Since cold Autumn rains make motorcycle riding a little less enjoyable, my riding buddy Jeff and I decided to drive the Jeep downtown to try a new place for lunch: Kelly's Olympian. Downtown Portland hasn't changed: it is still filled with construction, pigeon-like pedestrians who frequently walk anywhere in the street at anytime, and new train and bus transit lanes to keep drivers confused. Parking is hard to find, and an aggressive style of driving is frequently required to zoom across several lanes in order to nab any just-opened parking spaces.
Kelly's Olympian is an old-time Portland bar that was remodeled several years ago into a modern, trendy bar/restaurant. It was featured at the time in the Oregonian and several local 'lifestyle' magazines. I have wanted to get down to see it for some time. It's theme is motorcycles and auto racers. When it reopened, the Harley bad boy craze was at it's height, and this place was an instant hit. It even has a large area of the curb in front divided into motorcycle-size parking spots. The bar's website has several photos showing it during those early days. It has lots of atmosphere, with many motorcycles, mostly old British bikes and an old Indian, on display in the entry and suspended from the ceiling over the bar area. The entryway and the wall behind the bar have huge auto-theme neon signs providing a good deal of the lighting and giving the place an overall red hue.
It was obvious when we got there that, at least during the day, it is more bar than restaurant. The only other patrons were eight or nine guys sitting at the bar drinking. Several were wearing chef's outfits; probably employees from the nearby hotels. By the time we finished eating, that bar lineup was down to just one guy.
The barmaid came to our table and asked if we wanted to order drinks. Nope, just menus. She headed back to the kitchen to get them. She really was a bit of a surprise as we had expected the typical downtown restaurant server. She was a barmaid; friendly, blond, somewhere under 35, with a short skirt, a somewhat skimpy top, large tattoos and lots of cleavage. No, this was not a McMenamin's. This was a bar.
We had burgers and cokes. The burgers were okay. They came with fries and were typical of what you would find in most good non-fast-food cafes, except that they arrive with 8-10 tablespoons of mayo burying the top half of the open bun. Easy to scrape off, but who eats that much mayo? The prices were average, perhaps slightly cheaper than McMenamin's. McMenamin's, a local chain of restaurants, bars, boutique hotels and entertainment venues, sets the standard for good cafe food.
The place seemed a bit off it's prime: furniture and chairs a bit worn, the motorcycles coated in dust and cobwebs. It just seemed like the whole place could use the attention of dusting, mops, brooms and elbow grease.
Will we go back. Nah, probably not. It really is too much of a hassle trying to get through downtown Portland traffic for just an average meal in a bar; and Kelly's really is a bar, not a restaurant. I'm glad we went because I wanted to see it. But, as good as the atmosphere was, I probably won't go back any time soon.
