#87 - mcmenamins pub

you can't go very far in portland without running into a mcmenamins pub. this is a good thing. the mcmenamin brothers started way back in 1983, opening the barley mill pub on hawthorne. they brew beer, have movie theaters, hotels, music, good food. the list goes on. every mcmenamins is different but all have similar qualities - art, music, comfort, cool lights, dark but not too dark, nice furniture, old buildings and family atmosphere. i live across the street from one. i've stayed at the hotels, drank their beer, ate their food, saw movies at the theaters, and sat in their soaking pool.

list of 57 pubs (ones i've been to crossed out):
1. Barley Mill Pub - 1629 S.E. Hawthorne
2. Blue Moon Tavern & Grill - 432 N.W. 21st
3. Boon's Treasury - 888 Liberty St. N.E., Salem
4. Cornelius Pass Roadhouse - 4045 N.W. Cornelius Pass Rd., Hillsboro
5. Dad Watsons - 3601 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle WA
6. East 19th Street Café - 1485 E. 19th Ave., Eugene
7. Fulton Pub & Brewery - 0618 S.W. Nebraska St.
8. Greater Trumps - 1520 S.E. 37th Ave.
9. Highland Pub & Brewery - 4225 S.E. 182nd, Gresham
10. High Street Brewery & Café - 1243 High Street, Eugene
11. Hillsdale Brewery & Public House - 1505 S.W. Sunset Blvd.
12. John Barleycorns - 14610 S.W. Sequoia Pkwy., Tigard
13. Lighthouse Brewpub - 4157 N. Highway 101, Lincoln City
14. Market Street Pub - 1526 S.W. 10th
15. McMenamins Cedar Hills - 2927 S.W. Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton
16. McMenamins Corvallis - 420 N.W. Third Street, Corvallis
17. McMenamins East Vancouver - 1900 N.E. 162nd, Ste. B107, Vancouver WA
18. McMenamins Greenway Pub - 12272 S.W. Scholls Ferry Rd, Tigard
19. McMenamins Mall 205 - 9710 S.E. Washington St.
20. McMenamins Mill Creek - 13300 Bothell-Everett Hwy., Mill Creek WA
21. McMenamins Murray & Allen - 6179 S.W. Murray Blvd., Beaverton
22. McMenamins on Broadway - 1504 N.E. Broadway
23. McMenamins on the Columbia - 1801 S.E. Columbia River Dr., Vancouver WA
24. McMenamins Oregon City - 102 Ninth St., Oregon City
25. McMenamins Pub at Hotel Oregon - 310 N.E. Evans, McMinnville
26. McMenamins Queen Anne - 200 Roy St., Seattle WA
27. McMenamins Sherwood - 15976 S.W. Tualatin-Sherwood Rd., Sherwood
28. McMenamins Sunnyside - 9757 S.E. Sunnyside Rd, Clackamas
29. McMenamins West Linn - 2090 S.W. 8th Ave., West Linn
30. North Bank - 22 Club Rd., Eugene
31. Oak Hills Brewpub - 14740 N.W. Cornell Rd.
32. Olympic Club Pub - 112 N. Tower Ave., Centralia WA
33. Power Station Pub & Theater - 2126 S.W. Halsey, Troutdale
34. Raleigh Hills Pub - 4495 S.W. Scholls Ferry Rd.
35. Ringlers Annex - 1223 S.W. Stark
36. Ringlers Pub - 1332 W. Burnside
37. Riverwood Pub - 8136 S.W. Hall Blvd., Beaverton
38. Rock Creek Tavern - 10000 N.W. Old Cornelius Pass Rd., Hillsboro
39. Roseburg Station Pub & Brewery - 700 S.E. Sheridan St., Roseburg
40. Six Arms - 300 E. Pike St., Seattle WA
41. St. Johns Theater & Pub - 8203 N. Ivanhoe
42. McMenamins Tavern & Pool - 1716 N.W. 23rd
43. The Rams Head - 2282 N.W. Hoyt
44. Thompson Brewery & Public House - 3575 Liberty Rd. S., Salem
45. White Eagle Saloon - 836 N. Russell St.
46. Yardhouse Pub at Grand Lodge - 3505 Pacific Ave., Forest Grove
47. Imbrie Hall at CPR - 4045 N.W. Cornelius Pass Rd., Hillsboro
48. The Old St. Francis Pub - 700 N.W. Bond Street, Bend
49. Courtyard Restaurant at Kennedy School - 5736 N.E. 33rd Ave.
50. Black Rabbit Restaurant at Edgefield - 2126 S.W. Halsey St., Troutdale
51. McMenamins Spar Café - 114 4th Ave. E., Olympia WA
52. Ironwork Grill at Grand Lodge - 3505 Pacific Ave., Forest Grove
53. Back Stage Bar at the Bagdad - 3702 S.E. Hawthorne
54. Bagdad Theater - 3702 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd.
55. Chapel Pub - 430 N. Killingsworth St.
56. McMenamins on Monroe - 2001 N.W. Monroe Avenue, Corvallis
57. McMenamins Sand Trap - 1157 N. Marion Ave., Gearhart

i have this new goal - go to every single one. i feel like i've been to many, but they were the same ones, over and over. my first one was in corvallis while i was at OSU. i fell instantly in love with the communication breakdown burger (grilled onions, mushroom, bell peppers and tillamook cheddar)! their tater tots are the best. when i could legally buy beer, i gravitated naturally to the terminator stout, which remains one of my favorites to this day.

Black as the darkest night, rich as the most decadent dessert, Terminator is for the true stout lover. This is a full bodied and flavor packed ale which draws it's robust complexity from kiln-baked specialty grains. Look for a wide array of toasted, chocolate, nutty and coffee-like flavors in every pint! The devoted swear by it, and it remains one of our top selling ales year after year.

if i'm in a mood for something lighter i go with the ruby ("Light, crisp and refreshingly fruity" with raspberry flavor), yum. every pub has a different menu, some don't even serve burgers! one thing for sure is the food will be good, not gourmet good but pub good, what you want with your beer.

the concept of $3 movies with access to beer and pizza was one of revelation. it's one of the best ideas ever. yeah, the movies are a little old (second run) but you can't beat the price. some theaters have couches to sit on and others are more theater style. i haven't been in awhile but i would totally recommend it.

another big thing is music. while a lot of the pubs have music, the biggest venue is the crystal ballroom. great bands that come through portland will play the crystal. let's see, my chemical romance, ani difranco, dark star orchestra, kt tunstall, nofx and atmosphere are set to play in the coming months. i've seen a number of bands there, most recently brandi carlile, spoon, m.ward and the thermals. it's a great venue.

so my goal of going to every one will not be a time-related goal but i just want to go to each one, eventually. i can do it!