This weekend, Barberama/Javarama will host two events. They’ll mark a new beginning of sorts for the shop. As previously mentioned, Barberama’s owner Nicole Cathcart put the salon up for sale a few months back. The salon now has a new owner, Brian Fuqua. To mark the occasion, the salon is hosting a party on Friday, November 21 from 7PM - 10PM.

Nicole is still around and is the proprietor of Javarama, which is conveniently in the same space as Barberama. Cool hair and good coffee can’t be beat!

In addition to Friday’s party, Brian and Nicole are hosting an open mic night on Sunday, November 23 from 8PM - 11PM. If you’ve got a song or poem you’d like to share with the world, this would be the perfect opportunity to do so. There will be a PA system on hand as well as beer in case you need some liquid courage to get in front of an audience.

I’m slowly but surely learning this city and it’s faboo bars and restaurants. There are some that I rate by atmosphere, some by price, and some by ease of stumble-home.

Being more of a cocktail drinker, I like places for a variety of reasons. There are some good bartenders out there that can make a good cocktail, get your martini just right, or give you a good bang (pour) for your buck without compromising the drink too much (you know… for desperate times). Taking the mix to a higher level, however, and making it an art… is priceless! I learned this about a year ago when the boyo and I started readying ourselves for the bar we were purchasing for our home.

It’s not often that one runs into art as a drink. I know it exists, have had it a few times, but it’s not something I encounter everyday and one usually has to pay dearly (or pretty damn close unless it’s happy hour, and sometimes still then) for it.

A few weeks ago we were invited to round out some friends of ours’ honeymoon with drinks in the Driftwood Room at the Hotel deLuxe. Happy hour was reasonable for what was a fancy-shmancy gathering, food was good but the drinks…. !!!! The boyo and I learned a great deal from the bartender and were SUPREMELY satisfied when we ordered a Vesper and were handed a mix so perfect, it made my eyes widen. Seriously, a drink that is mixed just so is not just a good, nay! great drink, it is art. The menu has a “Bartender’s Call” drink, where the bartender on duty concocts some drinks that, according to taste, you might never have thought to have mixed. Spicy drinks, sweet drinks, dry drinks… I was awed by each one.  Even my Vodka martini (ever so slightly dirty) was perfection and exactly what I wanted.

My suggestion is to go, get to talking to the bartender working and try some drinks. Be ready to drop some money, however, as it’s not cheap… but well worth it. Perhaps leave it for a special treat or special occasion. Whatever it is, it’s worth doing it if only once to see what an art a cocktail can be.

It was time for the seasonal re-stocking of the liquor cabinet at my house. Irish whiskey and bourbon are all on the ‘in’ list for the next few months (although anyone who knows me well already knows that bourbon is a perennial and/or gets replenished on a regular basis!); the last remaining dregs of gin and vodka will most likely last until it’s time to re-stock in the spring.

And while I could have just gone down to the local liquor store down the street (it’s not as if you’ll get it much cheaper anywhere else, given that it’s a state-run industry, after all), well — I don’t like my nearby liquor store much.

Why not? For starters, it’s small. They don’t carry most of the locally-produced stuff — they didn’t have 12 Bridges gin until late this summer, for example.

And it’s laid out in a way that puts all of the booze behind big counters that can only be retrieved by a clerk (I can’t even see what’s on the bottom 1/3 of the shelves ’cause I’m short!) This doesn’t lend itself well to browsing. Reading labels. Pondering between that brand or this brand.

Instead, you’re expected to know what you want, bark it out quickly, and then step aside after they’ve taken your money so they can move the next drinker through, please.

So — even though it’s not as convenient and requires some driving (something I’m trying to cut way back on lately) — I now make the trip down to the 11th Street Liquor Store on SE 11th and Hawthorne. They’ve got a great selection, complete with plenty of offerings from local artisan distillers. More importantly, I can browse to my heart’s content. Take my time. Read every single word that’s in teeny-tiny type on that back label. And then check out when I’m ready. (The staff seems pleasant as well, although I can safely say that I’m not on a first name basis with anyone there and they don’t know me from Adam, thankfully!)

Funnily enough, I seem to spend more money at this type of store — I’d planned on buying only two bottles, but walked out with three (the Clear Creek Pear Brandy was an impulse purchase) plus a bottle of some great orange bitters.

Surely I can’t be the only picky booze buyer out there. Are all liquor stores the same to you? Or do you have a favorite store as well?

Updated. See below: News just in from BrewPublic that Rogue Brewing is going to purchase the Green Dragon and revamp it as a Rogue Taphouse.  Wow!  Crap!  Damn!  Those are my emotions right now.  I love Rogue, but there is already a Rogue in downtown.  There are no other Green Dragons which offer the rotating taps of some great beers.  Also, we love having events there because the staff loves us.  According to the article, the staff may change also.

I’m verklempt.  I have been going to Green Dragon since week one and have seen it change over the past year to a great location for beer drinking.  Please don’t change that!

Updated 3pm: John Foyston of The Beer Here blog has an update that pretty much states that Rogue plans on keeping most of what the Green Dragon character is today, so that could bode well for us who love it.  From how I read the article, the only change would be in ownership, but the heart of the Green Dragon would live on.  You decide.

Also, check out the latest over on Brewpublic - they got a legal nastygram from Rogue.

If you have an doubts that the bad economy is having a very real impact on Portland, look no further to the ever growing ‘dead pool’ of restaurants who have closed in recent months.

The list keeps getting bigger:

• Rocket - Closed November 8 after a few challenging reviews. Now serves as a private function venue.
• Kalga Cafe - Closed at the beginning of November, owner Sukhdeep Singh moves to Brazil.
• Banh Cuon Tan Dinh - Even this Fubonn tenant wasn’t immune to the bad economy and it closed.
• Genoa - 30 years of doing business in Portland comes to a crashing end after the stock market crash.
• Nutshell - just added to the list on November 16th!

If there ever was a time to get out and support your favorite restaurant, NOW is it. This list is sure to double by the end of the year.