Delta Café
The stately Southern gentleman doesn’t typically trade pleasantries with the good ol’ boy in the smoke-soaked watering holes of Birmingham—except, perhaps, to discuss ’Bama football. However, with the aid of a trusty cocktail, both soon realize that beneath their social stances, they are bound to one another through the shared wisdom, good humor and hospitality that pervade all things below the Mason-Dixon.
If the unlikely pair ever happened to find themselves strolling Portland’s rain-washed streets, they could do some drankin’ in harmony at the Delta Lounge. Located amid the small-town-in-a-big-city heart of the Woodstock neighborhood, the Delta Café—the restaurant component of the operation—thrives largely on an aesthetic of thrift-store kitsch, its double-wide ambience as brazen as a belle on a bender.
By contrast, the cocktails served from the decorously knickknacked bar are inscrutably balanced. A cucumber vodka cocktail called the Hey Ya!!! belies its rebel-yell exclamation points: Beneath a smooth texture, citrus and cranberry add layers of boggy depth, and a hint of sweetness finishes the drink just as a crisp pocket handkerchief punctuates the look of a linen suit. Likewise, the ginger drop resists the cloying tendency of many members of the “drop” family, instead boasting a kick from ginger-infused vodka that’s blended with fresh lemon for a cup of cocktail comity.
Indeed, the Delta’s drinks temper the hipster vibe of the place, and the alternately sophisticated and rowdy infusions impart a charm and good humor often lost on many of Portland’s swankier and pricier drinking establishments. Which makes any trip here a worthwhile foray into rebel territory.
