Mad Hanna — Restaurant in Portland

Don't let its rough-edged exterior (or interior, for that matter) scare you away: Mad Hanna is a low-brow dive with high-class cocktails and service, that has been abused (lovingly) by its patrons and proprietors. It knows what it is, and what it wants to be. Devoid of all pretentiousness, Mad Hanna is the sort of place where you also can come as you are, be who you want to be, without judgment, surrounded by like-minded, liquored up individuals seeking refuge from our collective weekday demons. In short, the kind of place I'd like to visit more often.

Unlike most dives, you can get a fantastic, hand-crafted cocktail, that actually tastes like the drink you ordered, instead of the sort of watered-down, blasphemous amalgamation you'll find elsewhere. You can also just order a beer or a White Claw and get "White Girl Wasted" without feeling guilty. During our visit, there was a DJ spinning an eclectic mix of pseudo-country music that I am still struggling to put a label on; regardless, we enjoyed it. The usual offenders of pool tables and gambling machines occupy most of the inner space, although I feel like they could be cleared to create impromptu dance floor at the drop of a hat. There's also a semi-sequestered nook off to the right of the door, with comfy leather chairs and lit by twinkly lights, should you be in the mood(le) to canoodle.

Dog friendly, open from 11am until 2:30am, 7 days a week. Food available from the Hannex café kitchen next door, seemingly at all hours...

LET THE BARTENDERS PLAY MUSIC! I have loved this bar for awhile, however, lately they've adopted a practice where, unless there is a DJ, the only option for music is a very limited jukebox which doesn't work well (loses songs, takes your money). This is a big disappointment because generally the bartenders have good taste in music, however, now they are apparently prevented from playing music. So there's a good chance now that, unless there is a DJ, there will be no music playing at all, or you have to take a chance on the unreliable jukebox (which also means paying more $$ in addition to the money you're already paying for drinks). Also, there's no chance to create a consistent music vibe/experience. I do not see the reasoning behind this other than that they're trying to squeeze even more money out of the patrons. Please, LET THE...

Anytime you can get off of a plane, get a ride to a bar and have above average food and great drinks before last call, you've found a diamond. We flew into PDX from Raleigh and found our way up the street from our AirBNB to this hidden gem. Great fresh-squeezed juice cocktails and an above average beer selection greeted us and we FULLY took advantage.

We came back nearly every night after all of our friends (who were NOT on vacation) fell asleep. Matt, the bartender who damaged me in the most loving way, was our favorite. He's too young to be old-school and too old to be a hipster...perfect. Lots of hugs and drinks later, we left Portland and Mad Hannah, sadly, for the heat of home. But now we know where to land and where to hang out when we just want one more and some great grub to keep us...