BAR PILOT - April 2009

What’s My Weekend?

All is not lost if the Blazers don’t go the distance

Posted by: John Chandler on Apr 30, 2009 at 09:00AM 2 Comments

Bill Plympton’s Idiots and Angels

Courtesy Bill Plympton

I don’t know about you, but my nerves are shot, my back is killing me, and I need about 10 uninterrupted hours of sleep accompanied by my recurring dream in which I lead my old high school football team to the Super Bowl. Yes, you heard me—the Super Bowl.

Speaking of sporting events and dreams, if the Trail Blazers find a way to drop the Rockets tonight, my weekend plans will revolve around Game 7 of the NBA playoffs. Friday night I’ll still be celebrating the Game 6 victory, and Saturday afternoon will be dedicated to laying in the necessary supplies for the evening’s game. If Safeway is out of malt liquor, pork rinds, and bean dip on Sunday, that will be my handiwork.

If for some reason (Cough! In–the–tank refs working on behalf of the “Big Market” team. Cough!) B-Roy and company are denied a Game 7. There’s still plenty to do this weekend … after a respectful period of mourning, of course.

Friday: Any excuse to walk around in a bathrobe is OK by me. KUFO’s Cort and Fatboy will be hosting an 11 pm screening of The Big Lebowski at the Bagdad Theater. But the ball starts rolling at Laurelhurst Park around 9, with the Cinco de Lebowski May Day March. Show up in your most fetching robe and take a hike with your fellow Lebowski achievers over to the Bagdad for a pre-function with White Russians (the McMenamins version are referred to as “Dudes”) and live music. It doesn’t say so, but I’m betting that folks decked out as Maude Lebowski, Walter Sobchek, or Jesus Quintana will be greeted warmly. Me? I’m a nihilist.
[Laurelhurst Park, 9 pm, free admission]

Saturday: Our fearless food blogger Mike Thelin speaks highly of the Portland Indie Wine Festival, a gathering that affords you the golden opportunity to mingle with the region’s best winemakers, sample their premium vino, and snack on munchies from Wildwood, Ten 01, Country Cat and more top-flight eateries. [Portland Wine Project, 2–6, $75]

Sunday: Cinephiles in search of a fix would do well to attend each and every session of the Oregon Sesquicentennial Film Festival at Marylhurst University that runs from May 1–10. Sunday at 7, join animation sensation Bill Plymption for a screening of his latest feature, Idiots and Angels (pictured), which includes tunes by Tom Waits and Pink Martini. Say, when is that scintillating combination going to cut an album together? [Marylhurst University, Villa Maria Building, 7 pm, $30]

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Tags: Weekend Plans

Flower Power

A toast to St Germain

Posted by: John Chandler on Apr 28, 2009 at 10:00AM 4 Comments

The Caneflower

Photos by Me

There’s nothing a rank amateur mixologist such as myself enjoys more than getting schooled by a master. Seriously, it’s like finding out how the rabbit gets in the hat or how the quarter gets in my ear. And since our current issue is a big sloppy kiss to all things cocktail, I thought I may as well follow suit.

Blogger and bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler has been shaking up drinks for nearly fifteen years, and as the recently installed bar manager at Clyde Common, he’s got some creative leeway when it comes to new drinks. His most recent inspirations are the Caneflower and the East of Eden, both of which make judicious use of St Germain elderflower liqueur, a sweet and electric floral fluid made from elderflowers lovingly harvested from the slopes of the French Alps by monks living under a vow of silence in order to preserve its mystique. OK, I made up the last part, but it sure sounds enchanting. In reality, this sunny spirit has been making appearances on bar menus all over town, usually paired with a sparkling wine, such as Wilf’s St Germain Sparkler.

The intrepid Morgenthaler explains that St Germain has sort of a cult following, partly due to some good marketing, and partly because of its versatility. “Put it with soda, on the rocks, with a twist, with champagne, it works,” he says. “It’s got a unique taste, with a lot of depth and character.” For that matter, it’s excellent straight, or with a little tap water. And Jeffrey believes it’s got staying power on the local front. St Germain is simply too good a product to be relegated to fad status.

The first drink he sets in front of me is the Caneflower (not currently available at Clyde Common unless you ask Jeffrey to make you one) and it’s a delicate little thing, with the warm sweetness of the elderflower working beautifully in concert alongside a pour of cachaça, a lively distillation of Brazilian sugarcane. It’s bracing but substantial; teasingly bitter but not overly so, and with a spicy undercurrent thanks to the Aperol. “I only use a tablespoon of St Germain, because I want to pull out the citrus notes of the cachaça,” Morgenthaler says.

“So you use it as a spirit guide,” I answer, using a term I picked up from an old Native American acquaintance.

“Exactly!” he says.

The Caneflower

1 1/2 oz. Boca Loca cachaça
3/4 oz. Aperol
1/2 oz. St Germain elderflower liqueur

Stir with cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Then came the East of Eden, and baby, I’m in love. Light, fruity, frothy, and downright delightful (and anyone who knows me will vouch for the fact that “delightful” is not an adjective I throw around lightly), it’s a warm-weather winner, although I can see myself ordering it pretty much any time during the calendar year.

Thumbs up for the East of Eden!

East of Eden

1 1/2 oz. Bombay gin
1/2 oz. egg whites
3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz. Gewürtztraminer reduction
1/4 oz. St Germain elderflower

Again, shake with cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

After exchanging some more superlatives as to the brilliance of St Germain, the Alps, and elderflowers, I teeter my way back to the office, thanking Jeffrey for his expert instruction.

So what do you think, drinking buddies? Will you take St Germain for a test taste? You’d better! And if you have any drink recipe ideas for this magical elixir, by all means send ’em this way.

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Tags: Recipes, Cocktails

Clothes Minded

Nuts! I knew I should have rented a tux!

Posted by: John Chandler on Apr 20, 2009 at 02:00PM 19 Comments

I guess it’s back to the Sandy Hut…

Photos by Me

Bummer. I meant to go check out this bar in Old Town called Dirty over the weekend. It’s apparently got a trapeze! I was curious to see if the circus theme carried over to any other aspects of the business plan. Bouncer clowns? Ringmaster DJ? Waitresses bearing drinks on the backs of trained horses? Unfortunately, the sign at the door revealed one of the most draconian dress codes I’ve ever seen!

Let’s see, where to begin: I was wearing shorts. I had on tennis shoes. Worst of all, I was flying a solid-color T-shirt! Clearly this upstanding organization does not care for “my sort.” But you know, I’m used to it. As a paunchy, near-sighted Caucasian male, I’ve been battling this kind of discrimination my whole life. Too bad. I really wanted to try a slice of Dirty Pie. Yep, it’s obviously too classy a joint for the likes of me.

No word on whether the pizza uses locally sourced meat and veggies.

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Tags: Bar Culture, Downtown Bars

Smells Like Clean Spirit

After playing in smoky dives for the last 25 years, my lungs are breathing a sigh of relief.

Posted by: John Chandler on Apr 13, 2009 at 04:00PM 20 Comments

Get your butts outta here!

Just a few items from a big rock weekend.

In case you missed it, my band, Giant Bug Village, tore it up at the East End on Saturday night, along with Tigerbomb and Pure Country Gold. Three cool bands, no cover.

The East End is a really fun club and I’ll tell you why. It’s got three different rooms for hanging out. Four if you count the smokers’ tables out front, and five if you count the long, long line to the bathroom. Six if you count the photo booth! Also, the sound in the brick rathskellar is superb. Instead of the usual sonic suck-fest, I could hear every note from my bandmates which greatly improves one’s performance.

Also, the East End serves 24-ounce cans of Pabst and Tecate, which makes for an ideal stage beer while you’re playing. Instead of having to keep track of a couple pint glasses—one of which will eventually topple and spill into my amp—I have all the suds I need in one sturdy can. If you need more than a pounder-and-a-half to keep you lubricated through a 35-minute set, a few weeks of drying-out time might be in order. Unless you’re our singer Stan McMahon, in which case one beer per song is about par for the course.

But my greatest discovery of all was how much I love the smoking ban. At the end of a five-hour night my lungs were still robust and functioning perfectly. Used to be, I’d be coughing and hacking for three days after a show, a condition we referred to as “club lung.” Better still, my GF doesn’t banish me to the couch for stinking like an ashtray.

What do you think drinking buddies? Has the lack of ciggie smoke adversely affected your bar-hopping experience? Or are your lungs still thanking you for all that pure, untainted oxygen?

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Tags: Bar Culture, Southeast

Holy Cow! It’s Sleepy LaBeef!

Rockabilly legend hits Dante’s next Tuesday.

Posted by: John Chandler on Apr 07, 2009 at 02:56PM 3 Comments

The man, the monster, the music

Damn, I knew this was coming up, but I completely spaced the fact that this show is one week from tonight! Seventy-three-year-old Sleepy LaBeef, the six-foot-seven country and rockabilly singer from Smackover, Arkansas, will be at Dante’s, April 14. Not only has this big man with a booming voice been recording for more than 50 years, he knows thousands of songs, and once played a swamp monster in the 1968 horror-musical film The Exotic Ones.

In the words of Elvis biographer Peter Guralnick, “Over the years I’ve seen countless performances by Sleepy LaBeef. Whether it’s opening a big air open concert for Willie Nelson, playing an out-of-the-way New Hampshire roadhouse, headlining at a punk club or a European rockabilly festival, or making one of his regular stops along the endless road, Sleepy never fails to satisfy. Rearing back into his well-publicized knowledge of over six thousand songs, Sleepy moves easily from country to blues to rock ‘n’ roll, gospel, Cajun, or rhythm and blues: uniting them all under the all-encompassing definition rockabilly—which to Sleepy represents nothing less than freedom.”

Do not miss this man.

Take It Away Sleepy!

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Tags: music, Elvis

Flight Plan

Departure Restaurant + Lounge ready for takeoff

Posted by: John Chandler on Apr 03, 2009 at 02:00PM 4 Comments

In the mood for zuke maguro? Departure is your destination.

I really dig a bar with a concept; a place where you can see actual ideas at work. Sure, you could throw a blanket over an ironing board and call it a bar. You can even stand behind it and dispense Hamms tallboys and questionable advice from the comfort of your own basement, but it’s nothing like wandering into a joint where the average Joe and Jane are transported to some wonderful, otherworldly, elsewhere. Trust me, a whiff of atmosphere helps take some of the sting out of a spendy cocktail.

Speaking of transporting, the hallway leading to the new Departure Restaurant + Lounge on the top floor of the Nines Hotel is eerily similar to The Star Trek Experience, an infuriating attraction I got suckered into in Vegas (which cost the princely sum of $35 for admission, thankyouverymuch). The narrow passage is flanked by funky light panels, reminding us that Star Trek’s vision of the future had an adorable go-go quality to it. (Check out the miniskirts on all those foxy ensigns!)

The dark hallway soon gives way to the Jetsons’ living room, an ultra-brite lounge that strives (successfully, I might add) for an equally alluring retro-futuristic vibe. Designed by hotshot architect Jeff Kovel, Departure resembles an airport bar from the 1960s, right down to the waitresses decked out in mod flight-attendant gear. And though you’re not as high in the sky as the happy hour prowlers over at Portland City Grill, I think the views are better. Prediction: When we’re finally graced with a little warm weather, the breathtaking outdoor decks at Departure will be thick with sun-seeking citizens.

The drinks and the cuisine then proceed to yank the rug out from under anyone anticipating swinging ’60s staples like Harvey Wallbangers and fondue. Once the menus drop you find yourself at Tokyo International awaiting a flight out as Godzilla’s footsteps thunder in the distance. Sake and shochu (a brewed spirit from Japan, similar to vodka) drinks abound, with some half-dozen sake options served either alone or as cocktail ingredients.

I had a Hatori Hanzo (named for the legendary sword-maker in the Kill Bill movies), with Belvedere vodka, sake, cucumber, and a Thai pepper merrily floating on top. It’s like a vaguely tropical and piney martini, that requires the most delicate and disciplined of sipping. The A.E. Doyle combines shochu with a rinse of yamazaki (Japanese whiskey) and orange bitters—a floral and fruity rendition of a manhattan.

I didn’t have time to dine properly, but the dishes being scooted around by the stew, uh, waitresses looked suitably exotic and intriguing. Dim sum, noodles, tempura, and steamed buns were among the more recognizable passersby. We split some appetizers; the avocado rolls, pork shu mai, and a fusion BLT, consisting of a large lettuce leaf supporting a bacon-wrapped cherry tomato, were masterfully prepared, but the minimalist portions had me searching my Japanese phrasebook for “super-size it.”

An excursion to the Departure isn’t a bargain. My cocktail, memorable though it was, set me back ten bucks. But it’s a sophisticated space and constantly surprising, a fantastic spot to take friends and relations from out of town—especially if their flight’s been delayed and they’re buying.

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Tags: Bar Openings