INTERURBAN - IMAGE: vivianjohnson.com
A less brazen publican might have taken an opening-weekend fire as a sign to throw in the towel, but the men behind Interurban (4057 N Mississippi Ave., interurbanpdx.com) are
no shrinking violets. When an electrical fire scorched the kitchen of
the gastropub the morning after its debut, they went ahead and
soft-opened anyway. Now that everything’s ship-shape, it’s time to pass
judgment: Interurban feels as though someone opened a Portland-themed
bar in Los Angeles, what with the bare wood, animal heads and bridge
silhouettes on the walls, rotisserie meats and fried starches on the
menu, Abyss on tap and negronis by the bottle. Good times are mandatory
for everyone in the building, including the servers, who have been known
to sing along to deafeningly loud roller-rink oldies and even dance the
twist behind the bar.
