Scandals Is Home to a Rainbow of Red Bulls

If you’re looking to meet someone IRL for a late-night, last-ditch Friday-night hookup, this is the dive bar to find.

(Emily Joan Greene)

1125 SW Stark St., 503-227-5887, scandalspdx.com. Noon-2:30 am daily. Happy hour 4-8 pm daily: $3 wells, $1.50 PBR.

Established: 1979

Scandals, one of the oldest gay bars in town at almost 40 years old, is a bit like a nostalgia-laden trip to the forgotten gay bars of the '90s. Overwhelmingly male with its fair share of hungry lone wolves, the last holdout of Southeast Stark Street's pink triangle can be your pregame spot and your stumbly, smoky 2 am patio haunt. It's your appetizer and your dessert, but not necessarily your entree. However, if you're looking to meet someone IRL for a late-night, last-ditch Friday-night hookup, this is the dive bar to find.

(facebook)

The cocktail list is not impressive, with vodka soda by far the most popular drink on the menu. But Scandals knows its client base well, and attempts some new spins on the classics. For instance, there are six types of Red Bulls to pair with a graciously heavy pouring of Grey Goose. And occasionally, Scandals does surprise. Recently, a dutiful local artist turned an entire wall of Scandals into a bountiful art gallery covered with paintings of half-naked dudes.

Bar story: Last September, Scandals became the muse for national controversy when patrons strung along the street-facing smoking patio were accosted with homophobic epithets shouted from a Portland Taxi Cab Company driver. In response, Uber severed ties with Portland Taxi.

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