Ridgefield’s Sportsmen’s Bar & Grill is new, yet historic

Those who lived in Ridgefield in 1926 may have spent part of one summer day watching a large group of men manhandle a huge bar and counter into a building that had just changed from a Model T showroom into a tavern.

The bar, made from Peruvian mahogany, weighed in at several hundred pounds and at that time was considered to be the fanciest bar in Southwest Washington, if not the entire Pacific Northwest.

Of course, anyone that witnessed the event would have to be in their early 90’s to remember that big day in Ridgefield, but those who didn’t can still experience the wondrous bar just by popping into the Sportsmen’s Bar & Grill on Main Street. It’s still there in all it’s gleaming, polished, and golden brown glory.

Entering the popular downtown restaurant, the bar dominates the entire left wall of the place. And, for owner Terry Hurd, who took over the place last March, it’s the most charming interior feature and the one most people comment on after their first visit to the Sportsmen’s Bar & Grill.

Hurd, who actually tended bar at the Ridgefield establishment in 2007 during his 30-year barkeep career, has set about sprucing that interior up to its former eminence and has plans to make it even more the centerpiece of Ridgefield’s Norman Rockwell-like downtown in the future.

There are two stories about how the bar got to this small town in Southwest Washington. One, has the bar beginning life in Boston, where it was placed on a sailing ship that was sent around Cape Horn on an arduous sea journey to San Francisco, then it somehow was transported up to Seattle, presumably by horse and wagon or by train. The second story involves the bar being sent on a tramp steamer from Italy to San Francisco, then up the coast to the Queen City.

In addition to the interior revisions, Hurd has also changed the menu, added an outdoor patio overlooking the Columbia River, a second pool table, has completely redone the interior making it more friendly and brighter, and generally injected new life into what was once Ridgefield’s most important building, but one that had grown old.

Hurd began by throwing out two huge freezers and now brings in fresh meat and produce several days a week. The kitchen staff now makes much of the menu items from scratch. There are fresh flowers on the tables. Karaoke is practiced on some evenings (featuring mainly the “classic” Country & Western songs by Tammy Wynette, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, and Kitty Wells), and “meat shoots” are held on the pool tables.

Monday night is “All You Can Eat Spaghetti Night” and “Chicken Fried Steak Night.” “Taco Tuesday’s” offer $1.75 hard tacos and $1.25 soft tacos. On “Steak Night,” Wednesdays, there’s a $1 discount off the rib eye, New York strip, and bacon-wrapped sirloin steaks. On Thursday, it’s “Wing Night,” when four kinds of chicken wings are offered at 50 cents each. There’s an Angus prime rib special on the first Friday and third Saturday of the month, and Happy Hour is Mon.-Sat. from 2-7 p.m.

Breakfasts include the regular egg, breakfast meats, scrambles, pancakes, waffles, French toast, breakfast sandwiches, and biscuits and gravy listings of most morning eateries. But, the Eggs Benedict on honey ham, and Chicken Fried Steak and country gravy that are two of the most popular dishes. In December, the Sportsmen’s Bar & Grill began offering breakfast weekdays from 6 a.m.-noon, and Sat.-Sun., 9 a.m.-noon.

Lunch items range from soups and small or large, salads, to a variety of sandwiches including Philly cheese steak, French dip, Reuben’s, Pulled Pork, Club House and BLT’s. But, it’s the award-winning burgers that many people come to the restaurant for. Made with 1/2 pound of 100 percent certified Angus ground chuck, patrons can also add cheese, chili, grilled onions, bacon, sautéed mushrooms, and grilled ham, as well as the standard lettuce, tomato and onion slices to their heart’s content.

In eight months in 2012, the restaurant sold more than 5,000 of their large burgers, a not-so-silent testimony to the juicy, meaty, hearty indulgences. Second on the list of popular menu items is the fish and chips: five pieces of  hand-battered Alaska Cod, served like all the entrees with choice of soup or salad, fries or house-made Twice-Baked or Garlic Mashed potatoes or Rice Pilaf, along with a vegetable of the day.

Dinners are the very definition of comfort food: a seafood platter, baked Mac & cheese, house-made meatloaf, chicken fried steak or the three beef steaks mentioned above. For those who want a perfectly-cooked “medium rare” steak that is exactly that – this is the place. And, as with more and more restaurants these days, the salad dressings, battered foods, chili, and potato salad, are crafted onsite in the kitchen.

For those who have room for dessert, mud pie, cheesecake and carrot cake are offered.

There is also a children’s menu and Sat.-Mon., children’s meals cost $1.99 until 8:30 p.m. Seniors get a 10 percent discount.

Hurd also owns a stretch limo, with which he provided free pick-up and rides home on New Year’s Eve (after a 1:30 a.m., all-you-could-eat buffet), and he can likely be talked into providing this transportation for special events.

The Sportsmen’s Bar & Grill is located at 121 North Main Avenue in Ridgefield. To reach the restaurant by phone, call (360) 887-3141. For more information, including a view of the menu, visit www.ridgefieldbarandgrill.com on the internet.

Editor’s note: If anyone reading this story knows anything more about the history of the bar itself, where it actually came from, where it went in Seattle, if it resided in San Francisco, please contact this reporter at fhbrowne@gmail.com.