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There are two types of Alberta Street bars: sticky-floored dives and whatever's around the corner from your house. For all its gentrified, au courant hipness, the area still lacks an anchoring nightspot—a Dig a Pony or a Beulahland, say—that serves as a social nexus for the entire neighborhood. It is a street full of perfectly acceptable bars, of which The Knock Back (2315 NE Alberta St., 284-4090, theknockback.com) is the latest addition. Located in the former Del Inti space, in the center of Last Thursday territory, it is literally middle of the road, with a comfortable, burgundy-hued atmosphere, a small stage for weekly live music, two patios—one covered, the other with a fire pit—and a requisite pair of taxidermied animal heads affixed to a wall. Neither a Pabst-stained clubhouse nor a hoity-toity mixology lab, the drink menu features rotating craft brews and house punch, a solid Old Fashioned ($7) and a couple of outliers, including the Soju Mule (basically a vodka soda augmented with the titular Korean liquor) and hot buttered rum infused with squash. If you live next door, you'll probably be there a lot. Otherwise, you'll visit once, think it nice and not return until taking cover from the stilt walkers or unicycle jousters in the summer.
WWeek 2015