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COLUMBIA BAR
A G LIMPSE I NSIDE
Bloody Mary
An occasional feature by MATT LOVE
By RYAN HUME
The Portway Tavern lays claim to
being the oldest-running saloon in
Astoria, with its doors first opening as
a café deep inside the Prohibition Era
year of 1925. With age comes mystery
and stories to explain the unexplained,
especially in a bar.
For instance, what is going on with
that trapdoor sawed into the wood floor?
Rumors of hauntings have bellied around
the bar for years. In fact, during a recent
visit, the bartender on duty claimed
to have had her first eerie occurrence
after several months on the job when
she was opening up that very morning.
She’d had the very distinct sensation that
something (not someone, mind you) was
peeking at her from around the dart ma-
chine that leads to the bathrooms.
Though I don’t think this recent in-
cident informed her decision to stir me
up a Bloody Mary, a cocktail now synon-
ymous with the popular urban legend,
both of which sneer homage at Queen
Mary I, who wasn’t very popular with
the Protestant set.
The Portway doesn’t use a mix for
their Marys, but concocts each one to
order. The bartender advised to start
slow on the fixings, as you can always
add spice and salt, but never take away.
Bloody Mary, the venerable cocktail,
turned 80 in 2014. And while there is cer-
tainly something nice about sitting in one
of Astoria’s oldest bars, sipping on an old
lady, make sure you only have one, never
three, and never in front of a mirror.
Ingredients:
1 or 2 wedges fresh lime
1 wedge fresh lemon
2 ounces vodka
A few dashes of A.1. Steak
Sauce, to taste
A few dashes of Worces-
tershire sauce, to taste
A few dashes of Tabasco,
to taste
Celery salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
A drizzle of Manzanilla
olive brine
Tomato juice
Ice
Lemon, lime, olives for
garnish
Downtown Coffee Shop
Submitted photo courtesy Don Child
Optional:
Kosher or coarse salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
pepper
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pre-
pared horseradish
Directions:
If salting the rim, rub
down the lip of a pint glass
with a lime wedge before
dredging it in salt. (Note: For
additional kick, add the cay-
enne to the salt beforehand.)
Fill the pint glass to the
brim with ice. Add the vodka
and the juice from one lime
and one lemon wedge. To
taste, add the celery salt,
black pepper, A. 1., Worces-
tershire sauce, Tabasco, olive
brine and horseradish if
using.
Finish with tomato juice
and garnish with olives and
additional citrus. (Note: Or
run it through the garden at
home. Leafy celery can dou-
ble as a stirrer and a snack.
Pickled vegetables — such as
cocktail onions, pepperonci-
ni, green beans or asparagus
— are a nice addition. Some
even go the extra distance
and spear meat or seafood
onto the toothpick. Try a
hunk of salami or mortadella
or add a cooked shrimp.)
—Recipe courtesy of Jennifer
Mills, bartender at the Portway Tavern,
Astoria, Oregon
From left, Ryan Tallman, Don Child, Bryce Nurding and Jonathan Williams pose in front of
a Wisconsin sign as they enter the state July 21. After leaving Astoria June 18, the group
is biking across America this summer to raise funds for Operation Comfort Warriors. They
expect to reach New York City Aug. 15.
Bike Trip
America
Astoria to New York City
Update #2, July 8 to Aug. 4
By MARILYN GILBAUGH
The crew: Astoria
teenage Boy Scouts Bryce
Nurding, Ryan Tallman and
Jonathan Williams are just
two states — Pennsylva-
nia and New York — away
from completing their
cross-country biking odys-
sey. Adult support team cy-
clist Don Child, of Hawaii,
and Suburban driver Pat
Wollner, of Gearhart, keep
on with the boys.
States under their belt:
Oregon, Idaho, Montana,
North Dakota, Minnesota,
Wisconsin, Michigan, Indi-
ana and Ohio.
Mileage: As of Tuesday,
Aug. 4, they’ve traveled
2,854.5 miles into the
3,521.3 total according to
Bryce Nurding’s calcula-
tions.
Highlights:
On schedule: The crew has
spent close to seven weeks on their
bikes — daily burning 5,000-plus
calories. They are on their way to
reach NYC on Aug. 15.
Raising the bar: The mission of
this biking trip is to raise funds and
awareness for Operation Comfort
Warriors. These Boy Scouts set their
goal at $10,000 — and surpassed it
while in Indiana. Not settling after
achieving that number, they’ve set a
higher goal of $15,000 and are well
on their way to the $12,000 mark.
Support from strangers:
People all along the way have been
unbelievably supportive with meals,
lodging and tours of home towns.
The going is good: Aside from a
couple of flat tires, some tire chang-
es, and a tune up or two, things are
(knock on wood here) going really
well.
July 26: Hosts in Manitowoc,
Wisconsin treated the boys like roy-
alty on their super farm, complete
with TV, X-box, paintball, nerf-ball,
basketball, kayaking, a pool table,
a pond with a zip line across it and
Wisconsin ice cream.
July 31: Riding into LaGrange,
Indiana, the crew was met with a
police escort, lights flashing, siren
blazing, and a welcome committee
of 300 people for dinner at the local
American Legion Hall.
Aug. 3: Happy 17th birthday to
Bryce Nurding!
Scenic summer: Midwest fire-
flies and flatlands, beautiful old
towns, and large brick homes resem-
ble movie sets. American flags fly
everywhere.
Once upon a time ago,
coffee was coffee, and a coffee
shop was a coffee shop, and
people didn’t talk about coffee;
they drank it for free and they
actually talked to one another
rather than fiddling nonsense
on their phones and tablets.
That was so long ago, no
one under 35 will probably re-
member that era. But there is a
golden return to the ambiance
of the old days with the Down-
Photo by Matt Love
town Coffee Shop, a hidden
The coffee is good and plentiful at
gem of Astoria’s café scene.
I started frequenting the Downtown Coffee Shop in Astoria.
joint, located on 10th Street
just south of Commercial, when it became almost impossible to
find a seat (or languor) at my other favorite coffeehouses in town.
I now use Downtown’s quiet outdoor seating area as my summer
writing studio and love how I can stare at ancient fire escapes, the
mighty river, and watch the comings and goings of the custom-
ers from the beauty salon across the street. Everyone always looks
happy when they leave the salon. I like watching happy people,
and the outside tables of Downtown are a perfect place to do that.
The coffee is good and plentiful here, and owner Hayley Clark
leads an excellent smiling crew who create a fun atmosphere to
hang out in. How could it not be with the huge poster of Fabio
presiding over the room?
Downtown offers a breakfast and lunch menu, virgin cocktails,
assorted baked goods, and the occasional toasted peanut butter
and jelly sandwich special for Throwback Thursdays. What’s next?
Folgers drip coffee? Yes, please.
I almost forgot to mention: Downtown Coffee delivers be-
tween Eighth and 14th streets. How is that for old school?! It’s
open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 8 a.m. to
5 p.m. Saturday.
Matt Love lives in Astoria and is the author/editor of 14 books about Oregon. They
are available at coastal bookstores and through www.nestuccaspitpress.com
IN THE ZINE
Nestucca Spit Press’s Hipster
Astoria, a fold-out zine guide, is
out this August and features a 1940
map of Astoria and all the cool
retro spots in town. It’s written by
Matt Love and designed by Amira
Shagaga and field tested by a le-
gion of visiting hipsters. Available
exclusively at Godfather’s Books
and Espresso in Astoria for $1.
August 13, 2015 | coastweekend.com | 23