Ancho Lime Chicken Sandwich, Hopworks Bikebar, Portland OR

Meeting a friend in Northeast Portland for a brewpub dinner, we decided to drop by the bike aficionado Hopworks Bikebar. No, this is not a biker bar, but a Bikebar. I'll explain later.

We  both ordered the same: the Ancho Lime Chicken Sandwich. This sandwich delicacy is shredded chicken sauteed with roasted Anaheim peppers, roasted garlic and sundried tomatoes. Placed on a toasted pub bun with ancho mayo and then topped with cilantro lime cole slaw. It's a good looking sandwich. The sandwich also comes with a slice of pickle. I chose a bleu cheese salad as the side.

Ancho Lime Chicken Sandwich

Biting into the sandwich, the first taste you notice is the delicate interplay of the shredded chicken, citrusy lime and Anaheim pepper. Then the pepper reasserts itself and you know you have arrived in capsicum country. The heat is not overwhelming, but a quick quaff of beer helps. The lime coleslaw adds a pleasant citrusy flavor to the sandwich along with the roasted garlic and sundried tomatoes. The bleu cheese salad as a side dish played nicely with the feisty ancho lime chicken.

For my brew, I chose the Organic Survival 7-Grain Stout. The recipe for this stout teases the beer drinker in all of us. The menu advertises the stout as the "Beer of the Ancients!". The seven grains thrown in the brewpot are: barley (Egypt), wheat (Mesopotamia), oats (Egypt), amaranth (Aztec), quinoa (Inca), spelt (Mesopotamia), and kamut (Egypt). Hopworks then finishes the brew with 15 pounds of cold-pressed Stumptown Organic Holler Mountain Coffee. 

This hefty ale drank down dark and rich with a surprisingly medium body. There was a slight bitter taste, probably due to the 15 pounds of coffee. In all, a hearty stout for rainy Portland winters.



Hopworks Bikebar is the sister location of Hopworks Urban Brewery. The Bikebar is located on a main bike commuter route from Northeast Portland-across the Willamette River-and into downtown Portland. Displayed over the bar you can see 40 bike frames that are the work of local custom frame builders. The Bikebar is one of the few locations that these bike artists can display their work. Just outside the front door are two Plug-Out stationary bicycles that, when pedaled, generate electricity back into the building. 

If you are into bikes, check out Hopworks Bikebar.

Sunday – Thursday 11:00 am – 11 pm
Friday – Saturday 11:00 am – midnight

Happy Hour
Daily: 3 – 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. – Close
Including patio seating

3947 N. Williams
Portland, OR

503-287-MALT (6258)

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