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You’re forgiven if you haven’t heard about Take Two, the new bar on the corner of Northeast 30th Avenue and Killingsworth Street that was once the bar and restaurant Jinx. When it opened in spring, owners David Sigal, Blake Foster and Heather Wallberg discouraged press coverage, wanting to keep Take Two more of a locals’ hot spot than proclaiming it the buzzy bar opening of the week. And hey, no hard feelings. Business owners usually want to find their groove before getting slammed with premature expectations.
We waited between our opening-week visit in April and end-of-summer August to see how things were as dust settled at the watering hole blocks north of the Alberta Arts District. Take Two’s black and red décor is the same: less an ode to John Wayne and more to Italo disco albums. Kitschy ‘70s pieces peak out alongside horse paintings (the restroom’s red tomato lamp is a prime example). We remembered the expert blend of hot and cold in the signature Green Day cocktail ($14), which fortunately is the same months later.
Billie Joe Armstrong is openly sober as of this year, but as he and his band play Providence Park before September ends, they could wake up and enjoy Green Days as a refreshing mocktail with salt and vinegar chicken wings ($14 for six). Wallberg says the Green Day was inspired by its viridescent ingredients, but there’s no reason Tré Cool and Mike Dirnt wouldn’t want one.
Jalapeño peppers and cucumbers are an ambitious fusion. Too much cucumber unpleasantly drowns out the heat, while too much spice practically pickles the cuke’s cool factor. Take Two’s Green Day isn’t afraid to turn up the heat with some extra ginger, but it adds mint and lime for verdancy, still allowing cucumber’s soothing qualities to play prominently. Sans booze, or mixed with gin and the house’s chartreuse blend, the Green Day is worth traveling down a boulevard of broken dreams for.
While a Green Day might be a better spring-summer cusp drink to crank up the heat, as the weather turns, autumn visitors could try the savory sweetness found in the Second Date ($15), originally called the Impress Your Date. As the name suggests, date-infused tequila blends into a potent sipping cocktail along with amaro nonino, aperol, dry vermouth, mezcal spritz and a hint of salt. There’s no ice to chill you as sunset draws closer, just a smoky sweetness that tastes balanced and nuanced without muddling into a shot of barbecue sauce.
Wallberg says as the bar has found its footing, some seasonal changes can be expected on Take Two’s menus, so anyone who wants to toast the end of summer should see what’s new.
“Business on our little corner continues to pick up all around us,” she said via email. “We like being able to be a space where people feel comfortable either waiting for their next spot, or making us their spot for the evening.”
GO: Take Two, 3000 NE Killingsworth St., 503-477-5703, taketwopdx.com. 3 pm–midnight daily.