Neighborhood:
Hawthorne If Southeast has a main street, Hawthorne is it. The busy boulevard is divided evenly between three neighborhoods, each with its own standout bars, restaurants and shops. (read more) The first, from the riverfront to Southeast 20th Avenue, is home to Multnomah County’s offices; the Barley Mill Pub (1629 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 231-1492), the first of the McMenamin brothers’ brewpub empire; CineMagic Theatre (2021 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 231-7919), a one-screen independent movie house; and two extraordinary restaurants, Mediterranean stalwart Castagna (1752 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 231-7373) and nouveau-French newbie Sel Gris (1852 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 517-7770). The most familiar section of the street is the retail-heavy and condo-spawning stretch between Southeast 25th and 39th avenues, where neo-hippies share the streets with neo-yuppies. Here you’ll find the beery Bagdad Theater (3702 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 236-9234); the kid sister of Powell’s Books, Powell’s on Hawthorne (3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 235-3802); the Portland Hawthorne Hostel (3031 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 236-3380) and cute crêperie Chez Machin (3553 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 736-9381). Past 39th, the street grows wider and quieter. Stop by ultra-serious pizzeria Apizza Scholls (4741 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 233-1286), then head on to a cluster of excellent bars: sexy Sapphire Hotel (5008 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 232-6333), cavernous Mount Tabor Legacy (4811 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 232-0450) and Sputnik-era time capsule The Space Room (4800 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 235-6957). —Ben Waterhouse.
