25 — Slim's Restaurant & Lounge

In the course of producing this episode, our 25th HBTG bar night out, there were three things we became (fairly) certain about:
1. That Slim's Restaurant & Lounge (8635 N Lombard St.) offers one of the best, most authentic old bar experiences you'll find in Portland.
2. That Slim's is also about 24 years younger than it has long believed.
3. That, in the grand of things, we don't really gives a shit (see certainty No. 1).

In the greatest old bar neighborhood in the city (St. John's, formerly an independent city of its own), Slim's is our, hands-down, favorite so far. They brought tears to our eyes by selling us a High Life bottle AND Hamm's tallboy when we sat down at the bar. They have a $7 burger that blew Nathan's doors off, deliciously healthy menu options you almost never see at a blue collar bar, and the vintage decor is spot-on. In this perplexing modern world, they are vibrant, nostalgic, convivial, and, basically, everything you want from a historic (give or take 2 1/2 decades) neighborhood bar.
And at the end of a long day or graveyard shift, nothing in the world is more important than that.

Bar visit & recording date: Monday, April 24, 2023

HBTG theme song: "Frozen Egg" by Lame Drivers
Interlude music: "Right Track" by Lame Drivers