By Cat Wurdack

Fifteen minutes into happy hour on a Wednesday, several tables and most of the bar seats at Township and Range are already occupied:

• A bartender who is just back from several days camping and fishing on the Deschutes is tucking into a bowl of wonderfully aromatic steamed mussels.

• The Irish ex-pat who has spent the last few hours preparing a traditional Indian vindaloo at home, only to realize that it must sit in the slow cooker for several hours, takes big hungry bites of his hearty cheesesteak with sauteed onions and pickled peppers.

• A young couple from Kansas City visiting Portland for a web design conference downtown has crossed the river for tavern grub and a visit to Vintage Pink up the block. They order drinks  and slide into a full dinner entree — roast pork with broccoli rabe and creamed polenta.

Outside it’s 47 degrees and hammering rain and the happy hour guests seated at the bar are chatting while interested and knowledgeable staff on the other side of the counter serve, pour drinks, clear dishes, top water glasses, and cheerfully fill special requests.

My tender, buttermilk fried chicken sandwich is served with house-made, garlic-dill pickles that have just the right texture and punch to set off the moist and flavorful chicken in cornmeal crust. Since I prefer a breadless sandwich, I request the chicken on a bed of coleslaw. And the bartender thoughtfully brings a side of hot sauce that is delicious.

The happy hour menu features (dine-in only) 11 premium beers on tap and 15 food items, including baby kale salad, fried chicken sandwich, and cheesesteak. Most items are $5 or less, and dinner entrees top out at $15.

Chef-manager Jon Beeaker believes “making people happy and giving them the things that they want” is a great way to run a restaurant. He is the hands-on, day-in-day-out presence of Township and Range’s three-person management team with owners and general managers Prescott Allen and Woody Wheeler.

Allen and Wheeler have been friends since the 1990s when they met while studying Geography at Portland State University. Township and range is a reference to the system of land management established in 1785 by Thomas Jefferson. You can learn more about it by studying the display inside the entrance.

Check it out: A 30-seat garden patio, handcrafted wall map of Oregon, energy efficient windows and roll-up garage doors, six parking spaces out back, 64-ounce refillable Township and Range growlers to-go.

cmwurdack@gmail.com