It was in the bar at Puget Sound Pizza that Bandito Betty and I overheard a somewhat toothless lady talking. She was venting her outrage about how she had been 86’d (kicked out) from Ida’s.

Wait a second.

If a toothless lady had been 86’d out of Ida’s, Ida’s was a place we needed to scope out.

There’s nothing like examining a dive bar in the middle of the afternoon. To me, that’s when you can really tell just how “divey” it is. The windows are visible (If there are any), The daytime bartender is one that’s worked there since Jesus was a baby, and the amount of regulars bellied up are higher than your average Red Robin bar. Hell, Ida’s even had the electrically enhanced fireplace blazing for us. What a treat.

Besides the empty fish tank on the floor, the abundant amount of illuminated rope lights, and the leather captain’s chairs, it was the faux fireplace that made Ida’s a dive bar to be reckoned with.

It was also the faux fireplace that enticed Bandito Betty to scope out the wine selection at Ida’s. The tough decision became apparent when she was presented with two bottles from which to choose. Alas, she opted for the Beringer White Zinfandel over the single serving bottles of no name Merlot. I stuck with the Black Butte Porter. We were happy to see the decent beer selection on tap.

It was when we noticed the food menu adjacent to us that we made the best Tacoma discovery to date: Hungry Man dinners were on the menu for just under five bucks! Score!

Then came another brilliant quote from Bandito herself, “If you can’t land a man at Ida’s, you can always buy a Hungry Man”.

Ida’s Pub

635 Saint Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.383.4327

Beer: pretty darn good selection
Service: friendly, witty, and quick
Mullet count: one
Blue hair count: at least one

Bar Exam Dive Bar Grade: B+ (too many windows)