#2219 - Dirty Little Roddy's, Boise, ID - 7/6/2013

After trying to explain some of the types of bars I like most to my ex-cop cousin, he immediately pops out his cell phone, calls a friend still on the force, and asks him what bar in town is the most likely one to get into trouble. His friend answers probably Dirty Little Roddy's or China Blue, so later in the evening I drop by. Given the frat party atmosphere, I can see how these places would lead to the sort of scuffles and various sorts of illegitimate business that would draw an inordinate amount of police attention, but it would not be accurate to call it a rough crowd. I need to work on my descriptions a bit.

Roddy's is in the basement of the historic, old Boise Turnverein building, and with its sister bar China Blue upstairs it sells more liquor than any bar in Idaho (or at least it did this for much of its existence). It's western themed, but like a 1970s western theme, with peanuts on the floor, a mechanical bull, a DJ, drunk college girls, and lots of guys with backwards baseball caps. To class it up a bit, they have bikini bull ride events, pantsless St. Pattys Day, and door prizes for best breast augmentation surgery.

It's a fun place, if you're in the mood for that sort of thing (and if you are, make sure and take a cab home).

100 S 6th St (basement), Boise, ID 83702 - (208) 338-6604
Building constructed: 1906
Previous bars in this location: Joe's Down Under
Web site: facebook - oldboise
Reviews: link - boiseweekly - yelp - boisebarguide - urbandrinks

#2218 - Cricket's Bar and Grill, Boise, ID - 7/6/2013

A bare bones biker and college kid bar.

1228 S Oakland Ave, Boise, ID 83706 - (208) 344-6235
Est. March 12, 1990 - Building constructed: 1957
Web site: facebook
Reviews: boiseweekly - yelp

#2217 - Overland Bar, Boise, ID - 7/6/2013

Overland Bar, Boise, ID

Immediately upon entrance the Overland Bar convinces you that it is one serious dive, as you step out of the bright sunlight needing a good amount of time for your eyes to adjust the very dark, windowless interior. They have karaoke seven nights a week, but for the classic dive experience you need to come early enough to avoid that. I'm not sure how old the bar is but it clearly dates back to the late 50s or early 60s. The building was constructed in 1954 and the bar is listed in the 1962 Polk Directory.

Overland Bar, Boise, ID

Eyes slowly adjusting, you take in the classic black vinyl, velvet paintings, wood paneling, and eventually even the carved wooden sign reading "Schmuck's Cornner." Who is the topless lady in the painting? Who are the schmucks? And why does their corner have two n's in it? I consider asking, but somehow the answers seem better left in the darkness.

3907 W Overland Rd, Boise, ID 83705 - (208) 336-4707              
Building constructed: 1954
Web site: facebook
Reviews: boiseweekly - jrhask

#2216 - Piper Pub and Grill, Boise, ID - 7/5/2013

Though I don't believe they brew here, the Piper Pub and Grill feels like a modern brewpub sort of place, with a large menu of modern pub food, 16 good beers on tap, live music Thursdays through Saturdays and featuring summery cocktails like huckleberry mojitos. They also have a sort of scotch club, where you can work your way through 40 varieties of Scotch whiskies.

150 N 8th St, Boise, ID 83702 - (208) 343-2444
Est. 1989
Web site: thepiperpub.com - facebook
Reviews: boiseweekly - boisebarguide - yelp - urbanspoon

#2215 - Bud Jackson's, La Grande, OR - 7/3/2013

Bud Jackson's Sportsman's Bar and Grill is a fairly typical mid-sized sports bar with standard pub food options, pool tables, and sports on televisions.

2209 Adams Ave (at Willow St), La Grande, OR 97850 - (541) 962-7858
Est. April 2004
Previous bars in this location: The Eastside, Bogey's
Web site: facebook
Reviews: lagrandeobserver - yelp - urbanspoon

#2214 - The Spur, Harrah, WA - 7/3/2013

Sitting across the street from a large building with a plaque saying it was once the largest potato warehouse in the northwest, the Spur Tavern has definitely been around for a while as well. The bartender informed me that the owner told her that it's been around since the 1890s. I haven't been able to find any historical evidence of this, however, and from the generous help of the folks at the Yakima Valley Museum, it appears that at least the name "Spur" probably originated some time after prohibition (which commenced Jan 1, 1916 across Washington state) and that the current building may have been constructed in the 1920s.

"The Northern Pacific Railroad does not extend service to the Harrah area until about 1916-1917; after which much mention is made of the line being a spur off the main line running through Wapato (a town to the east)—and the line soon ventures further west to pick up lumber and farm products in White Swan.  And talk is made of “spurs” (or probably dead end sidings)  used to load iced or refrigerated boxcars off the main spur.  So the Spur Tavern probably was named for that as it is just north of the tracks." (John Baule, personal correspondence, June 22, 2014)

"The building now known as The Spur Tavern was originally occupied by the Pastime Pool Hall opened in either 1925 or 1928 by Luther Rathburn, who subsequently sold out to Jim Meikle and Sam Russell.  The reason I say 1925 or 1928 is because the source mentions the opening was after a disastrous fire that nearly destroyed the town—there were two such fires, one in 1925 and one in 1928.  It does not confirm the building was built then, just that the business opened so it could have been a new building or it could have been just a new business."  (Ibid)

Baule also notes that there was no town in this location in the 1890s, though of course this does not categorically rule out the possibility of a saloon here.

Nowadays, at least, the Spur Tavern is a homey, western-themed dive bar, with horse shoe drawer handles, tattered taxidermy, and pictures of various cowboys, horses, and Budweiser girls on the wood paneled walls. It's a brick structure, with a small crenulated facade along the top (the history of virtually every old town across Washington state includes one or more disastrous fires destroying the downtown core between the 1880s and 1920s, with brick buildings replacing wooden ones after the fire).

Harrah was originally established as "Saluskin" in 1913, named for a local Indian chief who was none too pleased when it was renamed after a local rancher a few years later (and is said to have subsequently refer to it as "Thief Town"). I arrived there on a hot Saturday afternoon, and chatted with the small number of patrons in the cool respite at the Spur bar. Just before I headed out for the road, a very drunk native American fellow named Jeff walked up to me, punched me pretty good in the arm, gave me an approving nod, and walked out.

4 Martin Rd, Harrah, WA 98933 - (509) 848-2855               
Reviews: urbanspoon

#2213 - Van's 1885 Bar and Grill, Naches, WA - 7/3/2013

Naches, Washington is a central Washington town of about 800 people. It is named for the nearby Naches River, which in turn is said to be named for the native words for "turbulent water," formed by the confluence of the Little Naches and Bumping River flowing down the eastern slopes of the Cascades and eventually into the Yakima. Van's 1885 Bar and Grill was in the Van Ness family since 1944, and called "Van's Tavern" for most if not all of that time. I chatted with the current owner, Elliot Baker, and when I asked him how long the place had been his, without pause he told me "Seven years and three days."

Elliot had worked in sales for Montgomery Ward and worked in real estate. In addition to the desire to have his own place, he was tempted by the grand, antique, oak Brunswick bar, which he believes was constructed in 1885 (hence the bar name).  The bar is said to have been made for Schlitz, which supplied a Schlitz-only bar formerly across the street, below the brothel and also believed to have been sawed in half and this half put in its current location sometime in the 1940s. However, review of the Brunswick-Balke-Collender catalog clearly identifies this as their standard "Metropolitan" model. It could very well have been made in 1885, and most likely was manufactured in the Dubuque Iowa Brunswick factory. (For some reason these "sawed in half" stories have quite commonly grown around antique Brunswick bars, even though they are quite clearly the full bars advertised in the catalogs.)

The 1934 and 1935 Yakima Polk Guides list "The Tavern" and "The Past Time" tavern in Naches, but unfortunately do not include addresses, and I have no way to date the bar beyond the information Elliot has received re. the Van Ness family.

The bar might be seen as a neighborhood dive, but it is considerably larger than it appears from outside, and with the current food options, cleaning, and upgrading by Elliot it feels almost as much like a family restaurant -- at least on an afternoon like the one I visited.  Typical beers, cocktails, and pub food are available.

208 Naches Ave, Naches, WA 98937 - (509) 653-2257
Est. 1944? - Building constructed: 1921
Previous bars in this location: Van's Tavern
Video: yakimavalleyrisktakers