#2292 - Wig Wam Tavern, Portland, Scappoose, OR - 9/15/2013

Wig Wam Tavern, Scappoose, OR

If you're driving from Seattle to Portland or vice versa, and you have a little extra time, one of the ways to make your route more pleasant is to take Highway 30 up along the eastern side of the Columbia, rather than soul-less I5 on the other side. What makes it more pleasant is not spectacular scenery, but rolling through small towns like Scappoose, and by small businesses like the Wig Wag Tavern.

In Scappoose you will also pass the World Peace Candle, which looks like an old silo with an electric flame on top -- which is exactly what it is -- but which was once listed by the Guinness book as the world's largest candle. The structure was once coated with actual wax, with a real wick, and lit by the governor of Oregon with a 60-foot long match.

The Wig Wam Tavern is a comfortable, old dive, with Coors and Budweiser on tap, free pool, bar food ("best gizzards in Columbia County"), and native American items that appear to be collected over many years. On some nights the Wig Wam has karaoke or live music, but on this rainy afternoon we just chatted with pleasant bartender Heather. The place appears to be fairly old, a business here during prohibition, was the Wig Wam back in day, later run as "Duffy's" and under a couple other names before becoming the Wig Wam again.

52499 Columbia River Hwy, Scappoose, OR 97056 - (503) 543-8362
Web site: facebook
Reviews: yelp - urbanspoon

#2291 - Interurban, Portland, OR - 9/14/2013

Interurban is a manly place, with bearded staff serving classic pre-prohibition cocktails from a woody, old western saloon sort of setting, with animal heads on the walls along with pictures of trains and steel bridges. Or at least, its about as manly as you could be while nibbling on polenta croquettes and whiskey chicken liver mousse. It is still Portland, after all.

The drinks are well-made, and the two story space is particularly pleasant in warm weather when the patio out back is appealing option.  But at any time it seems like a nigh ideal place to sit back and sip some old whiskey-based cocktail.

4057 N Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR 97227 - (503) 284-6669
Est. Nov 18, 2011
Web site: interurbanpdx.com - facebook
Reviews: seriouseats - oregonlive - eater - foodlandiapdx - yelp - urbanspoon - barfly - thedrinknation

#2290 - Crow Bar, Portland, OR - 9/14/2013

I like this place, and I get the sense that if I had been here with the crowd on a Friday or Saturday night, I would probably like it even more.

"Yes, there is a fine Jazz series at the Blue Monk on Sunday nights and it’s possible to go to both, but for your own musical pleasure and discovery do not miss the little funky rag-tag club basement with black couches and benches in the Crow Bar. In order to get a drink, you have to go upstairs where music (distinctly not Indie-Jazz or any other kind of Jazz) is blasting out over the speakers (and sometimes down the stairs to the club basement." (oregonmusicnews)

"The oldest bar on the street, The Crow is as divey as a bar can get on Mississippi Ave. " (facebook)

3954 N Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR 97227 - (503) 280-7099
Est. Dec 31, 2002
Web site: crowbarpdx.com - facebook
Reviews: oregonmusicnews - yelp - insiderpages - portlandmercury - barflymag

#2289 - UCHU Sushi and Fried Chicken, Portland, OR - 9/14/2013

The food looked good here although I did not eat. The cocktails are not long on subtlety or fine balance, but do contain may interesting and different ingredients. The vibe feels like an open air fish market.

3940 N Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR 97227 - (503) 281-8248
Est. 2011
Web site: uchusushi.com - facebook
Reviews: oregonlive - thrillist - wweek - yelp - tripadvisor - portlandmercury

#2288 - Sidecar 11, Portland, OR - 9/14/2013

Sidecar 11 is an intimate location for fine cocktails, emphasizing whiskey and prohibition era drinks. It is a particularly good place to have an excellent craft cocktail or two in an atmosphere as relaxing as an old bookstore coffee shop.

3955 N Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR 97227 - (503) 208-3798
Est. March 2011
Web site: facebook - blog
Articles ranked: portlandmonthlymag - 360drinks - thebeerchaser - talkeatdrinkportland - thrillist - wweek - yelp - pdxbliss - portlandfood

#2287 - Pizza Schmizza Pub and Grub, Portland, OR - 9/13/2013

415 SW Montgomery St, Portland, OR 97201 - (503) 473-8119
Web site: schmizza.com - facebook
Reviews: barflymag - yelp

#2286 - East End, Portland, OR - 9/13/2013

This was a pretty swell punk and alternative music venue with three rooms on two levels, most recently owned by local punk musician and bartender Tony Mengis (The Riffs, Soda Pop Kids, Defiance). The drinks and food were acceptable, the crowd was hipster, and the bands were much more interesting than average. However, East End closed on Aug 8, 2014 after fire hit the historic Osborn Hotel, and Mengis eventually gave up on re-opening and decided to move to Amsterdam.

203 SE Grand Ave, Portland, OR 97214 - (503) 232-0056
Web site: eastendportland.com - facebook
Reviews: portlandmercury - portlandmercury - barflymag - yelp