Scooter McQuade’s

Pass by the spacious covered outdoor area and enter into the dark, long and skinny dive bar that is Scooter McQuade’s (aka “Scooter’s”). In business since 1989, it looks much older than that. In an antique sort of way, not a rode-hard-and-put-away-wet kind of way. The mirror-backed bar gives a classic vibe and the old-fashioned wood floors look like they were planks pulled up from a sailing vessel circa the 1800s.

All of this makes the video poker machines jarringly anachronistic, but I digress. Eli was tending bar during our visit and was a force of kind, welcoming and knowledgeable awesomeness. She did not even blink an eye when one of us asked for an Old Fashioned and it was great!

On her advice, we ordered food even though what we could see of the tiny kitchen spotlighted by an unnecessarily bright fluorescent tube fixture left us a tad fearful. Boy, were we ever wrong!

Cherry Tree was cooking and we just kept ordering more because the food was so good! Homemade chili on the chili dog, perfectly breaded and crisp onion rings, a “quintessential” cheeseburger and potato jojo crunchy tacos – not a bad bite in the bunch.

Punk rock on the playlist, great food, great service, great spot. If we ever start going to events downtown again (but we’re introverts, so probably won’t), Scooter McQuade’s would be a great pre-function stop.

And it is obviously well-loved in the neighborhood as the outdoor sheltered area out front is kept open year-round by donations from loyal patrons for propane to keep the heat on. Now that’s love.

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/scootermcquadespdx/

Address: 1321 SW Washington St – [Google Maps]

Quadrant: Southwest

Happy Hours: none listed

Full kitchen: Yes

Jalapeno Poppers: Yes

Breakfast: Nope

Outdoor Seating: Yes

Distinguishing features: Feels a bit like a punk rock dive bar (in the best possible way), but maybe that was just the magical, musical flavor of the day

Words by KC Shomler Author of Falling Out of Love With My Career

Photos by Steven Shomler

Website Wizardry by Arthur Breur