Hillsdale Brewery & Public House

Location: Hillsdale Brewery & Public House in Hillsdale, just over the hill from downtown Portland. It's not-quite-a-stripmall in a stripmall location. In fact, according to the History, it used to be a Skipper’s Fish & Chips!

Fellow travelers: Just me, filling time between a morning job at PSU and an evening job at OHSU. The afternoons are the best time to be at McMenamins if you want to bring a laptop.

Favorite light: I can't say this is a favorite light, but I've been to enough McMenamins now that I've seen multiple sun/moon neon lights (Barley Mill, Tavern & Pool, Blue Moon, etc.). So I find the continued motif curious. This one has an additional blue neon streak and I found it impossible to take a detailed photo of with my camera phone.

Favorite art: I love this large mural because it contains cameos of many of the characters from other McMenamins locations. And it's a Hehn, who I now realize is one of my favorite McMenamins artists.

Spar Café, Crystal & Baghdad:

 

Black rabbit from Edgefield & the coffee roaster cat:

Rock Creek!

Food: Hillsdale bacon cheeseburger, fresh tots, Ruby ale milkshake, RC.

Passport stamps: Hillsdale Brewery & Public House

Other items of note:

• One of the servers told me they built the little booth gazebo thing in the last year. I hadn't thought about it until he mentioned it, but I realize I've seen quite a few of them at the other locations, so it must be a general initiative.
• This was one of the locations I stopped during my big Ultimate McMenamins Ride in 2012. I rode my bike all the way from Forest Grove to Troutdale, stopping at several McMenamins along the way. When I reached Hillsdale I had no idea how close I was to finally cresting the big hill which would mark the easy slide to Edgefield, but I was proud I had made it that far and celebrated with an Edgefield Fizz.
• What IS that keg-light outside?

I'm a sucker for calligraphy:

Boon's Treasury

Location: Boon's Treasury in Salem. I didn't have plans to eat at this location until everything went wrong: my tire blew on the way down to work in Lebanon, and fixing it required 3 hours at two different locations. I hadn't had lunch yet and was starving, so I thought I'd cheer myself up by completing the Salem section of my Passport on my way home.

Fellow travelers: Just me and a car with a new tire. My friend Dayna & I tried arranged to meet here earlier in the month, but our plans fell through. Fortunately, Dayna lives very close to Boon's and this time we were able to meet up afterwards, which made the day a bit brighter.

Favorite light: None.

Favorite art: This location primarily has posters and wooden panels from Bali, but the inside seems fairly tame compared to other McMenamins. So the historical artifacts were the best part.

Food: Because I completed the Salem section, I could pick a wrap or sandwich. I actually wanted a burger, but I settled for a Portland Confidential wrap and chili, which were pretty good.

Passport stamps: Thompson Brewery & Public House to complete the section!

Other items of note:

• Sadly, this location doesn't have milkshakes. :(
• It was chilly so I would have sat next to the stove if it had been lit!
• This location has a TEENY parking lot.
  

Dayna's milage collection & Little Free Library:

A nice sunset as I left Salem:

Murray & Allen

Location: Murray & Allen in Beaverton, a strip mall with what may be the Worst Traffic in the area. I was traveling from Hillsboro and I listened to half of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog while traveling just ONE mile.

Fellow travelers: Just me after work. And 50 million other drivers.

Favorite light: Is this a light? I guess it must be. It takes up the entire main room. It's awesome.

Favorite art: That light can't be beat. The unicorn sun is such a great icon. Most of this location is posters and windows, but there are a couple of nice touches:

McMenamins rule: always take a camera to the bathroom.

Food: "Soprano sandwich" (chicken prosciutto on focaccia) and a Terminator milkshake. I've noticed that even places that do milkshakes may not do all the flavors of milkshakes. I wonder why? Terminator is the most common, but Ruby! And Mocha!

Passport stamps: Murray & Allen

Other items of note:

• Brought my laptop to work through dinner and fill some time while the roads cleared. That turned out to be an excellent idea. And while it seemed busy, nobody was waiting for a table.
• This location used to be a brewery, but according to the history, "To open up the kitchen and keep up with food demand the brewery was removed from the Murray Pub in 2000."
• I totally love copper-covered tables.

Redemption: Oak Hills Brewpub

After the false start at Oak Hills Brewpub, I finally made it back to get my passport stamp! Popped in between a job in Hillsboro and a trip to the Murray & Allen McMenamins for dinner.

That was the last redemption stamp. Onward!