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Video games and alcohol go together. That isn't an opinion, just a statement of fact. But often the combination results in sitting alone in front of a TV screen, a bottle by your side. This is why beercades like Ground Kontrol exist: to combine video games and alcohol in a way that won't make you feel like a late-stage alcoholic. The old arcade standbys like Street Fighter, The House of the Dead and X-Men are all here, along with an impressive collection of pinball machines. Ground Kontrol feels like a throwback to those Saturday afternoons spent in a packed, sweaty Wunderland in your youth. (The pinball machine with The Shadow theme, that largely forgotten 1994 Alec Baldwin superhero movie, only enhances this feeling.) But now you're not a minor anymore. The games are the same, but you're older, wiser and probably drunker. Just remember to get quarters before opening your tab, as the server will hold the card behind the bar.
Happy hour: 5-7 pm daily.
Entertainment: Video games, duh. Also pinball.
511 NW Couch St., 503-796-9364, groundkontrol.com. Noon-late daily; 21+ after 5 pm.
Willamette Week
