Bin 21: Tipple the Iceberg

BIN 21
By RUTH BROWN

If the first round of Alberta Street gentrification brought families with biodynamic veggie patches and a penchant for naked fire-twirling, the second will bring whoever is intended to live inside the concrete bunker being built at the intersection with 21st Avenue. The corner is already home to bourgie Indian joint Bollywood Theater and tourist magnet Salt & Straw. Hidden out back is Bin 21 (5011 NE 21st Ave., 336-5266, bin21pdx.com), an airy wine bar full of elegant long-legged ladies sipping rosé and nibbling bruschetta. Easy-drinking pours hover around $6 to $9. The menu was, on my visit, skewed toward local regions and Spain, with three wines and three beers on tap. Sip your white peach sangria on the patio and marvel at the roller-derby store and punk bar across the road, which will soon be hilariously called "Old Alberta."

WWeek 2015

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.