A hunter’s lodge in the heart of Hillcrest? Enter through heavy black curtains and behold – a deer head looms directly above. An imposing chandelier made of antlers hangs from the middle of the ceiling, a hint that you’ve come to the right place for eating venison meatloaf and elk ravioli. And that woodsy bar you see, where patrons congregate on cowhide stools to sip Mules’ Hind Leg martinis and classic Rusty Nails? It started out as a 25-foot cedar tree from Julian.

About the only things missing in this peculiar restaurant-lounge called The Tractor Room are racks to hang your rifle and bearish men in wool flannel shirts discussing their latest kills. Despite its rustic trappings, The Tractor Room is a nouveau-trendy nightspot that serves up a gamut of crafty cocktails and comfy (yet sometimes overstated) food in an intimate atmosphere punctuated by cool music and seriously low lighting.

Owners Johnny Rivera and Chef Andy Beardslee also run the nearby Hash House A Go Go, and say that the two restaurants share nothing in common. But in some ways they do. The Tractor Room’s rural Midwestern theme is a bolder extension of Hash House, where biscuits and gravy and other homey fare are served in gigantic portions amid photographs of farm scenes. Though meal portions at The Tractor Room are slightly downsized, the food leans toward the comfy, heavy side nonetheless. And instead of rosemary trees garnishing most of the plates, The Tractor Room uses wispy chive shoots to swoop them up.

Yet only at the Tractor Room will you find dishes that incorporate trap-caught wild boar from Texas, elk and lamb from Colorado and venison from New Zealand. So what if their preparation is far removed from the prairies. This is one of the few places in San Diego giving game meat a trendy twist.

An appetizer of Elk Ravioli, for instance, involves crispy dough casings that measure about three-by-three inches. They’re drizzled with a robust hunter’s-type gravy made of veal stock, and the elk inside is mulched to a palatable smoothness, resembling the texture of refried beans. We also started with Wild Boar Spring Rolls augmented with mashed potatoes in their fillings. The meat, which I would have guessed was pulled pork in a blind taste test, offered a smoky flavor that we felt was more down-home tasting than exotic.

More unique was the Fried Shrimp Cocktail served in a martini glass over ice and covered with tasty charred tomatoes. The shrimp are lightly battered and fried to a buttery tasting finish. Alongside was a bonus shot of vodka, which turned teasingly pungent when we hit upon the glowing red chipotle sauce lurking at the bottom.

Portion sizes beckon to Hash House in the salad category, which features a whole head of silky butter lettuce stuffed with mouthfuls of Maytag bleu cheese and that terrific wood-smoked bacon you smell when entering the place. The other salad option, two hearts of romaine covered with chopped eggs and marinated tomatoes, came drizzled with a homemade 1000 Island dressing reminiscent of the super-creamy stuff I remember eating in diners as a kid.

By the time our entrees were served, both the bar and smallish seating area had filled to capacity, at which point the atmosphere turned into a cheerful lounge as the music spanned from early Bowie to ’80s rock and contemporary, low-beat trance.

My companion chose Bar B’Que Lamb Shank sporting a deep roasted flavor that wasn’t overwhelmed by the barbecue sauce, although it was so over-braised that the meat lost most of its gamy essence. Far better were my Chipotle Charred Tomato Ribs, a triple stacking of flesh and bones offering a distinguishable pork flavor complimented by strong hints of rosemary. The ribs were covered with spicy cubed tomatoes that imbued the meat with a nice acidic tang. Both entrees came with gooseberries from England – perfectly round orange marbles in their papery blossoms packing the flavor of citrus and tomatoes.

Among the a la carte sides we tried, a half acorn squash soaked in bacon-maple butter tasted like a delicious pancake. “This is dessert,” my companion quipped. I especially liked the Heavy Cream Mashed Potatoes with “fresh batch” gravy adding pure decadence to the lumpy spuds. Other sides include Smoked Wisconsin Mac & Cheese, Green Beans with Toasted Almonds and Au Gratin Potatoes – the kind of grub you come home to in Podunk, Indiana after a rousing day of hunting.

Entrée choices are a tad more contemporary, with the exception of Venison Meatloaf. There’s Filet Mignon Skewers, Spicy Chipotle-Crusted Chicken Breasts and Gooseberry-Glazed Salmon, although as we discovered, few of the main ingredients stand on their own due to the liberal use of herbs, sauces and sugars in their recipes.

For dessert, my companion vouched for a satisfying cup of espresso that came with a stick of orange chocolate. I took the glutinous road with a sheet of chocolate fudge resembling the consistency of softened Tootsie Rolls, which served as the base for two moist peanut butter cookies.

The Tractor Room’s cocktail list is a big draw and rivals the wine list in diversity. If you’re on the hunt for retro libations such as fresh Mint Juleps, old-fashioned Manhattans, creamy Grasshoppers and Harvey Wallbangers, there’s no better place to drink and eat as though it were 1965. Got a food scoop? E-mail it to editor@uptownpub.com.