Skip to main contentAs its name implies, Jinx (232 NW 12th Ave., 224-0173) seems destined to fail. What was marketed as a martini-and-Tater-Tot bar turned out to be a boring, uppity Pearl District den—without a single Tot in sight. "Oh, we just changed the menu...I don't know why," the waitress said when asked for potatoes. The food we did order was on the bland side. The drinks were tasty, but pricey. If you are willing to spend nine bucks on a tiny cocktail, go with the habanero-infused vodka, which kicks the pants off of even the biggest hot-sauce lover. The highlight of our night was the music: DJ Yaz sat up in an elevated booth in a corner and spun Biggie all night. Unfortunately, there was no room to dance, so the beats wound up seeming a little pointless. All in all, Jinx seems like a concept that could work in a space 10 times its size...in L.A. But just down the street from Powell's in PDX? We won't say it will fail—Aura does just fine and it's even closer to the book mecca. We wouldn't want to, you know, jinx it.
WWeek 2015