Tryst

By Matthew Korfhage

The former Berbati's bar on the Old Town Ankeny Alley has turned into Tryst, co-owned and run by a former manager of the bar next door. The old Berbati's Pan sign remains, hung on the wall inside, but everything else in the once-ramshackle pool hall has gotten hefty upgrades, from patterned tile floors to pressed copper wainscoting to plush black booths and electric-blue paint on the walls. The if-'60s-were-'90s lounge aesthetic recalls, more than anything, the films of Hong Kong director Wong Kar-Wai—also the namesake of a refreshing low-cost $7.50 rum-lychee-lemon cocktail. The food is equally Asian-inflected, including a deliciously buttery $11 hoisin-Sichuan burger ($7 at happy hour) that comes with furikake-spiced fries.

Happy hour: 4-7 pm daily. $1 off wells, wine, and non-tallboy beer. Food specials.

19 SW 2nd Ave., 503-477-8637, bartryst.com. 4 pm-2 am Wednesday-Sunday.

Willamette Week

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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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