#2016 - The Florida Room, Portland, OR - 1/19/2013

For Seattlelites, you might envision Portland's Florida Room as something midway between Unicorn and the Blue Moon. It has the colors of Unicorn, the carnival scenes painted on the tables, mid-century modern signage, the diveyness of the Blue Moon, condiments in six pack cartons, and various paintings with the Hamms Bear painted into them.

435 North Killingsworth Street Portland, OR 97217 - (503) 287-5658
Est. 2006

Web site: facebook
Reviews:  portlandmercury - eater - wweek - portlandhamburgers - barfly - portlandmonthly - urbanspoon - yelp

#2015 - The Tardis Room, Portland, OR - 1/19/2013

A funky, nerd magnet, Dr. Who-themed bar inside "The Fish and Chip Shop"

1218 N Killingsworth St Portland, OR 97217 - (503) 232-3344
Est. Dec. 2010 (restaurant in Nov. 2008)
Previous bars in this location:
Web site: thefishandchipshop.com - facebook 
Reviews: pechluck1 - oregonlive - thrillist - barfly - yelp

#2014 - The Woodsman Tavern, Portland, OR - 1/19/2013

Try the: Kentucky Special

It was interesting to hear the bartender at this upscale restaurant and craft cocktail bar tell of various locals poking their head in expecting to grab a Bud in the new neighborhood dive. Instead the Woodsman usually has a line for dinner and drinks, and was recently celebrated by GQ Magazine as one of the best new restaurants in the country. I had some very nice cocktails on this evening, including a "Hunting Vest" (basically and Old Pal with Cedar-steeped Campari) and an even better "Kentucky Special" (12yo bourbon, Lapsang souchong, cherry heering, and Angostoga bitters). I'm no fan of oysters, so I stuck to the burger, which was pretty good, and came with fried potatoes with mayo and Saracha sauce.

4537 Southeast Division Street Portland, OR 97206 - (971) 373-8264
Est. Fall 2011

Web site: woodsmantavern.com -
Reviews: eater - nytimes - wweek - eatiuppdx - seriouseats - portlandmonthly -  yelp

#2013 - Funhouse Lounge, Portland, OR - 1/19/2013

Portland's Funhouse does not have great drinks or food, but it does have a stage hosting music and improv, a carnival on acid retro decor, and a number of fairly isolated rooms, crowned by the happily creepy "Clown Room"

2432 Southeast 11th Avenue Portland, OR 97214 - (503) 841-6734
Web site: funhouselounge.com - facebook
Reviews: barfly - yelp - portlandmercury

#2012 - Reel M Inn, Portland, OR - 1/19/2013

This is a swell example of the sort of places that make Portland such a good bar town. There's chalk graffiti on exposed wood, a door handle made from an oar, and an upside down umbrella that collects a surprising amount of cash for the Make A Wish foundation. It's an unassuming neighborhood dive, with a nice mix of ages, and enough ramshackle personality that you can easily feel as if it were on the side of a small lake in the mountains.

2430 Southeast Division Street Portland, OR 97202 - (503) 231-3880

Reviews: barfly

#2011 - Dockside Saloon, Portland, OR - 1/19/2013

The Dockside  is a blue collar restaurant across the street from an industrial area on the banks of the Willamette River. It's been around sine 1986 but there's been a restaurant in the building for 90 years or so. It's more of a diner than a bar (it closed at 3pm on Saturdays), but the woody interior, hodge-podge of wall decorations, and the friendly staff make it a pleasant place to grab an early cocktail.

The Dockside's brush with fame came courtesy of Tonya Harding, when they inspected several bags of trash someone had thrown in their dumpster and found various bits of evidence connecting to the clubbing of Nancy Kerrigan (including Nancy's practice schedule in Tonya's handwriting).

2047 Northwest Front Avenue Portland, OR 97209 - (503) 241-6433
Est. Sep 15, 1986 - Building constructed: c.1925
Previous bars in this location: Doc's Sternwheeler, What's Up Doc?
Web site: docksidesaloon.com - facebook
Reviews: barfly - portlandmercury - yelp

#2010 #S1106 - Joule, Seattle - 1/16/2013

Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi started the Korean fusion restaurant Joule in 2007, and in 2012 moved it to this new location across from The Whale Wins in the Fremont Collective building. There is a new emphasis on steaks, and as they demonstrated with Quoin/Revel, they can deliver some really good cocktails with their excellent food. My Pork belly ham, salted shrimp and chili oil was quite tasty, and every dish coming past looked great. For cocktails, I had a very good and interesting "Jalisco Campire" (tequila, Lapsang Souchong, agave, Thai chile, and lime) and a fairly good "35 Stone Buck" (bourbon, Asian pear, honey, cinnamon, Rachel's Ginger Beer, bitters). Perhaps this last one was an idiosyncratic reaction, as I am not particularly fond of Rachel's Ginger Beer in cocktails, and this seems to put me in a tiny minority.

3506 Stone Way N Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 632-5685
Est. 2012 (2007 in previous location) - Building constructed: 1964
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: joulerestaurant.com - facebook
Best Reviews: seattlemet - seattletimes - thestranger - seattleweekly - yelp