If you are looking for a family friendly place in the evening, or to watch the game on a gigantic projection screen instead of just your regular sports bar TV, and a place that easily accommodates family with kids and/or a group of friends, you should consider Bunk Bar at Water Ave. They still have live music shows (one of the few in town with actually good food to go with the music), but also are now showing the big games too. They also have recently added to their already pretty comforting menu of solid sandwiches and drinking food favorites of mole tots and loaded fries with even more tasty food available only on the Bunk By Night menu.
For instance, new to the menu are these new perfectly crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside, gigantic sized to make a kid or adult happy Buttermilk Fried Chicken Strips, boneless breast strips served up with ranch and remoulade sauces
You can sauce it up with the Buffalo Chicken Wings and Wedge, a generous serving of 6 wings with Franks Red Hot, and instead of boring celery sticks you get a whole wedge salad of romaine, blue cheese dressing & bacon.
The famous cubano is still on the menu of course, as are other favorites like the fried chicken sandwich, the Italian (featuring all the good meats with ham, Olympia Provisions salami cotto, mortadella and capicola), and for kids and adults alike the wonderfuly melty Grilled Cheese with Tillamook cheddar and optional add on of tomato soup.
But for evenings only you can also now get access to a tasty double burger via their Bunk Burger, all classic here with a double patty with lettuce, pickles, onion, Bunk sauce & American cheese. 
Vegetarians (and it can also be made vegan) get a black bean burger that still delivers on flavor thanks to roasted green chilies, pepper jack, avocado, mayo, hot sauce, and shredded lettuce. 
In addition to the mole tots and loaded fries, evenings only, you can now also get Nachos with Queso Oaxaca, nacho cheese sauce, avocado salsa, chipotle salsa, black beans, roasted chilies, pickled jalapenos, cotija & sour cream. Or, as a nod to the Louisiana upbringing of partner Nick, try the unique Acadian Poutine, french fries with cheese curds, turkey & andouille sausage gumbo, remoulade sauce & scallions. You can also always add on the Turkey and Andouille Sausage Gumbo soup he makes to any sandwich.
Make sure you check out the drink specials – including the frozen margarita flavors, which if they aren’t too slammed ask for a mix of both. I like the drinks overall but nothing fancy frou frou here – more like the drinks are as good as your favorite neighborhood dive bar but the food and atmosphere are so much better, cleaner casual and makes you feel at ease.
Bunk Bar at Water Ave offers happy hour 3PM-6PM, and otherwise is open Sun-Tues until 9 PM, Weds-Thurs until 10 PM, and weekends Fri and Sat until midnight.
Thanks to that new projector they’ve installed, Bunk Bar at Water Ave may also be the new best place to watch a game on a big screen too – parking is plentiful on the street.
My additional recommendation I’ll give to you is that I love seeing movies on the HUGE screen at Empirical Theater at OMSI. The theater here shows a fun mix of Hollywood blockbusters to old movies, science and nature documentaries, animated short film to sci-fi to anime movie festivals, all on a 60 and 65 feet wide screen. It’s the largest screen in Portland, and massive 300 seat four story stadium seating means there’s not a bad seat in the house – and a normal ticket is just $7. From OMSI, Bunk Bar at Water Ave is a short little .5 mile walk to grab food beforehand or afterwards with a bonus stretching your legs after sitting through a show.
Are any of these new dishes catching your eye? Where is your favorite game and food or movies and food spot in town?
Disclosure: I attended a preview where I got to try some of the new items complimentary, but I have been to Bunk many times before and I’ve stopped in after the media event, all on my own dime, because it is delicious here. I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own.
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