 IMAGE: Vivian Johnson |
“It’s survival of the fittest here,” says the bartender with a grin. She’s talking about pingpong, and if you can beat her in a game she’ll buy you a drink. That is, once the pingpong table arrives. For now you can play beer pong or hustle someone else for free booze over a game of pool or giant Jenga. Aside from the Western-style font on the sign, there’s nothing remotely saloonlike about the Easy Street Saloon (6618 SE Powell Blvd., 206-6239). It’s a sports bar—the kind you might find in a small-town strip mall—outfitted with vinyl booths, table-side television sets and Keno. Its standard burger is unremarkable but cheap ($5 with fries) and satisfying; crisp $3 jalapeño poppers accompanied by a pint of PBR for $1.75 make the bar a good neighborhood watering hole...if it’s an easy drunken walk away from your house.
