The Copper Door is probably my favorite bottleshop/taphouse. Very friendly and outgoing staff and regulars. Two birds with one stone: I host a board game night there the first and third Monday every month. I'm starting to put the posts up here at least a couple days in advance, I'll feature a game you can find at Terracrux downtown.
Doyle's Irish Pub on St Helens has decent food, trivia.
Puget Sound Pizza a little further down has the best pizza you'll find in Tacoma. If you see a guy working there with a super long goatee, ask him about The Incredible Hulk' (on the off-chance I misremembered the name, it's a pizza he'll make by throwing anything green on the pizza. Try it.)
1022 South J (bar) has great cocktails, more upscale in terms of price. The lamb sandwich is amazing.
Get brunch (and any other meal, honestly) at Dirty Oscar's Annex. Show up as close to opening as possible and be prepared to wait. The food is worth it.
MSM deli is great sandwiches, I suggest the Mike's deluxe or the gyro
It's Greek To Me is great fast food greek-style, the Gyros are big.
The Glass Museum downtown is cool to check out, but plan around when the Hot Shop is open, that is a must-see.
Ruston way and Point Defiance park are great for getting outside. The latter more than the former due to size, and there's the Zoo in the park.
The Grand Cinema usually shows a lot of indie films, and the last weekend of every month is Weird Elephant, they'll show some off-the-wall horror or thriller that is usually worth the ticket you paid.
All along St Helens there's a couple of antique shops and other quirky stops that are neat to peruse.
Right around S. 54th and South Tacoma Way there's The Mule, which has tasty (you guessed it) Moscow Mule variants. It recently opened and is usually pretty quiet.
About a block south of The Mule (closer to s 56th) is Stone Gate Pizza and Rum lounge. Tasty booze and damn good pizza. Sundays is live music if I recall correctly.
Aaaaaand I'm spent. Welcome!