Welcome back to Thebeerchaser.  If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please click on the title to bring up the post so the narrative isn’t clipped or shortened. (External photo attribution at the end of the post # 1 – #2)

There are still a lot of dive bars in Portland – certainly not as many as when I started my Beerchasing trek in 2011 – but Angelo’s (not Saloon or Bar – just Angelo’s) which I hadn’t discovered until last week, is a classic.

And I was quite surprised, given my hobby, that Angelo’s – located on SE 46^th and Hawthorne, had never appeared on my radar, nor had its “sister bar” A & L Sports Pub – also owned by Angelo Markantonatos.  I never found it listed in Willamette Week’s annual best bars publication which has been a primary research source.

It was even more surprising since it’s in the heart of Portland’s Bar-muda Triangle – a phenomenon that I haven’t really addressed in this blog for at least twelve years, since discovering it on one of my first Beerchasing visits in 2012 at the notable Bar of the Gods.

That was followed less than a half-year later when I raised a mug with Beerchaser notable, Jim Westwood, at the Tanker Bar – on the same block as Bar of the Gods.   Alas, the Tanker’s armor was insufficient to withstand the pandemic’ mortars and it’s no longer with us. (Note the prices on the BOG’s blackboard below.)

As you will see below, I loved Angelo’s and the description from Portland Monthly is spot on:

“Looking for a bar with a relaxed atmosphere, laid-back feel, with friendly service and ‘real’ people? If so, visit Angelo’s and enjoy some cheap beer, play some tunes on the juke box, or challenge your friend to a game of pool.”

The Urban Dictionary describes Portland’s Bar-muda Triangle as:

 “…an area of bars that collectively saturate the SE Hawthorne Arts District at the base of Mt Tabor.” 

That said, the same source also describes similar watering-hole saturated areas as being in Eugene, Oregon (the intersection of Olive and West Broadway) and in Lawrence near the University of Kansas. 

Then there’s the Beer-muda Triangle in Missoula, Montana. And at one time in the late ‘60’s, before the SAE House at Oregon State went alcohol free, it could easily have referenced a group of rooms on the first floor of the house study wing. (I graduated in 1970,)

Not that the topic is debated frequently, but in a Willamette Week article from May 11^th entitled Douchebags Not Allowed in Car Free Zone..” the paper asserts that Portland’s Bar-muda is located in the Old Town neighborhood on the west side, near Voodoo Donuts.” (That’s the first time in thirteen years, I’ve used the term “douchebag” in this blog.)

Regardless of the location, it is appropriate to label any Bar-muda Triangle as a “Stumble Zone.” (#3)

Perhaps the dilemma is resolved based on info gleaned at the “wisegeek” website stating: 

“ A Bar-muda Triangle is an area where the concentration of bars is especially high. The number of bars located within an area known as a bar-muda triangle may be greater than three, of course, and sometimes an area with only two bars may be colloquially termed a bar-muda triangle. You may also hear a bar-muda triangle referred to as a beer-muda triangle.”

Pardon the digression, but before we get back to Angelo’s just a few more references which would make Pythagoras smile. (#4)

Try Triangle Theory beer from Lighthouse Brewery in Victoria BC or Emerald Triangle IPA from Eel River Brewery in Fortuna California or for a different slant on things try Hypotenuse IPA from Napa Smith Brewery in Vallejo, CA. Perhaps Triangle Brewing in Durham, North Carolina has all of them on tap. (Okay, I’ll stop…)

The good news is that should you get pulled over in any of the Bar-muda Triangles, the officer, rather than putting you through sobriety tests, will just ask you to state the formula for the area of an isosceles triangle which everyone know is 1/2 × Base × Height…(#5 – #7)

Now Back to Angelo’s

In late May, I got an e-mail from Darren Zayman (Daz) who saw the blog and told me that for a long time, he’d wanted to own or operate a bar. He thought it might be fun and interesting to meet and chat at the bar where he was working – Angelo’s.  

I’ve met some wonderful people while Beerchasing and jumped at the opportunity to both meet another one and visit a new bar, although with scheduling issues, we didn’t accomplish that until September 25th. I assumed from our e-mail exchanges that Darren would be an interesting and engaging personality, and I was correct. (#8)

As I walked in, Darren gave a hearty “Hey Don,” greeting.  He was off-duty and sitting at the end of the bar and introduced me to Paul, an Angelo’s regular and, Lena, the part-time bartender.  For the next forty-five minutes the four of us shared stories and we reflected on Angelo’s and the bars – present and past – in the Bar-muda Triangle.

Daz has an artistic background and has worked for years as a self-employed technical illustrator.  At one time he thought of doing illustrations of every bar in Portland – one reason he came across Thebeerchaser.com. (#9 – #12)

“I’ve lived in Shanghai, China and Washington, but I consider ‘Hawthorne’as home.  I attended nearby Mount Tabor Middle School and grew up here.”

He stated that to fulfill his goal of working (and eventually owning a bar) last year he sent out at least forty resumes for bartending jobs.  As one might expect, with zero experience, he got zero callbacks.  But Daz was not to be deterred, and you will see how this guy is motivated and has a great sales personality.

Darren always “liked the vibe” at the A and L Sports Pub at 59th and NE Glisan, so about a year ago, he hand-delivered a letter addressed to the owner. (The A and L is also owned by Angelo.) The substance of the letter was as follows:

“I want to work for you, and I think you should hire me as I would be a great employee.  Since I have no experience, I will pay you $50 daily for the first week and work for free the second week.  Then you can judge whether you want to retain me.”

Angelo, who Darren described as somewhat of a gruff Greek guy, responded, “Come in. I’m busy and on the move, but I want to meet you and find out what’s your deal!”  (#13 – #15)

So, Darren got the job and started working – barbacking and no bartending – with absolutely no instructions. “I was hustling,” he laughed. After less than a month, Angelo came to him and said, “I’ve got a job at another bar I own on Hawthorne.  If you want it, it’s yours.”  

He started working Monday and Tuesday nights and a lot of Saturdays because the female bartender usually didn’t show up.  And he learned bartending the hard way. 

His first order was for a “tequila and pineapple juice.”  Darren poured them together and the guy, after gulping it down said, “I meant a shot of each separately, now you have to give me a free one.”  Darren diplomatically refused as Angelo, sitting at the end of the bar observed laughing.

Lena, the personable part-time bartender has worked for fifteen years at a number of Portland bars and attended Oregon State before graduating from the University of Oregon. Graduation was followed by three months of travel to multiple countries. She loves working at Angelo’s and remembers when there was a stage and they had great live music.

Sitting next to DAZ, drinking a Rainier Tall Boy, was a guy named Paul. He offered his left hand to shake and said that he was a carpenter but injured his right hand and was recuperating. I detected a slight accent and inquired to which he responded, “I’m from Belfast.” 

Darren said, “Paul has been an Angelo’s regular for decades”, and he had stories from many of the dive bars in Portland and was a great conversationalist.

One of the bars we discussed was the Cheerful Tortoise – near the Portland State campus and which I first reviewed in 2012. DAZ remembered going there as a little kid because his stepdad, who was the Chair of the Geography Department at Portland State, (his mom also worked for the Department) would have meetings there.  Lena also mentioned that it was the first bar she ever frequented.

Angelo’s has a good selection of draft and bottled beers and DAZ or Lena will make you a great cocktail.  It has had a history of great food with a restaurant in the adjacent and connected space – first a Portuguese restaurant named Fado Portuguese Kitchen and then a Greek bistro named  Kouzina at Angelo’s – first opened in 2017. 

Since February, however, the space is occupied by Michael’s Italian Beef and Sausage Company – a treasured Portland eatery that’s been around for almost fifty years and lost its lease on Sandy Blvd. Portland Monthly offered this description:

“…But that’s just part of the charm at this very un-Portland sandwich shop, where hot hoagie rolls are stuffed with Chicago-style Italian roast beef sliced thin, marinated in its own juicy gravy, and covered in sautéed peppers and onions; or with home-baked meatballs served ‘pizza-style’ in tomato sauce; or with deliciously gut-busting Italian sausages.” 

And in Closing

Two final stories which are evidence that Angelo’s has both the ambiance and character of the dives I love. 

Typical classic dive bar fixtures are pool tables, foosball, Big Buck Hunter, classic pinball machines and a great juke box.  Angelo’s has all of them – even two foosball machines.  As Paul described it:

“One is the ‘People’s’ table and one is the ‘Elite machine. People know which one they should play and which one to avoid.”

While we were reminiscing about Bar-muda dives, a guy named Jeff, who identified himself as an out-of-town regular, told us that he overheard our stories and needed to add a tale:

“One time my friend and I were here and playing at the Elite foosball machine.  A one-armed guy came up and challenged my friend.  Unbelievably, he used his foot in lieu of his other hand and proceeded to decimate my friend in a game.”

The Bard

Dive bars and Shakespeare?  Are you kidding?  Well, think again and take a look at Willamette Weeks, January 2024 article:

“How can a theater company make a 400-plus-year-old play feel fresh? Speculative Drama’s answer is to perform Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, under the direction of Myrrh Larsen, not on a stage but in a dive bar—specifically Angelo’s on Southeast Hawthorne.” 

As Angelo’s customers sit or stand amid a buzz of conversation, recorded music and clinking ice, the voice of Orsino, Duke of Illyria begins the show by rising over the din, saying, ‘If music be the food of love, play on…’

So what if there’s a Big Buck Hunter arcade game behind him and the red and blue lights of a Pabst sign in the next room? Orsino looks as if he belongs in Angelo’s as he strides through the crowd, drinking from a tall glass with a green straw. In this environment, even his iambic pentameter sounds as natural as water rippling over rocks.

 …..The show ends with the joyful spectacle of the entire cast cutting loose and singing karaoke.”  (#15 – #17)

Darren said that each of the ten nights it played, “Twelfth Night” sold out. The actors were integrated with the bar patrons – it was immersive – one never knew when the guy next to you would become part of the play.

Cheers

• To the four generations of Angelo Markantonatos family, who opened Angelo’s in 1996, and before that owned the Vern and who have been a fixture in the Portland bar scene for decades.
• To Angelo II who had the foresight to give a motivated young man (DAZ) with no experience, an opportunity to become a valued employee in his organization.
• To Darren, for his optimism and spirit and reaching out to Thebeerchaser.
• To the one-armed foosball player.

External Photo Attribution

#1. Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pythagorean.svg)
licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Author: en:User:Wapcaplet – 12 July 2005.

#2. Angelo’s Facebook Site (https://www.facebook.com/photobid=1516916419212450&set=a.969082117329219)

#3. Wikimedia Commons (File:Pythagoras. Etching by F. L. D. Ciartres after (C. V.). Wellcome V0004826.jpg – Wikimedia Commons  Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Author: https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/0b/3e/c616f20a08ce6126931867fe5320.jpg.

#4. Wikimedia Commons (File:A drunken man with a bottle at his side in a field MET DP869600.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Source: (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/735378)

#5. Triangle Theory Beer – First State Brewing (https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/firststatebrewing)

#6. Eel River Brewing Websit (Emerald Triangle IPA 16oz Can Product Shot Mockup – Transparent BG | Eel River Brewing)

#7. Triangle Beer from Untapped (brewery-414414_ec6e6_hd.jpeg (500×500) (untappd.com)

#8 – #12. Courtesy Darren Zayman.

#12 – #14. A and L Sports Pub Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/AnLsportspub)

#15. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (Daniel Maclise (1806-1870) – Scene from ‘Twelfth Night’ (‘Malvolio and the Countess’) – N00423 – National Gallery – Twelfth Night – Wikipedia) This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1929.  Author: Daniel Maclise (1806- 1870).

#16. Willamette Week – January 9, 2024 (Speculative Drama Performs William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” at Local Dive Bar Angelo’s (wweek.com)).

#17. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (Sir Toby Belch coming to the assistance of Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Houghton c.1854) – Twelfth Night – Wikipedia) This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1929.  Author: Arthur Boyd Houghton (1836–1875) – Circa 1854.