Waffle Window: Savory and Sweet Wonderfulness

A couple years back we read about this place on SE Hawthorne called the Waffle Window. There was no seating, just a window on a side street serving all sorts of sweet and savory liege waffles. We went, we tried many things, and we loved them all.

Last year they opened a second location on NE Alberta, this time with actual indoor seating and with the additions of housemade ice creams and a coffee bar to the menu. We went during the week for an early lunch/snack and didn't have to wait at all. In fact, we parked on the street right in front of the door.

Unlike the Hawthorne location you order inside at the counter and wait for your food. The Alberta location has outdoor seating, which was nice on a warmer fall day, so we took advantage of that.

We had a friend with us from out of town so the first waffle had to be what is, in our opinion, the best: the Three Bs. What are they? Bacon, brie and basil. 

The waffle had a crunchy outside, fluffy inside, and you can see they didn't skimp on the bacon at all. 

Our second was the blueberry cheesecake: blueberry compote, cream cheese, whip cream, and a sprinkling of graham cracker crumbs.

Heavenly. 

These two waffles were plenty for the three of us to share, not to mention being pretty to look at and just damn tasty. Next time we go back we'll try out their ice creams, which are reportedly also very good.

Dog-friendly? We didn't ask specifically, but it seems like the seating outside, just off the Alberta St. sidewalk, should be fine for a well-mannered dog. The tables aren't too close together and (at least when we were there) foot traffic wasn't heavy. Misaki wasn't with us that day, but she will be next time.

Country Breakfast Benefit for p:ear

This morning Wifey and I went to the World Forestry Center in southwest Portland for a benefit for p:ear, an organization focusing on mentoring transitional and homeless youth (basically they teach job skills to those who need the education and turn them into contributing members of society while helping them stand on their own two feet).

That's a great cause, but the real honest reason we bought tickets was for the food. Sponsored by Portland Monthly magazine, the Country Breakfast brought together four top chefs to produce dishes in that theme. (There were also five bartenders doing a bloody mary challenge which we did not buy tickets for because neither of us can stand them.)

There was also a country band, plenty of picnic tables and tables to stand at, sponsorship from Google Places, coffee from Three Sisters Coffee (check them out in Sisters, OR - good stuff), and yogurt from Sunshine Dairy.

For those wondering, yes, this is an odd way to spend a Sunday morning considering my previous post, but in my defense the tickets were bought before the epiphany. If I hadn't already bought them we probably wouldn't have gone, because for damn sure this was not healthy and not on my diet. I consumed way too many calories, but if we take Misaki for a long walk this afternoon maybe I will be allowed to eat dinner. Maybe.

Our first stop was to check out Chef Chris Carriker of The Gilt Club, a restaurant we haven't been to yet.

Sounds nice, doesn't it? Check out the spread:

Here's the catch: you only get to choose one of those four things. Lame. I chose the cherry strudel (stuffed with cherries as well as cherry sauce on top) with a small scoop of creamy foie gras on top.

The pastry was very well done and the cherry sauce was excellent. Wifey thought it was a tad sweet because she prefers savory flavors for breakfast, but I thought it worked. But the foie? It literally tasted like nothing but butter and didn't fit the rest of the dish. It was just there to be foie, not to add anything.

Wifey chose morcilla sausage benedict.

Did you know that's a Latin American version of blood sausage? We had no idea until we Googled it later and neither of us had ever had blood sausage. Guess what? It was damn tasty (tastes nothing like blood). The egg was the consistency of jelly and unfortunately none of the rest of the dish stood up to the sausage.

Both plates were good eating, but it almost seemed like there was too much going on and perhaps too many dishes. Or maybe we watch way too much Top Chef...

Next up was Chef Jenn Louis of Lincoln and Sunshine Tavern.

Here was the biscuit and gravy.

Louis' biscuit and gravy is fantastic, but it looks a little sad on the plate, doesn't it? We loved the flavors, but there just wasn't anything special here. Perhaps we think that because we've eaten twice at Sunshine Tavern (and will recommend it to anyone who asks). Or, maybe we watch too much Top Chef.

Next up was Chef Cathy Whims of Nostrana and Oven & Shaker (two of our favorites, long-time blog readers will recognize).

This dish had a ton of potential and looked very pretty.

Under the polenta is the egg and a layer of parmagiano, but surprisingly the overall dish was just a tad bland, as if the flavors fought rather than complementing each other. Neither of us would order this dish were it on the menu though. (It's worth noting neither Nostrana or O&S have a breakfast or brunch menu.)

Last up was Chef Gregory Gourdet of Departure. Gourdet was recently named Portland's hottest chef (not in a rising star kind of way, though he is, but actually hot). I think the fact that exists is kind of odd and even odder is the fact I know about it. Whatever. (By the way, the pic in that link is on the patio of Departure, which has one of the best happy hour views in the city.)

That sounds pretty tasty, doesn't it?

It was - very. The biscuit was excellent, the chicken fried up just right while not being greasy, and the kimchee mayo and slaw were excellent. Loved this. The smoothie was pretty tasty as well and matched it nicely. It is apparently time for us to go to Departure for dinner.

At the end of the meal we were both pretty full (okay, I was stuffed). And yes, my completely ballpark estimate on calories is "a shitload," but it was a good time. Our vote that is completely meaningless for the best dish goes to Gourdet.

What did we learn?

1 - We need to go to Departure.

2 - p:ear is a good program.

3 - We watch too much Top Chef. (shrug)

Pretty Damn Tasty

A couple weeks back a new breakfast and lunch place opened up on North Williams, just down the street from Ristretto Coffee and Pix Patisserie, called Tasty n Sons. It's the new place from the mind of John Gorham, the esteemed owner of the critically acclaimed (by this blog and the rest of the world) Toro Bravo and got his start in Portland with Viande Meats at City Market and then also at Simpatica (which longtime readers here know we love).

All that is to say Gorham is Portland restaurant royalty, he knows food, and I really like everything he's ever done. Really like it.

So when we read about his combining two of my favorite things - his cooking and vision with brunch - Wifey and I knew we'd be going to check this place out. So Saturday morning we did.

We meant to get there earlier than 12:15 to avoid a rush of any kind, but that's just about my only day of the week to sleep in, so it didn't happen. Lucky for us we found a parking spot right across Williams and we walked in just as another couple was leaving from two seats at the "bar" - the area right in front of where all the magic happens. (If you read my Toro Bravo review and have been there, it's basically the same type of area we sat there, and plenty of restaurants around town are adding this kind of seating - I like it.)

And, as it so happens, Mr. Gorham himself was there right in front of us, keeping an eye on the work and flow of his new business (still not officially open, just a "soft" open) while he did prep work, cutting up red peppers, stripping and washing chard, cutting tiny openings in dates, and all sorts of other things while giving the occasional direction and clarification to the staff the person who will presumably be in charge when he is not there.

No, we didn't actually talk to him, since he was busy working and all, but he did smile and say hello to us and the many other patrons in the area, plus any who walked by to thank him. Why were they thanking him? Well, because the food was simply wonderful.

Tasty n Sons doesn't have a menu on their website yet, but here is one sample from Portlandfood.org, about 3/4 of the way down the page. The menu we saw on Saturday was very similar.

We had to start off with the griddled bacon-wrapped dates with maple syrup, one each. We ordered it's cousin at Toro Bravo and these little nuggets are just fantastic. I don't know if the Tasty n Sons version is better, but it really is a little slice of heaven. The almond inserted in the middle has a lightly smoked flavor, adding a nice twist of smoky and salty to the sweetness of the date and the syrup. Highly recommend - $2 each.

Our next dish (I should point out here each item comes out as the kitchen finishes making it, so you will get one dish at a time instead of all at once - again, I'm a big fan of this service style) was the glazed yams with cumin maple syrup. I'll be honest here - we wouldn't have ordered this if we hadn't have already read people raving about it online. And you know what? Those people were absolutely right. The cumin adds a very contrasting flavor - without being overpowering - to the sweetness of the roasted yam and the syrup. I would absolutely order these again. I believe there were three good-sized slices of yam for $4.

This was followed by the chocolate potato doughnuts, which came with a vanilla creme anglaise sauce. Online reviews of this dish have been split, and I'm still not exactly sure where I fall on it. Wifey wasn't too excited by them. I liked the thickness of the dough, but they seemed a little hard and a tad on the crunchy side - trying to cut them with a fork seemed to make them crumble. The sauce was good, but I could have used a little more for three doughnut holes. Have seen people describe these as not chocolately enough, but that part was okay for me. May try again, if I hear they tweak it a bit. $5.

All three of those were in the Smaller Plates section, but the next two were in the Larger Plates portion of the menu. The first is Auntie Paula's French toast with rhubarb and whip cream. On the link to the menu above you will see it's $8, but that was for two slices, I think. They changed it by the time we went, so there are two options - a $5 one and a $10 one. We opted for the smaller one so we could try another dish. This station was actually right in front of us, so we could see some of the process. The slices of bread are very thick, and after being dipped in the batter they go onto a simple electric griddle that has been generously buttered. These are then left for what I thought was quite a long time - much longer than I do it at home, so maybe I need to turn down the temperature. And add butter. Mmm...butter... When they are finally finished the toast is topped with a rhubarb jam/sauce and then whip cream. Verdict? Super damn good. Super. Damn. Good. The whip cream tastes like fluffy ice cream, the sauce is amazing, and the French toast a dream. Highly, highly, highly recommend. A lot. You should order this.

Our final dish was the fried egg and cheddar biscuit. There is a choice of sausage or fried chicken on that, so we chose the chicken. Splitting this was difficult because it was quite large and a little problematic to cut, but we managed. The biscuit was good and everything was cooked very well, but it was a tad crunchy. Now, crunchy isn't a bad thing - it just means every time you whip out the knife to cut it or take a bite, it crumbles to bits. I ended up eating most of it in pieces with my fork rather than eating it as a sandwich. Wifey thought the flavors were perfect and I really like it, but would have liked a tad bit of something sweet on there just set the flavors off - maybe a dab of honey, a jam, or even maple syrup would have done the trick - but it was pretty good.

Overall, Tasty n Sons was fantastic. The service was very good, the food was excellent, and we are already planning what to get on our next trip (the burger, perhaps, or the cheesesteak, followed by the chocolate chip cookie and ice cream for dessert; and maybe some dates...and French toast...). Looks like Mr. Gorham has another hit on his hands.

Simpatica Redux

If you have been reading the blog for awhile you know we love the breakfast food. You also know we once went to Simpatica Dining Hall for dinner and had an absolutely fantastic meal. Simpatica also does a Sunday brunch, and while you can show up whenever you want between 9am and 2pm to get food - unlike the dinners where there is one seating a night at 7:30pm sharp (well, on Friday - 7pm on Saturday) - after reading many online reviews we were worried about having to wait in line. As it turns out this place is quite popular with the foodie crowd that likes breakfast.

Since waiting in line is not something either of us find much fun, we decided to get there right as they open. We ended up being a little early, but there were only three parties in front of us. When Simpatica opened up we were seated almost immediately. And actually, the place wasn't full even when we left at 10:15 or so, so keep that in mind if you go.

The menu was quite varied, having breakfast and lunch type items (being brunch and all), but we came for the breakfast. Wifey ordered the biscuits and gravy, which came with a side of roasted potatoes.

Biscuits and Gravy

This was really good. The gravy had bits of ham and bacon in it as well as a little bit of sausage, and the potatoes were roasted to crunchy yet melt in your mouth status. Excellent. The biscuit was good, but it wasn't the best I've had. Still, with that gravy it may not matter what you have it on, it's excellent. This was actually a lot of food - all that gravy really sticks to your ribs.

I had meant to order something different enough to give us a variety of flavors, but instead I brain cramped and ordered an egg sandwich that also had the gravy on the same biscuit with a piece of fried chicken and a side of potatoes. They called it a Ba Gawk - at first we thought this was some unique Asian dish, but apparently it's just a cute name for a chicken, gravy and egg sandwich.  I also ordered a side of bacon, but apparently our waitress heard me wrong and they just put a couple slices on my sandwich. That was fine - it was yummy - but unnecessary really with the bacon and ham in the gravy and the chicken. Oh well - at least they only charged me $1 for it instead of the $4 for a side dish of bacon. I'm guessing since I received two slices on my sandwich that means I'd get eight slices as a side? Wow...

Ba Gawk

Again, this was really good. The chicken wasn't white meat, but that doesn't bother me too much. I think ideally there would have been just a tad more gravy, but the flavors were all excellent together. I also ordered coffee - and that was good, though I don't recall what kind it was. The amount of food was good for me - filled me up just right.

Bottom line? This is an excellent spot for breakfast, and we need to go back and some point to try some of the other stuff on the menu. The crepes (which the person next to us ordered) looked phenomenal, and many of the lunch-type things looked good as well.

Simpatica is right up there for one our favorite restaurants in Portland, and we'll be heading back soon - for dinner and brunch.

Not Feeling Gravy

Wifey and I love breakfast. We love the piles of carbs, the bacon, eggs, the cheese, the breads, the pastries, the coffee drinks, hot chocolate - just about anything that goes with breakfast is good for us. So to that end we've been hitting up various breakfast places around town that are supposed to be good - and that's how we ended up choosing Gravy, a place over on North Mississippi.

We had been by it many times, with various shopping trips out to The Meadow or to the Mississippi Marketplace carts to visit The Sugar Cube and Nuevo Mexico. It always had a line out the door and initially it was getting very good reviews. Upon further looking it seemed like while many people did like it, there were also a lot of people that did not - and if you look at the trend graph on their Yelp page (they don't have their own website) you can see the recent reviews are grading lower than the older ones.

Still, we didn't let that deter us. So we went to check it out.

We arrived one Saturday not too long after they opened and thankfully didn't have to wait at all. Considering the lines we usually saw (albeit later in the morning) we counted ourselves lucky. After perusing the menu I decided on something called a Monte Cristo-something, with think french toast topped with turkey, ham, swiss cheese, and fried egg. Wifey ordered a scramble with ham, bacon, vegetables and sausage gravy. Both dishes came with hashbrowns. (I'd give you the exact names of the dishes, but my memory is horrible and they don't have a website, let alone an online menu. That's a strike right there in my book.)

Initially we had wanted to try their biscuits and gravy also, but when I tried to order a single biscuit with gravy as a side our waitress kindly talked me out of it. She reasoned we were already getting a ton of food, and we could try the gravy from Wifey's scramble. As it turns out that was a good call by her - we did get a ton of food - and I actually appreciate that.

We ordered drinks too. The drink menu on the table boasted homemade egg nog with your choice of alcohols, but since it was 9:30 in the morning I opted for the virgin version. I really don't know if that meant I didn't get homemade or what - it sure tasted a lot like what you buy at the grocery store and nothing like the good stuff I make at home. It was not worth the $3. Wifey ordered their hot chocolate (which had some kind of claim of being the best of something) and it was barely average. Seriously, for that price elsewhere I can get something fantastic, and this was barely even worth noting.

Pictures of this meal would no doubt be impressive due to the sheer amount of found on the plates, but alas the camera was forgotten this day. I'll try harder.

The French toast part of my Monte Cristo thingie was pretty good. Thick, almost sweet, the French toast was something I'd order again - without the toppings. There was enough Swiss cheese to choke a large mammal and everything together just reeked of overdoing it just to over do it. It's not that it was bad, it just wasn't necessarily good either. The shredded potatoes on the side must have been an entire potato, which is kind of silly, really.

Wifey got an entire potato as well, in addition to her scramble. The veggies were cooked okay, perhaps a tad overdone, but the sausage gravy was just greasy. I expect a tad of grease when working with sausage, but this was literally dripping - and it must have been at least four eggs involved (the meny didn't say). Again, it wasn't necessarily bad, but it wasn't good either.

I think altogether we ate maybe a third of our dishes, and that might be generous. Like good little eaters we made sure not to stuff ourselves (too badly anyway) and brought the rest home.

It's probably eating the leftovers at home that really got me. This entire meal literally sat like a brick in my stomach, and then I felt obligated to eat the leftovers - you know, since I paid for them and did bring them home and it's not like they were horrible. They just weren't that great. And they made me more angry as the days passed, because I could literally only eat a little bit at a time.

The bottom line on Gravy is the food just isn't that great. It's not expensive, the service was pretty decent, the atmosphere was okay (well, except for the fact the acoustics aren't that conducive to actually being able to hear the conversation of the person across from you without leaning into your food - or maybe that's just me and I have other issues...maybe, who knows), the location is nice, but the food just isn't anything special.

Portland has so many other places to go that are that good, where you can wait in line if you don't mind, where the prices are comparable, where the atomosphere is good, where the service is good...that you shouldn't bother yourself with Gravy. We probably won't be going back, not when we could go somewhere like Screen Door or try somewhere new instead.

Belly Up to the Bakery Bar

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? Lucky for us we love breakfast food and Portland is a hotbed of breakfast deliciousity. Right near the top of our must-visit list for a while now has been a place called Bakery Bar on NE Glisan between 29th and 30th. They also have a second location on SE Water St (now closed!). The menus are slightly different, I believe.

After reading so many good things in various outlets online we headed over there around 11am on a Saturday fully expecting a long line. Surprisingly, there was no line at all. We must have arrived at just the right time because there were plenty of people eating (though there were still tables) who had already ordered, and then by the time we finished ordering there was a line of three people behind us. It was so slow at the moment we walked in, actually, that one of the cooks who was straightening things up came up and offered some insight to the menu when we couldn't decide what we wanted.

The first thing we ordered was a mint mocha. They make all of their own syrups for their coffee drinks which not only makes it seem fresher but also lets Bakery Bar make the flavors unique. If I recall right the coffee was Stumptown. The mocha was excellent, with a light mintiness very few others I've had could match. The mint leaf in my drink probably helped, though it was unexpected.

We then both ordered egg sandwiches, bypassing the more intricate things on the menu for this first outing. Wifey ordered the number 5, which is a fried egg, cheddar, and bacon-apple-carmelized onion jam, while I ordered a number 6 - fried egg, pastrami, gruyere, and reuben sauce. They offer your choice of housemade English muffins or a black pepper buttermilk biscuit for the sandwich, so Wifey got the biscuit and I ordered the muffin. To go with the sandwiches we also ordered rosemary scallion hashbrowns.

The hashbrowns were excellent. They weren't necessarily as cooked as I would prefer - I like just a tad more crunch - but they weren't underdone by any means and the flavors of the rosemary and scallions mixed with shredded potatoes was excellent. Normally I'd drop a little salt and a little pepper on my hashbrowns, top them with a little ketchup, but not these guys. It's a good thing I tasted them first because they literally needed nothing added to them. From a guy who loves his ketchup, that's saying something...

Both the English muffin and the biscuit were very good. I wasn't sure if the black pepper would be too much, because the way they called it out in the menu I was expecting something peppery. In truth I couldn't pick out the pepper at all, though I could see the black flecks. Both breads were light and fluffy.

The eggs were cooked just right, allowing the yolk to drip out a bit on the first bite. The bacon on Wifey's was actually a bacon jam, something we had read about but never tried - and it actually was really, really good. Sure, you don't get the bacon crunch in a bite, but you don't miss it either. I had never had a reuben, but with pastrami and gruyere didn't figure it could be too bad - and it was awesome. The pastrami was well cooked, the sauce the right amount to accentuate the flavors, and everything was excellent.

How excellent? Well... Bakery Bar is also known for their cakes, which they do for weddings or any other special occasions. They also have some ready and waiting in case you need one, which we actually kind of did for a birthday the next day. We knew we were on the lookout for something, and that something became a red velvet cake that was staring at us from the case throughout the entire meal. A small cake - worked out to be eight slices - for $18 seemed like a pretty good deal, so we got back in line - and it was a long line this time - to get that. Back in line, we also picked out an apple-bacon scone to take home and have later with a little coffee.

Sadly, the cake was just okay. The presentation was amazing, tall and regal, it had white buttercream frosting on the outside and red velvet cake layered with cream cheese frosting on the inside. It was topped with really well made sugar flowers with a purple ribbon of fondant around the bottom. The cream cheese  frosting was pretty good, but the amount of frosting in general really overpowered the cake - and the buttercream tasted more buttery than creamy and sweet. My preference is to have more sweet and creamy with an aftertaste of buttery, not the other way around. The cake itself was good and overall it was hardly bad - we've just had better.

The scone, on the other hand, was pure dreamy goodness. I don't know why, but my first impression what that apple and bacon in a scone was an odd combination. When am I going to learn that there is no bad combination when one of the ingredients is bacon?! The bacon flavor was in every bite, but it wasn't overpowering, and it meshed quite nicely with the sweet and cinnamon of the apple. Plus, it was drizzled with maple frosting which just added to the overall goodness.When we go back, this is the first thing coming out of my mouth when I order.

Do we recommend Bakery Bar? Oh yes, definitely yes, and we'll be going back. Or maybe we'll try the other location. Or, more likely, we'll do both.

Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day you know.

Riding a Little Red Bike

If you've been reading for a while now you know that we love breakfast food. And bakeries. In fact, I hear Portland is one of the biggest breakfast food towns around, replete with cafes, bakeries, and coffee shops all making their own versions of delicious breakfasty goodness. Our list of places we want to visit is full of breakfast/brunch places, and one that was high on that list was the Little Red Bike Cafe in North Portland, not too far from the University of Portland.

Little Red Bike Cafe has a website, but it doesn't tell you much. Their blog has a bunch more information, but in neither place will you find the actual everyday menu listed.

No matter - Yelp gave great reviews and they stand for everything we like. You know, mainly good breakfast food.

First off, know how to get there. It's on N. Lombard and we were coming from I-5 North. That means taking the Lombard exit and going left - not right, like we did. Oops. After 40 blocks I figured turning around was probably the best course of action, since we had been in NE Portland (not North) for 35 of those blocks and all.

The location is right in the middle of the St. John's area, a relative quiet area right on the street. It has some outdoor seating (chilly on the day we went), some seats at a counter looking out into the street, and a few tables.

The primary item we wanted to try was a breakfast sandwich called "The Messenger." I have no idea where it gets its name, but it probably has an interesting story behind it. The Messenger comes on a ciabatta role with gorgonzola, applewood bacon, an egg, and some delicious apple butter. We ordered that and something called - I think I'm remembering this right - Rapini's Special. That was a basic egg and bacon sandwich with gruyere on a ciabatta role, came with an all-you-can-drink cup of Courier coffee, and one of their fresh-made cinnamon rolls.

If you are wondering if that was enough food for two people, yes, yes it was. In fact, we were full for hours after, which isn't a bad thing at all.

The Messenger was fantastic. The bread was soft, not hard and crunchy like ciabatta rolls can sometimes be, so there was no roof of the mouth damage. The egg was cooked just right - not too liquidy, but enough to seep out when you squeeze it - the bacon was a hefty chunk, and the apple butter worked very well to tie all the flavors together and didn't allow the gorgonzola to become overpowering.

The other sandwich was just as well-made even though it didn't have the same bursts of flavor. The overall flavor was smooth and even, with everything melding together nicely. The cinnamon roll was fine (I'm spoiled - Wifey is a fantastic baker), but one good thing in my book is the frosting was light - just for flavor, not for dominance. The roll itself was light, so it didn't weight on your stomach like a rock the way some will-leave-unnamed commercial cinnamon rolls will.

The coffee was fine - it's the serve yourself kind, but it is French pressed. Also, another note - get your own napkins and silverware from the area in the back with the coffee. Apparently I'm not very observant because when our food was brought out we didn't have any of those things, but the guy was kind enough to get them for us. Did I mention the service was excellent? It was mid-morning on a Thursday and not very busy, so that helps, but everyone was friendly.

I would definitely recommend this place and we plan on going back. When we do I'm ordering the "Rudy Fernandez" - named for the Portland Trail Blazers guard from Spain. What's on it? Well, Spanish things of course! Jamon serrano and manchego with my egg sandwich? Yes, please! And the pictures look fantastic!

Dang, now I'm hungry... Anyway, two thumbs up!