Favorite
First things first: don’t panic. When perusing the beer menu at Saraveza Bottle Shop & Pasty Tavern, it’s inevitable that the eye might be drawn to (and then shocked by) top–shelf offerings such as La Chouffe Belgian Ale, the Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza, or the Ale Smith Horny Devil—each sells for more than $13 per 750–milliliter bottle. After you’ve Read more...
Favorite
A robust selection of beer and brawny foodstuffs—bangers and mash, Irish nachos, sausage rolls—await homesick Hibernians at this downtown Irish bar. Fancy a game of darts? The Happy Hour is abundant and there’s always plaintive Celtic music in the air. Top-notch selection of taps. The annual St Paddy’s Festival here is one of epic proportions. Read more...
Favorite
If, like me, you’re an off-key karaoke enthusiast, there are probably times when you’d be perfectly happy not to have an audience. Now that’s a possibility. The recently opened Voicebox Karaoke Lounge brings the Tokyo trend of private “box” karaoke—no audience, no KJ, just you, your pals, and your best rendition of “Hungry Eyes.” If you’ve seen Bill Murray belt Read more...
Favorite
Sample some of the Northwest’s tastiest beers at Portland’s outpost of the Deschutes microbrew empire. Many of the beers on the pub’s 16 taps are exclusive to that pub. During the relatively short happy hour from 4 to 6 PM every weekday, pick up pulled pork sliders and wash it down with the daily beer special poured in a 20 Read more...
Favorite
This cavernous club is the number one spot for Portland jazz enthusiasts and one of the top jazz joints in the United States. Linger while nursing a Portland Trolley Car, Jimmy Mak’s take on the sidecar, for an evening and listen to some of the Northwest’s best jazz. Jimmy Mak’s keeps its schedule full every night as resident acts perform Read more...
Favorite
Hidden under the shadow of the 405, Slabtown (under various names) has long been known as one of Portland’s most charmingly seedy bars, situated in a charmingly seedy part of industrial Northwest Portland. Come here for cheap drinks, or a hot dog for a quarter on Sundays, and stay for some loud, live rock ’n’ roll. The game room in Read more...
Favorite
Wilf’s Restaurant & Bar sits adjacent to Union Station, and the air of the well-traveled sophisticate is unmistakable. It’s the kind of upscale setting that might evoke romantic feelings, even if you’re alone or have just stumbled in after a wearisome trek, eager for a steak and a refreshing St. Germain sparkler. Wilf’s boasts a curated wine list, quality eats Read more...
Favorite
Around here, tapping one brewpub as tops is like trying to positively identify your favorite Bob Dylan tune. Can there really be one that’s the best? But we’re throwing caution to the wind and declaring Hopworks Urban Brewery as Portland’s ultimate watering hole for 2008: From the bike-themed décor to the recycled building materials to the locally sourced food, Hopworks Read more...
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Founders Lee Medoff and Christian Krogstad met as brewmasters at McMenamins, but their love of booze went beyond barley and hops. In 2004, the pair founded House Spirits. Now it’s the Pacific Northwest’s largest distiller, with a Central Eastside tasting room—a 14,000-square-foot, $6 million facility that opened in November 2015—that unfolds like a glossy, art deco theater. Read more...
Favorite
The website for Hotel 50, which recently opened in the former Four Points by Sheraton Downtown on SW Morrison Street near the Willamette River, asserts that it’s “ideally located in downtown Portland.” That may be true, but apparently the front door is a well-guarded secret. After a full lap around the building, I still can’t find the entrance. Finally I Read more...