BESAW’S! | 2301 NW Savier St. Portland, OR
Ladies and gentlemen, I hereby announce our newest favorite: Besaw’s! Located in one of my favorite areas of Portland, this cozy French-inspired cafe is so gorgeous. We were both in love with the charming decor, the quaint atmosphere, and of course, the food. A little on the pricey side but quality food.
What we had:
• Farmer’s Hash — Great combination of ingredients. [A]
• Breakfast Sandwich — Lover of avocados, bacon and eggs… So this was perfect. [A]
• Side Potatoes — Easily, star of the show (mmmm!). The rosemary and garlic flavors of these potatoes were perfect! [A+]
• Pancakes — Not their specialty. [B]
Our take on the experience: Excellent food, excellent service, excellent decor, love the 23rd district.
The Love Breakfast Pick: Any entree with those delicious potatoes.
Extra photo (because we love the decor so much, here is a glimpse of the entrance):
PETITE PROVENCE | Portland, OR
Hello breakfast lovers! I apologize for such a long hiatus. As a full-time grad student plus a job and an internship for the past… year, I barely had any sleep, let alone blog (I’ve neglected blogging here too). But I am happy to announce this is my last term in the program (or as soon as I complete my thesis)! ALMOST there!!! Now, back to the main purpose of this tumblr… breakfast!
This past term (winter; it is now spring term), my wonderful professor surprised my cohort and I (five of us total) with breakfast treats every Wednesday morning for our weekly grad meeting. For each of those early morning meetings, we were either greeted with homemade sweets or sweet treats from a local Portland patisserie. Our — my — favorites below.
What we had:
• Homemade Cinnamon Roll — Delish. [A]
• Petite Provence — So soft and flaky. [A+]
Our take on the experience: It sure made our theoretical discussions sweeter… Ah, what a sweet term!
What we recommend: Highly recommend all profs. to adopt this type of kindness for early morning meetings. Coffee to accompany the treat is also recommended.
EMANON | 1000 NW 17th Ave. Portland, OR
Again, thanks to Groupon, we were able to enjoy breakfast for half off. And thanks to the nice weather Portland has been having lately, we dined outside on the patio. As we were almost done with our meals, a little black lab (assuming the owner’s) approached me and wanted to be my friend. I can tell she wanted a piece of bacon inside my omelet. Torturing me with her puppy eyes, it was so hard not to feed her but I know I shouldn’t (and I didn’t). Down the block of this quiet little neighborhood is an antique store where Alan spotted such a perfect watch I am in love with.
What we had:
• Benedict Florentine — could improve on hollandaise sauce but the english muffic was perfectly toasted. [B]
• Old Country Omelet — lacks flavor. [B]
• Side Pancakes — bland. [B-]
Our take on the experience: Food is not special but it’s worth it (with the help of Groupon) for what it is.
The Love Breakfast Pick: Benedict Florentine
ALAMEDA CAFÉ | 4641 NE Fremont Street, Portland OR
True: this is our second time at Alameda. We were in the area and couldn’t resist going again.
What we had:
• Alameda B.E.L.T. — delish. [A]
• California Benedict — the English muffin was a little hard but still good. [A]
Our take on the experience: The place is still cute as ever. Loved the floral arrangements on the tables and both breakfast items we had were delish.
The Love Breakfast Pick: Alameda B.E.L.T.
BLUE PIG CAFÉ | 5026 SE Division Street, Portland, OR
We’ve been hearing wonderful reviews about Blue Pig from friends, so we finally decided to give their breakfast eats a try. What a darling little place! They had me at the chalk board menu (and the clean teal tiled floors). Aside from aesthetics, the place was packed as usual for a Sunday morning, and we waited for about 15 minutes — not as bad as we expected it to be. We were seated at the best corner of the place: the window. Anyways, not so sure which is true: that our eyes were bigger than our tummies or if the portion is generously more than other places because it was more than ample!
What we had:
• Spinach Eggs Benedict — over-toasted English muffin but the flavors were all there. [A-]
• Build Your Own Omelet — missing a very important ingredient I love (avocado) and it was kind of bland. [B+]
• Slapjack — Alan said it tasted kind of like flan. [B+]
• Potatoes (served with order) –- kind of dry but good! [A-]
• Biscuit (served with order) –- [A-]
Our take on the experience: The food was good, generous portion, love the idea of building your own omelet, friendly service, clean place; however, the food wasn’t a standout to us. Still on the search for a top breakfast joint like Alameda and Cadillac Cafe.
The Love Breakfast Pick: Eggs Benedict, despite the barely-able-to-chew edges.
STEPPING STONE CAFÉ | 2390 NW Quimby St. Portland, OR
The Portland episode of Man vs. Food led us to try out this place. With one (warm and chewy) cookie and a cup of coffee, we waited outside for an hour to be seated! But we had fun strolling around the cute neighborhood and playing with the gorillapod. Anyways, this place is a small old diner with a lot of character; what we liked best were the ornaments that were strung from the ceiling to the door — whenever the door opened, the ornaments would rise up. A few of negatives: the people who came in after us were served before us (location closer to the server is not an excuse, Stepping Stone), the cups were kind of dirty, and Alan said the restroom was really gross. It made me wonder about the sanitary level of the foods as we were eating…
What we had:
• The Buttermilk Mancake Stack challenge — definitely big, but dry and bland. We consumed two. [B]
• Absolute Omelet with Bacon — fresh ingredients, flavorful. [A-]
Our take on the experience: For something that this place is supposedly famous for (the mancakes), it was mediocre. Big is not better! Service could improve. Cleanliness should improve.
The Love Breakfast Pick: The Absolute Omelet
EQUINOX | 830 N Shaver St. Portland, OR
With the help of Groupon, we were introduced to this lovely hidden gem in North Portland. This amazingly cute place totally swooned me over with their interior and exterior decor. The place was lit by skylights and each table had an orange tulip arrangement. In addition, they also had ample outdoor seating (which would be great for the summer). Of all the times that I have gone to Mississippi Pizza for lunch as an undergrad at UP, I never took the time to walk around the area. The boutiques around the block had such unique items that I’ve been searching for without having to order it online. I highly recommend to check it out! Anyways, the food was wonderful. The only critique we had was the ketchup (it smelled and tasted like salsa).
What we had:
• Le McElle Sandwich — Not a fan of chicken sausage, but it was good. [A-]
• Pepper Bacon Benedict — Fantastic. [A]
• Potatoes — Kind of dry. [B+]
Our take on the experience: Lovely place, efficient staff, wonderful food. Definitely coming back.
The Love Breakfast Pick: Pepper Bacon Benedict.
