Portland’s Best Bars 2022

The Rose City’s top bars, all-star bartenders, and bar bites. Plus: Oregon’s scream queens, fall road trip escapes, new vintage stores, and more

In this issue:

Arts & Culture

Dance

This Contemporary Dance Festival Is Ready to Broaden Portland’s Horizons

Now in its fifth year, Union PDX concentrates global talent in Southeast Portland.

11/07/2022 By Fiona McCann

Cinemas

The Hollywood Theatre Gets a Makeover

The iconic Portland cinema’s façade receives a long-awaited renovation.

10/11/2022 By Conner Reed

Feature

Remembering Vampira and Tarantula Ghoul, Oregon’s Scream Queens

Inside the legacies of two Oregon-grown horror hosts.

10/03/2022 By Conner Reed Illustrations by Patrick Leger

Fall Arts

Preview: Jeffrey Gibson’s ‘They Come From Fire’ at Portland Art Museum

The artist’s photography project is a sprawling celebration of Oregon’s Indigenous communities, past and present.

09/28/2022 By Rebecca Jacobson

fall arts

Get Ready for Portland’s First Full-Blown Theatrical Season since 2019

Portland Center Stage, Artists Repertory Theatre, Profile, Lakewood, and other companies have big plans for local stages.

09/02/2022 By Conner Reed

Fall Arts

Fall’s Can’t-Miss Concerts, Plays, Author Events, Dance Performances & More

The TBA Fest, eagerly awaited book launches, a head-spinning hip-hop triple-bill ... we’re looking at a jam-packed arts season in Portland.

09/01/2022 By Conner Reed and Fiona McCann Illustrations by Kate Dehler

Interview

Denial Presents a Compellingly Low-Key Vision of Post-Revolution Portland

The latest book from author/screenwriter Jon Raymond depicts transformative climate action ... and then whatever comes next.

07/22/2022 By Conner Reed

Movie Theaters

How the Clinton Street Theater’s New Owners Are Bringing It into the Future

The 107-year-old Southeast Portland punk palace is getting a light makeover—but its spirit is staying the same as ever.

07/19/2022 By Conner Reed

Eat & Drink

Editor's Note

From the Editor: On the Life-Changing Delights of the Best Bars

Whether it’s at your uncle’s pub in Offaly, a character-packed place on a Tokyo side street, or a new find in Portland, a night out can be magical.

09/20/2022 By Fiona McCann

Review

Portland Soup Dumpling Showdown: Who Makes the City's Best?

From big-timers like Din Tai Fung and Dough Zone to mom-and-pop shops including XLB and Szechuan Chef, who’s the xiao long bao champ?

09/12/2022 By Katherine Chew Hamilton

Portland Bar Guide

Check Out These Gorgeous Bar Bathrooms

From Pac-Man tile at Ground Kontrol to gold detail at Doug Fir, these bar bathrooms are perfect for picture-taking, mirror-primping, or just plain admiring.

09/02/2022 By Katherine Chew Hamilton, Michael Novak, Conner Reed, Margaret Seiler, and Matthew Trueherz

Portland Bar Guide

Where to Find Portland’s Best Bar Bites

Satisfy the drunchies with cheesy, crunchy fried goodness, from burgers to won ton nachos at these Portland bars.

08/31/2022 By Katherine Chew Hamilton, Margaret Seiler, and Matthew Trueherz

Portland Bar Guide

Portland’s Top 50 Bars

From happening new hot spots to longtime favorites, these are the best bars in Portland, OR.

08/23/2022 By Shannon Daehnke, Ramona DeNies, Katherine Chew Hamilton, Michelle Harris, Andrew Jankowski, Conner Reed, Margaret Seiler, Julia Silverman, and Matthew Trueherz

Home & Real Estate

Home Remodel

A Manzanita House with a History Gets a Game Changer of a Makeover

Out went the beige carpet and surfboard décor, in came built-ins, nautical curves, and a spa bathroom in this beach house on the Oregon Coast

08/11/2022 By Julia Silverman Photography by George Barberis

News & City Life

History

Meet Some of the Women Who Helped Shape Oregon as We Know It

From securing the right to vote to leading the state in Salem to representing Oregonians in DC, we owe a lot to Redmond, Neuberger, Green, Kafoury & more.

09/20/2022 By Margaret Seiler

Election 2022

Suzanne Bonamici Is Ready for Some Company

The Democrat from Beaverton has been the only woman in Oregon’s congressional delegation for a decade. Whatever happens in November’s elections, that will change.

09/15/2022 By Fiona McCann

long story short

Who's the LA Transplant Playing (Tunes) for the Blazers?

The official Blazers DJ for basketball games at the Moda Center, David Jackson is also a mentor, music producer, cancer survivor, and more.

09/14/2022 By Fiona McCann Photography by Jasmine Pritchett

Politics

Kate Brown Was Supposed to Be America’s ‘Radical Feminist Governor.’ What Happened?

Looking back at a bumpy—and undersung?—tenure, as the almost-two-term Oregon governor prepares to leave office

09/09/2022 By Beth Slovic

Election 2022

Where Do the Candidates for Oregon Governor Stand on Issues Often Championed by Women?

A look at how gubernatorial candidates Christine Drazan, Betsy Johnson & Tina Kotek have voted on paid family leave, reproductive rights, and more

09/07/2022 By Shannon Daehnke and Julia Silverman

Schools

Inside a School Day at the Muslim Educational Trust in Tigard

At Oregon’s sole Islamic K–12 school, finding a disciplined mix of religion and rigor.

08/29/2022 By Julia Silverman Photography by Amanda Lucier

Education

Running the Numbers on Portland’s Substitute Teacher Shortage

Part of a statewide problem that worsened in the COVID-19 pandemic, the substitute teacher shortage is poised to persist in the 2022–2023 school year.

08/26/2022 By Julia Silverman

Essay

Notes on Answering the Call to Substitute Teach in a Portland Middle School

Of paper airplanes and Fortnite, TikTok, worksheets, clap-outs and trying to make up for lost time.

08/26/2022 By Emily Chenoweth

Style & Shopping

School Supplies

Choice Back-to-School Supplies for the Design-Forward Kid

Japanese erasers, statement pencils, a whale stapler from Italy, lay-flat notebooks, and more from local stores.

08/25/2022 By Julia Silverman

Travel & Outdoors

Fall Road Trips

Going Solo in Washington’s San Juan Islands: Kayaking, Mountain Hikes, and Peace and Quiet

Take a slow trip via ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, with detours to Orcas, Lopez, and other parts of the archipelago on the Salish Sea.

09/09/2022 By Ryan Good

Fall Road Trips

Wacky Roadside Attractions and Treehouse Hotels Await in Southern Oregon

Throw the kids in the car and head south for rope swings, cave tours, and In-N-Out Burger.

09/08/2022 By Margaret Seiler

Fall Road Trips

More than Wine and Onions in Eastern Washington’s Wine Country

Find more than wine and onions in Eastern Washington’s Wine Country. There's beer, cider, gelato, cheesemakers, and an inexplicable aviary.

09/07/2022 By Rachel Alexander