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Saturday, April 05, 2008

Portland's Best Pubs

So, realizing that my noon-3pm slot would no longer be occupied by the Cheers to Belgian Beers event (which, contrary to reports, starts at three along with the UCLA-Memphis game), I went grocery shopping. Saturday afternoon's a bad time to go grocery shopping, so I had a chance to study Portland Monthly's Best Bars article. Of 50 places, they devoted a total of four to pubs specializing in beer: Horse Brass (no-brainer), Higgins, Green Dragon, and the Henry. In a town famous for beer, it's instructive that the self-appointed city mag devotes only 8% of its top fifty to suds.

So let's use those as a base and expand it a bit. What's your fave pub? I'll leave this up for a few days and post my list of best alehouse/taprooms in town next week.

7 comments:

  1. Off Topic - nice publicity in the Sunday Oregonian Business Section today!

    Jason

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  2. I've been spending more and more time at the Green Dragon. It's beer-nerd paradise, friendly, and with good food.

    But I have to say that the Hawthorne Lucky Lab is my favorite pub. Good dartboard setup, open for lunch, cheap peanuts, dogs allowed, not bad for kids, cask engine. It's a comfortable place whether you're all alone or with a dozen people. It's everything a Portland pub should be.

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  3. I've posted most of my opinions on the matter here, but I voted for HB and the Green Dragon.

    In response to the poster above, my complaint with the Lucky Lab is that most of their beers are mediocre and their food can only dream of being that good. Also, as someone who isn't a big fan of screaming children or barking dogs (though quiet versions of either are appreciated, if they exist), I don't consider their addition to my beer-drinking environment as a positive.

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  4. I also didn't include brewpubs, which is a whole different ballgame. Lucky Lab is one of my faves, but the beer can be spotty, and they don't really have a kitchen. On the other hand, drinking a pint on the back porch when it's 80 degrees and sunny is about as close to heaven as you can get on this earth.

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  5. Just checked your list, Nate. Have you been to Bailey's?

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  6. I haven't. And I don't even have a good excuse. Dave (also from BS) had a birthday there a while ago, but I was at a Blazer game and they'd all wimped out and gone home by the time the game was over (plus it went into OT). I really need to make it over there for a beer or five after work, but I work just a handful of blocks from Green Dragon so they tend to get most of my after-work patronage. Soon though. I will redouble my efforts.

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  7. OK, now I clicked the poll for Green Dragon. But I have to ask, will they get kicked off the list in the future when they brew their own :-)?

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