In New York and San Francisco and other places where real estate is expensive, the venerable, homey, and very human old dives are closing and these are opening instead. Today, this kind of bar numbers in the thousands, and you can find them in just about every town in the country. There weren't many of these places, but there were just enough to satisfy the rare cocktail enthusiast. That ten dollars would not get you bar snacks, a well-stocked jukebox, TV, Big Buck Hunter, darts, a greasy egg sandwich, or a basket of fries.
PORTLAND GAY BARS RESTAURANTS CRACK
What I didn't know was that I'd be reporting from the front lines of a revolution in how and where Americans drink.īack then, if you knew where to go in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and a few other towns, you could find a place where the young man or woman behind the bar would carefully crack the ice for your manhattan or El Presidente, precisely measure the ingredients and give them an elegant stir, strain the cocktail into a beautiful glass, and then charge you ten dollars. As the magazine's Drinks Correspondent, I was to be the pointman on the project. The bar quickly filled up with people from all over the world without attitudes but it was a reminder that Portland is now an international destination and the line outside when I left told me that downtown is now fully generic.you could be in any major city.In 2005, my editors at Esquire came up with the idea of putting together a list of America's best bars-not the best new cocktail bars or sports bars or brunch bars or whatever, but the best bars irrespective of type. After a quick dinner at Chinatown fixture "Hung Far Low" I dropped into Stag and found the old Portland strippers have been replaced by Cirque de Soleil like acrobats but the vibe is good. One night I was itching for some old school PDX nightlife and was happy to find that near Chinatown down on Broadway is a new bar called " Stag PDX". If you head a little NW though you can still find the charm of 21st Street and my all time favorite restaurant Caffe Mingo is still there. Restaurants have popped up with so much square footage that you can only assume most of what you are eating arrived that morning on a truck from Sysco.
No more Thomas Lauderdale walking around in a shift dress with a pillbox hat, no more late nights at Suzanne's Diner and no more going out with $5 in your pocket to wake up with $5 in your pocket. You could feel the end of "loser at pool has to run home naked through the warehouses" being replaced with condos and Whole Foods. Ace Hotel was the first establishment to really anchor the change along with the Crystal Ballroom and Ringler's Annex. Everything was condensed onto Stark Street but before I left you could feel the changes coming. We used to play pool at Scandal's then head over to Silverado for a show of some sort and finalize the night with drinks, more pool or pinball at the Eagle. Gay nightlife centered around SW Stark Street in a consolidated area sadly nicknamed "Vaseline Alley." I just went back for a week and everything has changed but some things are still very Portland.īefore there was a Pearl District filled with shops and big restaurants there was just Powell's Books, a brewery and a bunch of warehouses. This is also the town where I was able to come out without fear of a beat down. Having moved there from the East Coast I quickly learned the joys of coffee, micro beer and salmon. Life was good and to escape the rainy drudgery people complained about just took a tank of gas and a quick glance at Doppler Radar. I initially lived off NW 23rd before relocating to larger digs on the other side of the Willamette River in close proximity to the Rose Quarter. Gus Van Sant had a house overlooking downtown and daily sightings of extras from "My Own Private Idaho" or "Drugstore Cowboy" made you feel cool.
PORTLAND GAY BARS RESTAURANTS FULL
Thrift stores were full of vintage Pendleton wool shirts for a buck and Starbucks was second choice to Coffee People. We were far enough from Seattle to be safely tucked away from grunge saturation and close enough to San Francisco to be progressively driven. It was the perfect home to have with little money, an open mind and an artistic heart. Living in Portland, Oregon during the 1990's was the right place at the right time.