SLIMS BAR & GRILL 121 N I St, Lind, WA 99341
Skip (or Skipper) bought Slim's Bar & Grill in 1975 from from the family who opened it in 1909 or 1913, depending on whom you ask. Lind is a wheat town full of wheat people, and Slim's is the only bar, and the only grill. If it happened in Lind, it probably happened at Slim's. If it didn't happen at Slim's, it probably happened at the annual Combine Destruction Derby (2nd weekend in June) or the amateur street races (September).
I get a really nice feeling stepping into Slim's; I just know I'll have a good meal. My waitress Jeannie was nice, and recommended the broasted chicken with jo-jos (fried wedge potatoes). The chicken was as amazing as she promised ... fried with a nice salty flavor ... not greasy, just wonderful. The jo-jos were actually a little bland and pasty, but not terrible. I had no regrets eating all of them, anyway.
The grill part is connected to the bar, which has a separate entrance. The voices of locals carousing and having a good time came bouncing through the joint. It was a good sound.
Everybody knows everybody else in this town of 300-or-so people. It feels like home ... not my home, but a home nonetheless. If you're ever passing through southeast Washington state, 13 miles south of Ritzville, make your way to Lind.
BTW, they serve breakfast anytime.
One star for being a local favorite
Two stars for have the best chicken I've had in a while
One star for down-home
One more start would go for having breakfast "all the time," but they don't open until ten, so it's not really "all" the time, is it?
Taj M.
Denver, CO
If you like old, historic bars -- or if you like any bars with a lot of character (and a few characters), whenever you are in eastern Washington it will be well worth going out of your way to stop in Lind, WA and Slim's Tavern, one of my very favorite old bars in the state. There you'll probably find Floyd "Skip" Thompson, who purchased the place 40 years ago from the family of Slim Nichols, who opened the place in 1912. Skip, and ex-Marine, plans to continue running the place until he the day he dies. The traditional American food from the restaurant portion looked very good, but we had eaten shortly before arriving. The drinks are pretty simple and standard, but it is the place itself that is the major attraction. The walls of the fairly large main floor are filled with historical photos and artifacts. Every single person there was super welcoming, and ready to tell us stories of the place. And if you have not been yet, be sure to ask if you can take a look downstairs, which is fairly extraordinary, and worth the risk that you won't come out alive.
Peter A.
