The new bar from the team behind The Old Gold and Paydirt, Tough Luck quietly opened this weekend at 1771 NE Dekum to serve a whiskey-loaded menu, with a focus on old-fashioneds and boiler makers. And as the photos reveal above, Tough Luck has a classic Pacific Northwest watering-hole vibe, with a 22-foot shuffleboard and a bar made of river stone.
The just-unveiled food menu features an intriguing selection of Korea-by-Kentucky plates by Chef Lauren Miller (Imperial, Bar Avignon). Miller hails from Southern Kentucky, where she picked up her cooking skills from her grandmother, and it appears the result is a menu of thoughtful gut-bomb-style bar food.
Find snacks like fish sauce caramel popcorn and shrimp chips with pimento cheese, plus a fleet of banchan (small plates), like spicy dill green beans and Thai-chili lemongrass pineapple. Entrees include a Korean fried chicken bowl and a signature burger: double patties with pimento cheese, kimchi ketchup, pickles, soy cucumber, and shredded iceberg lettuce on a Pearl Bakery bun.
Tough Luck is now open Monday through Thursday, from 4 p.m. to midnight; Friday, from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m.; Saturday, from noon to 2 a.m.; and Sunday, from noon to midnight. (Minors welcomed nightly till 8 p.m.)
- Tough Luck [Official Site]
- Team Behind The Old Gold and Paydirt Announce New Bar [EPDX]
