Cup & Saucer Café

Cup & Saucer Café
3000 NE Killingsworth

Date: 12/24/06
Arrival: 9:30am








The Cup & Saucer in NE Portland tends to be less crowded than its sister location on SE Hawthorne. The Hawthorne Cup & Saucer is often overflowing with people; consequently the service is not quite as fast. I can attest to the fact that the Killingsworth location has a laid back, NoPo atmosphere with a friendly wait staff. Kara informed me that there is now a new Cup & Saucer location in Kenton on N. Denver. We hope to eat there soon to see how it compares to the others.

We arrived at 9:30am and were pleasantly surprised when we didn’t have to wait for a seat and immediately began looking at their extensive menu. The Cup & Saucer is known for its scrambles and homemade scones. They are also vegetarian/vegan friendly and allow tofu and garden sausage to be substituted into any of their scramble options. I opted to go with the basil, pesto, and spinach scramble. It was very delicious and much better than the garden scramble that I had the last time I ate there. The potatoes were good, but could have been cooked a bit longer.

Jay had just received a New England Christmas package from his mom, which contained Patriots pajama pants and a Boston Red Sox ski cap. He was sporting his new threads at breakfast and I tried to capture that in a photo, but unfortunately it was too dark, so you’ll just have to trust me. I think Jay inspired us all to start wearing our jam pants to breakfast. Moving on to Jay’s breakfast. He decided to order the biscuits and gravy with a side of potatoes, which he then later nicknamed the starch bomb. Jay said that the gravy was not very flavorful and he felt like he had just swallowed a big serving of flour.

Kara ordered the salmon scramble. She said it was very rich, but very tasty.

I was quite pleased with my meal at Cup & Saucer today, but I will keep a mental note to not ever order the starch bomb.


Wait Time Inside: 0 minutes
Wait Time For Food: 17 minutes
Service: Very friendly and fast
Food: Tasty, but don’t order the starch bomb.
Options: lots of scrambles, very vegan/veggie friendly.
Price: $7-8
Atmosphere: Laid back, NoPo, friendly

Stepping Stone Café

Stepping Stone Café
2390 NW Quimby

Date: 12/10/06
Arrival: 9:30am








I’ve been so busy with getting ready for the holidays that I have slacked on my breakfast blogging. Right now I am currently multitasking like a madwoman by wrapping presents, doing laundry, making my brother a mix CD, watching The Breakfast Club on TV (how appropriate), and updating the blog.

A couple of weekends ago I ate my very first breakfast in Northwest PDX. The NW generally has the stereotype of being expensive. Don’t let this stereotype fool you, as there are some hidden gems sprinkled in the alphabet district. The Stepping Stone Café must not be overlooked. I completely fell in love with its friendly diner atmosphere. Super hero action figures dangle from the ceiling at Stepping Stone. They are connected to the front door by fishing wire, so every time someone walks inside the café, Spider Man may drop down in front of your plate if you are sitting at the bar. Amazing, right? I tried to capture that in this photo, but I don’t think it worked.

The food was not the most amazing breakfast food I’ve ever had, but it was tasty and it did the job. My only complaint was that the hash browns were not shredded or crispy, and that is how I prefer them. I ordered the cinnamon French toast and it was delicious, but unfortunately I am now comparing every piece of French toast that I eat to the French toast that I had at Genie’s Café on Division Street last month. Perhaps I just need to erase that meal from my memory so that I can judge future French toast fairly? I think so.

Jay ordered the avocado omelet. He said it was very delicious and he had no complaints about the omelet. I seem to remember him complaining about the hash browns, though. Again, those were NOT hash browns, or at least not by our standards.

Kara was not too adventurous and decided to go with a basic 2 eggs, toast, and the infamous hash browns. She enjoyed the “hash browns” because they reminded her of what her mom used to fix her when she was a kid, but she agreed that she prefers the good ol' shredded 'n crispy variety that we have all grown to love.

Overall, I was quite pleased with my first breakfast experience in NW Portland at Stepping Stone Café.

Wait Time Inside: 0 minutes, yes ZERO!
Wait Time For Food: 15 minutes
Service: Very friendly and fast
Food: Tasty, but not the best breakfast ever.
Options: I don’t recall a plethora of options
Price: $5-8
Atmosphere: Fun! Superhero action figures, Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody blasting in our ears, and the Grinch painted on the front door. What more could you ask for?

Beaterville Café

Beaterville Café
2201 N Killingsworth

Date: 12/3/06
Arrival: 10:30am









There was a brief hiatus in breakfast-blogging, but that's what happens when you stuff yourself full of mom's Thanksgiving feast. The thought of eating a big breakfast seemed like a foreign idea. After 2 weeks of digesting, I was ready to get my breakfast game back on last Sunday at Beaterville Café in NoPo. It had been a couple of years since I had last had breakfast at this popular café on Killingsworth. My memories of it were a bit blurry, but I did remember the charming atmosphere, including the old hubcaps and grills that adorn the colorful walls. It's fun and it feels a bit like stepping back into time, or walking into my grandpa's old house. Kara decided to get her free WiFi action on while we waited for breakfast. She brought in her iBook and was kind enough to take breakfast notes for me (nerd alert!).

We were quite disappointed by the coffee situation. I guess by "we" I don't mean me, as I don't drink coffee. But if I did, I would've been disappointed, okay? Nobody came around to refill my friends' coffee and they were a bit upset by that; it's an essential part of their breakfast.

I should have written this entry earlier because I am having a bit of trouble remembering the menu. I do know that there were a lot of omelet and scramble options. Kara, a neighbor to Beaterville and a fellow breakfast expert, informed me that she prefers Beaterville scrambles over their omelets, so I took her advice and went with the Supernova (tomatoes, green onions, garlic, feta, mushrooms, and spinach). It was quite tasty, although I don't know if I needed that much feta. It was still good, though. The potatoes were good, but they could have used a bit more flavor, in my opinion.

Jay's breakfast looked more delicious than mine and I don't remember hearing any complaints from his side of the table (aside from the coffee situation), so I'm assuming he was satisfied. He decided to go with Zoe's Eggs (an omelet containing salsa, green onions, cheddar, and sour cream).

Overall, I was satisfied with my experience at Beaterville. As we went up to the cash register to pay for our meals, we encountered a huge 11am crowd waiting for a seat. The front area was overflowing, and I was thankful that we had arrived at a decent time. Again, the early bird catches the worm.

Wait Time Inside: 10 minutes
Wait Time For Food: 15 minutes
Service: Friendly, but two thumbs down for coffee service
Food: Tasty, but not the best breakfast ever.
Options: Lots of scrambles and omelets.
Price: $7-8
Atmosphere: the beatermobile decor is charming and fun