Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
On a wall by the back door of Club 21, look for a framed black-and-
white photo of historic Sandy Blvd. If you study it closely you'll notice a
building shaped like a massive shoe. Until it was demolished, the Big
Shoe—one of Sandy Blvd.'s many examples of mimetic architecture (it
was a boot-repair shop originally)—stood in the lot next door to Club
21, now occupied by a credit union. Sadly, the only example left of this
style of building is the Sandy Jug, which you can visit on
Walk 20: Up-
Leaving Club 21, return to NE Sandy Blvd. and take a right. At NE
17th Ave. you'll come to See See Motor Coffee Co., an impeccably styl-
ish coffee bar and motorcycle-friendly hangout-shop that's well worth
venturing into (it sells Bell helmets, imported magazines, some outdoor
apparel, rugged camping gear, and more). In one room there's a tool-
lending program, which anyone who rides a vintage bike knows is
pretty handy. Make sure you get a good look at the espresso machine,
painted with psychedelic-wizard van art. See See also hosts frequent
events, live music, parties, art shows, and so on—check their website for
a schedule.
Continue along NE Sandy Blvd. Where Sandy crosses NE Davis St.
you'll see the Eastside outpost of Voodoo Doughnut, looking reliably
hideous in its Pepto Bismol-lite color scheme (though much, much less
crowded than its downtown sibling, in case you're desperate to tell folks
back home that you tried a bacon-maple bar).
Take a left at NE 15th Ave., just in front of the wedge-shaped Sandy
Hut, another of the city's best (diviest? oldest? open-latest?) dive bars,
similarly striking for its vivid hue. (In fairness, it has been repainted
over the years and is now a little closer to blue than purple, but even
so.) The Hut is a bar at which it's best to order a drink with two or few-
er ingredients. Until recently its neon sign promised
STEAMED CLAMS
,
but these, sadly, are no longer available. There's shuffleboard in the
back, and on one wall is a fading but still lovely replica of an Al
Hirschfeld drawing—entertain yourself by searching for the name Nina,
which Hirschfeld hid in many of his pieces in honor of his daughter
(there are supposedly three here, but your intrepid guides have only
ever seen two).
Dragging yourself reluctantly away from the Hut, continue along NE
15th Ave. and turn left on E. Burnside St. At NE 22nd Ave. you'll find
