January 14, 2004
'Best' Ranking Signals Official Death Knell Of Local Bar
According to Willamette Week, in it's "Murmurs" column, the magazine Stuff has named Portland's own Bar of the Gods as one of the best dive bars on the nation.
Left unclear to your humble editor is precisely how an establishment which recently expanded to twice its original size, added a kitchen and a full bar, and to an extent upscaled and "prettified" itself suddenly manages to be named a dive, let alone one of the nation's best.
Granted, we're talking about Stuff here, but nonetheless (and despite, or perhaps because of, it's asinine capsule review for which you'll just have to click through for yourself), such a designation from a national publication actually translates thusly: "A bar which used to be a dive, and therefore now maintains something of a quasi-dive vibe in the form of a sort of historical background echo, and is therefore safe for normal people to patronize and therefore feel as if they have done something slummy and exciting."
Whatever. Longtime BOG denizens past and present have known for some time that its glory days were behind it. With this official, although somewhat backward, recognition -- especially considering the sorts of fratboy clientele I assume is interested in what Stuff might have to say about anything -- there's no denying the end of BOG That Was.
Incidentally, in a fit of geeky insanity just prior to my quitting the bar scene, I registered thebogpeople.com, inspired by a book of that title whose cover features a lovely semi-preserved mummy from the Iron Age. Intended to host a website for BOG regulars, the domain clearly is of no use to me now, and those still interested in Bar of the Gods are free to make me an offer for it.
Comments (2)
Matty on 15 Jan 2004
Does this mean I have to go back to the fucking Space Room now?
Douglas on 15 Jan 2004
Yes, unless you *like* beer, and then you need to find someplace else.