Punta Gorda's Ice House Hits a Bulls-Eye with Darts and More

There are many theories on how the game (or sport) or darts got its start, but the most popular one  is that soldiers,  bored during the downtime  between battles, would throw short spears or arrows at the end of upturned wine barrels to pass away the time.  Then as the game evolved over time, designated targets were placed on  what became the dart board, the cork on the wine barrel being the bull's-eye for instance -- hence why the bull's-eye is still called the cork up to this day.   Regardless the association between booze and darts was early on in the game's history, and the popularly of the simple, convivial game grew quickly first through the pubs in England and then in similar establishments here in America.

A few years back the game was brought to a fitting location here in Punta Gorda -- and might be one of the reasons that you see so many cars parked along Virginia near 41 just about every night near the Ice House Pub.    The Pub just looks like it should have a Dart Board or two and that it does --  a whole wall of them as a matter of fact.   Go past the gorgeous mahogany bar in the front room of the pub and there, you will find 10 regulation-sized dart boards.  While on many nights leagues play, there are frequent opportunities to try out the sport on an open board.   Moreover, its a fun thing to organize for a group.  Recently our neighborhood association arranged  an outing there with about 35 some  participants, many of whom had never played darts in their life.  And quite a few like myself, who played infrequently and badly.   Owner and Dart master at the Pub gave the group instruction and ran a mini tournament for us.   There was a lot of laughter, sport and great fun -- not to mention the splendid buffet that the Pub organized for the group.

And speaking of food, the Ice House does have a full tavern style menu with snacky type platters -- cheese, fruit, meat nibbles, and wings, chicken tenders and also some delectable sandwiches including a philly cheese steak and great burgers plus some English-pub fare such as fish and chips, cottage pie and bangers and mash.  With 27 beers on tap and some intriguing selections to taste,  plus a wide bottled choice, the pub is a perfect place to grab a pint and some food while throwing some darts or playing one of the more unusual board games floating about the place.

The Ice House also offers musical entertainment typically on weekends, but sometimes on weekday nights -- check their schedule ( I try to cover it within the blog) -- they have been known to have some great headliners now and then -- Jim Morris, for example.  They are also offering a new twist on Karaoke which we have yet to try -- maybe next time.   For more about the Ice House, check out their very complete website.