The Swiss

The Swiss
1904 Jefferson Ave
Tacoma, WA

Unlike a lot of you, I seldom travel for pleasure. It is not that I don’t like it; rather, I need that extra push to do so. In fact, I recently went to one thanks for that “small” push… More details when the post goes up! But, back to the topic of travelling: More often than not, when I travel, I do so for business purposes and, given most of my clients are in the US, that means having to deal with border crossing and US Customs. I am sure all of you have had your share of experience. I am just going to summarize mine to almost six hours from Vancouver to Tacoma (border crossing included) on a trip that normally shouldn’t have taken more than 4 (even doable in 3. Just in case, Tacoma is ~30 minutes further south from Seattle in I-5). In my case, because it took me so long, by the time I arrived at the hotel it was already past 9:30 p.m. and, in my hurry just to get to Tacoma, I didn’t make any stop to eat something. Given my share of crappy experiences, by now, I should have learned by now that I should fill up my tank rather than rely on what I can find at the hotel… Anyway, “damage” by done and by ~10:00 p.m., I was looking for something to eat. Guess what? Nothing open nearby. Should I be surprised? “Fortunately”, still at a short walking distance from the hotel, I noticed The Swiss, a nearby pub was still open. Hungry? Tired? Hey, that works for me! (After all, that’s literally how I ended up going to Hooters!).

I will be the first to admit that I am not a drinker (I get tipsy really easily) so me going to a pub, even with friends, means I will be drink pop or be the designated driver. Hey, at least you guys know you can count on me for that one thing! However, I was hungry and even if that meant eating a bowl of peanuts or pretzels, I would have end up doing that. What did surprise me was that, when I was three steps away from the entrance, I was asked for ID. OK, if he assumed I was going there, that’s fine but, then again, that wasn’t difficult to guess: they were about the only place open at that time of the day and that I could see. But, c’mon? Me? Under 21?! Sure I have Chinese genes but there is no way I look like 21!! Anyway, after entering, I was asked if I was there for drinks or food and when I said food, I was told to go to the back to the kitchen.

If you are confused by that statement, so was I. Do you mean I have to go literally to the kitchen and scoop some food and serve it myself? I went to the back and it was quite non-descript. So I turned around to the second section of the bar and asked again. That’s when I was pointed to a cashier at the back. Oh… Won’t have it been easier to put a sign saying “Kitchen”? Or am I being too demanding? I mean, after all, on my way back, I did notice a sign saying if I wanted to order food go directly to the kitchen. I guess it is a case where most of the patrons are locals and already know the procedure.

So, know armed with that knowledge, I stand there and look at the menu. Their fare is mostly burgers, sandwiches and some fried items. Well, given it is a pub, I guess it would have worked fine. Then suddenly this elder person wearing a baseball cap and an apron – which I can easily add “greasy” – approaches me asking what I wanted. I am not sure if it was because I was tired, too hungry or the appearance but it felt… Strange. Now, I have encountered my share of interesting characters in the past, it was just that I wasn’t expecting such person. A new definition of greasy spoon? After making my order, I was given a number and to choose a table. It was a good thing they have free Wi-Fi because, otherwise, funny things might have had happened…

Eventually, the food arrive and here is their calamari. OK, sorry about the pictures but I don’t think bringing out the flash would have been a good idea given it has high ceiling, not to mention some of the other patrons outside. As for the calamari itself… Darn, it felt it was fried and then overfried. Fortunately (?) they weren’t rubbery but it was so fried that it started to have a crispy texture of its own. If that isn’t scary when it comes to calamari, I don’t know what it would be then…

I also ordered a sandwich and had an option for soup or salad to go along. Not wanting to test how fresh their veggies would have been, I ended up choosing the soup. Bad mistake… The soup here is supposed to be a “Swiss Made Soup” (the theme of the restaurant: you could have called it a cantina and it would have worked exactly the same) but it had the taste and feeling of a gumbo, i.e., a rice, tomato-ey soup. I barely managed to had two or three spoonfuls because it was almost cold. I don’t know how they managed to mess it up but they did… As for the couple of spoonfuls I did have, if you have had similar soups in your local supermarket (not the canned ones but the ones made “in-store”), then you have a good idea of what to expect.

And here is the sandwich, called “Today’s” (Today’s special? Today’s super duper sandwich? I don’t know…). According to their menu: Turkey, ham, Swiss and cheddar cheeses, tomatoes, lettuce and onion hot and melty on Italian Herb bread. $7.95. It is needless to say the description of the sandwich sounds better than what was served. From a pure sandwich perspective, I will have to say it was quite decent (though not sure how much is due to the hunger factor); however, this is not that different from what you would be able to make yourself at home using cold cuts. Furthermore, the promised “hot and melty” was anything but; nevertheless, I ended up eating the whole thing. Again, because I was hungry?

I won’t make any further judgement about this place because, let’s face it, I might be the only exception in the sense I was only there for the food. For the rest, I am sure they were there for the drinks or other forms of entertainment. After all, there were billiard tables and a stage. As for the food itself, I found them to be average at best (and I might be too generous) and, given I am not a drinker, chances of me returning are zero… Unless I am back to Tacoma at ~10:00 p.m. and need something to eat…

Tagged under: European • pub • Tacoma