Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
self is all blonde wood and honeyed lighting. Next door there's a tasting
room, the Sidebar, where you can sample specialty beers that aren't
available anywhere else. This is also the place to pick up a keg or a few
bottles to go.
Continuing along N. Williams Ave., you'll pass any number of shops,
bars, and restaurants, and probably twice as many as there were at the
time this was written—the neighborhood has definitely been discovered.
Try anything that looks interesting! There's a bicycle-themed brewpub
on the left, run by Hopworks Urban Brewery, with custom bike frames
hung over the bar, a water-bottle filling station, and a range of organic
microbrews on tap. The brewpub occupies the ground floor of a new
apartment building, called ecoFLATS, which is designed around sus-
tainability, bike-friendliness, low energy use, and beer. (There's a flat-
screen TV monitor in the entryway to the apartments that displays the
amount of energy consumption for each tenant, in real time. Motivat-
ing!) The building's appearance is in line with several other new apart-
ment blocks of recent vintage: sleek and square, with slightly
weathered-looking and reclaimed materials whose rough textures
provide an appealing contrast with the building's precise shapes and
clean lines. It's a good look, although it's hard to say if the style will age
well.
A little farther along, at the corner of N. Williams and NE Skidmore St.,
you'll find the very friendly and comfortable Vendetta, a totally unpre-
tentious hangout of a bar with a large, covered patio and a pair of
garage-style main doors that are kept open in warm weather. There's a
shuffleboard table and usually really good local art on the walls. Overall
the place has the settled, established feel of a beloved neighborhood spot
that makes it a nice anchor for this rapidly growing, changing area.
To return to the starting point, retrace your steps back to NE Fremont
St. and catch Bus 24 heading east.
POINT OF INTEREST (
START TO FINISH
)
Rose City Cemetery
5625 NE Fremont St.
Stanich's
stanichs.com
, 4915 NE Fremont St., 503-281-2322
Ristretto Roasters
ristrettoroasters.com
, 3520 NE 42nd Ave., 503-284-6767
Tasty n Sons
tastynsons.com
,
3808 N. Williams Ave., 503-621-1400
