Comments on: Late Night on 23rd Avenue

By: morganpdx

morganpdx — Wed, 20 May 2009 03:08:22 +0000

Oh man! I was a QP regular back in the day. Nothing like heading there after a long night at the City, having a snarky waitress with a cigarette hanging from her lip asking you “What’ll you have, dear?”

By: Lucy Bettencourt

Lucy Bettencourt — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:39:59 +0000

I enjoyed the QP, on 23rd. Was a neat place to hang out at late night. I bartended at the Silver Fox, now a bagel place on 23rd. When closing the tavern, I would walk down to QP, and get a great juicey burger. And also the waitresses that were there on the late shift, was awesome……
Alot of different people hung out there, great for people watching, alot of drag queens hung out there too at times……nothing like the good old NW Portland……And plus dont forget the dougnuts they had there, would buy some on the way to work………..

By: Quality Pie - a 30-something Portlander’s flashback (#3)

Quality Pie - a 30-something Portlander’s flashback (#3) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 03:46:39 +0000

[...] Late Night on 23rd Avenue – Our PDX [...]

By: Mike Ryerson

Mike Ryerson — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 04:35:41 +0000

For whoever said they wished they had photos at these place.
Email Mike Ryerson at mikeryerson@comcast.net and he’ll send them to you free.

By: Cosmic Charlie

Cosmic Charlie — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:16:15 +0000

An easy way to revisit the old neighborhood? Rent Gus Van Sant’s Drugstore Cowboy. It was filmed in the Cinema 21 area, and has tons of sights from back in the day. ‘My Own Private Idaho’ does the same thing with the West End area, and gives you a grand tour of the Governor Hotel before the big redo. I had been inside before it closed, (don’t ask)and it really captured the feel of the place.

By: Samuel John Klein

Samuel John Klein — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:10:05 +0000

The place really lost its charm when QP left.

I remember the taco omelettes there were unbeatable. Now. the only place I can think of to get such a thing is the Tik Tok on 112th and Divsion … but you need to order a cheese omelette and tell them to add taco meat.

That said, we find the McMenamins on 23rd to be quite delightful.

Still, it’s just not the same. I lived in a room in a house on Flanders Street just off 21st Avenue during the 80′s. Parking was hell, but I biked all over the place. $150/month that room cost. Shopping at Thriftway (Trader Joe’s today) was a 5 minute walk away. Those were good times.

By: Cosmic Charlie

Cosmic Charlie — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:31:59 +0000

The Ram’s Head Bar (or whatever that McMenamin’s bar is on Hoyt & 23rd) used to be the Campbell Hotel, a halfway house for the mentally challenged.

I never dined at Eve’s, but remember that’s where the oldsters went for cheap drinks. The Foothill Broiler was the best local burger joint at the time, IMHO. The trail behind it was great for climbing up to view the city, and for late night naughtiness best left unmentioned on a family-friendly blog.

Perhaps my favorite bar was the Coyote Club on NW 21st. (Marshall St. maybe?) It’s the only bar I managed to spend the entire day in, from 7 AM until 2:30 AM. $2 large pitchers and free pool most of the day, with a $1.75 spaghetti feed at 6 PM. I could see no reason to leave!

By: Portland Gentrification

Portland Gentrification — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:16:39 +0000

I lived on 21st back then – around 1980 it seemed like 23rd was actually less prosperous somehow. Well, slightly. I recall that amid a lot of vacant storefronts around 23rd and Hoyt or Glisan a cappuccino type place opened up that baked these really great croissants – at the time that seemed SO sophisticated and “edgy.” And Quality Pie was total diner perfection, but what was really hot was Eve’s Buffet in Fred Meyers. So cheap, and so hilariously gross, like hospital food. The bar was unbelievable. And let’s not forget the Esquire Theater on 23rd/Kearney. Strange how the same building is there, just remodeled into shops and cafes or whatever it is now. I just wish I’d taken pictures.

By: morty

morty — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 05:23:22 +0000

That’s rich, CC.
I too dated a gal that worked at that Winchell’s. Never experienced the mid-shift strip poker though.
I hear ya on Quality Pie. I have this dream that things come full circle and the Tik Tok on 82nd becomes the new QP.
Who knows…
But the grand prize goes to the Westover Hospital anecdote. Fine work, sir.