Charlie Horse Saloon

Shitkicker chic was already a familiar bar motif by the time the owners of See See Motor Coffee decided to cowboy up the former Sway Bar with batwing doors, bone-in light fixtures, mounted taxidermy, and an outsized U.S. flag looming above the bar. But none of the other imagineered saloons could quite separate the country from the urbane. For all the bronco-busting portraiture on display, Charlie Horse feels as far from the honky-tonk circuit as Dig a Pony. Any line dancing happens strictly behind closed doors. Early experiments with Vietnamese pub grub have given way to trad diner fare, and the menu drinks make most sense as an argument against cocktails altogether: Belle Femme and Pink Cadillac reinvent the frathouse ginhound and margarita at $9 apiece, and the Irish/Polish/Mexican Hooker shots are a $5 ounce of relevant foreign hooch plus pickleback. But a man's gotta drink what a man's gotta drink, and when seated beneath the doleful gaze of a stuffed antelope, whiskey somehow feels more appropriate.

Happy hour: 4-7 pm daily. "$1 off every damn thing."

Entertainment: Pool table, video games, photo booth.

627 SE Morrison St., 503-384-2554. 4 pm-2 am daily.

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