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)
During my thirteen years of Beerchasing where I’ve visited and reviewed over 400 bars and breweries, I’ve presented followers with photos and stories of only four sports bars. I’m just not really enamored with them and they seem somewhat stereotypical.
There are scads of big screen TV’s, trophies and sports memorabilia – a lot of it somewhat tacky – and often boisterous regulars wearing their team jerseys.
I cherish the conversations I’ve had in most of my bar/brewery visits, but sports bar patrons are often immersed in pro or college games and understandably are not eager to engage. Fortunately, I’ve had great Beerchasing companions at the four sports bars shown below – so I didn’t need to meet new people.
Claudia’s Sports Pub and Grill (2012) – a classic that closed in 2023 after sixty-five years. It’s now named Suki’s and unfortunately “…a karaoke bar with sports.” (Yeah right…)
The Marathon Taverna (2014) – a boring pseudo sports bar – our visit was saved by great conversations with Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter, Jack Faust and his son, Charlie.
The Independent (2017) – a decent sports bar on SW Broadway in the heart of Portland where we had a robust group including the Faust clan.
The Angry Beaver Bar and Grill in Corvallis (2020) – this great watering hole in the heart of Corvallis was visited before an Oregon State vs. Washington State football game.
Our group included 1967 OSU Giant Killer starters, Billy Main and Steve Preece with his wife, plus the late Dr. Bob Gill along with my fraternity brother and friend of over 50 years, Jud Blakely. (#2)
Why the A and L Sports Pub?
Since I asserted above that I’m not a fan of sports bars, why would I chose the A and L when there are so many other good bars and breweries on my list to visit in the future?
My selection of the bar was based on my recent discovery of classic dive bar, Angelo’s thanks to a connection with Darren Zayman – a part-time bartender.
Both bars are owned by Angelo and Leonor Markantonatos, (thus, the A and L…) who opened Angelo’s in 1996, and before that owned the Vern. Four generations of the family and they have been a fixture in the Portland bar scene for decades.
Darren, first worked at the A and L after talking Angelo into hiring “a guy with absolutely no bar or restaurant experience with a novel sales approach” discussed in my post on Angelo’s. You should visit Angelo’s located in the Barmuda Triangle District on SE Hawthorne.
Daz suggested I raise a mug at the A and L, so I did a little research and discovered a peripheral item of interest on the bar in a Willamette Week article dated 2/15/23:
“But the Markantonatoses owe more than $25,000 in property taxes. In a brief phone conversation, Angelo, 91, said he gave the bar to his son, also named Angelo, 57. Angelo the elder says he’s dying, so we didn’t push him for details.
We’d love to talk to Angelo the younger about the tax issue, but he didn’t call us back. Nor did they respond to a message on their hyperactive Facebook page. The bar employee said her boss was ‘scarce’ and ‘hard to pin down.’
Two signs of compliance: The Markantonatos family made a property tax payment of $10,000 on Nov. 15, and another for $4,500 on Feb. 8.”
Beerchasing Companions
Since I wasn’t focused on meeting new people, I chose two of my favorite Beerchasers to join me – Jim Westwood and Bernie Stea – both lawyers. The last time the three of us had raised a mug together was in 2020 at the Rose City Book Pub. (#3 – #4)
Those who follow this blog, know about Jim Westwood and his amazing background ranging from the Portland State College GE College Bowl, to a stint as a TV weatherman, to service in Navy Intelligence (where he learned Thai) to his distinguished career as an Oregon appellate lawyer.
But Bernie has an incredible background as well.
His Beerchasing exploits besides the Rose City Book Pub were at NEPO 42 and Zarz (gone but not forgotten) both in 2017. We tried for another at the Slow Bar in Portland, but it never happened.
While I was patiently waiting for him while downing an IPA, he called asking where I was, to which I replied, the Slow Bar (on Portland’s east side). He then somewhat sheepishly informed me that he was sitting in the Low Bar (permanently closed after the pandemic) in downtown Vancouver.
In order to salvage his pride, I didn’t remind him that I sent him a link to Slow Bar the day before confirming our lunch appointment. (#5)
My first encounter with Bernie was in 1980, when as the Oregon State Bar’s Financial Manager, I had to question him as the Director of Continuing Legal Education about his CLE department budget. He showed up for the interrogation with his Osborne laptop computer with the budget laid out on a SuperCalc spreadsheet. (Even then, he was an early-adopter of technology.)
As I “attacked” his figures we started a friendly rivalry which entertained Bar staff when we “replicated” the dialogue at all-staff meetings. It became a well-received staged production in the tradition of Jane Curtain and Dan Akroyd on Saturday Night Live.
After Bernie would make a mock eloquent plea as to why his budget should be increased, my reply was:
“Bernie, you ignorant slut!” (#6 – #7)
In 2017 when he didn’t show up at Slow Bar, I commented to Bernie that he must have used the “Maps Application” on his Osborne. Bernie, however, is one of the smartest and most versatile people I’ve had the privilege to call a friend.
His undergrad days were at the University of Maryland, where he had a double major in Journalism and Engineering (who’s ever heard of that combination….) and then graduation at Maryland’s Francis King Carey School of Law.
He was a member of the distinguished scholastic society Order of the Coif and Law Review, and then worked as a law clerk at the Maryland Court of Appeals. Bernie has repeatedly distinguished himself (other than with his misguided budget presentations)
After jobs at the Oregon State Bar and Portland State University, Bernie has spent the last twenty-five years as a technology guru – helping law firms, start-ups and corporate clients on all facets of electronically stored information, particularly in the context of litigation and investigatory matters and on the legal responsibilities associated with electronic evidence collection, review and production.
And concurrently – for about twelve years – he and his wife – former Portland radio newswoman and anchor, Debb Janes – were managing real estate brokers specializing in family estates on acreage, and multi-generational homes in SW Washington. (#8)
Perhaps that education and experience should give me pause when labeling Bernie an “ignorant slut…” (But probably not….)
But I Digress – Back to the A and L
Now it’s a little bit perplexing why Willamette Week labeled the A and L as a “beloved sports bar,” since they have never featured it in their Annual Best Bar Guide. I guess, however, that a watering hole that for the 2023 Super Bowl offered an “all-you-eat spaghetti and meat sauce with French bread and salad for $15” and is a Pittsburgh Steelers bar will attract a fond following.
And although the exterior is somewhat off-putting, the social media reviews are consistently positive. These three are typical:
“The A&L Burger was de-lish and the fries were on point. Friendly service and great food! We’ll be back soon.” Yelp 3/16/24
“Great people, great service, great drinks, great prices, and 6-10 dart boards set up at a time! What more could you ask for. Also have pool and video lotto.” Yelp 12/26/22
“…..The inside is like night and day from the outside. The place is roomy, has more than a dozen TVs, a whole darts room that is legit, Oregon Lottery, and one of the best cheesesteaks I’ve had in Portland (I’m from Jersey and my wife is from N Philly). The staff has always been nice to me even though I’m not a regular.” Yelp 2/11/23
The A and L, with its very expansive space, seemed a bit sterile, although it has a great juke box. But to be fair, that’s probably because there were just a handful of patrons on a Wednesday afternoon.
Contrast that with the description on a Sunday morning in 2018 – typical, I assume, during any NFL Sunday:
“First and foremost, they open early on Steeler Sundays, due to the time difference….so we thought we would ‘arrive early’ by getting to the bar at 9:30 am. It was PACKED with Steeler fans already at that point. More than half of this very large sports bar is dedicated to the Steelers and their fans.” Yelp 10/9/18
As a non-lawyer, but one who worked with them for almost forty years, I could share stories with these two counselors who both worked at large competitor firms (Miller Nash and Stoel Rives with my Schwabe Williamson.
It was only when these two intellectual behemoths started waxing eloquent about the rule against perpetuities and how complexity theory understands law as an emergent, self-organizing system that I focused on my $3.50 pint of draft PBR and began thinking of my next dive bar to explore….
Elevated intellects, but still personable!
Cheers
External Photo Attribution
#1. A and L Sports Pub Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=482321133382404&set=a.482321090049075).
#2. Angry Beaver Bar Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=556247892702280&set=a.556247869368949).
#3. Linked-in – Bernie Stea (https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernardstea/).
#4. Linked-in – Jim Westwood (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-westwood-60881a2b6/).
#5. USArestuarants.info. (Low Bar | 809 Washington St, Vancouver, WA 98660, USA).
#6. Oregon State Bar Twitter ((1) Oregon State Bar (@OregonStateBar) / X)
#7. Wikimedia Commons (File:Osborne 1 open.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. Author: Bilby – 8 August 2010.
#8 Debb Janes Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10226418497269717&set=pb.1262110102.-2207520000&type=3).
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