Talk Of The Towne

By Casey Jarman

It took me about three years to find a "favorite bar" in Portland. But when I first entered dimly lit ex-funeral home the Towne Lounge, I knew I was home. The six months the Towne Lounge was out of my life were agonizing, so imagine my delight at hearing the space had reopened last month as the Ella Street Social Club (714 SW 20th Place, 241-8696). What's more, the remodeled space has new toys: an incredible jukebox stacked with Guided by Voices and old soul, a pool table and a well-kept "Tales of the Arabian Nights" pinball machine. Am I saying the unthinkable? That my favorite bar just got better? Well, the Ella Street is starting out slow on the live-music front and it doesn't yet feature an exhaustive collection of canned beer from around the world, so I'm not quite ready to make the call. But one could theoretically play Paul Simon's Graceland back to back with the Replacements' Hootenanny, get loaded and drop a high score on a sweet-ass pinball machine for under $20. Can I just move in?

WWeek 2015

Casey Jarman

Casey Jarman

Casey Jarman is a freelance editor and writer based in East Portland, Oregon. He has served as Music Editor at Willamette Week and Managing Editor at The Believer magazine, where he remains a contributing editor. He is currently working on his first book. It's about death.

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