Alison covered some of this in her Works Opening Night post, but I thought I'd put a fine point on the goodies available at TBA's interim late night art club. In brief:

Off the Menu at the Distillery Row Lounge

This space, right across from the auditorium, is currently one of the most interesting bars in Portland. Why? To begin with, all the booze available here has been made by local crafters, including Deco Rum, Highball Distillery, House Spirits, Integrity Spirits, New Deal, and Stone Barn Brandyworks. That's extraordinary in itself. Even better is that the folks from Distillery Row donated something like $17,000 to PICA for the festival, according to House Spirit's Matt Mount.

Beyond the good booze and good will, the space itself is pretty cool, with light boxes, and various nooks too explore, and according to Alison, lighting that's perfect for getting your make-out on. But I wouldn't know about that. I'm more concerned with the killer city views.

On top of all this, the folks from the Row know how to sling a cocktail. If I might be so bold, I suggest you order off the menu and go for the super secret, as-yet-un-named concoction I'm calling the “Slappy Apple”, or the “Grapple”, or the “Just Fucking Drink It Already [JFDA]”, which features a bit of honey, a bit of lemon, some vodka (I think), and Stone Barn's extraordinary apple brandy. It's delicious, and perfectly evocative of this weird seasonal fulcrum we're perched upon, between summer and fall.

I know $7 might seem steep for a drink, but considering I paid $8.50 for some martini monstrosity at the Art Bar before seeing Gloria's Cause last night... Well, let's just say it's higher quality for less dough at the Row Lounge. Go there.

Travels in Tacoville: TBA Edition

I have only two words for the pork belly tacos being dished out from Holocene's taco stand run by chef Jeremy Larter and his friendly crew: “HOLY FUCK!”

Sorry for the expletive, but these tacos are worthy of it. This is a fine edible: The pork belly is just fatty enough, a tad smokey, and after last night's introduction to this wonder, I've decided belly is best eaten in a tortilla. The reason for this is because the tortilla works so very well to contain and temper the fatty goodness. Often pork belly can be just too much, but presented in a taco, it's just about perfect. This is one of the most dangerous morsels I've eaten recently because you could be well into your third before you realize what you're eating is basically straight pork fat with a touch of meat.

Top this sucker with one of two killer homemade salsas and you're in taco heaven. You must have one.

Truck It with Violetta

I don't have much more to say about these fine folks than I've already said here. Get a burger. Get some fries. Be happy.