Alcoholism for the Unemployed

A guest-blog entry by Kyle Arthur

Rachel asked me to do this guest blog weeks ago and because I am currently unemployed and have a wide open schedule, I put off writing the entry until just now. Being unemployed makes for some interesting choices on how I am going to spend what little money I do have on goods and services. Nine times out of ten I spend my money on booze, food, entertainment, and booze. So Rachel thought it would be a good idea if I wrote out a little guide to boozing and dining while strapped for cash; here are a few of my favorite locations and suggestions to stretch those government employment compensation checks.

$2 Tuesdays at Eastburn (1800 E Burnside St.): Every beer on tap is $2 all day, and these are not just the Miller Lites and Budweisers. The Eastburn taps are some of the best taps around if you like good local IPAs, Porters, Belgians, Stouts, etc and the best part is they change the taps up on a weekly basis. Eastburn has a great back patio, a more traditional seating area upstairs, and a crowded bar downstairs with more taps than above. The best part of downstairs area is the twenty-five cent Skee-Ball games. One thing of note for this night is to get there before the 8pm cover charge ($5), that is two and a half beers already wasted if you get there late.

Thirsty Thursdays @ PGE Park: This is the last year you will be able to go to PGE Park and watch either a Beavers (baseball) or a Timbers (soccer, before they go major league). Usually the high cost of beer, and the fact that you may be watching a baseball game, deter me from ever going on a regular day. But thank god for Thursday and their Miller $2 beer night (limit 2 per visit to the bar), I highly suggest drinking one or two just off to the side of the bar, then getting another two before proceeding back to your seats. On a beautiful Oregon summer evening watching a soccer game (or tolerating baseball) with cheap drinks in hand and yelling at the opposing team is just what you are meant to be doing with your time.

Matador (1967 W Burnside St.): Two blocks from my house and it serves $6 pitchers of Pabst everyday and their shots and mixed drinks have very generous pours. This entry really should just be called your local; everyone has a nice dive to go to every once in awhile. Search your area, and I suggest calling a few friends to make the rounds with you. *cough* me *cough*

King Burrito (2924 N Lombard St.): And last, but not least, one of my favorite spots to get a good greasy meal for under $5. Sure the exterior of King Burrito (see image above) may look like it is a run down pawn shop, but what you get inside....well it doesn't look much better. But the food and the service are a treat. The guys are friendly and definitely know how to make some damn tasty food. Everything on the menu is below $5, with most burritos in the $3.50 range. I suggest the hard tacos, the chile relleno burrito, the all-meat burrito, or the King Burrito. I have never been disappointed. I've also heard from a few trusted sources to try their "American" burgers. Do yourself a favor and check it out, they are open until 11pm almost everyday, but as Elizabeth might suggest, get your food to go.

Damn that took longer than expected to write, it is hard being on the internet longer than 30 minutes when you don't have to be.