Jack and Mimi's Cheap Date: The Harvester

Welcome to the latest installment of Jack & Mimi’s Cheap Date. Here are the rules: Each week, my girlfriend Mimi and I go somewhere in the Tacoma area for a cheap date where we spend $20 or less. (This does not include tips because service is unique and can’t be universally quantified.) Sometimes we succeed. Sometimes we fail.

There are some places that are so much a part of my life that I forget that there are others who don’t even know they exist. My very first apartment was about four blocks away from The Harvester in Tacoma’s Stadium District. The Harvester is a diner like Shari’s or Denny’s but local and good. I’ve gone there countless times for breakfast, lunch, and dinner over the years. But this time, Mimi and I would be going there and trying to spend less than $20.

We went for breakfast one weekday morning. It was fairly empty. We took a window booth and looked over the menu. We quickly found a problem: Almost every full breakfast was nine dollars or more. This wasn’t going to be easy, but we’d already sat down and we were hungry.

The waitress poured a couple of small glasses of water. Mimi ordered a coffee. I chose a Farmer’s Omelet for $9.79. Mimi decided for Bacon & Eggs for $9.49. The coffee turned out to be $2.39. This put us over our limit.

Our food arrived. I was so hungry that I instantly took a bite of an English Muffin before Mimi reminded me to take a photo for the article. Mimi enjoyed her Bacon & Eggs though the bacon was a bit greasy for her tastes. My omelet was good and the portions were substantial.

The Harvester is a favorite of mine. Hardly a month goes by that I don’t end up there. For the purposes of having good diner food in a great neighborhood, I recommend it. For Jack & Mimi’s Cheap Date, I must give the breakfast a mixed review. The food was good, but the price was a bit too high.

The Harvester is located on the corner of Division and Tacoma Ave. at 29 N. Tacoma Ave., Tacoma, WA 98403.

- Jack Cameron