The new Victory Sports Hall is a win-win. For sports fans, Victory offers a stepped-up sports bar serving the same lineup of food and beer that have made neighboring Crafted Taphouse + Kitchen a popular hangout since opening in January 2014. For Crafted, the space Victory provides means additional prep room for Crafted's modest kitchen, which pumps out an array of appetizers, sandwiches, salads and small entrées, as well as a smattering of deserts.
Victory's look and feel is similar to Crafted's — concrete floor, black ceiling, exposed beams, metal fixtures — with a vintage sports focus. Box-framed antique baseball bats, gloves and golf clubs line one wall, while old trophies flank a massive, red metal bar salvaged from an Army Corps pontoon boat once used to cross the Spokane River. Behind the bar, a marble-tiled backdrop proclaims: "Hail to the Victors."
On leave from nearby Fairchild Air Force Base, Luis Gonzales and Ashley Fingal were impressed by the five-person foosball table near the back of the bar, the largest either had ever seen. It was custom-made, says Crafted and Victory owner Rob Berger, as were all of Victory's tables, including a 32-foot-long communal hightop, with an oak tree salvaged from last year's windstorm.
Similar to Crafted, tables at Victory feature mobile computing devices, which still don't allow for direct ordering, yet provide ample information about the more than four dozen beers and ciders on tap. Victory also offers sake and wine, with a full bar planned for next spring.
New menu items include the Gnudi Magazine Day (ricotta gnocchi with roasted pears) and Two Loc'd Out Chickens Going Crazy (coriander-brined, bone-in crispy chicken wings with Chinese Five Spice seasoning), both $13. Or check the fresh sheet for seasonal salads and entrées, daily soup and house specials like red curry and rice noodles ($16).
Of course, it wouldn't be a sports bar without televisions, and Victory has not one but two 165-inch screens with multipanel display for viewing simultaneous events and cheering on all your favorite players and teams. ♦
Victory Sports Hall • 519 E. Sherman Ave., Coeur d'Alene • Open Sun-Thu, 11 am-10 pm; Fri-Sat, 11 am-11 pm • facebook.com/VictorySportsHall • 208-292-4813
