Inside Our Breakfast World

Long before we ever started a breakfast cafe, Evan and I were addicted to the breakfast experience. We loved nothing more than casually arising, and waking up next to one another over hot plates of food, which often ended up supplementing the majority of the food we'd consume for the rest of the day. More than dinner, Evan and I cherished the opportunity to spend time together chatting in the morning, exchanging tidbits about our upcoming day or from the newspaper over salty skins of potatoes and sweet slurps of orange juice.

Nowadays it seems nearly impossible for us to take in breakfast. If we're working service at the cafe it'll be nearly 3pm before we even consider sneaking in a bite of food, relying heavily on a steady intake of caffeine from the moment we awake. I can't say I'm a huge fan of this habit because like I mentioned, Evan and I absolutely love breakfast. And quite honestly, I miss spending that time with him. Since opening a breakfast cafe, dinner is now the meal we spend together. Which has certainly had it's perks over the past three years. We now have plenty of places to bring friends and family when they come in to town and we want to show off our city's impressive dining scene. We've found that dinner in Portland provides the easiest opportunity to accomplish this. But breakfast. What can I say? It's a special time for us, whether we're eating the meal together or dishing it up for others. Suffice to say our life revolves around it.

I've heard many people scoff at the breakfast scene wondering why someone would pay for the meal that is most easily prepared at home? It doesn't get simpler than eggs, potatoes, and toast. Right?

My take on the notion (you know you can trust me): Finding a kitchen, home, or otherwise that consistently respects the delicacy of an egg for example, is actually harder than one might think. Grisly, burnt eggs abound in the breakfast scene, and as a place that touts itself as an "egg sandwich house", and cooks 1000+ eggs/week, we have experienced just how difficult it can be to pass that respect and knowledge on to everyone who attempts to cook one.

Besides, there is also something to be said about breakfast and its simplicity, not to mention the intimacy it can provide between two diners. I don't know about you, but I consider myself to be at my most fragile when I'm first coming to in the morning, and having the ability to begin my day with the man I love, dunking bits of buttered toast into thick black coffee, certainly takes the edge off when it comes to facing the rest of my day.

When I'm at work I'm often asked where we like to eat breakfast when we travel outside the confines of our own menu. Naturally, we have our favorites around town. Here are a few we hold near and dear to our hearts, and the dishes we feast on during that special time of day.

Broder
2508 Southeast Clinton Street
Portland, OR 97202-1239
(503) 736-3333

Addicted to: black coffee, grapefruit mimosa, seasonal breakfast bord, Broder club, aebelskivers

Coffeehouse Northwest
1951 West Burnside Street
Portland, OR 97209-1918
(503) 248-2133

Addicted to: Espresso, coffee, cappuccino, iced 5 oz. Americano, cups of granola with soy (and sometimes regular) milk, and an assortment of locally made pastries

Tasty n Sons
3808 North Williams Avenue
in the Hub Building
Portland, OR 97227
(503) 621-1400

Addicted to: black coffee, pork cutlets, toast & jam, the house bacon burger

Genies
1101 Southeast Division Street
Portland, OR 97202
(503) 445-9777

Addicted to: black coffee, orange juice, huevos rancheros with sunny-side eggs, vegetarian benedict with garden sausage, huckleberry pancakes