Bar Guide 2014: Pix Patisserie/Bar Vivant

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2225 E Burnside St., 971-271-7166, pixpatisserie.myshopify.com/. 2 pm-2 am Friday-Saturday, 2 pm-midnight Sunday-Thursday

When Portland's macaron doyenne Cheryl Wakerhauser installed Bar Vivant during a 2012 consolidation of Pix Patisserie on a dry stretch of lowish East Burnside, the ensuing Spanish tapas/French pastry border wars only further drew attention from a spacious lounge area hidden toward the rear of the whimsically renovated former daycare. While a bigger room for more small plates necessarily surrendered Pix' past-date-night atmospherics, the benign neglect and sheer space of the bar encourages a considerably more diverse clientele: proto-bros bending an elbow on the circular bar's seamier side (beer, sans ice-cream-float pairing), golden girls drinking their way through the wine cellar, a steady stream of confectionery shoppers. All are equally at home, though some may have wished the Foreigner medley at slightly lower volume. 

Happy hour: 2-4 pm and midnight-2 am daily. Wine discounts, oyster special, $1 off cocktails, free tapas with each drink.
Entertainment: Pétanque court. Patio.

WWeek 2015

Jay Horton

Jay Horton is a longtime correspondent and jack-of-all-arts-coverage: music, film, theater, food, television, books, dance and college football special teams, to taste. Follow him on Twitter @Hortland.

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