Food Reviews & Stories For the past year, I have been privileged to live within stumbling distance of the best bar in Portland. I have used the Spare Room for first dates, ostensible business meetings, actual business meetings, afterparties, sports viewing and smoke breaks with a former mayoral candidate. (She lost. Nice    More

Food Reviews & Stories Bartender’s choice: “My hangover cure? You mean mine? Probably a beer. Just one, though—otherwise you’ll be bingeing and that’s bad.”The Spare Room is the perfect post-breakup hangout. It’s dark (typical wood paneling dotted by random posters), fairly isolat   More

Food Reviews & Stories This longtime Northeast Portland dive is the black hole of hip. And I mean that in the best way possible. Where else can you stretch out in a U-shaped booth the size of a small New England state with a cheap rum and Coke and listen to a trio of fat men cover the Band’s “The Weight”   More