Hodges Bend Defines "Coffee Bar" Literally
When you hear the term “coffee bar” you rarely think of coffee with an actual bar that serves alcohol, but there was a time when the term camera-phone would’ve sounded ridiculous too (yes, really children). Hodges Bend located right off highway 75 and 3rd street is one of the Pearl District’s more eclectic watering holes. Not only does this “bar” open at 7AM and serves some serious coffee with locally prepared breakfast snacks, but they also offer a full and wide range of alcohol-based drinks.
In addition to the drink menu, their food selection is augmented (quite literally) by a mobile food trailer which can prepare you something to keep your stomach from growling while you enjoy your chosen cocktail, scotch or bourbon. The edible offerings include a cheeses and charcuterie, and an assortment of upscale bar snacks like shrimp & grits and Indian tacos.
Drink-wise, Hodges has a lot…of everything. If you’re a whiskey or bourbon connoisseur then you have found your new happy hour spot with over several dozen barrel spirits to choose from. There is an equally vast array of beers, wines, brandy, fortified wines, cocktails, cigars and of course, coffees. One of the more exotic blends is a Japanese coffee cold-brew that takes over 12 hours to prepare and is brewed in some kind of glassware that looks like it would make Jesse Pinkman go bananas.
Among the many items on the menu, the one I really wanted to try was their punch which is literally served in a punch bowl like the one your parents had but never used. I was also informed that they are intended to be shared and if I attempted to drink the entire bowl myself, I would quite literally die.
The vibe is energetic and hip…like a Pinterest board had come to life. Being a colossally un-cool guy, the clientele at Hodges made me feel like I was sitting at the cool kids table…and gave me the odd urge to buy a pair of Buddy Holly glasses and a beanie before someone recognized my un-coolness and asked me to leave. But, despite my generic polo shirt and khakis, I was allowed to stay and continue sampling the cocktails. The center piece of the bar is features a nice collection of classic vinyl and a record player which has somehow managed to escape being commandeered by the Smithsonian. The booths are comfortable and centered around coffee tables, that if Pottery Barn doesn’t have, they should. Having lived in several “big cities” including Seattle, Minneapolis and Nashville, from the vantage at my bar stool, I could have been in any major market city which left me thinking “yeah…suck it Puget Sound…we have cool stuff too.” And when my buddies from those “big cities” come to visit, I know just where I’m taking them.
