Dining roundup: Bonney Lake restaurant opens, Tacoma cider fest, new Hub menu

Here’s a look at this week’s South Sound dining news.

DON CHUY OPENS IN BONNEY LAKE

Bonney Lake is a town short on restaurants, but here’s one that’s newly opened. Don Chuy Mexican Restaurant has opened in the Bonney Lake Shopping Center.

The menu and plating will remind diners of Mazatlan, the regional chain serving Mexican-American food. And there’s a good reason for that. The owners are first-time restaurant owners, the husband-wife team of Jesus Gomez and Maria Curiel. Gomez worked at Mazatlan for 20 years.

Find table service and a beer, wine and cocktail list in the small, casual restaurant. There’s no real front entry or host station, so you might need to pause for a minute or two before being seated.

Don Chuy offers a menu filled with the greatest hits of local Mexican favorites: combination plates ($8.99-$11.49); enchiladas ($11.49); burritos ($7.99-$14.99); fajitas ($15.99-$17.99) and tacos ($13.29-$14.99).

I spotted a personal favorite, chile relleno ($10.49 one/$12.99 two). Made with snappy poblanos, the peppers were battered, fried and served with a ladle of sauce, with fluffy rice and garlicky beans on the side.

Find Don Chuy at 19920 South Prairie Road, Bonney Lake; 253-447-7838; facebook.com/DonChuysMexicanRestaurant.

Speaking of Bonney Lake restaurants, Trapper’s Sushi will soon be moving across the parking lot to its new, larger home where Granny Sue’s Pizzeria previously operated. The move, said owner Trapper O’Keeffe, will allow the restaurant to extend its seating capacity to about 115-120. He’s expecting the move in the next week or so.

As I noted in a column back in June, the original Trapper’s Sushi on the other side of the shopping center will become Trapurito’s, a restaurant specializing in sushi burritos and tacos. More information at trapperssushi.com.

CIDER FESTIVAL IN SOUTH TACOMA

Edison City Alehouse will pour more than 15 hard ciders from Washington state cideries at a mini cider festival beginning at 5 p.m. Friday (Sept. 16) at the taproom at 5602 S. Lawrence St., Tacoma.

South Sound cideries will be heavily featured, including Tacoma’s only cidery, Tilted Tree and Puyallup estate cidery Cockrell Hard Cider. Also pouring are Finnriver, Nashi, Liberty, Tieton and Snowdrift. Fresh oysters will be shucked to order. Information at 253-301-3593 or facebook.com/edisoncityalehouse.

NEW MENUS AT THE HUB

The St. Helens neighborhood restaurant The Hub debuted new menus last week. The menus include an easy brew pairing guide to the restaurant’s beers, which are brewed downstairs at the company’s Harmon Taproom.

Entrees are matched with a color-coded beer key that tells diners which beer would pair well with which menu item.

A few things to note about the menu. Salad lovers rejoice. It lists eight entree salads ranging from a chop ($12) to an ahi poke ($15) and a steak salad ($17). Eleven burgers are listed, including a house-made vegetarian burger. The restaurant’s pizza menu lists gluten-free and lactose-free cheese options.

Find the Hub at 203 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma; 253-683-4606 or harmonbrewingco.com/the-hub.

This story was originally published September 12, 2016 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Dining roundup: Bonney Lake restaurant opens, Tacoma cider fest, new Hub menu."