Identity

"What the hell is going on at Blue Samurai?" I was walking down the street with my girlfriend. There was paper covering the windows of Blue Samurai, which was a sushi restaurant on our street. I had eaten there almost a week prior, nary a word of any plans about any redecoration. Had the waitress have known, her nose was either buried in her phone or chatting with her hip and trendy friends, she probably wasn't going to tell me. Nowadays, when you see windows being covered with thick paper, most people think closure and not renovation. Erika had done some sleuthing and sure enough, Blue Samurai had closed permanently without any ado. No tearful goodbyes. No letter on the door thanking the patrons they did have. I began thinking, what makes a place so special?

How we came upon Blue Samurai was kind of funny. Our street is replete with breweries and restaurants. There's a food pod, a collection of food carts, at the top of the street and all the way down there's American, a creperie, an oyster bar, a couple of bars with food, a couple of Thai places, a small Mexican place, a vegan barbeque (no, I'm serious) and two Japanese restaurants. We would frequent Uchu for their decent sushi and jalapeno poppers. One day after a good drinking session, we wanted those jalapeno poppers and a couple of sushi rolls. We placed our order and waited. Then we waited and then waited some more. After a generous 45 minutes, we inquired about our order - which they had forgotten to place. FUCK YOU. We were done with that place. So from then on out, we went to Blue Samurai as a mild act of defiance. "You know what that means, right?" I said to Erika. "Yeah - we have to go farther for sushi."

I recently went back to Buffalo, accompanied with Erika, who had never been to Buffalo. While making reservations for all of the places we were going to stay and deciding on the itinerary, one of the things set in stone was a visit to my favorite bar in Buffalo. Mes Que, or "More Than", is a slogan of FC Barcelona.  Mes Que had become a weekly stop and was a place for me to watch a few soccer games, have a couple of beers and have some lively conversations. The bartenders were great, each one brought something a little special, either great cocktail makers or arbiters of great patience. I use that bar as a benchmark. That's what I want in a bar, top to bottom, from ambiance and decor, to employees and to the type of people that bar attracts. I never had to worry about any dour folks or riff-raff. When I came back, it was just as I remembered. Flawless.

Mes Que - Coolio, the Celtic fan

Having a great place like that, it is difficult to replicate. After nearly two and a half years, I have struggled to find a place that I could call my own. When I first moved to the Portland area, I lived in the Tanasbourne area, which is right between Beaverton and Hillsboro. Neither Beaverton or Hillsboro are like Portland proper, but each one offers something a little different. I didn't have a car, so my daily drinking was mainly done at home or at a "townie" bar. Most people at that bar lived in the neighborhood and have some sort of rapport with the staff. Trying to get a beer while they are deep in conversation is off-putting. I'm not asking for immediate service, in fact, it is probably good that I take a breather between bottles but routinely it seemed a bit too much. A taphouse had opened up near my workplace and I like it. Craft Pour House was an oasis. They have great beers and friendly staff. I would find myself spending significant amounts of time here but the drawback for me was that it wasn't in walking distance. Normally, after a few pops, I would have no problem getting in the car and driving home. Obviously, it's very irresponsible to drive home buzzed. So, if I had too much I would make the 3-mile walk or use a drive-share company like Uber.

When I felt adventurous, I would take the train into Portland and explore the Southwest quadrant and Pearl District, bouncing from bar to bar. Cheerful Bullpen is one of my favorites in that area. They are the Buffalo Bills backer bars and have pounders (16 oz cans) of Labatt Blue. Seemingly innocuous, that 16 ounces of Canadian pilsner are a delightful reminder of home, where a Blue is the de facto drink of choice. Also located steps from Providence Park, it's a great place to pregame before heading into a Portland Timbers game. However, as they say in real estate - location, location, location. I moved across the river and it doesn't seem like much but it's more than a stone's throw away from where I am now. So, the more work I have to put into going somewhere especially if I have to drive, I'm less likely to go.

It's a sassy drink, Cheerful Bullpen

Routine is another factor in making a place your own. Upon a recommendation, my girlfriend and I decided to visit Chill N Fill in North Portland. They have great beers on tap, you can bring your own food and it's pet-friendly. There's a usual cast of characters filter in throughout the day and everyone has their own uniqueness that you'd want in a clientele. We can spend hours there but it is a drive and we only go every other week because of Erika's work schedule. Finding a place that is "Chill N Fill adjacent" is something we joke about when looking at places to live but having a bar to call your own is kind of a gift.

Both left a sour taste in my mouth, Founders Green Zebra and Detroit Tigers

At the heart of the issue, a feeling of belonging is usually what people look for in a bar. No matter your station in life; whether you are a novice drinker, a social drinker, or an old, grizzled boozer seeing out your last days through cans of Rainier - you want to find a safe harbor from the craziness of life. It could be a drizzly rainy day in the winter or a sweltering summer day where you spend time away from home. Perhaps it's a throwback to our European background where pub culture was ingrained into our culture where we get together and share news and ideas. I do see we may lose this as we become drawn into the digital world. The false community of social media wherein we are led into information echo chambers, looking for opinions that reinforce our worldview. A lively debate of ideas in years past in bars could in a black eye and a handshake is now just snide and sarcastic quoted retweets. How likely are you to utter something that you may not wholly believe in if you're not willing to get in an actual debate about it in public?

Put the phone down after reading this and go to a bar. Have a conversation. It doesn't have to be about politics, it could be about a restaurant in your neighborhood that has shut down. Get to know your neighbor, maybe they have been around longer than you have and can tell you what used to be in that spot before the sushi restaurant. Talk about whatever. Just make it yours. Your conversation in your favorite watering hole.

Down time

Thursday night was my first night alone in a couple of weeks. My girlfriend and I were on vacation for 9 days and she didn't have to go right back to work. I love my girlfriend so much that I don't subject her to my video game addiction. As a kid, I would go over to my friend's house and he'd play one player games and I would sit there often bored as fuck. It's pretty astounding to me that kids nowadays will watch guys like Pewdiepie play video games. Armed with a sixer of the King of Beers, I entered HJK (a Finnish team) in the Russian Premier League and stomped a mudhole in my Russian competition. Pounders of Bud go quickly, so I was at that part of the night where I usually go to bed but I had a pretty decent buzz going. Laissez le bon temps rouler, as they say in New Orleans. I was down to my last brew, what was a boy to do?

Time management is a virtue. I needed to be up in the morning to work out and head to work. I specifically choose Budweiser for its lower ABV. I decided to do cardio at the gym so I wouldn't feel bad about having a six pack supper. I could count on one hand how many times I've played FIFA sober. Drinking and playing FIFA is like peanut butter and jelly. My day was planned methodically while I mindlessly sip beers. Friday came around and I was fresh as a daisy. Having a few pops at lunch, I didn't want to go full throttle with the booze but I did stop at a whiskey bar just to get my creative juices flowing. I also needed a table to pen the first draft of this piece. My apartment doesn't have room for a table and I usually use pen and paper to flesh out pieces before typing them. I could have easily gone to a coffee shop, but liquor creativity is unparalleled.

While at work, I'm able to listen to podcasts. On my playlist was the Joe Rogan Experience, the one with Burt Kreischer.  They were talking about their trips to Italy and having a more relaxed work-life balance. Joe explained how he takes 2 weeks out of the month to work and then is left to pursue his other interests. I let that sink in. I was considering picking up a season job at Amazon. I have done so in the past under the guise of getting out of debt, but I ended up burning myself out with nominal fiscal gains.  My energy was zapped, I spent money on fast food and I didn't have time to work on things that would help my career in the long term.

While on my trip to Banff, I met an insurance adjuster who was drawing. We became embroiled in a conversation about creativity and owning your day with time management. For the longest time, life was controlling me, whether I knew it or not. Starting with my morning commute, 8 hours of being belittled by faceless customers and the equally soul-crushing commute home, it would take me at least a half hour of tirades about the banality and injustices of the world before I was at rest. If I decided to imbibe, I would be further worn down and taking lazy shortcuts. Projects remained unfinished, sending me into a mild shame spiral. Now that I'm aware of my tendencies, I can take more steps to fill my downtime with fulfilling activities as well as some time to mindlessly sip beers and play a little FIFA.

Drinkers Choice

"Hamburgers have been good to me and they've been good to you." Philadelphia "Phil" Collins was explained to his son Jacob in an episode of the Trailer Park Boys. Jacob was mimicking Julian's idiosyncrasies.  Phil wanted to remind his son that the Dirty Burger and hamburgers in general have provided for the family. I've always considered myself a beer guy. It's what my mother drank as well as my grandparents. Doing anything different would be considered sacrilege. On a recent trip back to my hometown, I added something to my drink repertoire - cocktails.

During a recent trip back to my hometown, my girlfriend and I had just finished up with dinner with my aunt at my grandparents' favorite "gin mill" Brauer's. Brauer's hasn't changed over the last 40 years. It's what hipster dive bars aspire to be. Formica bar top with the essentials in liquor: Jack Daniels, vodka, assorted schnapps, Yukon Jack, Cutty Sark with a few other offerings. This was not a place where the bartender is going to be taking orange rind to the rim of a glass for an Old Fashioned. My grandparents, Norm and Mary, drank beer and that’s what I did. I ordered up a classic Genesee, an American adjunct lager. It’s a historical drink rivaled only by the Genesee Cream Ale. Everyone said their goodbyes and we decided to head back to our Airbnb. The rental was smackdab in my old neighborhood so I knew of all the places we could go. One such place was Vera Pizzeria. Vera is the opposite of Brauer’s. The bartenders behind the dark wooden bar work arduously on cocktails. Only the finest of liquors and they I had a gin drink that I really enjoyed. I wish I had taken a picture of the menu because it’s not something I can remember. Erika had the Some More What that consisted of graham cracker bourbon, hickory smoked syrup, chocolate bitters and garnished with a roasted marshmallow. After a second round, the waiter brought over a complimentary round of Fernet-Branca.

I’ve never turned down a free drink but Vera was very proud to have Fernet on tap! If you’re not in the know, Fernet is an amaro, which is a bitter made of herbs and spices. It’s usually served as a digestif, an after-dinner drink, and consists of myrrh, rhubarb, chamomile, cardamom, aloe, and saffron. I heard of Fernet from watching Three Sheets with Zane Lamprey when he visited Argentina. Argentinians enjoy the bitter, drinking nearly 3 million liters per year. As it turns out, it's the bartender's choice for a drink. Typically, Fernet is usually made in a cocktail of Coca-Cola. Our server explained the affinity of the owner for Fernet and the significance of having it on tap because it was rare. We made sure that Fernet would be available when we returned to Portland and thankfully it was.

Our trip home was very beer-centric. We brought back beers from the West Coast, rare ones such as the hazy New England IPA, 3 Way IPA. 3 Way was a collaboration between Fort George, Great Notion, and Reubens and became rarer when the brewers announced that they would no longer make it. So after having beer throughout the day at Big Ditch Brewing, Flying Bison and Old First Ward along with a few beers at the Sabres game, I decided that I should show my travel companion a cocktail place near the arena. I couldn’t remember what she ordered but I opted for my new favorite liquor, Fernet. A very popular Fernet cocktail is called a Toronto. A Toronto is 2 ounces of rye, 1 ounce of Fernet, ½ ounce simple sugar with a few splashes of Angostura bitters. Coincidentally, when we returned to Portland, the salesman at the liquor store suggested we make the Toronto. What I made versus what Ballyhoo made were two different drinks.

We were glad to be back and even went to our usual Sunday spot, the Chill N Fill. We brought back some beer from the East Coast and had a few comfortable beers before calling it a night. We later made our own Toronto and it was a fun experience. Beers will always be my go-to beverage for when I’m looking for an altered state, but it is a refreshing change of pace to have a Fernet or a gin and tonic. No matter what, beer will always be there for you.