Black Bear Diner
July 13, 2011
Restaurant website
Location: Beaverton, OR
Price to break one fast: $12
Ann had high cheekbones, a magnificent fall of chestnut hair done up like a Barbie doll and a shrewd, cheerful grin, but I wondered if anyone would stop chowing down long enough to notice: If the fresh-squeezed-tasting orange juice was any indication this was gonna be a great breakfast place.
She watched me smacking my lips as I set down the empty glass. “A convert!” she crowed, “That is hands-down the best orange juice you’ve ever had, right?”
Not quite, but it was still pretty good. I ordered another.
Black Bear Diner is just down Canyon Road in Beaverton, and it plays hard on the bear theme: Bearpaw prints lead you up the sidewalk outside, a chainsawn totem bear wears a welcome sign at the door (along with a coffee dispenser for those waiting for a table) and even the wallpaper and murals inside are stuffed full of bears.
I’ve driven past this place for eight or nine years without going in, but Izzy the Pad suggested it for a Sunday morning breakfast and we decided to give it a shot. I’m not a huge fan of theme restaurants, especially not FRANCHISED theme restaurants, but there were some good smells coming out of the kitchen that gave me hope.
Black Bear tries hard to look (and act) downhome, but it is a western restaurant chain, sort of a chummier and much less corporate Denny’s. There are 50 BB diners scattered across the western US, their ursial carvings and wall murals are the work of professional artists instead of the owner’s wife, and they’re actively selling franchises.
The food was still pretty good. I ordered the small volcano. “It’s like training wheels for the big boy breakfasts,” Ann assured me.
I may never make it to big boy status here: The small volcano includes a sausage link, a piece of bacon, a scrambled egg and three ginormous pancakes.
The pancakes were rich but a tad heavy and very slightly underdone. The sausage had crunchy skin and good flavor, the bacon was crispy, the scrambled egg was fine… and I couldn’t finish it. The juice was great, the coffee a bit burnt. The cream came in those little plastic cuplets (I much prefer just getting a baby pitcher of it, but you can’t have everything)
Unlike downtown breakfast joints there’s plenty of parking here–with a stuffed-to-the-gills restaurant there were still spaces in the lot–and the service is swift and cheerful. So, chain or not, it goes on my break-the-fast list.
Cafe Nell
October 21, 2010
- Restaurant website
- Location: Upper Pearl District
- Price to brunch two really well: About $40
From the front, Cafe Nell looked like a Volkswagen-stuffing contest, with folk obviously standing around waiting for a table.
Kinda discouraging, that. I’d been seeing the Cafe Nell sign for months, whenever I drove down Lovejoy toward the Pearl. When my friend Sara suggested going there for brunch, I’d really been looking forward to it, but from the looks of the crowd, we were never getting in.
Fortunately, Sara was at the bar, just past the door. She’d gotten there early, made reservations and so we sailed past the mob into the restaurant. The folks at Cafe Nell gave us a nice seat by the window all to ourselves.
I’m not sure how to characterize Cafe Nell–downhome northwestern Frenchish locavore nouvelle cooking?–but whatever it is, I like it. We got a kick out of the Sunday brunch bloody marys (above), which had three or four skewers of garnish apiece, from prawns to salami to olives. “It’s a whole meal in a drink!” Sara marveled.
Sara ordered an eggwhite omelet with lobster, which was huge and delicious, with big chunks of sauteed lobster. I frankly thought mine was better–a smoked salmon eggs benedict on a home-made English muffin with a pile of fresh fruit. The hollandaise was light, the salmon got to breathe a bit…and I got to eat the whole thing.
The waitstaff was attentive, seemed genuinely proud of the place and pleased that we liked our breakfasts. We sat and talked (a lot), they made sure we had plenty of beverage, and the crowd strolling past our window in the crisp autumn sun made a perfect floorshow.
About the only criticism I have of the place is one endemic to most Pearl District bistros: Noise. Most of the surfaces are concrete, steel, stone and glass in these places and they act like amplifiers. When the restaurant is as popular as this one at brunch, you pretty much can’t hear yourself think. It’s chic and probably easy to clean, but sometimes I wish we could go back to velvet walls, carpet and drapes.
Minor quibble, though–Cafe Nell is definitely a keeper.
Cafe Du Berry
August 8, 2010
- Restaurant website (actually, this is a reviews link–can’t find a restaurant site)
- Location: Johns Landing on Macadam, toward Lake Oswego
- Price to break the fast of two: About $25 with tip
Thank heavens for GPS, I thought, as I hunted up a scarce-as-hens-teeth parking space. Despite living seven years in Portland I still can’t reliably locate Macadam Avenue or Johns Landing without computer intervention.
But at last I made it to Cafe Du Berry and met my friend Serena, sitting at a table for two on the patio. With sounds of cars whizzing past at high speed it wasn’t exactly the most pastoral of settings, but the trellised greenery and quaint brick wall made up for it a bit.
Serena had a noon appointment nearby, and we picked this place almost at random. Its online reviews were a puzzle: Half loved it to death and recommended (highly) the french toast. The other half lambasted it with tales of hour-long waits, rude waitstaff and lousy food…and then they got nasty.
I gotta say, guys, that we encountered none of that. The waitstaff was friendly and–when we could get their attention, they were pretty busy–almost TOO attentive. We were there on a Monday morning, which may have had something to do with it, but had no problems with long waits for anything.
Serena ordered two eggs, over easy, with the usual accompaniments; I got the french toast with fruit. Both were served promptly. Coffee was good, raspberry jam was great, toast was nothing special, orange juice was from concentrate, not freshly squeezed (but also not $10, which was what I paid for my last glass of FSJ in a restaurant).
My french toast came with berries on the side, not a lot but enough. The toast itself was a single huge piece that pretty much filled the plate, and it was accompanied by a mound of very nicely flavored hashbrowns. I enthusiastically gobbled berries and potatoes.
The french toast? Not so much, but it wasn’t really the fault of the cook. There are two varieties of french toast: In the first, you briefly dip the toast in an egg-milk-spice batter and saute it until crisply browned. In the second, you soak the bread in custard until it’s more like bread pudding than bread, then hit the skillet.
Du Berry’s was definitely in the second category and well done for custardy toast. Unfortunately, I prefer the drier, breadier variety so I didn’t much care for it. It was soft, creamy and not oversweet, with a nice crust. I did not ask for a doggy bag.
Serena and I can yak for days unless something stops us, and the waitstaff respected that. For about two hours they kept our cups and glasses full, discreetly removed empty plates and otherwise left us alone. A little mouse peeked out from under the deck and accepted nibbles (we were outside after all).
Overall? A little on the pricey side for breakfast, but not out of line for the area. I’d go back.
Gremlins, baked goods and Ernie
September 4, 2009
Yesterday didn’t go at all well, so today I’m bright and early, hard at work, whittling down my giant to-do list. Just now, though, I’m at Sawtooth Bakery, enjoying an inexpensive breakfast, buying bread and having fun peoplewatching.
Hash and My Brother’s Crawfish
October 14, 2008
- Hash Restaurant
- Location: Sellwood district
- Price to fill up two for breakfast: $9
- My Brother’s Crawfish
- Location: Sellwood district
- Price to fill up two for dinner: $??
The last time I checked, this blog was up to about 750 regular readers, which is kinda surprising for a private blog that doesn’t advertise. About a dozen are regular commenters but, interestingly, many, many more send private email about stuff I write. Even more interestingly, much of the private stuff is about restaurants–places to try, funky, not-so-great experiences, etc.
In a spirit of generosity (or maybe sheer laziness), figured I oughta let them speak a bit. So when Oregon Glass Guild members Ed and Donna LaPlante sent a little note about two new restaurants, well… take it away, guys:
#1 …. Hash, in Sellwood
I had a 2 egg, 4 item omelet w/smoked tomatoes, bacon, cheddar and chanterelle mushrooms for $9, yumm! Included bread and a fruit bowl, good coffee too.
#2 …. My Brothers Crawfish , SE 82nd.
This was listed in the Oregonian food insert this past Friday.
We ate there a few weeks ago and had gumbo and etoufee. Both very good, filling and spicy. We also had catfish bites appetizer, very good. This place is in a circular strip mall arrangement you can see from 82nd but only enter from the side street.
There are two Vietnamese brothers from Houston running the kitchen and an attentive wait staff. The inside is dark and comfortable with contemporary art on the walls. They do a lot of take out with bags of spicy crawfish flying out the door, that is what we will try next time.
Thanks, Ed. I wanna give both of them a shot.
La Provence Bistro & Bakery
May 2, 2008
- La Provence website
- Location: Lake Oswego, OR
- Cost to break the fast of two people: About $40
“If you do restaurant reviews, you’ve gotta try this place,” said Bonnie Gilchrist, so we had breakfast at La Provence in Lake Oswego this morning, while we talked GAS. (That’s G.A.S., acronym for Glass Art Society, not the lowercase variety that emerges after a less than optimal dining experience.)
Bonnie’s a cool lady with lots of neat stories who’s doing events management for GAS 2008 in Portland. We met to talk about possible PR stuff and things like that.
–QUICK INTERRUPTION FOR AN IMPASSIONED PLEA–
Have YOU signed up for GAS yet?
You DO know you’ve missed the cheapskate deadline and will pay full price, right?
BUT…I can get you in for HALF PRICE.
Just click this link right here…yeah, right here
(and keep it quiet. I can’t do this for everyone, you know)
–END OF IMPASSIONED PLEA– [Read more]
Nancy’s Kitchen
March 27, 2008
- Nancy’s Kitchen website (actually, CitySearch, can’t find restaurant site)
- Location: Pearl district
- Cost to fill up two people: $20 or so
Had some time this morning, so Robyn and I tried doing brunch instead of dinner (and since it was on a Thursday, we didn’t worry about lines). We headed for a place called Nancy’s Kitchen in the Pearl, just off Glisan and 16th, across the street from the Mission Pub & Theatre.
The first thing you notice about this place is that you actually can find parking, normally a near-impossibility. In fact, there’s a spacious parking lot, which is a strong incentive to come here even if the food isn’t good.
But not to worry–the food is very good. [Read more]
Sanborns
September 7, 2007
-
Location: Southeast, near Bullseye Glass
-
Cost to break two fasts: $20-$25
I hadn’t lived in Portland all that long when I headed out to Bullseye on a Sunday, and realized that I was an hour or so early. I figured I’d grab some brunch while waiting, and found Sanborns, on Milwaukee. It was an unexpected delight. After that I made it a point to shop for glass on Sundays, post-Sanborns.
The owners have turned this refurbed old house into a breakfast specialty spot that really surprised me–I had a wonderful omelette, fresh juice and a basket of home-made breads while chatting with very friendly restaurant patrons. I highly recommend the hash (what is it about hash that delights people so? Guests I’ve brought here light up when they see it, and it’s the first thing they order). They do a fresh-from-scratch eggs benedict, no canned hollandaise here and it’s bright with lemon. It’s also incredibly rich and I wasn’t able to finish half of it.
Tip: Order whatever’s on special, especially if the waiter recommends it.
Mother’s Bistro and Bar
June 27, 2007
- Mother’s website
- Location: Downtown near Pioneer Square (sorta)
- Cost to fill up two people: $15-$25
Since I first wrote this, I’ve discovered the Mother’s website (I swear they didn’t have one back then…) and they even have a chef’s blog, so as far as technology they appear to be up on their stuff. They also make a pretty good brunch.
I’m not sure they serve anything for breakfast that doesn’t add to your cholesterol count by just looking at it, but it sure is good. They commit the cardinal sin of popular restaurants as far as I’m concerned, i.e., placing the tables so close together that you must inhale to let the guy behind you sit down.
If you’re in the area, it’s definitely worth a try. I’ve had the Belgian waffle with fruit, and the sausage/cheese scramble. Both were delicious and absolutely not diet food.
Tom’s Pancake House
January 28, 2007
- Tom’s website (CitySearch)
- Area: Beaverton
- Cost to fill up two people: $12
Tom’s is a rickety old restaurant on Canyon Road, Beaverton’s big retail lane, one I’d driven by for years, wondering if it was still open or what. I finally had a craving for breakfast one night after a shopping trip, and stopped in.
No surprises here: This place looks like an old-fashioned version of Bob’s Big Boy or Sambo’s or any old chain diner, possibly a little shabbier. They serve sandwiches, steaks, that kinda stuff, but I wanted a pancake and maybe some eggs, so that’s what I got.
I can’t say it knocked me overboard or anything, but it was a good, solid breakfast. I’ve heard the service is nearly non-existent, but perhaps because I was one of the last people there I found the wait staff very attentive.
Perhaps too attentive; as I was finishing my meal the waitress came up with a tray of cinnamon rolls. “This is the last of the rolls we made today. If you’d like to have some we’ll give them to you for half price.”
Which is why I walked out of there with a half-dozen gi-normous, fluffy cinnamon rolls roofed with a quarter-inch of white icing. Fortunately, I needed to be in the office next day, so I had no trouble disposing of extras.
Anyway, it’s a nice little breakfast place if you’re in the area.