Rustic and refined, Sixth Avenue cocktail and wine bar opens with seasonal, shareable plates
In 2019, when Brian Hibbard signed a lease for the storefront of 2614 6th Ave. in Tacoma, he envisioned a neighborhood restaurant with seasonal dishes, a bar carefully stocked with natural wine sourced from around the world and cocktails crafted with equal care.
Construction and permitting delays ensued as the 2020 opening was, alas, delayed. Undeterred, he rolled with the rollicking waves and opted instead to introduce the concept in a manner that fit the times.
Originally named Field Bar, he added “bottle shop” to the decal that now adorns the wall-to-wall windows on the 1922 brick building and, since last summer, sold bottles of wine, vermouth, bitters and various cocktail friendly accoutrements to an increasingly devoted customer base. He started a wine club, offering occasional tastings and partnering with a local farm for a produce pickup. Those decisions — the art of the pandemic pivot, if you will — would come to define his Tacoma business, which this week has officially transitioned to being the thing it set out to be while maintaining its retail edge.
The restaurant is now open for dinner four nights a week, with a few tables along a banquette, two counters overlooking Sixth Avenue on either side of the entrance, and room for about eight at the dark wooden bar, which blends into the intimate open kitchen.
There, chef Ike Hippensteel and his team are marinating olives, pickling local vegetables, making ricotta and using the whey to braise pork belly. A limited menu during the soft opening last weekend featured roasted duck; corn on the cob to roll, like butter, in a poblano aioli; and a beet salad vibrant with shades of purple — blackberries, shallots, red leaf basil — accented by the crunch of pepitas.
“Ike has always had a passion and a natural ability to make beautiful, creative food with limited resources and within limited space,” Hibbard told The News Tribune last year, adding recently, “We are focused on sustainable ingredients and highlighting purveyors who are also committed to this.”
They have entrusted the help of Local Color Farm and Fiber and Four Elements Farm, both in Puyallup, and farmers market mainstay Alvarez Organic Farms from Yakima. Sourdough bread to scoop that ricotta, dolloped with honey, arrives from Balloon Roof Baking Co., a burgeoning wholesale outfit based in Fife.
The menu is split simply into small and big plates, both intended to be shared over conversation and a glass of natural wine, like a skin-contact chardonnay from the Mendoza Valley in Argentina. With an amber hue and nutty notes, it’s unlike any chardonnay you’ve probably ever had, and one of many unique selections from Hibbard and staff.
The kitchen and bar is purposefully intended to feel like one space, brought to you by a team of hospitality veterans that also includes Evan Bridges, Jake Pierson, Jessie Poole (who owned the late E. Smith Mercantile in Seattle’s Pioneer Square), Michaela SnowMassara and Nichole Valdez.
Field is also very much a destination for cocktails and instantly is one of the best places for them in the South Sound. Though scattered with house ingredients such as a black tea and rose cordial or a watermelon shrub, the style here relies on a well-curated back bar with an emphasis on amaro and fortified wines.
In addition to a draft Manhattan and Negroni, satisfying sippers range from the Team Zissou with Calvados and rye whiskey to The Great Northern, featuring aquavit and bay leaf salt, and the Margot Tenenbaum, akin to a Toronto but with the Mexican Amargo-Vallet and Italian Averna in lieu of fernet.
If you happen to fall in love with any of the above, many of the wines are available for purchase, either to take home or to pop in-house (plus a corkage fee). If you just want to swing by for a shot and a beer, Field also wants to be your friendly neighborhood bar.
As the restaurant finds its footing, expect additional retail hours and special events.
FIELD BAR & BOTTLE SHOP
▪ 2614 6th Ave., Tacoma, fieldtacoma.com, instagram.com/fieldtacoma
▪ Wednesday-Friday 4-10 p.m.
▪ Details: Cocktail and natural wine bar with seasonal food in a cafe-like setting, plus retail bottles
▪ Notes: The restaurant requests that only vaccinated patrons dine indoors; 20% service charge split equally among staff added to dine-in bills.
This story was originally published September 23, 2021 at 5:00 AM.