >>>

The South Sound loves breakfast - at least according to the thousands that have voted in our Tournament of Breakfast. Yesterday's breakfast action set a record for highest vote count for a single day. And number one seeds fell. They fell hard. Every winner yesterday won by capturing 60 to 75 percent of the votes.

Yesterday's Tournament of Breakfast Results

Here were the match-ups:

Homestead Restaurant (No. 12 seed) vs. Moon Rise Cafe (No. 7 seed)

Alfred's Cafe (No 1 seed) vs. Boxcar Grill (No. 2 seed) 

Shakabrah Java (No. 1 seed) vs. Dirty Oscar's Annex (No. 2 seed)

Norma's Burgers (No. 1 seed) vs. Ciciada Restaurant (No. 10 seed)

What four breakfast-slinging joints will move onto the Final Four?

The drum roll please ...

Thanks to your votes, we've narrowed down the Tournament of Breakfast Readers' Poll to four restaurants:

• The Moon Rise Cafe
• Cicada Restaurant
• Alfred's Cafe
• Dirty Oscars Annex.

Let's remember that every breakast that made it into the tourney is worth a fork and knife. Still, someone's gotta win. We started with 64 of the South Sound's best morning meals. Now, these four big breakfasts face off for the ultimate glory - egg to egg battles to determine the best breakfast in the South Sound. Which restaurant has the moxie to nail down the championship? Whose omelette will win it all?

The daily breakfast battles here on Spew are sponsored by Shakabrah Java on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue.

OK, let's check out today's Final Four breakfast battles. Vote for one breakfast joint per battle. Voting for today's breakfast battles ends at 11:45 p.m.

THURSDAY, MARCH 29: FOUR POACHED EIGHT BREAKFAST BATTLES ON THE DOCKET >>>

The Poached Eight is fully fleshed out: Homestead Restaurant, Moon Rise Cafe, Norma's Burgers, Cicada Restaurant, Alfred's Cafe, Boxcar Grill, Shakabrah Java and Dirty Oscar's Annex. Eight establishments that - according to our readers' poll - serve the best breakfast in the South Sound.

It's all come down to eight. All the signs in the restaurants, the mass emailings to customers and friends, the breakfast phone trees have paid off for these eight egg slingers. It's now crunch (or Cap'n Crunch) time for the breakfast royalty.

On to today's Tournament of Breakfast action and yesterday's results.

Yesterday's Tournament of Breakfast Results

Here were the match-ups:

Alfred's Cafe (Tacoma) vs. Poodle Dog (Fife)

Fife City Bar and Grill (Tacoma) vs. Boxcar Grill (Tacoma) 

Shakabrah Java (Tacoma) vs. Masa (Tacoma)

The Hub (Tacoma) vs. Dirty Oscar's Annex (Tacoma)

Alfred's Cafe, the heavy favorite to win the East Region after perceived contenders such as Johnny's Dock and Buttered Biscuit were dismissed in earlier rounds, cruised to an easy win over the aging Poodle Dog with 70 percent of the votes. Alfred's decorated big dishes, blueberry pancakes and corned beef hash, enjoyed solid days, with the Monte Cristo turning it on late in the game.

Despite an early lead from the heralded Fife City Bar and Grill, Boxcar Grill and its large, devoted Sounder Train-riding fans proved too powerful in yesterday's action, catapulting into the Poached Eight with a resounding victory. Boxcar Grill is known for sausage gravy, with 67 percent of the gravy pure sausage. Strangely, that's exactly the percentage of the vote Boxcar received yesterday. Weird. Today Boxcar will face neighboring Alfred's Cafe.

The way Shakabrah Java has managed to bring it during this year's Tournament of Breakfast has been nothing short of amazing. Yesterday, many already had established competitor Masa penciled in as a winner. Those people, however, were foolish - as Shakabrah Java once again proved its breakfast prowess. The votes don't lie, and when the final buzzer sounded Shakabrah Java had racked up roughly 58 percent of the vote. It was the closest game of the day.

We feel bad for the Stadium District on this one ... especially those denizens who love to mix an amazing chicken fried steak with their Bloody Marys and extreme sports TV watching. But something tells us they'll survive, and they'll do so in tasty style with The Hub breakfast they (and much of the area, it seems) have come to love. Unfortunately for The Hub, the task yesterday of taking down Dirty Oscar's Annex was simply too much - and the votes told the story. When all was said and done, D.O.A. moved on with nearly 67 percent of the votes in the day's most active contest.

Let's take a look at the stack. The following are advancing to the next round:

• Alfred's Cafe
  
• Boxcar Grill
  
• Shakabrah Java
  
• Dirty Oscar's Annex
  

The daily breakfast battles here on Spew are sponsored by Shakabrah Java on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue.

OK, let's check out today's Poached Eight breakfast battles. Vote for one breakfast joint per battle. Voting for today's breakfast battles ends at 11:45 p.m.

>>> VOTING CLOSED FOR MARCH 28 <<<

You know how yesterday we said you, much-appreciated readers, had responded in droves to our Tournament of Breakfast so far this year.

Well, we lied. We hadn't seen anything yet.

Yesterday was droves, people, perhaps more. Yesterday was just plain freakin' nuts. When it comes to breakfast, it's obvious you really care.

Maybe too much ...

On to today's Tournament of Breakfast action and yesterday's results.

Yesterday's Tournament of Breakfast Results

Here were the match-ups:

Marcia's Silver Soon Cafe (Tacoma) vs. The Homestead Restaurant (Tacoma)

Affairs Cafe and Bakery (University Place) vs. Moon Rise Cafe (Lakewood) 

Norma's Burgers (Lacey) vs. Hawk's Prairie Restaurant (Lacey)

McMenamins Spar Cafe (Olympia) vs. Cicada Restaurant (Olympia)

Once this game began it reaffirmed our opinion that there is no substitution for seeing a game like this in person, despite all of the advances in home entertainment technology. No screen or monitor can adequately capture the vividness of the strawberries, or convey the towering physical presence of a stack of pancakes. On television, hash browns look like an afterthought. In person, hash browns look ferocious. And according to statistics, hash browns were the deciding factor in this game. Twelfth seed Homestead Restaurant, behind its spuds, knocked off number one seed Marcia's with 54 percent of the votes.

The Moon Rise's raspberry jam has been surprisingly quiet throughout this tournament. Created in-house by owner Christine Curren, the jam was a key factor in bringing the Lakewood restaurant into the tournament. For most of the second half in its battle with Affairs Cafe, it was a different story. The jam came to life for the Moon Rise - as did many of Moon Rise's Benedicts. Affairs didn't want to go to its truffles, but it had to in the final six hours of voting. But the chocolate awesomeness wasn't enough. The Moon Rise Cafe grabbed 59 percent of the votes, and will battle The Homestead Thursday in the Poached Eight.

The Weekly Volcano's food tournaments mean everything - perhaps too much, as a team that dominates its regions during regular season play can have one bad day and see its season go down the drain. Certainly there is drama of the highest kind when it comes to mixing batter. The breakfast quiche kept pouring out of sixth seed Hawk's Prairie Restaurant's kitchen all day. It's only 450 calories! What was Hawk's Prairie thinking? You can't expect to start 450 calories and beat a powerhouse like number one seed Norma's Burgers. Seizing the opportunity, Norma's pulled in its I-5 Pile Up -  large buttermilk biscuits on top of hash browns and topped with two eggs then smothered with sausage gravy - and pounded the Hawk's quiche until it squeaked out a win with 52 percent of the votes.

McMenamins Spar Café got demolished by Cicada Restaurant, which was mildly surprising not because they lost but because they lost so badly - by 1,200 votes. The Spar Cafe kept all three of its Benedicts on the floor most of the game, with the Dungeness crab variation using the grilled tomato to its advantage.  For crying out loud, the Spar even pulled its Willapa Bay oyster shooter off the bench. What the hell happened to this Olympia institution? Cicada's green eggs and ham is what happened. The breakfast dish was unstoppable. It was ordered in the dining room. It was ordered in the fancy lounge. Someone even ate it at the hostess stand! Who says it's not easy being green? Cicada moves into the Poached Eight Thursday for a breakfast date with Norma's Burgers. Oh boy.

Let's take a look at the stack. The following are advancing to the next round:

• Homestead Restaurant
  
• Moon Rise Cafe
  
• Norma's Burgers
  
• Cicada Restaurant
  

The daily breakfast battles here on Spew are sponsored by Shakabrah Java on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue.

OK, let's check out today's Scrambled 16 breakfast battles. Vote for one breakfast joint per battle. Voting for today's breakfast battles ends at 11:45 p.m.

>>> VOTING CLOSED FOR MARCH 27 <<<

For the last two weeks we presented you with a compelling question: Who makes the best breakfast in the South Sound? And you have responded in droves. Sick days have been used. Friendships have fallen apart. Kellogg's is considering producing South Sound Mystery Crunch - mass hysteria!

The competition has been whittled down to the Scrambled 16. Yes, 16 South Sound breakfast joints are poised to make the final push to the Final Four, which will be held Friday.

So, read up on yesterday's action, and then vote on the first four games of the Scrambled 16. It’s in your hands, mouth, and stomach, folks. Do us proud.

Yesterday's Tournament of Breakfast Results

Here were the match-ups:

Fife City Bar & Grill (Fife) vs. Rock The Dock Pub & Grill (Tacoma)

Dixie's Home Cookin' (Sumner) vs. Boxcar Grill (Tacoma) 

Shakabrah Java (Tacoma) vs. C.I. Shenanigans (Tacoma)

Masa (Tacoma) vs. Hob Nob (Tacoma)

Fife City Bar & Grill figured its game against Rock The Dock Pub & Grill to be low scoring, a natural expectation with two of the Port of Tacoma area's best breakfasts butting heads. Dominating the griddle, Fife City delivered an amazing New York steak skillet breakfast - topping it with cheese - and pushed its Polish sausage to anchor a stifling defense that helped Fife City Bar & Grill knock off Rock The Dock and its deck with 53 percent of the votes. Fife City has one big advantage in the Tournament of Breakfast: Chef/owner Diana Prine and her Culinary Institute of American training.

Dixie's Home Cookin's friendly service gave Boxcar Grill fits all day. Instead of promoting the big-ticket items - The Caboose, The Boxcar Steak and Eggs and The Freight-Train - like it normally does, Boxcar Grill played a bait-and-switch game with the Build-Your Own Omelet, with the awesome combination of three category ingredients. The idea was to confuse Dixie's with the combinations and, hopefully, wear them out. It worked, in large part because corned beef was an omelet option - a move rarely seen in build-your-own-omelet offenses. Boxcar Grill, with the largest percentage point win of the day - 60 percent - moves on to the Scrambled 16.

Shakabrah Java shifted gears. It had to go big against Shenanigans big ol' brunch. To open this game, Shakabrah went to its four big Shaka-Combos players - all with its signature potatoes. Its quick breakfast sandwiches did the trick in earlier matches, but it needed more girth for this battle. Shenanigans followed pushing its in-house pastry chef hard, winning hearts with mini tarts, which countered its typical slow-down offense and ran Shakabrah reckless. Shakabrah gave in, and went to its quick The Brian breakfast sandwich with its French toast base. "He played an exceptional game," said Bob from Tacoma's Trafton Street. The Brian did indeed, and in the end, Shakabrah Java squeaked by 51.2 percent of the vote. Wow.

Masa co-owner John Xitco coaxed this win out of his breakfast by making his chefs pound Masa's huevos rancheros and insisting on the kind of defense that Masa played during this remarkable run, but which often got overshadowed by the Hob Nob's Side Door Lounge theatrics. Xitco's biggest offensive highlight: Probably when 10 Masa Smirnoff Jalapeno Marys hit the floor all at once. However, the Hob Nob's strawberry French toast was on fire, keeping the game close. In fact, Masa's 51 percent of the votes victory wasn't secured until the final 20 minutes of the game. Masa wins and will face Shakabrah Java in the Scrambled 16.

Let's take a look at the stack. The following are advancing to the next round:

• Fife City Bar and Grill
  
• Boxcar Grill
  
• Shakabrah Java
  
• Masa
  

The daily breakfast battles here on Spew are sponsored by Shakabrah Java on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue.

OK, let's check out today's Scrambled 16 breakfast battles. Vote for one breakfast joint per battle. Voting for today's breakfast battles ends at 11:45 p.m.

>>> VOTING CLOSED FOR MARCH 26 <<<

Laid-back is the essence of Sunday. That means a lazy mid-afternoon brunch, no work, phone off the hook, flip-flops ... you know the routine. The mere thought of lifting a finger to wash the mountain of dishes in the sink should make you shudder. Yesterday, a good chunk of the South Sound changed its Sunday routine. Voting in the Tournament of Breakfast was added to the mix. Yesterday's vote was the second hishest of the tournament.

But, it's Monday. You're still in chill mode. Your boss' view of what is priority is far from the top of your priority list. And there's four South Sound breakfast games to vote on today. Before you vote, take a gander at yesterday's results. Woah.

Yesterday's Tournament of Breakfast Results

Here were the match-ups:

Pine Cone Cafe (University Place) vs. Affairs Cafe & Bakery (University Place)

Moon Rise Cafe (Lakewood) vs. Old Milwaukee Cafe (Tacoma) 

Norma's Burgers (Olympia) vs. Sage's Brunch House (Tacoma)

Hawk's Prairie Restaurant (Lacey) vs. Black Bear Diner (Olympia)

Affairs Cafe started the game with a psychological ploy, as owner Gay Landry pushed her delicious strawberry crepes hard, while dropping the egg dishes back to set up its zone defense. Affairs veggie skillet was red hot yesterday. The Pine Cone Café, even with its malted Belgium waffle having a good day, couldn't keep up with Affairs. Affairs Cafe ended up with 58 percent of the vote, and a seat in the Scrambled 16.

The Moon Rise Cafe triple teamed Old Milwaukee Cafe for nearly the entire game, forcing owners Pat and Chad to rely on their powerhouse griddle. Old Milwaukee took an early lead due to Chad's handy work with four spatulas, before the Moon Rise would close the gap with a strong showing from its salmon scramble. The triple team worked, and the North End Tacoma favorite fell, with the Moon Rise Cafe capturing 55 percent of the votes and a spot in the Scrambled 16.

Norma's Burgers held an advantage in volume yesterday, turning tables with cat-like quickness. Sage's Brunch House worked the biscuits and gravy hard, shuffling in and out the Migas at opportune moments. In the end Norma's held on to a comfortable lead, ending up with 62 percent of the votes, and a seat in the Scrambled 16.

Hawk's Prairie cruised to an easy win yesterday over Black Bear Diner with 66 percent of the votes, largely due to its relentless bear traps. Analysts agreed it was wise for Hawk's to give its broiled pit ham steak a breather yesterday. It will need the power dish in the Scrambled 16 when it takes on Norma's Burgers.

Let's take a look at the stack. The following are advancing to the next round:

• Affairs Cafe and Bakery
  
• Moon Rise Cafe
  
• Norma's Burgers
  
• Hawk's Prairie Restaurant
  

The daily breakfast battles here on Spew are sponsored by Shakabrah Java on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue.

OK, let's check out today's Second Round breakfast battles. Vote for one breakfast joint per battle. Voting for today's breakfast battles ends at 11:45 p.m.

>>> VOTING CLOSED FOR MARCH 25 <<<

Sixty-four South Sound breakfast joints were selected and seeded by readers throughout February for the Tournament of Breakfast, which is now 11 days into the competition. Brackets have been wheat pasted on buildings, sleep has been lost, friendships have ended and back fat has emerged. Everyone is discussing Benedict variations and oatmeal thickness. It's been more fun than a bowl of Ordinary K.

Yesterday's Tournament of Breakfast Results

Here were the match-ups:

Alfred's Cafe (Tacoma) vs. Ricky J's Restaurant (Puyallup)

Poodle Dog (Fife) vs. Johnny's Dock (Tacoma) 

Puget Sound Pizza (Tacoma) vs. The Hub (Tacoma)

A Renaissance Cafe (Tacoma) vs. Dirty Oscar's Annex (Tacoma)

Analysts agree, a key factor in determining Tournament of Breakfast success is experience. Restaurants playing in their first tournament game often have that "deer in the headlights" look. Meanwhile, experienced teams seem to be able to hold their composure in any situation. Alfred's Café and Bubble Room made it to the second round in last year's Tournament of Pizza. The Tacoma Dome District restaurant fell to eventual pizza champion Katie Downs. You can't buy that experience. And although Ricky J's has an amazing hangover breakfast, at least according to its loyal fans, experience catapulted Alfred's café to the Scrambled 16 with a whopping 70 percent of the votes.

We can only imagine the heated conversations last night around the bridge card game tables: "Confound it, Johnny's Dock's Dungeness crab and shrimp omelet is leaps and bounds above the Poodle Dog's blasted bennies. The Poodle Dog serves a cream waffle? What in tarnation is a cream waffle?" In a couple months, all will be forgotten and friendships will mend. This retro breakfast match-up was close until the final hour of voting. In the end, the Poodle Dog took the game with 52.8 percent of the votes. It was a fun game to watch.

Another fun game to watch was the battle of neighboring breakfast-serving joints Puget Sound Pizza and The Hub. The Hub grabbed a huge lead after the opening buzzer. In an era when star dishes often spend just a year or two on special menus before heading to the main menu, the Hub's breakfast pizzas are rarities. Both have seen their roles increase each year, as they have grown from doughy ideas fighting for minutes to chiseled dishes that, like yesterday, have seemingly willed The Hub into championship contention. Even with an amazing afternoon run by Puget Sound Pizza, no doubt due to its noon-awaking crowd, The Hub, behind its star breakfast dishes, managed to eek out a win with 53 percent of the votes. Both restaurants can hold heads high today.

A blowout Tournament of Breakfast game is usually over by 4:20 p.m. Dirty Oscar's Annex's beatdown of A Renaissance Café yesterday was over in the opening minutes. After scoring the first 18 votes of the game, DOA ran away with a 110-vote victory over the Museum District cafe. It is the first time in Tournament of Breakfast history a restaurants has beaten an opponent by 100 points or more. This No. 2 seed has analysts running back to think-tanks.

Let's take a look at the stack. The following are advancing to the next round:

• Alfred's Cafe and Bubble Room
  
• Poodle Dog
  
• The Hub
  
• Dirty Oscar's Annex
  

The daily breakfast battles here on Spew are sponsored by Shakabrah Java on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue.

OK, let's check out today's Second Round breakfast battles. Vote for one breakfast joint per battle. Voting for today's breakfast battles ends at 11:45 p.m.

>>> VOTING CLOSED FOR MARCH 24 <<<

This is a tournament, folks, not a playoff. Each match is do or die - one misstep and you're out of the dance. Under-cook the batter, add a few too many shakes of powdered sugar or clump the cheese, and you can pack your oven and go back to obscurity, crying into your canned mushrooms.

This contest can only be decided by those participants willing to grab hold of destiny, coat it in 100 real whipped butter, and close the waffle iron for four minutes. Powerhouses and underdogs, favorites and unknowns - they all come out of the iron with a chance.

May the best breakfast win.

Yesterday's Tournament of Breakfast Results

Here were the match-ups:

Marcia's Silver Spoon (Tacoma) vs. Spring Lake Cafe (Fircrest)

The Homestead Restaurant (Tacoma) vs. Babblin' Babs Bistro (Tacoma) 

McMenamin's Spar (Olympia) vs. New Moon Cafe (Olympia)

Cicada Restaurant (Olympia) vs. Darby's Cafe (Olympia)

In a battle of breakfast supremacy, not surprisingly the institution well known for its delicious breakfast dishes emerged decisively victorious - with Marcia's Silver Spoon Cafe cruising to victory and securing roughly 66 percent of the vote by the time things were said and done. This one was over early, and the pummeling lasted all day. Luckily for all of us, Spring Lake Cafe doesn't need the Tournament of Breakfast to get by ... what it can do with eggs is pure magic. The high-powered Marcia's moves on to the Scrambled 16.

Everyone loves a good comeback, and this may have been one of the better clutch performances in the (obviously short) history of the Tournament of Breakfast. Down by a substantial margin by midday, The Homestead Restaurant was able to rally the troops at halftime, and by the time the final buzzer sounded the South Tacoma Way, family-friendly, barn-inhabiting restaurant had walked away with an impressive victory, racking up 57 percent of the vote against Tacoma's gourmet bistro, Babblin' Babs. There'll be some dazed looks in the Proctor District today.

If you visit New Moon Café's website, you'll see some lovely woodcut art and a photo of people enjoying themselves. If you visit McMenamins's website, you'll see trippy art and an army of hotels, pub and restaurants, including downtown Olympia's The Spar Café. Did the McMenamin brothers rally its entire organization to take on the quaint New Moon Café? Doubtful. It's hard enough to compete with The Spar's Hangtown fry and 4^th Avenue Mess, especially surrounded by a bevy of historical documentation. McMenamins moves into the Scrambled 16 with 52 percent of the vote. It was a well-fought battle.

Darby's Cafe held a slight lead all morning over crosstown rival Cicada. Then the comments began to flow in - every single one cheering on Cicada. Where were the Darby's fans? Where was its cheering squad? Our guess is the Darbyheads were inside their beloved Fifth Avenue breakfast spot, jammin' to the tunes, chattin' up a storm, instead of logged online. Cicada Restaurant and Lounge, with its wild huckleberry and bacon waffle and 70 percent of the votes - yes 70 - moves into the Scrambled 16.

Let's take a look at the stack. The following are advancing to the next round:

• Marcia's Silver Spoon Cafe
  
• The Homestead Restaurant
  
• The Spar Cafe
  
• Cicada restaurant and Lounge
  

The daily breakfast battles here on Spew are sponsored by Shakabrah Java on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue.

OK, let's check out today's Second Round breakfast battles. Vote for one breakfast joint per battle. Voting for today's breakfast battles ends at 11:45 p.m.