Neighborhood:
Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard Portland’s African-American Main Street now boasts gleaming shopping centers like Vanport Square (5225 NE Martin Luther King Jr. (read more) Blvd.) and the Nike Factory Store (2650 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 281-5901), but this remains a tradition-centered community—the only part of the city where you’ll encounter more storefront churches than espresso bars, and where the majority of restaurants are closed Sundays. One seven-day institution is the Eliot e-Mat Cafe (2808 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Suite B, 280-8889), which epitomizes current entrepreneurial trends by combining a coffee shop with a laundromat (free wi-fi; soap for a fee). Elsewhere in the BePop district (so called because it’s between two Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits restaurants), the Wonder Ballroom (128 NE Russell St., 284-8686) plays host to indie rock and poetry readings, while Izogie’s Fine Dining (1301 NE Dekum St., 289-8195) brags of a catfish recipe beloved by Bill Clinton. But the best place to taste MLK’s cultural blend is Wednesday and Thursday karaoke nights at Kiknbaque Lounge (3536 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 282-1833), where the melting pot bursts into song. —Aaron Mesh.
Featured in Drink 2008
Dunes started about four years back as a top-secret home for late-night dance parties and noise metal—you kinda had to know somebody. And while the dim-lit bar and venue still keeps a low profile (quietly nestled, as it is, between the ultra-extreme Straight Blast Gym and like 500 Starbucks), it has evolved into something vaguely resembling a normal club. There’s a mini-stage, cushy booths, good whiskey, loud bands and 80 percent less coke nose since the place opened (it’s nonsmoking, for chrissakes!). Dunes is still closed when there’s not a show, so check the calendar before you head on down. (CJ)
Perfect Patron: End-of-the-bar drinkers looking to finish off their hearing and Brooklyn expats looking for a Northeast Portland bar to call home.
LIVE MUSIC, SMOKE FREE.
Casey Jarman
