Bar Guide 2014: Chopsticks II

By Matthew Korfhage

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Chopsticks II

2651 E Burnside St., 234-6171, chopstickskaraoke.com. 2 pm-2:30 am Monday-Friday, 5 pm-2:30 am Saturday-Sunday.

Chopsticks II, the sequel to a karaoke bar that no longer exists, is a 19-year institution of terrible Chinese food, stiff drinks and singers of unpredictable talent and predictable slushiness, from punkers belting Belinda Carlisle to Greshamites wavering their way through a sincerely ruinous rendition of Adele. And then there's the broom-bearded old man—missing a few teeth and a little bit of facial control—who sings a heartbreaking version of Louie Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World." He might as well be proclaiming, sweetly, that Jesus' blood never failed him. He's there almost every week. Still, Chopsticks' true stalwart is owner David Chow, whose disembodied face smiles from the bar's T-shirts and on a cardboard cutout by the karaoke decks. "How can be?" he wonders. "How can be?" MATTHEW KORFHAGE.

Happy Hour: Karaoke.   

WWeek 2015

Matthew Korfhage

Matthew Korfhage

Matthew Korfhage has lived in St. Louis, Chicago, Munich and Bordeaux, but comes from Portland, where he makes guides to the city and writes about food, booze and books. He likes the Oxford comma but can't use it in the newspaper.

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