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128 NE Russell St., 1028 SE Water Ave., 503-328-2865, bunksandwiches.com. Wonder Ballroom: 11 am-11 pm Sunday-Thursday, 11 am-midnight Friday-Saturday. Water Avenue: 11 am-10 pm Sunday-Tuesday, 11 am-midnight Wednesday-Thursday, 11 am-1 am Friday-Saturday.
Named after a character from The Wire, with a menu of high-end grease-bombs and Rasheed Wallace's grinning cartoon visage adorning its merchandise, Bunk Sandwiches' coffers overflowed with cool points even before the empire expanded to include one of the best-curated rock venues in town. In retrospect, the brand's only real slip-up was its brief dalliance with Tex-Mex, as Trigger, in the space below Wonder Ballroom. After about a year, owners Tommy Habetz, Nick Wood and Matt Brown came to their senses and went back to what works: sandwiches, beer and rock 'n' roll. Unlike its counterpart in the Industrial Southeast, live music at Bunk Bar Wonder is confined to the big room upstairs, but the place still exudes Portland exceptionalism. Paintings of Damian Lillard and Arvydas Sabonis line the wood-paneled walls, along with portraits of Big Freedia and Bruce Springsteen crowd-surfing at Moda Center. Old-school punk and '90s hip-hop are often on the speakers, and the unbeatable pork Cubano is available till close. As a concert pregame spot, you can't beat the convenience. And they were smart enough to retain the one worthy holdover from the Trigger days: the Side Pipe ($10), a "slushy margarita" penetrated by an upturned mini-bottle of Corona.
Happy hour: Wonder Ballroom: 3-6 pm daily. $1 off well drinks and pints, food specials.
Entertainment: Pinball, muffled live music.
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