Boozin' With Bruce

By KAT MERCK

Summer patio drinking at dog-friendly establishments is one of the much-heralded joys of Portland, but like seemingly everything great about Puddletown, what happens the
other
nine months out of the year? With Bruce,
WW’
s unofficial mascot and office corgi, in tow, we braved the elements to bring you this by no means comprehensive roundup of year-round dog-friendly bars.
Lucky Lab Brew Pub
915 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 236-3555, luckylab.com.
This is it—the O.G. of dog-friendly pubs and the one place you’re guaranteed to escape even the slightest hint of stink eye (and trust me, despite what
The New York Times
thinks, there’s stink eye to be had) from the general public. During the winter, one half of the Lab’s high-ceilinged, enclosed concrete patio is heated and cordoned off with what looks like a giant industrial shower curtain. Perfectly tolerable, so long as it’s not pouring rain and dogs aren’t actively urinating on the floor, the smell of which can become trapped and amplified by the heat and curtain.
People bonus:
Spigot and accompanying bucket for accidents, both canine- and beer-related; cheap pretzels.
Bruce bonus:
Water bowls, sparrows, french fry-dispensing strangers who take kindly to beggars.
Amnesia Brewing
832 N Beech St., 281-7708.
In the winter, Amnesia’s sprawling sea of picnic tables is winnowed to three rows tucked inside a cozy blue-and-white vinyl tent. Visitors accustomed to Amnesia’s friendly, back-porch neighborhood barbecue vibe may feel a sense of banishment, especially at night (the tent does call to mind a sort of purgatory for people with bad habits—e.g., smoking, bringing your pet to places of business), but the enclosure does feature a preternaturally warm heating system, the most efficient of the bars we visited. Be forewarned, however, that the bar menu is largely limited to bratwurst, which you will be enjoying in an enclosed space filled with dogs.
People bonus:
Growlers to go.
Bruce bonus:
Endlessly fascinating pieces of old food and gum stuck to the concrete.
New Old Lompoc
Hedge House
3412 SE Division St., 235-2215,
newoldlompoc.com.
“Kids and dogs are welcome,” states Hedge House’s website. Emphasis, it turns out, on the kids. The normally spacious patio, conveniently located next to Pix Pâtisserie, is in January reduced to a small, plastic-wrapped cube at the rear of the property, more often than not filled with no-dog families trying to eat dinner. Canine visitors will do just fine here if they’re able to contain their enthusiasm over the presence of children. (Bruce is not, so we found ourselves quickly moving on.)
People bonus:
Extensive food menu.
Bruce bonus:
KIDS! KIDS! KIDS!
Landmark Saloon
4847 SE Division St., 894-8132,
thelandmarksaloon.com.
Landmark’s patio is clearly at its zenith in summer, but two concessionary-looking storage canopies (the kind Cabela’s carries to house boats) and four heaters are enough to keep it in winter service. The heaters were out of propane the night we visited, but after a couple pints of Ninkasi Sleigh’r, this wasn’t much of an issue. What was an issue, however, was the expansive, impossible-to-avoid mud pit under the tables, courtesy of La Niña. Maybe next year.
People bonus:
$1 off draft beers during Blazers games.
Bruce bonus:
Mud for digging.

WWeek 2015

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