Best Breakfast Spots

Portland’s Best Bloody Marys

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:00:00 -0800

Barbecue Bloody Mary

Podnah’s Pit

1625 NE Killingsworth St; podnahspit.com
This fired-up cup takes full advantage of the Podnah’s arsenal: savory stewed tomatoes, smoked jalapeños, roasted garlic confit (cooked in the restaurant’s wood-fired smoker), and a splash of house barbecue sauce. Finish with a squeeze of lime and a side of ribs for a true central Texas punch.

Image: Allison Jones

Irving Street Bloody

Irving Street Kitchen

701 NW 13th Ave; irvingstreetkitchen.com
Freshness is the key ingredient in glasses packed with lemon juice, just-grated horseradish (never from a jar), and plenty of surplus citrus slices. If this isn’t enough to wake you up, the house throws in an extra kick of cayenne pepper and sweet-and-sour sherry vinegar.

Image: Allison Jones

Aquavit Ludd’s Blood

Ned Ludd

3925 NE MLK Jr. Blvd; nedluddpdx.com
It brims with caraway and dill and is topped with some of the best house-made pickles to be found. But the real star here is Krogstad aquavit, an inspired sub for the standard vodka. The spirit’s notes of caraway and star anise add an herbal layer to match fresh-charred treats from the wood-fired oven.

Image: Allison Jones

Dim Summore

Tasty n Sons

3808 N Williams Ave; tastynsons.com
A fitting complement to the globe-trotting flavors of a brunch at Tasty n Sons, this tall, Asian-inspired beauty breaks from the classic formula with hoisin sauce, ginger, lime, garlic, and Sriracha. The Dim Summore is a very welcome vacation in a glass—and it lasts all morning long.

Image: Allison Jones

Spicy Creole Bloody

Screen Door

2337 E Burnside St; screendoorrestaurant.com
With extra-thick tomato juice, pickled okra, Creole spices, and plenty of Tabasco-fueled heat, this spicy potion could be the saving grace of Screen Door’s epic weekend wait. And the extra-large pint glass means you’ll even have some left to wash down your brunch when you finally get a table.

Portland’s Best Biscuits

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:00:00 -0800

Image: Michael Novak

The Lauretta Jean’s biscuit

FORGET DUCKS VS. BEAVERS, bicycles vs. cars, vegans vs. pork-etarians. Portland’s most delicious feud begins with a question: “Who makes the best biscuits?” We boldly went where few would venture, into a highly caloric swirl of butter and flour, to chew over the city’s most sought-after bundles of joy. The single rule? Only unadulterated, standalone biscuits qualified—no hiding behind gravy. Our five-point fantasy lives on impeccable flakiness (texture), a crunchy, judiciously browned exterior (crust), and infallible salting and, not least, heavenly taste (flavor).

Lauretta Jean’s

Score: 15
Crust 5 | Flavor 5 | Texture 5
Extras: Strawberry freezer jam, maple bacon butter
Tasting Notes: The croissant of biscuits—light, rich, and airy, with layer upon layer of buttery crumb. Tender and crunchy in all the right places.

Tasty n Sons

Score: 15
Crust 5 | Flavor 5 | Texture 5
Extras: Warm berry compote and whipped cream
Tasting Notes: Erin’s Sweet Biscuits are small but sweet indeed, more dessert than wake-up call. Made entirely of flake, with a sugary crunch on top and powerful butter flavor throughout.

Country Cat

Score: 14
Crust 5 | Flavor 5 | Texture 4
Extras: Butter and jam
Tasting Notes: A textbook biscuit, just shy of the perfect crumb density. But the outer crust is fantastic, like the best pie crimp … so good.

Screen Door

Score: 11
Crust 4 | Flavor 3 | Texture 4
Extras: N/A
Tasting Notes: The leaning tower of biscuit. Supremely crunchy on the outside with crisp, golden strata popping out like baby biscuit stalactites. Interior is yellow with butter, but no distinct flavor.

Pine State Biscuits

Score: 10
Crust 4 | Flavor 3 | Texture 3
Extras: Marionberry or strawberry jam, butter and honey, apple butter, or pimento cheese
Tasting Notes: Good-lookin’, puffy biscuit. Nice, crumbly interior, but heavy on the salt and bland all around.

Podnah’s Pit

Score: 9
Crust 4 | Flavor 2 | Texture 3
Extras: Apricot jam
Tasting Notes: A butterball of a biscuit, leaking fat from the bottom. Oversalted, with a faint flour after-bite. But love that nice, bronzed exterior.

Simpatica

Score: 9
Crust 4 | Flavor 1 | Texture 4
Extras: Orange marmalade, fig jam, pear butter; varies seasonally
Tasting Notes: Nice texture; a flaky crunch on top and bottom and muffin-like center, but batter needs more salt. An ammonia-like aftertaste cries of too much baking soda.

Bertie Lou’s

Score: 8
Crust 1 | Flavor 4 | Texture 3
Extras: N/A
Tasting Notes: Soft and anemic on the exterior. Oddly cakelike from crust to epicenter, but a very pleasant buttermilk flavor top to bottom.

Tin Shed

Score: 6
Crust 2 | Flavor 2 | Texture 2
Extras: Raspberry jam
Tasting Notes: Pasty, pockmarked drop biscuit. Exterior has a bare hint of crunch. Overall, too much salt, a little dense—basically, a nonstarter.

Gravy

Score: 5
Crust 1 | Flavor 3 | Texture 1
Extras: N/A
Tasting Notes: Big, browned top with no bite. Dense interior is like a pancake, except drier. Flavor is strangely sweet and mild, like an egg bread without the egg.

1 I’ll pass | 2 Better than Pillsbury | 3 Mom would be proud | 4 Gimme two | 5 Biscuit fantasy

Best Family Breakfast Spots

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:00:00 -0800

Image: Kate Madden

Slappy Cakes

4246 SE Belmont St; slappycakes.com
Fry your own pancakes on a tabletop grill? With kids? Sounds like a lawsuit in the making. The ingenious Slappy Cakes, however, adds a smart dose of Portland cool to the DIY concept, resulting in slam-packed weekend crowds. Think postindustrial ceilings, Stumptown coffee and Foxfire tea, a surprisingly ambitious bar (a Pimm’s cup with house-grown muddled thyme!), and a menu that stretches beyond flapjacks. Just take care not to let your progeny sear themselves. —ZD

Sunshine Tavern

3111 SE Division St; sunshinepdx.com
In this puritan age, the word “tavern” may not scream “bring the kids.” Don’t be fooled. Sunshine, the Southeast gastro-bar from Lincoln’s Jenn Louis, is a glorious place to bring the offspring on a Sunday morning. The youth get free-play Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, shuffleboard, and a thoughtful $5 kids’ menu, including granola and scrambled eggs. Elders bask in the half-rustic, half-modernist calm and dig into gorgeous breakfast pizza with two shimmering fried eggs. Everyone will be into the ricotta doughnuts with ginger sugar. —ZD

Daily Café

902 NW 13th Ave; http://dailyinthepearl.com
The Daily’s Sunday prix fixe brunch has been a sleeper hit among Portland’s breakfast-obsessed for about a decade. And it goes on, strong. Just $15 gets you an appetizer (go with the fruit and granola—it excuses dietary sins to come) and an entrée (we recently enjoyed the Portuguese baked eggs, spiked with paprika and linguica). And then there’s the recent upgrade: a basket of pastries by transplanted bakery ace Kim Boyce (see p. 46). That array should keep all ages happy in a bright space that can absorb plenty of ruckus. —ZD

Breken Kitchen

1800 NW 16th Ave; brekenkitchen.com
Behold the creative class, aged six months to 60-plus. On a typical weekday morning, this pleasant, sun-strewn café in burgeoning industrial Northwest peacefully cohosts middle-aged laptop pilots, kibitzing work meetings, and moms and dads out with the young’uns. The kids revel in the small play area and the Elvis-esque fried PB&J with bananas and biscuity jammers. The more mature and virtuous opt for the house granola with yogurt and fruit, chased by fine Ristretto coffees. —ZD

St. Jack Pâtisserie

2039 SE Clinton St; stjackpdx.com
At Portland’s premier morning hideaway, breakfast means twirling on stools at a friendly counter, downing baguettes with homemade jam, sipping lovely hot chocolate, and pondering sweet treats tucked under giant glass domes. No scrambled eggs, no “eat your oatmeal,” no minimum daily requirements. No wonder kids are smiling. Open daily, this low-key diner-cum-bakery sits right next to St. Jack restaurant. Show your kids how the French make the most of life: just point to whatever looks good. —KB

Portland's Best Baked Goods

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:00:00 -0800

Image: Michael Novak

Nuvrei’s cinnamon danish

Chocolate Orange Pecan Scone

Bakeshop

5351 NE Sandy Blvd; bakeshoppdx.com
A scone is a scone is a scone … unless Kim Boyce is baking it. Then it’s something else, full of mysterious earthy notes and a sneaky eye-opener that whispers “candy bar.” Boyce stocks her new Bakeshop with this surprise of rye and roasted, salted pecans. A schmear of orange marmalade lends an air of jammy-chewy fruit pie, but the real magic is found in chunks of dark chocolate tucked in every nook and cranny. We’ll have two.

Cinnamon Danish

Nuvrei Pâtisserie and Café

404 NW 10th Ave; nuvrei.com
Nuvrei boss Marius Pop’s Danish is no sweet cheese square. Imagine a baroque French pastry on a blind date with a glazed doughnut. Croissant dough, carpeted with brown sugar, bread crumbs, and pastry cream, is rolled up like an ionic Greek column, then baked to mahogany glory. By the time it reaches your hands, the whole thing crackles in a thick, orange sugar glaze with deep reservoirs of dark cinnamon.

Crumb Cake

Baker & Spice

6330 SW Capitol Hwy; 503-244-7573
Hillsdale’s favorite sugar shack doesn’t traffic in the prettiest coffee cake. But sometimes just being the best is enough. Typically, coffee cake is a buttery wedge of niceness topped with “streusel.” Baking whiz Julie Richardson reverses that tired ratio: a little sour cream cake below a dense streusel that goes the distance with cinnamon intensity, rich egg yolks, and leavening for some rise and shine. Batches bake throughout the day, and the wise show up early. You can even choose a center slice or a crusty end. Now that’s service.

Aunt Miriam’s Vegan Sticky Buns

Dovetail Bakery

3039 NE Alberta St; dovetailbakery.blogspot.com
You don’t have to be a vegan to appreciate the soft squish of this yeasted bun under a gooey thicket of fat, sticky nuts. Craft is, after all, its own pleasure. Baker Morgan Grundstein-Helvey lives for the little details, like brown rice syrup to pour over pecans for a malty nose. Even the brown sugar at Dovetail is homemade, slapped with blackstrap and cinnamon to lift these pillows of butter-free dough, baked fresh every morning.

Brioche Cinnamon Roll

Ken’s Artisan Bakery

338 NW 21st Ave; kensartisan.com
In this colossus of cinnamon rolls, feathers of buttery dough count big—but this beauty swells to top bun status with a rare ingredient: natural leavening. (The same wild yeast gives Ken’s levain bread a rustic tang and complexity.) Toasty pecans swirl throughout, and glossy cinnamon icing glides over the surface. It’s big enough for two, but who’s sharing?

Portland’s Battle for the Best Fried Chicken & Waffles

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:00:00 -0800

Image: Kate Madden

BORN IN THE DEEP FRYERS of Harlem, fried chicken and waffles traveled west via Roscoe’s, the legendary LA breakfast chain, in 1975. Today, Roscoe’s is an institution. Even svelte President Obama made a stop there last fall.

If Portland knows anything, it’s a culinary craze worth stealing. Fried birds now roost atop pillowy cushions of dough on seemingly every breakfast menu in town—each with a twist, of course. Two worthy candidates for supremacy have emerged: Screen Door’s staggering poultry pileup and Simpatica’s diminutive, artisanal take. As these very different versions of the iconic dish rear up against one another across E Burnside Street, Portland Monthly editors Zach Dundas and Martin Patail take sides.

Simpatica	VS. Screen Door
Image: Adam Wickham	Image: Adam Wickham
ZD: First of all, I waltzed into Simpatica. You show up at Screen Door an hour before it opens, and you still wait two hours.	MP: Yeah, but Screen Door rewards your patience with a tower of fried chicken with a giant knife stuck through it. Checkmate.
ZD: Pah! Why use a sledgehammer when the job calls for a scalpel? Simpatica gives you a drumstick, a little white meat, and three trim triangles of waffle drizzled with raisiny syrup.	MP: How dainty. Try a trio of fat chicken breasts slathered in buttermilk batter spiked with liberal amounts of black pepper and fried to crispy perfection. Every bite is a kick in the teeth.
ZD: And the gut. Simpatica’s accomplishes everything in about 10 bites of bird. The breading is neither heavy nor light, but just right, and lightly flecked with salt. Plus, as every kid knows, drumsticks rule.	MP: For the birds. As every kid knows, doggie bags rule. And at Screen Door, you’ll have enough for a kennel.
ZD: Let’s talk waffles. Simpatica’s is dry, but in a pleasant way, and dense. Almost crackery, but not quite.	MP: Screen Door’s sweet potato waffle is just crunchy enough that it doesn’t crumple under the weight of all that chicken, but it’s surprisingly fluffy inside.
ZD: I found it comparatively insipid. Simpatica has a salty breading and no “sweet” component to the chicken itself, so the waffles’ raisin-syrup compote has to do all the lifting on that side of the equation. That gives these waffles a distinct advantage.	MP: Keep your raisins off my lawn. For my money, Screen Door’s dusting of powdered sugar and single orange slice provide just the right accent of sweet to the peppery chicken. I love that the maple syrup is served on the side—dousing the chicken in the stuff would do it no favors.
ZD: Speaking of fowl, I get a little depressed thinking about the army of birds put to the sword every weekend to supply Screen Door. Simpatica’s plate, on the other hand, is friendly, approachable, and satisfying. Which, really, is what I’m looking for in a breakfast, fried or unfried.	MP: I won’t waffle around here. The Screen Door version is as close to the classic dish as you’re going to find in this town: no fancy tricks, just damn tasty chicken. Sometimes bigger is better.
ZD: Screen Door’s Dubai-style high-rise is tasty, but its sheer scale scares me. You’re playing chicken with coronary insanity, Mr. Patail.	MP: And you’re just plain chicken, Mr. Dundas.

Portland’s Best Breakfast Sandwiches

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:00:00 -0800

Image: Kate Madden

Yolk

4804 SE Woodstock Blvd; 503-568-0787
Woodstock neighborhood breakfast bastion Toast recently opened a cart satellite dedicated solely to the art of the breakfast sammies. The masterpiece? The Brother Bad Ass, a slab of maple-glazed Sweet Briar Farms pork belly, Beecher’s cheddar, Dijon-doused lettuce, and two perfect over-medium eggs—all snuggling within a salt-topped pretzel roll from Little T American Baker. Consider us collectors. —KC

Lovejoy Bakers

939 NW 10th Ave; lovejoybakers.com
The lowly egg sandwich gets a highbrow spin at Lovejoy Bakers, where an over-medium egg is paired with a creamy spread of Bleu d’Auvergne cheese and two strips of thick bacon, topped with a refreshing tangle of tarragon and frisée. All this, cradled between lightly buttered ciabatta buns. Parfait. —RR

Bunk

Multiple locations; bunksandwiches.com
Some mornings demand a simple, steaming bundle of fried egg, melted cheese, and sausage. For these days, there is Bunk. Co-owner Tommy Habetz considers the breakfast sandwich to be the foundation of his mini-empire, built on a poppy-seed “hard roll” developed by Fleur de Lis Bakery for Bunk. The proof is in the production: Portlanders scoff some 700 to 1,000 of these bad boys a week.
—KC

Autentica

5507 NE 30th Ave; autenticaportland.com
At first glance, Autentica’s torta con huevo frita (fried egg, avocado, cabbage, and pickled jalapeño) seems a little, well, light. But then you sink your incisors into the bread: telera, a savory, soft, traditional Mexican roll. Pillowy on top and toasted on the inside, it’ll fill you up without requiring you to loosen the old belt. —KC

Flavour Spot

Multiple locations; flavourspot.com
The “No.1,” as it reads on this food cart’s menu, is the ultimate grub-on-the-go breakfast sandwich. A fluffy, folded waffle smeared with organic maple spread embraces patties of rich, spiced pork sausage. It’s sweet, savory, and under five dollars … which doesn’t necessarily give you license eat it every day. —BT

Portland’s Best Breakfasts

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:00:00 -0800

Image: Leela Cyd Ross

The dutch baby at the Original Pancake House

Cinnamon Swirl Challah French Toast ($10)

Image: Leela Cyd Ross

The Country Cat

7937 SE Stark St;
thecountrycat.net

Portland’s overlord of down-home but up-flavor Southern cooking, Adam Sappington, serves brunch every day at his inviting Montavilla eatery. From chicken-fried steak to smoked steelhead Benedict, the Country Cat covers the classic country breakfast with soulful aplomb, but transcendence can be found in the French toast. This is not French toast as you know it—this is French toast as you will remember it. At its core is an eggy, cinnamon-laced challah bread, baked weekly in the kitchen. Dipped in Maker’s Mark–spiked custard, the thick slices are served with a generous dollop of “clabber,” a traditional Southern staple that tastes like whipped cream on steroids. Add a rustic compote of bing cherries, currants, and raisins, employ your little pitcher of maple syrup spiced with cinnamon, anise, and clove, and you have the formula for the most enjoyable food coma in town.

What’s In Your Cup: The Maple Leaf: Pendleton Canadian whiskey, maple syrup, and lemon juice, served up in martini glass. For the full effect, order it warm.

The Ideal Meal: Go ahead and order a side of house-cured, maple syrup–dipped bacon. At this point, why not? —RR

Golden Egg Custard Buns ($4.50)

Image: Leela Cyd Ross

Golden egg custard buns (top left) at Ocean City’s dim sum

Ocean City

3016 SE 82nd Ave;
oceancityportland.com

Ocean City’s dim sum feeding frenzy is in full force by midday: servers wheel dumpling-laden carts around the giant Chinese ballroom, dispensing rich, marinated meats and deep-fried seafood to families packed in around doily-topped lazy Susans. You can spin a fine feast from familiar adventures like barbecued pork buns, chicken feet, and lotus-wrapped envelopes of sticky rice, flecked with bits of Chinese sausage and egg. But Ocean City’s crown jewel is a special not found anywhere else: the golden egg custard buns. They come three to an order, oozing with a warm, egg-yolk center and capped by a shimmering veneer of sugar and egg, like the best meringue. It’s dim sum alchemy: thick, sweet custard, the yeasty chew of the bun, and a resounding crackle through the sugarcoated top.

What’s In Your Cup: A steaming pot of jasmine tea. It’s traditional, mandatory, and wonderfully fragrant.

The Ideal Meal: Just point and eat. Be adventurous. —Benjamin Tepler

Smoked Trout Pytt I Panna ($12)

Image: Leela Cyd Ross

Broder

2508 SE Clinton St;
broderpdx.com

Inside Peter Bro’s svelte, Scandinavian digs, pastel ramekins of ripe farm cheeses, fresh berries, and pickled herring emerge from the open kitchen with unpronounceable names and a surplus of umlauts. The kitchen repackages Swedish classics into quaint shapes and sizes, putting a requisite Portland egg on almost everything. Brave the weekend brunch line (or better yet, treat yourself on a weekday) to find one of Portland’s great surprises: the Pytt I Panna, a Swedish hash with smoked trout served in your very own orange ceramic pot over blue-checked paper, complete with a giant wedge of walnut bread and a cute crock of butter. How often does a hash look art-directed by Martha Stewart? The fun begins with the visual drama of big-yolked eggs baked into a square and decorated with chunks of auburn pickled beets. Hiding underneath are tiny cubes of well-buttered Yukon potatoes mingling happily with morsels of smoked rainbow trout. The dish fires on all cylinders: savory umami, sweet and sour, and rich satisfaction.

What’s In Your Cup: A list of Scandinavian aquavits makes for early-morning thrills, as does the Swedish Coffee (Krogstad aquavit, Kahlúa, and Stumptown).

The Ideal Meal: No trip to Broder is complete without a pile of aebleskivers (Danish pancakes)—round, fluffy globes dusted with a heavy hand of powdered sugar. On the side: tiny bowls of house-made lemon curd and lingonberry jam. Dip away.
—BT

The fun begins with the visual drama of big-yolked eggs baked into a square and decorated with chunks of auburn pickled beets.

The Dutch Baby ($10.75)

Image: Leela Cyd Ross

The Original Pancake House

8601 SW 24th Ave;
originalpancakehouse.com

Just off the traffic scrum of SW Barbur Boulevard sits a cheerful alternate universe you’d be tempted to call “Old Portland.” The panels are wood, the decorative ceramics collectible, and the skirt-and-tennis-shoe-wearing waitresses are chipper in a bygone, 1950s way. And then this venerable anchor of a national chain, open since 1953, produces the unforgettable objet d’art: the Dutch Baby, a golden, imperial crown of eggy dough and powdered sugar and—well, that’s it. The deep trough in the baby’s center allows you to create your own Glacial Lake Missoula of savory creamed butter and fresh lemon juice, which your fork then releases in a staggering, plate-swamping flood. In between bites, you marvel.

What’s In Your Cup: Some of the city’s worst coffee—like Grandma used to make, but not in a good way—and some of its best orange juice.

The Ideal Meal: If you go Dutch, you really won’t want anything else. But opinions seem divided between Dutch Baby loyalists and partisans of the other house special, the titanic apple pancake. And for your grain-challenged chums, the Pancake House offers a whole rack of gluten-free options.
—Zach Dundas

Burmese Red Pork Stew ($10)

Image: Leela Cyd Ross

Tasty n Sons

3808 N Williams Ave;
tastynsons.com

History is riddled with happy accidents that turned out to be revelatory (penicillin and Coca-Cola, to name a couple). So it should come as no surprise that among Tasty n Sons’ myriad standout dishes, the Burmese red pork stew developed somewhat serendipitously out of chef John Gorham’s regular Sunday dinners. He made the smoky, sweet dish from a Burmese friend’s family recipe, then brought the leftovers to Toro Bravo Monday morning. A little improvisation with a pickled egg later, and a flawless breakfast dish was born. Of course, like many good things, the stew requires a lengthy incubation. The stars—lightly sweet, tender chunks of pork shoulder and belly—spend an entire day marinating in a soy, sugar, and ginger mix before earning a crisp char followed by two hours in a dark, caramel oven braise. The searing accounts for part of the stew’s slow-developing heat: Gorham uses his own chile sauce made with sesame oil and Calabrian chiles. Topped with two eggs—one sunny-side up and one that has pickled for a full day in a bath of Hood River honey, soy, and garlic—spring onions, and a few more of those Calabrian chiles, Gorham’s stew qualifies as much as dinner as it does breakfast. But then again, when it comes to revelations, rules don’t exactly apply.

What’s In Your Cup: Tasty’s crisp grapefruit mimosa—made with Althea Prosecco, not Champagne—promises a refreshing, blessedly uncloying way to relieve the heat.

The Ideal Meal: Cap your savory stew with a sweet note: two-bite chocolate potato doughnuts sitting in a rich puddle of crème anglaise. —KC

The stew’s stars—lightly sweet, tender chunks of pork shoulder and belly—spend an entire day marinating in a soy, sugar, and ginger mix.

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Oatmeal with Glazed Apples and Cocoa Nibs ($6)

Image: Leela Cyd Ross

Irving Street Kitchen

701 NW 13th Ave;
irvingstreetkitchen.com

It takes a certain diabolical freedom to put chocolate in oatmeal—to say nothing of homemade caramel and glazed apples. Few cooks dare to think outside the Quaker oatmeal box, much less transform an icon of health into an exhilarating morning treat. Then again, with a breakfast menu that roams from Austrian pancakes to lobster-decked scrambled eggs, Irving Street Kitchen chef Sarah Schafer is boisterous and decadent, with a sharp eye for complexity and details. In her house oatmeal, the oats are steel-cut—full of body, flake, and chew—and Schafer has the good instinct to toast them in butter before their trip to the boiling pot; a final cooking flourish of buttermilk adds extra creaminess. On top, look for meaty apple slices in a thick wash of warm caramel. A handful of cocoa nibs proves to be a stroke of pure genius, adding notes of roasted coffee beans and dark chocolate. The overall effect is a sweet risotto saying hello to a luscious candied apple and a fine oatmeal cookie, with a side of serious technique to match the devilish good fun. One bite, and there’s no going back.

What’s In Your Cup: A bold black brew of Brahmins Choice from local tea guru Steven Smith.

The Ideal Meal: Spring for a side of house-smoked, maple-glazed pork belly. It’s fantastic. But you can’t go wrong with a side of smoked tasso bacon. —KB

Oyster Omelet ($14.75)

Image: Leela Cyd Ross

Bijou Café

132 SW Third Ave;
bijoucafepdx.com

A true French omelet, briskly whipped and delicately rolled straight from pan to plate, is food for the gods. In Portland, only one place delivers the real deal: Bijou Café, the downtown breakfast institution. For inspiration, owner Kathleen Hagberg still looks across the pond. Indeed, the omelet arrives just as any Francophile would demand: soft, puffy, and unmarked, rolled into a perfect cylinder holding cheese, local mushrooms, and seasonal produce. The pièce de résistance is the oyster omelet, stuffed with sweet caramelized onions, salty shreds of bacon, and just-shucked Willapa Bay beauties, fried in a crispy cornmeal crust and popping with briny juice. Old World execution, meet local Oregon flavor.

What’s In Your Cup: A quintessential no-frills French breakfast demands a simple cup of coffee—a Peruvian blend from Kobos Coffee hits the mark.

The Ideal Meal: Bijou stocks locally made Tracy’s Small-Batch Granola, a serious contender for Portland’s best. —BT

The omelet arrives just as any Francophile would demand: soft, puffy, and unmarked, rolled into a perfect cylinder.

Oeuf Mollet & Rib Florentine ($18.50)

Image: Leela Cyd Ross

The Heathman

1001 SW Broadway;
heathmanrestaurantandbar.com

The Heathman touts this eggy delight as “Julia Child’s favorite egg recipe,” even though it was the dish that caused her to fail at Le Cordon Bleu. The Heathman’s rendition would surely ace any test, and all you have to do is enjoy it—if you can work up the gumption for its rich, fall-off-the-bone decadence. It all begins with a plentiful cut of short rib, which receives a quick sear and a leisurely, five-hour oven braise before showering in a sauce of the braising liquid reduced with shallots, garlic, and herbs. Meanwhile, two eggs are soft-boiled, peeled, and set in a ramekin atop spinach, bacon, and caramelized onion, doused in cheesy Mornay sauce, sprinkled with parmesan, then toasted to a bronzed, bubbling sheen. What arrives at your table is a full-on feast fit for royalty. Scoops of the baked egg mixture crown luscious forkfuls of short rib, with crispy, herbed russet potatoes standing by to soak up any errant remainders. Our grade: A+.

What’s In Your Cup: An indulgent feast calls for a refreshing sipper: the ruby grapefruit juice, squeezed to order.

The Ideal Meal: Make room (somehow) for Audra’s Danish, a tender, buttery disc filled with fruits of the season. —RR

Duck Hash ($10)

Image: Leela Cyd Ross

Accanto

2838 SE Belmont St;
accantopdx.com

This airy little Italian café—the casual sibling of white-tablecloth neighbor Genoa—may just be one of the last secrets in Portland’s hype-prone brunch world. And food always tastes better when it feels like your very own brilliant discovery. Still, Accanto’s duck hash needs no such psychological sugarcoating. As visually alluring as it is delicious, with deep greens and oranges punctuating a plateful of glistening goodness, this hash oozes thoughtful technique. The confit duck (slow-cooked in its own fat) dances with caramelized brussels sprouts, potatoes, and roasted squash under a pair of flawlessly poached eggs. Subtly fiery harissa cream pulls it all together, mingling with the egg yolks and introducing the rich shreds of duck to the squash and the nutty, pleasantly bitter brussels sprouts. Eat it with a satisfied smile—you discovered Accanto before the masses did.

What’s In Your Cup: Dining on duck in the morning calls for champagne. Opt for a mimosa.

The Ideal Meal: Kick off your meal with house-made ricotta doughnuts straight from the fryer, served with a side of zesty lemon curd. —RR

The confit duck dances with caramelized brussels sprouts, potatoes, and roasted squash under a pair of flawlessly poached eggs.

The Breakfast Wrap ($5.50)

Image: Leela Cyd Ross

The Big Egg

4233 N Mississippi Ave;
thebigeggfoodcart.blogspot.com

Our vision of the perfect breakfast burrito: chunks of hot, crusty russet potatoes, roasted with skins on; slivers of portobello mushrooms, sautéed to intensify their earthy perfume; two meticulous homemade sauces; and one butter-brushed tortilla, with a finishing touch of impeccable grill marks. Leave it to a Portland food cart to elevate a humble, wolf-it-down morning meal to a work of art. Unlike the usual rough-and-tumble affairs, the Big Egg wraps up bundles of big-flavored inspiration to match a slow-cooking philosophy. Owners Gail Buchanan and Elizabeth Morehead spend hours fire-roasting poblano peppers in their cart to create a dusky salsa of pure punch. And this is but one of eight flavor elements. Another sauce, squiggled over those potatoes and mushrooms, announces itself with a shout of yogurt tang and lime. Eggs are scrambled to order with shredded white cheddar, and if you’re up for more, add smoky bacon, Black Forest ham, or vegetarian sausage. Now that’s a wrap.

What’s In Your Cup: The Big Egg now sells coffee, French-pressed with beans from Cellar Door Roasting Company in Southeast Portland.

The Ideal Meal: It would be a crime to slip away without tasting the Arbor Lodge fried-egg sandwich: fat slabs of grilled portobellos and roasted garlic aioli packed with an over-medium egg between squares of buttery, toasty ciabatta. Go with a date and trade bites. —KB

Lose the Wait

If standing in line for hours doesn’t feel quite like an idyllic morning ritual to you …

Roost

1403 SE Belmont St; roostpdx.com
Rustic, classic European plates in a cheery, light-filled room

Grain & ?Gristle

1473 NE Prescott St; grainandgristle.com
Warm woods, great oatmeal, and perfect eggs Benedict

Portobello

1125 SE Division St; portobellopdx.com
The freshest brunch fare around, vegan or otherwise

Beast

5425 NE 30th Ave; beastpdx.com
One word: reservations. Three more: maple glazed bacon.

Verde Cocina

6446 SW Capitol Hwy; verdecocinamarket.com
Mexican plates from farmers market faves