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Show The Trout Brothers add a little flavor to a favorite local retreat M 1 ir ! 7,1 J f ' i f , vU v ; : Vo- ! I J i, '111 " j ' f i: Av if I H ! , . J t't 1 !! by Randy Han skat Last Thursday I was intent on solving a mystery. I headed down to 541 Main and Ryan's Bar, a drinking establishment I hadn't yet had the opportunity to be in. I had to find out just what one of the last public bars on Main Street was like. I went in through the French door and instantly felt at home. A large walnut bar dominates the place; it runs probably 30 feet from the front room to where the billiard room starts. At 4 p.m. Ryan's had just opened for the day; the stools were pretty full. Sounds of cracking pool balls mingled with the talk and the background back-ground music. In the front room at a large table five people were shooting the breeze while a couple played a game of backgammon. I took a seat at the end of the bar. Dana Williams brought me a Bud, while his brother Evan sat next to me. These two guys are the managers of Ryan's, since about two-and-a-half months ago. Ryan's gets its name from Doug Ryan, who was a part of Main Street life for about a dozen years. Ryan was at various times a bartender at the Club, at the Motherlode (now Janeaux's) and at Digger's Main Street Express Ex-press Company (now the Park City Soupe Company). He was to have been the manager of Ryan's, but died in June, 1982 while the bar was still under construction. His photograph hangs on the wall at the end of the bar. "It's a small bar, but there are those of us who love it," said Evan, playing on a Daniel Webster' quote. Daniel's picture also graces one of the walls of Ryan's. I could see what he meant, Iand I instantly knew that work was shot for the rest of the afternoon. These two had such an easygoing manner that I just wanted to sit back and relax a spell, maybe shoot a couple games of pool, or enjoy some good conversation. conver-sation. That pool table is part of what I found especially intriguing about Ryan's. Use of the table is free you don't have to dump 50 cents or a dollar in every game. But there was more. In addition to the pool table in the back is the game table out in the front, complete with backgammon, chess, and a deck of cards. Ryan's has an accent on games, and interaction between people. I saw this as a change from the usual blaring music which is the only entertainment in many bars. "Ryan's is a quieter place. You can come here and just sit and talk," Dana said. That doesn't mean there's no music. The bar has a stereo system. "We play a wide variety, including Brazilian Bra-zilian folk with a Portugese accent," Evan said with a grin. Then there's the live music. Locals can simply get up and do their thing if they think they are good enough. That invitation to local talent is open most nights of the week, but especially on Thursday. Or maybe you'd like to look into a book. In the front room there are a couple bookcases of paperbacks. Evan explained, ex-plained, "That's our lending library." Hungry? How about a smoked trout? Dana and Evan, called the Trout Brothers by some, serve excellent smoked trout for only $3.50. It comes with Tillamook Cheese, horseradish horse-radish sauce, and crackers. Or you can order a full trout to go. Evan says, "They fit quite comfortably in your coat pocket." Dana and Evan perfected their culinary expertise over the past summer. Dana said they were constantly cooking trout on a smoker in their backyard in Hoytsville. Their neighbors soon labeled them the Trout Brothers. The brothers may be adding more items to their menu. Currently you can tickle the taste buds with apples & cheese, or cheese & crackers. But homemade chili may soon be added, and possibly "a couple of other things our mother cooks." I asked what kind of people make a habit of Ryan's. Dana said it was mostly a local crowd, with some tourists thrown in here and there. Evan added, "All the Dartmouth Dart-mouth grads in Park City go to Ryan's." I looked up from my notes for an instant to see a huge Managers Dana (left) and Evan Williams, alias the Trout Brothers, peek out of the French door at Ryans. m the spring and summer, with talks on various outdoor subjects. As I finished my beer, Dana asked if I wanted another, but I begged off. Evan chimed in that I could pick from 16 different labels, including a Scottish product called Belhaven Ale. He said the Trout Brothers were the largest distributors of Scottish Scot-tish ale in the state. How could I say no? After I had vacuumed the last fine drop of my Belhaven out of the bottle, I finally came up with enough self-discipline self-discipline to make for the door and leave the cozy comfort of Ryan's behind. As I turned the knob, Evan made one request for the article. "Although we both live in Hoytsville now," he said, "we used to live in Los Angeles. So, we'd appreciate it if Steve Garvey would stop in and see us." Steve, are you listening? rattlesnake skin over the bar, the largest I had ever seen. "It's our 7'11" welcoming committee," Evan explained. ex-plained. In the summer, Evan and Dana plan to have lamb roast cookouts on the back deck of the bar. In the spring they plan to sell fishing licenses, and they hope to line up long-time fishing locals to give talks on the best fishing spots and the like. Evan said they want Ryan's to become a "wilderness headquarters" |