History by the Glass

Deep fried brilliance at the Cider Mill On a blustery Thanksgiving eve, Nov. 27, 2019, we expressed our gratitude for our first “podiversary” and two venerable bars located on what was once Swiss farmers land and now anchored by iconic menu items. It was a marathon exploration/recording session that began at 3 p.m. and ended past midnight, with no shortage of libations in between. Shockingly we get through the bulk of the episode relatively unscathed before the wheels come flying spectacularly off in our greatest close ever!  Before that though, we first traveled deep into the western farmlands of Washington County, stepping out of the cold afternoon wind and into the sleepy, but warm Helvetia Tavern (08:54) for the best burger and beer a personal check can buy. Several (possibly ill-advised) pit stops later, we landed at Cider Mill (37:44), between SW Portland's Multnomah Village and Hillsdale neighborhoods, where we rediscovered our love for this lively survivor ov...

Bolted in at the bar at Twilight Room On the night of Sept. 24, 2019 -- they don’t call us the most prolific podcast in America for nothing! -- we channeled our inner Thornton Melon and went Back to School, cruising by the University of Portland to pick up friend and alum Shauna Weaver en route to two of the most legendary bars on the Bluff. We made our debuts at the Mock(s) Crest Tavern (13:05) where we discussed the bar’s homegrown branding, stubby stools, vintage glassware, and mayonnaise forward menu. Then, it was off to every Pilot’s paradise, The Twilight Room (45:22), where we perched on slightly stubbier stools, staged a Hamm’s walkout, and soaked in the obnoxious silence of trivia night. It’s the old bar podcast version of a Triple Lindy -- it’s the latest episode of History by the Glass! The neon glory of the Mock Crest Tavern exterior sign -- Nate's preferred logo for the bar.

Ghosts of Christmas Future at the Sandy Hut What makes a dive? Alfredo and Nate dig deep into Portland's drinking history to find out. The boys are back to celebrate Alfredo's birthday with a trip to 1923's The Sandy Hut, joined by special guest podcast fans Rochelle and Eric. After a fond salute to old people, a burger breakdown, trip to men's room, and the marquee deep dives on dives, a "sponsored" Lyft rides us north to the tropical tranquility and raucous rocking of The Alibi, where we drunkenly declare our love for all things tiki. Rusty? Yes. Worth every second? As always.

Damn near five months after our last official episode in the field -- that is a night when we visit actual bars, drink at them, consider them, and return to the South Beaverton HBTG podcast studio to blather about them -- we are BACK.  On May 5, 2019, we celebrated the fledgling Mexican army's victory over imperial French forces at the Battle of Puebla in 1892 in the only way we know how...by travelling to the deepest northern frontier of Portland to soak in some country western flavor at venerable Jubitz Truck Stop's formerly venerable and now completely remodeled Ponderosa Lounge. (Yeah, we're weird like that.) We capped it off with a pop-in at former oil n' lube place turned underrated diner and underwhelming bar/pool hall Nite Hawk Cafe & Lounge.  Tune in to hear our ramblings on cowboy hat style, sports loyalties on the dance floor, ice bucket beers, the future of old bar billiards, and more...it's all in our latest episode of History by the...

To celebrate a year of intentional visitation and intoxication at Portland's most historic bars, we thought we would knock our a 4-part pod series recapping the 16 bars we visited before taking our talents to the podosphere. The plan was to do four easy pod casts in February and dive back into our field work in March. The throbbing wooden glory of The Lighthouse bar interior.  Whelp...3 months later, we're proud to say that the anniversary series is complete. What we lack in organization and structure, we've tried to make up for in pure enthusiasm that borders on delirium. Year one of History by the Glass has been more than we ever thought it could be and the anniversary recaps were a retrospective blast. Enjoy our fastest, but most podcast as we jump in our hops n' barley fueled time machine and rewind our fall trips to The Lighthouse, Skyline Tavern, Lariat Lounge, and Rumpus Room. Crack one open with us and hide your chickens!

You know how in the '80s they used to have those infamous "Very Special Episodes" of your favorite sitcom (Webster, Family Ties, or, the grandest of 'em all, the Diff'rent Strokes VSE)? Well, that's a bit what this podcast is. In this, the third of our four-part anniversary rewind (that's taken us almost an additional year to produce), we reflected on our therapeutic visit to SE Portland's Steinhaus roughly 12 hours after we awoke to learn our muse and experiential mentor, Anthony Bourdain , had died. Alas, the Steinhaus (or Stein Haus, depending on your branding preference) was not meant to last much longer either. Less than a year after our unforgettable visit -- the only night we've ever stayed at one bar -- it was shuttered . Nate and I were each able to visit once more in 2019 and we'll always be grateful for the Steinhaus for being there for us when we needed it most. This pod was recorded in two sessions that featured drastic...

After a very brief* delay in production due to competing life priorities, we are BACK with the second of our four-part anniversary series reflecting on the first 16(!!) bars we visited in the olden days before our podcast launched. Joe's Cellar After changing up our recording set up for the first part of our anniversary recording -- a rollicking and rambling recap with our friend Bill Clifford -- we, of course, found ourselves completely unable to re-calibrate when we sat down to revisit our trips to Wanker's Corner, Corner Saloon, Crackerjack's Pub & Eatery, and Joe's Cellar way back on Feb. 15. Wanker's Corner The result was a 90-minute technical difficulty delay that left both our on-air talent (Nate) and our studio engineer (Nate) seething. Thankfully it was nothing a few Flamin' Hot Cheetos and a Foster's Oil Can couldn't improve though and we were eventually off and rolling. So join us as we do a Serial  style unraveling of the ...

On Feb. 7, 2018, guided by an obscure book written by a former alcoholic and newspaper man more than a decade earlier, two co-workers and drinking buddies walked through the door of  Bill's Steak House & Lounge  on a sleepy Wednesday night, officially launching a quixotic journey into the heart of Portland's classic bar culture. From the onset, it was a scattershot plan made up almost entirely on the fly with no clear idea of what "success" looked like. It took nearly two months before the recap of the first night was posted and for most of the early trips out, it was simply an easy excuse to get together and knock back a few cold ones in new (to us) surroundings. One year later, not all that much has changed. Believe it or not, the same is sometimes said of this very project!  However, inspired by the continued bemusement (or at least, non hatred) of our friends and family, we've slowly expanded our outreach, refining the blog (somewhat), get...

For the first History by the Glass bar visits of 2019, we returned to our mindbogglingly stupid  arbitrary selection process  which saw Central Eastside Industrial gastropub  Produce Row Cafe defeat four other venerable contenders to "win" our unique brand of public affection. Ordinarily, after determining the first bar we would simply look for whatever old joint (featured in Paul Pintarich's " History by the Glass " books, of course) was nearest and make it our second stop of the night. On this night, however, with the smug confidence that comes with having TWO well received podcasts under our belts, we decided to think outside the box and consider a different narrative. Instead of simple geography, we thought about some more nuanced threads that might connect Produce Row with another of the historic bars on our list. When the fog cleared,  The Ship Tavern  in Southwest Portland's Multnomah Village, once one of the city's preeminent dive bars, e...

The Tortoise and the Bull(pen)...two downtown Portland staples frequented by many, though likely still not properly appreciated. Now linked by their common Cheerful parent, these two establishments possess vast and district histories all their own, including sizable chapters featuring our own Nathan P. Gale. It was a dark depressing downpour classic winter evening in Portland when we boarded a Max and brought History by the Glass downtown for the first time for a double-header at Portland State's oldest surviving and best known college bar and an underrated pillar of Providence Park's (née Civic Stadium) sporting legacy. Four to five hours later we returned to our humble podcast studio for an admirably researched, yet beer-soaked ramble into the recent and distant pasts of the Cheerful Tortoise and Cheerful Bullpen. For brief stretches, we almost seem to know what we're talking about. There's a sliver of a glimmer of professionalism or even competence. But then...