Atomic Ale

In a dramatic karmic coup, a very bad Vietnamese restaurant was replaced in 199? by a fine pizzeria and one of the most popular restaurants and family oriented night spots in Richland. Founded and still currently owned by Aaron Burke, a Richland-native Weyerhaeuser executive and homebrewer, Atomic offers gourmet quality simple food -- pizza, salads, soups, etc. -- along with several taps of beer brewed on the premises. While the menu doesn't change much, the food is good enough that the lack of turnover doesn't matter too much, and the brewpub offers a pizza-of-the day creation, a rotating dinner special (usually meat or seafood based, with potatoes and vegetables on the side), and a rotating soup du jour alongside the ever-present house specialty potato soup, made with quite a bit of Atomic Hefeweizen (a wheat beer).

Originally an A&W Rootbeer joint where nationally known pinup Sharon Tate once worked as a waitress (Tate was married to film-maker Roman Polanski and was murdered inL.A. by the Charles Manson gang), the Lee Boulevard site now offers the real stuff, along with A&W Rootbeer for a nostalgia factor. Burke originally established the beer recipes and techniques himself, along with help from local homebrewers, including former Tri-Cities resident and Battelle scientist John Darab, who worked as weekend-and-evening brewmaster for several years. It's not surprising, then, that the beer has a homebrew vibe to it, which can be a good or bad thing, depending on your palette. In either case, the beer tends to grow on you, and you won't find a similar tasting beer anywhere around town. Favorites of the regulars include the IPA (India Pale Ale), which is usually the hoppiest beer on the menu, but is not as high in alcohol (according to my reckoning) as a traditional IPA. Also popular are the Hefeweizen, the Porter, and the Amber (basically the IPA with less hops).

Except for an occasional draught from the apple- and cherry-wood fired pizza oven, Atomic Ale is smoke-free, and child friendly. Local musicians perform on Monday nights from 7:00 to 9:00 pm (no cover). Atomic Ale Brewpub and Eatery, 1015 Lee Boulevard, Richland, 509-946-5465, is open 11 am to 10 pm Monday through Thursday and 11 to 11 pm on Friday and Saturday.

Walla Walla hips

This page on the site of Tacoma area jazz station KPLU is an excellent resource for Walla Walla (scroll to the bottom for listings of restaurants and the like).

Finer Things Books

Possibly the world's smallest bookstore, Finer Things Books, is now open in Richland's Uptown Shopping Center. The store specializes in children's books; classics of literature, philosophy, and religion; and Latter Day Saint (LDS) literature. The very tidy store thus boasts five sections: "LDS," "More LDS," Children's," "Classics," and "Children's Classics," all in new and used form. Out front on the sidewalk, a sign reads in large letters, "LDS BOOKS," so that what obviously is lacking is a Timothy Leary section for dyslexic hippies.

Tri-City Hipster

A new blog for up-to-the-minute cultural information about the Tri-Cities.