Bagdad Theater

Last night I saw my second movie (Wedding Crashers) at the Bagdad Theater on SE Hawthorne, a McMenamin's establishment. For those of you not familiar with the McMenamin Brothers (read: those of you living outside of Oregon) or their delicious brews, here's a link:

http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=9&id=176.

My Brother and his girlfriend first took me to the Bagdad a couple weeks back (Mr. and Mrs. Smith) -- HOW COULD I HAVE MISSED THIS PLACE in my previous 28 years? Probably because I strayed far west of what can best be described as Portland's hybrid Haight & Ashbury, circa 1979 or thereabouts. I have nothing against hippies, just never mixed well with them before now. I suspect living in the area and my new composting and recycling addictions have something to do with it.

The theater is BREATHTAKING. The exterior is classic architecture accented with a restored vintage movie marquee. The interior is dimly lit, smells of fresh popcorn, pizza and best of all, MICROBREW. For a mere $3 per person, you can see a movie, and/or eat good grub, drink great beer and soak in the history of the Bagdad.

McMenamin's wait staff gets a bad rap. Well, not really -- most are a little on the bitchy side, but that's because most of their pubs are very popular, and consequently very busy. I prefer to categorize their wait staff in the same bucket as the soup nazi from the Seinfeld series, and then I feel better about being ignored. Note to those who order dressing on the side, extra of this, none of that or are very specific about how you want your meat cooked: DON'T DO THIS AT A MCMENAMIN'S. It simply will not happen and you'll piss off your server in the process.

If you live in Portland and have never been, go! I cannot cast shame on you, as I just found this gem myself. If you plan to visit Portland, by all means stop by and kill a couple hours there on a rainy Sunday. The food, service, beer and entertainment are all good for the soul. Oh, and it's a great date spot!