#1808 - Twisp River Pub, Twisp, WA - 6/10/2012

Good beers, broad menu of good pub food, live music, and a patio on the Twisp River where you'll feel like staying all day.

201 N Highway 20 Twisp, WA 98856 - (509) 997-6822          
Est. 1998
methowbrewing.com - facebook
Reviews:  beeradvocate - yelp - urbanspoon - newyorktimes - tripadvisor 

#1807 - Antlers Saloon, Twisp, WA - 6/10/2012

Antlers Saloon, Twisp, Washington

Antlers is a classic, rustic diner and neighborhood tavern in the small town of Twisp, Washington. It's the sort of place that depends somewhat on tourists that come to hike and ski and bike and visit old west Winthrop up the highway. But it is still dominated by the locals, seasonal or year round, enough so that an old couple were manifestly miffed that they were served by a new gal, who didn't know the nuances of their order. I was told that in the winter it is so slow that the cooks will see regulars coming down the road and start cooking their meals before they arrive.

Antlers Saloon, Twisp, Washington

Antlers is quite old, and the menu tells a bit about its colorful past. I chatted with regular Jim, who told me his mother was a bartender during one incident mentioned on the menu which resulted in bullet holes that can still be seen in one of the many taxidermy deer heads on the wall. Both versions describe a regular who used to always come in packing his .38, and was a bit hooched up one particular night in the 1950s. Jim says that the menu version leaves out that the owner was well lubricated himself, and it was he that challenged the customer to a contest shooting at the deer in the mural across the room. Jim said his mother told him that the way bullets were ricocheting around the room it was a wonder none of the humans ended up sharing the fate of the former denizens of the surrounding hills whose heads now adorn the walls.

Bullet-riddled old mural in Antlers Saloon, Twisp, Wa

I'm do not know the exact age of Antlers, but there is a picture on the wall that is labeled as Antlers in 1914. This would not have been the current building, which was constructed after a fire burned down 23 of the 25 buildings in the Twisp business district in April 1924. The current structure appears to have been built shortly after that, the first one constructed after the fire, and one assumes that it returned to being a (legal) bar soon after prohibition ended, i.e. in late 1933 or early 1934.  A photograph of Antlers in 1936 makes it plain that if the current location is based on that same building, it has been fairly dramatically remodeled and expanded. The name was changed to "Antlers Cafe" in 1936, then "Antlers Tavern" in 1940, and "Antlers Saloon and Cafe" in 1996. Some of the trophies on the wall are over 100 years old.

Antlers Saloon, Twisp, Washington

The town was originally established in 1897 as "Gloversville," after mineral discoveries up the Twisp River Valley. Re. "Twisp," according to HistoryLink, "Despite persistent explanations of the meaning of the name -- that it is a Native American word for wasp or yellow jacket, or the sound made by a wasp -- the origin of the name Twisp is not known." Like most communities across the U.S., Twisp residents considered prohibition laws well before federal prohibition and Washington State prohibition (Jan 1, 1916).

Antlers Tavern, 1914 - From the current Antlers, Twisp, WA

"Twisp had two saloons in the summer of 1910 when local-option elections were held in Washington to determine whether towns would embrace Prohibition, which had been rejected in 1889 at the state level. Both saloons served free drinks all day and into the evening on election day. The Riverside Argus quoted a witness who said that all 88 qualified voters had attended one or both open houses that day, yet the vote was 56 wet, 32 dry. There was no explanation of why 32 people partook of the saloon keepers' generosity but voted against the sale of alcohol." (Ibid)

Antlers Saloon, Twisp, Washington

Thankfully those days are long gone and I could openly enjoy my gin and tonic as I we chatted with Jim and took in the horns and heads.

Antlers Saloon, Twisp, Washington

132 Glover Ln, Twisp, WA 98840 - (509) 997-5693
Bar Est. 1933? - Building constructed: 1924?
northwestcyclereport - yelp

#1806 - Carlos 1800, Winthrop, WA - 6/9/2012

We didn't have a chance to eat at this large Winthrop Mexican restaurant. But Alfonso was a very gracious bartender when we popped in as they were closing, and kept the cantina open to serve us some better than average margaritas.

149 Riverside Avenue Winthrop, WA 98862 - (509) 996-2245
Est. April 2010

Web site: carlos1800.com - facebook - blog
Reviews: methowvalleynews - tofuhunter - urbanspoon - yelp - tripadvisor

#1805 - Old Schoolhouse Brewery, Winthrop, WA - 6/9/2012

Old Schoolhouse brews some pretty good beers and serves them up in this small brewpub, adorned with the stained glass of owner Laura Ruud. Squeeze past the folks inside and out the back door and you'll find a sizable and entirely scenic back patio on the bank of the Chewuch River. They stop serving food at 10pm and it is a little tight inside for live music, but it's a particularly pleasant stop in the afternoon or early evening. 

155 Riverside Avenue Winthrop, Washington 98862 - (509) 996-3183
Web site: oldschoolhousebrewery.com - facebook - blog 
Reviews: washingtonbeer - beeradvocate - crawfordandjames - yelp - tripadvisor - ratebeer

#1804 - Old Post Office Saloon, Leavenworth, WA - 6/9/2012

A sports bar in the old Leavenworth, popular with the locals, who, after some undisclosed amount of patronage, get a jacket and addition to a large number of plaques on the wall.

213 9th St., Leavenworth, WA 98826 - (509) 548-7488
Est. 1985
yelp - tripadvisor

#1803 - Eddie's Trackside, Monroe, WA - 6/9/2012

Eddie's Trackside Bar & Grill, Monroe, WA

Update: Eddie's Trackslide closed in July 2013.


Eddie's is a moderately large neighborhood restaurant and bar run by Wendy McDowell and Stacie Ballweg, "two headstrong, talented, determined and a little bit crazy women" in Monroe, Washington. Karaoke, live music, trains rumbling by, the standard beers and spirits, and fairly good pub food.

Eddie's Trackside Bar & Grill, Monroe, WA

Eddie's Trackside Bar & Grill, Monroe, WA

Eddie's Trackside Bar & Grill, Monroe, WA

Eddie's Trackside Bar & Grill, Monroe, WA

214 N. Lewis St. Monroe, WA, Monroe, WA 98272 - (360) 805-5305
Est. Jan 13, 2006 - Closed July 2013

Web site: eddiestrackside.com - facebook 
Reviews: tuesdaysburger - urbanspoon - yelp

#1802 - Prospector's Steak and Ale House, Gold Bar, WA - 6/3/2012

Prospectors Steak & Ale, Gold Bar, WA

One of those neighborhood restaurant/bars that has regulars of all ages belting out karaoke, and a rough character or two nodding out drunk on the bar.

Prospectors Steak & Ale, Gold Bar, WA

201 Croft Ave, Gold Bar, WA 98251 - (360) 799-2461
yelp