Bar Guide 2014: Savoy Tavern

By Martin Cizmar

Savoy Tavern

2500 SE Clinton St., 808-9999, savoypdx.com. 4 pm-midnight or later daily.

Savoy's catchphrase, "Midwest-inspired American food," is a little confusing. Isn't the Midwest still part of America? And yet it makes a little more sense once you've made your selections from the "bill of fare" (known as a "menu" in the Midwest). This cozy tavern next to Broder is very much a coastal man's idea about what people eat and drink in snowy flatlands between the Appalachians and Rockies. It's not wrong, exactly. Midwesterners do like sweet brandy old-fashioneds ($8) and hot toddies made with clover honey. And they do like fried things (cheese curds, chicken wings, cod) or cheesy things (cheese curds, beer cheese soup). They also like soft chairs, friendly servers, a little live music and the odd DJ set from R.E.M.'s Peter Buck under the watchful eye of a mounted buck's head. MARTIN CIZMAR.

Happy hour: 4-6 pm and 10 pm-close daily. $4 tap beers, $1 off cocktails, $8 burger and fries, other food specials.

WWeek 2015

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.