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| With a children’s menu and a wide range of appetizers and sandwiches (like the Triple Play Grilled Sub, below), B.K. Mulligan’s is a favorite destination for families. One evening last week, we caught (from left) Gabe Arce-Torres, Lori Arce-Torres and Sandy Stuart out for a bite. TODAY photo. |
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Here for the big game? Try the SOUP bowl, too.
B.K. Mulligans is a spacious sports bar, a family dining destination developing a loyal following for its soups and BBQ, and a favorite spot for live music on weekends
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By Niki Price
Oregon Coast TODAY
[Posted Feb. 3, 2010]
There’s a restaurant in Lincoln City that smokes its own baby back ribs and chopped beef brisket, and serves hearty homemade soups every day of the week. It’s got a tasty children’s menu and games to entertain the family, in a clean, roomy space with a vaulted ceiling. On Saturday nights, some of the best blues acts in Portland take the stage, offering smoke-free entertainment through the night.
All that — and a sports bar, too. B.K. Mulligan’s, heading into its third year of business at 266 SE Hwy. 101, has become a popular sports destination for central coast sports fans. Owners Gary Shevik and Rebecca Hall have filled two stories with pool tables, shuffleboard, a golf simulator, a trap shooting game, Nintendo Wii and 13 individual TV screens (including a 65 square foot jumbo screen that can show four games at once).
But Shevik hopes that customers will discover there’s more to Mulligan’s than sports.
“I think we’re still undiscovered, at least by the non-sports fans. We hear it all the time,” Shevik said. “When people come in for the first time, they say ‘I can’t believe I haven’t been in here yet.’ They love the food. They love the portions, and they really love our prices.”
Case in point: Most sports bars aren’t famous for their homemade soups. But at B.K. Mulligan’s, cook Dave Frederick has an impressive kettle repertoire that makes soup lovers break out their calendars. Cups start at $3.95, with a soup and salad combo for $7.95.
“We’ve gotten to the point where people come here just for the soup. It’s really hearty stuff, and it’s got a lot of flavor. At lunchtime, people come in for a bowl of soup and a salad, or a piece of cheese toast,” Shevik said. “We have 12 or 15 on a rotation, and we’re always getting questions about what’s on the soup schedule.”
The barbecue fans come on Friday and Saturday nights. That’s when the ovens open to reveal hickory-smoked ribs, seasoned with Shevik’s special rub and slow cooked to perfection, and served with a choice of James Gang Whiskey or classic barbecue sauce. A half rack, with fries and cole slaw, is $14.95. A brisket and rib combo, with the same sides, is $17.95.
On Fridays, they serve a 12-ounce rib-eye steak dinner, with house salad and your choice of fries, a baked potato or mashed potato, for $12.95.
If game food is what you’re after, however, the Mulligan’s crew can help you out. French fries loaded with bacon, cheddar and green onions, hot and spicy chicken wings, mini corn dogs and onion rings are always available (even when you’re just there for a business lunch). There are nine kinds of burgers (beef or chicken), six different salads and 12 brands of sandwich, plus a kids’ menu with grilled cheese and hot dogs. Children are allowed in the dining room — the area that takes up most of Mulligan’s — until 10 p.m.
“Families are welcome here, and they have a great time,” Shevik said.
Another surprise? The live music, played by top-shelf bands nearly every Saturday night. Shevik, a musician himself, has brought in local blues and rock bands that really wowed the crowd, from Parish Gap and Thunder Road to Richwood, One Way Out and Street Level Devil.
“We’re booking better stuff all the time, recording artists and well-known Portland acts,” Shevik said. “And every Saturday, I get a really good response from the crowd. People really enjoy it, and they can’t believe the talent we can get in here.”
And he has no plans to stop: this month, for example, Mulligan’s will host One Way Out on Feb. 6, the Linda Myers Band, a great blues group on Feb. 13, and Jimmy Bivens from Idaho, gets people dancing on Feb. 27. Also coming up on the schedule are Robbie Laws and Jim Mesi. Both are multi-award winning blues guitarists from Portland.
“Linda is from Portland and is just an outstanding musician. She and her band came into town recently to play a small show, just so people like me could hear them, and I thought they were totally amazing,” Shevik said. “And Jimmy Bivens people already know, because he’s great, too. This month is going to be full of great Saturdays.”
Shevik said that 2007 was a difficult time to launch a sports bar and restaurant. During uncertain times, he knows that customers often retreat to the familiar and are reluctant to try anything new. But those that do, he said, are quick to become regulars.
“Every day, we hear from people who are excited about this restaurant. They say they wish they had come here a long time ago.”
B.K. Mulligan’s, 266 SW Hwy. 101 [Map it!] , is open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday and closed on Wednesday during the winter. For details, call the restaurant at 541-996-2468 or checkout their website at www.bkmulligans.com.
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