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Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, past the Rose Quarter’s spires and domes, is the only street on Portland’s inner east side where the button-cute bungalow aesthetic gets the finger. (read more) No, MLK is West Coast urban, with broad, L.A.-style lanes and a mishmash of greasy food, from the multiple Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits to the ribs of Russell Street Barbecue (325 NE Russell St., 528-8224, russellstreetbbq.com) and Yam Yam’s (7339 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 978-9229), from the neon-relished dogs of Wayne’s Chicago Red Hots (3901 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 493-4537, wayneschicagoredhots.com) to Danny Glover’s reputed favorite finger food, Queen of Sheba Ethiopian (2413 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 287-6302, queenofsheba.biz). Still, look beyond the comfort food and the car-parts stores and vacant storefronts to MLK’s deeper strangeness: The Leotard (2432 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 284-9244, theleotard.com), an astonishingly complete one-stop for tutus and pointes; Dunes (1905 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 493-8637, myspace.com/dunesportland), an insider’s retro-clash punk/dance venue that still inexplicably operates under the signage for a long-defunct hair salon; and an odd survivalist-culty warehouse fitness space, more Gitmo than Gold’s Gym, marked menacingly on posterboard as CrossFit Human Evolution Labs (4830 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 522-0233, crossfithel.com). —Matt Korfhage

• Billy Ray's Neighborhood Dive Live Music
• Venue CLOSED Live Music
• Bogart's CLOSED Live Music
• Dunes Live Music
• Secret Society Lounge Live Music
• Matt Dishman Community Center & Pool Live Music
• Guestroom Visual Arts

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