JANUARY 18, 2018 // 15 Story and photo By RYAN HUME COLUMBIA BAR FOR COAST WEEKEND O for 22 $ ECIAL! Y PI Z Z A DA Piz 2 zas SP TU ES OUT Imagine Your Restaurant 1157 N. Marion Avenue Gearhart 503-717-8150 www.mcmenamins.com A STORIA C ORNER D ELI ◆ Local ◆ Fresh ◆ Gourmet See for full menu 304 37th Street | Astoria, OR 97103 503-325-7768 All orders take-out 503.325.7414 bakedak.com #1 12th Street, Astoria, OR North Coast and Peninsula Advertised Here! 503.755.1818 www.camp18restaurant.com Favorite stop to & from the Coast ILIES FAM OME! C WEL Hungry Harbor GrillE 3 8TH & L, ON THE S EAV IEW BEAC H APPROAC H 3 60-642-7880 W EDNES DAY IS BURG ER NITE! 3 13 Pa c ific Hw y, Do w n to w n Lo n g Be a c h, W A 3 60-642-5555 • w w w.hu n gryha rb o r.c o m CHRIS TM AS V IL L AGE ON DIS PL AY THRU JAN 31S T Advertise Your Restaurant n a recent visit to the slightly rebranded Workers Tavern, there was, well, work being done. The sounds of electric screwdrivers and/or pneu- matic nail guns occasionally pierced the constant rumble of traffic off Marine Drive. Since Diana Kirk took over the historic bar from the legendary Mary Todd in fall 2016, Workers has undergone some cosmetic surgery. Not a full facelift by any means, but more like a little injection to erase the frown lines. There’s a new kitchen and new wall-to-wall check- ered flooring. The new sign out front is temporary as Kirk awaits a custom-made neon number designed by Jeff Miller of local Red Dwarf Graphx. They have raised the front of the building two inches, which accounted for the periodic noise from the sidewalk. Though the construction has kept the bar closed during the day, they will resume normal business hours in February. The good news is that not much has changed at Work- ers Tavern. Kirk has retained the original staff and local favorites like Friday and Saturday Prime Rib, Meat Bingo and the Yucca, a well-shaken vodka punch I have written about previ- ously in this column. The cosmetics are more akin to taking a much-needed spring cleaning to Astoria’s living room. The better news is that Kirk and staff have been mindful of making Workers more financially accommo- dating. The once cash-only establishment now accepts debit and credit cards, and Kirk has put an emphasis on dropping the prices of the food and bar menu. Seriously, when was the last time you heard about a place Workers Nasty Apple Workers Tavern’s Nasty Apple having cheaper food and drink? Kirk explained this is all part of the Workers philos- ophy. “I want Workers to be about the workers of Clatsop County,” she said. “Workers for workers.” In this spirit, the next evening, she explained, was to be their inaugural craft beer night, with $3.50 craft pints and $13 pitchers, with an additional 10 percent off for brewery and brewpub employees. Kirk, who is also an author, working on her second collection of essays titled “Sucking Wind,” has much more in mind for the community-oriented tavern, including a few hostel rooms, a concert series out back in the beer garden and the introduction of Tavern Poker, a national point-based tournament where the top- ranked semi-finalists from across the country are flown to Las Vegas to play for a $50,000 jackpot. This drink from Work- ers’ new seasonal cocktail menu — nasty only in the reclaimed feminist sense of the word following the third Presidential debate of 2016 — is a spin off the more tra- ditional Washington Apple cocktail, which Kirk finds too sweet. Hence, cutting the cranberry juice with soda water. Just like a Washing- ton Apple, Workers uses MacNaughton, a Canadian blended whiskey — the kind of whiskey, Kirk quipped, that would please any drunk- en uncle. “It’s the kind of whiskey,” Kirk joked, “that I wouldn’t pull out for guests, but would keep in the cup- board for ourselves.” Any whiskey will work against the sweet/sour of the Apple Pucker schnapps. With enough cranberry juice and soda water on hand, you can experiment and be as sweet or nasty as you want to be. WORKERS NASTY APPLE 2 ounces MacNaughton Whiskey 1/2 ounce Apple Pucker schnapps Cranberry juice Soda water Ice In an old-fashioned glass, pour in your pre- ferred whiskey and the schnapps. Fill to the brim with ice, then top off with whatever combination of cranberry juice and soda water pleases the palette. Workers Tavern splits the difference down the line with half juice and half soda water. —Recipe courtesy of Diana Kirk, owner, Workers Tavern, Astoria CW