Civic Taproom & Bottle Shop: Bar Review

Teaming craft beer with fancy french fries makes a lot of sense. So far, the smartest move made by the owners of the young Civic Taproom & Bottle Shop (621 SW 19th Ave., thecivictaproom.com) is entrusting their kitchen to the neighboring Boise Fry Company, an Idaho-based chainlette that serves a bewildering assortment of fries and dips. Tater-wise, alone, you have russet, purple, gold, sweet, Okinawa or yam (deep breath) shaped into shoestring, regular, homestyle or curly fries, or into balls. The comparatively spartan Civic should take a cue from its neighbor. The space itself is fine, with concrete floors, big windows, a case of bottles and a few flat-screen TVs showing sports. The beer list, though, could stand to be a little more adventurous. Among the 12 sudsy taps (wine and cider get another 10), there's Rainier, Alameda Black Bear Stout, Worthy Lights Out Stout and HUB lager, all of which are fine beers, but also available in bottles or cans at Fred Meyer in Tualatin. Civic has space to thrive: Service is pleasant, this stretch of West Burnside Street is otherwise hurting for beery bars, and the closing of the Matador and Blitz 21 leaves Timbers fans with few options for pregaming. Even with a second-string tap lineup, I'd take Civic in a matchup with its nearby rivals thanks to that assist from Boise.

WWeek 2015