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Let There Be Lights

By Casey Jarman

When I lived in the Brooklyn neighborhood, the bar now known as Hound Dog's Bar & Grill (4463 SE Milwaukie Ave., 232-3547) was a regulars-only dive where dreams went to die. Terry's Inn had little to offer but microwave burritos and personality, and left much to be desired as a neighborhood hangout. But Hound Dog's has potential. If anything, the overhauled cozy corner bar has too much going on: lottery machines, flat-screen TVs, Internet jukebox, smoking patio, excellent specials (including all-day drink deals that rotate every two hours, ending with "$4 bombs") and a good-looking indoor grill. It's not perfect—the decor is a little generic and overlit; the sweet Revenge From Mars pinball machine is too challenging—but Hound Dog's is friendly and cheap. Most of all, it's a neighborhood bar for folks who sorely needed one.

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.