LOCATION PROFILE

Someday Lounge

(503) 248-1030

125 NW 5th Ave.

Neighborhood: Old Town/Chinatown

From the Abercrombie-clad youth who crowd Barracuda ((read more),Portland,OR">9 NW 2nd Ave., 228-6900) and the hipsters hiding out at Tube (18 NW 3rd Ave., 241-8823) to the punks at thrash-dive Satyricon (125 NW 6th Ave.), Old Town-Chinatown—a onetime center of immigrant culture—is now more a melting pot of twentysomething white-kid cliques. Stumble down Burnside from the classic arcade game-equipped bar Ground Kontrol (511 NW Couch St., 796-9364) to tasty, funky 24-hour Voodoo Doughnut (22 SW 3rd Ave., 241-4704), and you’ll probably cross paths with stylish queer clubbers on their way to gay nightspot CC Slaughters (219 NW Davis St., 248-9135) or Darcelle XV (208 NW 3rd Ave., 222-5338), a drag-queen cabaret in operation since 1967 that actually serves a fairly even hetero-homo mix—which would be surprising if it weren’t in Portland. But nightlife is only part of this eclectic neighborhood. Thanks to a grant from the Portland Development Commission, local nonprofit juggernaut Mercy Corps (3015 SW 1st Ave., 796-6800) is moving into the Skidmore Fountain Building (28 SW 1st Ave.), right next door to Portland Saturday Market (Southwest 1st Avenue and Burnside Street, 222-6072), a weekend meeting place for curious, hungry tourists, local artists, cart foodies and street kids. Chinatown is also home to the run-down and the sketched-out. Operations like Portland Rescue Mission, Blanchet House and Transition Projects have long made the ’hood a haven for Portland’s homeless. But where are the Chinese, you ask? Despite the gaudy, pagoda-style gateway to Northwest 4th Avenue from West Burnside Street, the only remnants of the Chinese Americans who migrated to Portland when they were expelled from Seattle and Tacoma beginning in 1864 are the two dozen or so Chinese restaurants. Try the roast crispy pork at Good Taste Restaurant (18 NW 4th Ave., 223-3838) and visit the Classical Chinese Garden (239 NW Everett St., 228-8131), a welcome but hidden green space in this otherwise paved-over neighborhood. —John Minervini.

Also in Old Town/Chinatown neighborhood:

Embers Stage
Wilf's Restaurant and Bar Stage
Goldsmith Performance Lab Stage
Oregon Casket Building Stage
Tube Live Music
XV Live Music
Someday Lounge Live Music
Pi-rem Live Music
East Chinatown Lounge Live Music
Compound Gallery Visual Arts
Fifty24PDX Visual Arts

Featured in Drink 2008

Someday Lounge looks, at first glance, like the westside version of the Doug Fir. But that’s only skin deep. This swank multi-level nightspot has a soft spot for experimental music, noise and performance art, which, coupled with a vegan menu and large selection of bottled and imported beers, gives it some exotic appeal. The upstairs loft area is outfitted with leather couches and an observation deck for watching the night’s performers from a safe distance, while downstairs usually buzzes with a mix of socialites and outsiders. Someday manages to both support a breadth of eclectic music (Thursday nights, for example, are home to some of Portland’s best hip-hop DJs) and maintain a fancy bar—a good call for those who like their downtown adventures to be well-decorated.
Perfect Patron: Art-school dropouts and overworked graphic designers looking for some ear candy. (CJ)
HAPPY HOUR 4-8 PM NIGHTLY.
SMOKE-FREE, LIVE MUSIC, DJS, ARTY STUFF.

Casey Jarman

Events Today

Upcoming Events

Wednesday December 3

WORDS

Orlo 15th Anniversary Party

Dec. 3 is not just the legendary Andy Williams' birthday, it's also the 15th anniversary of Orlo, a nonprofit organization that uses the creative arts to explore environmental issues. Over the past 15 years, the group’s street-level approach has helped thousands of artists present their work. Countless more have been exposed to Orlo's ideas through publications, exhibitions and community events. Affordable booze will be plentiful; Blackwater Collective, a folk-blues group, will debut its new album; and plans for Orlo's next steps in 2009 will be made over country tunes and cupcakes. MICHAEL KIMBER. Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th Ave., 248-1030. 6:30 pm Wednesday, Dec. 3. $5, free for Orlo members. 21+.

Thursday December 4

LIVE MUSIC