Gritty Eateries With Hearts of Gold

I have a special place in my heart for places that look all gritty on the outside, but their heart of awesome shines through when you get inside and order some grub.

Here are some of my T-town "Gritty With a Heart of Gold" favs:

Dirty Oscar's Annex
http://m.yelp.com/biz/dirty-oscars-annex-tacoma
Seriously. This 6th Ave establishment has a banner for a sign, you can't really see inside, and for goodness sake it's called DIRTY OSCAR'S ANNEX. But I'm in love. The first time I went here was late night out with some girlfriends and the drinks were amazing. More recently the Other Half and I snuck out to try one of their breakfasts, and WOW! I took a risky and tried the Habenero Shrimp and Sausage Eggs Benedict, which had definite kick without making me cry. The waitress was awesome and kept refilling my Irish Coffee with coffee, so I got the kick of the whiskey drawn out without needing to sleep the day away. The other half's gluten-free needs were made happy by one of their breakfast hashes. *bliss*

Gari Sushi
http://gariofsushi.net/
Hidden away on South 38th Street between I-5 and the Lincoln District is this little treasure. On the outside it looks kind of like a shuttered strip club. Subtle signage and window you can't see through. Inside is quite delightful ... nice and airy, plenty of seating, great and fast service (you can get in and out on a lunch hour!) and scrumptious eats! Plenty for the teriyaki-leaning crowd, and a sushi combo plate I just can't say no to. Their lunch sushi roll special is pretty great too... you get to pick a roll or two of choice I believe, and it comes with YAM ROLLS ... which is like the dessert of the sushi roll. The other half adores the Chirashi lunch, which is basically a bunch of fish meats on top of sushi rice ... Kind I like a teriyaki bowl, but with yummy sushi cuts instead of chicken and sauce.

Marcia's Silver Spoon
http://m.yelp.com/biz/marcias-silver-spoon-cafe-tacoma
All I can say is OH! EM! GEE! Totally greasy spoon-style diner hidden on South Tacoma Way, but the food is beyond basic comfort diner food ... it is amazingly melts-in-your-mouth French toast, hand pressed sausage parties rather than pre-formed, and all kinds of other goodness. (I just haven't been able to pry myself away from the French toast yet.) The gluten-free hubby sticks with the eggs and bacon and is a happy man, but admits to nom-ing lustfully on their to-die-for Eggs Benedict back before he made the switch. Ok, they serve lunch and dinner food, too, but their breakfasts are so fabulous they now offer them 7 days a week. Yay!

What's your favorite "Gritty Eatery With a Heart of Gold?"