#2603 - Old Oregon Saloon, Lincoln City, OR - 8/24/2014

Old Oregon Saloon, Lincoln City, OR

By at least one reckoning, Lincoln City is the Drunkest City in Oregon, and also the poorest. You wouldn't know that from visiting, at least along the touristy Highway 101. And you wouldn't know it from the Old Oregon Tavern/Saloon (the "Old O" to locals), even though it opens at 7am. From some of the decor here and at least one other bar in town, it would be easy to assume that weed was the intoxicant of choice.

I depend on Yelp a lot more for the photos and hours than reviews, but in this case allow me to except from a sample of yelp reviewers: 

• "It's a dive bar." 
• "This is a dive bar."
• "A classic dive bar ..."
• "it's a cash only dive ..."
• "It was everything a dive bar should be ..."
• "... the ambience is, well, a dive bar."
• "Cleaner than any dive I've been to."
• "Where we live the dive bar is going the way of the dodo, so it was nice to kick back and have a cheap drink at a place where there are no craft cocktails or small plates ..."

If you look carefully you may find a theme running through those comments, so if you like dive bars, give this place a look.

1604 NE Hwy 101, Lincoln City, OR 97367 - (541) 994-8515

Web site: facebook 

Reviews: beerchaser - yelp - tripadvisor 

#2602 - Anchor Inn, Lincoln City, OR - 8/24/2014

Historic Anchor Inn, Lincoln City, OR

We love this old motor inn and motel as a place to stay and enjoy the cozy pub inside, but it appears that they are now only open for select dates and/or larger groups. If it's available, it would be my favorite place to stay on the Oregon coast. Construction on the Taft Heights Motor Court began in 1942, faced some delays, then was completed in 1946. I'm not sure how old the pub portion is, but it seems to have been added only fairly recently. The bar, like the rooms and public spaces, has a welcoming old cabin feel and is crammed with vintage memorablia -- the surrounding grounds only slightly less so. If we can find a way to make it back with their new business model, we will eagerly do so.

Historic Anchor Inn Pub, Lincoln City, OR 

4417 S Hwy 101, Lincoln City, OR 97367 - (541) 996-3810
Bar Est. ? - Building constructed: 1942-1946
Web site: historicanchorinn.com - facebook
Reviews: yelp - oyster - fodors - tripadvisor 

#2601 - McMenamins Pub at Hotel Oregon, McMinnville, OR - 8/24/2014

McMenamins McMinnville, Hotel Oregon

McMinnville, Oregon, as I'm sure I do not have to explain to you, is the county seat and largest city (34,000) of Yamhill County. It has a quaint, very walkable downtown area and is best known today for pinot noirs and space aliens. The city has been the center of Oregon's wine country since the 1990s, with 14 nearby wineries in the region's American Viticultural Area (AVA). The downtown area very much reflects this, with tourist-friendly shops and restaurants that tend to be new and chic (do not look here for a weathered, old dive).

The space alien theme derives from the "McMinnville UFO photographs," printed on the front page of the McMinnville Telephone-Register and soon reprinted in LIFE Magazine. The city's annual UFO Festival, sponsored by McMenamins, is now second in size among such events only to the event in Roswell, New Mexico, near the site of a 1947 crash of a weather balloon extraterrestrial craft of inexplicable, unearthly properties.

These features are celebrated in small elements of the McMenamin's in town, in a four-story (tallest building in town), 1905 structure that has housed everything from a Greyhound bus depot to a banquet hall to a soda fountain. Constructed as the Hotel Elberton and today called the Hotel Oregon, it has a pub on the main floor, a rooftop bar (unfortunately closed during our visit) and a Cellar Bar with a back alley entrance, wine and live music. If you are from the northwest, I need not linger on the details of the decor or food -- it is yet another cozy place preserving a nice historic structure and featuring the paradigmatic McMenamins artwork and bric-a-brac along with solid food and beer options.

310 NE Evans St, McMinnville, OR 97128 - (503) 472-8427                    
Est. 1999 - Building constructed: 1905
Web site: mcmenamins.com - facebook 
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor 

#2600 - The Slammer Tavern, Portland, OR - 8/24/2014

Slammer Tavern, Portland, OR

Barfly called it "one of Portland's oldest bars," even though I've read it was established only in 1979? It's a nifty little place though -- on the edge of an old industrial district, the outside looks like a ghetto autoshop and inside like a beachfront hippy bar. The low ceilings, small space, and year-round Christmas lights only add to the laid-back neighborhood dive goodness.

Bartender Ren, the Slammer Tavern, Portland, OR

500 SE 8th Ave, Portland, OR 97214 - (503) 232-6504
Est. 1979
Web site: facebook
Reviews: eater - wweek - punchdrink - beerchaser - barfly - thrillist - yelp 

#2599 - Rum Club, Portland, OR - 8/24/2014

MMMMmmmm, Rum Club.

"What's the most popular drink here?"
"The Rum Club Daquiri"
"What's the most popular drink among people with very good taste?"
"Everyone who comes here has very good taste."

I had a Rum Club Daquiri. It was good. Then I had a Mai Tai. It was good. And there's a bear with a fez.

720 SE Sandy Blvd, Portland, OR 97214 - (503) 265-8807
Est. 2011
Web site: rumclubpdx.com
Articles ranked: seriouseats - cocktailia - oregonlive - pdxmonthly - wweek - eater - yelp - tripadvisor - thrillist - portlandmercury - thedrinknation - 

#2598 - Luchador, Portland, OR - 8/23/2014

Luchador, Portland, OR

It's a bar in a theme of masked Mexican professional wrestlers because Portland.

Luchador, Portland, OR

4835 N Albina Ave, Portland, OR 97217 - (503) 517-9347
Est. 2014 - Closed 2014
Web site: luchadorpdx.com - facebook
Articles ranked: eater - wweek - yelp - tripadvisor - eater - oregonlive

#2597 - La Center Tavern, La Center WA - 8/23/2014

La Center Tavern, La Center, WA

Update: The La Center Tavern was renamed "4th Street Bar and Grill" in early 2015.

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I'm sure that the current La Center Tavern has nicer drinks than a few years ago and has nicer food than a few years ago, and it may be more welcomed by a majority of the locals. But for fans of old historical places with lots of character, this is a travesty.

A real estate entry claims that this space has hosted a bar since 1914 (I've found La Center bars in city directories dating back to the 1880s, but they do not contain addresses). But the character promised by a few remaining shots of the old west style former exterior evaporates as you walk in the door. The nice back bar is still there -- it is said to have survived a big fire that destroyed most of the town, but most the decor is like a retirement home cafeteria, with ceramic chickens and all new furniture designed to look old timey. The liquors are confined to a dainty selection of spirits that lean toward flavored vodkas and fireball shots. The jolt from the knitting club theme comes only when you open the bathroom and suddenly seem to be doing your business in the back of semi truck. I can't imagine they will leave that very long -- they're probably shopping for the pink flowered wallpaper now.

What the what?!?!
La Center Tavern, La Center, WA

And yet outside there was a local spitting chaw into a cup and telling me the history of the back bar. He says a biker friend of his told him it was usually packed before the remodel. I don't know whether to believe any of these stories, and, God bless, I wish the current owners luck. But it's not my personal cup of tea, despite some old photos that make me think it used to be.

The old La Center Tavern

107 E 4th St, La Center, WA 98629 - (360) 263-9920                  
Est. ? - Building constructed: 1930/2015
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor