Episode 7: When Old Bars Get Cool | The Lighthouse and Skyline Tavern (Sept. 7, 2018)
Episode 7 took us to two places that were venerable, but mostly middling taverns when Paul Pintarich wrote about them in the mid '90s and early aughts. They each had unique locations and were owned by elderly folks with various German ties, but otherwise had no real expectation for any significant future success at the time our man Pintarich visited for his History by the Glass books.
Flash ahead 20ish years and The Lighthouse is the runner-up for Willamette Week's 2018 Bar of the Year while Skyline Tavern took home Bar of the Year honors in 2016.
Established: 1950 (as a bar/restaurant though the building dates back to 1886)
First Drinks: Bellevue Bohemiam Pilsner (Nate), Sierra Nevada pale (Fredo)
Interesting Food: These are not normally food-motivated visits, but a rare midday Friday visit gave us a chance to check out the acclaimed menu. We were both, predictably, feeling a bit nautical at the Lighthouse -- fish & chips (Alfredo) and fish tacos (Nate) -- both were outstanding.
Men's Room: 2.5/5 urinal pucks
Some nice wooden features and the venerable "Gulls" and "Bouys" (misspelling preserved) bathroom signs...but otherwise clean and mostly forgettable.
Musings: After reading about the "old" Lighthouse Inn with its funky smells, crusty clientele, and dubious health code adherence, we were very skeptical of the new place's polished logo (dropping the "Inn" part of the name) and its blog dedicated to the bar's "gastropub" cuisine. There were a lot of warnings indicating that the character of the historic watering hole might've been washed out when new ownership took over...but that's...why...you visit...the bars!
Lighthouse was one of the best examples we've seen so far of a place saved from a premature demise and given new life as a healthier version of itself still well grounded in history. The interior and exterior design were appealing both for the historic charm AND the modern touches. This was captured precisely in the bar -- a long, beautiful carved wood surface accompanied by bolted in wooden seats that felt so rickety you thought you'd spill out of them at any moment...but which also featured individual USB mobile device chargers glowing subtly under the bar top. Brilliant.
The place was tacky and authentic. Everything felt lived in and wonderful. Despite the decidedly un-vintage music, the bartender was convivial and genuine (even though she'd never had a sip of Hamms until Sky Blue Water sommelier Nate insisted she try his). Any of those old timers fond of the old "Lighthouse Inn" would've been more than comfortable at the new and sincere "Lighthouse."
Established: 1923
Interesting Food: Didn't look, but nothing was obvious.
Musings:
Returning to the Skyline Tavern for the fourth time (first for Nate) was a mixed bag. On the one hand, it was my personal historic bar Bethlehem -- the place where I first discovered the original 1996 edition of History by the Glass (now known to us as "The Old Testament") in late Oct. of 2017 and this spiritual quest/Quixotic adventure was born. It's always been a spectacular, unique, and natural location and, all-in-all, it's still a top notch bar by most metrics. But unlike the Lighthouse, the SkyTav left us wanting.
It may have been just poor timing that two large Nike groups swarmed the place just as we arrived -- plus another table with some other cocksure baller who secured free drinks for anybody who mentioned his name at the bar. (We tried as well and were indeed about to be given a round until our noble conscience intervened.) It was also Friday happy hour o' clock. Why wouldn't the Skyline Tavern be a playground for Portland's young and affluent?
It's not the bar's fault. And, in the case of the SkyTav, new ownership really did save the old saloon on Skyline Blvd. from the wrecking ball. For that, we are truly grateful. But the Skyline seems to have moved well past its neighborhood hidden tavern past.
With young nouveau riche clientele pondering which ingredient was most flavor forward in their IPA choices, we started talking about a new evaluation system -- "Would Pintarich Recoginze It?"
On this trip, we believed the new Skyline would be baffling. And that led to other conversations.
Would a truly old school bar, the likes of which Pintarich waxed philosophical about in the Old Testament, ever be able to compete with a new bar (even one in a very old building)? Could you do like nearly every bar had in the '70s and '80s and just offer 2-4 beers on tap instead of 2-4 IPAs among your 10, 20, 50, 100 on tap? What if you just had a "light," a "regular," a "dark," and even a "hoppy" on tap? I'm always fascinated by contrarian efforts (ask my former co-workers), so I'd love to see somebody give it a shot.
As for the Skyline Tavern, it'll probably be awhile before I go there, unless entertaining guests from out of town. The place is a prime destination for Portland field trips to the mountains and that's not terrible. It's a weird wooden place in the woods is all you need to know. Was it built nearly 100 years ago or last fall? Who cares? It's an amusement park (at least on Friday afternoons), but a damn good one at least.
Flash ahead 20ish years and The Lighthouse is the runner-up for Willamette Week's 2018 Bar of the Year while Skyline Tavern took home Bar of the Year honors in 2016.
Nate and I slipped out of the office early and headed north on a warm, sunny Friday afternoon in early September for what was our final HBTG episode as co-workers. Now that I've begun my new gig (as of Sept. 17), we'll have to find a way to drink and ponder the mysteries of historic bars as actual buddies. I like our chances.
The Lighthouse | (DEEP) NW Portland | Linnton
Established: 1950 (as a bar/restaurant though the building dates back to 1886)
 |
| Fredo beer #2 (my late '90s go-to) |
First Drinks: Bellevue Bohemiam Pilsner (Nate), Sierra Nevada pale (Fredo)
Interesting Food: These are not normally food-motivated visits, but a rare midday Friday visit gave us a chance to check out the acclaimed menu. We were both, predictably, feeling a bit nautical at the Lighthouse -- fish & chips (Alfredo) and fish tacos (Nate) -- both were outstanding.
Men's Room: 2.5/5 urinal pucks
Some nice wooden features and the venerable "Gulls" and "Bouys" (misspelling preserved) bathroom signs...but otherwise clean and mostly forgettable.
Musings: After reading about the "old" Lighthouse Inn with its funky smells, crusty clientele, and dubious health code adherence, we were very skeptical of the new place's polished logo (dropping the "Inn" part of the name) and its blog dedicated to the bar's "gastropub" cuisine. There were a lot of warnings indicating that the character of the historic watering hole might've been washed out when new ownership took over...but that's...why...you visit...the bars!
The place was tacky and authentic. Everything felt lived in and wonderful. Despite the decidedly un-vintage music, the bartender was convivial and genuine (even though she'd never had a sip of Hamms until Sky Blue Water sommelier Nate insisted she try his). Any of those old timers fond of the old "Lighthouse Inn" would've been more than comfortable at the new and sincere "Lighthouse."
Skyline Tavern | (DEEP) NW Portland | Forrest Park
Established: 1923
First Drinks: We sat patiently at the end of the bar waiting for the post-ironic trucker hat crowd to clear out before ordering a Mountain Mama pale ale (Nate) and a Modern Times gose sour (Fredo)...after I was politely asked to stick to the tap list after going 0-2 in my request for apparently out-of-stock bottles.
Interesting Food: Didn't look, but nothing was obvious.
Men's Room: 2.5/5 urinal pucks
Interesting art pieces, including some in-house concert posters...otherwise "meh."
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| NOT the actual men's room (would've earned points for utilitarianism if it was though) |
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| "To Irene (former owner) - Thanks for good views and conversation on sunny summer afternoons. Paul" |
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| Old fixtures, decidedly modern vibe. |
It's not the bar's fault. And, in the case of the SkyTav, new ownership really did save the old saloon on Skyline Blvd. from the wrecking ball. For that, we are truly grateful. But the Skyline seems to have moved well past its neighborhood hidden tavern past.
With young nouveau riche clientele pondering which ingredient was most flavor forward in their IPA choices, we started talking about a new evaluation system -- "Would Pintarich Recoginze It?"
On this trip, we believed the new Skyline would be baffling. And that led to other conversations.
Would a truly old school bar, the likes of which Pintarich waxed philosophical about in the Old Testament, ever be able to compete with a new bar (even one in a very old building)? Could you do like nearly every bar had in the '70s and '80s and just offer 2-4 beers on tap instead of 2-4 IPAs among your 10, 20, 50, 100 on tap? What if you just had a "light," a "regular," a "dark," and even a "hoppy" on tap? I'm always fascinated by contrarian efforts (ask my former co-workers), so I'd love to see somebody give it a shot.
As for the Skyline Tavern, it'll probably be awhile before I go there, unless entertaining guests from out of town. The place is a prime destination for Portland field trips to the mountains and that's not terrible. It's a weird wooden place in the woods is all you need to know. Was it built nearly 100 years ago or last fall? Who cares? It's an amusement park (at least on Friday afternoons), but a damn good one at least.
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