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1. Oakshire Beer Hall
5013 NE 42nd Ave., 971-323-1414, oakbrew.com.
It used to be you had to drive more than 100 miles to Eugene to sample the full breadth of Oakshire Brewing's creative offerings. Now you just have to find your way to Cully. Housed in the former Old Salt space, the 32 taps at Oakshire Beer Hall—with a whopping 22 of them pouring beer made in Eugene—provide the neighborhood with a much-needed hub for quality kegs, plus killer Guamanian food from Ed Sablan's new Biba Chamoru Kitchen.
Read the full review: You No Longer Have to Drive to Eugene to Experience the Full Breadth of Oakshire Brewing's Creativity.
2. Misdemeanor Meadows
6920 SE 52nd Ave., 503-206-8556, misdemeanor-meadows.business. site.
If you've been missing the Know, then consider Misdemeanor Meadows your new home. True, its location in the far-flung Brentwood-Darlington neighborhood means it's probably too out of the way to become Portland's next great punk hang, but it gets all the details right: comic book pages lacquered into the bartop, images of idols like Lemmy and GG Allin hanging on the walls and. at any given moment, the Misfits, Minor Threat or Dead Kennedys on the house speakers.
Read the full review: If You've Been Missing the Know, Misdemeanor Meadows Welcomes You Home.
3. Pod Bar
5205 SE Foster Road, 503-853-3541.
Carts of Foster may be the only pod of its kind where you can spend an afternoon noshing on a breakfast sandwich, sipping a beer and getting your hair trimmed in a retro camper. Pod Bar is the boozy anchor of the lot, with a respectable tap list that includes old standbys by Barley Brown's and Ecliptic alongside more adventurous offerings from Montavilla or proprietor Steve Woolard's homebrews, like a highly crushable Czech Pleaze lager.
4. Xica Cantina
1668 NW 23rd Ave., 971-339-9041, xicopdx.com/location/Northwest.
Into the space formerly occupied by Pacific Pie Co. comes Xica Cantina, casual cousin to Southeast Division Street Mexican favorite Xico. Other than margs, drinking snacks and a handful of more substantial meals, the focus of the menu is mezcal, served as single pours, flights or in cocktails. But let's be honest: You're here for the gummy bear nachos. "Dorilocos" is an addictive interpretation of a Mexican street snack piling thick housemade corn chips with peanuts, tomatillo-avocado salsa and a smattering of squishy little grizzlies. If street vendors in Mexico City hadn't thought of it first, surely a stoned kid let loose in a gas station at 2 am would have.
Read the full review: Xica Cantina Is the Casual Cousin of a Southeast Division Favorite, Serving Margaritas, Mezcal and, Yes, Gummy Bear Nachos.
5. Hoxton Basement Bar
15 NW 4th Ave., 503-770-0500, thehoxton.com.
La Neta, the Hoxton's subpar Mexican restaurant, recently announced it'll be changing concepts, but the hotel's best feature remains one of the best-kept secrets in all of Northwest Portland. Located behind a door with a sign that reads, "Knock knock knock," the officially unnamed basement bar is a diminutive cocktail lounge that could easily pass for an after-hours industry hang in Lower Manhattan.
Related: The Best Thing at the New Hoxton Hotel Is Hidden in the Basement.